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The Guardian Politics24 Jun 2026

Labour MPs criticise language used by Kemi Badenoch in fractious PMQs

Tory leader reprimanded by speaker for invective against minister and saying Starmer had ‘400 knives in his back’ Labour MPs have criticised Kemi Badenoch after a fractious prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, in which she accused the education secretary of being a “spiteful class warrior”. In a rare move, Badenoch was chastised by the speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, in the chamber of the House of Commons after she took the personal swipe at Bridget Phillipson before saying that Keir Starmer had bee

PoliticsDefenceEducation
The Guardian Politics24 Jun 2026

Bahraini award to UK envoy shows ‘our diplomats are up for grabs’, says peer

Rights activists call UK ambassador ‘morally compromised’ for accepting honour from Bahraini king in apparent breach of Foreign Office rules The British ambassador to Bahrain has been accused of breaching government rules over accepting an award by the Gulf state’s king, a move critics suggest signals diplomats and civil servants are “up for grabs”. This week, the ambassador, Alastair Long, received the Order of Bahrain from King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, in recognition of his diplomatic tenure,

DefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics24 Jun 2026

Keir Starmer couldn’t beat the curse of Brexit – a politics poisoned by nationalism | Rafael Behr

The outgoing prime minister’s efforts to mobilise a healthier kind of patriotism fell flat. Andy Burnham may stand a better chance Britain is not ungovernable, but the chalice of high office has been spiked with unusually fast-acting poison. Six prime ministers down in a decade. The spectacle of the lectern planted outside No 10 for a resignation speech has acquired the familiarity of ritual. Since the Brexit referendum, the average tenure in Downing Street has been less than two years. That bal

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics24 Jun 2026

Britain, Brexit, Burnham: how was it for EU? – podcast

A decade after Brexit, the UK simply can’t shake the legacy of the referendum. But with shifting public opinion and the rise of Andy Burnham, could Britain be plotting a path back to the EU? It’s been 10 years since the UK woke up to the shock of the Brexit referendum result, which upended British politics and rattled the establishment to its core. The Guardian’s economics editor, Heather Stewart, and Nosheen Iqbal examine the long shadow that decision cast over the country. From economic fricti

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics23 Jun 2026

Weakening UK net zero policy would damage economy, chief climate adviser says

Climate Change Committee chair Nigel Topping says U-turns damage investor confidence and disrupt businesses Weakening the UK’s net zero policy would disrupt business and damage the economy, the UK’s chief climate adviser has warned. Nigel Topping, chair of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), said: “The U-turns are really damaging to inward investor confidence. If we really want to grow the economy, then investing and getting good at building stuff is essential.” Continue reading...

EconomyDefenceEnvironment
The Guardian Politics23 Jun 2026

UK defence secretary promises delayed investment plan before Nato summit

Dan Jarvis, who took role earlier this month, is said to have secured billion more for plan than predecessor Dan Jarvis, the new defence secretary, promised to publish the delayed defence investment plan (Dip) before the Nato summit in a fortnight amid indications he has already secured around a billion more than his predecessor, John Healey. Haggling between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Treasury is continuing – while a source in Andy Burnham’s team said he was happy for a final deal to

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics23 Jun 2026

Timeline: what Farage has said about the £5m gift from a crypto-billionaire

Whether the money was a reward for Brexit or for personal security, media interest in it has intensifed as the Reform UK leader returns to the public eye Having largely, and uncharacteristically, avoided media attention for much of the past couple of months – a period that has coincided with people asking some searching questions about the £5m given to him by a billionaire Reform backer – Nigel Farage returned to the airwaves on Tuesday. If he had hoped broadcasters, and their listeners, had for

DefenceReform
The Guardian Politics23 Jun 2026

Burnham and Starmer hold ‘frosty’ meeting to thrash out transition of power

With Burnham and his team potentially having only weeks before he becomes PM, Starmer has agreed to give him access to civil service Keir Starmer has met Andy Burnham for the first time since the Makerfield byelection in what sources said was a “frosty” meeting to thrash out a transition of power. The prime minister has agreed for his likely successor to have talks with the civil service to smooth his path, but there is deep resentment within his inner circle towards Burnham for ousting Starmer.

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics23 Jun 2026

UK prioritised ties with UAE over averting mass atrocities in Sudan, MPs to be told

Foreign Office failed to act on warnings of genocide due to ‘pressure’ from emirates, Yale human rights investigator will tell a parliamentary select committee The British government had received intelligence that Ethiopia appeared to be supporting a genocidal militia in Sudan’s civil war as far back as 2024 but did not go public with the news for fear of upsetting the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a parliamentary committee will hear. In May 2024, officials from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Devel

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics23 Jun 2026

Reader Q&A: ask Rafael Behr your questions now

It’s 10 years since Brexit – and it’s also another one of those weeks in British politics … Guardian columnist Rafael Behr will be here at 5pm to answer your questions about Burnham, Starmer, Brexit and more. Sign up here to join the discussion and post your questions Welcome to our latest Q&A with a Guardian journalist. Raf will be joining us at 5pm. We have originally asked him to take questions about Brexit as we mark 10 years since the UK’s vote to leave the EU. But … you may well have que

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics23 Jun 2026

‘I feel entirely vindicated’: three Guardian columnists debate Brexit and its legacy | Aditya Chakrabortty, Polly Toynbee and Simon Jenkins

Ten years on, our writers met to reflect on whether leaving the EU has made the UK richer or more racist – and how the union is doing without us Read more from the Brexit Vote: 10 Years On series Aditya: I have three distinct memories of that entire period: the sense of anger, the sense of the confusion in Westminster and then, afterwards, this quick curdling into a really base form of racism. I remember reporting around south Wales and the north-east of England and then coming back into Londo

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics23 Jun 2026

From the NHS to new homes, Starmer’s successes and setbacks – in charts

The PM said in May that ‘stories beat spreadsheets’, but what does the data tell us about his time in office? Keir Starmer is to step down as prime minister after just two years in office. Despite promising an end to Conservative sleaze and scandal, much political bandwidth towards the end of his time in No 10 was taken up by the fallout surrounding his appointment as US ambassador of Peter Mandelson, who had a close relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Continue reading

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