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The Guardian Politics29 May 2026

‘This is so pathetic’: Reform and Restore Britain lock horns in Makerfield byelection buildup

Spurred on by Elon Musk, the two rightwing parties spent the week taking potshots at each other. We look back at who hurled which insult at whom UK politics live – latest updates It’s been a week of rudeness, rows and revelations in the Makerfield byelection. Not between Andy Burnham and his challengers for the seat – but between Reform UK and its even more rightwing rival, Restore Britain. Here are the key moments in a week in which the populist right turned on each other: Continue reading..

PoliticsReformRestoreRupert Lowe
The Guardian Politics29 May 2026

Minister insists Labour will not apply national living wage to all over-18s before election – UK politics live

Torsten Bell says Labour manifesto ‘did not set out the timeline’ for changes to living wage after scale of youth unemployment crisis revealed in Milburn report Good morning. Last night Alan Milburn suggested that he would like the government to drop its commitment to pay all people over the age of 18 the national living wage. The former Labour health secretary was speaking after he published a major report on the rise in the number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet)

PoliticsEducation
The Guardian Politics28 May 2026

The Guardian view on jobs and training: boosting young people’s chances should be a national mission | Editorial

Colleges and placements can help the 1 million 16- to 24-year-olds who aren’t earning or learning. But what they need most is work For a few days at least, political attention is focused on young people aged 16-24 who are not in education, employment or training (known as Neets). A report from the commission led by Alan Milburn, a former health secretary, shines a bright light on a group that needs it. The document concentrates on analysis, with recommendations due in the autumn. Describing prob

PoliticsEducation
The Guardian Politics28 May 2026

The Guardian view on energy shocks: winter is coming – and Labour needs a plan | Editorial

Clean power remains essential. But until it arrives, Britain must stop LNG made scarce by the Iran war setting gas and electricity prices The US-Israel war on Iran will drive household energy costs in Britain to their highest level in two years over the summer. This has given fresh impetus to calls for the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, to change course. The cabinet minister is vulnerable because he promised cheaper bills if Britain embraced his clean, green power plan. Critics, including Labou

PoliticsDefenceEnvironment
The Guardian Politics28 May 2026

‘Lost generation’: why can’t young people get jobs? – The Latest

A landmark report has warned that the UK risks a ‘lost generation’ of young people, as new figures show that more than 1 million 16- to 24-year-olds in the UK were not in education, employment or training. The former Labour cabinet minister Alan Milburn said youth disengagement was a mounting economic risk to the country, and urged a fundamental reset of policy covering schools, the health service and the welfare state. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s senior economics correspondent, Richard

PoliticsEconomyDefenceEducation
The Guardian Politics28 May 2026

Tony Blair and the battle for Labour’s soul

Peter Walker is joined by pollster Luke Tryl of More in Common to discuss Sir Tony Blair’s intervention in the Labour leadership saga and the party’s prospects in the Makerfield byelection Please send your questions and messages for Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey to politicsweeklyuk@theguardian.com Continue reading...

Politics
The Guardian Politics28 May 2026

Burnham steps back from past calls to end immigration benefits restriction

Labour’s Makerfield byelection candidate understood to have changed stance on no recourse to public funds policy UK politics live – latest updates Andy Burnham has rolled back from his previous calls for ministers to scrap a restriction on immigrants claiming benefits as the Makerfield byelection places greater scrutiny on his policy positions. As Greater Manchester mayor, Burnham has called several times for an end to the rule known as no recourse to public funds (NRPF), which since 1999 has

PoliticsImmigration
The Guardian Politics28 May 2026

Why the Green party must run in every seat – including Makerfield – and ignore Labour demands to stand aside | Ben Smoke

Only the Greens can actually counter Reform UK – Labour is out of touch and partly responsible for the hard right’s rise The Green party of England and Wales has announced Sarah Wakefield as its candidate for the upcoming Makerfield byelection. The constituency is split between Greater Manchester and Wigan, and the latter’s council saw a surge in support for Reform in the latest local elections, with the party taking 24 of the 25 seats up for grabs. The showdown between Labour’s Andy Burnham, th

PoliticsEnvironmentReform
The Guardian Politics28 May 2026

‘A record of failure’: what’s in the first part of Alan Milburn’s Neet report?

The former minister paints damning picture of structural issues affecting 1 million young people in the UK Alan Milburn, the Blair-era cabinet minister turned social mobility adviser, has delivered the first part of his government-commissioned report on why increasing numbers of people aged 16 to 24 are not in education, employment or training (Neet). Its 217 pages cover the extent and causes of the issue – with possible solutions coming in his next report – and set out a hugely detailed and dam

PoliticsEducation
The Guardian Politics28 May 2026

Minimum wage rise has made it difficult for employers to hire young people, says Alan Milburn – UK politics live

Government-commissioned report on young people not in employment, education or training to be published by review chair Milburn today Good morning. For the second day in a row, the Westminster news is dominated by the thoughts of a leading Labour figure from the Tony Blair. But this time it’s an intervention commissioned, and welcomed, by Keir Starmer’s government. Alan Milburn, who has health secretary under Tony Blair, once seen as a future PM, and later chair of the Social Mobility Commisson,

PoliticsEducation
The Guardian Politics28 May 2026

To reverse the ‘greenlash’, Europe’s Green parties should embrace Polanski’s boldness | Tarik Abou-Chadi

Be more strident and ambitious, take on economic inequality, and progressive voters will reward you as they have the UK’s Greens Tarik Abou-Chadi is a professor of European politics at the University of Oxford European Green parties have been through a phase of stagnation and crisis in recent years. Long gone seem the days of the “green wave” across Europe. Back in 2019, Green parties secured their best-ever result in the European parliament elections, with 74 seats. In the same year, Green pa

PoliticsEconomyDefenceEducationEnvironment
The Guardian Politics27 May 2026

‘Stuck in his glory days’: Blunkett and others cast doubt on Blair’s advice to the Labour party

Ex-PM perceived as out of touch and having a credibility problem even if parts of analysis are seen as hard to dispute David Blunkett had a chat with his old boss Tony Blair just a few months ago. “I can have very constructive disagreements with him and still stay friendly – as it should be,” the former Labour cabinet minister said with a chuckle. The current generation of senior Labour figures are perhaps a little less warmly disposed towards Blair after his latest intervention in contemporary

PoliticsDefenceHousing