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403 headlines found — Page 3 of 34

The Guardian Politics3 May 2026

Polanski takes combative approach as Greens enter media spotlight

From legitimate scrutiny to lurid scare stories, the Green party’s rise has brought a sudden spike in attention It is the lot of smaller parties that grow rapidly that they tend to endure something of a trial by the media in the UK. The attention from some of the newspapers and broadcasters to the Green party before this week’s elections has occasionally borne an unlikely resemblance to the height of Clegg-mania in the spring of 2010, when the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, was rewarded fo

PoliticsDefenceEnvironment
The Guardian Politics2 May 2026

Starmer says some pro-Palestinian protests could be banned amid attacks on British Jews

PM worried about ‘cumulative’ effect of marches, as Met chief says Jewish communities facing biggest threat Some pro-Palestinian demonstrations could be stopped, the prime minister has warned, as the UK’s most senior police officer said the threat to the Jewish ­community was greater than it has ever been. Keir Starmer indicated he wanted the language expressed on some protest marches to be subjected to “tougher action” as he sought to allay the fears of British Jews after a series of attacks on

DefenceCrime
The Guardian Politics1 May 2026

UK defence firm Ultra Electronics to pay £15m after SFO bribery investigation

Company accepts it failed to prevent bribery in public sector contracts in Algeria and Oman, sought through use of agents The British defence company Ultra Electronics has accepted responsibility for failure to prevent bribery and agreed to pay £15m after an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. The penalties are part of a deferred prosecution approved by the high court on Friday, after an investigation opened in 2018, when the company referred itself to the UK law enforcement agency a mont

DefenceCrime
The Guardian Politics1 May 2026

The Guardian view on Britain’s fragile systems: when global shocks hit your shopping bill | Editorial

Energy disruption abroad drives prices at home, showing how few safeguards are built in – which is why a call for resilience must be heeded When the Bank of England warned this week that food inflation could reach 7% by the end of the year, it revealed how little stands between a geopolitical jolt and a domestic crisis in Britain. A shock wave in the Gulf feeds through energy, fertiliser and supermarket prices into falling incomes, weak growth and job losses. What it exposes is not just inflatio

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics1 May 2026

Foreign Office cuts will weaken oversight of international law, MPs warn

Cross-party group says closure of humanitarian unit will undermine monitoring of legal violations and arms exports MPs have expressed alarm at the closure of the Foreign Office’s international humanitarian law unit, warning it “will impair the UK’s ability to anticipate, assess and respond to serious violations of international law across multiple contexts”. News of the closure, revealed by the Guardian, was raised with Keir Starmer at prime minister’s questions this week by the independent MP f

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics1 May 2026

Charles tamed Trump while rebuking Trumpism in ego-flattering masterstroke

King skillfully appeals to Republicans fond of Britain and Democrats anxious about rules-based order in state visit For his last trick, the king revealed a bell that hung from the conning tower of a Royal Navy submarine launched from a UK shipyard in 1944. Its name was HMS Trump. “And should you ever need to get hold of us,” Charles III said, “well, just give us a ring.” The polished brass bell bearing the name “Trump”, presented at Tuesday’s state dinner at the White House, was an ego-flatterin

Defence
The Guardian Politics1 May 2026

As a schoolboy, I was dazzled by the Festival of Britain in 1951 – but it revealed a divided nation | Michael Billington

From the Dome of Discovery to the massive cigar-shaped Skylon, the spectacular cultural showcase was an exhilarating sight in 1951. The Tories demolished those prime exhibits yet, 75 years on, it has a significant legacy ‘We ought to do something jolly … we need something to give Britain a lift.” So said Herbert Morrison, a key figure in Clement Attlee’s postwar Labour government, selling to the cabinet the idea of a Festival of Britain. It kicked off 75 years ago this weekend with a service of

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics30 Apr 2026

Tony Blair’s thinktank urges Labour to scrap ‘unaffordable’ pension triple lock

State pension was ‘built for a different era’, says former PM’s organisation amid pressure on government finances Labour has been urged by Tony Blair’s thinktank to scrap the pensions triple lock amid mounting pressure on government finances. With the Iran war threatening to derail public spending plans, the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) said the “unaffordable” manifesto pledge to maintain the triple lock should be torn up as part of a wider overhaul of the state pension. Continue reading...

DefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics30 Apr 2026

Why Bank kept interest rates on hold despite message for UK to brace itself for Trumpflation

The reasons are hardly comforting, pointing to the weakness of a battered economy in the face of this latest crisis Business live – latest updates Bank warns ‘higher inflation unavoidable’ after leaving interest rates on hold The message to the UK’s crisis-weary households from the Bank of England is: brace yourself for Trumpflation – and the higher interest rates it may yet take to rein it in. Reading the Bank’s quarterly monetary policy report, it is not difficult to understand the fury Rac

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics30 Apr 2026

Local election campaigning enters final week as forecaster warns Labour could lose 1,850 English seats –UK politics live

Robert Hayward predicts Reform will be big winner, taking seats from both Labour and the Conservatives Good morning. We are now into the final week of campaigning for the Scottish parliament, Welsh Senedd and English local elections. Keir Starmer had been planning a big speech today, but he, and other political leaders, are today focusing on their response to the Golders Green stabbing and the antisemitism threat facing Britain’s Jewish community – described as a “national security emergency” by

PoliticsDefenceEnvironment
The Guardian Politics29 Apr 2026

Rachel Reeves’s plan to mandate how pension funds invest was always a mistake | Nils Pratley

You can understand the motivation – more UK investment by UK funds means faster UK growth – but fiduciary duty trumps all A simple principle lies at the heart of pension investment: the pension manager must invest in the best interest of the client. UK ministers have often wished UK funds would show more home bias by channelling more pensioners’ cash towards domestic assets in the interests of economic growth, but the fundamental rule of the game has always been understood. You don’t mess with t

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics29 Apr 2026

How King Charles’s speech was written – and how to read it

King’s carefully crafted address to US Congress was the result of close liaison with aides, No 10 and Foreign Office Donald Trump called it “fantastic”, Democrats cheered references to Magna Carta, while the joint session of the US Congress came together in giving it a standing ovation. King Charles’s address to US lawmakers, while non-political, did not shy from politics. And, though the president did not take offence – “He made a great speech, I was very jealous” – its pointed mentions of subj

PoliticsDefence