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The Guardian Politics29 Jul 2026

Andy Burnham’s plans for technical education build on coalition’s UTC roots

PM’s vocational model also takes inspiration from former education secretary Kenneth Baker’s vision Andy Burnham’s plans to put academic and technical education routes on an equal footing in England have been welcomed by many, but none were more enthusiastic than the former Conservative minister Kenneth Baker. “I’m very impressed with what he has said,” the 91-year-old former education secretary, home secretary and Conservative party chair told the Guardian. “It’s a very significant announcement

Education
The Guardian Politics29 Jul 2026

Zack Polanski will not say sorry to Farage for sharing ‘dangerous’ image

Green party leader says it was ‘a mistake’ and if Farage wants to apologise for times he’s put people in danger he’ll be happy to say sorry The Green party leader, Zack Polanski, has said he made an “inadvertent mistake” over a social media image but will not apologise to Nigel Farage. The image, which Polanski said he “shared inadvertently” on Instagram and then removed, featured a man wearing a black T-shirt with the message “We’re only making plans for Nigel” and an image of a guillotine. C

EnvironmentReform
The Guardian Politics29 Jul 2026

Suddenly the British right feels a political chill. It’s getting cold in Andy Burnham’s shadow | Rafael Behr

The Tories and Reform had it easy when Keir Starmer was self-destructing – but a new PM with ideas exposes how vacant the opposition has become Andy Burnham’s recollections of Britain in the 1970s must be pretty hazy. He was nine when the decade ended. Kemi Badenoch, born in 1980, can remember nothing. Lacking first-hand experience, the Conservative leader evokes the turmoil of a bygone era with cautionary zeal borrowed from an older generation. In a speech last week, she accused the new prime m

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics29 Jul 2026

AI tool will lead to more child refugees being treated as adults, charity warns

‘Racist bias’ overestimating ages in Home Office’s facial-recognition software will lead to solo children being housed with adults, says Human Rights Network Flawed and racialised models that underpin the AI-powered age-detection systems to be introduced by the British government will endanger children, rights groups and children’s charities have warned. Urging ministers to reverse plans to introduce facial age-estimation technology to screen migrants, critics have warned that black children arr

ImmigrationDefence
The Guardian Politics29 Jul 2026

‘Farage’s got to come clean or clear off’: what voters on Clacton beach think about their MP – and the country

Nigel Farage’s constituency takes in genteel resorts and one of England’s poorest villages. With a snap byelection approaching, what do the residents want from the Reform UK leader – or the bin who’s challenging him? ‘If it’s the Tin Man, then I suppose I’ll vote for Nigel,” says a Clacton resident, a retiree on a slow stroll towards the seafront, when I ask whom she will vote for in the forthcoming byelection. “I would sooner have Farage than the Tin Man!” As political slogans go, it is as good

PoliticsDefenceReform
The Guardian Politics28 Jul 2026

UK faces ‘very difficult trade-offs’ in budget because of Iran war, say analysts

Leading thinktank says higher oil prices and inflation will give Andy Burnham a ‘challenging inheritance’ Andy Burnham has been warned by a leading thinktank of “very difficult trade-offs in the next autumn budget” if the Iran war keeps oil prices and inflation high. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said the new prime minister faced a “challenging inheritance” and his plans to revamp public services would meet severe pressure from persistently higher prices. Contin

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics28 Jul 2026

Burnham to seek cross-party consensus over urgent reforms to social care

Prime minister invites Badenoch and Davey – but not Farage – to discuss how to fix decades-old funding crisis Andy Burnham has promised “problem-solving, not point-scoring” before a speech on social care in which he will set out his strategy for resolving one of the most intractable issues in British politics. The prime minister has invited Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, and Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, to discuss how to enact urgent reform on social care, as he attempts to fi

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics28 Jul 2026

Burnham bounce: Labour overtakes Reform in polls – The Latest

Labour has overtaken Reform UK this week for the first time since March last year, according to polls. The ‘Burnham bounce’ comes two weeks into Andy Burnham’s tenure in No 10, during which he has made major announcements on the cost of living and localised education to reduce youth unemployment, and an announcement on social care is expected soon. Is this a turning point for the beleaguered Labour government – or simply a honeymoon for the new PM? Lucy Hough speaks to senior political correspon

PoliticsEconomyEducationReform
The Guardian Politics28 Jul 2026

Young people ‘expected’ to engage with new work support, says McFadden

Exclusive: Work and pensions secretary echoes Andy Burnham as he unveils funds to stop families in England losing benefits UK politics live – latest updates Young people will be expected to engage with new support to seek work, Pat McFadden has said, as he unveiled new funds to stop families losing benefits when teenagers take up apprenticeships. Speaking to the Guardian, the work and pensions secretary echoed the comments of Andy Burnham when he suggested that access to support would be condi

PoliticsReformHousing
The Guardian Politics28 Jul 2026

Captain Chris ‘Hunter-Killer’ Philp takes on French navy single-handed

Shots fired in the Channel are all in a day’s work for the intrepid shadow home secretary C’est magnifique, mais ce n’est pas la guerre. Captain Chris ‘Hunter-Killer’ Philp had been on patrol since first light in the English Channel. While the rest of the country was still asleep, the Philpster was scanning the horizon for rubber dinghies full of illegal immigrants. Something he had never done in his previous life as immigration minister. Back then he had sought to rehouse new arrivals in hotels

ImmigrationDefence
The Guardian Politics28 Jul 2026

Led By Donkeys wins compensation over seizure of Gaza protest banner

Waste firm Veolia pays £27k after ‘Yes it’s a Genocide’ banner taken by Greater London Authority was destroyed The campaign group Led By Donkeys has received £27,000 in compensation after a giant banner it displayed in Parliament Square saying “Yes it’s a Genocide” was seized by Greater London Authority officials and destroyed. Representatives of the GLA arrived on the scene in central London and confiscated the 40-metre by 40-metre banner after it was unfurled on 4 December 2024, just over a ye

Politics
The Guardian Politics28 Jul 2026

Home Office used ‘AI hallucinated’ information to refuse asylum claim, judge suggests

Upper tribunal unable to find document cited in case and claims it is ‘analogous to relying on bogus evidence’ A senior judge has accused the Home Office of relying on “AI hallucinated” information to refuse an asylum claim. The case relates to a Moroccan woman and her child who fled her country after experiencing forced underage marriage and extreme violence, including rape. The woman claimed asylum on the basis of fears that she would be killed by her husband: a powerful, previously convicted

Immigration