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The Guardian Politics20 Apr 2026

England left with ‘toilet deserts’ as public facilities decline by 14% in a decade

Report says lack of provision is harmful to health and damaging for high streets The number of public toilets in England has fallen by 14% in a decade, harming public health and creating vast swathes of lavatory “deserts” and unpleasant environments, a report says. The analysis by the Royal Society for Public Health found a “significant shortfall” in provision, with 15,481 people for each public toilet in England. That contrasts sharply with Scotland, where there are 8,500 people for each toilet

Environment
The Guardian Politics20 Apr 2026

Ed Miliband to double down on net zero with measures to combat Iran energy shock

As fossil fuel prices soar ‘the era of clean energy security must come of age’, energy secretary will say Ed Miliband will double down on Labour’s commitment to net zero in the face of the Middle East conflict this week, insisting that as fossil fuel prices soar “the era of clean energy security must come of age”. The energy secretary is set to announce a package of new policies in a speech on Tuesday in response to an expected energy crisis prompted by Donald Trump’s war with Iran. Continue re

DefenceEnvironment
The Guardian Politics19 Apr 2026

Starmer will not be swayed by Trump’s ‘small and petty’ insults, says Lammy

Exclusive: deputy PM says UK will not join Iran conflict despite Trump’s sometimes ‘incomprehensible’ social-media barbs Donald Trump’s insults towards Keir Starmer are “small and petty” and designed to put pressure on the prime minister to change his position on Iran, David Lammy has said, as he insisted the UK would not get dragged into the conflict. The deputy prime minister argued the US president should be able to “disagree agreeably” with allies rather than publishing attacks on social med

Defence
The Guardian Politics19 Apr 2026

Starmer faces Commons showdown over Mandelson vetting scandal

Senior government figures fear decision to appoint former ambassador to US could cost PM his leadership Keir Starmer will deliver a high-stakes statement to MPs on Monday as he struggles to overcome fears inside his government that the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal could yet cost him his leadership. In what is set to be a dramatic showdown, the prime minister will set out how Mandelson was able to take up his role as UK ambassador without the Foreign Office revealing it had overruled the deci

Politics
The Guardian Politics19 Apr 2026

Starmer is facing his judgment day over Mandelson missteps

Ahead of a showdown with MPs, prime minister looks like a man who is not really in control Keir Starmer has spent much of the last 24 hours working on a plan for what senior government figures are already describing as his “judgment day”: his showdown with MPs on Monday over the latest Peter Mandelson revelations. That the prime minister was apparently not told of Mandelson’s vetting failure has provoked incredulity across Westminster and accusations he sacked a senior civil servant to save his

PoliticsHousing
The Guardian Politics19 Apr 2026

Ministers urged to share Mandelson vetting files with intelligence committee

Whitehall officials are weighing up ‘unprecedented’ disclosure of documents in security clearance scandal Starmer did not gamble with national security over Mandelson, says minister Ministers are under growing pressure to share the documents from Peter Mandelson’s vetting process with the parliamentary committee tasked with deciding if they should be made public. In February, MPs passed a binding parliamentary motion, known as a humble address, requiring the government to publish “all papers”

Politics
The Guardian Politics19 Apr 2026

Ella Baron on Keir Starmer and the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal – cartoon

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The Guardian Politics19 Apr 2026

Starmer did not gamble with national security over Mandelson, says minister

Liz Kendall tries to limit fallout from vetting scandal as PM prepares for Commons showdown Keir Starmer did not gamble with national security by appointing Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to Washington, a cabinet minister has said, as the government tried to limit fallout from the scandal. With the prime minister preparing for a high-stakes Commons showdown on Monday, Liz Kendall said he should not lose his job over last week’s revelations because he had “made the right calls” on the big

Politics
The Guardian Politics19 Apr 2026

Labour’s ‘crab-wise’ approach to closer EU ties must address damage of Brexit | Heather Stewart

The damage to the economy dwarfs the upsides from the various non-EU trade deals the UK has struck since 2016 Rachel Reeves joined EU finance ministers for dinner in Washington last week, on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund spring meetings: the first time a chancellor had done so since Brexit. It was the latest symbolic step in Labour’s marked shift towards prioritising closer EU relations. Continue reading...

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics19 Apr 2026

How Reform is exposing the reality of Scotland’s views on immigration and identity

Once a progressive outlier, Scotland is facing a political reckoning as Reform benefits from growing social division It’s Monday evening in Aberdeen, and George Preston is wearing his union flag suit to the Reform UK rally. He joined the party in 2024 as it gained ground in the north-east of Scotland with its first councillor defections from the Scottish Conservatives. Now Preston is out leafleting for the party that polls suggest is vying with Scottish Labour to become the official opposition t

PoliticsImmigrationReform
The Guardian Politics19 Apr 2026

Ministers rally around Keir Starmer as leadership questions grow over Mandelson saga – UK politics live

The prime minister’s leadership is still in the spotlight after Mandelson was appointed US ambassador after he failed security vetting Liz Kendall has repeated David Lammy’s claim the prime minister would have stopped Peter Mandelson’s appointment if he had known the peer had failed security vetting. Speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News on Sunday, the science and technology said Sir Keir Starmer was a “man of integrity”. Continue reading...

Politics
The Guardian Politics19 Apr 2026

MoD has lost track of veterans on recall list, says defence adviser

Exclusive: George Robertson calls on officials to identify the ‘fit and willing’ in UK’s 95,000-strong strategic reserve The Ministry of Defence has lost track of military veterans they intend to recall at a time of national danger, according to a key government adviser. About 95,000 former soldiers and officers are in the strategic reserve but it is claimed that officials have failed to maintain a full record of their contact details. Continue reading...

Defence