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The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

Foreign Office’s top civil servant Olly Robbins leaves post in Mandelson vetting row

Robbins had been in job three weeks when Foreign Office overruled security officials, paving way for Mandelson to become US ambassador Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision Sir Olly Robbins, the UK Foreign Office’s top civil servant, is leaving his post after the decision to fail Peter Mandelson during his security vetting was overruled by his department. Robbins was the Foreign Office’s most senior official in late January 2025 when the decision was made, paving the w

The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

Reeves looking to break link between gas cost and electricity prices

Chancellor wants to reduce impact of gas on market prices, as it almost always sets price of electricity in UK The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has said she and Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, are looking at ways to break the link between the cost of electricity and gas prices. Gas almost always sets the price of electricity under the marginal cost pricing model the UK uses. Continue reading...

The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

Rachel Reeves warns other budgets may be cut to lift defence spending

Chancellor says she is ‘working through a range of options’ to boost the armed forces but does not want to put up taxes UK politics live – latest updates Rachel Reeves has warned “difficult choices” are required to increase defence spending and other budgets may have to be cut, including welfare. Under pressure for a faster rise in military spending amid the Iran conflict and Russia’s war in Ukraine, the chancellor said she was “working through a range of options” but preferred not to increase

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

Badenoch calls Farage an ‘opportunist’ after he urges Scottish nationalists to back Reform

Leader of Tories criticises Farage after he says holding another independence vote ‘probably quite reasonable’ Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative party, has accused Nigel Farage of being an opportunist who does not believe in unionism after he urged Scottish nationalists to back Reform. Farage said earlier this week he believed in “genuine nationalists” who do not support the Scottish National party’s bid to rejoin the EU, and urged them to vote Reform in the Holyrood election on 7 Ma

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

Labour and Lib Dem MPs demand ‘shameful’ Palantir NHS contract be scrapped

The spytech company and founder Peter Thiel should ‘have their hands ripped off our NHS’, say MPs during impassioned Westminster debate MPs have queued up to demand the government scraps its £330m NHS contract with the spytech company Palantir, calling it “dreadful” and “shameful” in a debate on Thursday, after which the government said it was “no fan” of the US company’s politics. Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs led the calls for Palantir, which also works for Donald Trump’s ICE immigration cra

PoliticsImmigrationHealthcare
The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

Orbán’s defeat threatens to halt Hungarian support of populist right

Individuals such as Matt Goodwin and Lord Frost benefited from largesse of self-styled ‘illiberal democracy’ UK politics live – latest updates The last 16 years of Viktor Orbán’s rule have been kind to a number of British political figures – from the Tory peer David Frost to Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin and James Orr. All benefited from largesse extended by the self-styled “illiberal democracy” established by the Hungarian leader’s ruling Fidesz party, which took a particular liking for those on t

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

It will take more than £600m a year to boost UK industrial competitiveness | Nils Pratley

Bics fix accepts nose-bleed energy bills are a structural problem but pretends they are an issue for a narrow section of industry It is “bold action” to boost UK competitiveness, claimed the government. Not everybody shared that assessment of the British industrial competitiveness scheme (Bics), the long-awaited plan to cut electricity bills for UK manufacturers by up to 25% – or, at least, to cut them for a subset of firms that are aligned with the eight chosen sectors of the “modern” industria

The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

London primary schools see 3.5% drop in children entering reception

Capital’s schools hardest hit in England and Wales by rising housing costs and falling birthrate, with further falls predicted in coming years Schools in London continue to be hardest hit by housing costs and the falling birthrate. Further closures and mergers of primary schools are expected after a sharp fall in the number of children entering reception classes in the capital. London’s boroughs will have nearly 3,000 fewer infants aged four enrolling at the start of the next school year in Sept

EducationHousing
The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

NHS patients should be able to write up their own medical records – and not have to rely on Post-it notes | Will Parman

The lack of a unified digital repository for patients and healthcare workers means that key medical changes are often missed. But the NHS can learn from US intelligence sharing Will Parman is the winner of the The Guardian Foundation’s 2026 Emerging Voices award (19-25 age category), recognising young talent in political opinion writing As she battles cancer, my mum fears that she will forget to tell her consultant something important. Like many people with complex and chronic health needs, sh

PoliticsDefenceHealthcare
The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

What are the UK government’s plans to regulate social media for under-16s?

As Starmer tells tech bosses to take urgent action to make their sites safer, ministers are weighing up what they can do Starmer tells social media firms: ‘Things can’t go on like this’ Keir Starmer has told social media firms that “things can’t go on like this” in a meeting with tech bosses in Downing Street as pressure mounts for tougher restrictions on the industry. Ministers are considering imposing an under-16 age restriction on social media as well as other options to limit app use. Con

Politics
The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

Five key questions: Who overruled the decision to deny Mandelson security clearance?

Ministers and civil servants face scrutiny after revelation Foreign Office overruled vetting procedure for US ambassador appointment Revealed: Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision Officials debate withholding Mandelson vetting documents from parliament The revelation that Peter Mandelson failed his security vetting clearance, only for the decision to be overruled by the Foreign Office so he could take up his post as ambassador to the US, raises a number of questions.

Politics
The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

Officials debate withholding Mandelson vetting documents from parliament

Exclusive: Opinions split on ‘unprecedented’ release of files, despite demand for ‘all papers’ related to ex-US ambassador’s appointment Senior government officials have been considering whether to withhold from parliament sensitive documents that show Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting before he assumed the role of US ambassador, the Guardian can reveal. Any such decision could amount to an extraordinary breach of a parliamentary vote which ordered the release of “all papers” relevant

Politics