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The Guardian Politics25 Feb 2026

British public want deeper economic ties with EU, business secretary says

Peter Kyle signs cooperation deal on competition and says there is little nostalgia for pre-Brexit past Europe live – latest updates The British public are “not nostalgic” for the pre-Brexit past but are pragmatic and want to move forward and “deepen” ties with the EU on trade and the economy, the business secretary, Peter Kyle, has said. Signing an agreement in Brussels to cooperate closely on competition issues, Kyle said he thought the deal was “a real vindication of the reset and the relat

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics25 Feb 2026

Treasury calls in Blair thinktank to advise on using AI across public services

Tech equity campaigners compare move to ‘inviting in foxes to consult on the future of the henhouse’ Ministers have called in Tony Blair’s thinktank and private tech companies to guide them on deploying AI across the UK government in a move campaigners compared to “inviting in foxes to consult on the future of the henhouse”. James Murray, chief secretary to the Treasury, chaired a meeting on Wednesday with the director of AI at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), the chair of IBM a

Economy
The Guardian Politics25 Feb 2026

UK ministers explore ways of easing burden of student loans

Government reviews options for university graduates on Plan 2 loans, such as increasing repayment thresholds Ministers are examining ways to ease the burden of student loans after weeks of pressure over a policy pulling more people into repayments, the Guardian understands. The Treasury and the Department for Education are reviewing different options to offer relief to graduates with Plan 2 student loans, often paying tens of thousands more than their original loan amount. Continue reading...

EconomyEducationHousing
The Guardian Politics25 Feb 2026

Confusion over Chagos Islands deal as Foreign Office denies handover ‘paused’

Minister ‘misspoke’ by telling MPs UK was ‘pausing for discussions with our American counterparts’, officials say UK politics live – latest updates Plans to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius are still on track, the UK government has insisted, after a minister caused confusion by telling MPs that the deal was “paused”. Hamish Falconer, a Foreign Office minister and former diplomat, was speaking on Wednesday as the deal came under increasing pressure from opposition parties in the UK and

Politics
The Guardian Politics25 Feb 2026

Foreign Office denies minister’s claim the Chagos Islands deal has been paused – UK politics live

Minister told MPs the deal had been been paused, but that was immediately denied by the Foreign Office The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published figures showing that local authorities in England dealt with 1.26m flytipping incidents in 2024/25 – 9% increase on the previous year. And there was an 11% increase in incidents involving a “tipper lorry load” amount of rubbish. There were 52,000 of these, up from 47,000 in 2023/24. Defra said these alone cost councils £19.3m.

PoliticsEnvironment
The Guardian Politics25 Feb 2026

Student loan crisis in England and Wales is a scam against graduates, MPs say

Labour backbenchers turn on Rachel Reeves as MP claims former students are stuck in a loans ‘Hotel California’ Angry backbench Labour MPs have attacked ministers over the student loans crisis, saying graduates are being “outrageously scammed”. During a Commons Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday, several Labour MPs joined calls for an urgent shake-up of the “unfair” system, with one describing it as “an absolute dog’s dinner” and another likening the terms to something that a “loan shark” would

PoliticsEducation
The Guardian Politics25 Feb 2026

Ed Davey accuses care home trustee of embezzlement amid watchdog inquiry

Lib Dem leader says crisis at William Blake House is ‘one of my worst nightmares’ after Guardian revealed inquiry into finances Ed Davey has accused a trustee of a learning disability care home of embezzlement and called for watchdogs to take over the charity to resolve a crisis he described as “one my worst nightmares”. The Liberal Democrat leader’s intervention at prime minister’s questions came hours after the Guardian revealed the Charity Commission had opened a serious inquiry into concerns

The Guardian Politics25 Feb 2026

Role of Scotland’s top law officer questioned after ‘bombshell’ over Peter Murrell charges

Lord advocate Dorothy Bain informed first minister of embezzlement charges against former SNP chief executive a year before they were made public Serious doubts have been raised about the dual role of Scotland’s top law officer after it emerged that the first minister was informed of criminal charges against Peter Murrell nearly a year before they were made public. The lord advocate, Dorothy Bain, who acts as Scotland’s chief prosecutor as well as the government’s principal legal adviser in cabi

Crime
The Guardian Politics25 Feb 2026

UK suspension of refugee family reunion scheme to be challenged in high court

Judge allows Safe Passage International to launch judicial review of halting of right to bring in children and partners The Home Office’s controversial decision to suspend the right of refugees to bring their children and partners to the UK is to face a legal challenge in the high court, the Guardian can disclose. Safe Passage International, a charity working with unaccompanied children and refugees, has been granted permission to launch a judicial review of the decision to halt refugee family r

ImmigrationCrime
The Guardian Politics25 Feb 2026

Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin will not face sanctions over byelection leaflet error

High court judge accepts material distributed without legally required imprint due to inadvertent printing mistake UK politics live – latest updates Matt Goodwin, Reform UK’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton byelection, will not face a sanction for leaflets that omitted the party’s imprint, after a high court judge accepted this was due to an inadvertent printing error. Reform admitted that it sent about 81,000 leaflets to the constituency’s voters from a “concerned neighbour”, which did not

PoliticsReformCrime
The Guardian Politics25 Feb 2026

The ‘golden age of America’? Trump delivers the State of the Union address – podcast

Donald Trump made history again on Tuesday evening, delivering the longest State of the Union address on record. But while the president declared the ‘golden age of America’, many Democrats boycotted the event, telling the country Republicans are ‘making your life harder’. The Guardian’s Jenna Amatulli talks to Rolling Stone’s Nikki McCann Ramírez about Trump’s claims, the Democrats’ rebuttal, and how the speech will land with a divided nation Continue reading...

The Guardian Politics25 Feb 2026

How is Reform’s charmless candidate still a contender in Gorton and Denton? Ask Labour | George Monbiot

This byelection should have been a stroll for Keir Starmer’s party. Instead, all hope of defeating Matt Goodwin now seems to lie with the Greens Every barb Labour has directed at the Greens can now be returned with interest. “It’s a wasted vote.” “Do you want to see Reform in power?” New polling ahead of the crucial Gorton and Denton byelection this week, while by no means decisive, puts the Greens first on 22%, followed by Reform UK (20%), then Labour (18%), with 31% undecided. But still Keir S

PoliticsEnvironmentReform