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The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

Revealed: Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision

Guardian investigation uncovers decision by UK security officials to deny clearance before Mandelson took up role as US ambassador Officials debate withholding Mandelson vetting documents from parliament Five key questions: Who overruled the decision to deny Mandelson security clearance? Peter Mandelson failed his security vetting clearance but the decision was overruled by the Foreign Office to ensure he could take up his post as ambassador to the US, an investigation by the Guardian can rev

Politics
The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

SNP pledges to cap bread and milk prices if it wins Scotland’s parliamentary elections

John Swinney unveils his party’s manifesto, saying cost of living is the ‘defining issue’ for voters on 7 May The SNP will cap supermarket prices for essential goods like bread and milk if it retains power, John Swinney has pledged, after describing the cost of living as “the defining issue of this election”. With polls pointing to a fifth Holyrood term for the Scottish National party, its leader said he would use devolved public health powers to fix prices on 20 to 50 items such as bread, milk,

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

Blue Labour gets bluer with MP’s noble quest for a summer of sex | John Crace

Samantha Niblett says her campaign is about ‘taking control of our Britishness’ – bring on the union jack dildos We could almost be back in the San Francisco of the 1960s. Tune in, turn on, drop out. Make love not war. A hippy counterculture that turned its back on the American involvement in Vietnam. One determined to shape a new world order. Fast forward to today and we have one MP who is hellbent on making 2026 the summer of sex. One who wants to focus politicians’ attention on the joys of th

Defence
The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

News of BBC jobs cuts ‘real concern‘, says UK’s culture secretary

Lisa Nandy says BBC staff have been strongly affected and have expressed frustration that high-paid presenters and executives are unlikely to be affected The BBC’s sudden announcement of 2,000 job cuts has had a “very strong effect” on staff, the UK’s culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has said, as employees express frustration that highly paid presenters and senior staff will not be the prime targets of the cuts. Nandy, who has been having conversations with BBC staff during discussions about the b

The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

Covid jab injury payments must be urgently reformed, says inquiry chair

Heather Hallett hails vaccine scheme but criticises rule that only those meeting 60% disabled threshold can get payouts The Covid-19 vaccine programme in the UK was an “extraordinary feat” but the payment scheme for people injured by the jabs must be urgently reformed, the public inquiry on the pandemic has found. In her report, the inquiry chair, Heather Hallett, praised the fact the UK was a world leader in biomedical sciences, which set it in good stead for developing and rolling out vaccines

The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

Starmer tells social media firms in No 10 meeting ‘things can’t go on like this’

PM summons senior figures from Meta, TikTok, Google and X and says social media is ‘putting our children at risk’ Keir Starmer has told social media bosses “things can’t go on like this” in a Downing Street meeting over internet safety. The prime minister summoned senior figures at Meta, TikTok, Google and X to No 10 on Thursday morning as his government considers imposing new restrictions on platforms, including an Australia-style ban for under-16s. Meta owns Facebook and Instagram, and Google

Politics
The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

Contingency plans in place for possible food shortages if Iran war continues, minister confirms – UK politics live

Peter Kyle did not dispute Times’ report that under a ‘reasonable worst-case scenario’ supermarkets might start running out of some items The SNP is to bring in a national ban on smartphones in classes if it wins May’s Holyrood election, John Swinney has pledged. As the Press Association reports, the first minister and SNP leader insisted the devices were “a distraction from learning” pledging legislation after the election to ban them across Scotland. PA says: Currently head teachers have the p

PoliticsDefenceEducationHousing
The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

AI is destroying jobs – and the energy crisis could make that much worse | Larry Elliott

Every wave of new tech has come with a doomsday scenario. But governments just aren’t planning a human response on the scale required The transition to a world of artificial intelligence has given a whole new meaning to the concept that capitalism can only renew itself through creative destruction. This is the idea that clapped-out technologies have to be replaced by new ways of doing things, even though the process can be brutal. That has been the way of things for every new wave of inventions

The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

CEO of bitcoin firm championed by Nigel Farage leaves company

Resignation announced of Jai Patel, whose liquidated crypto firm was relaunched as Stack BTC this year The chief executive of a bitcoin company promoted by Nigel Farage has left his role as the venture attempts to convince investors that it is going to deliver “long-term value” for shareholders. Stack BTC was launched to much fanfare in March this year, with Farage and former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng becoming some of its first shareholders. The company says its founder is Paul Withers, a friend

DefenceReform
The Guardian Politics16 Apr 2026

Is Keir Starmer ‘complacent’ on defence? – podcast

Keir Starmer has hit back at Labour peer George Robertson’s criticisms about defence funding. Why has the government been slow to prioritise defence and what trade-offs is Keir Starmer willing to make in order to increase spending? Guardian Live: Can Labour come back from the brink? With a difficult set of May elections approaching, Labour under threat from the Green party and Reform UK, and Keir Starmer’s popularity in freefall, can he survive as leader of the Labour party? The Guardian’s Gaby

PoliticsDefenceEnvironmentReform
The Guardian Politics15 Apr 2026

English councils need to hire 1,400 more educational psychologists, says report

Rising demand from children with special needs means the £140m required could come from government grants Councils in England need to hire 1,400 more educational psychologists at a cost of £140m to meet demand from children with special needs such as autism, according to a new report. Research by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) found huge regional variations and chronic shortages in qualified educational psychologists working with schools, and concluded that a 40% increase in the workforce

Education
The Guardian Politics15 Apr 2026

Reeves gives more energy bill support to businesses as Iran war pushes up costs

Scheme cutting bills by up to 25% expanded to cover 10,000 firms, but they will not be paid until next year Rachel Reeves has announced an expansion of support for the most energy-intensive UK businesses, as they face soaring bills as a result of the Middle East conflict. The chancellor said the long-promised British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) would be expanded to cover 10,000 companies, up from the 7,000 originally announced. Continue reading...

Defence