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The Guardian Politics2 Jun 2026

Labour not looking to raise taxes to fund benefits, minister says after WhatsApp messages revealed

Nick Thomas-Symonds says messages between Pat McFadden and Peter Mandelson are ‘embarrassing’ UK politics live – latest updates Labour MPs are not looking to raise taxes to fund more benefits, the cabinet minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has said. In messages between the work and pensions secretary, Pat McFadden, and Peter Mandelson released on Monday, McFadden wrote: “Every meeting I have is: ‘Who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others?’ They’re asking the wrong questions.” Continue read

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics2 Jun 2026

UK government has failed Palestinian people, says senior Labour MP

Emily Thornberry criticises Israel’s ‘staggering’ sense of impunity and rebukes Donald Trump for abandoning Gaza The UK government has let the Palestinian people down and failed to make it economically impossible for Israel to continue to act with impunity in the West Bank and Gaza, the Labour chair of the foreign affairs select committee, Emily Thornberry, has said. She accused her own government of lacking ambition and wringing its hands on the Palestinian crisis, and she also chastised Donald

Economy
The Guardian Politics2 Jun 2026

Tories accuse Starmer of not revealing all his Mandelson messages – UK politics live

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart says it ‘beggars belief’ there were not more exchanges between Mandelson and the PM Good morning. Keir Starmer is chairing cabinet today as Labour MPs mull over the coverage of the Peter Mandelson files. In terms of revelations relating to Mandelson himself, the impact is probably not as bad as many MPs feared; Politico quotes one official as saying the mood last night was at the “top end” of expectations. Here is our main story about the data release

Politics
The Guardian Politics2 Jun 2026

British politics is fractured and chaotic – but at last it’s brimming with ideas for the future | Polly Toynbee

Finally, Labour is talking policy, thanks to the leadership contest and Tony Blair’s intervention – and the centre-right is making a much-needed fightback too “Wouldn’t it be great if Tony Blair kept his mouth shut about the Labour party?” Readers may have cheered that Guardian letter-writer’s response to yet another infuriating assault by Blair from the outer-stratosphere of nowhere. Isn’t Labour in enough trouble with a life-or-death byelection against the forces of darkness without incoming f

Politics
The Guardian Politics2 Jun 2026

Despite what the UK right will tell you, appeasing bond markets has actually led to instability | Andy Beckett

Austerity has benefitted bond traders but impoverished British society and led to the rise of populism. Is it right that we carry on adhering to their interests? Should politics always be dominated by economics? Should questions about how governments and voters pay for things – whether by earnings, taxes or borrowing – be settled before we consider the wider consequences? In an anxious capitalist democracy such as Britain, with a modern history of patchy economic success and intermittent but rec

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics1 Jun 2026

Reform UK support could plateau as it relies on socially conservative views, study finds

Party could struggle to push ratings as strategy increasingly focuses on views held by minority of voters, research finds Reform UK is becoming increasingly reliant on socially conservative views for political support, and therefore could struggle to push its poll ratings much higher, a large-scale research project led by the leading psephologist John Curtice has found. A study of Nigel Farage’s party carried out as part of the British Social Attitudes report found that while Reform supporters w

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics1 Jun 2026

New Mandelson files: how embarrassing are they? – podcast

More than 1,000 pages of emails and WhatsApp messages have been released relating to Peter Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s ambassador to the US. The documents show Mandelson’s criticism of Keir Starmer, and his desperation to become the Oxford University chancellor – but the controversial vetting file from when he was appointed ambassador is missing. Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey explain what these files show us Continue reading...

Education
The Guardian Politics1 Jun 2026

Mandelson received sensitive Foreign Office briefings before vetting finished

Revelations appear in second tranche of released files about Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador Peter Mandelson was receiving sensitive security briefings about the Foreign Office’s work, and was in discussions with the head of MI6, before he had completed the developed vetting process, newly released documents reveal. Declassified emails show the ambassador designate and Richard Moore, the former chief of MI6 – a role known as “C” – had agreed to meet in early January 2025 before Mandelso

The Guardian Politics1 Jun 2026

Mandelson lobbied hard for advisory firm after Labour victory, papers show

Emails and WhatsApp messages reveal string of exchanges with ministers when he was president of Global Counsel Peter Mandelson, as president of his then advisory firm Global Counsel, lobbied hard for ministers to attend his events and to meet his firm’s staff in the months following Labour’s general election win, newly released documents reveal. Emails and WhatsApp exchanges show how active the Labour peer was in the wake of the election to work his contacts within government to the potential ad

Politics
The Guardian Politics1 Jun 2026

Mandelson files reveal Labour party is riddled with doubts and infighting

Documents were published to reveal what ministers knew about his links to Epstein, but instead exposed government rifts Peter Mandelson wrote to David Lammy on 18 November 2024, making a simple promise to the foreign secretary. “If you were minded to appoint me [as ambassador to Washington],” he said, “I would make sure you never regret it.” Continue reading...

The Guardian Politics1 Jun 2026

Mandelson files reveal a man for whom betrayal is a way of life | John Crace

The Prince of Darkness appears in his element bad-mouthing colleagues and allies behind their back Peter Mandelson *** Red Dispatch Box *** Please contact *** and ask her to talk to *** about *** . It is ridiculous that *** cannot do *** in time for the *** . In the meantime, please also get *** to vote for me as Oxford Chancellor. It’s the least I deserve. My bank account details are *** . Feel free to send to ***. Probably best to discreetly delete all correspondence on these matters. This mes

The Guardian Politics1 Jun 2026

What documents are missing from the new release of Mandelson files?

From vetting summary to declaration of interest, here are the five key papers withheld from latest disclosures UK politics live – latest updates More than 1,500 pages of documents were published by the government on Monday afternoon about Peter Mandelson’s appointment as the ambassador in Washington. Despite claims this was “an unprecedented piece of government transparency”, there are still a number of significant missing documents. Some of the documents have been withheld by the government a

Politics