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The Guardian Politics20 Jul 2026

Why has Britain’s oldest political magazine become such a rabid cheerleader for Islamophobia? | Nesrine Malik

A report on the Spectator’s coverage of Muslims makes for grim reading. Conservatism is now focused on this minority to the exclusion of everything else I start this column already resigned to the tune out, to the glaze over, the click away. This is not to say that I do not have faith in you, dear reader, to keep reading and caring. But I am aware, and this is central to the problem, that it is now normal, when it comes to a certain minority in this country, to speak of them as if they were some

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The Guardian Politics20 Jul 2026

Andy Burnham says he will go ‘faster’ than Starmer. Why is that so hard?

Is the machinery of state jammed, or is the reason for the slow pace of change more personal than institutional? Eighteen months into the 24 it turned out he would last in No 10, Keir Starmer was a man in a hurry. The biggest frustration with the job, he told MPs, concerned “speed and the ability to get things done”. The underlying problem, he thought, was that every time something had gone wrong in the past, “successive governments have put in place another procedure or another body or another

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The Guardian Politics20 Jul 2026

Retired UK civil servants failed by pension outsourcing, government says

Chaos of Capita-run scheme has left some people waiting up to a year for payments and in financial hardship Retired civil servants have been failed by the decision to outsource their pension scheme, the government has admitted, and the maladministration meant some were left waiting up to a year for payments. Multiple members of the civil service pension scheme, run by the private company Capita since December, have come forward to say they are unable to afford rent and have been forced to use fo

DefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics19 Jul 2026

Burnham’s vow to end Labour briefing wars will test his grip on the party

Tensions between his aims are already there, including disputes over key appointments such as chancellor Andy Burnham’s vision for cleaning up Westminster politics is a utopian one: ending the dominance of the whipping system, Whitehall power hoarding and the “insidious briefing culture” of the bubble. In his first speech on becoming Labour leader, he warned his party it “won’t beat Britain’s new right if we are consumed by infighting and pulling in different directions”. Continue reading...

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The Guardian Politics19 Jul 2026

Ella Baron on the revolving door of Downing Street – cartoon

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The Guardian Politics19 Jul 2026

Burnham to warn UK must be honest about its challenges as he prepares to become PM

Labour leader will visit king to accept role on Monday and will start making cabinet appointments that afternoon Andy Burnham will warn that Britain must be honest about the challenges it faces as he becomes its sixth prime minister in a decade and prepares to appoint his first cabinet. The Labour leader is set to start making appointments in the afternoon on Monday after going to Buckingham Palace to accept the role of prime minister from the king. Continue reading...

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The Guardian Politics19 Jul 2026

Fossil fuels, utilities and housing: what we know about Andy Burnham’s plans

Incoming prime minister has set out distinctly leftwing vision while also promising to be pro-business As an incoming prime minister promising huge change, one of the strongest criticisms Andy Burnham has faced so far is that he has failed to provide the details of what he plans to do. The new Labour leader, who will be made prime minister on Monday, has thus far set out a distinctly leftwing vision, while also pledging to be “pro-business”. Continue reading...

Housing
The Guardian Politics19 Jul 2026

As Andy Burnham enters No 10, what of his ‘bezzie mate’ Steve Rotheram?

A longstanding bromance means the Liverpool regional major very much has the ear of the soon-to-be PM When a new prime minister enters Downing Street, observers usually look to those around the cabinet table to see where influence lies. With Andy Burnham, they should look 200 miles north – not to Manchester, but Liverpool. Steve Rotheram, the mayor of Liverpool city region, may not have a formal role in government but he has a strong claim to having the closest personal bond to the incoming prim

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The Guardian Politics19 Jul 2026

From leftwing voters to unions: can Burnham win back Labour bases lost by Starmer? – visualised

As Andy Burnham enters No 10, Guardian data analysis reveals the fissures with Labour’s traditional supporters, and the traps the new PM will want to avoid Keir Starmer entered 10 Downing St on a wave of optimism after a landslide victory in the 2024 general election. His Labour party had overturned a defeat in 2019 in which the party crashed to its worst result since 1935. Labour won 412 seats, just a few shy of the 418 won by Tony Blair in 1997, a result that gave Labour a leader in office for

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The Guardian Politics19 Jul 2026

Nigel Farage admits George Cottrell paid for filming and let him use his home

Reform leader says support from fraudster before last election is ‘totally undeclarable in every single way’ Nigel Farage has admitted his close friend the fraudster George Cottrell let him use one of his London homes and paid for social media filming before the last election but insisted it was “totally undeclarable in every single way”. The Reform UK leader spoke in depth for the first time about his support from Cottrell and the £5m gift from the Thailand-based businessman Christopher Harborn

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The Guardian Politics19 Jul 2026

The Andy Burnham I’ve met over the past 20 years gives me hope for British politics | John Harris

You hear the word ‘empathy’ a lot when people talk about our next prime minister. I can see why My contribution to this summer’s modest avalanche of Andy Burnham stories extends to only two. One is about Glastonbury, and the time that he and his wife, Marie-France, came for a three-day stay at the festival, which included his appearance on the Left Field stage, organised by the songwriter and activist Billy Bragg. I help with the bookings and chair some of the debate sessions: Burnham’s was titl

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The Guardian Politics19 Jul 2026

Here be dragons: does moving power to the north work?

Andy Burnham’s recent promise to create a ‘No 10 North’ echoes BBC’s successful Out of London plan When the BBC first announced its intention to move a significant chunk of its operation to Salford in Greater Manchester – the “Out of London” plan, as the then director general Mark Thompson called it in 2004, with a faint “here be dragons” whiff – there were plenty in the organisation who were scornful that it could ever work. Senior staff would never leave the capital. Star talent wouldn’t dream

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