News

Original reporting and the latest political headlines from across the UK.

Our Articles

Mainstream Headlines

Filtering by:Tag: defence×Source: The Guardian Politics×Clear all

856 headlines found — Page 47 of 72

The Guardian Politics15 Apr 2026

Boosting military spending by slashing welfare is not the answer, senior Labour figures warn Reeves

MPs and peers say pitting defence and welfare against each other risks losing public support for increased spending on the military Senior Labour figures have warned that Rachel Reeves must find alternative ways to increase military spending rather than slashing welfare, saying it risks public support for investment in defence. Pressure has been mounting from Labour backbenchers for the Treasury to urgently agree the defence investment plan (Dip) after George Robertson, a former Nato secretary g

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics15 Apr 2026

Wales’s first minister calls on Keir Starmer to halt US-UK space defence project

Eluned Morgan says US under Donald Trump is ‘not partner it once was’ with Iran threats and ‘contempt’ towards UK Wales’s first minister has called on Keir Starmer to suspend a big joint defence project with the US, saying that under Donald Trump the country is “not the partner it once was”. In a statement on Wednesday, Labour’s Eluned Morgan cited the US president’s “contempt” towards the UK and his threat to “annihilate” Iran as reasons to halt the development of the Deep Space Advanced Radar

Defence
The Guardian Politics15 Apr 2026

Reeves steps up criticism of Trump’s Iran war, branding it a ‘mistake’

UK chancellor tells US audience she is ‘not convinced that this conflict has made the world a safer place’ Middle East crisis – live updates Business live – latest updates Rachel Reeves has stepped up her criticism of Donald Trump’s war on Iran, describing it as a “mistake” that has destabilised the global economy and damaged living standards around the world. In a marked fraying of the transatlantic relationship, the UK chancellor said Trump breaking off from diplomatic talks with Iran and l

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics15 Apr 2026

Government’s 1.5m housebuilding target in England is suffering subsidence | Nils Pratley

As the country’s biggest housebuilder cuts land buying and the Iran war pushes up costs, setting an ambitious figure appears even more foolish This is what the government didn’t want to hear when its target to build 1.5m new homes in England during this parliament already looked out of reach. The country’s biggest housebuilder is trimming its purchases of new land because the Iran war has created “a less certain backdrop”. Barratt Redrow’s “disciplined approach” isn’t a downing of tools, it shou

PoliticsDefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics15 Apr 2026

Reform or Plaid? Whichever way Welsh voters go, the country will be utterly transformed | Will Hayward

Each party has its own version of nationalism to offer voters in May’s Senedd election: closer ties to England or more independence for Wales It’s fair to say that the UK will change after the elections on 7 May. But few places will change as thoroughly as Wales. The polls suggest that after the vote our next Senedd will be led by either Plaid Cymru or Reform: this would make it the first time in 100 years that Welsh Labour is not the largest party in Cymru. However, Plaid and Reform’s visions f

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics15 Apr 2026

Starmer rejects accusation that Labour is ‘complacent’ on defence funding

PM responds to warnings by former Nato chief George Robertson, saying defence spending is increasing rapidly UK politics live – latest updates Keir Starmer has said he does not agree with George Robertson’s comments about the government’s “corrosive complacency” on defence funding, as the prime minister faced sustained pressure on the issue. Questioned in the Commons about the warnings by Robertson, the former Labour defence secretary and Nato chief who co-authored a defence review for the gov

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics15 Apr 2026

Scottish Labour leader calls claim he tried to do Reform deal a ‘desperate lie’

Anas Sarwar says there have been ‘no stitch-ups, no deals, no backroom chats, no back-channel contact with Reform’ UK politics live – latest updates Anas Sarwar has dismissed as “a desperate lie from a desperate man” a claim by Reform UK’s Scotland leader, Malcolm Offord, that he offered to do a deal with the hard-right party to keep the Scottish National party out of power. Offord made the claim on Channel 4’s Scottish leaders’ debate on Tuesday evening, alleging the Scottish Labour leader ca

PoliticsDefenceReform
The Guardian Politics15 Apr 2026

UK’s largest housebuilder to buy less land, in blow to Labour’s homes target

Barratt Redrow blames effects of Iran war, and likely impact on mortgage rates and costs, for further reduction Business live – latest updates Britain’s largest housebuilder is planning to dramatically cut back on buying new land, blaming the impact of the conflict in the Middle East and putting Labour’s ambitious housebuilding target under more pressure. Barratt Redrow said it intends to approve between 7,000 and 9,000 plots of land for purchase in its current financial year, far lower than p

DefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics15 Apr 2026

Balancing UK’s welfare and defence spending ‘not zero-sum game’, minister says

Treasury minister James Murray hits back at George Robertson’s criticism over military budget UK politics live – latest updates A Treasury minister has said balancing welfare and defence spending “is not a zero-sum game”, amid stark warnings that the UK will have to increase its military budget to ensure national security during global volatility. James Murray, the chancellor’s deputy, said the government was pushing ahead with the biggest sustained increase in defence investments since the co

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics15 Apr 2026

The Brexit delusion is dead – so now Keir Starmer doesn’t need to pretend any more | Rafael Behr

To rebuild relations with Europe in a dangerous world, the prime minister needs to win big arguments, not hide behind outdated red lines In opposition, Keir Starmer pushed Brexit to the margin of debate. In government, he has learned that Europe is central to Britain’s interests whether you talk about it or not. The avoidance of painful arguments from the past turns out to be a handicap when making plans for the future. This was predictable. Labour’s 2024 general election manifesto pretended tha

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics15 Apr 2026

Trump warns US-UK trade deal ‘can always be changed’ with relations in ‘sad state’

President says he gave Britain ‘better deal than I had to’ but ally was ‘not there when we needed them’ on Iran Middle East crisis – live updates Business live – latest updates Donald Trump has threatened to row back on the trade deal the US signed with the UK last year, in his latest salvo against the British government over sharp differences about the US’s approach to the Middle East. The US president said the economic deal struck with the UK, which cut some of his tariffs on cars, aluminiu

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics15 Apr 2026

How a £2m bitcoin order made Nigel Farage the political face of UK crypto

Promotion of ‘bitcoin treasury’ firm with Kwasi Kwarteng draws new attention to Reform leader’s relations with industry A thumping electronic beat provides the soundtrack to the video as Nigel Farage appears in front of a bank of screens. At first glance, it could be yet another of the Reform UK leader’s “second jobs” – whether promoting gold as a pension fallback or recording Cameo videos. And in a sense, it is: Farage is promoting a £2m cryptocurrency purchase by a company in which he has £215

PoliticsEconomyDefenceReform