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The Guardian Politics6 Aug 2026

Healey urged to be bold on borrowing in first test of Burnham’s growth pledge

Some want the chancellor to exploit newly flexible fiscal rules – others want a more creative approach, such as borrowing from markets With just 12 weeks to go until his first budget, new chancellor John Healey is seeking ways to ramp up public investment, without busting the Treasury’s fiscal rules – and some economists are urging him to be bold. As he settles into No 11 Downing Street, the former defence secretary’s most immediate challenges concern day-to-day government spending. Continue re

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics5 Aug 2026

NHS must prepare for annual summer heat pressures, says Yvette Cooper

Health secretary says global heating means UK hospitals and GPs will have to prepare for summer as well as winter peaks of demand Adapting to global heating: which UK public services are struggling in hot weather? The NHS has been warned to prepare for potential annual summer crises caused by extreme heat with the same pressures as winter, as heatwaves caused by the climate crisis become routine in the UK. The health secretary, Yvette Cooper, said NHS staff were feeling A&E pressures that would

DefenceEnvironmentHealthcare
The Guardian Politics5 Aug 2026

Right turn on green: is the Telegraph changing its tune on the climate?

Flurry of articles has raised eyebrows and drawn response from Kemi Badenoch defending stance on net zero “Nobody can deny that the UK is getting warmer and high temperatures are becoming a clear threat to homes, nature and food security,” read the lengthy news report, which explored the devastating effect of British wildfires on families in recent years. The article’s conclusions, written after the wildfires in Suffolk last week, were no surprise given the UK’s changing climate. However, the fa

DefenceEnvironmentHousing
The Guardian Politics5 Aug 2026

Bank battle: history suggests Burnham faces fight if he opts for windfall tax

As lenders’ profits soar, calls grow for a levy to help new PM ease cost of living pressures on households It has been a stellar week for UK banks. Fuelled by high interest rates and market turbulence rippling out from the US war on Iran, major lenders have revealed soaring half-year profits that allowed bosses to boost bonus pots and give billions of pounds to shareholders. Collectively, the UK’s four largest lenders – HSBC, NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds – reported £29.2bn in profits over the fi

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics4 Aug 2026

Government contracts to require job creation instead of green targets under new rules

Louise Haigh says taxpayer money must benefit local communities amid backlash from environmental groups Ministers will scrap the requirement for companies to prove their green and progressive values before they are awarded government contracts, and instead ask firms to prove they will help young people back into work. As part of a government push to reduce the number of people not in education, employment or training (Neets) in the UK and boost regional growth, public sector buyers will double t

EconomyDefenceEducationEnvironment
The Guardian Politics4 Aug 2026

BP boss urges Burnham to prioritise UK oil and gas even as firm exits North Sea

Meg O’Neill says ‘where we generate jobs, we generate tax revenue’, as company’s profits more than double Revealed: major oil firms make $93bn profits amid war and climate crisis Nils Pratley: BP boss is unsentimental in pruning portfolio and clear on North Sea advice to Burnham BP’s chief executive has urged Andy Burnham to make use of the UK’s oil and gas resources even as the oil company prepares to sell its North Sea business after 60 years in the ageing basin. In a conversation with th

EconomyDefenceEnvironment
The Guardian Politics4 Aug 2026

Labour members ‘have tougher view on welfare than you might think’, poll suggests

Survey finds party members see health, the economy, cost of living and climate crisis among biggest challenges Andy Burnham has inherited a Labour membership that is sceptical about increased welfare spending, supportive of higher defence spending, and ranks the climate crisis as one of the country’s biggest challenges, according to new polling. The survey of 788 members between the end of June and the end of July shows them ranking health (43%), the economy (42%), cost of living (39%) and clima

EconomyDefenceEnvironment
The Guardian Politics4 Aug 2026

Calls for UK bank tax to fund cost of living help as HSBC profits hit £7.5bn

Levy could raise £19bn to help pay for Andy Burnham’s support for those struggling with bills, say campaigners Business live – latest updates Campaigners have renewed calls for a windfall tax on UK banks that could raise £19bn towards Andy Burnham’s cost of living agenda, after HSBC raked in $10.1bn (£7.5bn) worth of profits in the second quarter of the year. Bosses at HSBC reported on Tuesday that profits rose 60% year on year in the three months to the end of June, helped by fees from wealth

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics4 Aug 2026

Nigel Farage and the £5m question that won’t go away – podcast

Reform UK’s finances have come under scrutiny like never before. What do we know about the party’s funding – and why do so many awkward questions remain for Nigel Farage? Anna Isaac explains For a while this year, it looked like nothing could stop Nigel Farage getting to Downing Street. Not the allegations of schoolboy racism, not the dodgy Cameo videos or even the £400,000 he trousered for advertising gold bullion. But at the end of April, the Guardian’s City editor, Anna Isaac, delivered a gam

PoliticsDefenceReform
The Guardian Politics3 Aug 2026

Judge orders return of alleged victim of trafficking sent to France under ‘one in one out’ scheme

Ruling quashes Home Office policy to refuse asylum seekers’ right to have trafficking claims reconsidered after initial rejection A high court judge has ordered the Home Office to bring an alleged victim of trafficking forcibly removed to France under the “one in one out” scheme back to the UK. It is the first ruling of its kind and could lead to more people affected by the “one in one out” policy being brought back to the UK. Continue reading...

ImmigrationDefenceCrime
The Guardian Politics3 Aug 2026

Reform UK has proposed using the navy to stop small boat crossings. Is their plan feasible?

Nigel Farage said his party would send the military to the Channel to intercept and return dinghies carrying migrants to France The Reform leader, Nigel Farage, whose summer has been dominated by the Guardian’s disclosure of a £5m undeclared donation and his connections with a fraudster, emerged on Monday to claim that his party would launch the “largest military operation in the English Channel since World War Two” to prevent small boat crossings. Pointing to unrest at the Spain-Morocco border,

ImmigrationDefenceReform
The Guardian Politics3 Aug 2026

What chaos? Farage tries to distract with immigration plans – podcast

Nigel Farage has promised that Reform UK would call in the navy to tackle small boat Channel crossings. Will this familiar-sounding immigration policy distract from the party’s internal problems? Plus – as we learn more about Andy Burnham’s plans for devolution, is this the biggest rewiring of the UK state since the second world war? Read about Richard Tice being investigated by parliament’s standards watchdog here You can read Alexandra’s report on Andy Burnham’s trip to Dover here and about c

PoliticsImmigrationDefenceReformRestoreRemigration