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474 headlines found — Page 5 of 40

The Guardian Politics30 Jul 2026

I’ve seen what can confound Farage on his home turf: optimism. People need a politics that offers them that | Owen Jones

You can’t blame his constituents in Clacton for their pessimism – because they have been let down for years Under battered England flags, cynicism, pessimism and exhaustion stalk the streets of Clacton. As the byelection called by Nigel Farage approaches, one young couple do not know which candidates are standing. Neither has ever voted. Living in Britain is “depressing”, says the woman in a black floral dress. “The cost of living these days is stupid,” says her partner, wearing a black and grey

PoliticsEconomyReform
The Guardian Politics28 Jul 2026

UK faces ‘very difficult trade-offs’ in budget because of Iran war, say analysts

Leading thinktank says higher oil prices and inflation will give Andy Burnham a ‘challenging inheritance’ Andy Burnham has been warned by a leading thinktank of “very difficult trade-offs in the next autumn budget” if the Iran war keeps oil prices and inflation high. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said the new prime minister faced a “challenging inheritance” and his plans to revamp public services would meet severe pressure from persistently higher prices. Contin

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics28 Jul 2026

Burnham bounce: Labour overtakes Reform in polls – The Latest

Labour has overtaken Reform UK this week for the first time since March last year, according to polls. The ‘Burnham bounce’ comes two weeks into Andy Burnham’s tenure in No 10, during which he has made major announcements on the cost of living and localised education to reduce youth unemployment, and an announcement on social care is expected soon. Is this a turning point for the beleaguered Labour government – or simply a honeymoon for the new PM? Lucy Hough speaks to senior political correspon

PoliticsEconomyEducationReform
The Guardian Politics28 Jul 2026

Barclays increases bonus pool by nearly 30% as calls grow for UK bank tax

TUC leader says lender’s ‘bonanza’ quarterly profits of £3.3bn mean it ‘can easily afford to pay more tax’ Business live – latest updates Barclays has increased its banker bonus pool by nearly 30% after a rise in second-quarter profits that has fuelled calls for a tax raid on UK lenders to help fund Andy Burnham’s spending plans. Fresh corporate filings released on Tuesday showed the bank put £1.3bn towards its bonus pool for the first half of the year. That figure, which includes annual and d

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics27 Jul 2026

Andy Burnham seeks cross-party agreement on future of social care

PM promises lasting solution for England but Tories rule out backing changes funded by tax rises or borrowing Andy Burnham has pledged to work collaboratively with other parties to find a lasting solution on social care, though the Conservatives ruled out backing changes funded by tax rises or borrowing. Senior Labour and Liberal Democrat figures have privately cast doubt on Burnham’s ability to find a cross-party consensus on social care reform in England, given the terms of the Tories’ partici

Economy
The Guardian Politics27 Jul 2026

Labour overtakes Reform in voter poll for first time since March 2025

Labour up four points to 28% while Reform falls to 24% as Andy Burnham apparently wins favour for cost of living focus UK politics live – latest updates Labour has knocked Reform off a voter intention poll for the first time in more than a year as Andy Burnham benefits from the momentum built in his first week as prime minister. The weekly tracker of voting intention by the non-profit agency More in Common also comes after weeks of negative headlines for Reform UK and its leader, Nigel Farage,

PoliticsEconomyReformHousing
The Guardian Politics27 Jul 2026

Tories and Reform UK tell Burnham they will fight any plan to reform adult social care involving tax rises – UK politics live

Defence secretary Wes Streeting says the country will see a prime minister that ‘runs towards big and difficult issues’ Good morning. Yesterday Wes Streeting, the defence secretary, told Sky News that, while Andy Burnham spent his first week as PM focusing on cost of living issues, this week the public would see “a prime minister that runs towards big and difficult issues rather than runs away from [them]”. Those challenges include reforming social care and, as Peter Walker reports, Burnham has

PoliticsEconomyDefenceReform
The Guardian Politics27 Jul 2026

Heathrow expansion would take thousands of jobs from other UK regions, report finds

Airports in England and Wales are likely to lose millions of passengers if third runway goes ahead, DfT economic paper shows Expanding Heathrow airport will take thousands of jobs from other regions of the UK, including almost 10,000 from the West Midlands alone, according to an analysis of the government’s own forecasts. An economic paper published by the Department for Transport last month shows that airports in England and Wales are likely to lose millions of passengers if Heathrow builds a t

Economy
The Guardian Politics26 Jul 2026

Rising oil prices could force up UK interest rates, say economists

Bank of England expected to keep rates on hold on Thursday but renewed Iran conflict casts shadow over energy costs The Bank of England could be forced to tear up its economic forecasts and raise interest rates later this year if oil prices return to above $100 a barrel, according to City economists. Before a meeting of Bank officials on Thursday, economists said that while an interest rate hike would probably be avoided this week there could be some in the future because of conflict in the Midd

Economy
The Guardian Politics26 Jul 2026

‘Burnham bounce’ risks deflating unless focus remains on struggling households | Richard Partington

UK’s inequalities expose splits in consumer economy, with spending suffering and a decline in savings among the poorest A “Burnham bounce”, sunshine and a strong World Cup run for the men’s England football team. Could this be a turnaround moment for Britain’s struggling consumer economy or yet another false start for the UK’s spluttering growth engine? Last week the data company GfK credited Andy Burnham’s return to Westminster politics for lifting UK consumer confidence at its fastest monthly

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics26 Jul 2026

Is Burnham’s Oxbridge-heavy cabinet a sign of social mobility or lack of progress on class?

PM’s team can be seen as backward step even though in some ways it is more diverse. Yet its makeup points to wider access to power Race, school, gender: the makeup of Andy Burnham’s cabinet – in charts Like 20 British prime ministers before him, Andy Burnham’s new cabinet minister for AI, Kanishka Narayan, went to Eton. After graduating from the country’s most elite private school, Narayan attended Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied – what else? – PPE (politics, philosophy and economics

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics25 Jul 2026

Professional classes stand in way of tax on the super-rich | Phillip Inman

If the prime minister wants to make the system fairer he will need to upset the professional classes with a land value tax The professional classes act like a Praetorian Guard for the super-rich. Having acquired some of the trappings of being rich, they defend the privileges of wealth – land, property and pensions. They do this as if they – company managers, lawyers, doctors, judges, senior civil servants, architects and chartered this and thats – were the main beneficiaries. Continue reading..

EconomyHousingHealthcare