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The Guardian Politics21 Aug 2026

‘We’re not remotely prepared’: Labour MPs fear party has gone soft on climate crisis

Polls suggest growing skepticism around net zero, with politicians left feeling uncertain on how to proceed UK politics live – latest updates Britain has seen a summer of record-breaking wildfires, deadly heat and drought with almost 2, 900 heat associated deaths recorded in England during May and June alone. Homes have been destroyed more recently by the fires in the West Midlands and deadly wildfires have swept across Europe. Despite the ever more visible impacts of the climate crisis, there

PoliticsEnvironmentHousing
The Guardian Politics21 Aug 2026

Burnham to dispatch 100 Whitehall officials to help regional mayors

Civil service scheme announced after PM convened local leaders to ‘situation room’ meeting from No 10 North UK politics live – latest updates Andy Burnham is to send more than 100 Whitehall officials to bolster the teams of regional mayors, after convening leaders from across England from his base at No 10 North to discuss how to spread growth. The government described the meeting as a “situation room” to bring local and regional leaders into national decision-making. Continue reading...

Politics
The Guardian Politics21 Aug 2026

Nigel Farage called us ‘nobodies’ in the Clacton byelection. He seems to treat the town in much the same way | Attieh Fard

I had few resources as a candidate, but the contest allowed me to speak to local people about their lives and their MP. They deserve so much better In the early hours of last Friday morning, a video was posted. It showed Nigel Farage among his team of volunteers, before the votes had been counted, celebrating his victory and saying that he was not going to humiliate himself by sharing a platform at the count next to “nobodies”. He was referring to the 33 other candidates who had taken part in wh

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics21 Aug 2026

Home Office could be blocked from deporting trafficking victims to Albania

Many males are returned even if they are trafficking victims but Home Office must now consider new legal guidance The Home Office could be blocked from deporting many young male trafficking victims to Albania after a major court ruling. Thousands of Albanian males have been identified as potential trafficking victims in the UK in recent years. Many are sent back to their country even if they are potential or confirmed victims of trafficking, as the Home Office contends they will be safe there.

DefenceCrimeRemigration
The Guardian Politics21 Aug 2026

Digested week: So Harry and Meghan are moving back to the UK. Who cares?

And as Diana’s brother announces a new book, what can possibly be left to say about the princess? Plus, the joys of car rental and Reform’s Whitehall farce There are some days you never forget. It was about 6.30 in the morning the day after we had done a long drive back from hospital. Anna was five years old, Robbie just two and both were wide awake and had got me out of bed. I took them downstairs to plonk them in front of the TV to try and buy myself some time. I switched the TV on and didn’t

HousingHealthcare
The Guardian Politics21 Aug 2026

Proposed London datacentre will have annual carbon footprint of 27,000 flights to New York

Exclusive: Planning documents show datacentre in north Ockendon will be incompatible with UK net zero targets A “hyperscale” datacentre in outer London would generate more than 1m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to the carbon footprint of 27,000 flights from London to New York, planning documents show. The East Havering Data Centre Campus (EHDCC) in north Ockendon would be one of the largest datacentres in Europe if approved by Havering council, using 218 hectares of green belt to ru

Environment
The Guardian Politics21 Aug 2026

We would like to speak to people who have been homeless in England about what helped them off the streets

Was it a government initiative or help from a charity? Or perhaps the support of friends and/or family? Andy Burnham has called on local leaders to offer all rough sleepers in England a route off the streets by Christmas, as he pledges another £100m to end street homelessness. The prime minister has promised he will mount a Covid-style campaign to get everyone off the streets this winter, arguing that rough sleeping has become so common it now “feels like part of the scenery”. Continue reading.

The Guardian Politics21 Aug 2026

Burnham to chair growth meeting call at No 10 North – UK politics live

The PM will be working alongside chancellor John Healey, Lou Haigh, Angela Rayner and Sally Jameson with regional mayors expected to be involved Hello and welcome to the UK politics live blog. Prime minister Andy Burnham will be working from No 10 North in Manchester today, where he will chair what some in government are referring to as the “growth situation room”. Burnham said yesterday that fly-tippers will be forced to pay for the clean-up when they dump waste illegally. The prime minister la

Politics
The Guardian Politics21 Aug 2026

I put myself in the prime minister’s shoes – and learned some uncomfortable lessons | Zoe Williams

On the political survival game everyone in Westminster’s playing, I discovered an unnerving reflection of our country’s atmosphere of mistrust No 10: Full Confidence is the game all the lobby journalists and backbenchers are playing on their phones. Westminster hasn’t been so united by an app since the early 2010s, when everyone was trying to figure out what David Cameron saw in Angry Birds. The game is quite engrossing: you are the prime minister, taking office, and your name is Yusuf Dunmore.

Politics
The Guardian Politics21 Aug 2026

UK reports unexpected deficit of £1.8bn as John Healey prepares for first budget

July data shows total public debt was £2.98tn, or 94% of GDP – up £96bn on a year earlier The UK government ran a larger than expected £1.8bn deficit in July, underlining the challenges facing the chancellor, John Healey, as he draws up his first budget. City economists had expected a shortfall of zero for July, a month when Treasury receipts tend to be swollen by self-assessment income tax payments. Continue reading...

Economy
The Guardian Politics21 Aug 2026

Back on track: can Burnham fix the north’s woeful rail services?

From a new high-speed line to better intercity links, the PM has a chance to tackle problems he criticised as Manchester mayor For passenger rail travel, the north of England was the future, once. But since that first train from Darlington to Stockton in 1825, many have felt short-changed. As one angry passenger put it, 200 years later: “What is it about the rail industry which makes them think they can treat passengers in the north as second-class citizens?” That complaint came from the former

The Guardian Politics20 Aug 2026

Leaders attack ‘demotivating’ plan to make pupils who fail GCSEs retake maths and English

Government announce plan for ‘stepping stone’ qualification as 620,000 year 11 students face retaking maths or English after failure to achieve grade 4 The government’s plans to make young people continue studying maths and English if they fail GCSEs could be demotivating and ineffective, according to education experts and school leaders after retake pass rates slumped this year. Only one in seven students in the age group retaking GCSE maths after a previous failure got a grade 4 or above thi

Education