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853 headlines found — Page 6 of 72

The Guardian Politics3 Aug 2026

Former navy officer criticises Reform plan to use military to stop small boats

Retired commander says policy lacks substance as party accused of trying to distract from Nigel Farage’s scandals UK politics live – latest updates A Reform UK proposal to use the military to stop small boats bringing migrants to the UK from France lacks substance, a former Royal Navy officer has said, suggesting the UK’s warships would be better used countering actual military threats. Reform’s political opponents have claimed its plans have more to do with distracting from the financial scan

PoliticsImmigrationDefenceReformRestoreRemigration
The Guardian Politics3 Aug 2026

Criticism of Reform UK’s pledge to use Navy to stop small boats – politics live

Labour say plan is a ‘desperate attempt to distract from sleaze’ while a retired commander says it ‘lacks substance’ The leader of Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe, told the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, that if he was “prepared to work together around serious policies, serious reform and serious government, then so are we”. In a video posted on X on Sunday, Lowe said: I truly believe there could be sufficient common ground for our two movements to cooperate collectively, destroy the looming leftw

PoliticsDefenceReformRestoreRemigrationRupert Lowe
The Guardian Politics2 Aug 2026

Burnham to be ‘relentless’ on small boat crossings after Ceuta crisis

Prime minister says UK needs to ‘bring back that control’, but safe routes for refugees are necessary to tackle trafficking Andy Burnham has pledged to be “relentless” in tackling small boat crossings after tens of thousands of migrants entered Ceuta, a Spanish territory, but said “safe routes” for refugees were necessary to tackle trafficking gangs. Speaking during a visit to Dover, the prime minister said he had been assured by the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, that approximately 98%

ImmigrationDefence
The Guardian Politics2 Aug 2026

Healey’s profiteering warning on food and fuel risks row with retailers

Chancellor says the government wants to prevent shoppers being ‘taken for a ride’ at the pump or till The chancellor, John Healey, has said the government is standing by to prevent the public from “being taken for a ride at the pump or the till” as the Iran war continues to hit prices. While he said there had been “no significant evidence of so-called price gouging” during the crisis, he used a weekend column to tell the big retailers that ministers were “watching closely” for any signs of profi

Defence
The Guardian Politics1 Aug 2026

On the ground in the English seaside town rightwing influencers say is being ‘invaded’

Some in Dover say their town is being exploited by content creators and politicians, but others claim there is a genuine problem If you believe rightwing influencers and politicians, Dover and the wider Kent coast has been the site of an “invasion” for years now. And, for an online audience of millions, they and their camera crews have been the vanguard in the nation’s defence. Indeed, if you believe all you see on the algorithms of amateur Channel watchers, the shadow home secretary, Chris Phil

Defence
The Guardian Politics31 Jul 2026

Healey sets budget for late October, promising to ‘spread money and power’ around UK

Chancellor will have to find money for Burnham’s policies while sticking to fiscal rules as borrowing costs rise Andy Burnham’s government has set a date for a late October budget to “spread money and power” out of Westminster as the new prime minister pushes forward his tax and spending plans. Announcing an autumn budget for 28 October, the chancellor, John Healey, said Labour would stick to its fiscal rules with its agenda to give businesses and households stability for the future. Continue r

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics31 Jul 2026

Can Andy Burnham turn a flying start into sustained success?

Labour has regained the lead in polling but the new PM will need to widen his appeal further to win a general election Andy Burnham has spent his first two weeks as prime minister in a blitz of hyperactivity. Bus fares, business rates, energy bill cuts, defence, Ukraine and devolution – he has been everywhere. But at his speech on Wednesday at Jewish Care in north London, there was a stark reminder of how much even the most energetic prime minister can cut through. Continue reading...

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics30 Jul 2026

‘Ryanair refused to let us on’: how a couple who’ve lived in UK for 80 years got stuck in Krakow

Maria and Czeslaw Krupa, who arrived in 1947 and 1948 as dependents of displaced Polish service members, were told they did not have post-Brexit rights to return to UK Two Polish citizens who have lived in the UK for nearly 80 years after their parents fled the second world war have spoken of their terrifying experience after being told they did not have post-Brexit rights to return to the UK. In May, while visiting Poland, they learned that although they had been welcomed as refugees after the

ImmigrationDefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics30 Jul 2026

Only the Middle East crisis is preventing a drop in UK interest rates

Bank’s wariness about inflationary pressures from the conflict lie behind decision to hold steady at 3.75% Business live – latest updates There is a threat of high inflation coming to the UK, but only from the conflict in the Middle East which could keep oil prices high for much longer than was expected when Donald Trump first began attacking Iran. It is the war that makes the difference between a benign outlook for inflation and one that puts it back on a rising trajectory, top UK central ban

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics30 Jul 2026

UK government reviews why police ceding criminal cases to US military

Exclusive: ministers and police chiefs examining how cases involving US military personnel on UK soil are handled after Guardian revelations The UK government and police chiefs are reviewing the process through which US military personnel accused of committing serious crimes on UK soil are avoiding the British justice system. The effort, involving multiple government departments, is examining why UK police forces, which have primary responsibility for investigating such cases, have been ceding j

DefenceReformCrime
The Guardian Politics29 Jul 2026

Trident renewal central to defence spending, says Andy Burnham

Prime minister to highlight investment in communities as he launches next phase of nuclear submarine replacement Andy Burnham will place the renewal of Trident at the heart of his vision of a reindustrialised Britain on Thursday when he travels to Barrow-in-Furness to launch the next phase of the nuclear submarine replacement programme. The new prime minister intends to emphasise that defence spending on projects such as the £31bn Dreadnought-class boats built in the Cumbrian town is a case stud

Defence
The Guardian Politics29 Jul 2026

Suddenly the British right feels a political chill. It’s getting cold in Andy Burnham’s shadow | Rafael Behr

The Tories and Reform had it easy when Keir Starmer was self-destructing – but a new PM with ideas exposes how vacant the opposition has become Andy Burnham’s recollections of Britain in the 1970s must be pretty hazy. He was nine when the decade ended. Kemi Badenoch, born in 1980, can remember nothing. Lacking first-hand experience, the Conservative leader evokes the turmoil of a bygone era with cautionary zeal borrowed from an older generation. In a speech last week, she accused the new prime m

PoliticsDefence