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The Guardian Politics6 May 2026

May elections: What’s at stake across England, Wales and Scotland?

Will Reform take Sunderland, or the Greens take Hackney? Can Plaid Cymru take a historic victory in Wales, and will Labour be forced into third place in Scotland? We examine the possible outcomes for election night The Scottish, Welsh, and local English elections on Thursday 7 May are a huge test for all the main political parties – and may be existential for Keir Starmer as prime minister and Labour leader. The elections, two years into a Labour government, will see more than 30 million people

PoliticsEnvironment
The Guardian Politics6 May 2026

Labour’s nationwide collapse risks making Nigel Farage the face of the UK’s fragile union | Rafael Behr

Scottish and Welsh nationalism will be further radicalised if Reform UK sets the tone of debate over inclusion in the British state Keir Starmer has neither a heartland nor a stronghold. That is the picture likely to emerge once all the votes in this week’s local and devolved elections have been counted. Council seats in Labour’s traditional northern-English working-class base will fall to Reform UK. Parts of inner London, where the electoral map has been red for decades, will go Green. Rafael B

PoliticsDefenceEnvironmentReform
The Guardian Politics5 May 2026

Reinstate windfall tax on banks after surge in profits, TUC urges

Unions group wants rate returned from 3% to 8% after big four UK lenders reveal £14bn total profit in first quarter An increased windfall tax should be imposed on the UK’s largest banks according to trade union leaders, after the big four lenders reported almost £14bn in first-quarter profits, partly fuelled by market turbulence caused by the Iran war. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) renewed its call for an increase in the current bank surcharge, which was reduced from 8% to 3% of profits above

EconomyDefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics5 May 2026

Zack Polanski falsely claimed to be British Red Cross spokesperson, charity says

Green party leader also accused of incorrectly stating he was a full member of the National Council of Hypnotherapy Zack Polanski falsely claimed to be a spokesperson for the British Red Cross while campaigning for Green party leadership, the charity has said. This was also mentioned on his personal website in 2020, where he said he was “really proud of the work we do”. Continue reading...

Environment
The Guardian Politics5 May 2026

MPs demand Reform suspend candidate over claims he celebrated rape of Sikh women

Sandwell Labour MPs write to borough Reform leader after alleged posts by Stuart Prior Labour MPs have called for a Reform UK election candidate in Essex to be suspended after he allegedly celebrated the rape of two Sikh women in the Midlands. A joint investigation by The Mirror and the anti-racism campaign group Hope Not Hate alleged Stuart Prior, who is standing for Reform in Rayleigh West (for Essex county council) as well as Sweyne Park and Grange (for Rochford district council), had made a

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics5 May 2026

MoD has no system to detect civilian harm caused by military, study shows

Revelation comes after report commissioned by department released in response to charity’s FoI request The Ministry of Defence has no system for examining whether UK military action has killed or injured civilians in war, a study commissioned by the department has revealed. The MoD also “does not maintain a central register of civilian harm incidents or allegations” and, despite mass casualties caused by other countries, has concluded there is no need to do so because its existing mitigation is

Defence
The Guardian Politics5 May 2026

Stop plotting to oust Keir Starmer, ex-deputy Labour leader urges MPs

Tom Watson, who had role in attempted coup against Tony Blair in 2006, said move would go down extremely badly with voters Labour MPs have been urged to stop plotting to remove Keir Starmer by Tom Watson, who as a junior minister spearheaded the last attempted coup against a Labour prime minister, faced by Tony Blair in 2006. Watson’s warning came as Steve Reed, the housing and communities secretary, and a key Starmer loyalist, said Labour would risk “annihilation” if it decided to try to change

PoliticsDefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics5 May 2026

Farage’s partner refuses to confirm how she paid for house in his constituency

French publication Le Monde says Laure Ferrari ‘dodged’ question when quizzed over property purchase in Clacton Nigel Farage’s partner, Laure Ferrari, has refused to confirm how she paid for a house in the Reform leader and MP’s constituency of Clacton, adding “there’s more than one way to pay for a house”. In an interview with French publication Le Monde, Ferrari was questioned over revelations in the Guardian that she had purchased a house in her name in Clacton after Farage had claimed to be

ReformHousing
The Guardian Politics5 May 2026

The Greens need to learn the right lessons from the destruction of Corbynism | Andy Beckett

Zack Polanski must be more nimble in fending off attacks than the former Labour leader or he risks suffering the same fate For more than a decade, Britain’s acrimonious politics has included a fundamental but often misunderstood battle. Sometimes it is fought out in the open and sometimes more in the shadows. Its protagonists extend far beyond Westminster, into the media, big business, the civil service, activist movements and important but neglected parts of the electorate. And despite how long

PoliticsEnvironment
The Guardian Politics5 May 2026

Farage deploys the rottweiler to distract from awkward £5m gift story | John Crace

Zia Yusuf’s mad idea of building detention centres for illegal immigrants exclusively in areas that vote Green works a treat It’s a classic from the Donald Trump playbook: everything’s been going a bit tits up, so you create a distraction. Get everyone looking in the wrong direction. Last week was the worst in months for Reform. First the party was pegged back in the opinion polls, then the Guardian revealed Nigel Farage had been given a £5m handout by Christopher Harborne, a Thai-based crypto d

ImmigrationDefenceEnvironmentReform
The Guardian Politics5 May 2026

Greens must take immediate action against antisemitism in party, says Lucas

Former leader says antisemitic comments by some election candidates are unacceptable UK politics live – latest updates The former Green leader Caroline Lucas has called for the party to take immediate action against candidates who have made antisemitic comments or posts, following a series of cases before Thursday’s elections. Lucas, who led or co-led the party for six years and served as its first MP, said that while the number of such cases was limited, they could not be ignored. Continue r

PoliticsEnvironment