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578 headlines found — Page 7 of 49

The Guardian Politics1 Aug 2026

Local media needs support if devolution push is to succeed, publishers say

Shift from Westminster risks weakening scrutiny as regional titles battle hostility, big tech and ‘news deserts’ Greater support for local media is needed to hold mayors and councils to account under Andy Burnham’s plans for devolution, which would involve a massive transfer of power into local government, publishers have said. A range of figures involved with local news broadly welcomed new plans unveiled by the prime minister, but said that monetising content, barriers erected by populist poli

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics1 Aug 2026

The tangled financial web at the heart of Reform UK

Nigel Farage’s £5m gift, the Cottrell family’s links and donations, and Richard Tice’s business dealings form part of an increasingly clear nexus of relationships It has been three months since the Guardian revealed that Nigel Farage had accepted a £5m gift from Christopher Harborne, a billionaire donor to Reform UK. This was not the first story in our continuing investigation. But it has proved the most significant, and the consequences of the disclosure are still being played out. Continue re

Reform
The Guardian Politics31 Jul 2026

Labour wins decisive victory in Greater Manchester mayoral byelection

Bev Craig, the city council leader, succeeds Andy Burnham as mayor, reversing Reform gains in May local elections Labour has stormed to a decisive victory in the Greater Manchester mayoral byelection, seizing back areas that recently fell to Reform UK and the Greens. Labour’s Bev Craig, the Manchester city council leader, will now succeed Andy Burnham and hold one of the most powerful political positions outside Westminster. Continue reading...

PoliticsEnvironmentReform
The Guardian Politics31 Jul 2026

Andy Burnham signals he will scrap plans to curb jury trials

Prime minister says he has ‘concerns’ about one of most significant overhauls of Keir Starmer’s government UK politics live – latest updates Andy Burnham has indicated he will scrap plans to curtail jury trials in England and Wales, abandoning one of the most significant overhauls of Keir Starmer’s government. The prime minister said he had “concerns” about the proposals and that his “instincts” were to keep juries at the heart of the justice system. Continue reading...

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics31 Jul 2026

Will Burnham fix our barbaric prisons – or cave to rightwing populism? The answer is a tragedy | Simon Jenkins

England and Wales’s prisons are overcrowded, drug-infested and barbaric. Labour has halted a once-in-a-generation effort to change that sorry state Andy Burnham’s “pausing” of the Starmer government’s prisoner release scheme and the resignation of its architect, James Timpson, are disasters. They indicate a Downing Street that puts populism ahead of policy. England and Wales’s prisons are a total disgrace. Timpson was the first justice minister in 15 years prepared to handle them. Now he has gon

PoliticsReformCrime
The Guardian Politics30 Jul 2026

Ben Jennings on Nigel Farage’s anger at Zack Polanski’s Instagram post – cartoon

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Reform
The Guardian Politics30 Jul 2026

Labour asks Electoral Commission to investigate Reform UK over donations

Exclusive: Reform’s Robert Jenrick says party confident it followed all rules at the time, after latest Guardian revelations The Electoral Commission has been asked to investigate whether Reform UK has broken donations rules, after the Guardian revealed that the convicted fraudster George Cottrell transferred more than $2m to his mother in the days before her donations to the party in 2024. Labour’s new chair, Bridget Phillipson, wrote to the commission on Thursday asking for it to examine the d

Reform
The Guardian Politics30 Jul 2026

Will we pay more tax to fund social care? – podcast

Andy Burnham gave a major speech on Wednesday on his plans for a national care service. He sought cross-party consensus on the issue by speaking to the Tories and Lib Dems. But not Reform UK or the Greens. On Thursday, Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick held a press conference claiming the prime minister wanted a ‘death tax’. But is that what Burnham set out? Plus, Zack Polanski is under fire for a social media post. Is the Green party leader too ‘online’? Pippa Crerar and Peter Walker discuss Read Pete

EconomyEnvironmentReform
The Guardian Politics30 Jul 2026

Reform UK to hold press conference after Met rules out investigating Polanski over anti-Farage message – UK politics live

Green party said it was ‘obvious from the start’ that Polanski had not committed an offence Good morning. Reform UK are holding a press conference this morning. It is going to feature Robert Jenrick, the party’s Treasury spokesperson, and he wants to talk about Andy Burnham’s speech yesterday about social care reform. But we already know what Jenrick thinks about that, and there are plenty of other stories that reporters might want to ask about. For a start, there is Anna Isaac’s latest Guardia

PoliticsEconomyEnvironmentReform
The Guardian Politics30 Jul 2026

Polls open in Greater Manchester mayoral byelection overshadowed by new PM and Farage’s antics

Labour’s Bev Craig expected to win contest that lost column inches to Andy Burnham’s ascent and Reform UK leader’s self-imposed Clacton vote Voting has begun in the biggest byelection in British political history, with more than 2 million people eligible to choose Andy Burnham’s successor as Greater Manchester mayor. In normal times, such a large and politically significant byelection would have dominated the headlines for weeks, particularly as senior Labour figures only weeks ago feared losing

PoliticsReform
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 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