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180 headlines found — Page 8 of 15

The Guardian Politics1 Apr 2026

Energy crisis: why ‘keep calm but cut down’ may be a better message for Labour

Government keen to avoid panic as oil price surges, but perhaps households need advice on reducing consumption Labour ministers sent out in recent days to respond to the looming energy crisis sparked by the Iran war have essentially stuck to that reassuring wartime slogan: keep calm and carry on. “I think people should go about their lives as normal, knowing that the government is taking action to bring energy bills down,” James Murray, the chief secretary to the Treasury, told BBC Radio 4’s Tod

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics31 Mar 2026

Nigel Farage’s biggest problem? Donald Trump

Nearly a quarter of voters site the Reform leader’s support for the US president as the primary reason for not voting for his party By day 31 of the war in the Middle East, Nigel Farage had become somewhat less vocal about the closeness of his relationship with Donald Trump. “Trying to read what’s really in the minds of people in the White House right at the moment is a mug’s game,” said the MP, as he unveiled his party’s latest “pledge” to cut the cost of living on Tuesday. Continue reading...

EconomyDefenceReform
The Guardian Politics31 Mar 2026

Steel bosses warn ‘back door’ loophole in UK trade rules could lead to job cuts and closures

New measures will protect Tata and British Steel but allow foreign pre-made parts into the UK, say industry bosses Steel bosses have warned ministers that a “back door” in new trade rules could hit British manufacturers and lead to job cuts and factory closures by allowing a vast array of foreign products to still enter the UK tax-free. The loophole means pre-made steel parts ranging from bridge sections, columns and door frames, all the way to smaller rods and tubes used in buildings, will esca

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics31 Mar 2026

Nigel Farage to snub US conservative conference brought to UK by Liz Truss

Exclusive: Reform UK will be ‘steering well clear’ of CPAC event in July, says a source, as will senior Tories Nigel Farage will snub a major conference of US conservatives that is being brought to the UK by Liz Truss. The short-lived former prime minister, who was accused of crashing the economy, was chosen by the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) to lead a version of the event in the UK in July. Continue reading...

PoliticsEconomyReform
The Guardian Politics30 Mar 2026

How many sweeteners does JP Morgan need to build an office in Canary Wharf? | Nils Pratley

US bank will get deal it doesn’t really need as it would be far too embarrassing for Treasury to see investment sail away The way Rachel Reeves told it last November after her budget, it seemed to be a done deal that JP Morgan would build a 279,000 sq metre (3m sq ft) tower in Canary Wharf to serve as its European headquarters. The chancellor was “thrilled” the Wall Street bank had chosen London and hailed “a multibillion-pound vote of confidence in the UK economy and this government’s plans for

Economy
The Guardian Politics30 Mar 2026

Kemi the attention-seeker somehow always makes two plus two equal five | John Crace

The looming oil crisis caused by the Iran war gives the Conservative leader a platform from which to jump to the wrong conclusions Losing sleep over the war in Iran? Worried sick about the cost of living? Can’t pay your energy bills? Then relax. Because Kemi Badenoch has a displacement activity for you. It’s becoming increasingly easier to understand the Conservative leader by viewing her as a hyperactive five-year old at the back of the class who is constantly disruptive. Who can’t get through

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics30 Mar 2026

May elections come at time of war on two fronts, Starmer says

At campaign launch, PM acknowledges concern over events in Ukraine and Iran as well as over rising cost of living UK politics live – latest updates The 7 May elections are taking place against a backdrop of “war on two fronts”, Keir Starmer has said, as he pledged action to tackle the resurgent cost of living crisis. Launching Labour’s English local elections campaign in Wolverhampton on Monday, the prime minister said: “We’re facing a war on two fronts – the Ukraine war, now four and a bit ye

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics30 Mar 2026

Starmer to say Iran war means Labour’s values needed more than ever at local elections campaign launch – UK politics live

UK PM to chair meeting in Downing Street on how government responds to economic consequences of Iran war later on Monday Good morning. Keir Starmer will today chair a meeting in Downing Street on how the government responds to the economic consequences of the Iran war, which has the potential to upend much of what the government is trying to do to improve living standards. And so he is probably not too happy about the fact that this morning he has to attend an event in the West Midlands launchin

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics29 Mar 2026

Keir Starmer to launch local elections campaign with focus on cost of living

PM will also cite Iran war as reason to stick with Labour, as party adopts new slogan: ‘Pride in Britain’ Keir Starmer will say that a vote for Reform UK will put at risk progress Labour is making on the cost of living, arguing that Britain’s values are being tested in a volatile world. Launching the party’s local elections campaign with a new slogan: “Pride in Britain”, Starmer will urge voters to stay the course with Labour. A dire set of results are predicted for the party in Wales, Scotland

PoliticsEconomyDefenceReform
The Guardian Politics29 Mar 2026

NHS to miss targets for cutting A&E wait times and performance in England

Exclusive: Health secretary’s pledges in doubt as analysis shows health service will not deliver key improvements The NHS is set to miss key targets to shorten waiting times for help at A&E, cancer care and planned hospital treatment, leaving millions of patients facing persistently long delays. The health service in England will not deliver a series of milestone improvements in its performance that ministers demanded it achieve by the time the fiscal year ends on Tuesday, a Guardian analysis of

EconomyHealthcare
The Guardian Politics29 Mar 2026

War in Iran erodes the chancellor’s headroom and exposes our fragility | Heather Stewart

Rachel Reeves boasts of the £23bn she has built up against her fiscal rules but now she – or any future steward of the economy – has little space to manoeuvre It is with no pleasure that I must report a depressing domestic byproduct of the war in the Middle East: headroom chat is back. Of course, shifts in investors’ appetite for gilts – UK government bonds – are trivial, in the context of the bloodshed in Iran and beyond. Continue reading...

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics26 Mar 2026

Rachel Reeves urged to raise taxes on companies profiting from war on Iran

Charities say taxes should rise for banks, defence and energy companies which stand to make windfall profits Middle East crisis live Rachel Reeves is being urged to raise taxes on businesses generating “windfall” profits linked to the US-Israel war on Iran to fund emergency cost of living support for UK households. With the government under pressure to respond, a group of leading charities, campaigners and trade unions said the chancellor could raise billions by taxing “excess profits” linked

EconomyDefence