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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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UK heatwave live: Met Office issues extreme heat warning as government convenes emergency Cobra meeting
Parts of country face fifth heatwave of the summer with highs of 38C forecast this week We have some comments from the Liberal Democrats and Green party on the Cobra emergency meeting scheduled for later today. While welcoming the government’s announcement, the Lib Dem environment spokesperson Pippa Heylings said emergency meetings were not enough to put out fires or protect our communities, saying “we urgently need a national strategy to make the UK climate-ready”. Continue reading...
Japanese ambassador to Australia downplays Albanese melon gaffe as Taylor claims PM has ‘stuffed up’
Coalition demands police investigate apparent leaking of diplomatic cable to newspaper but Labor calls it a ‘silly political stunt’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Japanese ambassador has downplayed Anthony Albanese’s comments about a gift of melons from Sanae Takaichi, saying Tokyo had been reassured by the Australian government that the prime minister “did not make the comments in the way that has been reported”. While the Coalition continued to raise outrage over Albanese’s comments to the Bush Deep podcast, including seeking to have federal police investigate the alleged leaking of a diplomatic cable to a newspaper, the Japanese government appeared to be uninterested in making a diplomatic incident out of the much-maligned comments. Continue reading...
Probation chief says he’s ‘not fully confident’ service will cope with early prisoner releases – UK politics live
Martin Jones expresses concern scheme will increase pressure on probation service as Burnham addresses controversy over PC Harper’s killers Good morning. Andy Burnham is chairing a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee this afternoon to discuss the heatwave and the climate crisis. About time too, some people will say. One of them is Zack Polanski , the Green party leader, who has been calling for this and who posted this on social media in response. Good. Now we need action. Tax fossil fuel giants to pay for firefighting helicopters. A cool space in every community. A maximum working temperature. Continue reading...
Millions of US tax dollars sent to rightwing European thinktanks. Did any Trump supporters vote for that? | Arwa Mahdawi
It’s a great betrayal: poor communities neglected while multimillionaires peddle a global Maga agenda. How is that America first? “THE CORRUPTION IS AT LEVELS RARELY SEEN BEFORE,” Donald Trump posted on Truth Social in February 2025 . He was not referring to his own administration, but to the US Agency for International Development (USAID). “CLOSE IT DOWN!” the president added. Just a few hours later USAID was in effect closed down, with most of the staff placed on indefinite administration leave . This was framed as part of Trump’s “America first” agenda. USAID, the Trump administration and his sycophants in the rightwing media had argued, was wasting taxpayers’ hard-earned money on ridiculous projects abroad instead of improving life at home. In the lead-up to the shuttering of USAID, for example, one of the most shameless lies about the agency, repeated without any evidence by the likes of Fox News , was that it was spending millions on condoms for Gaza. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Andrew Bragg stands by proposed migration limits – even as Liberal colleagues decline to back him in
Angus Taylor and other Coalition members not supporting shadow housing minister’s target migration numbers, which would be the lowest figures since the mid-2000s Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has stood by his proposal to lower net migration to 180,000 per year in a wide-ranging speech where he lamented not stopping the Morrison government’s “madness” – even as colleagues side-stepped supporting the target figure publicly. The opposition frontbencher said a housing “shortfall” – comparing the number of dwellings against population size – could be rectified if the net overseas migration (Nom) target was set at 180,000 or under over four years. Continue reading...
Nigel Farage and Count Binface: a visual guide to their electoral careers
Farage was elected to EU parliament five times before becoming Clacton MP, while Binface has been less successful – so far Nigel Farage has been standing in British elections since 1994, when he narrowly beat Screaming Lord Sutch of the Monster Raving Loony party into fourth place in a Commons byelection. He was elected five times to the European parliament before achieving his goal of abolishing his seat. Finally, after 30 years of trying, he was elected to the Commons as member for Clacton in 2024. He resigned that hard-won seat in July after a parliamentary inquiry was launched into a £5m gift he accepted from a Thailand-based businessman shortly before the general election, but is standing again in the resulting byelection on Thursday. The other major parties are not putting up candidates, so the chief contenders, according to the limited polling, are Farage and Count Binface. Continue reading...
Victorian microparty MPs including Georgie Purcell to face re-election struggle after group voting tickets abolished
Voters will be required to number at least five parties above the line in order of preference after bill passed upper house 33 votes to four Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Prominent MPs such as Georgie Purcell and other microparty members will face an uphill battle to retain their seats in Victoria’s upper house after parliament voted to abolish group voting tickets. Victoria’s legislative council was the only remaining upper house in Australia to use the GVT system, in which voters could only choose one party above the line on the ballot paper, with their preferences then allocated by the party if it was knocked out during counting. Continue reading...
Paid police paternity leave to double after fathers reported being ‘ostracised’
Exclusive: Pay increases to two weeks in England and Wales after Guardian revealed officers ‘mocked’ for taking time off Paid paternity leave for police in England and Wales is to double, after the Guardian revealed last year that officers were “mocked and ostracised ” for taking time off to spend with their babies. The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has increased the amount of paid parental and adoption leave for officers from one week to two across all forces, with fathers’ leave upped to be in line with mothers’. Continue reading...
Nigel Farage looks trapped and rattled - now the nationalist tide can be turned | Rafael Behr
There are more votes in tolerance and decency than in toxic division. It doesn’t take a great leap of political courage to fight back against Reform Nigel Farage can be confident of victory against a man posing as an ennobled space traveller with a dustbin on his head. At least, in Clacton he can. The refusal of major parties to contest this week’s byelection sets the bar low. But even if the competition were more serious than Count Binface, the Reform UK leader would be the favourite to win on his chosen turf. He picked the constituency as his safest shot for a parliamentary seat in the 2024 general election for a reason. Now he is betting that the stench of scandal around his personal and party finances, pungent in Westminster, won’t sicken his fans on the Essex coast. Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Eerie silence and ‘still surviving’: what happened next after steel town’s last blast furnace shut down
Exhibition in Port Talbot is part of project exploring how communities experience endings and transitions Margaret Heggett, 95, does not remember a time when Port Talbot was ever quiet. Born and raised in the shadow of the steelworks, with a father, brother and husband who worked there, she never imagined what the town could look or sound like without its blast furnaces. “I’m not saying it was beautiful, but there were jobs. We did know the closure was coming and we have to move with the times but it’s affected the town a lot and it’s very sad,” she said. Continue reading...
UK extreme heat prompts Cobra emergency meeting
High temperatures continue with forecasts reaching 38C on Thursday and wildfires stretching emergency services The prime minister will chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee on Wednesday in response to extreme heat, which has caused wildfires and plunged many parts of Britain into drought. Andy Burnham will meet with ministers, officials and agencies as high temperatures continue across the UK on Wednesday afternoon, with temperatures of 33C forecast, and up to 38C on Thursday. Continue reading...
Wednesday briefing: Why the prison crisis is about much more than early release
In today’s newsletter: As ministers scramble to resolve overcrowding in prisons, experts say the crisis demands a rethink of who we lock up – and what happens when they’re set free Good morning. On his family holiday last week, the prime minister, Andy Burnham, was reported to be taking daily calls from Ministry of Justice officials about his government’s early release scheme. A furious public outcry has gathered pace since it emerged that the plan – brought in by his predecessor, Keir Starmer, to alleviate overcrowding in prisons across England and Wales – might include two of the killers of PC Andrew Harper and other serious sexual offenders, including grooming gang perpetrators. After several weeks of “system says no” briefings, which Harper’s mother Debbie Adlam has described as “a rollercoaster … really draining”, yesterday Burnham endeavoured to put a pin in it until September. UK news | Repeated debilitating heatwaves this summer are likely to have cost the UK economy more than £4bn in lost economic output by the end of July, new analysis shows. Meta | Courts in England and Wales have joined a number of restaurants, theatres and pubs in banning the controversial Meta glasses , which can record video footage while being worn. Middle East | Firefighters and residents of south Lebanon have accused the Israeli military of lighting wildfires in the region, as forested areas burned down in blazes sparked by Israeli bombing. UK politics | Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice has been accused of using “nasty tactics” in an attempt to intimidate journalists and deflect attention from his own financial affairs after issuing a legal threat to the Guardian. US news | Democrats called on Tuesday for a congressional briefing over a stunning charade in which Donald Trump was secretly spirited to a different plane than the one the public and press believed he was travelling on. Continue reading...
Members of Liberal group received ‘kickbacks’ from lobbying company’s Catholic Schools NSW contract, Icac hears
Lobbyist Jeremy Greenwood gives evidence about allegations linked to Reformers at Independent Commission Against Corruption hearing Members of a conservative Christian Liberal group received a “kickback” from consultancy payments made by the governing body for more than 600 schools in New South Wales, an inquiry has heard. Consultant and lobbyist Jeremy Greenwood gave his third day of evidence to the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s (Icac) Operation Rosny on Wednesday. Continue reading...
All-British chocolate bar made by scientists using Reading-grown cocoa
Master’s student made first bar with 100% UK ingredients since 1932 to highlight affect of climate crisis on cocoa plants The late queen was the only person in history to have ever eaten a chocolate bar made with 100% British ingredients, after she was given one as a six-year-old in 1932 by the confectioner Rowntree’s. The bar was created from a glasshouse-grown cocoa plant, at Rowntree’s headquarters in York. Continue reading...
Mass evacuations in Beijing as Typhoon Dolphin brings more torrential rain to China
Forecasters warned the Chinese capital could receive more than one-third of its average annual rainfall over 24 hours Thousands of people have been evacuated from areas at risk of flooding and landslides in Beijing, as the remnants of Typhoon Dolphin continue to bring torrential rain to northern and central China. Forecasters warned on Tuesday that the Chinese capital could receive more than 150mm of rain over the following 24 hours, with some districts forecast to exceed 200mm – more than one-third of Beijing’s average annual rainfall of 528mm. Continue reading...
Massive bailout for Australia’s largest aluminium smelter expected to be announced by PM and NSW premier
Rio Tinto said in December it may cease operations at the Tomago aluminium smelter at the end of its current electricity supply contract Anthony Albanese and the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, are preparing to mount a major bailout of Australia’s largest aluminium smelter, in a deal worth as much as $2.5bn. Resources giant Rio Tinto said in December it was contemplating ceasing operations at the Tomago aluminium smelter in NSW at the end of its current electricity supply contract. Continue reading...
High school football player in Arkansas practices with viper in helmet
Two-foot venomous snake found inside helmet Player wore gear for nearly an hour without a bite Officers used water to force reluctant reptile out A high school football player in Arkansas had every right to be rattled after finding a venomous snake inside his helmet during practice. The Maumelle High student felt unusual movement inside his headgear following warmups last week and brought his helmet to an assistant coach for inspection. A slithering two-foot cottonmouth was discovered behind some padding. Continue reading...
UK heatwaves may have cost economy £4.4bn in lost output so far this year, analysis finds
Verdant thinktank says cost could top £25bn a year by 2030 and calls for maximum temperature for working and urban redesign to cool down cities Repeated debilitating heatwaves this summer are likely to have cost the UK economy more than £4bn in lost economic output by the end of July, new analysis shows. Green thinktank Verdant had suggested June’s unseasonally hot weather had an economic cost of £2.36bn . Updating its assessment to include last month’s high temperatures, it finds a £4.4bn hit to output. Continue reading...
Israel deliberately starting wildfires in southern Lebanon, firefighters say
First responders, residents and environmental groups say military dropping flares to destroy forests and crops Firefighters and residents of south Lebanon have accused the Israeli military of lighting wildfires in the region, as forested areas burned down in blazes sparked by Israeli bombing. Environmental groups said the fires in recent weeks were part of a longstanding Israeli practice of targeting Lebanon’s natural environment. Continue reading...
‘A mouse can’t tell us what works’: UK scientists to grow miniature human organs for drug testing
Organoids and tissues grown from human cells promise more accurate results, with £20m Cambridge project to create standardised models Miniature human organs and other tissues are to be grown from NHS patients’ cells in a drive to improve medicine testing and reduce the number of animals used in drug development. Scientists will use the clumps of tissue to learn how diseases vary between patients, helping them identify which treatments are best for different people based on the particular pathology underlying their condition. Continue reading...
British man with dementia told to leave Sweden after losing migration case
Exclusive: Horace Mason, 74, who has lived in Sweden for 25 years, faces being deported after court ruling A 74-year-old British man who has been living in Sweden for 25 years who needs round-the-clock care for dementia has been given 10 days to leave the country after he lost a post-Brexit migration court case. The deportation order comes after a Swedish court ruling in July that the government’s drive to reduce immigration trumped the needs of a man in full-time care. Continue reading...
Progressive Peggy Flanagan sweeps Minnesota Senate primary in race defined by anti-ICE anger
State’s Democratic lieutenant governor bests Angie Craig in another election contest pitting a progressive against a moderate Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, won the Democratic primary for US Senate in the state, in another election contest that pitted a progressive against a moderate, this time with immigration issues at the center. The US Senate race in Minnesota, in which Flanagan ousted congresswoman Angie Craig, was yet another example of progressive campaigns toppling moderates as an anti-establishment wave continues across Democratic primaries. But the state’s race was also a response to the long shadow of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in January. Continue reading...
Bondi shooting hero Ahmed al Ahmed cleared of assault charges
Ahmed, who maintains his innocence, was accused of putting his father in a headlock in March The man who disarmed one of the gunmen allegedly responsible for the Bondi Beach massacre has had an assault case against him tossed out. Ahmed al Ahmed, 44, had been accused of putting his father in a headlock on 9 March and intimidation over an alleged incident in June. Continue reading...
Passenger jet billed as China’s answer to Boeing and Airbus prepares to make first international flight
The Comac C919 will fly from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, although experts say it could take generations for it to challenge the west’s dominance of the industry China hopes to break into the world of commercial aviation with the first international flight of a Chinese-made passenger jet scheduled for Wednesday. The Comac C919 will take off from Beijing capital international airport at 3pm, landing in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, just over two hours later. Continue reading...