section
Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
3039 stories archived
Black voter turnout surges in US south despite Republican redistricting drive: ‘They could not stop the momentum’
The GOP tried to dilute their power, but Black voters helped Democrats get elected in Alabama, Texas and Florida Black voter turnout surged across US southern states where Republicans were accused of redrawing electoral maps to “diminish Black political power” in the wake of a seismic supreme court ruling. Democrats flipped or held seats in Alabama, Texas and Florida with the support of this voting bloc, building on a decades-long, dedicated movement to protect and build Black political power in the region. Continue reading...
Trump may have lost but don’t bet Democrats can fix the economy
There’s not much they can do over the next couple of years to alleviate angry voters’ stress over prices It was the economy, again. Although Donald Trump largely ignored it, voters’ acute concerns over the rising cost of living fuelled a political upheaval for the ages that is likely to deliver the biggest swing toward Democrats since Watergate, granting them the largest House majority in nearly four decades alongside their biggest edge in the Senate since 2008. Still, having come to power promising to restore affordability, the new crop of Democrats are soon to discover that there is not much they can do over the next couple of years to alleviate angry voters’ stress over pricey gas and groceries, exorbitant mortgages and unaffordable healthcare. Eduardo Porter is a journalist focused on economics and politics. He writes the newsletter Being There on Substack Continue reading...
Trump faces criticism for ‘dangerous’ Stephen Miller appointment as White House chief of staff
Democrats and Republicans blast promotion of ‘xenophobe’ who led administration’s immigration crackdown in wake of US midterm elections Democratic lawmakers decried Stephen Miller as a “ hatemonger ”, a “ xenophobe ” and “ vile ” after Donald Trump appointed his most trusted adviser as White House chief of staff. On Friday afternoon, the US president abruptly announced via his Truth Social platform that Miller – the architect of his sweeping immigration crackdown – would replace Susie Wiles, whom he confirmed had been ousted. Continue reading...
Lanarkshire AI datacentre to fully rely on National Grid despite renewables claim
DataVita has revised plan for Chapelhall development to be wholly powered by 1GW of renewable energy A datacentre company that said it would power a massive AI development near Glasgow with renewable energy has admitted that the scheme will be entirely served by the National Grid. DataVita, a key plank of the UK’s AI strategy, had promised that the Lanarkshire project would draw 1GW – the equivalent output of a small nuclear reactor, or Britain’s largest windfarm – from green sources. But when the Guardian raised questions about the pledge , it said the arrangement was “subject to final commercial agreements, planning, grid and consenting processes”. Continue reading...
Home Office sued after stripping almost 1,500 EU citizens of right to live in UK
Campaign group the3million lodges court papers after EU citizens told pre-settled status was an ‘error’ The Home Office is being sued for alleged breach of the Brexit withdrawal agreement after stripping almost 1,500 EU citizens of their full rights to live in the UK. Campaign group the3million lodged papers at the high court on Friday after several cases emerged of EU citizens who were granted pre-settled status to remain in the country after Brexit but were told recently those decisions were an “error”. Continue reading...
TikTok accused of helping to promote sex industry to girls
Researchers say popular performers covertly market OnlyFans content and tell followers about wealthy lifestyle TikTok is helping to promote and normalise the sex industry, allowing “sexfluencers” to post videos aimed at marketing pornographic content they have uploaded elsewhere on sites such as OnlyFans, a report indicates. After studying non-explicit content posted on TikTok over the course of a year by some of OnlyFans’ most popular young female performers, researchers said the women buried coded references to pornography in “girly lifestyle content” that showed them shopping, playing with their pets, baking or offering skincare advice. Continue reading...
‘Finally there’s hope’: UK weighs up opportunities and risks after Trump’s midterms disaster
Senior British politicians and officials highlight potential to end Iran war but warn US president is not yet ‘a spent force’ Andy Burnham was having dinner at the Commonwealth summit in Antigua when the results of the US midterm elections started rolling in. UK government officials in the Caribbean with the prime minister scrolled through their phones with growing incredulity as the scale of the Republicans’ defeat became clear. Continue reading...
Why Woke 2.0 is taking on Trump and establishment politics | Nesrine Malik | Radical Thinking podcast
Today’s political conversation is dominated by one topic above all: race. The Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik has been way ahead of the pack in diagnosing how immigrants, their children and grandchildren are reshaping not just politics but western societies. On the latest episode of Radical Thinking with Aditya Chakrabortty, Nesrine talks about where never-ending culture wars in the West and real wars in the Middle East have left people of colour. Watch more episodes of Radical Thinking with Aditya Chakrabortty here Aditya’s suggested reading list for Nesrine Malik: In this podcast, Nesrine and I talk about how Gaza has reshaped politics in Britain and America. I quote from this column by her from November 2023 and also cite this prescient piece on Gaza and Labour , from October 2023. We also discuss “identity politics” (a term only ever used against ethnic minorities). Her book We Need New Stories: Challenging the Toxic Myths Behind Our Age of Discontent is worth revisiting. More recently, she has addressed the obits being written for Woke 1.0 . Finally, we didn’t get a chance to discuss Sudan’s civil war, but Nesrine’s Long Read on the Khartoum in which she grew up is very powerful. Continue reading...
Early release prisoners facing street homelessness, probation staff warn
Charities say situation exposes ‘fatal flaw’ in Andy Burnham’s plan to end rough sleeping in England by Christmas In just four days James is facing the prospect of sleeping on the street. He was released from prison in August and given temporary probation accommodation in Somerset, but that is about to expire and he has nowhere to go. “It is scary,” the 37-year-old said. “I am not asking for special treatment. But literally nowhere wants to help – I have contacted MPs, solicitors, probation and the council. I am quite tempted to just get myself recalled to prison because it is November. It is cold.” Continue reading...
Nationwide launches savings account with ‘market leading’ 5.3% interest
Many experts think fixed rate on 30-month term will still look good after Bank of England raised base rate A savings account paying “market-leading” 5.3% interest was launched this week by Nationwide building society. It’s only for Nationwide members – but there are more than 19 million of them. The account was launched just a couple of days before the Bank of England pushed up the main base rate to 4%, a move that will be welcomed by many savers. Continue reading...
‘Super-force’ plans a real threat to local policing, English mayors say
Regional leaders criticise Met chief’s call for merging of 43 forces into eight or 10, saying it runs counter to devolution drive Plans to slash the number of police forces in England and Wales represent a “real threat” to local policing and seriously undermine Andy Burnham’s devolution agenda, leading mayors have said. Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan police commissioner and Britain’s top officer, called on Friday for the 43 forces of England and Wales to be cut to “eight to 10” super forces. Continue reading...
Reform UK councillor promoted collapsed $1.9bn ‘Ponzi scheme’ HyperVerse that left victims suicidal
Susan Lawrence, elected to Wolverhampton city council, sits on committee overseeing financial reporting of multimillion-pound budget A woman who promoted a notorious cryptocurrency scam has been elected as a Reform UK councillor and now sits on the audit and risk committee of a major city council. Susan Lawrence was one of the main UK promoters of the HyperVerse cryptocurrency scheme, which was named in US court documents as an alleged “pyramid and Ponzi scheme” that cheated investors worldwide out of a “staggering” $1.89bn (£1.41bn). Continue reading...
Strait of Hormuz could reopen as part of Qatari plan for Iran nuclear inspections
Trump still considering new assault on Iran nuclear sites – though threats less credible after Vance remarks Qatar, the lead mediator in the US-Iran conflict, is seeking to persuade Tehran to allow UN nuclear weapons inspectors to visit Iran’s bombed nuclear sites, including those housing the country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Iran would not be required to make any commitment that the stockpile would be removed from the country, with other options on the table, including reducing the uranium content by down-blending it. Continue reading...
NZ election 2026 live results: count on as National and Labour battle it out in knife-edge New Zealand poll
Polls show no coalition is expected to secure a majority of seats, in one of the closest elections in recent history New Zealand heads for election cliffhanger with minor party cast as kingmaker In New Zealand’s bellwether seat, what are locals thinking as a knife-edge poll looms? Some colour from voting stations around the country today. The Labour party election night event has kicked off in the Upper Hutt Cosmopolitan Club, a popular suburban venue in the middle of Labour party leader Chris Hipkins ’ Remutaka electorate, which he’s held since 2008. Continue reading...
The end of Maga as we know it
The Republican party will regroup after their shellacking in the US midterm elections, but it won’t look the same Walking by a tattoo studio and medical spa on the pretty main street of Round Rock , in Texas Hill Country, Tarik Bakir recalled voting for Barack Obama in 2008 and Donald Trump in 2024. But when it came to the 2026 midterm elections, he was firmly back in the Democrats’ column. “I’m not happy with the Iran war,” said Bakir, 41, a financial adviser who served with the US military in Afghanistan. “The economy’s OK , but not great. This election was a rebuttal to Trump. This time people said they didn’t like him, or his policies.” Continue reading...
US midterm results may help unite Israeli coalition to unseat Netanyahu
Democrats’ sweep could urge Israel’s divided opposition to join forces and remove prime minister closely allied with Trump The Democrats’ sweep of Congress may make it easier for Israel’s splintered opposition to overcome deep internal divisions and form a coalition government, by increasing the urgency of unseating Benjamin Netanyahu, who has associated himself so closely with Donald Trump’s Republicans. But as Israel took stock of the results, there was also a sense that the elections marked a longer-term shift in US politics that will make the job of any new Israeli leader far more difficult. Continue reading...
What’s the point? Ten years after the Paris treaty, are climate talks getting anywhere?
Its key temperature goal has been missed but experts say the agreement is still proving a vital moral compass for progress It was a curious way of conducting negotiations. Ahead of the 2025 climate summit, in the Amazonian port of Belém last year, the Brazilian hosts had taken off the table the issue that most had assumed would be at its heart: concrete plans from each country laying out exactly what they would be doing to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. Brazil was insisting, instead, that these plans – the bedrock of the Paris agreement – were the business of national governments and not up for negotiation. “In that case, it will be a very short Cop,” one seasoned global south negotiator told the Guardian shortly before, reflecting a widespread unease. “There is nothing to negotiate.” Continue reading...
US carries out another round of ‘minor’ strikes on Iran, Trump says
The president’s announcement comes days after an earlier attack on Iran was made public, and as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have accelerated Donald Trump has said the US military on Friday carried out a new round of limited strikes on Iran, targeting an air defence system, describing the action as “minor.” Iranian state media reported the sound of two explosions in the Suza area of Qeshm Island, which is in the strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway for oil shipments that has been disrupted since the beginning of the US war on Iran in February. Continue reading...
Ousted Paraguay president under house arrest after banking crisis leaves 60% of country unable to access accounts
Santiago Peña was detained minutes after he was impeached by Congress, as protesters took to the streets demanding answers after the suspension of the Ueno bank Paraguay’s rightwing president has been placed under house arrest minutes after he was impeached by Congress, amid a severe crisis that left more than half the country’s population unable to access their bank accounts. Santiago Peña is being investigated about allegations he used his political influence to favour a bank that expanded exponentially under his government and was suspended this week after irregularities . Continue reading...
Golden State Warriors’ Kristaps Porziņģis steps away from basketball over undisclosed health issue
Warriors center, 31, announces decision on social media Latvian big man does not disclose nature of health issue Porziņģis leaves door open to return after long absence Golden State Warriors center Kristaps Porziņģis announced he is stepping away from basketball to prioritize his health due to an undisclosed matter in a social media post on Friday. Porziņģis did not reveal the nature of the issue in a message posted on his X account, and the 31-year-old did not make clear whether he will resume playing. Continue reading...
How Stephen Miller appointment shows Trump hasn’t learned his lesson on immigration
US voters repudiated mass deportation campaign, but choice of new chief of staff shows Trump doesn’t care On Tuesday, voters resoundingly rebuked Donald Trump and his brutal mass deportation campaign that sent military tanks and masked agents though residential streets. But on Friday, the president doubled down. He named Stephen Miller – the architect of the administration’s most aggressive immigration policies – as his chief of staff. Continue reading...
Ben Roberts-Smith collaborates with gym business run by influencer that sold ‘war crimes’ pre-workout supplement
Zero Limits supplements is co-owned by right-wing podcaster and fitness coach Chris Katelaris, also known as ‘Big Chocky’ Ben Roberts-Smith has collaborated with a gym supplements company run by a right-wing influencer which recently sold a pre-workout product called “war crimes”. Roberts-Smith, one of Australia’s most decorated living soldiers who is currently awaiting trial on war crimes charges, has recently launched an apparel brand, Epic 1 Two, producing t-shirts and gym wear . Continue reading...
Man in custody after being found in vehicle near White House with guns
Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos arrested by secret service after telling officers voices told him to kill Donald Trump The US secret service said a suspect has been taken into custody and charged after officers found him in a vehicle near the White House with multiple guns, claiming he heard voices in his head telling him to kill Donald Trump. The arrest Thursday night happened after secret service officers approached a man “acting suspicious” in a parked car, according to a Homeland Security statement. US officials said the suspect – Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos – went on to describe voices in his head that were telling him to come to the nation’s capital and kill the Republican president. Continue reading...
Bad blood? Knicks defend Taylor Swift after players accuse her of being ‘fake fan’
Kolek calls singer’s courtside appearances ‘performative’ McBride agrees as teammates question celebrity fandom Knicks give statement saying Swift is longtime supporter Taylor Swift’s love story with the New York Knicks caught an unexpected stray after two players from last season’s NBA champions accused the singer of being a fair-weather fan. The Knicks released a statement on Friday defending Swift after two of their players questioned whether the pop superstar was a genuine supporter of the team. Continue reading...