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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Rosebank oilfield would not breach UK emission targets, say government insiders
Emissions from exported oil would not count against carbon budget, insiders say – reasoning likely to draw dismay from climate campaigners The giant Rosebank oilfield can be approved without breaching the UK’s emission targets, according to government insiders, in a boost to those in the cabinet who are pushing for it to be given the go-ahead. The Guardian revealed last week that Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, was leaning towards rejecting the project , but her position has put her at loggerheads with cabinet colleagues, including the chancellor, John Healey , who are lobbying for an approval. Continue reading...
Parents inflicted fatal physical and sexual abuse on their baby, Warwick court hears
Michal Stasiak and Kinga Wydrzynska pleaded not guilty to 11 counts relating to death of 13-month-old Isabella Stasiak A 13-month-old girl was subjected to physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her parents before she was fatally injured by her mother, a court has heard. Michal Stasiak, 28, and Kinga Wydrzynska, 26, appeared at Warwick crown court on Tuesday, where they pleaded not guilty to 11 counts related to the death of Isabella Stasiak. Continue reading...
Russell Brand told police he led a ‘very promiscuous’ life, trial hears
Comedian accused of sexual offences against six women said consensual encounters were ‘unfavourably reframed decades later’ Russell Brand told police he had led a “very promiscuous” life and consensual sexual encounters had been “unfavourably reframed decades later”, his trial has heard. The 51-year-old comedian blamed the allegations on “defamatory and fictitious” media reports. He said in a statement that he had had sexual encounters in countless locations and scenarios and kissed hundreds of people in public while trying to be “friendly, consensual and warm”. Continue reading...
The Guardian view on supporting carers: the DWP’s problem is deeper than IT | Editorial
A taper is much better than a cliff-edge. But problems with carer’s allowance should have been solved years ago The reform of carer’s allowance – a benefit paid to people who spend 35 or more hours a week caring for a disabled relative – is overdue and welcome. The cliff-edge design that forces claimants in England and Wales to forfeit their entire payment if they breach an earnings limit of £204 a week by as little as a penny is wrong in principle and made much worse by the appalling way in which rules have been applied. A Guardian investigation revealed that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) failed to warn thousands of people who it knew were being overpaid. This resulted in debts and hardship, and hundreds of criminal convictions for fraud. Carers in already difficult personal circumstances described feeling driven to desperation and illness by what one called a “catch-out culture” . Most claimants are women on low incomes; the allowance is £86.45 a week. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here . Continue reading...
The Guardian view on the far right’s plans for Brussels: doing the work of Xi, Putin and Trump | Editorial
If ever enacted, proposals by Marine Le Pen and the AfD leader, Alice Weidel, to hollow out EU institutions would be a continental act of self-harm Following the Brexit referendum in 2016, Marine Le Pen was in a predictably celebratory mood. Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, she told one interviewer, was the first breach in the “Brussels Wall”. Ms Le Pen’s Front National party was at that point committed to taking France down the same path, given the chance. But as the UK’s self-inflicted economic wounds became a cautionary tale for the rest of Europe, the notion of Frexit was put on ice. Instead, Ms Le Pen now hopes to lead far-right allies in hollowing out the EU from within. This month, both she and the leader of Alternative für Deutschland, Alice Weidel, outlined their visions of a “Europe of nations” in which EU institutions would be stripped of both cash and power. Ms Weidel’s “new deal for Europe” would abolish elections to the European parliament, and seek German opt-outs in areas such as migration, defence and common borrowing. Ms Le Pen’s party, now called National Rally, proposes slashing French contributions to the EU budget by 60% over a five-year presidential term, and ending the role of Brussels in proposing common policies for the 27 member states. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here . Continue reading...
Ella Baron on the autumn budget – cartoon
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Budget 2026: six charts that reveal the economic realities facing the chancellor
From tackling the youth jobs crisis to repairing Brexit’s economic damage, John Healey has his work cut out for him John Healey will deliver his first budget on Wednesday as UK households and businesses come under pressure from the unfolding economic shock caused by the war in the Middle East. Against a febrile backdrop in global markets, the chancellor is facing a delicate balancing act to provide “breathing space” measures to ease the cost of living crisis while increasing growth and sticking to the fiscal rules. Continue reading...
The chancellor’s pet PuFins have an important role – but they need more scrutiny
An Office for Budgetary Responsibility for public financial institutions like the National Wealth Fund and the British Business Bank is starting to look essential Two winners in the budget are known already. They are the National Wealth Fund (NWF) and the British Business Bank (BBB), state-funded investment bodies that have rapidly become central to the government’s growth strategy. Former chancellor Rachel Reeves handed extra slugs of capital to both and now John Healey is going further. The NWF will get another £15.4bn over the next half decade, on top of its existing £27.8bn, and there’ll be another £5bn for the BBB, which already has £30.6bn. Continue reading...
US military says strike on alleged drug vessel in eastern Pacific kills five people
US military says it carried out an airstrike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in latest attack in region The US military said on Tuesday it killed five people after an airstrike on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific. Tuesday’s strike was among more than 70 such attacks since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second presidency, according to media tallies. Collectively, they have killed more than 240 people. Continue reading...
Schrödinger’s racism, Nige’s latest wheeze to dodge his associates’ bigotry | John Crace
We are apparently to believe Raheem Kassam calling Kemi a ‘Nigerian scammer’ was racist and not racist at the same time Back to the future. Some of us can remember the days when the key to surviving a nuclear war was to kneel down under the kitchen table and keep your eyes closed till you were incinerated or died of radiation poisoning. Now the government wants you to hoard some baked beans and a few litres of water in the hope of getting through the next three days. But when the apocalypse does come, you can bank on there being one survivor. The politician with seemingly limitless powers of regeneration. As one party of his dies, so another rises from the ashes. Fuelled not by water and tinned food, but by alcohol and grievance. Somehow, Nigel Farage is always the victim in his own story. The man who is forever misunderstood. Continue reading...
Homes across UK to get low- or no-interest loans to fund solar panels and heat pumps
Government-backed Warm Home Loans scheme to help households cut energy bills by hundreds of pounds Households across the UK can now cut their energy bills by hundreds of pounds a year at no upfront cost by applying for interest-free or “low-interest” loans to fund upgrades such as heat pumps, batteries and solar panels. The government-backed Warm Home Loans scheme, which launched on Tuesday, could mean thousands more households are able to access low-carbon energy alternative technologies, thanks to loans ranging from £7,500 to up £35,000. Continue reading...
Slovenia mourns loss of glacier on its highest peak after scorching summer
Extreme heat accelerated disappearance of Triglav glacier from mountain revered as a symbol of Slovenian identity The final ice patch has vanished from Slovenia’s Triglav glacier, the latest Alpine casualty of Europe’s scorching summer. The once mighty ice mass lost 93% of its surface area between 1983 and 2003, shrinking to cover less than a hectare of overheated rock, but went on to surprise researchers who feared its imminent demise, clinging on to the mountain for two more decades. Continue reading...
Doctor performs first telerobotic surgery in US, removing prostate from 35 miles away
The patient was at a facility in Minneola, Florida, while the surgeon operated remotely from another facility A Florida surgeon has performed the first telerobotic operation between two US hospitals, removing the prostate of a man with cancer from 35 miles away, according to officials. Dr Vipul Patel, founder and medical director of the Global Robotics Institute at AdventHealth Celebration in suburban Orlando, on Sunday performed an investigational robotic prostatectomy on a 66-year-old prostate cancer patient who volunteered for a clinical study evaluating a robotic telesurgery system. Continue reading...
Federal agents search Beverly Hills mansion tied to ex-congressman Eric Swalwell
Home of wealthy developer Stephen Cloobeck searched in connection to sexual misconduct inquiry into Swalwell Federal law enforcement agents searched a home in suburban Los Angeles early on Tuesday as part of an investigation into Eric Swalwell , who resigned from Congress amid a wave of sexual misconduct allegations, a law enforcement official and two people familiar with the investigation told the Associated Press. Agents searched the Beverly Hills home of the wealthy developer and Swalwell donor Stephen Cloobeck, where the Democratic ex-congressman spent time before resigning from office in April, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation. Continue reading...
Flávio Bolsonaro rumoured to have fled Brazil after presidential election loss
Authorities demanded he hand over his passport after loss to Lula but far-right senator remains unaccounted for The far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro has not been seen since Monday and missed a Tuesday-morning deadline to hand his passport to the federal police, fuelling rumours that he may have fled Brazil after losing Sunday’s presidential election. A supreme court justice cancelled Bolsonaro’s passport minutes after the result in a ruling related to a criminal case against the senator. He until 11am to surrender the document to the federal police, but did not appear. Continue reading...
Oleshky truce appears to hold as two European leaders have ‘frank’ call with Putin
Frontline near Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine quiet for first time in years ahead of planned evacuation Europe live – latest updates A local ceasefire in a southern Ukrainian city under Russian occupation appeared to be holding on Tuesday, with both sides ceasing drone attacks, ahead of an apparent evacuation of about 2,000 trapped and desperate civilians. The temporary truce began at 3am in Russian-controlled Oleshky. The city sits on the Dnipro River and is about 3 miles from Kherson, a larger city on the opposite bank. Ukrainian troops recaptured Kherson in autumn 2022 . Continue reading...
Bottled water and tinned food sales surge after UK government issues emergency stockpile advice
Retailers also report jump in purchases of wind-up radios and torches to deal with extreme weather and cyber-attacks Sales of tinned foods, bottled water, wind-up radios and torches have surged after the UK government advised households to prepare for emergencies . Retailers have reported a jump in sales of items linked to preparation for emergencies such as extreme weather or cyber-attacks. The Be Ready campaign was launched last week with the aim of persuading households to lay in supplies to last 72 hours. Continue reading...
Woman’s world ‘tilted on axis’ on learning husband invited men to sexually assault her, court told
Four men on trial charged with sexually assaulting Joanne Young while she was sedated, restrained and blindfolded A woman’s world was “tilted on its axis” when she discovered that for years her former husband had been drugging her and inviting men into their family home to sexually assault her while she was restrained and blindfolded, a court has been told. Businessman Philip Young advertised his then wife, Joanne Young, on dating and swinging websites, presenting it as a “kink” for both of them, Winchester crown court heard. Continue reading...
The Epstein files are a sledgehammer for the US midterms | Katie Phang
Voters have a chance to break America’s two-tiered system of justice and hold powerful people accountable Welcome back to How We Win, a Guardian opinion series with leading thinkers, offering bold ideas for America’s political future. Last week, Guardian US columnist Rebecca Solnit wrote about the GOP’s alignment with the tech overlords . Today’s edition was written by Katie Phang, an independent journalist, trial lawyer and political analyst. Sign up for future editions here . When Americans go to the polls a week from now, accountability will be front and center. Instead of enforcing the law, the attorney general of the United States has been busy subverting it Continue reading...
Oriel College urged to cancel student group’s event with Jason Arday accuser
Student supporters of Reform UK at Oxford college have organised evening with Nathan Cofnas discussing DEI The University of Oxford’s Oriel College has been urged to cancel an event featuring Jason Arday’s accuser Nathan Cofnas that has been organised by student supporters of Reform UK. Arday, 41, was found dead in August after resigning from his University of Cambridge professorship. He had faced intense media scrutiny after Cofnas made unproven accusations of plagiarism against him and said there were “serious questions” about his biographical claims. Continue reading...
Shabana Mahmood urged to grant visa to former Weather Underground activist
Home Office refused entry to Judith Clark, 77, invited by RSC to speak about restorative justice after her time in prison Human rights activists and celebrities including the lawyer Helena Kennedy, the actor Harriet Walter and the theatre director Phyllida Lloyd have urged the Home Office to overturn its decision to refuse a visa to a former member of the radical US group the Weather Underground, saying her decades of rehabilitation should count in her favour. Judith Clark, 77, was the inspiration for Walter’s portrayal of prisoners in the Donmar Warehouse all-female Shakespeare trilogy, including Brutus in Julius Caesar and Prospero in The Tempest. Continue reading...
Trump-appointed CDC deputy director to resign after six months on the job
Jennifer Shuford is expected to leave her post after midterm elections ‘to spend more time with my family’ The deputy director and chief medical officer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will resign after six months on the job, according to an agency email obtained by the Guardian. Dr Jennifer Shuford was appointed by Donald Trump in April as part of a four-person senior leadership team. Continue reading...
UK government to give £15m to anti-misogyny fund amid ‘manosphere’ concerns
Misogyny prevention fund to help tackle sexism at work, school and in public places across UK • UK politics live – latest updates The chancellor will give £15m to a dedicated fund to tackle misogyny in workplaces, schools and public places amid concerns in government about the rise of “manosphere” influencers. The women and equalities minister, Bridget Phillipson, will helm the UK-wide fund, announced last month, marking the first time there has been specific national cash to address misogyny. Continue reading...
Gen Z voters: tell us what is guiding your vote in the US midterm elections?
We want to hear from gen Z voters about the issues that will decide your vote in the midterm elections The US midterm elections that will decide control of the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as the governorships in 36 states, are just one week away. The results could have a huge impact on Donald Trump ’s final two years in office. Nearly 50 million people aged 18 to 29 are eligible to vote in the midterms but less than half are either not registered or civically engaged, according to US Census Bureau data . Continue reading...