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MPs raise doubts over missing Mandelson vetting documents

Starmer had “subcontracted” the decision to appoint Mandelson. She said: “The mistake and criticism one can level at the prime minister is that he delegated and did not watch sufficiently what was going on. Essentially

Chris Mason: PM confronts his most difficult day as party revolts

Starmer's cabinet is split on the most fundamental political question a government's top table of ministers can ever wrestle with: whether the prime minister should carry on. Clearly, a cabinet split on this

Will Starmer go – and if so, how? Four scenarios in the battle for No 10

Starmer to set a timetable to quit. The MP for Makerfield in Greater Manchester, Josh Simons, announced on Thursday afternoon that he was giving up his seat and wanted Burnham to take it. It remains

Pound heads for worst week in 18 months as Burnham lines up Labour bid

Starmer for the role of PM after the Greater Manchester mayor [announced he would run for parliament](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/14/labour-mp-to-stand-down-to-allow-burnham-run-for-byelection-amid-leadership-row) in the north-west constituency of Makerfield. “The pound is weakening this morning after

‘It’s more incrementalism’: Starmer’s safe king’s speech fails to quell mutiny

Starmer’s characteristic reluctance to embrace trade-offs. A regulating for growth bill promises to help Britain to “compete on the world stage”, something it will achieve largely by giving regulators a mandate to promote

Analysis: Has Starmer done enough to save his premiership?

Starmer's speech. Was it enough to avert a challenge to the prime minister's leadership less than two years after he won a landslide general election victory? In the first instance, the person whose

Andy Burnham faces perilous race to win Makerfield byelection, allies say

Starmer’s biographer](https://observer.co.uk/news/politics/article/shattered-allegiances-and-broken-friendships-litter-the-streets-of-westminster), said: “If Burnham says things which put him in opposition to a much closer relationship with Europe, or appears to adopt a hard line on immigration in order

‘There’s a risk of another Liz Truss moment’: City raises spectre of bond market meltdown again

Starmer’s grip on power appeared to be slipping away, the yield – in effect the interest rate – on 30-year government bonds, or gilts, briefly reached 5.8% on Tuesday, [the highest level since

No, Minister: the week Keir Starmer had his own Sir Humphrey moment

Starmer](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/keir-starmer), had his own Sir Humphrey moment – potentially an existential one. Olly Robbins, [fired by the prime minister](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/16/foreign-offices-top-civil-servant-olly-robbins-leaves-post-in-mandelson-vetting-row) as the Foreign Office’s permanent secretary after not informing

Ministers have no authority to withhold Mandelson vetting file, committee says

Starmer’s government is now expected to face intense pressure to explain why it has chosen to withhold the vetting file. The prime minister’s decision to appoint Mandelson as ambassador

Starmer vows new sanctions on Russia and nuclear energy support for Ukraine

Starmer is expected to meet the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, the first full day of the summit. He will announce sanctions against Russia, days after

Labour leadership jostling puts Brexit back under political spotlight

resigning from the cabinet, told an audience in London on Saturday that "leaving the European Union was a catastrophic mistake". At the Progress Conference, organised by the "Blairite" wing of the Labour Party, he announced

Labour must offer more than ‘better managed decline’ on economy, MPs urge

Starmer’s government](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/nov/29/louise-haigh-resigns-as-transport-secretary) after it emerged she had been convicted of fraud over a missing work phone, is seen as a key power broker on the left of the party

PM sends Burnham and Labour warning over leadership contest

Starmer has warned Andy Burnham against launching an immediate challenge to his leadership if he becomes an MP, urging him, and the party, to focus instead on the election for a new Greater Manchester mayor

Chris Mason: Dissent fizzes again at the top of the Labour Party

resignations, fury and anger a month ago following Labour's calamitous election results, the Makerfield by-election campaign had put a temporary cork in the bottle of the party's dissent. Or so we thought

Labour came to power with no big idea for relations with EU, says former top diplomat

Starmer](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/keir-starmer), a former shadow Brexit secretary, had sought a single market for goods “an option which the EU is always bound to reject”, because it crosses well-established red lines. The Guardian

Burnham cleared to run for selection in pivotal by-election

Starmer as prime minister. The prime minister is continuing to resist calls to stand down and set a timetable for his departure and is expected to fight any challenge from Burnham or other likely contenders

Starmer gives tech firms ultimatum to block explicit images on children’s phones

Starmer is said to be carving out policies to provide him with a “legacy” as he faces the threat of a leadership challenge from Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor who is favourite to secure

Mandelson scandal is biggest crisis for diplomatic service in decades, says ex-Foreign Office chief

Starmer claims he was not made aware of the outcome of the vetting process until this week. Robbins is reportedly angry at what he considers to be unfair treatment by the prime minister

In Britain, Brexit is debated again as Starmer’s grip on power slips

Starmer to bring up Brexit. Greater Manchester Mayor [Andy Burnham](/news/2026/5/19/king-of-the-north-who-is-andy-burnham-a-potential-uk-prime-minister), who is currently preparing for a crucial by-election that he hopes will allow him to become an official candidate in a leadership contest