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Starmer loyalist warns against ‘copying Tories’ but admits PM is unpopular

Keir Starmer’s closest allies in the cabinet has conceded that the prime minister is “unpopular” but has insisted Labour should not repeat the same pattern of changing leaders that damaged the Conservatives. The housing

Armed forces minister quits after Healey exit as defence funding row deepens

Starmer over funding for the military. Al Carns resigned on Thursday evening, writing to Sir Keir to tell him the government's defence investment plan (DIP) was "neither transformative enough nor sufficiently funded". It came

UK elections – early results and takeaways; will Starmer have to resign?

resign? British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his ruling Labour Party have suffered [heavy early losses](/news/2026/5/5/starmers-referendum-how-local-elections-could-expose-a-fractured-uk) in local and regional [elections](/news/2026/5/7/uk-voters-head-to-the-polls-in-local-elections), counting shows so far, demonstrating deep voter anger with his government

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

Keir Starmer](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/keir-starmer), when he was dismissed from his role on Thursday. Robbins was sacked hours after the Guardian revealed that Peter Mandelson [failed his security vetting](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/17/keir-starmer-kept-in-dark-peter-mandelson-vetting-two-top-civil-servants) in January

Ed Miliband says he and Lammy feared Mandelson appointment could ‘blow up’

News. “I steered well clear of Peter Mandelson when I became [Labour](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/labour) leader in 2010.” Asked what he thought about Mandelson’s initial appointment, he said: “That it could blow up, that

Anti-Burnham fake news on Makerfield Facebook accounts has surged, report finds – UK politics live

news and reporting.* Here is the agenda for the day. *9am:* Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, takes part in an LBC phone-in. *9.30am:* The Department for Work and Pensions releases figures about personal

Healey wanted UK to join global defence bank, BBC told

News has been told. Allies of Healey claim the Treasury tried to shut down negotiations for the UK to join the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), an idea spearheaded by Canada. In his resignation

UK’s defence plan is underfunded and outdated, says Al Carns after resignation

resignation letter: “You have been unable and the Treasury has been unwilling to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats.” His broadside punctures a hole

Starmer tells Apple and Google to ban nude images on children's phones

Keir Starmer has told firms to either activate built-in features or update operating systems to prevent children from taking, sending or viewing sexually explicit images on their phones and other devices. Speaking at London

Digested week: King bites his tongue as a president indulges his fantasies | John Crace

news channels. Every action, every reaction overanalysed to death for a meaning that just wasn’t there. Because these state visits mean far less than monarchists would like us to believe. We haven’t cemented

Foreign secretary concerned ministers not told of Mandelson vetting fears sooner

Starmer is facing calls to resign from opposition parties and is due to answer questions on the scandal in Parliament on Monday. The Foreign Office's top civil servant Sir Olly Robbins, who was sacked

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

‘Why are we even doing this?’ The week that left Britain’s PM looking like an interim leader

Keir Starmer’s successor apparent. Photograph: Temilade Adelaja/Reuters She began by saying that if no one in the cabinet was willing to seek the 81 nominations needed to kickstart a leadership race, she would. This

Wednesday briefing: Where Starmer stands after another precarious day in Parliament

Keir Starmer](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/keir-starmer) swept to a remarkable victory in the 2024 general election, winning an enormous majority on the promise of change and accountability. A return to calm, sensible government and drawing

Culture secretary says Streeting’s call for UK to rejoin EU is ‘odd’

Keir Starmer, was right to have ruled out rejoining the EU. She told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “I actually think this is just a bit odd. I listened to what

Starmer says he will campaign for Burnham in Makerfield

Starmer has said he will be out campaigning for potential Labour leadership rival Andy Burnham ahead of the Makerfield by-election. Sir Keir said Labour needed to "all pull together and fight

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

Keir Starmer has vowed to “choke off” Russian revenue with further sanctions and to provide hundreds of millions of pounds worth of energy support for Ukraine, as he met world leaders in France

Keir Starmer vows to lead Labour into next general election after bruising week

News’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday show that “no wrongdoing by the prime minister has been proven in relation to Lord Mandelson’s appointment”, adding “the whole situation is regrettable”. Jones said: “Of course these

'Staggering' I was not told Mandelson failed vetting, says PM

Starmer has said it's "staggering" that he, as prime minister, was not told about Lord Peter Mandelson failing to pass initial security vetting checks. The prime minister is facing calls to resign over

How Rayner, Streeting and Burnham weakened PM in 12 hours of political drama

Starmer's future and a leadership contest looked possible. But Rayner, who had developed a surprisingly warm rapport with the King, did not want to overshadow his speech or undermine the announcement of new legislation