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Friday briefing: Andy Burnham wins Makerfield byelection to set up possible leadership bid

Andy Burnham?** The campaign trail threw up several policy “re-alignments” from Burnham. Having previously called for the contentious “no recourse to public funds” rule to be scrapped (which prevents migrants from claiming benefits

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

considering his position in government. But shortly after strikingly candid interviews with Sky News and the BBC, he posted his resignation letter to X, writing he could not defend "a level of investment I know

Monday briefing: What’s next for no-drama Starmer as his ‘political challenges’ pile up?

Andy Burnham too, that first impressions are so important. First there was Starmer’s very dismal speech in the Downing Street garden, then Rachel Reeves’s very dismal £22m black hole …” Polly’s list goes

Chris Mason: Starmer defiant after defence spending row

running out of time. It was made very clear to me in this interview that I had the time - and he wanted the time - to develop his answers. Perhaps little wonder

Andy Burnham seeks advice from Sue Gray on forming future Labour government

Andy Burnham has sought advice from Baroness Sue Gray, Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff, on how to manage a potential transition into Downing Street if he returns to Westminster and succeeds the prime

Keir Starmer announces resignation as UK prime minister

Andy Burnham in a special election last week. The popular ex-mayor of Greater Manchester planned to challenge Starmer for the Labour leadership. Starmer made the announcement outside the prime minister's 10 Downing

UK borrowing costs rise and pound falls as leadership drama continues

Andy Burnham's decision to fight a by-election. While other European government borrowing costs also rose, the UK movements have been greater, which analysts said had been fuelled by market concerns that a Burnham

Andy Burnham to back electoral reform if he becomes prime minister

Andy Burnham has said he will back sweeping changes to the electoral system to make politics “less point-scoring, more problem-solving” if he becomes prime minister. The [Greater Manchester](https://www.theguardian.com/uk/greater-manchester) mayor

Thames Water rescue deal threatened by uncertainty over next prime minister

Andy Burnham, has talked about bringing utility companies under public control, with his supporters advocating for him to start with Thames Water if he enters Downing Street. One senior source in the environment department said

Public control of water and energy at heart of Burnham agenda, sources say

Andy Burnham on a campaign visit to Ashton-in-Makerfield before the Makerfield byelection. Photograph: Jon Super/AP A spokesperson for Burnham would not comment further on his policy plans. With Labour figures [increasingly confident

Tax cuts and cost of living help proposed by Labour-linked groups allied to Streeting and Burnham

run, including sweeping tax cuts, help with the cost of living and big reforms to government machinery. With Keir Starmer under under [concerted pressure](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/11/more-than-60-labour-mps-call-on-starmer-to-set-timetable-to-quit) to stand down, the groups

Is Keir Starmer trying to build a legacy or just getting on with the job?

Andy Burnham, there is a sense that Keir Starmer is entering his own legacy period – not just tying up loose ends, but seeking to create impacts that last. The long-awaited [defence investment plan

Wes Streeting prepares to launch leadership challenge against Keir Starmer

Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, is the favoured replacement for Starmer by many on the soft left, but does not yet have a seat despite trying to persuade several MPs to stand down

Chris Mason: Questions multiply for the man tipped to replace Starmer

Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting, folded and endorsed the former mayor of Greater Manchester. So not only did we learn that Sir Keir will soon be gone, but we got the strongest possible indication yet that

Tuesday briefing: With unease at home spreading, what next for Russia’s isolated leader?

considering a similar move. “Putin managed to deal with that quite ruthlessly,” Pjotr says. “He seemed to survive that situation. But now, it doesn’t seem like he has another trump cardto boost his popularity

Frozen by the challenges of power: how Starmer turned triumph into tragedy

considered quitting after Johnson’s Conservative party, buoyed up by a Covid “vaccine bounce”, took the ultra-safe Labour seat of Hartlepool in a byelection. A national polling gap Starmer had painstakingly pulled back suddenly

No 10 braced for ‘excruciating’ revelations as Mandelson files published – UK politics live

considered voting Labour, but only 6% of those who went Reform. > > A political strategy [by Labour] that refuses to acknowledge this skew towards the Greens, or that tries to dismiss them as crazies

Energy bills, business rates and HS2: What are Burnham's potential policies?

Andy Burnham's victory in the Makerfield by-election means there is now a real prospect he will challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the leadership of the Labour Party - and the country. During

Tuesday briefing: Starmer’s ‘last chance’ speech and the possible challengers to his premiership

considering restarting US navy military escorts of ships through the strait of Hormuz in an attempt to end the Iranian blockade. 3. ***Cost of living*** | Households cut back on their spending in April

Top lawyer whose 'Mr Rules' approach failed to connect with the public

running joke in his speeches, but he also spoke movingly about his mother, who suffered from Still's Disease, a rare form of inflammatory arthritis which eventually left her unable to walk