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

position to challenge Starmer, as he must first win a byelection in an area where Reform UK [performed well in the local elections](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/hold-on-could-andy-burnham-33949753), and where the Green party [could also contest

Reform Makerfield candidate admits making 'crass' comments in past

UK has backed Kenyon and said the party said it had no plans to investigate him over his previous comments. Kenyon is one of fourteen candidates contesting the by-election in the Greater Manchester constituency

Winners, losers and a PM on the brink - what to expect in next week's elections

elections are not all about No 10. Reform has been leading the UK-wide polls for more than a year now, consistently. Their popularity seems to have steadied since 2025 rather than zoomed

Andy Burnham vows to ‘change Labour’ in direct challenge to Keir Starmer

election,” Starmer said at an event on Monday. Asked if he would fight a leadership contest if another Labour MP gets enough support to mount a challenge, Starmer replied: “Well, we’re not at that

Monday briefing: Will the international effort to stop the further spread of hantavirus be successful?

position themselves for a contest. 2. ***Iran conflict*** | Donald Trump has rejected an Iranian response to a US peace proposal as [“totally unacceptable”](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/10/iran-us-peace-proposal-pakistan-reported-drone-strikes-strain-ceasefire), on a day the ceasefire showed signs of fraying

Labour leadership talk ‘froth and nonsense’, says senior minister – UK politics live

election results. “He was very clear with the cabinet on Tuesday, that if people want to challenge him there is a process for doing that, there is a way to trigger a leadership contest,” Nandy

UK’s Keir Starmer faces likely challenge following Labour’s election defeat

elections saw Labour lose almost 1,500 councillors in England, largely to Reform UK and the Greens. In Wales, First Minister Eluned Morgan lost her seat, ending the party’s 27 years in power there

Starmer to promise bolder action as leadership threats mount

contest would hamper his chances because he would first need to become an MP to stand as a candidate. Monday's address could prove to be the most important speech of Sir Keir's premiership

Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth voted first minister of Wales

UK. Ap Iorwerth was confirmed after a plenary vote on Tuesday with the support of the 43 Senedd members of his party and two Greens. Plaid Cymru ended Labour’s century-long electoral dominance

Can Starmer survive as PM? Seven scenarios for what might happen next

positive difference to their lives. Last year, when he was already in a tight spot, many Labour MPs felt Sir Keir's Labour conference speech, where he spoke about taking the fight to Reform UK

How team Burnham finally cleared the first of many hurdles on route to Westminster

contests, a block on a return in Gorton and Denton, and quite a few aggrieved MPs in the north west who have had to spend weeks batting off suggestions they will give their seats

Labour has 'no coherent plan' for country, says Blair

contest, recently argued that the UK should rejoin the EU one day. However, Sir Tony said: "Just as Brexit was never the answer to Britain's challenges back in 2016, reversing

Reform and Plaid likely to benefit from polarisation of Welsh politics

position. “The definition of ‘winning’ is always contestable in PR elections. Often the largest party emerges with similar proportions of votes and seats to other parties, so of course Reform are going to exploit that

PM insists he will not walk away as Burnham promises to change Labour

elected to office to serve the people... and that's what I'll be getting on with". Sir Keir's leadership is likely to be challenged by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham

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

election result, Burnham’s personal popularity across Greater Manchester gives him an even shot of winning the race. Luke Tryl, the director of the research group More in Common, said: “We have two amazing forces

What does Makerfield make of by-election and can Burnham win?

position if he wins and becomes an MP again. But losing the contest would seriously diminish his reputation and could make a Labour leadership contest less likely, in the short term. Burnham has a long

Early England election results make it clear: we are in an era of five-party politics

elections for these councils, and now has almost 400 councillors with undoubtedly many more to come. The size of losses and gains will change, but these [early headlines](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/08/labour-reform-uk-england-local-elections-2026-scotland-wales) are unlikely to. However

Lib Dems can counter extremes of Reform and Greens, Davey says

elections as proof his party is best positioned to confront what he described as the “extreme populist change” offered by Reform UK and the Greens. As Labour assessed a disastrous set of results

Keir Starmer's party lost big in U.K. local elections. Here's what comes next.

contested, losing more than 1,100 seats that it had previously held. Meanwhile, the right-wing populist Reform UK party gained more than 1,400 seats. [![How the Epstein files are upending U.K. politics

Local election campaigning enters final week as forecaster warns Labour could lose 1,850 English seats –UK politics live

UK politics live Good morning. We are now into the final week of campaigning for the Scottish parliament, Welsh Senedd and English local elections. Keir Starmer had been planning a big speech today