Dismisses

Deputy PM says the public will not forgive weeks of internal debate on the EU and Labour leadership, warning it will play into Reform’s handsGood morning. Harold Wilson was right; a week is a long time etc etc. Seven days ago, the biggest threat to Keir Starmer was a half-baked challenge from Catherine West. A week on, with Andy Burnham on a viable path back to Westminster within the next few weeks, it now seems more likely than not that Burnham will be prime minister by the autumn, perhaps earlier, and that Keir Starmer will be out.We are likely to hear from Starmer himself this morning. In the meantime, David Lammy, the deputy PM, has been doing a broadcast round. As Peter Walker reports, Lammy has insisted that Starmer is not about to set out a timetable for his departure. Continue reading...

• On April 24, 2026, the White House dismissed all 22 members of the National Science Board, the oversight body for the U.S. National Science Foundation that funds research nationwide. • The NSF supports science and engineering across all 50 states and territories, with the board providing independent guidance on grants totaling billions annually. • The purge raises alarms about politicization of federal science funding, potentially disrupting peer-reviewed research in physics, biology, and engineering that drives U.S. innovation.

• During an interview with Hugh Hewitt on Salem Radio, President Donald Trump characterized polls showing low public support for his military operations in Iran as 'fake.' • The denial comes as multiple polling organizations report that Americans increasingly disapprove of the U.S. war effort in Iran, indicating significant public concern over the conflict. • Trump's dismissal of negative polling reflects broader White House tensions over declining public support for its foreign policy in the Middle East.

• A federal judge dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit seeking access to Arizona voter registration data, ruling in favor of the state. • The case involved claims of inaccurate voter rolls, but the court found insufficient evidence to proceed with the Trump administration's demands. • This ruling protects state voter data privacy and may impact ongoing election integrity debates ahead of 2026 midterms.

PM will face Kemi Badenoch and other MPs at final PMQs of the 2024-26 parliamentary sessionGood morning. Originally Keir Starmer was hoping that there would not be a need for a PMQs today, but we have got one, and it will definitely be the last of the 2024-26 parliamentary session. It will be a chance for Starmer to reflect on all the legislation passed.There is some relief that the government won the vote on Kemi Badenoch’s call for Starmer to be referred to the privileges committee with ease. Here is our overnight story by Pippa Crerar, Ben Quinn and Jessica Elgot. Continue reading...

Downing Street says focus to remains on cutting bills, backing renters and lowering energy pricesDowning Street has dismissed a freeze on private sector rents even as Rachel Reeves left the door open to the idea, after the Guardian revealed the chancellor has been considering it as an option to cut the cost of living.A No 10 spokesperson said on Tuesday freezing private sector rents was “not the approach we will be taking” after sources told the Guardian it was Reeves’s preferred solution for dealing with a spike in housing costs in the wake of the Iran war. Continue reading...

Protester says he migrated from Malaysia as a child and describes home secretary’s immigration policies as cruelUK politics live – latest updatesA protester who heckled Shabana Mahmood said he came to the UK as a child from Malaysia, describing the home secretary’s claim that he was a white liberal as “laughable”.Joe, 32, who did not wish to give his last name, migrated from Malaysia at the age of four with his family. He said the home secretary’s proposed immigration reforms would have left him, and thousands of children like him, in limbo. Continue reading...