Today
British PM stumps up for Taylor Swift tickets after donations furore
With his popularity in freefall, Keir Starmer has tried to make amends for his freebie frenzy by paying back $12,000 worth of gifts out of his own pocket.
- Hans van Leeuwen
This Month
- Analysis
- UK politics
‘Do you miss me yet?’ Britain’s zany ex-PMs back on centre stage
Boris Johnson and Liz Truss return to the limelight, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s travails leave Tories daring to dream of a swift resurrection.
- Hans van Leeuwen
September
- Analysis
- UK politics
Why Britain’s PM faces political firefights on all fronts
A combination of bad politics and unpopular policy has left Sir Keir Starmer on the back foot. And there isn’t even a Tory opponent who can lead the attack.
- Hans van Leeuwen
Starmer calls for return of ‘sausages’ from Gaza in conference gaffe
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer misread his script – which called for the return of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 last year.
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen
July
Fixing broken Britain needs ‘tough decisions’, Starmer warns
The new prime minister held a cabinet meeting on Saturday to kickstart his bid to resuscitate the country’s ailing public services and tight finances.
- Hans van Leeuwen
How Angela Rayner became one of Britain’s most powerful women
She grew up in dire poverty caring for a sick mother on a council estate. But Angela Rayner’s drive to succeed propelled her to the top of the Labour Party.
- Louise Carpenter
‘We will fight until you believe again’: Starmer vows to fix Britain
Keir Starmer has officially become the UK’s new prime minister after a landslide victory in the polls and says he will lead a government focused on public service.
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Analysis
- UK election
Gaza backlash and other key lessons from UK’s election
Gaza has shaken up the left, populism is shaking up the right. Labour’s majority is less secure than it seems, but Keir Starmer’s dullness could be an asset.
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen
Labour set for landslide win as UK votes
Britons began casting their ballots, as opinion polls suggest a Labour win of historic proportions. But the many tight three-way contests could still deliver a surprise.
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Analysis
- UK election
How will Keir Starmer change the UK?
As a Labour government gets set to take the reins after 14 years of Conservative rule, what will Starmer do with power in his first 100 days and beyond?
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen
Why angry Britain will this week finally dump the Tories
Five PMs, five elections and a three-ring circus: over 14 years, the Conservative government sowed the seeds of its own downfall – and leaves a mixed legacy.
- Hans van Leeuwen
June
With nothing left to lose, Sunak goes on the attack
A sharper-sounding prime minister is betting that sowing fear might save the Tory furniture even if it can’t prevent an election loss.
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Exclusive
- UK election
AUKUS safe under Labour: next UK minister for Australia
Australian-born Catherine West, who will be minister for Asia and the Pacific if Labour wins the election, rejects Tory claims the subs deal is at risk.
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen
UK’s likely next PM copies Albanese election playbook
Labour leader Keir Starmer unveiled a policy manifesto containing almost no new policies, confirming just a handful of tax tweaks if his party is elected on July 4.
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen
UK, European centre-right parties rush to woo their radical rivals
British and European centre-right parties are frantically courting the resurgent radical right, in a move that portends a potential reshaping of the conservative side of politics.
- Hans van Leeuwen
Farage’s milkshake drowns out British leaders’ feisty TV clash
The populist publicity magnet was attacked with a banana milkshake – a moment that will live longer than Rishi Sunak’s narrow TV debate win over Keir Starmer.
- Hans van Leeuwen
May
The Aussie political guru on a UK mission impossible
Tory campaign chief Isaac Levido will need every ounce of his battlefield wiles if he is to lift Rishi Sunak’s party out of the doldrums by July 4. Luckily, he has a plan.
- Hans van Leeuwen
British PM Sunak sets July 4 election date
The election has come much sooner than expected, even though the ruling Conservative Party faces a potential landslide loss.
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Analysis
- Analysis
Jeremy Clarkson, patron saint of the Great British bore
In barely a decade he has gone from disgraced Top Gear presenter to beloved guardian of the British countryside, due to the success of Clarkson’s Farm.
- The Economist
Sunak clings on as PM by the skin of his teeth
The local elections were disastrous for the British PM, but rebel Tories have paused because the outcome suggests Labour may not be on course for a landslide.
- Hans van Leeuwen