Politics

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈 A huge win for the Greens and a massive loss for Labour and the government – Harriet thinks it’s a “bruising” defeat, so is Sir Keir Starmer now worried about the local elections in May? The Gorton and Denton by-election result on…

The Green Party has won the Gorton and Denton by-election. Hannah Spencer has become the party’s fifth MP in parliament, after beating Reform UK, who finished second, and Labour, who came third, to the seat. The Greens, who had earlier said they were “very confident of a win”, received 14,980 votes to claim a majority…

The Metropolitan Police has apologised to a second parliamentary Speaker in two days after he was incorrectly named as the person who passed on information about Lord Mandelson, which led to his arrest. Michael Forsyth, the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords, was named in reports as having warned the police that Lord Mandelson…

Rachel Reeves has insisted her spring forecast will be a quiet affair as she wants the autumn budget to be the sole major fiscal event of the year. The chancellor will deliver her financial update on the afternoon of 3 March in the House of Commons. An exact time has yet to be confirmed, but…

The Metropolitan Police has apologised to the Commons Speaker for revealing he was the source of a tip-off relating to the arrest of Lord Mandelson. The force said it had “inadvertently” revealed information about why the ex-business secretary had been taken into custody on Monday. Lawyers for Lord Mandelson had claimed the arrest was due…

Sir Keir Starmer has said the government is to look at ways of making the student loans system “fairer”. He made the pledge as he blamed rising loan costs on the Conservatives – after being asked about the issue by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters, Sir…

Searches at Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s former Windsor residence in relation to an investigation into alleged misconduct in public office have concluded, police have said.  Thames Valley Police (TVP) began searches of Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, Berkshire, following the arrest of the former prince at Sandringham on what was his 66th birthday last Thursday. Andrew…

Watching President Zelenskyy and first lady Olena Zelenska in the centre of Kyiv lead a minute’s silence to honour the tens of thousands of soldiers who have died on the fourth anniversary of the Ukraine war was a sobering moment.  European prime ministers and dignitaries had come to Maidan Square in Kyiv as an act…

The government has unveiled sweeping plans to reform support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in England’s schools. Under the proposals, the number of pupils receiving an education, health and care plan (EHCP), which sets out the level of help a young person is legally entitled to, will start falling each year…

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and wider threats to the UK and its allies share “a lot of similarities” with the three-year run-up to the Second World War, the armed forces minister has said. Al Carns, a former special forces colonel in the Royal Marines, said Ukraine is on the frontline of Europe’s defences as Vladimir…