Voters – and markets – fear a lurch to the left under new Labour PM May 12, 2026 A majority of voters are worried that a change of Labour leadership would drag the government further left, as support grows for lower taxes and less public spending. The latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll of UK voters, conducted after the devastating council election results for Labour, also found 29 per cent of voters preferred Manchester [...]
Local elections were a death knell for two-party politics May 12, 2026 An era is distinctively over, but what takes its place, both in terms of who will lead the country and in the direction they will take, is far from clear, says Matthew Lesh “The old world is dying,” the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci said, “and the new world struggles to be born.” Last week was [...]
Changing the leader won’t save Labour – or the country May 12, 2026 The well-intentioned but hapless Labour backbencher, Catherine West, spent the weekend warning that if she didn’t like Keir Starmer’s speech she’d launch a leadership challenge in a bid to flush out more serious candidates. In the end, she backed down, but has called for a transition of power to a leader in September. She has [...]
Labour’s London wall has fallen. What now? May 12, 2026 Labour's London stronghold has finally broken. But what does that mean for the city and the next general election, asks John Dickie.
Bond market rounds on Rayner’s economic platform May 12, 2026 Angela Rayner’s economic response to the Labour party’s bruising local elections defeat would trigger a sell-off in UK governments debt at a time when Britain’s borrowing costs are already at multi-decade highs, bond investors and analysts have warned. The former deputy Prime Minister laid out a detailed proposal for how her party to respond to [...]
Cabinet ministers urge Starmer to set path for succession May 11, 2026 Keir Starmer’s Downing Street operation was plunged into a full-blown crisis on Monday, after three cabinet ministers urged him to set a timeline for his resignation despite the robust defence of his premiership he launched in a make-or-break stump speech earlier in the day. Speculation over the future of his government reached fever pitch into [...]
Starmer serves up his best and empty platitudes May 11, 2026 If today’s relaunch-not-relaunch buys Keir Starmer any additional time in Downing Street, it will only be due to the extraordinary fecklessness of his would-be challengers, none of whom has anything significant to say about change either, says Eliot Wilson Is Sir Keir Starmer all right? There is a reason I ask. At last week’s local [...]
Starmer’s Europe reset risks strangling UK AI sector with EU regulation May 11, 2026 As the prime minister scrambles to save his premiership Keir Starmer has vowed to position the UK “at the heart of Europe” – but his pledge risks reigniting fears that closer EU ties could undo the UK’s AI advantage. In today’s speech, aimed at rescuing the prime minister’s position after bruising local election losses, Starmer [...]
Starmer to nationalise British Steel in bid to save premiership May 11, 2026 Keir Starmer has promised to nationalise British Steel and prioritise closer ties with the European Union in a make or break speech to save his premiership after a bruising set of local election results. Speaking after a weekend of frenzied speculation on his future in Number 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister rejected calls for [...]
Bring back Burnham now! May 11, 2026 Voters have sent the clearest possible message that they are sick of the Starmer government. Andy Burnham is the only man who can make Labour popular again, says John McTernan The verdict is in. The country has had enough of this Labour government. The election results could not have been any starker. The SNP returned [...]