SNP ‘delivered goods’ on budget says Swinney amid think tank concerns The Institute for Fiscal Studies examined the manifestos from the six major parties running in next week’s election. Evening Standard · Apr 28
Detail of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein 'like knife through my soul', says PM's ex chief of staff Morgan McSweeney took responsibility for appointing the peer US ambassador, saying Sir Keir Starmer had ‘relied on my advice and I got it wrong’ Evening Standard · Apr 28
UK politics: Starmer avoids privileges committee inquiry into vetting of Peter Mandelson – as it happened MPs rejected a Conservative party proposal for the prime minister to face a parliamentary inquiry into his appointment of Peter Mandelson The Guardian - UK · Apr 28
Local elections 2026: When will results be announced in your London borough? Polls have suggested that Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party will suffer big losses in the capital Evening Standard · Apr 28
Welsh Labour faces ‘existential’ change as party braces for May election defeat ‘Critical debate’ about party’s identity and direction looms if it loses control of Senedd next month after 27 years in power The Guardian - UK · Apr 28
London local elections 2026: Ed Davey's Lib Dems battling to clinch 'historic victory' to gain fourth council ‘We go into these elections with our tails up. You will be surprised how well Liberal Democrats do in London,’ Sir Ed Davey tells The Standard Evening Standard · Apr 28
Rachel Reeves’s fiscal rules buffer should be ‘significantly larger’, say peers Peers say chancellor and recent predecessors have allowed themselves too little room for manoeuvre The Guardian - UK · Apr 28
Keir Starmer faces crunch vote on Peter Mandelson vetting row The Prime Minister has urged Labour backbenchers to ‘stand together against’ the motion. Evening Standard · Apr 27
Anas Sarwar challenged to order MPs to back inquiry into PM MPs will vote on whether the Privileges Committee should carry out an inquiry into Sir Keir Starmer. Evening Standard · Apr 27
Northern Ireland Troubles Bill will resume after King’s Speech The carry-over motion was backed by 279 MPs to 176, majority 103. Evening Standard · Apr 27
Mandelson and McSweeney: a partnership forged on winning and crushing the Labour left Former chief of staff who helped bring Mandelson out of Labour shadows for Washington post to be questioned by MPs on vetting process The Guardian - UK · Apr 27
Starmer tells MPs to ‘fight together’ before critical day for his premiership The prime minister faces a standards investigation over Mandelson affair and testimony from Morgan McSweeney The Guardian - UK · Apr 27
Voices: Never mind the plotters – Keir Starmer has a robust case for his own defence THE INDEPENDENT VIEW: Editorial: Whatever the opposition’s excitable claims, all available evidence points to the PM having misled no one – and he remains the right man for the job given the shabby list of would-be replacements The Independent UK · Apr 27
Lights. Camera. Lindsay! Speaker’s show lands Starmer with yet another headache It seemed like a fait accompli that Hoyle would deny the application for a Commons vote – but he had other ideas The Guardian - UK · Apr 27
The Guardian - UK · Apr 27 What might McSweeney and Barton reveal about Mandelson vetting scandal? MPs likely to question Starmer’s ex-chief of staff and former top official in Foreign Office on pressure, process and access
Evening Standard · Apr 27 Starmer urges Labour MPs to vote against parliamentary probe into Mandelson row The Commons will vote on Tuesday on whether the Privileges Committee should consider if the Prime Minister misled the House.
The Guardian - UK · Apr 27 Hannah Spencer riles fellow MPs with attack on parliament’s drinking culture Byelection winner Hannah Spencer says ‘you can smell the alcohol when people are in-between votes’
The Guardian - UK · Apr 27 Are our prime ministers the problem – or is the UK ungovernable? As Britons threaten to oust their fifth PM in seven years, maybe voters need to ask themselves whether it’s only the politicians who are to blame, writes Zoe Williams
The Guardian - UK · Apr 27 What does Britain need from Labour? Not another new PM, but a government with the guts to take radical action There’s no point searching for a saviour without a genuine change in direction. Real courage is necessary – because Labour still has time to fix what is broken, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee
The Guardian - UK · Apr 27 Swinney will call vote on referendum powers after Scottish elections Top aide says SNP leader will seek approval to press for independence even if he fails to win majority on 7 May
Evening Standard · Apr 27 SNP on course to be largest party but short of a majority, poll finds Reform would replace the Tories as the opposition, the survey found, and force Labour into third place at Holyrood.
The Guardian - UK · Apr 27 Support Starmer and move on from Mandelson vetting row Letters: Readers respond to the continuing saga around the appointment of the former US ambassador
Evening Standard · Apr 27 Scotland’s political parties accused of ‘lack of realism’ over manifesto plans The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the parties running in the Holyrood election did not appreciate ‘just how tough the fiscal challenges will be’.
The Guardian - UK · Apr 27 What the parties promise Welsh voters on the NHS, schools, childcare and tax Labour, Plaid Cymru, Reform, the Greens, the Tories and the Lib Dems set out competing plans but offer little detail on how they would pay for them
International Business Times UK · Apr 27 Keir Starmer Replacement Revealed: New Favourite Emerges to Replace UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership is under scrutiny as betting odds favor Andy Burnham as a potential successor amid controversy over the Mandelson vetting process and upcoming local elections.