Ministers on lobbying blitz to avoid Labour rebellion over Send changes

Ministers have “learned the lesson” of botched welfare changes and are on a sustained lobbying blitz of Labour MPs over an overhaul of special educational needs, Labour MPs have said, as they warned they would not back measures aimed at saving money.The changes will raise the bar at which children in England qualify for an education, health and care plan (EHCP), which legally entitles children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) to get support. Plans will be reserved for children with the most severe and complex needs, according to sources familiar with the proposals.The expected move has sparked concerns among parents and campaigners who have warned that limiting legal rights could have catastrophic implications for children and families, and among MPs who say Send is the issue they are most contacted about.Weakening the Send legal framework would put at risk decades of progress towards inclusion, said Madeleine Cassidy, the chief executive of IPSEA, a charity providing legal advice that is part of the Save Our Children’s Rights campaign

I’ve never taken drugs or drunk alcohol, says Zack Polanski

The leader of the Green party, Zack Polanski, has said he has never taken drugs or “even drunk alcohol” in his life, but wants to legalise all drugs and regulate their use.Polanski was asked on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme if he had taken drugs at university. “I’ve actually never taken a drug in my life, or even drunk alcohol, but I still don’t sit here as the fun police,” he said. “I very clearly believe people should be able to do what they want to do. It just wasn’t for me

‘You can tell the mood has changed’: How Plaid Cymru led the Welsh fightback against Reform

Nigel Farage’s party was on the charge in Wales – but after the seismic Caerphilly byelection, progressives now believe they can come out on top in MayThe night after Plaid Cymru decisively beat Reform UK in the Caerphilly byelection last autumn, spraypaint reading “Now u can fuck off home” appeared on the shutters of the rightwing party’s offices on Cardiff Street.It was quickly cleaned off, but stickers bearing Welsh nationalist and anti-fascist slogans have popped up in its place, either scratched off or covered with duct tape. Reform is still there: the lights are on, and a shop owner next door said people go in and out every day, although no one answered the door when the Guardian rang the bell.The byelection was a golden opportunity for Nigel Farage’s party. Reform poured money and resources into its chance to break off a piece of the Labour heartland and boost its credibility by winning a first seat in the Senedd

Lord Triesman, former Labour minister and FA chair, dies aged 82

Lord Triesman, a former Labour minister and chair of the Football Association, has died at the age of 82. The Labour party said the peer died on Friday night “peacefully and at home”.The former prime minister Tony Blair paid tribute to David Triesman as a “vital part of the New Labour movement”. Labour’s leader in the House of Lords, Angela Smith, described him as “respected and loved by his colleagues for his courtesy, kindness, wisdom, loyalty and generosity of spirit”.Triesman was the general secretary of the Association of University Teachers trade union and the general secretary of the Labour party before he joined Blair’s government in the House of Lords in 2004

Starmer says Gorton and Denton byelection a vote on ‘true patriotism’ as Labour picks local candidate

Keir Starmer has said the byelection in Gorton and Denton will be a referendum on “true patriotism” and that Labour is the only party that can defeat the “poisonous division” of Reform.The prime minister, during his visit to Japan, said he saw the vote as a two-way contest between Labour and Reform UK, as he criticised Nigel Farage’s party.Speaking on the same day that his party selected Angeliki Stogia, a Manchester city councillor, as its candidate in the byelection in the city, Starmer said: “It is very much and very clearly now a byelection between Labour and Reform on key principles.“I see that Tommy Robinson has just come out in support of Matt Goodwin, the Reform candidate. That tells you everything about the politics they intend to inject into this byelection, the politics of poisonous division, so we can see exactly where that’s going

UK and EU to explore renewed talks on defence cooperation

The UK and the EU are exploring the prospect of new talks on closer defence cooperation, as Keir Starmer stressed on Friday that he wanted to “go further” in the UK’s relationship with Brussels. Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s trade commissioner, is due in London for talks next week, with trade, energy and fisheries on the agenda. But diplomatic sources said the UK is keen to discuss restarting negotiations on defence as soon as it can.Talks for the UK to join the EU’s €150bn (£130bn) Security Action for Europe (Safe) defence fund collapsed in November 2025 amid claims that the EU had set too high a price on entry to the programme.France has denied it was responsible for the breakdown in talks, but diplomatic sources say tension remains between Paris and other member states, particularly Germany, where sources have said they want the UK to be involved in Safe “as soon as possible”