‘They deserve to lose’: Labour at risk of ‘red wall’ collapsing in May elections

When millions of voters across Great Britain go to the polls on 7 May, the result will have a profound impact on the future of Keir Starmer’s government.In Wales and Scotland, nationalist parties are expected to be in charge for the first time simultaneously, joining Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland. In London and the cities, the Greens are on the charge.But it is across Labour’s former heartlands in the post-industrial swathe of the Midlands and north of England where Starmer faces losing hundreds of councillors to Nigel Farage’s Reform UKThat result would alarm several cabinet ministers whose seats are in the once-solid “red wall”, including Yvette Cooper, John Healey, Ed Miliband, Dan Jarvis and Bridget Phillipson.The Guardian spoke to voters and politicians in three traditionally Labour strongholds – Barnsley, Sunderland and Wakefield – to test the mood

Walking the dog and braving the paps: the art of the doorstep photo, from Keane to Mandelson

For a man at the centre of a storm that has rocked the political establishment, Peter Mandelson has spent the week looking remarkably relaxed. Day after day, as MPs have grilled civil servants over who knew what when about the former US ambassador’s security vetting, and police continue to investigate serious allegations over his own conduct, Mandelson has stepped out of his Regent’s Park mansion and pottered across the road to take his dog for a walk.Smart-casually dressed in jeans and a jumper and holding in front of him a plastic ball-thrower, he has set off for the park like a weekending solicitor on his way to an egg and spoon race. There have been occasional small smiles for the photographers at his gate, but no comment. The message appears to be: I am insouciant, normal

Zack Polanski calls for ‘nuance’ when discussing antisemitism in rebuke of PM

Zack Polanski has called on politicians to treat antisemitism with “consideration, care and nuance” as he accused Keir Starmer of trying to play political games with the issue.The Green leader’s comments come after the prime minister accused him of playing down recent antisemitic incidents. Polanski’s party is facing increasing scrutiny over recent comments by some candidates and members.Some Green members and officials have expressed concern to the Guardian about what they say is the recent arrival of members who are vehemently anti-Israel to an extent that crosses into antisemitism, and the difficulties of countering this in a highly decentralised party.Speaking on a visit to a synagogue, Starmer labelled Polanski “disgraceful” for saying it was important to distinguish between an actual threat to the Jewish community in the UK after recent arson attacks and the “perception of unsafety”

Assisted dying bill fails to become law after running out of time in parliament – as it happened

A proposed bill to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives will not become law, after the House of Lords ran out of time to debate the numerous amendments.The assisted dying bill, which passed the House of Commons in June last year, had 16 days in the Lords for peers to debate on it, but due to the number of amendments lodged by opponents – more than 1,280 – the house ran out of time. With the parliamentary session coming to an end next week, the bill will fail.That’s all from us on the UK politics blog, thanks for following along. Here is a recap of the day’s events:A proposed bill to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives will not become law, after the House of Lords ran out of time to debate the more than 1,280 amendments tabled by opponents

Kezia Dugdale, incoming Stonewall chair, says sorry after backlash over JK Rowling remarks

The incoming chair of the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall says she is “truly sorry” after she expressed “huge respect” for JK Rowling in an interview with the Guardian. Kezia Dugdale, the former leader of Scottish Labour, said she understood that her words had caused “worry, anger and upset and I am truly sorry about that”.In an interview for the Today in Focus podcast in Edinburgh to mark her appointment as Stonewall’s chair, Dugdale was asked what she thought of the way in which Rowling has talked about transgender people.She said: “I have a huge respect for JK Rowling. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her before and I think her story and how she came to be this prolific, incredible children’s writer in this city as a single mum writing in a cafe is phenomenal and an inspiration

Sir Humphrey moments: a brief history of bust-ups between ministers and mandarins

Olly Robbins gave MPs a classic civil servant’s performance – and there are lessons from the past about how ministers should respondThe Whitehall satire Yes Minister was said to be Margaret Thatcher’s favourite TV show due to its proximity to reality, as the programme’s loquacious top civil servant, Sir Humphrey, might have put it.Yes Minister had a familiar groove: there would be a problem in response to which the mandarin would artfully deploy the most astonishing sophistry to avoid blame or get his own way. Jim Hacker, the largely clueless yet ambitious politician played by the late Paul Eddington, rarely won the day.This week, in a most public way, Keir Starmer, had his own Sir Humphrey moment – potentially an existential one.Olly Robbins, fired by the prime minister as the Foreign Office’s permanent secretary after not informing him that Peter Mandelson had failed his vetting for the role of ambassador in Washington, appeared before the foreign affairs select committee, as many a civil servant embroiled in a crisis has in the past