A note to say I'm now on maternity leave until the end of the year 🐣 No doubt politics will have calmed down by then! In the meantime, follow the ace @lexytopping.bsky.social who has joined the Guardian lobby team while I'm off

Exc: The UK-US pharma deal announced this month still has no underlying text beyond some headline terms Ministers warn that our deals with Donald Trump are "built on sand" www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

EXC: Keir Starmer is poised to choose a new US ambassador from a shortlist of three as relations with Donald Trump are tested Varun Chandra, the No10 business adviser, Christian Turner, due to be ambo to UN, and Nigel Casey, ambo to Russia, were interviewed by the PM this week

As we reported last week - Keir Starmer is appointing 25 Labour peers in a bid to strengthen his hand in the Lords His former director of comms Matthew Doyle and Rachel Reeves's outgoing chief of staff Katie Martin are among them

EXCL: The UK is hoping to secure an agreement within weeks to rejoin the EU’s flagship student mobility programme, as part of a drive to pursue closer relations with Brussels after a setback on defence @ecourea.bsky.social & @kiranstacey.bsky.social report www.theguardian.com/education/20...

💥 NEW: ‘Deeply shocking’: Nigel Farage faces fresh claims of racism and antisemitism at school “He would sidle up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right,’ or ‘Gas them,’ sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers". Read on for more... www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...

Some Labour insiders think Team Starmer were following the Brownite playbook… but the outcome was significantly different. Great piece by @ecourea.bsky.social & co www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Our read on the relationship between Keir Starmer, Morgan McSweeney and Wes Streeting after this week's extraordinary briefing war 👇 Why did it all kick off? How did it go wrong? And what longer-running rifts has it exposed? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Exclusive: Boris Johnson approved China’s super-embassy proposal in 2018 — and welcomed the fact it was “China’s largest overseas diplomatic investment” anywhere in the world He made a commitment it would be built alongside the new British embassy in Beijing www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

EXC: Conservative MPs have complained to party whips over Katie Lam's remarks that many legal immigrants should be deported to make the UK “culturally coherent” “It’s either dog-whistle or it’s so vague it’s meaningless,” one Tory MP said www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

EXC: Lucy Powell urged ministers to reconsider legal action against a developer in her seat founded by a Labour donor Powell wrote to Rayner on behalf of Urban Splash after bumping into Tom Bloxham at a fundraiser She said she was acting as a constituency MP www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

EXC: China threatened to retaliate against the UK govt if ministers targeted parts of its state under foreign influence rules Chinese officials warned the FCDO the move would have negative consequences for relations after we reported it was being considered www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

My read on the 7-year-long Chinese embassy saga at Royal Mint Court — How Chinese officials sought to overturn the council's refusal behind the scenes before ministers intervened — Residents are preparing to seek a judicial review if the government approves it www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

EXCL: Rachel Reeves is set to lift the two-child benefit limit in the budget with officials exploring options of a new tapered system. The Treasury is exploring if it might instead be limited to three or four children – or whether there could be a tapered rate. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

"OUTRAGE AS FARAGE THREATENS MASS DEPORTATION OF LEGAL IMMIGRANTS" Full Story: t.ly/IBk_I @ecourea.bsky.social for @theguardian.com #NigelFarage faces condemnation after threatening thousands of #LegalImmigrants with #deportation. #TheGuardian #TomorrowsPapersToday #IBPAPERS

Migration minister Mike Tapp shudders as Peter Mandelson's emails to Epstein are read out to him on BBC Breakfast He says they are "disturbing" but that we should consider Mandelson's statement expressing regret He says the PM retains confidence in him "as far as I know"

Shabana Mahmood's promotion to home secretary is at the centre of this reshuffle Read my profile of her from this summer👇 www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

How a shrug from Donald Trump moved the UK's position on Palestine: — Trump comments on Monday gave Starmer the green light — Policy inc. conditions on Israel drafted largely by Jonathan Powell — Senior govt figures privately say all roads lead to recognition www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

EXC: Keir Starmer is under intense pressure from his most senior cabinet ministers to move faster on recognising Palestine Angela Rayner and Yvette Cooper are understood to be among ministers who believe the UK should take the lead on Palestinian statehood www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Back in action from today after three gorgeous weeks in Puglia and Sicily

EXC: China is considering lifting the sanctions it imposed on UK parliamentarians in 2021 in the latest sign of warming relations between London and Beijing www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Great anecdote from trade sec Jonathan Reynolds over lunch with lobby journalists His first WhatsApp message to US commerce sec Howard Lutnick was drafted through a cross-Whitehall process and the result was "something no human being would send or be able to understand"

UK and Gibraltar close to post-Brexit agreement on border with Spain www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

EXC: UK officials are hopeful the US will begin implementing the deal to reduce tariffs this week The aim is to secure a proclamation from Donald Trump in the coming days. Officials expect tariffs on cars to be reduced first, before steel/aluminium www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

EXC w/ @kiranstacey.bsky.social: Plans to regulate artificial intelligence have been delayed by at least a year Ministers are planning a bumper bill in the next king's speech to regulate the technology and its use of copyrighted material www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Worth rereading this excellent profile of Zia Yusuf from @ecourea.bsky.social last year 👇 www.theguardian.com/politics/art...

I spoke to BBC Profile a few weeks ago about my conversation with Zia Yusuf before I wrote the first newspaper profile of him: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

EXC: Ministers have offered a series of last-minute concessions on copyright protections in an effort to avoid a fifth defeat in the House of Lords today The data bill faces the prospect of being shelved if the impasse isn't broken www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Labour’s poll ratings have plummeted — so is Starmer’s future in question? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

EXC: Five Labour MPs have travelled to Taiwan for meetings with government officials for the first time since Labour came to power www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

Scoop by @pippacrerar.bsky.social Labour’s child poverty strategy has been delayed until at least the autumn Concerns at the top of govt that the cost of key proposals outweighs the political benefit Thousands more children will fall into poverty as a result www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Exc from @ecourea.bsky.social Ex-Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe recorded making antisemitic remark at parliament www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

EXC: Rupert Lowe MP recorded making antisemitic remark at a meeting in parliament www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

EXC: UK on verge of deal with EU to let British passport holders use European e-gates www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

EXC: Ministers are weighing up proposals for a Chinese company to supply wind turbines for a major offshore windfarm in the North Sea Green Volt is in discussions with the government over the implications and has been waiting for weeks for a verdict www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Explainer on the UK-India deal unpacking some of the opposition attacks on it 👇 www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

The Indian government's press release describes the three-year National Insurance exemption for Indian workers in the UK as a "huge win" This is likely to be the most scrutinised aspect of the UK-India trade deal in the coming weeks pib.gov.in/PressRelease...

UK and India agree trade deal after three years of negotiations www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

EXC: Ministers are rethinking changes to copyright law before a vote in parliament next week, in a further concession to artists Proposals for an opt-out system are no longer the government's preferred option but one of several being considered www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

EXC: Ministers table concessions to copyright reforms to mollify rebels ahead of a Commons vote next week The govt is promising an economic impact assessment and to publish four reports on issues including transparency — but campaigners are dismissive www.theguardian.com/music/2025/a...

China to lift sanctions on MEPs today "European Parliament President Roberta Metsola will break the news to political group leaders during a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, said the official" www.politico.eu/article/chin...

EXC: Met police ‘maintain concerns’ about China's proposed super-embassy in east London Deputy assistant commissioner Jon Savell has written to MPs and the Home Office saying the new embassy will require additional officers to deal with protests www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

NEW: Russia has sanctioned 15 MPs and 6 members of the House of Lords over "hostile statements and unfounded accusations" mid.ru/ru/foreign_p...

Inside No10's British Steel rescue mission: — How a dispute over a shipment of coking coal unfolded — Why aides drew up Operation Steelback to send the ship to Gibraltar — Senior govt figures suspect Jingye wanted to make UK a dumping ground for Chinese steel www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Exc: Labour select committee chairs call for parliament to be given a vote on any UK trade deal with the US

EXC w/ @dansabbagh.bsky.social: Ministers could target parts of China’s security apparatus under foreign influence rules Govt is considering putting parts of the Chinese state such as the MSS, UFWD and PLA on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence reg scheme www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

EXC: A Labour MP has apologised and referred himself to the standards commissioner after promoting a company in the Commons without declaring it had given him a £10,000 donation www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

New - Nigel Farage has rebuffed a suggestion from Kemi Badenoch that Tory and Reform councillors could form coalitions in town halls after 1 May "The Tories broke Britain nationally for 14 years ... Reform have no intention in forming coalitions with the Tories at any level"

EXC: The UK-India free trade deal is 90% done, British negotiators told businesses on a private call yesterday The mobility chapter — involving visas for Indian workers — is largely resolved Outstanding issues include whisky, cars and pharmaceuticals www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

‘We are nearly there’: UK and India agree 90% of free trade agreement Scoop from @ecourea.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/politics/202...