Politics - Thursday, June 4, 2026

Four Senate Republicans joined Democrats to kill the SAVE Act voter ID amendment for a second time, blocking it from the budget reconciliation package.

Exclusive: Greater Manchester mayor sets out his priorities before Makerfield byelection – and what might happen after the vote Andy Burnham has signalled he would begin transforming England’s broken social care system this year if he became prime minister, accusing Westminster of “flinching away” from tackling difficult policy problems. The Greater Manchester mayor said politicians must be willing to take on “the weight of the system” that stood in the way of radical change, as he began to set out his prospectus for government if he won the Makerfield byelection. Said Labour should be a broad church with more government ministers from the left of the party, but Jeremy Corbyn should not be allowed back in. Signalled there would be no snap election if he replaced Keir Starmer, but defended himself from criticism over a shadow leadership campaign. Defended his comments that politicians should not be “in hock” to the bond markets , and denied he was boxing himself in by sticking to Rachel Reeves’s fiscal rules. Argued it would be a mistake to rerun the Brexit referendum but that he wanted the UK to rejoin the EU in his lifetime. Praised Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, for “facing up” to the big issues on immigration. Continue reading...

Graham Platner's ex-girlfriends allege rape fantasies, violent episodes and heavy drinking in new report as Maine Democrat faces mounting scandals.

Trump says Hunter Biden could mount a successful 2028 presidential bid, comparing his chances to controversial Democratic candidates from Maine and Texas.

Trump says Hunter Biden could win the presidency, comparing him to scandal-plagued Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner's continued popularity.

Exclusive: Greater Lincolnshire mayor walks out on cabinet minister after row over social media role in community tensions Andrea Jenkyns walked out of a meeting with a cabinet minister and several other metropolitan mayors on Thursday after a heated discussion about the murder of Henry Nowak and the civil unrest that has followed. The Reform mayor of Greater Lincolnshire walked out of the meeting with the communities secretary, Steve Reed, and other regional leaders after a row over the role social media has played in exacerbating community tensions. Continue reading...

Democrats split over Rep. Rashida Tlaib's resolution to block U.S. assistance to Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, sparking heated floor debate.

Critics say it is unseemly for retired judges to trade on the prestige of their former positions.

While huge donations are nothing new in UK politics, some fear electoral finance is distorting democracy itself Keir Starmer may be relaxed about allowing millions from cryptocurrency billionaires to flow into Reform UK’s coffers but Labour MPs are tearing their hair out every time the quarterly data on electoral finance drops. “I look at it through my fingers,” says one MP, as the latest figures show a further £7m went to Reform UK from just two men, Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo. Continue reading...

With the East Wing turned to rubble, our Graphics staff set out to show what exactly the president planned to build there and elsewhere.