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It’s not the old two-party politics – but Labour and the Tories now know they can shun their populist challengers | Gaby Hinsliff
Though Burnham and Badenoch may still need the votes of Green and Reform supporters, both leaders have drawn clear lines in the sand Ask a straight question, get a straight answer. It’s how politics is supposed to work but almost never does, which is why on the rare occasions it happens the result can be faintly chaotic. What did Andy Burnham mean when he said – in response to a question from the Tory MP Harriett Baldwin – that Labour couldn’t partner with the Green party while it remains wedded to the “Zionism is racism” motion its members have just endorsed? Were Green MPs now barred from a future coalition government? If so, what about councils where they are currently sharing power with Labour? Though Burnham was only confirming what ministers have been arguing privately for days, at first nobody seemed to know: tellingly, it took almost 24 hours for the Labour party chair, Bridget P

The Guardian view on Stormont: voters in Northern Ireland deserve more than an endless cycle of dysfunction | Editorial
After the executive’s failure to set a budget, and renewed culture-war confrontations, faith in the government’s ability to act in the common good is evaporating Late last month, protesters deposited a sizable amount of foul-smelling green water on the steps of Stormont to draw attention to the appalling state of Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles. Years of agricultural pollution have created an environmental disaster in an area of huge ecological significance that once inspired the poetry of Seamus Heaney. Its plight should be a top priority for Northern Ireland’s devolved government. But the executive currently has other matters on its mind. The sentencing of the former leader of the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) Jeffrey Donaldson, after he was convicted of child sexual abuse, dominated Thursday’s headlines. Meanwhile, a cross-party political crisis continu

Burnham asks for his Widdecombe remarks to be corrected
The prime minister had faced calls to apologise for his comments about the alleged murder of the former minister.

Ben Jennings on Reform UK’s council candidates – cartoon
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Eritrea accuses Shabana Mahmood of ‘political gimmick’ over visa ban threat
Home secretary says she will block all Eritreans from UK unless a returns deal is agreed for rejected asylum seekers and criminals Shabana Mahmood has been accused of launching a “perfunctory political gimmick” by the Eritrean government in a row over the return of rejected asylum seekers and criminals. After the home secretary threatened to block all Eritreans from entering the UK unless a returns deal was agreed, the country’s embassy claimed the UK had failed to engage in “meaningful and appropriate” dialogue. Continue reading...

Farage defends Reform's vetting after councillors filmed making racist comments
The Reform leader says "you can't vet for future comments", after undercover filming of party activists.