A will was debated of the legislation is the European Convention on Human Rights (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill — Commons Bill 92 of the 2026–27 session. It is a presentation private member’s bill introduced by Conservative MP Mike Wood (Kingswinford and South Staffordshire), supported by Sir Christopher Chope, and first printed on 22 June 2026. It is extremely short. Clause 1 says: The Prime Minister may notify, under Article 58 of the ECHR, the United Kingdom’s intention

UK MPs have voted down legislation that would have legalised assisted dying for terminally ill adults in England and Wales. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was defeated at its second reading on Friday 11 September 2026 by 286 votes to 270 — a majority of 16. The result ends the latest attempt to change the law after a two-year parliamentary process and makes it highly unlikely the issue will return before the next general election. What the bill would have done:

On 9 September, Burnham rejected Conservative proposals to partly fund higher defence spending through cuts to welfare, specifically reforms to housing benefit estimated to save around £4 billion. He stated that national security “can’t come at the expense of social security,” arguing that such cuts would risk widespread homelessness and that community resilience underpins broader security. Burnham reaffirmed an “absolute” commitment to defence, pledging to set a path toward

Andy Burnham’s government is tightening an early-release scheme born of a severe prison overcrowding crisis, but campaigners say thousands of domestic abusers will still leave jail sooner than planned. The Sentencing Act 2026 changes automatic release points for most prisoners serving standard determinate sentences in England and Wales. Lower-level offenders who previously served 40% or 50% of their term in custody can now be released after one-third. More serious offenders

Nigel Farage tells Jeremy Kyle that Andy Burnham’s Real Test Is on the Economy On TalkTV with Jeremy Kyle the Reform leader said the economy was the number one issue: “Can Andy Burnham turn around the economy? Because that’s the real question, and I don’t see it. I don’t see it. I don’t think turning around the economy would be easy for anybody. There is going to be a very big change of culture that is needed. I mean, you know, when one in seven are going on antidepressants,

Andy Burnham’s conversion to proportional representation (PR) marks one of the more significant shifts in recent Labour politics—and it may actually deliver the biggest constitutional change the UK has seen in decades. In a recent Independent column, commentator John Rentoul argues that this time the stars are aligning in a way they never quite did under Tony Blair. Burnham, once a firm opponent of electoral reform, now wants a clear manifesto commitment to PR that can be imp

Andy Burnham Tracker on UK Dispatch (ukdispatching.com) is a page that tracks events, appointments, and alleged controversies or “U-turns/scandals” during Andy Burnham’s time as UK Prime Minister. It frames the timeline as beginning on 20 July (presumed 2026), when Burnham becomes Prime Minister after Keir Starmer’s resignation. The site describes itself as monitoring his “progress as PM” and lists numerous dated items, many critical in tone. Entries are not strictly chronolo

UK consumer price inflation rose in July 2026, ending a recent downward trend and reaching its highest level in four months, driven primarily by a sharp increase in household energy costs. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported on 19 August 2026 that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) increased by 2.9% in the 12 months to July, up from 2.6% in June. This matched market expectations but exceeded the Bank of England’s recent forecast of 2.8%. The broader CPI including o

UK MPs must register financial interests that could reasonably be seen as influencing their parliamentary work in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests (RMFI). The rules, set out in the House of Commons Code of Conduct, require registration of donations and support above £1,500 (or multiple donations over £500 from the same source in a year), gifts/benefits/hospitality over £300, certain employment and earnings, overseas visits, and other categories. New MPs must also

As of mid-August 2026, the UK is facing one of its most severe wildfire seasons in recent memory, driven by prolonged drought, extreme heat, and dry conditions that have turned large parts of the country into a “tinderbox.” Nearly three-quarters of England and all of Wales are officially in drought. Fire and rescue services have responded to hundreds of incidents this year, matching or exceeding the total for the whole of 2025 in some periods, with July alone recording the bu

Burnham has said it’s all on his Justice Secretary now when it comes to early release. He also failed to guarantee that PC Harper’s two killers won’t be released early: “What I have said is that I believe we can go much further, and I hope we can get to a position where people who have committed serious crimes are not in a position where they are being released early, and that would include the killers of PC Andrew Harper. That is my intention. I believe we can do it, but I n

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for middle-class and wealthier communities across the UK to accept a greater share of asylum seeker accommodation, arguing that the current system unfairly burdens the country’s poorest areas. In his first interview with GB News since taking office, Burnham stated: “I do have to say, we cannot have a situation where it’s only the poorest communities in the country that receive all of the dispersal of refugees and asylum seekers. I do bel

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been informed by officials that he cannot legally secure a specific exception to prevent the early release of Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, two of the men convicted of the manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper. The prime minister is reportedly opposed to their release under the government’s early release scheme, introduced to ease severe overcrowding in prisons across England and Wales. Cole and Bowers remain eligible despite a recent review that e

In mid-July 2026, Andy Burnham became the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade after succeeding Keir Starmer. Starmer had announced his resignation as Labour leader and prime minister in late June following poor local election results in May, low personal popularity, economic stagnation, internal party discontent, and controversies including the appointment (and later dismissal) of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US. Burnham, the popular former Mayor of Greater Manche

The UK Home Office announced on 4 August 2026 that its new border security partnership with France is now under way, stressing that for the first time a significant portion of the funding uplift will depend on results in stopping small boat crossings of the English Channel. In a post on X, the department outlined the core elements of the agreement: a roughly 40% increase in law enforcement, intelligence and military officers on French beaches; a new 50-strong unit of police s

Justice Secretary Alex Norris has apologised to the family of PC Andrew Harper after the government confirmed that two of the men involved in the police officer’s 2019 killing remain eligible for early release under a revised scheme to ease prison overcrowding. PC Andrew Harper, 28, died in August 2019 after being dragged more than a mile along country roads in Berkshire. He had responded to reports of a stolen quad bike near Sulhamstead when his ankles became caught in a str

Newly appointed UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to begin his first holiday in office tomorrow, 4 August 2026, according to multiple reports circulating on Monday evening. The 56-year-old Labour leader, who formally took office on 20 July after succeeding Keir Starmer, will step away from Downing Street during the parliamentary summer recess. Critics have already labelled the break a case of “bunking off for a jolly abroad,” with First Secretary of State Louise Haigh exp