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Received today — 6 May 2026 The Guardian World news

Zack Polanski falsely claimed to be British Red Cross spokesperson, charity says

5 May 2026 at 21:33

Green party leader also accused of incorrectly stating he was a full member of the National Council of Hypnotherapy

Zack Polanski falsely claimed to be a spokesperson for the British Red Cross while campaigning for the Green party leadership, the charity has said.

The claim was also mentioned on his personal website in 2020, where he said he was “really proud of the work we do”.

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© Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images

Received — 3 May 2026 The Guardian World news

Lucy Powell says Labour has ‘no magic bullet’ as MPs brace for heavy losses in local elections

3 May 2026 at 11:00

Deputy leader plays down leadership talk and says party must focus on long-term challenges rather than personnel

Labour’s deputy leader has warned there will be “no magic bullet” to solve Labour’s problems – or major challenges facing the country – as its MPs grapple with how to navigate the fallout out from the local elections.

Lucy Powell told the Guardian she understood there was “huge anger and despondency” from Labour MPs in the aftermath of the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal, but said the prime minister would not make a similar mistake again.

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© Photograph: Joel Goodman/The Guardian

© Photograph: Joel Goodman/The Guardian

© Photograph: Joel Goodman/The Guardian

Received — 27 April 2026 The Guardian World news

Mandelson and McSweeney: a partnership forged on winning and crushing the Labour left

27 April 2026 at 20:00

Former chief of staff who helped bring Mandelson out of Labour shadows for Washington post to be questioned by MPs on vetting process

Like many Labour stories, Peter Mandelson’s and Morgan McSweeney’s both start at Lambeth council.

Mandelson was in his mid-20s. It was 1979, and he was a new councillor under the leadership of “Red” Ted Knight. He came to despise the local party, describing the Lambeth Labour party’s leadership as “contributing very little to the economic development of south London, instead politicising everything, attacking the police and the Tory government, and making the council go broke.”

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© Composite: Shutterstock/EPA

© Composite: Shutterstock/EPA

© Composite: Shutterstock/EPA

Received — 20 April 2026 The Guardian World news

How safe is Starmer’s premiership after his Mandelson vetting statement to MPs?

20 April 2026 at 18:15

Despite his explanation and the need for political stability, the PM is still unpopular – and Olly Robbins has yet to give his side of the story

Labour MPs frustrated with the lack of a clear mission from Keir Starmer’s No 10 have often urged the prime minister to be more forceful in his arguments, to prosecute his values, to find an enemy to define himself against.

The prime minister has found one: Olly Robbins. Starmer prosecuted his case against the former Foreign Office chief on Monday with the vigour of his former life at the bar.

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© Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

© Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

© Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

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