John Rentoul

As the road to Downing Street opens up for the mayor of Greater Manchester, there are some gaping potholes the would-be PM needs to avoid, says John Rentoul

Read this exciting story from The Independent June 06, 2026 issue. When Andy Burnham surveyed the BBC Question Time studio at the end of the recording in Makerfield on Thursday night, it must have seemed as if the obstacles on the road to No 10 were clearing.

The would-be prime minister offers nothing to remedy the mistakes of Keir Starmer’s anti-growth policies, writes John Rentoul

Natasha Irons, the Labour MP for Croydon East, said she was “proud” that the government was “putting passengers before profit ” by bringing railway companies into public ownership

Read this exciting story from The Independent June 07, 2026 issue. Natasha Irons, the Labour MP for Croydon East, said she was “proud” that the government was “putting passengers before profit” by bringing railway companies into public ownership.

Our writers weigh in on whether Reform or Labour came out on top in the BBC Question Time debate – tell us what you thought below

Younger people should have the option of £12,000 in return for retiring later, says the Social Market Foundation. John Rentoul looks at how it might work

Rupert Lowe claims that his party has set up 550 constituency branches already. His party is even more of a one-person band than Nigel Farage 's

Bookmark popover Removed from bookmarks H alf of Britons – 48 per cent – support holding another EU referendum in the next five years, according to a new opinion poll by Ipsos.

The PM is First Lord of the Treasury, and he must carry the can for the catastrophic political miscalculation that will now cost him his job, writes John Rentoul