19 h. ago France’s political crisis reveals deep rift between the people and their politicians

The likely fall of prime minister François Bayrou exposes a political malaise that is likely to sour French politics well beyond the 2027 presidential election as the far right exploits the momentAs the French government faces likely collapse in a confidence vote on Monday, plunging the eurozone’s second biggest economy and key diplomatic power into a domestic political crisis, Jonathan Denis, a 42-year-old a bank manager and health rights campaigner, was concerned about the terrible impact it will have on France’s dying and terminally ill.The centrist president Emmanuel Macron had promised assisted dying and improved palliative care would be the biggest social reform of his second term but the bill, which had been scheduled to go before the senate next month, now risks being delayed once more by the unpredictable revolving door of four prime ministers in just over three years. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Political leaders like Nigel Farage are 'exaggerating' how volatile the country is amid anti

Gavin Stephens, chairman of the National Police Chiefs Council, said politicians and people with influence should not spread misinformation online as it leads to 'real world' consequences.

Politics

1 week ago Politicians given warning from voters over Lucy Connolly after vile asylum tweet

A More in Common poll found fewer than one in five people (18%) think politicians should cosy up to Lucy Connolly, while more than half (51%) think they should keep their distance

Events

1 week ago The Guardian view on France’s latest political crisis: François Bayrou’s gamble on austerity does not deserve to pay off | Editorial

The likely fall of another prime minister is a further blow to Emmanuel Macron’s becalmed presidency. A change in priorities is neededFollowing a startling victory for Marine Le Pen in European elections last June, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, foolishly called a snap legislative poll. The idea was to give voters a salutary wake-up call, daring them to repeat their embrace of Ms Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party in a domestic election. The unanticipated result was a suddenly deadlocked parliament, in which the influence of the National Rally and the left significantly increased, and a lame-duck status for Mr Macron’s second term.That failed gamble has now led to another, which appears equally doomed. This week, Mr Macron’s fourth prime minister in two years put the future of his minority government on the line, in an attempt to pass a deeply unpopular budget this autumn. François Bayrou, intending to deliver his own wake-up call to MPs, has unexpectedly called a confi...

Politics

1 week ago Macron backs Bayrou and calls on budget critics to show responsibility

Spokesperson says government in ‘fighting spirit’ after PM called confidence vote he is expected to loseEmmanuel Macron has given his “full support” to France’s beleaguered prime minister, François Bayrou, who is expected to lose a confidence vote next month, which would be likely to cause the government to collapse.Macron chaired a cabinet meeting on Wednesday as France faces a fresh political crisis. The government spokesperson Sophie Primas said after the meeting that Macron fully supported Bayrou and the government was in a “fighting spirit”. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago France on the brink: how a budget deficit became a political crisis

With the government facing defeat in a confidence vote, the nation’s economic problems will still need to tackledFrance is stuck in economic limbo, without a budget and soon, possibly, without a government. The prime minister, François Bayrou, has called for parliament to hold a confidence vote on 8 September and, now that parties of the left and far right have pledged to bring down the government, on paper he doesn’t have the numbers to win.On Tuesday, the Socialist party (PS) added its voice to the dissenters, allying it with the Greens and the far-right National Rally. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago France faces new political crisis as PM expected to lose confidence vote

François Bayrou says he will ‘fight like a dog’ to stay in power but he appears almost certain to be toppledFrance is braced for another political crisis as the minority government of François Bayrou appears almost certain to be toppled in a confidence vote next month, amid deep political divisions over an unpopular austerity budget and debt-reduction plan.“I will fight like a dog,” the centrist prime minister told L’Express on Tuesday after his surprise decision to call a vote of confidence from parliamentarians. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Readers' Letters: It's no surprise immigration is voters' priority

Politicians don’t understand concerns of regular people, says reader

Politics

2 w. ago Minister brands Farage ‘the very worst’ kind of politician over asylum hotel claims

Dan Jarvis said ‘the very worst’ politicians try to drive people apart

Politics

2 w. ago Government looking at contingency options for where to house asylum seekers after Epping court ruling – UK politics live

Security minister Dan Jarvis says government is considering options after council granted injunction to stop people being placed at the Bell hotelIn case you missed the Guardian’s news piece about the Bell hotel high court ruling:Keir Starmer’s asylum plans have been plunged into turmoil after a high court ruling blocked people seeking refuge from being housed in an Essex hotel.We will carefully consider this judgment. As this matter remains subject to ongoing legal proceedings it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.I haven’t read Mr Farage’s op-ed, but I’ve always thought that the best politicians try and bring people together, and the very worst politicians try and drive them apart.Well, we’ll see where we get to with that specific decision. We’re looking very closely at it.The bigger issue is how we can tackle the asylum backlog. We inherited a very significant backlog from the previous government who effectively stopped processing asylum claims. That’s why we...

Politics

3 w. ago Spanish people know deadly heatwaves are now an annual event. So why are our politicians in denial? | María Ramírez

We need everyday solutions like ‘cool banks’ and shaded areas, as well as serious policies on emissions. The government must step upGrowing up in Madrid, intense summer heat was nothing unusual. I quickly learned always to cross the street in search of shade, and never to be caught out in the sun at 3pm. But as a child in the early 1980s, I never felt dizzy after spending more than a few minutes outdoors, nor did I struggle to study or sleep at home because of the heat. Back then, air conditioning was a rarity, something only Americans had. But we were fine: the stuttering fan in my mother’s Ford Fiesta was enough to keep us comfortable on holiday escapes from the capital.What is happening in Spain now goes far beyond discomfort. More than 1,500 deaths have already been linked to heatwaves this summer alone. Public-sector workers are collapsing from heatstroke on our city streets. Entire communities in the Madrid suburbs have been devastated by wildfires. On Monday, 198 weather stat...

Politics

3 w. ago Golf for them, grind for us: Trump, Vance and the hellish US holiday divide | Arwa Mahdawi

While American workers battle burnout and ‘infinite workdays’, the men at the top are living the endless vacation dreamYou know what the problem is with the US? Nobody wants to work any more. People feel entitled to cushy jobs with fat salaries and unlimited holiday time. And by “people” I mean American politicians, who seem to treat public office as an excuse for endless vacations. Because the president and vice-president are technically always on duty, there’s no official holiday policy – and it rather feels as if they are taking advantage of this.Take the vice-president, JD “OOO (out of office)” Vance. When he’s not inspiring memes or threatening to deport menswear influencers, he always seems to be off on a jolly. So far this year, the man has been skiing in Vermont, shut down bits of Disneyland for his family’s use and apparently raised the water level of a river in Ohio for a kayaking trip. Now, the Vances are summering in the Cotswolds. Continue reading...

Politics