Sir Tony Blair launched a withering attack on Sir Keir Starmer on Wednesday 27 May 2026, telling the Labour leader his government has ‘no coherent plan’ and warning the party of ‘almost infinite capacity for self-delusion’. The intervention by the former Prime Minister comes amid renewed leadership pressure on the Starmer premiership.
On 27 May 2026 a clear timeline emerged for Ukraine’s EU accession: the European Commission is set to propose on 16 June the opening of the first negotiating cluster for Ukraine and Moldova. President Zelenskyy directly rebuffed Friedrich Merz’s earlier proposal for an ‘associate’ membership status, insisting on a full path to accession.
Over 95 Labour MPs have now publicly called on Sir Keir Starmer to resign or set out a departure timetable, while Andy Burnham’s Makerfield by-election candidacy was approved by the NEC on 15 May. With a YouGov net favourability of -57 matched only by Liz Truss, the Prime Minister enters one of the most precarious phases of his premiership.
On 20 May 2026, the Council Presidency and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on two regulations implementing the EU-US Joint Statement of August 2025, fixing a 15% tariff ceiling on EU exports to the US with a sunset clause through 2029. The deal also includes a robust safeguard mechanism on steel and aluminium.
The European Commission has launched a comprehensive review of the General Data Protection Regulation as the landmark legislation marks its tenth anniversary, with officials pledging targeted reforms to address mounting challenges posed by generative artificial intelligence and persistent enforcement gaps across member states. During commemorative events held between 22 and 24 May, Commission officials acknowledged…
European institutions marked Natura 2000 Day on 21 May with celebrations across the continent, highlighting the achievements of the EU’s flagship nature protection network which now encompasses more than 27,000 sites covering nearly a fifth of the bloc’s land area. The anniversary celebrations showcased a conservation initiative that has grown to become the world’s largest…
EU negotiators have reached a provisional agreement on modernising the bloc’s return system for irregular migrants, introducing harmonised detention limits and recognition procedures in what officials are calling the most comprehensive reform of return policy in over a decade. Parliament and Council representatives struck the deal on 22 May following intensive trilogue negotiations on the…
Kemi Badenoch’s net favourability of -17 is the highest recorded by any Conservative leader in over five years, suggesting a slow but discernible Tory recovery beneath the surface of Reform UK’s headline-grabbing surge. The trend has implications for UK-EU relations, where the Conservative posture differs sharply from both Labour and Reform.
Sir Keir Starmer’s net favourability has fallen to -46 in the latest YouGov tracker, with 69% of Britons viewing the Prime Minister unfavourably. As Labour grapples with the aftermath of local-election losses, the question of his leadership has moved decisively from speculation to open political debate.
The European Parliament gave its consent this week in Strasbourg to the EU’s accession to a major international cybercrime convention, marking a significant step in building a transnational framework against the rising tide of cyber-enabled crime affecting all 27 member states.
