Federal budget 2026 winners and losers: rich families, overseas travellers and illegal tobacco – summary 12. May 2026 (11:56) Taxpayers and first home buyers are the winners in Labor’s 2026 budget, while rich families could be among the losers. Find out who is better off and who is worse off in Chalmers’ budgetFederal budget 2026 LIVE updates: Australia government budget announcement and speech – latest newsExplore all of our 2026 Australia federal budget coverageGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastBeing a winner or a loser from the federal budget can be the difference between hundreds of dollars – or tightening your belt even further.Tuesday’s federal budget comes at a strange time. Donald Trump is waging a war on Iran that is impacting fuel supplies globally, including Australia. Inflation is still causing havoc on household budgets. Government programs are costing more than ever. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Keir Starmer tells cabinet he is not resigning amid growing pressure to stand down – UK politics live 12. May 2026 (11:54) PM tells crunch cabinet meeting a leadership challenge has not been triggered and he wants to ‘get on with governing’Minister resigns from Starmer government with call for PM to quitLabour MP in seat eyed by Burnham allies says she will not stand asideHere are some pictures from No 10 this morning.Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the PM, is now being interviewed on the Today programme. Nick Robinson, the presenter, is asking him if he knows whether Keir Starmer has decided how to respond to the pressure on him to resign. Jones is avoiding the question, as he did on Sky News earlier. (See 7.43am.) Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK borrowing costs hit highest since 1998 amid Starmer uncertainty 12. May 2026 (11:46) Bond yields soar and pound falls against dollar as investors brace for potential Labour leadership changeBusiness live – latest updatesUK politics live – latest updatesLong-term UK borrowing costs have soared to the highest level in nearly three decades while the pound and stocks fell as investors braced for a potential change of leadership, with cabinet ministers urging Keir Starmer to quit.With investors worried about potential changes to the fiscal rigour of Starmer’s government, the yield – in effect the interest rate – on 30-year government bonds jumped 11 basis points to 5.794%, the highest since May 1998. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Huge cuts to national disability insurance scheme aim to save more than $36bn in budget’s largest single measure 12. May 2026 (11:40) NDIS changes foreshadowed by health minister Mark Butler will drastically reduce access to the scheme, with nearly 700 staff positions to go at NDIAFederal budget 2026 LIVE updates: Australia government budget announcement and speech – latest newsExplore all of our 2026 Australia federal budget coverageGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe government expects to recoup $36.2bn by curbing the national disability insurance scheme’s growth over the next four years as it looks to return to the NDIS’s “original purpose” of supporting people with “significant and permanent disability”.The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said the budget’s savings package amounted to genuine economic reform, beyond the “usual nips and tucks”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Budget 2026 Australia: Jim Chalmers announces capital gains tax and negative gearing reform for housing 12. May 2026 (11:35) Labor’s ambitious and politically risky tax reform aims to help first home buyers and foster intergenerational fairnessFederal budget 2026 LIVE updates: Australia government budget announcement and speech – latest newsExplore all of our 2026 Australia federal budget coverageGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJim Chalmers has announced the most ambitious and politically risky tax changes since the Howard era as part of a federal budget that defies the looming economic threat of the Iran war to push Australia along the “hard road to reform”.Arguing that the Australian public is ready for difficult choices aimed at reviving intergenerational fairness and the collapsing dream of home ownership, the government will scale back tax breaks for landlords by abolishing negative gearing for new investors and replacing the 50% capital gains tax discount with the inflation-linked approach that existed before 1999. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Three-day ceasefire ends with fresh wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine – Europe live 12. May 2026 (11:26) At least one person killed as Moscow launches drone strikes on energy facilities and apartments Over in Hungary, we are expecting the Magyar government to be fully confirmed in place later today (for now, it’s just the prime minister).But we are already getting first signals as to how the new administration will be different from the one led by Viktor Orbán over the last 16 years. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Starmer tells cabinet he will not quit without leadership challenge 12. May 2026 (11:10) Prime minister says process for challenging a leader has not been triggered and Labour should get on with governing• UK politics live – latest updates• Who are the main threats to Starmer’s leadership?Keir Starmer has told his cabinet he will not resign as prime minister, saying the threshold for a leadership challenge has not been met.In comments that effectively dared the health secretary, Wes Streeting, to launch a challenge against him, Starmer said he intended to get on with governing. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Labour MP in seat eyed by Burnham allies says she will not stand aside 12. May 2026 (11:07) Exclusive: Marie Rimmer backs Keir Starmer and deals blow to Greater Manchester mayor’s byelection hopesUK politics live – latest updatesAndy Burnham’s hopes of returning to Westminster were dealt a blow on Tuesday as the Merseyside MP whose seat had been named by key allies for a potential byelection said she would not stand down and backed Keir Starmer to stay in office.Marie Rimmer, the MP for St Helens South and Whiston, said the mayor of Greater Manchester had not spoken to her “in years” – and that her priority was to avoid the chaos of a leadership contest. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Tax cuts and cost of living help proposed by Labour-linked groups allied to Streeting and Burnham 12. May 2026 (11:03) With Starmer under growing pressure to resign, Growth and Tribune groups put forward ideas for policy revampsUK politics live – latest updatesGroups connected to the health secretary, Wes Streeting, and the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, have proposed large changes to government policy, giving a sense of how the country may change should either one succeed Keir Starmer.The Labour Growth Group, allied to Streeting, and the Tribune group of Labour MPs, allied to Burnham, have published competing visions for how Britain should be run, including sweeping tax cuts, help with the cost of living and big changes to government machinery. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Unprecedented’ global effort gives new name to polycystic ovary syndrome – and new hope to millions of women 12. May 2026 (11:00) Decades-long campaign powered by patient perspectives results in switch from PCOS – a name that caused confusion and undue suffering – to PMOS• What is PCOS, what are the symptoms and treatment, and why is it being renamed PMOS?• ‘I still want to scream’: the loneliness and confusion of living with PMOSAfter more than a decade of global consultation, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) – a condition that affects one in eight women – has been renamed.The hormonal disorder, estimated to impact 170 million women worldwide, will now be known as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS). Continue reading...(The Guardian)
