Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Guardian readers

Politics Live - readers' edition: Friday 12 October

Statue of Emmeline Pankhurst outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster
Statue of Emmeline Pankhurst outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

We’re not writing our usual blog today but here, as an alternative, is the Politics Live readers’ edition. It is a place for you to discuss today’s politics, and to share links to breaking news and to the most interesting stories and blogs on the web.

Feel free to express your views robustly, but please treat others with respect and don’t resort to abuse. Guardian comment pages are supposed to be a haven from the Twitter/social media rant-orama, not an extension of it.

You can read all today’s Guardian politics stories here.

And here are some of the main ones on our site this morning.

  • Theresa May has briefed senior ministers on the status of the Brexit negotiations as concerns grow in some quarters of her cabinet and party that she is prepared to agree an indefinite customs backstop to ensure an open border in Ireland.
  • The EU has launched a direct sales pitch to Northern Ireland businesses in an attempt to drive a wedge between the Democratic Unionist party and Theresa May over the backstop solution for the Irish border in Brexit negotiations.
  • More than a million people in the UK live in “food deserts” – neighbourhoods where poverty, poor public transport and a dearth of big supermarkets severely limit access to affordable fresh fruit and vegetables, a study has claimed.
  • The government’s decision to allow many more overseas doctors and nurses to work in the NHS was only temporary, Sajid Javid has said, in a move that has prompted concern that tough restrictions on numbers may be reimposed.
  • A close ally of Jeremy Corbyn has accused party and union officials of being “discombobulated” by a power shift to grassroots activists in the Labour party.

On Thursdays local council byelections take place. There were five yesterday. Britain Elects has three of the results.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Zendaya appears to confirm Tom Holland wedding rumours after giving ‘telling sign’ at awards
The star, 29, continued to fuel speculation at the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Why Kelly Osbourne's 'Thin Look' at 2026 BRITs Continues to Worry Fans Despite Her Plea for Compassion
Before the BRIT Awards, Kelly had already addressed the growing commentary around her appearance.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Meet the man trying to democratise fashion week – by turning it into a party
Online fashion commentator Lyas’s catwalk watch parties have gone from hastily assembled get-togethers to large-scale spectacles. But how easy is it to walk the line between outsider and insider?
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
They were dating AI partners when they found real love – with each other
Ayrin and SJ met on a subreddit Ayrin created for people ‘dating’ AI companions. Over time, they started talking to AI less … and falling for each other
The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
NYC Transit Just Got Rid of MetroCards for Fares. The Successor Could Put Your Privacy at Risk.
Unlike the MetroCard, the OMNY system requires train and bus riders in New York City to give their name and phone number to the government.
Reason
Reason
The Jim Irsay Collection sale live: David Gilmour's Black Strat sells for record-shattering $14.5 million in the biggest guitar auction in history
We were live on the ground at Christie's auction house in New York as the world's greatest guitar collection went under the hammer
Guitar World
Guitar World
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play