Morning Briefing: Monday 18 May 2026
- Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said this morning there will be “no timetable for departure”, settling overnight reporting from ITV, the i Paper and the Mail On Sunday that Sir Keir Starmer was about to announce his exit. The choice is now locked in: Starmer will fight the Makerfield by-election and any contest that follows; markets will price a more drawn-out leadership question rather than an imminent handover, and gilt yields will likely give back some of last week’s panic premium at the open.
- Sunday’s drone strike on the United Arab Emirates’ Barakah Nuclear Power Plant was “likely” Iranian or Iranian-backed, executed via a deliberately misleading western-border approach used by Iran before at Abqaiq in 2019. IRGC-aligned media in Tehran are simultaneously trying to pin the strike on Saudi Arabia. The Emirates is investigating; Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed has called it a “treacherous terrorist attack”. Brent and gold are likely to open higher; Gulf carriers will continue to route around the Strait of Hormuz.
- Burnham retreats on the EU after the Saturday and Sunday Streeting backlash: his spokesman tells the Telegraph he is campaigning on local issues in Makerfield and will “not stand on a national manifesto”. The Times reports that allies of Burnham now accuse Wes Streeting of “sabotage”, with one ally telling the paper: “Wes’s only hope at becoming the next leader is for Andy to lose the by-election.” The Makerfield contest is no longer a referendum on Brexit — it is a referendum on whether Reform takes the seat from Labour at all.
Barakah Drone Strike “Likely” Iranian; Tehran Tries to Blame Riyadh
The Institute for the Study of War’s 17 May Iran update assesses that “likely Iranian or Iranian-backed forces” launched the three drones that targeted Abu Dhabi’s Barakah Nuclear Power Plant on Sunday, with two intercepted by UAE air defe…
Katz: Israel “Awaiting Green Light” to Renew Iran War, “Targets are Marked”
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said over the weekend during a security assessment that the IDF is “ready in defence and offence, and the targets are marked”, and that Israel is “awaiting a green light from the United States” to resum…
US Tables Five Conditions to Tehran; Positions “Fundamentally Incompatible”
The Institute for the Study of War’s 17 May assessment, citing IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency, reports that the United States has tabled five main conditions in response to Iran’s 10 May counterproposal: a rejection of war reparations, a…
Iraqi Officials Confirm Second Israeli Outpost in Iraqi Desert
Two Iraqi officials, including senior Wisdom Movement official Hassan Fadaam, said in an interview on 17 May that Israel built two clandestine outposts in the Iraqi desert in late 2024 — not one, as previously reported by the Wall Street J…
Ukraine Hits Moscow with Biggest Drone Attack in Over a Year; Four Dead
Ukraine launched its largest overnight drone attack on the Moscow region in more than a year on Sunday, killing at least four people including three near the capital. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defences had destroyed 81 drones h…
Lammy on Sky: “No Timetable for Departure”; Starmer Will Stay
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said on Monday morning that Sir Keir Starmer will not set out a timetable for his departure from Downing Street. “There will be no timetable for departure,” Lammy said, adding that he had spoken to the Pri…
Burnham Retreats on EU Rejoin; “Local Issues” in Makerfield
Andy Burnham is distancing himself from calls to rejoin the European Union after the weekend Streeting-Nandy backlash. A spokesman for the Greater Manchester mayor said publicly that Burnham will be campaigning on local issues in the Maker…
Burnham Allies Accuse Streeting of “Sabotage”
The Times leads Monday on Burnham’s allies formally accusing former Health Secretary Wes Streeting of “sabotage”, telling the paper that his Saturday call to rejoin the EU reopens Labour’s Brexit battles and plays directly into Reform UK’s…
Burnham Faces “Perilous” Race in Makerfield
The Guardian leads Monday with Burnham’s own allies describing his Makerfield by-election bid as “perilous”. While the Greater Manchester mayor is likely to be formally confirmed as Labour’s candidate this week, the paper says he faces an…
WHO Declares Ebola Public Health Emergency Over DRC Outbreak
The World Health Organization has declared the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo a public health emergency of international concern on its front page on Monday, alongside its Burnham-EU lead. The WHO designation tri…