Live Roundups Editor's Desk Insights Executive Ops Weather About 🔍
Home › Politics › How can leaders on the ropes bounce back?
Politics

How can leaders on the ropes bounce back?

Politico EU Monday 21 September 2026, 07:30 UTC By Anne McElvoy, Sam Coates 62 min read
Key Points

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Amazon Music Sky News Can the Liberal Democrats withstand the political turbulence around them? As delegates gather in Brighton for their party conference, Sam Coates gauges the pressure on Sir Ed Davey’s party as it faces a squeeze from the Greens and the Andy Burnham bounce. Elsewhere, the prime minister prepares to go to New York for the UN General Assembly, the duo look ahead to his first meeting with Donald Trump – can they find any common ground?

Listen on

Can the Liberal Democrats withstand the political turbulence around them?

As delegates gather in Brighton for their party conference, Sam Coates gauges the pressure on Sir Ed Davey’s party as it faces a squeeze from the Greens and the Andy Burnham bounce.

Elsewhere, the prime minister prepares to go to New York for the UN General Assembly, the duo look ahead to his first meeting with Donald Trump – can they find any common ground?

Plus, Anne McElvoy – who’s in Germany – reports on a disastrous set of regional elections for Friedrich Merz – but is he in a similar position to Sir Keir Starmer post-elections in May 2026?

Spotify Apple Music (ORG) Democrats (ORG) Brighton (LOCATION) Sam Coates (PERSON) Ed (PERSON) Greens (ORG) Andy Burnham (PERSON) New York (LOCATION) the UN General Assembly (ORG) Donald Trump &#8211 (ORG) Anne McElvoy &#8211 (ORG) Germany &#8211 (ORG) Friedrich Merz &#8211 (ORG) Keir Starmer (PERSON)
Originally published by Politico EU Read original →

Related Stories

'Method of disenfranchising Indians': Kharge slams SIR, calls it a 'Frankenstein monster'

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has lambasted the Election Commission's electoral roll revision, labeling it a misguided 'Frankenstein Monster' that adversely affects its constituents Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday stepped up his attack on the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, describing the exercise as a “Frankenstein Monster” after several prominent political and government figures were issued notices in Delhi. “What started as...

Times of India 36m ago

People 'lost their trust' in Merz's government, S&D MEP says

German Social Democrat MEP Sabrina Repp said the German governing coalition, which includes her party and Friedrich Merz’s CDU, is now under “lots of pressure” following the latest regional election results. Repp believes German citizens have “lost trust” in the federal government following the far-right AfD’s gains in elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Pressure is also mounting on Chancellor Friedrich Merz, but Repp said the priority now is to “stabilise the coalition”.

Euronews 44m ago

Hong Kong Ballet to move to city’s first dedicated dance venue in 2027

Hong Kong Ballet will relocate to the city’s first dedicated dance art venue for at least five years, starting in April 2027, according to the institution and the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD). The move to the “Dancehouse” at the soon-to-be-finished WestK Performing Arts Centre will follow the ballet company’s departure from its base of 16 years at the government-run Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui. An announcement last December that the city’s flagship ballet company would be...

South China Morning Post 48m ago

Sisters of jailed former Pakistani PM Imran Khan arrested

Sisters of jailed former Pakistani PM Imran Khan arrested The three sisters of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan were arrested in the province of Punjab and sent to a jail in Lahore, his party Tehreek-e-Insaf said on Monday. Khan, who was prime minister from 2018 to 2022, has been in jail since 2023 and was sentenced last year to 17 years in jail on corruption charges. Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan's party said on Monday that his three sisters had been arrested.

France 24 51m ago