Here’s your UK news roundup for Tuesday (21 April 2026):
Trump weighs in on Mandelson scandal – as another bruising day beckons for Starmer
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to face another bruising day over the Peter Mandelson scandal, as the sacked senior civil servant he sought to blame for the appointment prepares to give his side of the story. In an intense two-hour face-off in the Commons on Monday, which saw two MPs booted out for calling him a liar, the prime minister reiterated he made the wrong call in appointing Lord Mandelson as US ambassador – but repeated he would not have done so had he known the ex-Labour minister had failed the vetting process. [Sky News]
Government to propose electricity price changes
The government is to announce on Tuesday a plan to weaken the link between electricity and volatile gas prices, which it says will better protect consumers from energy shocks triggered by international conflicts. The government wants some older renewable energy generators to move to fixed-price contracts, rather than the current system, which often pays them based on the variable price of gas. It hopes this switch will take place within the next year, so that electricity prices will not be so prone to sudden rises in fossil fuel prices. [BBC]
Palantir manifesto described as ‘ramblings of a supervillain’ amid UK contract fears
The US spy tech company Palantir published a manifesto extolling the benefits of American power and implying some cultures are inferior to others – in what MPs have called “a parody of a RoboCop film” and “the ramblings of a supervillain”. “Some cultures have produced vital advances; others remain dysfunctional and regressive,” wrote Palantir in a 22-point post on X over the weekend, which also called for an end to the “postwar neutering” of Germany and Japan. The post exhorted the US to reinstate a military draft, saying that “free and democratic societies” need “hard power” in order to prevail. [Guardian]
Pubs brace for 40% sales hit due to tube strike
London’s pubs and restaurants are bracing for a knock of as much as 40% of daily sales from this week’s tube strikes as industry leaders warn of the “devastating” impact on hospitality. The capital’s hospitality industry is set to be the hardest-hit from the industrial action, which is due to begin at noon on Tuesday. Leading trade body UKHospitality said London’s landlords can expect to take an almost 40% hit from the strikes, and warn this piles on the existing pressures caused by the Iran war and April tax rises. [CityAM]
Financial news
On Tuesday, Oil was trading lower at $93.90. The pound is trading at $1.35, €1.15, and ¥9.22.
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