48 m. ago PIP claimants won't see new benefit payment rates this month in DWP delay

DWP benefit payments - including Universal Credit, Attendance Allowance, and Employment Support Allowance (ESA) - were hiked by 1.7% on April 7. However, most claimants will have to wait until May before they receive the full amount of higher payments

Politics

1 hour ago Pretty little UK village on the edge of a huge city with three highly rated pubs

Stock in Essex is the kind of village you dream about. With its historic charm, countryside calm and three pubs, it's worth a detour as it is just minutes from busy Chelmsford

Politics

3 h. ago Happy St George's Day... oh wait: Church of England reveals annual celebration has MOVED this year save from breaking an age

St George's Day usually takes place every year on April 23. But this year's feast day has been moved - after a ruling by the Church of England.

Politics

5 h. ago Trump says China tariffs will drop ‘substantially – but it won’t be zero’

US president says tariffs on imported goods will come down from 145% rate but insists ‘we’re doing fine with China’Donald Trump said during a White House news conference that high tariffs on goods from China will “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero”.Trump’s remarks were in response to earlier comments on Tuesday by treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who said that the high tariffs were unsustainable and that he expects a “de-escalation” in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Continue reading...

Politics

9 h. ago From mass sheep massacres to the 'UK's most bizarre cold case': All the times Britons say PROVE aliens are real

Fear of ridicule commonly causes people to bottle up their experiences and prevents them from sharing their stories anywhere except in guarded inner circles.

Events

10 h. ago IMF forecasts three more Bank of England rate cuts this year

The International Monetary Fund has slashed its forecasts for the UK economy on the back of Donald Trump's trade tariff uncertainty warning the UK is likely to see an inflation spike

Politics

12 h. ago What the IMF's bombshell new UK growth forecast could mean for you

The International Monetary Fund has slashed its forecast for growth in the UK economy for this year by 0.5 per cent to 1.1 per cent. Here, we look at how this could impact millions of ordinary Britons...

Events

12 h. ago Even Trump must know that firing the chair of the Fed would be self

Jerome Powell is a soft target for the president amid economic instability. But getting rid of him would only invite more chaosUS stock markets, Treasury bonds and the dollar itself are sliding amid the tariff turmoil and Donald Trump needs a soft target. It was probably only a matter of time before he intensified his attacks on Jerome Powell, chair of the US Federal Reserve. It is an easy narrative to blame the dull central banker with orthodox worries about anchoring inflation expectations. Nor is Powell able to engage in tit-for-tat soundbites. Unlike Trump, he must measure the impact on markets of his every word.The open question is how far Trump intends to push things. Monday’s reaction in financial markets was strong because it seemed for the first time that the president could be serious about removal. “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” declared Trump, which was several notches beyond his usual whine about urging the Fed to hurry up with cuts in interest rates. C...

Politics

12 h. ago Greater Manchester hospital named 'best in the country' in one treatment area

The hospital has been named the best in the country for accuracy in the crucial test, and is rated as one of the fastest in getting the results

Politics

12 h. ago Look to his stand on Gaza: Pope Francis gave us moral leadership in amoral times | Owen Jones

With his outspokenness about Israel’s outrages, the late pope showed up the hypocrisy of the media and politiciansThe deaths of major public figures can provoke the most grotesque outpourings of hypocrisy. So it goes for Pope Francis, now lauded by leaders and media outlets that were complicit in the very evils he condemned. “Pope Francis was a pope for the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten,” said Keir Starmer, a prime minister who stripped the winter fuel payment from many vulnerable pensioners before launching an assault on disability benefits predicted to drive up to 400,000 Britons into poverty. “He promoted an end to suffering across the globe,” wrote Joe Biden, enabler of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza.Indeed, the fate of Gaza seemed to preoccupy the pope’s final years. In his last Easter address, he condemned the “death and destruction” and resulting “dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation” – a powerful sermon that hardly any western media outlets covered. I...

Politics

12 h. ago Pete Hegseth's kids go viral for 'embarrassed' reaction to their father's speech at White House Easter party

The White House hosted its annual Easter Egg Roll on Monday in what was meant to be a 'festive' event for children. But Pete Hegseth, 44, seized the opportunity to launch into a tirade.

Society

12 h. ago Less money, lower living standards and higher taxes... this is what the IMF's bombshell new UK growth forecast could mean for you: JOHN

The International Monetary Fund has slashed its forecast for growth in the UK economy for this year by 0.5 per cent to 1.1 per cent. Here, we look at how this could impact millions of ordinary Britons...

Economics

13 h. ago West Lothian average salaries have risen by more than £5,000 in a decade

Councillors heard this week that the average salary in the county had risen to £31,000.

Economics

13 h. ago Gold soars to a new high as economic uncertainty deepens. Here's what to know

As economic uncertainty deepens worldwide, gold prices keep hitting record after record

Economics

13 h. ago Teenagers who go to bed early and sleep longer have sharper brains, study finds

Researchers surprised at impact that even small differences in sleep make to adolescents’ cognitive abilitiesTeenagers who go to bed earlier and sleep for longer than their peers tend to have sharper mental skills and score better on cognitive tests, researchers have said.A study of more than 3,000 adolescents showed that those who turned in earliest, slept the longest, and had the lowest sleeping heart rates outperformed others on reading, vocabulary, problem solving and other mental tests. Continue reading...

Politics

13 h. ago Kate Middleton and Prince William's break from royal tradition highlights her 'new priority'

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were notably absent from the annual Easter Sunday church service in Windsor last weekend, with one royal expert now claiming to know why

Politics

13 h. ago Nationwide to cut mortgage rates as low as 3.89% as banks boost borrowing power

HSBC UK and First Direct announced changes to their mortgage affordability calculations which could help some people to get a deal with them.

Economics

14 h. ago Ronnie O’Sullivan showed true colours with Kyren Wilson gesture after World Snooker Championship win

Wilson lifted his first ever world title at the Crucible in 2024 and the Rocket was always just a phone call away for advice

Politics

14 h. ago Trump tariffs chaos will blow huge hole in US economy and hit UK hard, says IMF in damning report

‘The US effective tariff rate surged past levels reached during the Great Depression,’ say the leading economists

Events

14 h. ago American woman leaves Brits horrified at 'diabolical' jacket potato toppings

Kalli Agudo, from Washington, US, left Britons reeling after she shared her take on the cult-classic dish on TikTok.

Politics