3 d. ago David Lammy says Trump has taken US economic policy back 100 years with ‘return to protectionism’ – UK politics live

David Lammy, foreign secretary, says UK is ‘a nation that believes in open trade’ and says government is negotiating with US over economic agreementThe official plan to increase access to NHS dental services in England has been a “complete failure”, and some of the government’s initiatives have worsened the crisis, a damning report warns, Andrew Gregory reports.David Lammy, the foreign secretary, is at the Nato HQ in Brussels this morning, where Nato foreign ministers are meeting. Speaking to the media, he said President Trump was taking US economic policy back almost a century by embracing protectionism. He said:The United Kingdom, like France, is a great maritime nation.We are a nation that believes in open trade, and I regret the return to protectionism in the United States, something that we’ve not seen for nearly a century. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Households can get up to 90% off water bills after £123 hike

On April 1, water bills for households in England and Wales increased by an average of £123 a year - or £10 a month - bringing the average household bill to £603 a year

Economics

6 d. ago Council tax map: Find out the average bill in your area as 90% see maximum increase

Nine out of ten authorities in England will impose a 4.99 per cent increase this year

Economics

7 d. ago Pharmacy funding boost is a ‘step forward’ but still ‘falls short’, say leaders

The health department has announced that it has reached an agreement with Community Pharmacy England for a funding increase over two years.

Politics

1 week ago Bus satisfaction in England increases after ‘positive changes’

Watchdog Transport Focus said overall satisfaction in 2024 was 83%, up from 80% in 2023.

Politics

2 w. ago Tourist invasion of 'England's most beautiful village' could see coaches BANNED after families lose patience with the thousands of visitors

People living in Bibury, Gloucestershire, once described by 19th Century writer William Morris as the 'most beautiful village in England', say it has increasingly become inundated with tourists.

Events

2 w. ago Council tax map: Find out the average bill in your area as 90% face maximum increase

Nine out of ten authorities in England will impose a 4.99 per cent increase this year

Economics

2 w. ago Smoking rates in parts of England rise for first time since 2006, study shows

South-west sees biggest jump, up 17% between 2020 and 2024, while rate in southern England increases by 10%Smoking rates in parts of England have increased for the first time in nearly two decades, according to research.Academics at University College London examined smoking data for more than 350,000 adults in England over an 18-year period. They found that while the proportion of adults who smoke cigarettes, pipes, cigars or other forms of tobacco fell from 25.3% of the population in 2006 to 16.5% in 2024, progress since 2020 has flatlined and in some areas smoking rates are increasing again. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago If you’re living alone, council tax already hits hard – so I’m dreading the new rises

Significant council tax hikes are about to hit most households in England, and for people who live alone like Katie Rosseinsky, these increases might feel like an especially worrying blow

Events

3 w. ago Most households in England face a THIRD YEAR of maximum council tax hikes and some will see an eye

After all councils confirmed their plans, an analysis showed how nearly nine in 10 (88 per cent) of 153 upper-tier authorities in England will impose a 4.99 per cent increase.

Politics

3 w. ago ‘I had no voice’: black mental health patients on surviving a care system they say is racialised

As a report into mental health care in England finds a sharp increase in people sent for urgent care, two people tell their traumatic stories of being hospitalisedAdult mental health crisis referrals in England double in a yearIt has been more than four decades since Devon Marston, a 66-year-old community organiser and musician, was taken to a psychiatric hospital where he was restrained, injected and forced to take medication. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.“Everything was said around me and about me, but no one asked me how I was doing,” he said. “I had no voice, and there was no one to say: ‘Don’t do that to him,’ or: ‘Listen to him, hear what he has to say.’” Continue reading...

Science