91 m. ago Local elections 2025 mapped: Full results for every council and mayoral race

Reform swept up this year’s local elections, winning 677 seats across all contested councils. While the Lib Dems also saw success, the Tories and Labour faced devastating defeats

Politics

1 hour ago Starmer urged to change course after Reform’s success in local elections

Labour MP Rachael Maskell said her party has ‘special responsibilities’ to serve the needs of people.

Politics

2 h. ago Dying Syrian grandmother allowed to come to UK in Home Office U

Soaad Al Shawa had been barred from spending final days with her family, who fled Damascus to settle in GlasgowA Syrian grandmother who is dying of cancer has been given permission to come to the UK to spend her final days with the grandchildren she has never met, after a Home Office U-turn.The government had wanted to bar Soaad Al Shawa, who has liver cancer and has been given just weeks to live by doctors, from travelling to spend her last days with her daughter Ola Al Hamwi, son-in-law Mostafa Amonajid and their three children aged seven, five and one. Al Shawa has only been able to communicate with her grandchildren on video calls. Continue reading...

Society

2 h. ago Pakistan test fires ballistic missile as India bans imports amid tensions over Kashmir terror attack

India bans import of goods originating from or transiting via Pakistan as diplomatic tensions soar

Events

2 h. ago This vitamin could slash colon cancer risk by half – but there’s a catch

The potential role of vitamin D in preventing and treating colorectal cancer (CRC) has attracted growing research interest – especially as CRC rates are rising, particularly among younger adults. This isn’t a new area of study. Low vitamin D levels have long been linked to a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer.

Events

2 h. ago Badenoch apologises for local election results as Reform warned there are ‘no simple answers’ – UK politics live

Shadow chief treasury secretary Richard Fuller says Nigel Farage’s party must do more than just ‘point at problems’‘We can’t just talk to the right’: what will Labour do now?Headteachers are taking legal action against Ofsted, England’s schools watchdog, over fears that its new inspection regime is “even worse than before” and likely to harm the mental health of school leaders.The National Association of Head Teachers said it had lodged a claim for a judicial review against Ofsted “over the potential impact of their inspection proposals” and for inadequate consultation over its new system of grading schools.Somehow the focus on school leader mental health and wellbeing has got lost along the way during Ofsted’s consultation process.We must not forget that the catalyst for these changes was the tragic death of Ruth Perry and widespread acceptance that the inspection regime was placing school leaders under intolerable pressure. However, there appears to have been very little thought g...

Events

3 h. ago 'We're fed up of nothing changing, it's time to give Reform a chance'

On the streets of Balderstone and Kirkholt, residents are calling for change.

Politics

3 h. ago Are you worried about the rise of Reform? Take our poll and have your say

Reform UK has stunned us all with more than 600 local election wins, flipping Tory strongholds and claiming its fifth MP. With a booming Gen-Z following and rising poll numbers, the insurgent party is now threatening to upend two-party politics for good. Are you worried?

Politics

3 h. ago Local election results live: Badenoch sorry for Tory ‘bloodbath’ as Farage gloats Conservatives are finished

Reform takes control of 10 councils, snatches dramatic victory in Runcorn by-election and wins two mayoral contests

Politics

3 h. ago ‘No simple answers’ for Reform after local election success, senior Tory warns – UK politics live

Shadow chief treasury secretary Richard Fuller says Nigel Farage’s party must do more than just ‘point at problems’‘We can’t just talk to the right’: what will Labour do now?Labour MP Rachael Maskell has urged her party to scrap winter fuel and welfare policies that she said are pushing voters away, reports the PA news agency.The York Central MP told BBC Breakfast that Labour has “special responsibilities” to serve the needs of people.We’re not any other political party, we were created to serve the needs of people across working areas of our country so that people had a real voice of the kind of change that they wanted to see.I think it’s now time, if Labour are going to go further faster, to pick up that voice, to put our fingers on the pulse and to understand that that responsibility that the 1945 government set out putting that safety net in place at the welfare state is on our watch and is our responsibility.People went cold last winter and that’s not what a Labour government s...

Events

3 h. ago The foods you should 'never' put in your compost bin to avoid vermin

Making homemade compost is a great way to reduce waste and give your garden a boost, but there are certain foods you should avoid putting in your bin

Politics

3 h. ago Liverpool expose glaring flaw in Chelsea’s model en route to Premier League title

The Premier League champions have shown restrain in the transfer market, while Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have struggled to thrive despite spending lavishly

Sport

4 h. ago Bereaved families urge Sadiq Khan to honour pledge to ban gambling ads on Tube

Families who have lost relatives to gambling-related suicide beg mayor to act on his 2021 pledge to ban betting and casino ads on London transport

Politics

4 h. ago Will Anthony Albanese be first Australian PM in 21 years to witness two consecutive election wins?

Albanese’s election pledge has been that his government would hold no Australian back and leave none behind

Politics

4 h. ago Celebrity colourist Josh Wood reveals the 7 simple ways to save money when you're getting your hair done

Rosie Green reveals how to cut your salon spend without compromising your style

Politics

4 h. ago Trump’s promised ‘golden age’ for the US economy is off to a chaotic start

Growth in the first three months was challenged by Trump’s overhaul plans, and execution of his tariffs created widespread confusion and uncertaintyDonald Trump promised to usher in a new “golden age” for the US economy – one with lower prices, more jobs and greater wealth. This week, his first quarter report card came in, and the new age is off to a chaotic start.Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank for the first time in three years during the first quarter, abruptly turning negative after a spell of robust growth as trade distortions and weaker consumer spending dampened activity. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago How relegated clubs bouncing back to the Premier League makes the rich richer | Philippe Auclair

Parachute payments system benefits the elite when teams such as Burnley and Leeds rejoin top tier within three yearsFor the second year running, all three clubs promoted from the Championship to the Premier League will make an immediate return to the second tier. It would be tempting to say this is the natural order of things given the financial challenges faced by clubs suddenly thrown into the world’s richest domestic football competition.Even when they do spend huge amounts in order to give themselves a chance of survival, as Southampton and Ipswich did, respectively spending £62.8m and £106m net in the summer of 2024, the gap appears too big to close. Yet what has happened to them used to be an exceptional occurrence.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Politics

5 h. ago My cultural awakening: Groundhog Day made me quit my job, move house and leave my girlfriend

When I saw Bill Murray’s classic comedy I realised that I was trapped in my own unfulfilling time loopI didn’t know anything about the plot of Groundhog Day before I decided to watch it 10 years ago. I remember collapsing on to the sofa after work – completely exhausted – and putting it on. My girlfriend was already asleep in the next room. Her drinking had been getting steadily worse that year, but I think we were both in denial about it. Most evenings I’d spend alone, so I’d put a movie on in the background for company.I found it funny at first, watching Bill Murray’s character trapped in a time-loop. But about 20 minutes in, I started feeling this creeping sense of dread. I remember seeing Murray’s white alarm clock going off, waking him up to begin the same day and feeling this horrible spark of recognition. It was like watching my own life play out on the screen in front of me. Continue reading...

Society

6 h. ago Glasgow told to ignore 'Paris affect' and slash 5% tourist tax plans

A business group is applying pressure over plans for a 5 per cent tourist tax for Glasgow.

Politics

6 h. ago Greyscale and prune your algorithm: ‘digital nutritionist’ offers advice on cutting down screen time

Kaitlyn Regehr says parents worrying about their children need first to look at their own usageSwitching off the colours on your phone and spending half an hour a week pruning your algorithm can help consumers control and improve their online media diet, according to a professor turned “digital nutritionist”.These two measures, otherwise known as greyscaling and algorithmic resistance, are among a number of recommendations from Dr Kaitlyn Regehr, an associate professor at University College London and a leading expert in digital literacy. Continue reading...

Politics