27 h. ago If Britain is broken, what is to blame – big money and big tech, or graffiti on your train? | Tom Whyman

A new cadre of agit-prop campaigners has been cleaning the London underground, but there is more to the political stunt than meets the eyeBritain, let’s face it, is crap. Crap, I mean, in quite a specific sense: we might not be teetering on the brink of civilisational destruction, as the post-Brexit right can often seem to think. But there nonetheless remains a vast, ambient sense of rubbishness. Everything is expensive but nothing works. Our streets are full of potholes; our houses are full of mould. All the shops are shut, except for a Tesco Express, where there are security tags on the eggs. It takes about a million years to build a railway line.Up to now, the response to Britain’s enshittification has, by and large, seemed remarkably fatalistic: Keir Starmer spent the first year in government repeatedly insisting that there just wasn’t any money, and so really nothing could be done. Thank God then, one might think, for Looking for Growth, a new campaign group led by young (well,...

Politics

44 h. ago 250,000 into poverty, £5bn reduced government spending and 126 backbenchers in revolt: Labour's welfare reforms in numbers

Sir Keir Starmer is encountering resistance from Labour backbenchers over welfare reform plans - but how much money are we talking about?

Economics

49 h. ago Keir Starmer admits government has ‘asked a lot’ of business, and defends employment rights bill – business live

PM tells BCC conference businesses have made a ‘huge difference’, following the tax rises in the last budgetFull story: Shell has ‘no intention’ of making offer to buy BP after £60bn takeover rumoursStarmer then tells the BCC conference that the spending review earlier this month is a “clear shift” towards investing in the future of the UK, not simply tackling the promises it inherited.Starmer says his administration have “wiped the slate clean”, stabilized the economy, and can now move onto building a fairer Britain, with change and renewal.‘I fully acknowledge that this year, as we’ve had to fix the foundations of our country, [and] deal with the unprecedented mess that we inherited, we’ve asked a lot of you.I understand that, and I want to acknowledge that.They are all vital for the long-term growth of our country. But none of that would have been possible without your contribution. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Rayner backs beleaguered Starmer over benefits reform as Labour rebellion grows

The deputy prime minister insisted the government will not back down over its planned vote on welfare reform next Tuesday

Politics

3 d. ago Voices: Poll of the day: Do you support Keir Starmer’s welfare reform plans?

Have your say: As the government prepares to make one of the most significant changes to welfare in over a decade, we want to know where you stand

Politics

3 d. ago RFK Jr. promises change to health insurance prior authorization policies

Pledge from insurers to cut red tape could impact 257 million Americans

Events

3 d. ago From Tate Modern to Grimsby docks: the team saving Britain’s cherished buildings from the wrecking ball

Can you imagine Liverpool without its Welsh Streets or London without Battersea Power Station? For 50 years, one small band of activists have been finding creative alternative uses for great buildings their owners couldn’t seeIt’s hard to imagine London without the mighty riverside citadels of Tate Modern and Battersea power station, or bereft of the ornate Victorian market halls of Smithfield and Billingsgate. It is equally difficult to picture Yorkshire without its majestic sandstone mills, Grimsby without its fishing docks, or parts of Liverpool without their streets of terrace houses. Yet all these things could have victims of the wrecking ball, if it weren’t for one small band of plucky activists. You may not have heard of Save Britain’s Heritage, or Save as it likes to style itself. But the tiny charity, which celebrates its 50th birthday this month, has had more influence than any other group in campaigning for the imaginative reuse of buildings at risk, most of which had no ...

Politics

4 d. ago PM tells Cabinet ‘we will reform welfare’ amid backbench rebellion over plans

The Prime Minister on Tuesday said the Government must ‘fix what is broken’.

Politics

4 d. ago Minister defends Liz Kendall’s handling of welfare reform brief despite major rebellion before vote – UK politics live

Pat McFadden insists welfare reform change vote will go ahead as planned but says party will ‘engage with’ rebelsLabour MPs launch major rebellion to stop welfare billA senior minister in the UK government has said the country is “not starting from zero” when it comes to raising defence spending to 5% of GDP.Speaking on the BBC, Pat McFadden said one of the earliest actions of his party, which came to power of 2024, was to increase defence expenditure to 2.5% of GDP over the next couple of years.She has been central to the development of these reforms.She has argued for them, not as a difficult choice, but as the right choice, because she believes in a welfare state that should be there for people. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Farage’s ‘bonanza for billionaires’ would cost UK £34bn a year, warns tax expert

Reform UK believes the plans for a Britannia card will make the UK ‘incredibly attractive’ to the wealthy, but tax expert Dan Neidle has warned it will leave a massive black hole

Economics

5 d. ago ‘Billionaires’ bonanza’: Labour derides Reform plan to offer tax exemptions to wealthy

Nigel Farage defends policy to top up poorest workers from £250,000 ‘landing fee’ on rich UK newcomersUK politics live – latest updatesBusiness live – latest updatesNigel Farage has defended his plans to attract wealthy individuals to the UK with a £250,000 fee for 10 years of residency and a special tax regime, as Labour called it a “billionaires’ bonanza”.In a press conference in London, the leader of Reform UK said he wanted to win back very wealthy people leaving the country, and encourage them to spend and create jobs in the UK. Continue reading...

Economics

5 d. ago Farage’s ‘Robin Hood tax’ would cost UK £34bn a year, warns tax expert

Reform UK believes the plans for a Britannia card will make the UK ‘incredibly attractive’ to the wealthy, but tax expert Dan Neidle has warned it will leave a massive black hole

Economics

5 d. ago Nigel Farage's Britannia Card plot to help billionaires avoid taxes mocked

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is planning to let wealthy business tycoons pay £250,000 for a so-called Britannia Card, which would excuse them from taxes on overseas earnings and inheritance tax

Economics

5 d. ago Reform unveils plan to top up poorest workers from £250,000 fee on rich UK newcomers

Nigel Farage will outline Britannia Card policy that could give the low paid £600 to £1,000 extra a yearReform UK are to offer wealthy foreigners and returning British expats a bespoke tax regime in exchange for a one-off payment of £250,000 with all funds collected redistributed to Britain’s lowest-paid workers, the party claims,.The proposal, dubbed the Britannia Card, is due to be unveiled by party leader Nigel Farage later this week. It promises a 10-year residence permit and a return to the controversial “remittance basis” of taxation, allowing cardholders to shield overseas income from UK tax and avoid inheritance tax entirely. Continue reading...

Economics

7 d. ago Voices: Could Angela Rayner’s squeeze on landlords hurt the very people it’s supposed to help?

The deputy prime minister’s plans to reform the rental housing market are well-intentioned – and built on ideas first mooted by Michael Gove – but, says James Moore, if they end up restricting supply, renters will suffer the consequences

Politics

9 d. ago Starmer makes few concessions to rebel MPs on UK welfare reform plan

Cuts to UK disability and incapacity benefits expected to save Treasury £4.8bn

Politics

9 d. ago Rewiring Britain: a national mission to decarbonise our buildings

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Events

1 week ago Flagship welfare reform plans to be introduced in Parliament

The major reforms are set to include the tightening of criteria for the main disability benefit in England, personal independence payment (Pip).

Politics

1 week ago Brace for 2025's first heatwave: Met Office confirms temperatures of up to 33C are on the way for Britain this week

Forecasters are expecting the heat to build gradually in Britain over the coming days - and most areas will reach levels above the heatwave threshold of 25C (77F) to 28C (82F) by the weekend.

Society

1 week ago Brace for 2025's first heatwave: Met Office confirms temperatures of up to 32C are on the way for Britain this week

Forecasters are expecting the heat to build gradually in Britain over the coming days - and most areas will reach levels above the heatwave threshold of 25C (77F) to 28C (82F) by the weekend.

Society