21 h. ago Furloughed federal workers in government shutdown aren’t owed back pay, Trump’s White House claims

‘The livelihoods of the patriotic Americans serving their country in the federal government are not bargaining chips in a political game,’ the American Federation of Government Employees national president said.

Politics

23 h. ago Three tax raids that Rachel Reeves could hit households with in the Autumn Budget, according to experts

WITH Chancellor Rachel Reeves set to announce her Autumn Budget next month, many will be wondering how it's going to hit their pockets. There are fears taxes will go up for households across the UK, as the government tries to fill a £30billion black hole in the public finances. Experts from Oxford Economists have this...

Economics

26 h. ago The migrant hotel king raking in nearly £180m in profits: Caravan park tycoon's firm is paid £7BILLION of taxpayers cash after being awarded government contract to house asylum seekers

Clearsprings Ready Homes, owned by Essex tycoon Graham King, is one of three companies appointed on a 10-year Home Office deal to provide short-term accommodation.

Economics

47 h. ago Government house buying scheme to save thousands £710 in 'biggest shake

Proposals unveiled by the UK Government will look to speed up the long-drawn out and costly process of buying a home by four weeks

Economics

4 d. ago US government shutdown: White House halts $2.1bn of Chicago transport funding; ‘I don’t have anything to negotiate’, says Mike Johnson – live

Trump aide Russ Vought said hold would affect work to extend and modernize city’s transit lines amid little hope Senate can agree a way out of shutdownUS government shutdown day three: Republicans and Democrats make little progress on dealTrump administration freezes $2.1bn in funds for Chicago transit projectsAs the world waits for Hamas’s response to Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, the US president has issued a new deadline for the militant group of 6pm ET on Sunday.Trump, who on Monday gave Hamas “three or four days” to respond to his ultimatum, said they were being given “one last chance”. He wrote on his Truth Social platform this morning:Every Country has signed on! If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Trump and White House ramp up racist memes blaming Democrats for shutdown: ‘Dollar Store Obama’

President continues to troll House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries with mariachi jibes as U.S. government remains mired in shutdown with federal jobs and public services at stake

Politics

4 d. ago Trump gets away from White House amid government shutdown — for a double date with Melania at the Vances’

Trump has rarely dined away from the White House during his second term

Politics

5 d. ago Landlord who scammed £130k to buy properties faces bid to claw money back

Fraudster Raza Hussain exploited a scheme to help first-time buyers by conning the Scottish Government into handing him nearly £50,000. He also duped a bank into giving him another £80,000.

Economics

5 d. ago US government shutdown: Donald Trump promises firings and cuts to ‘Democrats’ favorite projects’ if shutdown continues – live

President says ‘I am allowed to cut things that should have never been approved’ during interview with OAN television networkHere’s what the shutdown means for travel, national parks and housingShare your views on the US government shutdownKaroline Leavitt also spoke on Fox News this morning, where she was asked whether Donald Trump’s threats of cuts were just a negotiating tactic. “Oh, it’s very real,” she replied.“The Democrats should know that they put the White House and the president in this position,” she went on. “And if they don’t want further harm on their constituents back home, then they need to reopen the government. It’s very simple. Pass the clean continuing resolution and all of this goes away.Look, it’s likely going to be in the thousands. And that’s something that the Office of Management and Budget and the entire team at the White House here, again, is unfortunately having to work on today.These discussions and these conversations, these meetings would not be happe...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump threatens permanent spending cuts as US shutdown continues

Democrats accuse White House of using closure as cover for project to shrink government

Events

5 d. ago Construction of major housing development near Welsh beauty spot moves closer

The Welsh Government is calling the planned housing development near Penarth and Cosmeston Lakes the largest net-zero housing development in the UK

Politics

5 d. ago Trump sees ‘unprecedented opportunity’ to punish Democrats as shutdown enters day two

Republicans and Democrats engage in war of words as White House also uses impasse to cut government spendingUS government shutdown – latest updatesAs the US government shutdown stretched into its second day, Donald Trump on Thursday hailed the funding lapse as an “unprecedented opportunity” to further his campaign of firing federal workers and downsizing departments.The president announced on social media that he would sit down with Russell Vought, the White House office of management and budget chief, an architect of the mass firings and buyouts of federal workers. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump to cut ‘Democrat agencies’ as White House says government shutdown layoffs could be in the thousands – live

Trump touts meeting with Russ Vought ‘of Project 2025 fame’ to determine where cuts can be made; Karoline Leavitt blames Democrats for looming job lossesHere’s what the shutdown means for travel, national parks and housingShare your views on the US government shutdownKaroline Leavitt also spoke on Fox News this morning.“The Democrats should know that they put the White House and the president in this position,” she said. “And if they don’t want further harm on their constituents back home, then they need to reopen the government. It’s very simple. Pass the clean continuing resolution and all of this goes away.”These discussions and these conversations, these meetings would not be happening if the Democrats had voted to keep the government open. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump to meet with Project 2025 architect on cutting ‘Democrat agencies’ amid government shutdown – live

Trump touts meeting with Russ Vought ‘of Project 2025 fame’ to determine where cuts can be made as the federal government remains shut for second dayHere’s what the shutdown means for travel, national parks and housingSince the US government shut down at midnight on Wednesday, tens of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed (told not to work), while others must work without pay until Congress passes a budget. The shutdown will have a wide range of effects on government services and programs as well as the US economy, from national parks to travel and housing.My colleague Marina Dunbar explains what it means for everyday people:This isn’t the way to have a discussion, shutting down the government and lowering the GDP. We could see a hit to the GDP, a hit to growth and a hit to working America. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Tories urge Michelle Mone to hand back peerage after PPE contract breach

Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho described Baroness Michelle Mone’s actions as ‘disgraceful’.

Politics

6 d. ago US government shutdown live: White House threatens ‘imminent’ layoffs with Senate set to vote Friday

The shutdown began at midnight Wednesday amid the Senate’s failure to reach a deal on federal spending

Events

6 d. ago Number of Scots punished by two child benefit cap won't come out until after Holyrood election

EXCLUSIVE: Keir Starmer's Government is refusing to say how many households have been hit until after the Holyrood poll in May.

Politics

6 d. ago Government shutdown live: White House threatens ‘imminent’ layoffs with Senate set to vote Friday

The shutdown began at midnight Wednesday amid the Senate’s failure to reach a deal on federal spending

Events

6 d. ago Vance uses false claims to pin shutdown blame on Democrats as White House warns of layoffs

Vice-president falsely says Democrats calling for billions for ‘healthcare for illegal aliens’ as funding deadlock continuesJD Vance, the US vice-president, used false claims to blame Democrats for the government shutdown as the White House warned that worker layoffs were imminent.Federal departments have been closing since midnight after a deadlocked Congress failed to pass a funding measure. The crisis has higher stakes than previous shutdowns, with Trump racing to slash government departments and threatening to turn furloughs into mass firings. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago US government shutdown live: White House says ‘layoffs are imminent’ as JD Vance uses false claims to blame Democrats for shutdown

Vice-president falsely claims that Democrats want to fund healthcare for ‘illegal aliens’ as press secretary says shutdown will affect federal workersUS government shuts downTracker: how each US senator votedThis shutdown is expected to be worse than previous ones. The impact on federal workers could be even more severe.Before Trump’s most recent threat of mass layoffs on Tuesday, a memo released last week by the White House’s office of management and budget told agencies not just to prepare for temporary furloughs but for permanent layoffs in the event of a shutdown. Continue reading...

Politics