32 h. ago Heston Blumenthal demands Government action to save the great British boozer

Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal owns the one Michelin star gastropub, The Hinds Head, and said the state of the industry is worse than people realise as he urges the UK Government to step in

Politics

48 h. ago More than 700,000 GCSE students without specialist physics teachers as government urged to address shortage

The Institute of Physics (IOP) has called for urgent action to tackle the shortage in physics teachers

Politics

61 h. ago New calls for pensioner benefits reform to help provide easier access to financial support

Independent Age is urging the UK Government to make it easier to claim Pension Credit.

Economics

66 h. ago Voting for Brexit, stopping the small boats – none of it will ever appease those who wage war on immigration | Nesrine Malik

The facts and the numbers are irrelevant: Donald Trump and Nigel Farage just find new excuses and increase the toxicityA few weeks after the Brexit referendum, a leave-voting friend of mine told me what the biggest benefit would be. “We will never hear about immigration again,” he said. If you give the people the control over the border they want, the logic went, then Brexit will finally dissolve immigration as an issue that politicians can exploit, and the country can crack on with all the other important stuff that needs doing. And, well, let’s just say that this prediction did not pan out on such a colossal level that no follow-up conversation has been necessary.Because that’s just not how the whole immigration thing works. The goalposts always move. Nothing clarifies that more than Nigel Farage getting everything he has said he ever wanted, the country heaving itself out of the EU and ending free movement, only for another boil to fester around the issue of immigration – and gue...

Events

66 h. ago Vote Brexit, stop the boats – the goalposts on immigration keep moving, and those who oppose it will never be appeased | Nesrine Malik

The facts and the numbers are irrelevant: Donald Trump and Nigel Farage just find new excuses and increase the toxicityA few weeks after the Brexit referendum, a leave-voting friend of mine told me what the biggest benefit would be. “We will never hear about immigration again,” he said. If you give the people the control over the border they want, the logic went, then Brexit will finally dissolve immigration as an issue that politicians can exploit, and the country can crack on with all the other important stuff that needs doing. And, well, let’s just say that this prediction did not pan out on such a colossal level that no follow-up conversation has been necessary.Because that’s just not how the whole immigration thing works. The goalposts always move. Nothing clarifies that more than Nigel Farage getting everything he has said he ever wanted, the country heaving itself out of the EU and ending free movement, only for another boil to fester around the issue of immigration – and gue...

Politics

68 h. ago Afghanistan earthquake latest: Hundreds feared dead after 6.0

Taliban government has urged international aid agencies to provide assistance

Events

4 d. ago Former UN climate chief urges Australia to set ‘prosperity’ target of cutting emissions by 75% by 2035

Exclusive: Ambitious emissions reductions target would increase the country’s chance of winning rights to host Cop31 in 2026, Christiana Figueres saysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA former UN climate chief has urged the Australian government to set a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of at least a 75% cut by 2035, backing calls from a group of more than 350 businesses that it would be better for the economy than a lower goal.The intervention by Christiana Figueres, an architect of the 2015 Paris agreement when she was the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, comes before discussions about Australia’s commitment, due to be announced next month. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Government issues 'red alert' as Brits in six places urged 'act NOW'

Brits have been urged to take action and move to higher ground or upper floors after heavy rain overnight sent floodwaters surging into low-lying areas in Cornwall

Politics

6 d. ago UK Government urged to increase Warm Home Discount Scheme to £400 for all pensioners

More than six million households will benefit from the £150 Warm Home Discount Scheme this winter.

Economics

7 d. ago Family of British man detained in India without trial urge UK Government to act

Christian Michel, 63, has been held in an Indian prison for seven years, the maximum sentence for the alleged crime he was extradited for.

Politics

7 d. ago Labour urged to agree to 'bespoke' oil and gas permits after independent review findings

Keir Starmer’s government has been urged to agree a compromise to its promised ban on new oil and gas licences.

Politics

8 d. ago Two thirds of pharmacies ‘could close next year’ as financial pressures leave many on the brink

Pharmacy leaders have urged the government to increase funding for services to secure the long-term sustainability of the industry

Events

9 d. ago WASPI women urge UK Government to ‘get around the table’ to discuss State Pension age compensation

This month marks 10 years of WASPI campaigning for State Pension compensation for millions of 1950s-born women.

Politics

1 week ago Tougher sentences for shoplifters call as workers face growing gang violence

Cross-party think-tank the Social Market Foundation (SMF) has urged the Government to look at tougher prison sentences and Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBO) without the need for a conviction

Events

1 week ago ‘Sanaa wasn’t a statistic’: Baby who ‘knew nothing but war’ dies of malnutrition as Gaza crisis deepens

A toddler died in hospital as a result of prolonged nutritional deficiency and a lack of baby formula. Tara Cobham reports on the devastating impact the Israel-Hamas war is having on Palestinian children

Events

1 week ago Collapsing ceilings, leaking windows and rat boxes: inside one of England’s crumbling fire stations

Fire chiefs say many stations are not fit for purpose and are urging government to protect services from proposed cutsApproaching a dilapidated-looking 1960s building with a peeling and faded exterior, it is common for visitors to have the same thought: this cannot possibly be an active fire station.“You can say it looks derelict, we know,” says Simon Carey, the group commander of the Plymouth response at Devon and Somerset fire and rescue service. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Government responds to calls for guaranteed menstrual leave for 1.5 million women

The Government has been urged to introduce 'statutory paid menstrual leave' for people with conditions such as endometriosis and adenomyosis

Politics

1 week ago Government launches urgent bid to find 5,000 homes for 20,000 asylum seekers

Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction to shut down the hotel by the High Court over alleged planning breaches.

Politics

2 w. ago Government urged to enforce a total ban on smacking of children

Psychiatrists say decades of research show the ‘detrimental effects of physical punishment’

Politics

2 w. ago Fed governor urged by Trump to resign will not be ‘bullied’ into stepping down

Lisa Cook, first Black woman to sit on Fed board, responds after allegation by ally of president of mortgage fraudUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump has called on a Federal Reserve governor to immediately resign, renewing his extraordinary attack on the central bank’s independence as officials mull next steps on interest rates.A close Trump ally accused Lisa Cook, an appointee of Joe Biden, of “potentially committing mortgage fraud” and urged the US Department of Justice to investigate. Continue reading...

Politics