28 h. ago Who is running Britain’s economy – Rachel Reeves or Donald Trump?

The chancellor’s careful calculations for her spring statement are likely to be blown out of the water by a looming US trade war• From more tax to rewriting budget rules: six alternative ways Reeves could raise moneyAs Rachel Reeves powered through her spring statement on Wednesday, telling the country she was “restoring stability to the public finances” few in the House of Commons chamber seemed to know what to make of it all.Reeves’s message did not seem to resonate with the underlying mood of uncertainty and anxiety at home and abroad. Many Labour MP nodded loyally along with her, trying to impress the whips. Others on the government benches looked grave. Growth forecasts for this year had been halved. Money would have to be raised to meet the chancellor’s own fiscal rules, and the poorest would be the ones bearing the brunt. Continue reading...

Politics

65 h. ago Keir Starmer warns Donald Trump that Britain could yet hit back against US tariffs as PM says 'all options are on the table' with Labour continuing frantic talks to escape trade levies

The Prime Minister said the UK reserves the right to respond to American trade levies, after the US President slapped a 25 per cent import tax on cars.

Events

3 d. ago Sue Gray breaks down in tears as she recalls her mum's suicide in maiden Lords speech

In her maiden speech in the House of Lords, the now-titled Baroness Gray of Tottenham urged politicians to temper their language towards Whitehall officials.

Events

3 d. ago Keir Starmer warns Donald Trump that 'now is not the time' for lifting sanctions on Russia

The PM joined the latest talks of the so-called 'coalition of the willing' in the French capital as allies continued to draw up plans for a possible peacekeeping force.

Events

4 d. ago Keir Starmer warns Vladimir Putin must 'play ball' ahead of crunch Paris summit

Prime Minister Keir Starmer travels to Paris today for a gathering of the 'coalition of the willing', a group of leaders prepared to help police a potential peace deal in Ukraine

Events

5 d. ago London's pothole hotspots revealed: which areas are worst hit?

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned England’s councils to ‘get on with the job’ of fixing pothole-plagued roads

Events

5 d. ago 'Trump team's blunder shows they can't be trusted with British lives' Starmer warned

Keir Starmer has been warned it is a 'matter of time' before crucial intelligence putting UK armed forces at risk is leaked by the haphazard Donald Trump adminstration

Events

8 d. ago 'Give me liberty or give me death' turns 250. Here's what it meant in 1775

The phrase “Give me liberty or give me death!”

Events

9 d. ago Luxury brands in UK warn copyright plan puts £125billion growth in danger

Britain's £81billion luxury goods industry has attacked Labour's plan to overhaul copyright law to let AI developers use material without paying as a 'damaging proposal'.

Economics

9 d. ago Trump is abandoning democracy and freedom. That creates an opening for Europe – and Britain | Jonathan Freedland

Whether it’s sweeping up disgruntled US scientists or rejoining the EU, a bold Starmer must capitalise on Trump’s extremismThanks to Donald Trump, a vacancy is opening up in the international jobs market. For decades, if not centuries, and always imperfectly, the US offered itself to the world as the guarantor of democracy and the land of the free. Now that it’s pivoting away from that job description, there’s an opportunity for someone else to step in.The evidence that the US is moving, even galloping, away from basic notions of democracy and freedom is piling up. Just because the changes have happened so fast doesn’t make them any less fundamental. We now have a US administration that blithely ignores court rulings, whose officials say out loud “I don’t care what the judges think”. In a matter of weeks, it has become an open question whether the US remains a society governed by the rule of law.On 30 April, join Jonathan Freedland, Kim Darroch, Devika Bhat and Leslie Vinjamuri as t...

Politics

9 d. ago ‘Nothing off the table’ over possible troop deployment for Kyiv, No 10 says

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer warned Vladimir Putin would face ‘severe consequences’ for breaching any truce.

Politics

1 week ago Sir Keir Starmer warns there will be 'severe consequences' for Putin if any peace deal is broken

The PM made the punishing remarks during a meeting with officials from 31 countries at the Northwood military base.

Events

1 week ago Starmer warns Putin of ‘severe consequences’ if he breaches peace deal

UK leader says Russia cannot veto how Ukraine defends itself as western military officials meet to draft security plansAnalysis: UK turns to the EU for defensive tiesVladimir Putin will face “severe consequences” if he breaches a peace deal with Ukraine, Keir Starmer has warned as western military planners begin drawing up plans to enforce any agreement between the two countries.The British prime minister issued his warning to the Russian president after meeting officials from 31 countries at the Northwood military base outside London, where they have started sketching out which western forces might be deployed to protect Ukraine in the future. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago As Trump menaces us in Canada, we have a question for Britain: when will you stand up to him? | Jennifer Welsh

The UK has long benefited from its Commonwealth. Though we will take steps to ensure our survival, the silence from London is deafeningDavid Lammy thought he was reassuring Canadians. During his visit to Canada – for a meeting of G7 foreign ministers– he was asked about Donald Trump’s claims that the country should become the 51st state of the US. The UK foreign secretary stressed that Canada is a “proud [and] sovereign nation”, and – in his view – would remain so. When pressed further, he invoked Canada’s shared history and monarch with the UK, and our work together during the second world war.Canadians are already well aware of that shared history, and how Britain has long benefited from its Commonwealth. My 96-year-old father just missed the age of enlistment in support of Britain in the 1940s but his two brothers, young boys from the Canadian prairies, lost their lives as RAF bombers. One of them is buried in the beautiful Commonwealth war cemetery in Harrogate.Jennifer Welsh is...

Politics

1 week ago Keir Starmer issued warning on eve of huge DWP benefit cuts announcement

Keir Starmer's Cabinet will meet on Tuesday to sign-off a controversial package of reforms to sickness and disability benefits - before the plans are announced to MPs

Events

2 w. ago Kremlin warns of WW3 with NATO if 'dumb' Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine

Russian security council deputy Dmitry Medvedev says Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron's proposed 'coalition of the willing' is unacceptable to Vladimir Putin.

Events

2 w. ago Keir Starmer warns Vladimir Putin not to play games with proposed Ukraine ceasefire

The Prime Minister is expected to hold a video call with as many as 25 potential members of the “coalition of the willing”, nations that could take part in any peacekeeping operation.

Events

2 w. ago Blockers, checkers, bats and chainsaws: don’t talk like Musk, Starmer is warned

PM has been urged to ‘get a grip’ on messaging after railing against the ‘flabby’ state and the civil service’s ‘tepid bath’Keir Starmer has been warned against adopting the language of Elon Musk after railing against “blockers and checkers” and the “flabby” civil service this week.Gus O’Donnell, the former cabinet secretary, was one of those urging the prime minister to “get a grip” on his messaging, telling the Institute for Government podcast: “My God, he has mishandled the communications on this terribly.” Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago 'Moron Trump' is dangerous to neighbours and will 'want a slice of Britain next'

EXCLUSIVE A world renowned expert has said US President Donald Trump will 'want a slice of Britain next' as he made further comments about annexing Greenland

Politics

2 w. ago Keir Starmer issues blunt warning about Putin as Russia rejects ceasefire deal

Keir Starmer said he is 'not surprised' that Russia has rejected a 30-day ceasefire proposal and warned that Vladimir Putin will breach any agreement if there is no security guarantee

Events