9 h. ago Labour’s relationship with working class ‘broken’ as analysis reveals it is now the party of wealthy

As Labour’s civil war on Starmer’s plans to slash disability benefits rages, the new analysis has revealed working class voters have turned to Nigel Farage and Reform UK

Economics

33 h. ago Defeated team Starmer's fury at rebel 'pr**ks': PM benefits surrender triggers civil war that insiders claim could be the 'death knell of the party'

Tensions are running high after a massive revolt forced the PM to offer major concessions to salvage flagship legislation on health and disability benefits.

Events

40 h. ago How Starmer averted ‘civil war’ with Labour MPs after diluting welfare cuts

Downing Street counts the political and financial cost after initial response fanned flames of unrest

Events

45 h. ago JASON GROVES analysis: No 10 ignored the threat of MPs' rebellion

Labour's civil war over welfare has been a slow-motion car crash which was visible from space for months.

Events

56 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

57 h. ago Ministers considering alcohol advertising restrictions in line with junk food

Wes Streeting is set to announce radical reforms for the NHS in England after the recent spending review allocated £29 billion to the health service

Politics

3 d. ago The Original by Nell Stevens review – queering the Victorians

This flamboyant tale of fakers and forgery, straddling the turn of the 20th century, is a smart and witty investigation into love and authenticityWe become ourselves by copying others, whether dutifully or audaciously, in acts of homage or appropriation. What is education if not a prolonged process of copying, and isn’t the same true, Nell Stevens asks in her latest novel, of falling in love? Suddenly besotted with another young woman, her protagonist Grace begins to wear her scarf at the side of the neck as her lover does, and to feel “clearer and more deliberate and more like myself” as she does so. “When we fall in love with a person, we fall in love with the copy of them, inexpertly done, that we carry around with us whenever they aren’t there.”At its heart The Original has two strands of copying: both are preoccupations of the late-Victorian era the book is set in. There are the pictures made by Grace when she’s brought, penniless, to her uncle’s house aged 10 after her pa...

Politics

8 d. ago MOVIE REVIEW: We decide if video game adaptation 'Until Dawn' is worth spending a night with

Director hindered by basic premise that makes it hard to root for lead quintet.

Culture

8 d. ago Leaders on both sides of the border urge completion of Casement Park

A UK Government pledge of £50 million for the development of the west Belfast GAA stadium was included in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ spending review.

Politics

1 week ago Televise grooming gang inquiry given public interest, Labour peer urges

Muslim Labour peer Baroness Hazarika apologised for the crimes carried out by ‘wicked, wicked men’.

Events

1 week ago Wishaw MP calls on SNP to improve frontline services after spending review

Pamela Nash says the buck now stops with the SNP Scottish Government – and called on Motherwell and Wishaw MSP Clare Adamson to explain to their constituents why they have yet to see any tangible improvements in their communities.

Politics

1 week ago Sir Sadiq Khan criticises Rachel Reeves over Spending Review

Sir Sadiq Khan criticises Rachel Reeves over Spending Review  BBC

Politics

1 week ago Keir Starmer tells councils to pick up the bill for Labour’s spending commitments

As the row over the spending review continues, the prime minister has washed his hands of expected large increases in local taxation

Economics

1 week ago Starmer: Spending review marks new phase after first year of ‘cleaning up mess’

Sir Keir Starmer said Labour spent most of its first year since winning power in July 2024 taking ‘tough but necessary decisions’.

Politics

1 week ago 'Undoubtedly' public sector job cuts in wake of UK spending review, says John Swinney

John Swinney has however ruled out compulsory redundancies in the public sector.

Politics

1 week ago Brits braced for tax rises as two thirds fear Rachel Reeves will need to hammer the public and firms or up borrowing to pay for Spending Review

Two thirds of voters (67 per cent) believe that the Chancellor's plans set out last week mean she will either hit them in the pocket or increase borrowing.

Economics

1 week ago Starmer resists recognising Palestinian state as unions’ demand deepens Labour split

Exclusive: The Independent has seen a communique between the TUC and the French and Canadian union umbrella bodies demanding their governments recognise Palestine as a state immediately, with Labour on the brink of a civil war over the issue

Politics

1 week ago Treasury 'already drawing up tax rises for the Autumn' as grim poll shows just a fifth of Brits say Rachel Reeves had priorities right in Spending Review

Dividends and bank profits are among the areas being mooted for drumming up revenue to balance the books.

Economics

1 week ago Starmer resists recognising unilateral Palestinian state as unions demand deepens Labour split

Exclusive: The Independent has seen a communique between the TUC and the French and Canadian union umbrella bodies demanding their governments recognise Palestine as a state immediately with Labour on the brink of a civil war over the issue

Politics

1 week ago Starmer resists recognising unilateral Palestinian state as Labour split deepens

Exclusive: The Independent has seen a communique between the TUC and the French and Canadian union umbrella bodies demanding their governments recognise Palestine as a state immediately with Labour on the brink of a civil war over the issue

Politics