1 hour ago UK commitment to free trade will be tested by US tariffs, senior MP warns

Dame Meg Hillier also said there had been ‘unrest’ among the Labour rank and file following welfare cuts announced by ministers in recent weeks.

Events

10 h. ago ‘Cabinet no longer feels safe’: Labour MPs criticise briefings against female ministers

Female MPs say they are unnerved by how women seem to be taking brunt of anger over government decisionsAs Keir Starmer’s cabinet gathered last week, a female minister spoke directly to the prime minister to complain about the leaks and briefings she saw directed against other women around the table.The women were listed by name, including the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson; the work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, and the home secretary, Yvette Cooper. Starmer was furious and said he would no longer tolerate malicious briefings, and that there would be consequences if it did not stop. Continue reading...

Politics

31 h. ago Nigel Farage wants huge change to how NHS is paid for that would hit families in the pocket

Nigel Farage has suggested that some British families could be forced to pay health insurance to use the NHS if he was Prime Minister - but Labour analysis shows eyewatering costs

Events

35 h. ago Keir Starmer is one of Labour’s most rightwing prime ministers. And one of its most leftwing, too | Andy Beckett

The PM offers a political hybrid designed for a fickle electorate. There are short-term electoral gains to be won, but risks in the long termFor more than eight months now, since shortly after Labour won power, more and more people have been outraged by the government’s moves to the right. Starting with its decision to keep the Conservatives’ cruel two-child benefit cap last July, the government has regularly given these critics reasons to feel shocked, betrayed or just disappointed.From deportation videos to Keir Starmer’s declaration that “I like and respect” Donald Trump, from repeated public sector cuts to the chancellor Rachel Reeves’s talk of “tearing down regulatory barriers” in this week’s spring statement, Labour has often behaved as if the boundaries between its supposedly centre-left politics and the politics of the right or even the far right have simply melted away. Continue reading...

Politics

40 h. ago Labour's betrayal of unpaid carers: Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing 'mother of all rebellions' as one in ten people looking after loved ones lose lifeline benefits

An estimated 150,000 unpaid carers looking after loved ones will have their weekly allowances taken away under the Chancellor's controversial welfare cuts.

Politics

59 h. ago Rachel Reeves swears this is not a return to austerity. And yet it does feel like one | Gaby Hinsleff

The ‘party of change’ says it’s bound by fiscal rules. What voters hear is that all governments are the same, and things will never get betterIt was change that won it. That was the single word to which Labour eventually boiled down all its complex ambitions; the six-letter slogan plastered triumphantly across its manifesto, because by the summer of 2024 change was pretty much the only thing the people of an exhausted country could all agree on. What kind of change exactly had by that point almost ceased to matter. Anything but this, millions of us told ourselves, as we scattered our votes in all directions.It was clear even at the time that there were tensions between that urgent, almost reckless hunger for change and the naturally careful, cautious instincts of a steady-as-you-go incoming prime minister and chancellor. But Labour papered over them with the impenetrable mantra that, actually, if you think about it, “stability is change”. Well, actually, it isn’t. That line was neve...

Politics

59 h. ago Rachel Reeves swears this is not a return to austerity. What matters is that it feels like one | Gaby Hinsliff

The ‘party of change’ says it’s bound by fiscal rules. What voters hear is that all governments are the same, and things will never get betterIt was change that won it. That was the single word to which Labour eventually boiled down all its complex ambitions; the six-letter slogan plastered triumphantly across its manifesto, because by the summer of 2024 change was pretty much the only thing the people of an exhausted country could all agree on. What kind of change exactly had by that point almost ceased to matter. Anything but this, millions of us told ourselves, as we scattered our votes in all directions.It was clear even at the time that there were tensions between that urgent, almost reckless hunger for change and the naturally careful, cautious instincts of a steady-as-you-go incoming prime minister and chancellor. But Labour papered over them with the impenetrable mantra that, actually, if you think about it, “stability is change”. Well, actually, it isn’t. That line was neve...

Politics

66 h. ago Labour minister apologises for comparing disability benefit cuts to children’s pocket money

A Labour minister has apologised for comparing disability benefit cuts to children’s pocket money.

Politics

3 d. ago Labour minister under fire after he compares welfare squeeze to 'cutting my child's pocket money by £10 per week'... as Government admits 800,000 disabled Brits will be £4,500 per year worse off

Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, offered the 'offensive' and 'patronising' example as he was quizzed about the impact of Labour's benefits cuts.

Politics

3 d. ago Jackie Baillie: 'Keir Starmer not a liability', as senior Labour figure admits to communication problem

Scottish Labour’s deputy leader defended the Prime Minister’s record in government.

Politics

4 d. ago 'Not appropriate' to get free O2 tickets, says Labour minister as Rachel Reeves Sabrina Carpenter concert row grows

Greenwich and Woolwich MP Matthew Pennycook said he had never accepted a free ticket for the flagship music venue in east London

Politics

5 d. ago Labour Government could axe free period products in schools as part of 'austerity' drive

Labour Ministers are also considering an end to free school meals for some infants as part of the cost-saving plan.

Politics

5 d. ago Starmer: Councils must prove they are fixing potholes or lose cash

Councils will be required to publish annual progress reports or face having funding withheld.

Politics

5 d. ago Starmer praises ‘good relationship’ with Trump hours before US envoy slams PM’s peace plan

Labour prime minister made the comments before Steve Witkoff described his strategy as based on a ‘simplistic’ notion

Politics

5 d. ago UK 'actively considering' 19 new driving laws to match EU road regulations

Transport Minister Lord Hendy said that the Labour party are reviewing which of the 19 new vehicle safety technologies mandated by the EU would be appropriate for implementation in the UK

Transport

5 d. ago Starmer praises ‘good relationship’ with Trump hours before US envoy slams peace plan

Labour prime minister made the comments before Steve Witkoff described his strategy as based on a ‘simplistic’ notion

Politics

6 d. ago Labour minister asked AI for advice on AI and what podcasts to appear on

FOI request have reavealed that a Labour government minister asked artificial intelligence for advice about AI and what podcasts it would be appropriate for him to appear on

Politics

6 d. ago Why Labour's science minister Patrick Vallance MUST come clean on what he knew about the Wuhan lab leak theory he was so quick to rubbish, writes IAN BIRRELL

Patrick Vallance's appointment was politically foolish and deeply alarming given his role in a shocking conspiracy that has undermined public trust in the scientific community.

Politics

8 d. ago Heathrow Airport fire update from Keir Starmer amid widespread disruption

The Labour Prime Minister said he is "in close contact with partners on the ground."

Society

8 d. ago Operation Branchform 'questions remain' despite Nicola Sturgeon clearing, says Anas Sarwar

The Scottish Labour leader denied that the former first minister facing no charges harmed his party's chances at next year's Holyrood election.

Events