12 h. ago UK trade envoy to Turkey's trip to Northern Cyprus turns into a full diplomatic row

The Greek Cypriot government condemned the 'unacceptable' trip by Labour's Afzal Khan, piling pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to sack him.

Politics

19 h. ago Treasury targeting inheritance tax reforms to help plug UK deficit

Exclusive: Chancellor also looking at tweaks to capital gains tax to try to bridge £40bn-plus spending gap before budgetThe Treasury is looking at ways to raise more money from inheritance tax amid growing pressure on the country’s finances ahead of the autumn budget, sources have told the Guardian.Officials have been tasked with examining whether tightening rules on the gifting of money and assets could be one way of addressing a gap between revenue and spending that is estimated to reach more than £40bn. Continue reading...

Events

42 h. ago Pressure growing on Labour to sack trade envoy after his visit to Northern Cyprus

Afzal Khan, the Labour MP for Manchester Rusholme, is in the self-declared state for a 'series of official engagements' and has met the leader.

Events

61 h. ago UK's trade envoy to Turkey faces calls to resign after he visited Northern Cyprus

Afzal Khan arrived in the Turkish-controlled area last week 'for a series of official engagements', a local newspaper reported.

Politics

5 d. ago Lammy to host Vance in UK as Starmer denounces Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City – UK politics live

The foreign secretary is to welcome the US vice-president to Chevening, his grace-and-favour residence, and Gaza is expected to be on their agendaGood morning. Keir Starmer has this morning denounced the Israeli government’s decision to take over Gaza City, agreed overnight, saying it will “only bring more bloodshed”. He has been under growing pressure for a long time, from within the Labour party, as well as from the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and the Corbyn/Sultana independent leftwingers, to be more critical of Israel, and that led to the decision last week to recognise the state of Palestine. This morning’s statement, which will almost certainly have no practical impact but which is marginally stronger than what Starmer has been saying in the past, is fresh evidence of a shift in thinking.In his statement, Starmer said:The Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong, and we urge it to reconsider immediately. This action will do nothing to ...

Politics

6 d. ago Starmer refuses to rule out tax rises in autumn as he faces growing pressure to fill £50bn budget black hole

Labour prime pledged that plans to be set out in the autumn would make ‘sure people feel better off’

Economics

7 d. ago Is your child ready for their first mobile? What every parent should know first

With online threats rising and pressure to hand over a phone growing, a new UK network is offering parents a way to stay involved – without the usual tech battles.

Society

3 w. ago Labour infighting rages as Starmer warns his troops they MUST obey orders after suspending whip from four 'kn**head' MPs in wake of welfare meltdown

Keir Starmer has moved to suspend the whip from four MPs, and fired three more from trade envoy roles, in the wake of the humiliating welfare revolt.

Events

3 w. ago Labour rebels warn Starmer has made things worse by suspending whip from four 'kn**head' MPs and stripping three others of jobs after welfare meltdown

Keir Starmer moved to suspend the whip from four MPs, and fired three more from trade envoy roles, in the wake of the humiliating welfare revolt.

Events

3 w. ago Rachel Reeves' £20bn tax raid leads to thousands of job losses as wage growth cools

Thousands of jobs were lost in June, according to official data, as Chancellor Rachel Reeves' £20bn tax raid led to a cooling in wage growth and put the Bank of England under further pressure

Economics

3 w. ago Keir Starmer removes Labour whip from four ‘persistent rebel’ MPs

Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff pushed out and three trade envoys lose rolesUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has removed the Labour whip from four MPs for repeatedly breaching discipline and stripped three further Labour MPs of their trade envoy roles in an effort to assert his control over the party.The Guardian understands that the four MPs who have lost the whip are Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff. They were informed on Wednesday afternoon and told their positions would be kept under review. Continue reading...

Politics