7 h. ago Starmer seeks to wrest back policy control from Treasury in No 10 shake

Prime minister brings in chancellor’s deputy and former Bank of England chief to newly created senior roles• Downing Street shake-up: who’s in and who’s out at No 10Keir Starmer has attempted to wrest back control of economic policy from the Treasury by bolstering his No 10 team, bringing in the chancellor’s deputy and a former Bank of England chief to senior roles.Ahead of what is likely to be a tumultuous autumn for the government, he created two new roles with Darren Jones put in charge of day-to-day delivery and Minouche Shafik appointed the prime minister’s chief economic adviser. Continue reading...

Events

7 h. ago Keir Starmer makes major asylum hotel vow as plan met with backlash

Prime Minister Keir Starmer revealed he wants to shut all asylum hotels down before his existing 2029 deadline, saying he understands public anger amid a wave of protests

Events

9 h. ago Keir Starmer backs Angela Rayner after Tory outrage over £800,000 Hove flat

Keir Starmer defended Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, saying she was a 'great story of British success', after the Tories called for a probe into her tax affairs

Economics

10 h. ago ‘Radical’ reforms on asylum laws announced by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper

Labour has vowed to end the use of hotels for housing asylum seekers by the next election but the Prime Minister said he has set the ‘challenge’ of emptying them sooner

Society

10 h. ago Angela Rayner unable to explain housing arrangements ‘due to court order’, Downing Street says

It comes amid continued criticism of the deputy prime minister’s purchase of an £800,000 flat in Hove

Events

11 h. ago ‘A common enemy beyond ideologies’: Spain’s PM announces plan to tackle climate crisis

Pedro Sánchez says country’s deadly August wildfires show society needs to mobilise and take immediate actionSpain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has announced a 10-point plan to prepare the country for the climate emergency, warning that “if we don’t want to bequeath our children a Spain that’s grey from fire and flames, or a Spain that’s brown from floods, then we need a Spain that’s greener”.Sánchez said August’s heatwave-fuelled wildfires – which killed four people, burned through an area six times the size of Ibiza, and required “the biggest human and technical deployment” ever seen in Spain – showed immediate action must be taken to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Events

11 h. ago Climate change kills, Spanish PM tells deniers at launch of plan to tackle crisis

Pedro Sánchez says country’s deadly August wildfires show society needs to mobilise and take immediate actionSpain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has announced a 10-point plan to prepare the country for the climate emergency, warning: “If we don’t want to bequeath our children a Spain that’s grey from fire and flames, or a Spain that’s brown from floods, then we need a Spain that’s greener.”Sánchez said August’s heatwave-fuelled wildfires – which killed four people, burned through an area six times the size of Ibiza and required “the biggest human and technical deployment” ever seen in Spain – showed that immediate action must be taken to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Events

11 h. ago Keir Starmer: I want to speed up closing down migrant hotels

Labour has vowed to end the use of hotels for housing asylum seekers by the next election but the Prime Minister said he has set the ‘challenge’ of emptying them sooner

Events

11 h. ago Prime Minister says he is ‘very encouraging’ of people flying national flags

The widespread flying of flags, after an online campaign called Operation Raise the Colours, has become contentious.

Politics

11 h. ago Keir Starmer’s legacy could be electoral reform – or Farage as prime minister | Polly Toynbee

MPs are voting to get rid of first past the post in mayoral elections. Doing the same at a national level would be an antidote to Reform UKWake up to the peril. As MPs return to parliament, they should abandon that self-deluding pretence that it could never happen here in our “moderate” and “tolerant” land. On the contrary, Britain is at more risk of a populist right takeover than many of our European neighbours. With Labour in an electoral slough of despond, and the Tories looking dead already, the reptilian grin of Nigel Farage haunts the political landscape after his satisfactory summer spent stoking division and cynicism.Our first past the post (FPTP) elections make us particularly vulnerable. As Rob Ford, professor of politics at Manchester University, notes: “This is now a Farage-friendly electoral system.” Reform UK has reached the tipping point where winning as little as 30% support in our corkscrewed lottery of a voting system could propel him into No 10, however much that ...

Politics

12 h. ago Keir Starmer accidentally calls Angela Rayner an ‘incredible prime minister’

Keir Starmer accidentally called Angela Rayner an “incredible prime minister” as he defended his deputy.

Politics

12 h. ago Country should be ‘proud’ Angela Rayner is deputy PM, says Starmer amid flat row

The Prime Minister said it was a ‘mistake’ for people to brief against or talk down Ms Rayner.

Politics

13 h. ago Iraq reopens historic mosque in Mosul 8 years after Islamic State destruction

Iraq's prime minister has presided over the reopening of the historic al-Nuri Grand Mosque and its leaning minaret in Mosul's Old City

Politics

14 h. ago Reeves sidelined as Starmer hires new economic team in surprise reshuffle

The prime minister has moved to get a grip on the political agenda after a torrid year and also sacked his director of communications

Economics

15 h. ago Rising star Darren Jones named chief secretary to PM in Downing Street shake

Mr Jones will be based at No 10 and ‘directly oversee work across Government to support the delivery of the Prime Minister’s priorities’.

Politics

15 h. ago The 'remarkable coincidence' that could let 'three pads Rayner' avoid inheritance tax: Deputy PM's constituency home is valued at EXACT threshold when tax becomes payable

The Deputy Prime Minister is embroiled in a deepening sleaze row over her tax affairs after it was revealed she bought an £800,000 second home on the south coast.

Economics

16 h. ago Starmer appoints Darren Jones to new role as PM’s chief secretary

Mr Jones will be based at No 10 and ‘directly oversee work across Government to support the delivery of the Prime Minister’s priorities’.

Politics

16 h. ago Keir Starmer appoints Rachel Reeves’ righthand man to new Downing Street role in mini

The prime minister has moved to get a grip on the political agenda after a torrid year and also sacked his director of communications

Politics

17 h. ago Cost of scrapping peak rail fares will be sustainable, says Swinney

The First Minister said the policy would encourage people to use trains rather than cars.

Economics

20 h. ago Xi Jinping criticises ‘bullying behaviour’ and Putin blames west for Ukraine war at Shanghai summit

China’s leader urges attendees to oppose ‘cold war mentality’ while Russian president claims Ukraine war was ‘provoked by the west’Xi Jinping has criticised the “bullying behaviour” of other countries while Vladimir Putin has blamed the west for his war on Ukraine, on the second day of a major summit in China which seeks to challenge western-led multilateral blocs.The Shanghai Cooperation Summit (SCO) began in the city of Tianjin on Sunday, with Xi welcoming dozens of leaders from Eurasian member states and other partner and observer countries, including Putin, and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. Continue reading...

Politics