10 h. ago Tory party conference 2025: Mel Stride pledges £5,000 national insurance rebate for young homebuyers

Shadow chancellor will use his Tory conference speech to set plans to cut welfare spending, foreign aid and the Civil Service if his party wins the next election

Economics

13 h. ago Scotland's civil service grows by hundreds despite SNP pledge to cut it

Between June 2024 and June 2025, the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) civil servants rose by 430

Politics

14 h. ago SNP hiring spree continues as civil service 'bloats' while NHS struggles

Shona Robison has pledged to reduce the size of the civl service by 2030 but staffing numbers continue to rise.

Sport

19 h. ago Foreigners will be BANNED from claiming benefits under Tory plans to save £50billion

Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride will unveil plans for cutting welfare, foreign aid and the size of the civil service to put the public finances on a more stable footing and pave the way for tax cuts.

Economics

20 h. ago Tories tout £47bn in spending cuts in bid to reclaim fiscal reputation

Shadow chancellor says he will target welfare spending, overseas aid budget and civil service staffing to find savings

Economics

20 h. ago 'Same old Tories' unveil plan to cut benefits for 'low level' mental health conditions

The Conservatives were accused of coming back with reheated policies to cut benefits, foreign aid and civil service numbers - and failing to apologise for their dire record

Politics

4 d. ago UK business secretary approved £1.5bn JLR loan guarantee despite civil service concerns

Peter Kyle said he was willing to take on greater risk in approving the speedy financial support for carmaker

Economics

9 d. ago ‘A hacker’s dream’: Britons on Keir Starmer’s plan for digital ID cards

Views range from concerns over civil liberties and cybersecurity, to welcoming it as a helpful system to streamline servicesKeir Starmer has announced plans for a digital ID system, which will become mandatory as a means of proving the right to work in the UK.From concerns around civil liberties and cybersecurity to a helpful system to streamline services in line with other European countries’ existing ID schemes, eight people share their views. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Reform UK must ‘cut away’ at civil service, says Farage ally

If the party wins the next election, it should scrap several regulators and watchdogs, Arron Banks says

Politics

1 week ago Civil servants face ban on 'nonsense' meetings about 'veganism' and 'British guilt' during working day

New rules have been issued to all Whitehall staff 'networks' to ensure their activities remain within the civil service code.

Politics

1 week ago Government launches crackdown on ‘inappropriate’ Civil Service events

Mandarins will now need approval from senior managers before holding such events.

Politics

2 w. ago Trump has dragged the US to the abyss and Nigel Farage would do the same to Britain. Here’s how to stop him | Jonathan Freedland

It’s not too late to puncture the Reform leader’s populist myth. His ‘make Britain great again’ act is out of step with the British peopleThe march towards the darkness is becoming a sprint. In the US, warnings about the autocratic ambitions of Donald Trump that were once dismissed as hyperbole and hysteria now seem, if anything, too mild. Faster than most imagined, he has moved to weaken institutional checks on his power – whether the courts, the universities, the civil service or the press – and now has set to work gagging his critics, even, it seems, to outlaw large swathes of the opposition.This week saw the suspension by a major broadcasting network, Disney-owned ABC, of a late-night talkshow, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, following remarks Kimmel had made about the killing of the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel did not criticise Kirk himself – an act now considered all but blasphemous in the US – but rather Republicans’ reaction to his murder, especially their eagerness to “scor...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump has dragged the US to the abyss and Nigel Farage would do the same to Britain. Here’s how to stop him

It’s not too late to puncture the Reform leader’s populist myth. His ‘make Britain great again’ act is out of step with the British peopleThe march towards the darkness is becoming a sprint. In the US, warnings about the autocratic ambitions of Donald Trump that were once dismissed as hyperbole and hysteria now seem, if anything, too mild. Faster than most imagined, he has moved to weaken institutional checks on his power – whether the courts, the universities, the civil service or the press – and now has set to work gagging his critics, even, it seems, to outlaw large swathes of the opposition.This week saw the suspension by a major broadcasting network, Disney-owned ABC, of a late-night talkshow, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, following remarks Kimmel had made about the killing of the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel did not criticise Kirk himself – an act now considered all but blasphemous in the US – but rather Republicans’ reaction to his murder, especially their eagerness to “scor...

Politics

2 w. ago Government payroll surges to record 4.04 million on NHS and civil service hiring spree

But state pensioners can look forward to £560 pay rise next April as wage growth stays above inflation

Politics

3 w. ago Billionaire John Caudwell calls for gambling tax to combat ‘mayhem in society’

Labour donor urges Reeves to take ‘radical’ approach in Budget, raising VAT and cutting civil service waste

Economics