4 h. ago Streeting says Reform are real threat and may become Labour’s main rivals

Health secretary asks public to give government time as he calls Farage’s party a ‘serious opposition force’Politics live – latest updatesWes Streeting has said Reform is a real threat and could replace the Conservatives as the main opposition party by the next election, as he urged the public to give Labour the “benefit of the doubt”.The health secretary said Nigel Farage’s party was being treated as a “serious opposition force” after Reform’s success in the local elections, where it narrowly won a byelection from Labour and took 677 council seats, gaining control of 10 councils. Reform took most seats from the Conservatives, who lost 674, while Labour lost 187. Continue reading...

Events

5 h. ago Streeting admits Reform could be main opposition by next election – UK politics live

Health secretary tells Sky News that the party are ‘definitely a threat’ following byelection and council resultsLabour targets international students claiming asylumThe Conservatives will come back from their poor results in the local elections but it will have to be a “slow and steady” effort, party leader Kemi Badenoch has said, PA reports.She told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “I am sorry to all of those councillors who’ve lost their seat”. Continue reading...

Politics

29 h. ago Badenoch apologises for local election results as Reform warned there are ‘no simple answers’ – UK politics live

Shadow chief treasury secretary Richard Fuller says Nigel Farage’s party must do more than just ‘point at problems’‘We can’t just talk to the right’: what will Labour do now?Headteachers are taking legal action against Ofsted, England’s schools watchdog, over fears that its new inspection regime is “even worse than before” and likely to harm the mental health of school leaders.The National Association of Head Teachers said it had lodged a claim for a judicial review against Ofsted “over the potential impact of their inspection proposals” and for inadequate consultation over its new system of grading schools.Somehow the focus on school leader mental health and wellbeing has got lost along the way during Ofsted’s consultation process.We must not forget that the catalyst for these changes was the tragic death of Ruth Perry and widespread acceptance that the inspection regime was placing school leaders under intolerable pressure. However, there appears to have been very little thought g...

Events

30 h. ago Local election results live: Badenoch sorry for Tory ‘bloodbath’ as Farage gloats Conservatives are finished

Reform takes control of 10 councils, snatches dramatic victory in Runcorn by-election and wins two mayoral contests

Politics

30 h. ago ‘No simple answers’ for Reform after local election success, senior Tory warns – UK politics live

Shadow chief treasury secretary Richard Fuller says Nigel Farage’s party must do more than just ‘point at problems’‘We can’t just talk to the right’: what will Labour do now?Labour MP Rachael Maskell has urged her party to scrap winter fuel and welfare policies that she said are pushing voters away, reports the PA news agency.The York Central MP told BBC Breakfast that Labour has “special responsibilities” to serve the needs of people.We’re not any other political party, we were created to serve the needs of people across working areas of our country so that people had a real voice of the kind of change that they wanted to see.I think it’s now time, if Labour are going to go further faster, to pick up that voice, to put our fingers on the pulse and to understand that that responsibility that the 1945 government set out putting that safety net in place at the welfare state is on our watch and is our responsibility.People went cold last winter and that’s not what a Labour government s...

Events

42 h. ago Trump live: President’s unprecedented budget proposal alarms some key Republicans

Despite steep cuts to non-defense discretionary spending, huge military parade still being planned for president’s birthday in June

Politics

44 h. ago Local election results live: Reform wins spate of councils as Farage gloats that Tories are ‘finished’

Reform snatched a dramatic victory in the Runcorn by-election, beating Labour by six votes

Politics

44 h. ago Local elections 2025: Live results map for every council and mayoral race

The local election results are being declared as councils tally up votes

Politics

45 h. ago Farage claims transformation of British politics as Reform makes major gains

Widespread local election wins raise prospect of populist party becoming Labour’s main opposition

Politics

45 h. ago Trump live: President’s unprecedented budget proposal slashes $163 billion in federal spending

Despite steep cuts to non-defense discretionary spending, huge military parade still being planned for president’s birthday in June

Economics

46 h. ago Trump repeats legally dubious threat to ‘take away’ Harvard’s tax

Federal law prohibits president from directing or influencing the IRS to investigate or audit an organizationUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump said again on Friday that he would be “taking away” Harvard’s tax-exempt status as a non-profit in a legally questionable move that escalates his ongoing feud with the elite university.“We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status. It’s what they deserve!” Trump wrote on Truth Social in a more direct message than a post in April when he said “perhaps” the college should lose its tax-exempt status. Continue reading...

Politics

46 h. ago Trump unveils 2026 budget blueprint that includes deep cuts to non

Proposed budget would raise defense spending by 13% and homeland security spending by nearly 65% compared to 2025 levelsThe seeds were sown for yesterday’s ousting of Mike Waltz as national security adviser long before “Signalgate”, notes Politco.The outlet reports that his approach to the job was unpopular and Waltz was seen as too cocky. One person close to the White House said:He’s a staff, but he was acting like a principal.Waltz has been on thin ice for a while. [Signalgate] made the ice thinner but at the same time may actually save him for now because they don’t want to give [Jeffrey] Goldberg a scalp. Continue reading...

Politics

47 h. ago Trump live: White House proposes huge federal cuts but still plans massive parade for president’s birthday

President Trump also closed a major shipping loophole that allowed Americans to purchase cheap goods from China without paying tariffs

Politics

47 h. ago English local elections live: Farage says ‘it’s the beginning of the end of the Conservative party’ after sweeping Reform triumphs

Starmer acknowledges ‘disappointing’ results as Badenoch says it was ‘always going to be a very difficult set of elections’Local elections: full mayoral and council resultsStarmer under fire from Labour MPs after Runcorn lossIs Farage’s quest to rid Reform of ‘amateurism’ paying off?Reform UK has won three of the first five wards declared at Northumberland County Council, with Labour and the Conservatives picking up one each, PA reports.There are 67 seats on the council, with the Conservatives defending 33, Labour 18, the Liberal Democrats four and Greens two, while there were 10 independent councillors. Continue reading...

Politics

47 h. ago Voices: John Rentoul answers your questions on Reform’s rise – and how Labour and the Tories can respond to Farage

In a live Q&A, The Independent’s chief political commentator John Rentoul fielded readers’ questions on the rise of Reform, Farage’s prospects, and how Labour and the Tories can respond to the new political threat

Politics

48 h. ago Local election results live: Reform wins spate of councils as Farage declares ‘beginning of the end’ for Tories

Farage declares Reform ‘main opposition party’ after taking seven councils after by-election and mayoral wins

Politics

48 h. ago English local elections live: Starmer and Badenoch downbeat as Reform continues success with council victories

PM acknowledges ‘disappointing’ results as Tory leader says it was ‘always going to be a very difficult set of elections’Local elections: full mayoral and council resultsStarmer under fire from Labour MPs after Runcorn lossIs Farage’s quest to rid Reform of ‘amateurism’ paying off?Reform UK has won three of the first five wards declared at Northumberland County Council, with Labour and the Conservatives picking up one each, PA reports.There are 67 seats on the council, with the Conservatives defending 33, Labour 18, the Liberal Democrats four and Greens two, while there were 10 independent councillors. Continue reading...

Politics

49 h. ago Local election results live: Farage’s Reform snatches councils from Tories after beating Labour in Runcorn

Farage declares Reform ‘main opposition party’ after taking first councils after by-election and mayoral wins

Politics

49 h. ago English local elections live: Starmer and Badenoch downbeat as Reform say they are main opposition after byelection victory

PM acknowledges ‘disappointing’ results as Tory leader says it was ‘always going to be a very difficult set of elections’Local elections: full mayoral and council resultsStarmer under fire from Labour MPs after Runcorn lossIs Farage’s quest to rid Reform of ‘amateurism’ paying off?Reform UK has won three of the first five wards declared at Northumberland County Council, with Labour and the Conservatives picking up one each, PA reports.There are 67 seats on the council, with the Conservatives defending 33, Labour 18, the Liberal Democrats four and Greens two, while there were 10 independent councillors. Continue reading...

Politics

50 h. ago English local elections live: Starmer admits results ‘disappointing’ as Reform say they are main opposition after byelection victory

PM says he will go ‘further and faster’ on change after Labour lose Runcorn byelection by six votesLocal elections: full mayoral and council resultsReform win Runcorn with just six votes in blow to LabourIs Farage’s quest to rid Reform of ‘amateurism’ paying off?Reform UK has won three of the first five wards declared at Northumberland County Council, with Labour and the Conservatives picking up one each, PA reports.There are 67 seats on the council, with the Conservatives defending 33, Labour 18, the Liberal Democrats four and Greens two, while there were 10 independent councillors. Continue reading...

Politics