97 m. ago Keir Starmer is caught in yet another trap of his own making | Rafael Behr

The prime minister’s immigration approach follows a now-familiar pattern: letting fear of a difficult argument get in the way of policy that might workKeir Starmer is embattled but not threatened. It is a strange combination. He is not challenged by Kemi Badenoch, who is weak in parliament and irrelevant outside it. Nor is the prime minister in immediate peril from Reform, the Liberal Democrats or the Greens. They pose electoral challenges in the coming years but they can’t stop the government passing laws in the meantime. The Labour leader is not in danger from backbench rebellion. Dissenting MPs grow in number but not at the rate that presages regicide.Starmer has been dealt a tough hand in some ways. He inherited a rotten economy in a volatile world. But he also has advantages not enjoyed by many of his predecessors: a vast Commons majority, an obedient cabinet, a splintered opposition. His greatest problem isn’t a politician or party. It isn’t an industrial lobby or foreign powe...

Events

7 h. ago Terror police probe foreign state actor link to arson attacks on PM Sir Keir Starmer

Counter-terrorism officers are said to be investigating whether a hostile foreign state could be behind a string of suspected arson attacks targeting Sir Keir Starmer

Events

7 h. ago Police continue to probe fires at homes linked to PM as man remains in custody

Counter-terrorism officers are working ‘at pace’ to establish the cause of the fires and ‘any potential motivation’, Scotland Yard said.

Events

7 h. ago Labour's AI plans 'a total mess' as Keir Starmer is warned to 'change course' and protect Britain's world

Labour peers defied the PM this week to push through an amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill that gives artists, writers and creators greater protection from the threat of AI.

Events

11 h. ago Keir Starmer’s ‘firebombed’ house in north London ‘being rented by his sister

21-year-old suspect held on suspicion of starting fires at two homes and a car linked to Prime Minister

Events

12 h. ago No 10 defends Starmer’s language on immigration likened to Enoch Powell speech

Downing Street says it is wrong to compare PM’s warning about ‘island of strangers’ to 1968 ‘rivers of blood’ speechDowning Street has robustly defended Keir Starmer’s language on immigration, which has been likened to that used by Enoch Powell, rejecting the direct comparison but saying the prime minister would not “shy away” from direct talk about the subject.A series of MPs criticised Starmer for his rhetoric when introducing a new policy paper on immigration on Monday, particularly his warning that the UK risked becoming “an island of strangers”, a near-direct echo of language used by Powell in his infamous 1968 “rivers of blood” speech. Continue reading...

Politics

13 h. ago Suspect remains in custody as police probe fires at properties linked to PM

Scotland Yard is working ‘at pace’ to establish the cause of the fires and ‘any potential motivation’ and inquiries are ongoing, the force said.

Events

13 h. ago Keir Starmer’s ‘firebombed’ house in north London ‘was being rented by his sister

21-year-old suspect held on suspicion of starting fires at two homes and a car linked to Prime Minister

Events

13 h. ago Why is Keir Starmer's speech being compared to Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech?

What are the similarities?

Events

15 h. ago Welsh First Minister says she will not use ‘divisive language’ on immigration

Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan refused to say whether she supported the Prime Minister saying the UK risked becoming an ‘island of strangers’.

Politics

15 h. ago DWP minister resists Labour MPs' calls to delay major benefit cuts vote

Sir Stephen Timms told The Mirror the government needs to 'get on with' overhauling the benefits system as Keir Starmer faces the biggest revolt of his premiership so far

Politics

16 h. ago Man, 21, arrested over arson attacks after fire at Keir Starmer’s home

Emergency services were called to fires at the doors of two homes in north London within 24 hours of each other

Events

16 h. ago Police investigate 'suspicious' fire at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's London home

Police investigate 'suspicious' fire at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's London home  Fox News

Politics

16 h. ago British voters back closer ties with EU, polling suggests ahead of summit

The UK and EU will meet in London on Monday to discuss closer ties as part of the Government’s attempt to reset relations with the bloc.

Politics

16 h. ago Chilling video shows car engulfed in flames outside Keir Starmer’s house

Flames and smoke can be seen billowing from the vehicle

Culture

16 h. ago There’s only one problem with Labour’s immigration plans: they’re completely untethered from reality | Jonathan Portes

The government’s new policy will take us back to an uglier, more dangerous place – and it’s not even supported by the dataHow do you reduce immigration while at the same time boosting growth? Labour’s recent immigration white paper sets out a supposedly clear answer. Since the recent “surge” in immigration was driven by the system shifting away from “higher-skilled migration”, it has “distorted the labour market” and undermined the UK’s productivity and GDP.This argument, which has been made in increasingly shrill tones by the rightwing press and thinktanks over the past two years, was echoed by the prime minister, Keir Starmer, who tweeted that “the Tories ran an immigration system that relied on cheap foreign labour”. It sounds plausible. There’s just one problem. It doesn’t fit the facts, and the government knows it.Jonathan Portes is professor of economics and public policy at King’s College London and a former senior civil servant Continue reading...

Politics

17 h. ago Attenborough film shows seabed ‘devastation’ says MP in bottom trawling ban call

Climate leaders are set to meet in Nice, France, next month.

Culture

17 h. ago Starmer doubles down on ‘island of strangers’ immigration row amid growing Labour revolt

Downing Street has rejected comparisons to former rightwing Tory MP Enoch Powell and insisted the prime minister will ‘not shy away’ from the issue of immigration

Politics

17 h. ago Immigrants are not spongers or skivers, says Sadiq Khan, after PM's 'island of strangers' speech

London mayor says of Sir Keir Starmer’s comments: ‘Those aren’t words that I would use’

Events

17 h. ago Arrest made over alleged arson attacks on properties linked to Prime Minister

A 21-year-old was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday, 13 May on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.

Politics