1 hour ago Government must crack down on 'illegal number plate wild west' as thousands of unaudited businesses sell them, MP says

Sarah Coombes, the Labour MP for West Bromwich, said the DVLA's efforts to probe into illegal number plate businesses 'doesn't touch the side of what's needed'.

Politics

3 h. ago Mum charges £100 per head for Christmas dinner and says she has good reason

Christmas is a time when spending ramps up, and for some people, it can be a source of stress. One woman charges her family for meals and hosting over the festive period

Economics

3 h. ago January 2026 payment dates for benefits and pensions plus cost of living support

All the essential cost of living information you need for the new year

Economics

3 h. ago Pound cost averaging: Why you should drip feed cash into your stocks and shares ISA

You shouldn’t worry about trying to time stock markets - and this strategy means you don’t have to

Economics

3 h. ago Government plans pet 'collar ban' and new puppy rules in 2026

Ministers are also planning a public safety campaign promoting responsible dog ownership

Politics

4 h. ago Drivers using 'incredibly simple' £10 number plate change to make cars 'invisible to speed cameras' action call

An MP has said that the DVLA is carrying out fewer than 8 checks a day on 'ghost' plates

Economics

4 h. ago The hill I will die on: ‘Small plates’ are fiddly and cost a fortune – ban them | Jonny Woo

A saucer of pomegranate seeds and something sprinkled with petals? No thanks: just give me dinnerIt’s lovely going out for dinner in London. It’s a gastro capital with cuisines from all around the world. One night, Indian, French the next, Peruvian, Ethiopian. You can travel the globe without leaving Hackney.This time of year, I’m super busy planning the un-Royal Variety show – a punk pastiche of the royal version – and so I can’t be bothered with meal prep and washing up, and find myself eating out an awful lot. Most food trends I can get behind (with the exception of truffle – yuck!). But one pernicious dining trend that refuses to go away and which I detest is “small plates”.Jonny Woo is a performer, drag artist, writer, and co-owner of The Divine, he will be hosting his Un-Royal Variety at Soho Theatre Walthamstow 26-28 November 2026. Continue reading...

Events

4 h. ago Light Needs review – a blooming lovely meditation on plants and their people

Houseplants appear to make conversation and yearn for lost friends in a witty yet luminous documentary from Jesse McLeanThis experimental documentary by Jesse McLean about houseplants inspired me to go around my house and water all my vegetal housemates and treat the mealybug infections afflicting the jade plants in my office. Now I feel better for it in every way, while also basking in the afterglow of this luminous piece of film-making that is cinematic fertiliser for thought.With a gentle touch that blends wonder and wit, prioritising none of the different voices and viewpoints we hear over any other (and that includes from plants themselves), McLean builds up an audiovisual collage of perspectives on plant-people relations. Some of the humans featured are merely silent subjects, often as still as the potted protagonists themselves. One woman is a bit woo-woo – but persuasively and charmingly so – about how one of her plants seemed to wither away with loneliness after being separ...

Politics

6 h. ago Ukraine is leveraging its powerful – and cheap – new drone killers for air defense

Ukraine is rapidly deploying low-cost interceptor drones to counter Russia’s evolving aerial attacks on cities and power infrastructure

Events

10 h. ago Worried about the cost of Xmas? This is the Christmas trick I do every year to save hundreds of pounds

This will be the third year I've bought my darling husband and my dearest children absolutely nothing for Christmas. Not a single toy, item of clothing or stocking filler. Nada.

Politics

11 h. ago Richard Osman’s The Impossible Fortune tops 2025 UK bestsellers list

Fantasy, mystery and psychological thriller series dominate book sales, as adult colouring also makes a comebackFantasy, mystery and psychological thriller series dominate the UK’s bestsellers list for 2025, topped by Richard Osman’s The Impossible Fortune. The fifth book in his Thursday Murder Club series secured the top position at 391,429 hardback sales.Adult colouring also had a resurgence this year: colouring books aimed at all ages made it into the top 20 chart, according to analysis by NielsenIQ BookData. Continue reading...

Politics

12 h. ago Crackdown on cruel puppy farms and ban on trail hunting planned in major animal welfare shake

A CRACKDOWN on inhumane puppy farming is planned in a major animal welfare shake-up. Government proposals will tackle the cruel trade which sees dogs bred in grim conditions. The animals are kept in cramped, unsuitable surroundings as puppies are churned out for profit on an industrial scale with no thoughts for well-being. Despite licensing rules...

Politics

12 h. ago Electric shock dog collars banned under new government proposal

The animal welfare strategy also plans to tighten protections aimed at stopping cruel breeding practices such as puppy farming

Events

12 h. ago 'Nigel Farage's 'freak' reaction and failed Tory promises prove one thing about Labour'

'Labour led the way on animal welfare with its 2004 fox hunting ban. Since the party left office, there has been a years-long gap that has allowed cruel practices to develop'

Events

13 h. ago SNP plans to allow crack cocaine to be smoked inside Scotland’s drug fix rooms

A BID to allow crack cocaine to be smoked inside Scotland’s drugs fix rooms was blasted by the Tories. Nats are exploring a possible legal loophole to ditch part of the smoking ban and let addicts light up and puff the dangerous class A narcotic under supervision. It comes following a request from health bosses...

Events

14 h. ago West Lothian health club help spread festive cheer thanks to Christmas appeal

Throughout the last month, members and local residents dropped off toys and gifts at Bannatyne Health Club helping support families across Livingston and West Lothian who are struggling with the rising cost of living.

Society

16 h. ago Chilly Christmas for most with ‘just a chance’ of snow in South, Met Office says

The UK could see its first white Christmas since 2023 with snowfall possible on the south cost of England, the Met Office has said.

Politics

16 h. ago Katherine Jenkins' estimated fortune, family life and David Beckham scandal

The Neath-born mezzo soprano is one of the world's most popular classical singers and has built an impressive empire beyond music

Politics

17 h. ago BBC Beyond Paradise cast: Who stars in the Christmas special 2025?

The Beyond Paradise Christmas Special will feature a guest cast list including Adrian Edmondson, Jonny Weldon and James Lance

Politics

18 h. ago The Guardian view on gene editing: breakthroughs need a new social contract | Editorial

Cutting-edge therapies exist, but the market cannot deliver them cheaply. Britain must build NHS capacity so that cures become collective goods, not expensive productsJust a small fraction of our 20,000 genes can cause disease when disrupted – yet that sliver accounts for thousands of rare disorders. The difficulty is: what can a doctor do to treat them? In a common condition such as type 2 diabetes, the underlying biology is similar for millions of patients. The doctor can prescribe metformin. But with a genetic disorder, the mutation might only affect a small number of people worldwide. In many cases, doctors won’t even know which mutation is responsible, let alone how to fix it.Novel gene-editing breakthroughs are making headlines. But therapies are expensive and complex to develop. The cost of bringing any new drug to patients is now around $2bn, in part because, as Brian David Smith notes in New Drugs, Fair Prices, the “success rate, from discovery to market, is ...

Politics