12 h. ago Tories and Labour in Wales meet formally for the first time in 20 years with bombshell tax plan on the table

The Conservatives want the tax paid when people buy a house - called Land Transaction Tax in Wales - scrapped

Events

27 h. ago Tories condemn 'moral rot' of Labour's plan to give rapists and paedophiles shorter jail sentences, as they launch bid to reverse Shabana Mahmood's soft justice masterplan

Shadow ministers will force a vote on changes to the Government's Sentencing Bill to prevent thousands of rapists and paedophiles being freed early.

Events

27 h. ago Tories will seek to prevent early release of rapists in sentencing reforms

The Sentencing Bill will include an ‘earned progression scheme’, which allows prisoners who demonstrate good behaviour to be freed earlier.

Politics

4 d. ago William praises ambulance service for encouraging staff to speak up over abuse

The Prince of Wales toured the headquarters of the London Ambulance Service (LAS) to meet those on the front line.

Politics

5 d. ago Taxi for Labour! Ministers are 'running out of road' and plotting to slap VAT on cab fares, Tories warn

Labour has refused to rule out slapping VAT on private hire fares, sparking speculation the Chancellor will clobber cabbies at the Budget. Industry experts expect such a tax to raise £750million a year.

Events

5 d. ago UK ministers met fossil fuel lobbyists 500 times in first year of power, analysis shows

Lobbyists attended 48% more meetings than Tories, as Labour accused of giving them ‘backstage pass’ UK politics live – latest updatesGovernment ministers met representatives from the fossil fuel industry more than 500 times during their first year in power – equivalent to twice every working day, according to new research.The analysis found that fossil fuel lobbyists were present at 48% more ministerial meetings during Labour’s first year in power than under the Conservatives in 2023.Ministers at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) met fossil fuel lobbyists 274 times, with industry figures present at almost a quarter of meetings.Ed Miliband, the secretary for energy and climate change, met fossil fuel lobbyists 250 times – with a third of all his meetings attended by industry figures.During the same period DESNZ ministers met trade union representatives 61 timesThree fossil fuel companies: BP, Shell and Equinor , met ministers 100 times between them.Fossil fuel l...

Politics

5 d. ago Labour ministers met fossil fuel lobbyists 500 times in first year of power, analysis shows

Lobbyists attended 48% more meetings than Tories, as Labour accused of giving them ‘backstage pass’ UK politics live – latest updatesGovernment ministers met representatives from the fossil fuel industry more than 500 times during their first year in power – equivalent to twice every working day, according to research.The analysis found that fossil fuel lobbyists were present at 48% more ministerial meetings during Labour’s first year in power than under the Conservatives in 2023.Ministers at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) met fossil fuel lobbyists 274 times, with industry figures present at almost a quarter of meetings.During the same period DESNZ ministers met trade union representatives 61 times.Ed Miliband, the secretary for energy and climate change, met fossil fuel lobbyists 250 times – with a third of all his meetings attended by industry figures.Three fossil fuel companies: BP, Shell and Equinor, met ministers 100 times between them.Fossil fuel lobby...

Politics

5 d. ago Tories put pressure on Starmer following release of China spy case statements

Kemi Badenoch questioned why the final witness statement submitted in the case set out Sir Keir Starmer’s approach to relations with Beijing.

Events

6 d. ago Angela Rayner’s £17,000 severance pay after tax row ‘outrageous,’ Tories say

The former deputy PM quit the Government last month after breaching the ministerial code over a property purchase.

Economics

6 d. ago From Heat to thermals: Al Pacino and Robert De Niro have paired up to flog puffer jackets

Thirty years after they first shared a screen, the pair of Hollywood icons are back! With an advert for coatsReaders of a certain age will remember the sheer nuclear impact of Michael Mann’s Heat on its release in 1995. Not only was it formally ambitious and wildly influential, but it also represented the first time that Al Pacino and Robert De Niro had ever shared a screen.This, more than anything, was the film’s big draw. Two men, each justifiably thought of as the greatest actor to ever work in the medium, bristling against each other in real time. Their scene together in the diner was billed as the greatest spectacle in cinema since King Kong climbed the Empire State Building. Pacino v De Niro was Fischer v Spassky. It was Einstein v Bohr. It was Foreman v Ali. There was genuinely no way to overstate how momentous the pairing was. Continue reading...

Society

6 d. ago Kemi Badenoch brutally mocked over 'Britain' spelling gaffe at PMQs

Kemi Badenoch was brutally mocked at PMQs when a Labour MP spelt out the word Britain to her - after the Tories spelt the word wrong at their annual party conference last week.

Politics

1 week ago It’s Sam Altman: the man who stole the rights from copyright. If he’s the future, can we go backwards? | Marina Hyde

His AI video generator Sora 2 has been reviled for pinching the work of others. One giant leap for Sam: for everyone else, not so muchTake a look at Sam Altman. I mean, actually do it. Go to Google images, where you can find countless photos of the OpenAI boss smiling in a kind of wan genius way, the humble lost puppy of Silicon Valley. But I urge you to simply cover the bottom half of his face in any of these pictures, and you will immediately clock that Sam has the sad-psycho eyes of the lost woman’s boyfriend who the police have asked to front the missing person’s appeal. Please come home, Sheila – we’re all worried sick and we just want you back.If that joke seems off-colour, or crass, or some kind of manipulative stretch – please, don’t worry. I’m using the OpenAI gold standard of giving-a-toss, where the unwilling subjects of any generated content have to formally, time-consumingly and bureaucratically opt out of being used/abused/exploited any way anyone likes. I haven’t hear...

Events

2 w. ago Tories promise negative net migration and 10,000 more police if elected

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said that the days of mass, low-skill migration have to end.

Events

2 w. ago Kemi Badenoch faces call to sack Tory shadow minister after he suggests Conservative–Reform election pact

Andrew Rosindell admitted his Romford seat would ‘almost certainly’ fall to Reform UK at an election

Politics

2 w. ago Tories should work with Reform to defeat Labour, says shadow minister

Andrew Rosindell urged right-of-centre parties to ‘unite together’.

Politics

2 w. ago Andy Burnham drops 'wealth tax' bombshell with another huge demand

The Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham warned local government’s finances were on questionable 'foundations', and also urged the Chancellor Rachel Reeves to consider a wealth tax

Events

2 w. ago Labour has ruined lives of farming communities with tax policy, Tories claim

Shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins pledged to scrap the ‘family farm tax’ at the Conservative party conference in Manchester.

Events

2 w. ago Tories to set out plans to cut £47bn from government spending

Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride will unveil proposals at the Tory party conference.

Economics

2 w. ago Tory conference 2025 live: Badenoch admits Tories have ‘mountain to climb’ to beat Labour and Farage Reform

Conservative leader is announcing a series of hardline policies including special task force to deport 750,000 illegal immigrants

Politics

2 w. ago How the Tories, Labour and Lib Dems have turned conference season into the Farage show

Britain’s established mainstream political parties have spent the entire conference season promoting the Reform UK leader with inevitable consequences, writes political editor David Maddox

Politics