7 h. ago What are rescissions – and why does Trump want Congress to approve them?

The president is pushing for cuts in spending that Congress needs to approve to take effect – but what exactly are they?US politics live – latest updatesCongressional Republicans are pushing for passage of a rescissions package, legislation requested by Donald Trump that will claw back $9bn in funding intended for foreign aid programs and public broadcasting.The bill, which is part of the president’s campaign to slash government spending, passed the House last month, and is now being debated in the Senate. Continue reading...

Politics

10 h. ago Keir Starmer removes Labour whip from four ‘persistent rebel’ MPs

Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff pushed out and three trade envoys lose rolesUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has removed the Labour whip from four MPs for repeatedly breaching discipline and stripped three further Labour MPs of their trade envoy roles in an effort to assert his control over the party.The Guardian understands that the four MPs who have lost the whip are Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff. They were informed on Wednesday afternoon and told their positions would be kept under review. Continue reading...

Politics

11 h. ago Trump calls Epstein case a hoax and lashes out at Maga critics – live updates

President tries to downplay issue amid growing outrage from conservativesTrump says people interested in Epstein inquiry are ‘bad people’As Democrats reckon with a deep inter-party divide that threatens their ability to repair the party’s image and win back voters, Ken Martin said he was not focused on “internal bullshit” because “most people could care less about the internal drama and soap opera of the Democratic party”.Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, told the Guardian that he knows Democrats have to earn back trust from communities across the country before the midterms. Continue reading...

Politics

11 h. ago UK politics live: Suella Braverman apologises for Tory government ‘failures’ over Afghan data breach

Email blunder triggered the evacuation of thousands of Afghans who were brought to the UK under a secret resettlement scheme

Politics

11 h. ago Keir Starmer to remove Labour whip from at least four ‘persistent rebel’ MPs

Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff to be pushed out as PM takes actionUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer is to remove the whip from MPs for persistent rebellions, starting with at least four of them on Wednesday afternoon.The Guardian understands that four MPs set to lose the whip are Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman, and Chris Hinchliff. Continue reading...

Politics

13 h. ago UK politics live: ‘Angry’ Starmer says Tories have questions to answer over Afghanistan data breach

Email blunder triggered the evacuation of thousands of Afghans who were brought to the UK under a secret resettlement scheme

Politics

14 h. ago UK politics live: Starmer says Tories have ‘serious questions’ to answer over Afghanistan data breach

Email blunder triggered the evacuation of thousands of Afghans who were brought to the UK under a secret resettlement scheme

Politics

15 h. ago Trump calls Epstein conspiracy a ‘hoax’ and turns on Maga ‘weaklings’

President faces Maga backlash over claims of hiding details of Epstein’s crimes to protect rich elite – including TrumpUS politics live – latest news updatesDonald Trump has lashed out against his own supporters, calling them gullible “weaklings” for questioning the transparency of a secretive government inquiry into the late high-profile socialite and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The US president is struggling to contain a political crisis within his usually loyal Make America Great Again (Maga) base over suspicion that the administration is hiding details of Epstein’s crimes to protect the rich elite Epstein associated with, which included Trump. Continue reading...

Politics

16 h. ago UK politics live: Former veterans minister hits out at ‘ineptitude’ over Afghan resettlement scheme

Email blunder triggered the evacuation of thousands of Afghans who were brought to the UK under a secret resettlement scheme

Politics

17 h. ago No automatic right to resettlement for Afghans in data leak, says Healey

Defence secretary says it was ‘never the plan to bring everyone’ on dataset to UK, while Ben Wallace denies Tories sought superinjunctionUK politics live – latest updatesThe defence secretary, John Healey, has said there is no automatic right to resettlement for Afghans named in a leaked Ministry of Defence database, as the former Conservative ministers Ben Wallace and Johnny Mercer clashed over whether “thousands of people with little or tenuous links” had been admitted to Britain.The controversy revolves around a dataset containing the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (Arap) that was released “in error” in February 2022 by a British defence official. Continue reading...

Politics

18 h. ago UK politics live: Defence minister warns ‘accountability starts now’ after Afghan data breach

Email blunder triggered the evacuation of thousands of Afghans who were brought to the UK under a secret resettlement scheme

Politics

28 h. ago US House speaker Mike Johnson calls for release of Epstein files amid backlash

Trump has faced growing resentment over the decision of his attorney general, Pam Bondi, to withhold informationUS politics – live updatesAnalysis: How Epstein files uproar became a vehicle for QAnonMike Johnson, speaker of the House, called for the justice department to make public documents related to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, breaking with Donald Trump over an issue that has roiled the president’s rightwing base.It was a rare moment of friction between Trump and the speaker, a top ally on Capitol Hill, and came as the president faces growing backlash from conservatives who had expected him to make public everything known about Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 while in federal custody as he faced sex-trafficking charges. Continue reading...

Politics

35 h. ago Pop music still has a role in political protest, says author of new version of Live Aid poem

In an interview with ‘The Independent’, Rhidian Brook also revealed Bob Geldof’s tongue-in-cheek four-letter reaction to the poem filled with famous song lyrics

Culture

36 h. ago Republicans move to block Democratic effort to force release of Epstein files

White House has come under fire for not releasing documents related to late sex offender Jeffrey EpsteinUS politics live – latest updatesRepublican lawmakers have moved to block a Democratic effort to force the release of the so-called Epstein files, a near-mythological trove of undisclosed information about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein at the center of an internal political war among US conservatives.Democrats had been pressing for an amendment to cryptocurrency legislation that would have forced the release of information and exhibits itemized in a list of evidence held by the justice department from the 2019 child sex-trafficking case against disgraced financier Epstein. Continue reading...

Politics

36 h. ago Pop music still has a role in political protest, says author of new version of Live 8 poem

In an interview with ‘The Independent’, Rhidian Brooke also revealed Bob Geldof’s tongue-in-cheek four-letter reaction to the poem filled with famous song lyrics

Culture

38 h. ago Thousands offered UK asylum in secret scheme after personal data of Afghans who helped British forces leaked by mistake – live

Dataset containing details of thousands of Afghans who applied for relocation to UK released ‘in error’ in 2022Helen Miller is taking over as director of the Insitute for Fiscal Studies thinktank this week, taking over from Paul Johnson, who established himself as the nation’s leading budget commentator.Budget commentary tends to focus on the Treasury’s fiscal rules, on how much “headroom” is available to Rachel Reeves (spare cash in the budget – based on spending plans and anticipated tax revenue, based on the OBR’s growth assumptions), and whether tax or spending plans need to change because the OBR’s forecasts have shifted.Labour came to office with the promise of a ‘mission-driven’ government – a commitment to long-term thinking and systemic reform. The ambition that we should be ‘raising our sights as a nation’ and finding ways to tackle the big challenges we face is the right one.Despite this, we continue to limp from fiscal event to fiscal event, obsessed with whether run of ...

Society

41 h. ago Trump dismisses parliamentary recall idea and praises Starmer’s Brexit efforts

US president says he likes PM ‘even though he’s a liberal’, lauding his handling of trade deal and progress since exit from EUUK politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump has said he does not want parliament to be recalled for his state visit to the UK, praising Keir Starmer, and saying that, despite being a liberal, the prime minister was straightening out a “sloppy” Brexit.Speaking in a rare interview with the BBC, the president said he had made trade agreements to lower tariffs on the UK specifically because of his affinity with Britain, saying he believed in its special relationship with the US. Continue reading...

Politics

54 h. ago Supreme court clears way for Trump to gut education department – live updates

Conservative justices lift federal judge’s order that had reinstated nearly 1,400 workers affected by mass layoffsWith Trump’s headache not showing any signs of going away, Politico learned that “an ally supportive of the Trump DOJ’s handling of the Epstein case, has pitched senior White House officials on the idea of Bondi and deputy attorney general Todd Blanche doing an all-questions-addressed news conference in an attempt to exhaust the press and put the story to bed.”Maga influencer and far-right activist Laura Loomer also told Politico on Sunday that “there should be a special counsel appointed to do an independent investigation of the handling of the Epstein files so that people can feel like this issue is being investigated, and perhaps take it out of [Pam Bondi’s] hands, because I don’t think that she has been transparent or done a good job handling this issue”. Continue reading...

Politics

56 h. ago Trump continues attacks on Federal Reserve chair as he demands lower interest rates – live updates

Trump attacks Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, calling him a ‘stupid guy’ and a ‘knucklehead’ as he demands lower interest ratesWith Trump’s headache not showing any signs of going away, Politico learned that “an ally supportive of the Trump DOJ’s handling of the Epstein case, has pitched senior White House officials on the idea of Bondi and deputy attorney general Todd Blanche doing an all-questions-addressed news conference in an attempt to exhaust the press and put the story to bed.”Maga influencer and far-right activist Laura Loomer also told Politico on Sunday that “there should be a special counsel appointed to do an independent investigation of the handling of the Epstein files so that people can feel like this issue is being investigated, and perhaps take it out of [Pam Bondi’s] hands, because I don’t think that she has been transparent or done a good job handling this issue”. Continue reading...

Politics

59 h. ago Heatwaves have caused 10,000 excess deaths in England in past four years, says Miliband – UK politics live

Energy secretary addresses MPs, telling them the UK is getting hotter and wetter with three times the number of days above 30 degreesAs Rowena Mason revealed recently, No 10 has issued guidance that in effect bans civil servants from any level of speaking at events where journalists are present.Today the Times has published a letter signed by almost 30 experts – including former senior officials, thinktank leaders, academics and union leader – saying this policy is a mistake because it is having “a chilling effect on public discussion” and that it should be withdrawn. They say:The government’s new guidance that prevents public officials from participating properly in public or stakeholder events is a mistake. Effective government relies on public servants, whose salaries are paid by the taxpayer, hearing directly from businesses, charities, academics and citizens to help them make better policy. They should be able to explain government activity to those same groups. Continue readin...

Politics