6 h. ago UK government set to make support for asylum seekers ‘discretionary’

Home secretary expected to change system to deny help to those who can work or who have assetsShabana Mahmood is expected to announce changes to Britain’s asylum system on Monday in an attempt to quell rising fears about immigration.The home secretary plans to amend laws that guarantee housing and financial support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute. Continue reading...

Politics

52 h. ago Carte blanche for couch dwellers: Govt gives up on making out

Instead of making the unemployed spend 35 hours a week seeking work the Government is set to simply 'encourage' them to 'take all reasonable steps' to get a job.

Politics

3 d. ago Longest US government shutdown in history set to end after House passes bill

Measure to restart federal operations passes narrowly, but excludes healthcare funding demanded by DemocratsUS politics – follow liveThe longest US government shutdown in history is set to end on Wednesday after more than 42 days, following the House of Representative’s passage of a bill negotiated by Republicans and a splinter group of Democrat-aligned senators. The legislation restarts federal operations but does not include the healthcare funding the minority party demanded.The compromise sets the stage for government operations to return to normal through January, while leaving unresolved the issue of expiring tax credits for Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare health plans, which most Democrats demanded be extended in any deal to reopen the government. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago New UK Government plans to tackle benefits and public sector fraud set to become law

The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill is now ready for royal assent.

Politics

4 d. ago Trump administration planning to allow oil and gas drilling off California coast

Plan, which Gavin Newsom, the governor, has said would be ‘dead on arrival’, will allow six lease sales from 2027 to 2030The Trump administration is planning to allow oil and gas drilling off the California coast for the first time in decades, according to a draft plan shared with the Washington Post.The move is guaranteed to set up a battle with the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, a staunch opponent of offshore drilling. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Shona Robison may ‘potentially revisit’ Scottish taxes in response to UK Budget

The Finance Secretary said the Scottish Government had a ‘very limited’ set of levers to respond.

Economics

7 d. ago Radical plan floated to increase state pension age by ONE year every decade

The qualifying age is currently 66 and is already set to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028, but a Government review is under way to decide further increases.

Politics

8 d. ago Ban fireworks for sale in all UK shops update as support soars for law change

The government is set to respond to the campaign to stop all sales except organised displays after it crossed a key threshold

Economics

8 d. ago The FAA's order to cut flights nationwide due to the government shutdown is set to take effect

The Federal Aviation Administration's order to scale back flights nationwide because of the government shutdown starts Friday

Politics

1 week ago Resident doctors set to strike next week after rejecting Government offer

Resident doctors will walk out from 7am on November 14 to 7am on November 19.

Politics

1 week ago ‘Wait and see’ if Reeves ups income tax but I will cut it in Scotland – Sarwar

The Scottish Labour leader said taxes set by the Scottish Government are ‘too high’.

Events

1 week ago The US government shutdown rattles into a new month as Trump dig his heels in

The government shutdown is set to become the longest ever this week

Politics

1 week ago BBC TV licence price set to rise above £180 next year in new cost of living blow

The TV licence fee is set by the Government and it normally rises every April, in line with the previous September rate of Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation

Economics

1 week ago A year after Trump won, why won’t Democrats change their playbook? | Norman Solomon

The corporate-friendly party refuses to learn the lessons of the past decade. When will it implement a truly humane agenda?Democrats enabled Donald Trump to become president twice because of repetition compulsions that still propel the party’s leaders – undermining the party’s potential to end the real-life nightmare of Maga control over the federal government. Scrutinizing how this century’s Democratic leaders set the stage for Trump’s electoral triumphs is crucial not only for clarity about the past. It also makes possible a vital focus on how such failures can be avoided in the future.Elites did quite well after Barack Obama took back the presidency for Democrats in January 2009, amid the Great Recession. He bailed out big banks while a huge number of people lost their homes. By the time Obama was most of the way through his presidency, he had facilitated “the dispossession of at least 5.2 million US homeowner families, the explosion of inequality, and the largest ruination of mi...

Politics

1 week ago Dutch voters have been seduced by positivity – liberals elsewhere, take note | Simon van Teutem

By selling hope alongside progressive patriotism, the centrist D66 party widened its appeal and beat the far rightProgressives often treat patriotism as radioactive. Flags and anthems are left to the populist right. But the centrist D66 party, which almost tripled its seats in this week’s Dutch election and looks set to form the next government in the Netherlands, has shown that another approach is possible.Under the leadership of Rob Jetten, it used what we might call progressive patriotism – and voters responded. Five strategies defined that success. Politicians across Europe could learn a thing or two.Simon van Teutem is a writer for De Correspondent Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Democrats should be taking the fight to Trump – the problem is, he’s got them battling each other | Jonathan Freedland

Elections across the US next week should be easy pickings for the opposition. But they’re finding it hard to beat a player who breaks all the rulesEvery year is election year in the US, but the contests of 2025, which reach their climax on Tuesday, will be especially revealing. These “off-year” battles – a smattering of governors’ races, statewide referendums and the election of a new mayor in the country’s biggest city – will tell us much about the national mood 12 months after Americans returned Donald Trump to the White House and one year before midterm contests that could reshape the US political landscape. Above all, though, they will reveal the division, the confusion and sheer discombobulation Trump has induced in the US’s party of opposition.The verdict on Trump’s first 10 months in office will be delivered most clearly in the two states set to choose a new governor: New Jersey and Virginia. By rights, these should be relatively easy wins for the Democrats. Both states voted...

Politics

2 w. ago Former Trump official says the president ‘doesn’t give a s***’ about SNAP as funding set to end

Miles Taylor offers frank assessment of Donald Trump’s alleged indifference as more than 41 million Americans set to go without food stamps because of unresolved government shutdown

Politics

2 w. ago New government rule will affect every home without a driveway

The Government has unveiled new proposals that are set to make it "fairer, easier, and cheaper" for people

Politics

2 w. ago Government issues update as DWP set to make 'unprecedented' PIP changes

The government benefit has never been fully reviewed in the 12 years since it was launched

Politics

2 w. ago Anas Sarwar insists Scots support closure of asylum hotels and 'understand' why barracks are used instead

The Scottish Labour challenged the SNP to offer an alternative to using army barracks to temporarily house refugees.

Events