8 h. ago Watch out Keir! The 'pasta plotters' are back as renegade Labour MP gathers group in Italian restaurant to 'discuss Starmer's leadership woes'

Louise Haigh was eating in Giovanni's, a long-established family Italian restaurant in London, where Rishi Sunak 's political enemies in the Tory party used to meet to plot their rebellions.

Politics

46 h. ago Rangers ramp up transfer plan as defender 'targeted' to solve problem picked out by Danny Rohl

The Light Blues are looking to beef up their squad and one man is said to be on their radar

Events

64 h. ago Lucy Powell says Labour must stand by promise not to raise key taxes

New deputy leader also calls on government to lift two-child benefit cap urgently and in full• UK politics live – latest updatesLucy Powell, Labour’s new deputy leader, has said the government should stand by its manifesto commitment not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT, amid signs that it may be preparing to break that promise.Powell, who left Keir Starmer’s cabinet in the reshuffle before being elected deputy leader last month, said the budget needed to be about putting more money, not less, into ordinary people’s pockets. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Keir Starmer makes major pledge as he arrives at climate summit

The PM Keir Starmer will meet with global leaders at COP 30 in Belem, Brazil, where he will outline how clean energy is the economic opportunity of the 21st century

Politics

3 d. ago ‘We’re leading the way’: Starmer defends plans for green economy before Cop30

PM defies critics calling for a slowdown as he flies to Brazil, where he may have frosty reception after opting out of tropical forest fundUK opts out of flagship fund to protect Amazon and other threatened tropical forestsThe UK will lead on tackling the climate crisis, the prime minister vowed on Wednesday, despite critics calling for a slowdown, because shifting to a low-carbon economy will cut bills, boost economic growth and bring national renewal.But his words risked being overshadowed by a bitter row over funding for tropical forest preservation at the UN Cop30 climate conference. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Kemi Badenoch: You're better off on welfare than in work under Labour

The Tory leader warned that Keir Starmer was creating a climate where being on benefits was preferable to having a job - unless you happened to work for government itself.

Economics

4 d. ago The Scotsman’s Green Skills Conference to tackle key energy transition hurdles

Scotland’s green economy is gathering pace and with it comes a critical need for the skills, training and partnerships that will power a just transition.

Events

6 d. ago Head of UK’s largest union says she doesn’t know if Starmer will remain Labour leader after May

Prime minister facing disastrous elections in Scotland, Wales and England next year as his party trails Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the polls

Politics

8 d. ago World leaders, remember that future generations will judge you. At Cop30, you can define how | Gordon Brown

Keir Starmer is taking the lead on tackling the climate crisis. With the US backing away, now is the moment when other nations must step upWith the once-familiar pillars of the old world order crumbling and the US stepping away from action on climate crisis, it falls to others to assume global environmental leadership. Those leaders who understand the urgency should seize the opportunity afforded by Brazil hosting Cop30 this month to build a coalition of committed countries determined to turn back the climate deniers.Many now see China – the most successful manufacturer of solar, wind, battery and electric vehicle technologies – as the global low-carbon powerhouse. But its national emission goals, recently submitted to the UN, are underwhelming and it is unclear whether China is willing to take up the mantle of climate leadership. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Keir Starmer often strident in opposition struggles to maintain probity in government

Despite pledges to run a squeaky clean administration he and some in his cabinet have fallen foul of the rulesThere is a theory in British politics, often attributed to Tony Blair, that you need to be careful about throwing a boomerang in opposition, because when you make it to power it could come back and hit you in the face.As opposition leader, Keir Starmer became adept at landing blows on the Conservatives. Over the Partygate scandal in particular, he called for Boris Johnson to quit over his rule-breaking. “You cannot be a lawmaker and a lawbreaker and it’s time to pack his bags,” he said. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Starmer feels the effects of setting high standards for his party in opposition

Despite pledges to run a squeaky clean administration the prime minister and some in his cabinet have been caught outThere is a theory in British politics, often attributed to Tony Blair, that you need to be careful about throwing a boomerang in opposition, because when you make it to power it could come back and hit you in the face.As opposition leader, Keir Starmer became adept at landing blows on the Conservatives. Over the Partygate scandal in particular, he called for Boris Johnson to quit over his rule-breaking. “You cannot be a lawmaker and a lawbreaker and it’s time to pack his bags,” he said. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Starmer raised BBC journalist unable to leave Vietnam with visiting leader

The BBC journalist, a Vietnamese national, has been unable to leave the country for several months after travelling there to renew their passport.

Politics

1 week ago Home Office minister defends plans to house asylum seekers on military bases

Asylum minister Alex Norris said the two sites in Inverness and East Sussex are an ‘important part’ of driving down hotel use.

Events

1 week ago Vietnam leader’s UK visit overshadowed by ‘interrogation’ of BBC journalist

British government being urged by friends of journalist to pressure Vietnam's top leader, who is scheduled to meet Sir Keir Starmer, to secure her release

Politics

1 week ago Yes, Keir Starmer is Britain’s most unpopular PM ever. That could liberate him | Polly Toynbee

Forget the public vitriol and use the next four years to get things done – first and foremost, whatever it takes to stop ReformWhat hell is the life of politics. Look around that cabinet table: each person is confronted with near impossible-portfolios without the means to do what they know is needed. After another nightmare week, many in the dark watches must ask themselves why the hell they gave their lives to this brutally thankless task.Their inheritance was even more ruinous than feared: they were bequeathed landmines, dishonest traps and gaping holes. Brexit is emerging as even more economically crippling than expected, now losing the exchequer £80bn a year. They are blighted by bad luck: the Trump destroyer landed on their watch. What worse mishap than a prison officer setting free a refused asylum-seeker sex offender? Small boat arrivals feel unstoppable. An unfortunate deputy leadership election right now was bound to give Keir Starmer a bruising. The 11% vote share at the C...

Politics

1 week ago UK in £8bn deal to sell Typhoon jets to Turkey despite human rights concerns

Starmer’s announcement on visit to Ankara comes as jailed opposition leader Ekrem İmamoğlu faces fresh chargesBritain has agreed to sell 20 Typhoon fighter jets to Turkey in an £8bn deal despite concerns about alleged human rights violations by its government.Keir Starmer signed the deal during a visit on Monday to Ankara to meet the country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The prime minister said the deal would boost the Nato alliance, despite criticism of Turkey’s increasingly authoritarian administration. Continue reading...

Economics

1 week ago Wes Streeting delivers grim warning about voters 'despair' and says Labour must act

Health Secretary Wes Streeting compared the Caerphilly by-election result to the loss of Hartlepool in 2021, which prompted Keir Starmer to consider his future as party leader

Events

2 w. ago Starmer under fire as party elects MP he sacked from the Cabinet as new deputy leader

Lucy Powell beat Bridget Phillipson - the Starmerite candidate - by a margin of 54 per cent to 46 per cent, in what had been billed as a referendum on Sir Keir's leadership.

Politics

2 w. ago DAN HODGES: It's only a matter of when, not if, the Prime Minister is removed by his backbenchers

Keir Starmer 's defeat in Labour's deputy leadership contest is a calamity for him. The only question now is whether his MPs move against him before or after next year's local elections.

Politics

2 w. ago Streeting’s historic comparison leads to speculation over Starmer’s future as PM

The health secretary compared defeat last week in the Caerphilly by-election to the one in Hartlepool which almost forced Starmer to quit

Politics