32 m. ago Starmer needs to show he is on the side of working people or Farage will become PM, warns Labour’s biggest backer

Ahead of the TUC congress next week, general secretary Paul Nowak has spoken to The Independent about why Keir Starmer’s government needs to introduce ‘popular’ wealth taxes in the Budget to combat Farage and Reform

Events

39 m. ago Prince William urged late Queen to 'intervene in independence referendum'

The claim is contained in a new book by royal biographer Valentine Low.

Politics

46 m. ago Angela Rayner fighting for her political future over stamp duty row as senior minister speaks out

The Deputy Prime Minister admitted she didn't pay enough tax

Politics

50 m. ago Love Island star left with horrific injury as skin is ripped off after motorbike crash

*WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES* Love Island star Chanse Corbi has suffered serious injuries, including deep cuts and stripped skin, after being thrown from a motorbike in Thailand when it hit a pothole

Events

60 m. ago Horror as doctor found with throat slit and 'genitals removed' as hospital staff arrested

WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT: Hospital staff were horrified after being forced to break into a room – only to find their coworker laying on the floor with his throat slit

Events

63 m. ago Angela Rayner’s defence on stamp duty error ‘cannot withstand scrutiny’, Tories tell HMRC: UK Politics live

Angela Rayner said she was given inaccurate legal advice that led her to underpay tax when buying a flat in Hove in May

Politics

84 m. ago Angela Rayner fights for her political life: Ethics probe could seal her fate within days

She received £162,500 from a trust fund set up to care for 17-year-old Charlie, who was born prematurely.

Politics

95 m. ago The worst drought in decades is threatening Syria's fragile recovery from years of civil war

The eastern Mediterranean and Middle East are in the grips of one of their worst droughts in decades, which is drying rivers and lakes, shriveling crops and even leading to water cutoffs in major cities

Events

98 m. ago Angela Rayner on the brink: Pressure piles on Deputy PM over flat tax error amid new revelation

Deputy Prime Minister fighting for political future after revealing she paid too little stamp duty after receiving incorrect legal advice

Events

99 m. ago John Swinney talks up independence chances as SNP launches latest paper on ending the Union

The UK Government insisted the constitutional debate was "simply not a priority for Scots".

Politics

99 m. ago Teacher caught drink driving avoids ban as he was 'fleeing for his life'

Justin Scarlett says he is only alive thanks to 'the grace of God and some pretty neat Muay Thai I picked up in Thailand'

Events

1 hour ago Is Britain really the new North Korea? Let us consider the evidence | Martin Kettle

Yes, there were some serious problems for Labour this week, but overblown claims in the press undermine what remains of our political debateSign up for our new weekly newsletter Matters of Opinion, where our columnists and writers will reflect on what they’ve been debating, thinking about, reading and moreTell me, fellow Brits, how are you getting used to our island version of North Korea? How are you coping with life, now that we are a global pariah alongside Pyongyang? How do you feel about modern Britain having to vie with North Korea, Myanmar and Afghanistan for the wooden spoon on every international index of oppression?For that is the country Wednesday’s Daily Mail front page insists we have now become. It is tempting to laugh off a headline that asks “When did Britain become North Korea?” as just another here-today-gone-tomorrow piece of journalistic hyperbole. That’s even more the case when you read the cobbled-up pandemonium of provocations that form the contents of the hea...

Politics

1 hour ago Martha’s rule for second opinion rolled out to every acute hospital in England

Martha Mills developed sepsis while under the care of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in south London.

Politics

2 h. ago ‘Most tattooed man’s' 'excruciatingly painful’ transformation as ink removed

One man's body was once 95% covered by tattoos, earning him the title of 'most tattooed man' before one moment changed his life forever, and forced him to start eight years of treatments

Politics

2 h. ago Starmer ‘determined’ to save Angela Rayner amid tax dodge probe

Prime minister reportedly fears he will hand a ‘scalp’ to critics by sacking his deputy

Politics

2 h. ago Rayner’s defence on stamp duty error ‘cannot withstand scrutiny’, Tories tell HMRC: UK Politics live

Angela Rayner said she was given inaccurate legal advice that led her to underpay tax when buying a flat in Hove in May

Politics

3 h. ago While Starmer struggles with a broken system in Westminster, real power keeps leaking elsewhere | Rafael Behr

Far from No 10, Nigel Farage has been amassing power in the sprawling, networked space where 21st-century politics happensSign up for our new weekly newsletter Matters of Opinion, where our columnists and writers will reflect on what they’ve been debating, thinking about, reading and moreWith a buzz of activity in parliament and mandatory back-to-school metaphors, a new political season opens in Westminster, but is that where politics really happens? Yes, in terms of people making policy and law in buildings that are world-famous for that purpose, the SW1 postcode is where it is at.But the heart of the machine beats with a weak pulse. The UK state is heavily centralised by the standards of most democracies, yet the people at the centre don’t feel powerful. Ministers can’t enforce bin collections in remote areas or call a halt to Middle East wars but they are made to feel answerable for all that is ill in the world, from hyperlocal to geopolitical.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist ...

Politics

4 h. ago MIKEY SMITH: 7 unhinged Donald Trump moments as Nigel Farage roughed up by Democrats

Farage's testimony raised a number of questions over here in the States. Most of them along the lines of "who on earth is this guy?"

Politics

4 h. ago Sen. Mitch McConnell warns: ‘This is the most dangerous period since before World War Two’

‘What we need to do is avoid the headline at the end of the war, ‘Russia wins, America loses.’ It has huge worldwide implications,’ McConnell said of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Events

5 h. ago Watchdog slams £1m golden goodbye payments for former council officials

Audit Scotland also said the absence of scrutiny by Glasgow council over the payments was "deeply concerning".

Economics