UK Politics

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House Correspondent British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces a battle of nerves with his Labour Party on Tuesday, when lawmakers vote on a contentious decision to cut a payment that helps millions of pensioners pay winter heating bills.Starmer says the decision to remove the winter fuel allowance, worth between 200 and 300 pounds ($262 and $393) a year, from all but the poorest retirees is needed because of the dire state of the public finances left by the previous Conservative government.But the decision to hit people on fixed incomes in one of the government’s first economic moves since winning a landslide election victory in July has caused disquiet in the center-left Labour Party. Seventeen Labour lawmakers have backed a call to postpone the cut.“Tough decisions are unpopular decisions,” Starmer told his Cabinet on Monday, telling ministers that “we have to fix the foundations of our economy and that means tough choices.”Labour’s large House of Commons majority means the measure should easily be approved, but the government is trying to deter unhappy Labour legislators from rebelling or abstaining.Treasury chief Rachel Reeves addressed scores of lawmakers on Monday evening and urged unity, telling them, “We stand, we lead and we govern together.”During the summer election campaign, Starmer vowed to get the country’s sluggish economy growing and restore frayed public services such as the state-funded National Health Service.Since winning, he has struck a gloomy note, saying there is a 22 billion pound ($29 billion) “black hole” in the public finances left by the previous government, and warning that “things will get worse” before they get better.The Conservatives accuse Labour of penalizing vulnerable older people. Conservative leadership candidate Mel Stride said the cut would hit “millions of pensioners … who are on extremely low incomes.”The cut is expected to reduce the number of pensioners receiving the winter fuel allowance from 11.4 million to 1.5 million. The government argues that pensioners will be better off even with the cut, because the state pension, which is indexed to wages and inflation, is due to rise by 460 pounds ($600) next year.Starmer is also facing criticism over the early release of more than 1,700 inmates to make space in Britain’s overcrowded prisons. Starting Tuesday, some prisoners are being freed after serving 40% of their sentences, rather than the usual 50%. Inmates convicted of serious violence or sexual offenses are not eligible.Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said the government had no choice because “the bath was in danger of overflowing, and they either had to turn the taps off or they had to let some water out.” But he warned it was likely some of those freed early would go on to commit new crimes.Space is needed partly to accommodate scores of people sentenced over anti-immigrant unrest that erupted in August. Starmer, a former public prosecutor, has vowed a tough response to the violence, in which crowds attacked police, vandalized businesses and attempted to set fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers. More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House CorrespondentAround 16,000 people could not vote in the general election because of the photo ID requirements, a watchdog has found. Others were put off from going to the ballot box entirely, it added.The Electoral Commission said the vast majority of voters were able to cast their ballots in July’s contest despite the need to show ID.But 0.08% of people who tried to vote in Great Britain were unable to do so, the watchdog said.Photo ID rules were brought in by Boris Johnson’s government as part of the Elections Act 2022, as the then-government said they were necessary to combat the risk of in-person voter fraud.Mr Johnson was himself turned away from a polling station at the May 2024 local elections after forgetting to take a photo ID.The commission’s analysis, compiling polling station data and public opinion research, found 0.25% of people were initially turned away, but two-thirds returned later with the necessary documentation.Polling for the commission also suggested that around 4% of people who did not vote in the election said their decision was related to the voter ID requirement.The evidence suggests that people from poorer backgrounds who did not vote were more likely to say it was because they did not have any accepted ID, the commission said.Electoral Commission chief executive Vijay Rangarajan said: “This was the first time all voters across the UK were required to show photographic ID at a general election, and the data shows almost everyone was able to do so successfully.“However, our research shows that the need for ID discouraged some people from voting – and we don’t want to see any voters lose their say.“Public awareness of the need for voter ID is high across the UK, but there are still groups of voters that are less likely to be aware of the need to show ID or that do not have an accepted form.“Everyone eligible should have the opportunity to vote, which is why we are recommending changes that will support those who do not currently have ID and improve the accessibility of elections, while maintaining the security of the process.“The commission will review how our public campaigns and other work can continue to support the effective implementation of voter ID and minimise the barriers to voting.”A dog waits outside a polling station as voters go to the polls More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House Correspondent Suella Braverman has been criticised for comments on the policing of a pro-Palestinian march in a report she herself ordered.The sacked home secretary should not have publicly lambasted the Metropolitan Police as she pressured the force to ban a pro-Palestinian march, a watchdog has found.Chief inspector of constabulary Andy Cooke said Ms Braverman’s comments over the Armistice Day march in which she accused the force of bias and playing favourites in policing protests – ultimately leading to her dismissal from government – should have been delivered in private if deemed appropriate.In a report published on Tuesday, which Ms Braverman herself ordered, his findings also detail how police chiefs warned they were often subject to “improper” interference from significant political figures.It also called on senior politicians to ‘take great care to make sure they are in possession of the full facts before making public statements that can have a detrimental effect on the public perception of police impartiality.’Then-prime minister Rishi Sunak fired Ms Braverman amid the furore last year as she stood accused of stoking tensions ahead of protests in London and defied Downing Street by writing an unauthorised opinion piece for The Times newspaper.epa1096861 Police officers stand by the Cenotaph war memorial in London, Britain, 10 November 2023 More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House CorrespondentJames Cleverly is favourite to top the poll among MPs in the second round of voting for the Tory leadership contest, it is being claimed.Conservative MPs will vote today to decide which four of their colleagues will go to the party conference in Birmingham at the end of September for a so-called “beauty contest” with members.While former home office minister Robert Jenrick had topped the first round with 28 votes ahead of rivals Kemi Badenoch on 22 and Mr Cleverly on 21, it is expected that he will struggle to keep the lead.After Dame Priti Patel was eliminated in the first round, most of her 14 votes are being projected to go to Mr Cleverly who is her neighbouring MP in Essex.James Cleverly could top the second round of voting (PA) More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House CorrespondentThe government has assessed the number of people who will be pushed into fuel poverty by its winter fuel payment cuts, but will not publish the figures until after MPs vote on the measure, The Independent can reveal.Answering a parliamentary question from former Labour frontbencher John McDonnell, energy minister Miatta Fahnbulleh confirmed her department has assessed the impact the policy change will have on pensioners living in fuel poverty.But, asked by Mr McDonnell and The Independent, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero refused to say when the document would be published, only promising that it would be “in due course”.Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have been criticised for the looming fuel payment cut More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House CorrespondentSir Keir Starmer is braced for a clash with unions as his insistence on removing winter fuel payments from 10 million pensioners sparks a significant rebellion among Labour MPs.With the prime minister expected to address the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in Brighton, its president has warned that a second wave of austerity will boost the rise of the far right in Britain’s left-behind communities and bolster Nigel Farage’s push for power.Matt Wrack, the Fire Brigades Union general secretary and current president of the TUC, has warned Sir Keir that his mandate for power is based on a collapse in support for the Tories “not love for Labour”.“People are in despair, and that’s how [far-right] elements have won support here in the UK and elsewhere in Europe,” he warned.Mr Wrack admitted union activists arrive at the annual conference “feeling much more positive” about the prospects for their members since Labour’s massive election victory in July. But serious differences remain over economic policy with fears that Sir Keir and his chancellor Rachel Reeves are heralding a new age of austerity similar to George Osborne after the banking collapse.TUC president Matt Wrack at the Grenfell memorial More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House CorrespondentLouise Haigh, the transport secretary, is set to double down on her efforts to renationalise Britain’s transport sector by bringing forward a bill to take bus services back into public ownership.While some have criticised the Keir Starmer government of being too centrist, Ms Haigh has become the flag bearer for the new government’s socialist agenda in undoing Tory reforms of the 1980s and 1990s.Hot from winning a vote last night to allow for councils to start to run bus services, sources close to the 37-year-old transport secretary have made it clear she will introduce the Better Buses Bill to reverse Margaret Thatcher’s deregulation before the end of this year.The demolition of Thatcher’s legacy comes just weeks after it emerged the prime minister had taken her portrait down in Downing Street.Louise Haigh is renationalising Britain’s transport More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseIn my reporting on women’s reproductive rights, I’ve witnessed the critical role that independent journalism plays in protecting freedoms and informing the public.Your support allows us to keep these vital issues in the spotlight. Without your help, we wouldn’t be able to fight for truth and justice.Every contribution ensures that we can continue to report on the stories that impact livesKelly RissmanUS News ReporterLast week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer divided opinion by suspending around 30 of the UK’s 350 arms export licences to Israel.The decision was announced by Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who stressed the UK’s ongoing support for Israel. However, he also emphasised a “clear risk” that weapons could be used to breach international humanitarian law relating to the treatment of Palestinian detainees and the supply of aid to Gaza.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the move as a “shameful decision”. Tory leadership candidate Robert Jenrick also called the suspension “shameful”, branding it “gesture politics to appease the hard left”.On Monday, Lord Carlile, a senior Jewish peer and supporter of Israel, expressed his support for Starmer, praising the Labour leader’s “courage and conviction” while criticisng Netanyahu for undermining peace efforts.Given the widespread division on this issue, we want to hear your thoughts. Do you think Starmer was right to block some arms sales to Israel, and do you believe his actions are sufficient? Or do you feel his intervention has already gone too far?Share your thoughts by adding them in the comments — we’ll highlight the most insightful ones as they come in.All you have to do is sign up and register your details — then you can take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen.Share your thoughts by adding them in the comments — we’ll highlight the most insightful ones as they come in.All you have to do is sign up and register your details — then you can take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen. More