UK Politics

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorBoris Johnson has accused Sir Keir Starmer of abandoning Israel after the government suspended some arms export licences to the country.The former prime minister questioned Sir Keir and foreign secretary David Lammy’s decision to suspend dozens of licences, asking “Do they want Hamas to win?”Writing on X on Tuesday, Mr Johnson said: “Hamas is still holding many innocent Jewish hostages while Israel tries to prevent a repeat of the October 7 massacre. “Why are Lammy and Starmer abandoning Israel? Do they want Hamas to win?”And, in a major deterioration of relations between the UK and Israel, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Sir Keir and Mr Lammy’s decision. He said: “This shameful decision will not change Israel’s determination to defeat Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that savagely murdered 1200 people on October 7, including 14 British citizens.”Mr Netanyahu added: “Just as Britain’s heroic stand against the Nazis is seen today as having been vital in defending our common civilization, so too will history judge Israel’s stand against Hamas and Iran’s axis of terror.”Britain is suspending around 30 of its 350 arms export licences to Israel amid a “clear risk” they could be used to breach international humanitarian law relating to the treatment of Palestinian detainees and the supply of aid to Gaza.The condemnation also became a Tory leadership issue with former foreign secretary James Cleverly and former security minister Tom Tugendhat wading in with furious responses.Mr Cleverly tweeted: “The foreign secretary has damaged two of our most important relationships at a crucial time – and it won’t have the impact he wants.”Boris Johnson accused Labour of ‘abandoning Israel’ More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorWatch as Rachel Reeves and treasury ministers answer questions in parliament a week after Sir Keir Starmer said the upcoming October Budget “would be painful”.The chancellor will be speaking amid facing backlash from her own party and fresh Tory attacks over the decision to strip the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners.Only those receiving pension credit or other means-tested benefits will be eligible for the payment in England and Wales as a result of the government’s decision, which ministers have said is needed to help fill a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.Sir Keir has defended the move, which is intended to save around £1.5 billion this year.“I don’t want to cut the winter fuel allowance … but we’ve got to fix the foundations of our economy and that’s what this is all about – making sure that we fix the foundations and then, having done that, that we can build a better future that pensioners and so many other people voted for in this election,” he said. More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorWatch as Tom Tugendhat launches his Conservative Party leadership campaign in central London on Tuesday 3 September.Mr Tugendhat, one of the six Tory MPs vying to be Rishi Sunak’s successor as leader, will promise to reset the party’s relationship with the public.The race for the Tory leadership has begun to heat up as MPs return to Westminster after the summer recess, with James Cleverly and Kemi Badenoch launching their campaigns on Monday.Former ministers Robert Jenrick, Mel Stride and Dame Priti Patel are also running for the leadership, though Mr Stride is yet to hold a launch event.In his speech, Mr Tugendhat will insist that only under his stewardship can the Conservatives win back the trust of the public after “recent games” at Westminster which have plagued the party.The senior Tory is expected to emphasise the importance of public service, telling the audience: “My pledge, as leader, is to return to the honest state, the responsible state.“I will set out the agenda for government to win back the trust and confidence in the future because I know that this country has the greatest building blocks for future success.” More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorA former frontbencher has hit out at the government’s plans to strip the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners as Keir Starmer faces a growing Labour backlash over the issue.Melanie Onn has called on ministers to consider changes to the policy to ensure older people are “not left in the cold this winter”. Her warning comes as pressure mounts on the prime minister over the decision to remove the allowance from 10 million people, after the regulator Ofgem announced household energy bills will rise by £150 in October.This has led to fears that bills this winter will be the highest on record for older people who were previously eligible for the cash, worth up to £300.The chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the cuts earlier this year, saying they were necessary to fill a £22bn black hole in the nation’s finances left by the last Conservative government.Energy bills are set to rise (Jacob King/PA) More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorDowning Street’s Larry the cat now faces competition for his job as No 10’s chief mouser following the news that Sir Keir Starmer is bringing a new kitten home.Sir Keir Starmer has let his children get the kitten after “a long summer of negotiations”, meaning Larry will welcome a long-awaited recruit. The prime minister said he had come around to getting the new family pet after his children had pleaded with him to get a dog, he revealed in a BBC 5 Live interview with Matt Chorley.The Siberian kitten will join Larry who has become something of a celebrity figure over the last decade, often appearing in the street amid important political moments.The cat will be the third in Downing Street after Sir Keir and his family moved into No 10 when he became prime minister with their family rescue cat, named JoJo.The prime minister has brought home a Siberian kitten More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorBritain’s top civil servant has rebuked the Conservatives for suggesting Labour exaggerated the scale of the black hole in the public finances when Sir Keir Starmer took office.Cabinet secretary Simon Case said Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt’s failure to hold a spending review in its last year in office added to the uncertainty facing the Treasury.It came after Mr Hunt, who served as chancellor until the general election, wrote to Mr Case in July to criticise what he described as “deeply troubling” statements by Rachel Reeves about the state of the public purse.Cabinet Secretary Simon Case rebuked the former chancellor More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorWatch as Labour cabinet ministers arrive at Downing Street for a meeting on Tuesday 3 September.Sir Keir Starmer gathers his top team as he faces facing party backlash and fresh Tory attacks over the government’s decision to strip the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners.The decision by the prime minister and chancellor Rachel Reeves would result in a “bureaucratic and unpopular means test” for older people, Poole MP Neil Duncan-Jordan said as he tabled a Commons motion calling for the government to delay the move on Monday.Only those receiving pension credit or other means-tested benefits will be eligible for the payment in England and Wales as a result of the government’s decision, which ministers have said is needed to help fill a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.But Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch accused ministers of being “dishonest” about the state of the finances, claiming they were trying to “pull the wool over the eyes of the British public”.Sir Keir has defended the move, which is intended to save around £1.5 billion this year. More