UK Politics

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreThe poorest households in Britain are now poorer than the least well off in Slovenia after a decade and a half of stagnant income growth, a major report has revealed. Workers in Britain would be £4,300 per year better off had wages grown at the same pace as in the US after the 2009 financial crisis, according to research by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) think tank.And, as Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves prepare to slash the benefits bill by billions, the think tank warned tax and benefit changes have also exacerbated the decline in British living standards. The poorest parts of Britain are now worse off than those in SloveniaIn one of the report’s starkest findings, it said the poorest parts of the UK are now worse off than their counterparts in countries like Slovenia and Malta, with incomes growing in the majority of Europe faster than those in the UK. And, in what will serve as a stark warning to the chancellor, with discussions ongoing to finalise the shape of Labour’s planned welfare cuts, NIESR said Britain has one of the least generous welfare systems of any developed country. In a series of recommendations to Ms Reeves, it called on the government to scrap the two-child benefit cap, boost benefits so payments “always cover the cost of living” and boost public and private investment. Senior economist Max Mosley said NIESR had uncovered the “uncomfortable truth” that “economic stagnation over the past decade is now threatening the UK’s position as a place for a high standard of living”.“A combination of weak productivity growth driving near-zero growth in real wages and cuts to welfare has resulted in a situation where we are neither delivering prosperity through high wages nor security through welfare,” he said. NIESR called on Rachel Reeves to scrap the two-child benefit cap More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreThe Conservatives are trying to exempt pubs, restaurants and sports stadiums from a ban on the harassment of staff. In an amendment to Labour’s employment rights bill, currently passing through the Commons, shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith has called for the government to “exclude hospitality providers and sports venues from the Bill’s duties for employers not to permit harassment of their employees”.Labour figures have dubbed it the “Chris Pincher amendment”, after the disgraced ex-Tory MP who was found to have groped two men at London’s exclusive Carlton Club while serving as the party’s deputy chief whip. Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith called Labour’s clause a ‘banter ban’ More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read more A court in Georgia on Wednesday convicted imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili on embezzlement charges and handed him another prison term of nine years. Saakashvili, who served as Georgia’s president in 2004-13, is already serving a six-year prison term for abuse of power. He was convicted in absentia in 2018, and arrested in 2021 upon his return to Georgia. In the new case against Saakashvili, Georgia’s prosecutors accused him of embezzling and spending 9 million Georgian lari (roughly $3.2 million) worth of state funds funneled through Georgia’s State Security Service on various personal expenses, including luxury services and his sons’ education. Saakashvili’s defense has denied the charges and insisted they were politically motivated. The new sentence, handed down by the Tbilisi City Court in the Georgian capital, means that Saakashvili, 57, will likely remain incarcerated until 2030. Wednesday’s ruling also ordered Teimuraz Janashia, the former head of the State Security Service, to pay a fine of 300,000 Georgian lari (about $108,000). Saakashvili rose to fame after he led the so-called Rose Revolution protests in 2003 that drove his predecessor out of office. As president, he enacted a serious of ambitious reforms tacking official corruption in Georgia, a South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million. He also presided over a short but fierce war with Russia in 2008 that ended with the humiliating loss of its last footholds in two separatist territories, and he cracked down on protesters who charged that his zeal had mutated into autocracy.In 2012, Saakashvili’s United National Movement party lost the election to the Georgian Dream party established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia. Georgian Dream has remained in power ever since, tightening its grip on democratic freedoms and drawing accusations from the opposition of steering the country away from the path toward European Union membership and back into Russia’s sphere of influence. Saakashvili left for Ukraine in 2013, obtained Ukrainian citizenship and served as a governor of the country’s southern Odesa region in 2015-16. He returned to Georgia in October 2021 to try to bolster opposition forces before nationwide municipal elections and was quickly arrested. The former president spent much of his time behind bars in a prison hospital after going on a hunger strikes and later claiming that he had been poisoned. He is currently receiving medical treatment at the Vivamedi Clinic, where he is being monitored for several chronic conditions, and his health reportedly worsens periodically, according to the clinic.Saakashvili was not present at the Wednesday’s court hearing for health reasons. The verdict elicited protests from his supporters in the courtroom, who shouted “Bidzina’s slave” at the judge, referring to Ivanishvili. In a statement posted on his social media pages, Saakashvili sarcastically called the verdict “a huge surprise” and “the will of the oppressor.” He has argued that the authorities “have practically sentenced me to life imprisonment for official presidential office expenses.”Tina Bokuchava, chairman of the United National Movement, said that the verdict “shows that Ivanishvili’s Russian regime sees the Georgian state and the idea of the Georgian state as its enemy.”“They are fighting against president Mikheil Saakashvili, who dedicated his whole life to the Georgian state,” she said. “They will not frighten anyone with this verdict, nor will they stop anyone. On the contrary, we will fight till the end.” More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreSir Keir Starmer has said “all options are on the table” as Britain plans its response to Donald Trump imposing global tariffs on steel and aluminium. While the European Union has already announced it will introduce counter-measures on American goods, Britain has resisted imposing immediate retaliatory action against the move.But while the prime minister suggested Britain wants to seek a carve out from the tariffs without engaging in a tit for tat trade war with the US, Sir Keir indicated retaliatory tariffs are being considered. At prime minister’s questions, Sir Keir said: “I’m disappointed to see global tariffs in relation to steel and aluminium.Keir Starmer said all options are on the table in responding to the US More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreFormer Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced she will not seek re-election to Holyrood next year.Ms Sturgeon – who represents the Glasgow Southside constituency – made the announcement on Wednesday, saying that the decision was “far from easy”. It comes after reports last month that the former SNP leader had been given the green light by the party to stand as a candidate, despite an ongoing police investigation.Sturgeon speaks to reporters in Edinburgh today More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreMinisters are being accused of “treating farmers with contempt” after halting applications for a major post-Brexit payment scheme in what is already being dubbed as “a war on farmers”. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch launched a blistering attack after Labour announced late on Tuesday night that it would cancel the sustainable farming incentive (SFI), just six weeks before farmers are set to file their tax returns.The move comes after Labour had already enraged the farming community by dragging them into paying inheritance tax for the first time with a 20 per cent death duty levy on farms worth £2 million or more.The Conservative leader, who also took the fight to Sir Keir in Prime Minister’s Questions, said “Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves do not care about rural communities. The Labour government treats farmers with contempt.” Farmers protest in Whitehall (Jordan Pettitt/PA) More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreHealth secretary Wes Streeting has said there are “no words to express my horror” after one of his assistants admitted two counts of indecent exposure. Labour councillor Sam Gould, 33, of Hornchurch, Essex, was accused of exposing himself to a 13-year-old girl in Romford, east London, on Saturday, and following her into a cul-de-sac where she began banging on doors for help. He has resigned from his job with the health secretary and has also been suspended from the Labour Party. But Mr Streeting has now called on him to resign as a councillor immediately. Wes Streeting More