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 ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer has said he was forced to check every day whether there were enough prison spaces to arrest and jail suspects during the far right-fuelled riots in the wake of the Southport knife attack.As reports suggested prison capacity had reached an all-time low on Tuesday, with just 100 beds left across all men’s prisons in England and Wales, the prime minister gave a speech from Downing Street lambasting his Tory predecessors for leaving behind “a societal black hole”.“Every day of that disorder, literally every day, we had to check the precise number of prison places and where those places were to make sure we could arrest, charge and prosecute people quickly,” Sir Keir told reporters from the No 10 rose garden.Sir Keir Starmer attacked the mess left by his predecessors in a speech on Tuesday 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 ThomasEditorFire Brigade Union general secretary Matt Wrack has described a blaze which destroyed a block of flats in Dagenham, east London, as a national scandal which should not be able to happen.Mr Wrack spoke to The Independent after touring the site of the disaster in Freshwater Road, Dagenham, with deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, who is also in charge of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).The veteran union boss and former firefighter said he has been at the site of many fires before but described the burnt-out block of flats as one of the worst he had seen.He said his warning to Ms Rayner was that the blaze was the consequence of years of deregulation on building regulations under the Tories and massive cuts to the council departments responsible for checking building standards.Matt Wrack, general secretary of the FBU (Clive Gee/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 ThomasEditorBritain’s biggest union appears to be on a collision path with Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government over plans for spending cuts and tax rises in the budget in October.Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, issued a warning to the recently elected Labour government against “austerity mark II” after Sir Keir warned that the budget will be “really painful”.The union boss was echoing concerns that Starmer and his chancellor Rachel Reeves may follow the austerity policies of Tory chancellor George Osborne following the financial crash to pay for a £22 billion black hole in public finances, which Labour claims to have discovered.The prime minister’s words on the budget came in a speech in the Downing Street rose garden in front of 50 supporters and activists from the last election.Unite boss Sharon Graham (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 ThomasEditorLiz Truss had planned to sign an energy deal which would have cost the British taxpayer £30bn extra on top of her economy-crashing ‘mini-budget,’ a new book has claimed. The former prime minister had argued in favour of buying long-term gas supplies from Norwegian state-owned energy company Equinor, at a cost of £130 billion. This would have secured the deal at the same price for 20 years, regardless of price rises or falls.It is understood that Treasury officials had said the price was bad value for money as it was very likely to fall. The price fell dramatically over the following months, as the country avoided another financial disaster.A new book from author Anthony Seldon, ‘Truss at 10’, reveals that the chapter marked one of the few times Ms Truss’ chancellor and friend Kwasi Kwarteng stood up to her, siding with the official advice.Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng with Liz Truss at the Tory Party conference following his mini budget (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More

Keir Starmer says things are ‘worse than we ever imagined’ in first keynote address as PMSupport 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 ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer has hinted at tax rises in the government’s first budget warning it is “going to be painful”.In his first keynote speech from Downing Street, Sir Keir said he will “make big asks” of people in Britain, warning they will have to accept “short term pain for long term good”.The prime minister said those with the “broadest shoulders” will carry the heaviest burden insisting taxes on “working people” including national insurance, VAT and income tax will not be increased in the 30 October budget.He claimed things are “worse than we ever imagined”and suggested the riots showed “the cracks in our society after 14 years of populism and failure”.On winter fuel payments, the PM admitted removing the measure for pensioners was difficult citing that the government inherited a £22billion black hole in public finances from the Tories. Reacting to his speech, general secretary of the Unite union Sharon Graham criticised the “bleak vision” Sir Keir delivered in his first keynote speech as prime minister.Rishi Sunak also hit out at the PM claiming that his keynote speech this morning was an indication of Labour’s plan to “raise taxes”. Laura Trott also accused Labour of “rolling the pitch” to increase taxes, warning “working families are next in line”.Show latest update 1724770203Downing Street draws up plans for announcing death of Larry the catDowning Street officials are preparing a “media plan” to announce the eventual passing of Larry the cat, The Independent understands.Larry has become a widely loved fixture of Downing Street and is often seen outside the door to Number 10 during major political events and news broadcasts.The 17-year-old ‘chief mouser’ is thought to be in his final years, having already outlived the average lifespan for a tabby cat.Our political correspondent Millie Cooke has the full story:Salma Ouaguira27 August 2024 15:501724769303Cleverly accuses Starmer of ‘rolling out dishonest policies’Shadow home secretary James Cleverly has accused Sir Keir Starmer of “rolling out dishonest policies”, following the Prime Minister’s speech earlier today.Mr Cleverly, who is running to be leader of the Tory Party, said: “More meaningless drivel from Keir Starmer today as he tries to distract from his latest cronyism row.“He says he wants to serve people; all he is serving them are tax rises.“The Conservatives left Labour with low inflation, falling migration, and the highest growth in the G7. Yet the Labour government have waged war on pensioners, caved to their union paymasters and splurged millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on unaffordable pay rises for strikers.“Keir Starmer was elected on a manifesto that he won’t stick to, and he is now rolling out a series of dishonest policies for which he has no democratic mandate.”James Cleverly 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 ThomasEditorUrgent action is needed to replace dangerous cladding in the wake of a major fire at a tower block in east London, the author of a report into the Grenfell Tower disaster has warned.Dame Judith Hackitt, who led a government review on building safety after the deadly Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, said it is “really concerning” that so many people are still living in uncertainty and fear about their homes and that it was “very lucky” nobody died in Monday’s blaze.Fire ripped through the tower block in Dagenham, which was undergoing “remedial” work to remove and replace “non-compliant cladding” on the fifth and sixth floors containing flats, according to a planning application document.Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Dame Judith criticised those who have been “passing the buck” on the issue of fixing buildings seven years on from the Grenfell fire, which killed 72 people.“This really about people passing the buck, passing it up the chain and the work has to be done,” she said. “This must be about identifying those responsible and making them pay.”A fire tore through a tower block in Dagenham, east London on Monday 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 ThomasEditorLabour is set to extend a hardship fund for struggling households in England after campaigners call the money a “lifeline” for thousands.Ministers will announce that the Household Support Fund will be extended for a fifth time, Whitehall officials told the Financial Times, taking the funding beyond its current September 30 cut off date. The Household Support Fund provides local councils with a share of £500 million over a period of six months. Each authority is free to allocate funds however they feel is best to help struggling households in their area.Some provide cash grants, while others opt for supermarket vouchers, energy bill assistance, or funding for food banks. However, a recent report from the End Furniture Poverty charity showed that 44 percent of the total Household Support Fund budget in 2023/24 was used to provide holiday food vouchers for families in receipt of free school meals.Workers at a Coventry foodbank, 2023 More