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 morePeople living near power infrastructure could get hundreds of pounds off their bills each year as part of an overhaul of planning rules announced by the government. Ministers are also looking to slash the number of official bodies that get a say in planning decisions in a drive to cut red tape and boost growth. Households living within half a kilometre of new or upgraded power systems such as pylons could get access to a bill discount scheme equivalent to an annual payment of £250 over 10 years, with housing minister Alex Norris saying people who make the “sacrifice of having some of the infrastructure in your community” should get some of the money back. It comes as officials are set to consult on removing Sport England, the Theatres Trust and the Garden History Society from the list of bodies legally required to be consulted on planning decisions, while the scope of others who get to give input is set to be narrowed.Mr Norris told Sky News: “As part of our plan for change, those are all our commitments around being a clean energy superpower. The UK is set to build thousands more pylons over the coming years (Gareth Fuller/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 moreNew analysis has suggested that work-related illness is costing the UK economy more than £400 million a week.The study, based on data from government workplace regulator the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and carried out for the Trades Union Congress (TUC), also revealed that the number of cumulative sick days lost due to ill-health has increased by a third since 2010, to 34 million.The figures come ahead of legislation on employment rights returning to the Commons this week, with the government pledging to increase safeguards for workers and security at work.Business leaders have raised concerns about the impact of expanding employment rights and repealing anti-union legislation, and warned it would harm economic growth.However, TUC general secretary Paul Nowak claimed that the analysis proved that the employment rights package is needed to help boost economic growth and productivity in the UK, which has been flatlining since the general election last year.Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, said greater job security benefited workers’ health 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 set to announce a massive deregulation of electric car charging in a bid to roll out hundreds of thousands of extra points across England.The Independent has learnt that part of the planning reforms to be unveiled in Parliament this week will do away with communities and businesses requiring permission for electric car charging points from councils.The measure in the forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill will allow for a direct application to the Department for Transport (DfT), saving hours of paperwork as well as making the process much faster and cheaper.It comes as the government has decided to restore a ban on selling new petrol and diesel cars in 2030 as part of the transition to electric vehicles.The rollout of EV charging points has been concentrated in London 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 moreNigel Farage has been forced to defend his leadership of Reform as the party descends into further civil war over the suspension of MP Rupert Lowe.In what is turning out to be the biggest threat to Mr Farage since his comeback during the general election last year, Mr Lowe and his allies have accused him of conducting a “witch hunt” against the Great Yarmouth MP.It comes as former Brexit Party MEPs who worked with both men in Strasbourg six years ago have rallied to Mr Lowe and insisted he was a team player.Mr Lowe was suspended from Reform UK late last week over allegations of bullying against two female members of staff, but he refutes the accusations and counter-claims that he has been smeared because Mr Farage saw him as a threat to his authority.In an article for The Daily Telegraph, Mr Farage continued his attack, claiming he had no choice but to act against Mr Lowe. In the letter, the party leader alleged one previously undisclosed instance in which Mr Lowe reportedly pushed the shipping minister Mike Kane in the House of Commons just before the Christmas recess.Mr Kane had allegedly responded to a question posed by Mr Lowe about a damaged cargo ship that had docked in his constituency while carrying hundreds of tonnes of the potentially explosive fertiliser, ammonium nitrate.Rupert Lowe was suspended from the Reform Party following a series of allegations 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 moreA major Brexit rethink is needed on defence and security leading to a single European military command structure and defence of the continent’s borders, Lord Michael Heseltine has warned.The former deputy prime minister believes the threat of Donald Trump’s administration has opened the doors for Sir Keir Starmer to have a much more profound repair of the damage of Brexit beyond the limited ambitions of his reset talks.Writing in The Independent the Tory peer, who played a significant role in the Remain campaign, has issued his warning in the wake of Mr Trump’s shocking actions in withdrawing military aid and intelligence from Ukraine.Michael Heseltine says a major Brexit rethink is needed 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 moreCabinet minister Pat McFadden has insisted he will “not take a chainsaw to the civil service” amid concerns he plans Elon Musk-style reforms.The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who runs the Cabinet Office engine room of Whitehall, denied he had set targets for job cuts as he announced a major overhaul of the civil service.Mr McFadden – sometimes described as “Keir Starmer’s unofficial deputy prime minister” – made his remarks on the media round on Sunday morning after unveiling a series of hard-hitting reforms to Whitehall.He also made it clear that the government plans significant cuts to benefits, targeting those on long-term disability payments. This is despite revelations that ill and disabled people are already waiting too long for payments.Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said nations must “step forward themselves” to support Ukraine 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 moreUnder-performing civil servants could be enticed to leave their jobs, and senior officials will have their pay linked to performance, under new government plans.Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden has said that “the state is not match-fit to rise to the moment our country faces” as he said ministers will “fundamentally reshape” the service.However a union has described the plans as a “retreading of failed narratives” and accused the government of delivering a “soundbite, not a credible plan for change”.It is one in a series of reforms expected to be set out by the government this week that will also cover housing and regulation.They will go alongside what officials are calling an “intervention” from the prime minister on Thursday.In the plans to be announced by Mr McFadden at the start of the week, he will promise a new “mutually agreed exits” process, in which civil servants who cannot perform at the level required of them are persuaded to leave their jobs.Pat McFadden said ‘the state is not match-fit to rise to the moment our country faces’ 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 UK will still have some of the worst protections for unwell people in the developed world despite the government’s new bill on employment rights, leaving 8.3 million contracted workers with the equivalent of as little as £3 an hour.Campaigners are calling on the government to go further on sick pay and make rates more liveable as the Employment Rights Bill is put to a vote in parliament next week.Currently, around one in four workers in the UK – around 7 million people – are only entitled to receive statutory sick pay (SSP) instead of enhanced sick pay from their employers. SSP amounts to a fixed rate of just £116.75 per week, or £467 per month, for eligible workers.Dr Matt Padley from Loughborough University warns that the current rate of statutory sick pay is “not enough to live on” and says the knock-on effects are numerous. “Anyone having to rely on SSP for any length of time is likely to see a substantial drop in their income, and if they are unable to return to work for several months, the gap between income and what’s needed to live with dignity will grow,” the social policy researcher told The Independent.“At the same time, cost-of-living pressures continue and the rate of sick pay – already very low – will fall further and further short of meeting basic material needs.”The government announced it is extending sick pay to workers earning under £123 a week from day one of their illness. Staff will be paid 80 per cent of their average weekly earning or £116.75 statutory sick pay, whichever is lowest.While this will mean an extra 1.3 million people will be eligible for the statutory sick pay rate under the changes in the Employment Rights Bill, 8.3 million people in the UK will still receive far less than the living or even minimum wage if they fall sick.For someone usually working 35 hours per week, statutory sick pay equates to just £3.33 per hour. For those working closer to 40 hours per week, this would be just £2.91 per hour.Danny Hine-Berry, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2022, said the rate of sick pay – just £96 per week at the time – was not enough to survive.Mr Hine-Berry told The Independent: “It left me in a lot of financial difficulty. And when you’re going through something like that, you should be able to focus on getting better. But instead, I had kind of all these worries and stress about money on top of my physical health problems.”Danny Hine-Berry was just 23 when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, and had to travel 20 miles for radiotherapy treatment More