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 ThomasEditorSadiq Khan oversaw the completion of just 71 new affordable homes in London during the last economic quarter, falling hundreds short of his own target.The mayor’s Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) also only started work on a further 150 properties between April and June 2024, according to new figures released by the Greater London Authority (GLA) on Wednesday.The AHP, funded with £4billion of government money and managed by City Hall, was originally meant to deliver 35,000 dwellings across the capital between 2021 and 2026. But the target was cut last year to between 23,900 and 27,200. This amounts to a target of around 1,100 per quarter to hit the lower limit. Affordable homes are those sold or let through various public and private schemes at 20 per cent below local market value to help individuals who live in the area but may struggle to afford open market prices.The Tories have written to housing secretary Angela Rayner, demanding she put the GLA under “special measures”, saying the number of affordable homes being built in the capital are “unacceptably low”.Sadiq Khan (Jordan Pettitt/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 ThomasEditorThe former victims commissioner has called for rape and sexual assault cases to experience the same swift treatment seen over the riots. Dame Vera Baird called for a trial period in which the crimes were fast-tracked through the justice system, saying the move could have a “significant deterrent impact”.As violence raged across the country, Sir Keir Starmer warned rioters they faced rapid and “substantive” sentences.Since then nearly 500 people have been arrested and almost 150 charged. At the weekend the justice secretary also confirmed that 500 prison places had been found to deal with those going through the courts.But the ability of the justice system to clamp down on the violence has now led to questions why it cannot do the same for other crimes. Keir Starmer warned rioters they faced rapid and ‘substantive’ sentences 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 ThomasEditorJeremy Hunt has re-opened his bitter battle with Labour suggesting Rachel Reeves is preparing to use a rise in inflation as cover for “planned” tax rises.The shadow chancellor also warned the woman who replaced him at the Treasury last month “must not use this data as an excuse to break her promises”.Newly released figures show inflation has risen back above the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target, to 2.2 per cent in July. The first increase of 2024, it follows months of steady decline, but is still slightly below what many economists were predicting.Rishi Sunak was accused of lying “through his teeth” and labelled a “pound shop Boris Johnson” after his high-profile claim Labour was planning a £2,000 tax hike after the election was rubbished by the Treasury. Ms Reeves did say earlier this month that she thinks taxes will have to be raised in the Budget.Her admission came a day after she warned of a £22 billion black hole she had discovered in the public finances left by the last Conservative government. Spending must rise sharply under the new Government to bring UK public services ‘up to scratch’, according to a leading think tank (Dominic Lipinski/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 ThomasEditorA social media post by a renowned conservation charity calling the then-prime minister Rishi Sunak and two other ministers “liars” has been deemed “inappropriate” by the regulator.But the Charity Commission stopped short of imposing any sanctions on the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) after investigating the August 2023 Tweet..In it, the RSPB strongly criticised plans to scrap water pollution restrictions for housing developments in England.The post labelled Mr Sunak, then-housing secretary Michael Gove and then-environment secretary Therese Coffey “liars”, accusing them of having said they would not weaken environmental protections.Alongside a picture of all three, it said: “And yet that’s just what you are doing. You lie, and you lie, and you lie again.“And we’ve had enough.”The RSPB had hit out at Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove in its Twitter post (Joe Giddens/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 ThomasEditorExam bosses are facing a growing backlash over their refusal to boost the grades of A-level students affected by crumbling concrete. Thousands were hit as dozens of schools across the country were forced to close entirely or shut off classrooms following the discovery of the dangerous material last year.The head of Ofqual has resisted calls to raise their results, suggesting it would be unfair to pupils who suffered from other problems, such as teacher shortages. But politicians from across the political spectrum have called for a rethink, just days before A-level results are revealed on Thursday.Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Munira Wilson said it was “shocking that some children spent months being taught in Portakabins and makeshift facilities through this crucial time in their education”, adding that the new Labour government must “now ensure pupils and parents impacted by these years of chaos are given the support they need”.Labour MP Mary Foy told The Independent that the decision not to provide extra consideration for affected pupils was “absolutely devastating”, saying it was “perverse that a student would get special consideration for a fire alarm sounding during an exam, but none for having no access to the correct facilities, or even their previous work, for almost a full academic year”.Meanwhile, Robert Halfon, a former Conservative education minister, told The Independent he was sympathetic to calls for more help for affected pupils, but added that it would have to be “done on a school-by-school basis, depending on levels of disruption”.Around 7,600 A-level students, as well as 19,700 GCSE pupils, are in schools whose buildings contain the crumbling concrete, according to House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Lib Dems. Ian Bauckham says it would be ‘difficult’ to allow a special uplift for some pupils 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 Tory leadership contender has slammed as “delusional” Elon Musk’s claim that civil war in the UK is inevitable. Tom Tugendhat hit out at the X owner, saying his widely-criticised comment, as riots broke out across the country, was “simply false”.In a speech designed to show how he would respond to the recent violence, Mr Tugendhat also attacked Nigel Farage, saying he would not let the former Ukip leader into the Conservatives and ruling out a deal with his Reform Party.And he suggested Keir Starmer could have brought the appalling scenes on the nation’s streets under control more swiftly – and said the prime minister should have sacked home office minister Jess Phillips, who he accused of justifying the actions of some rioters.Mr Tugendhat slammed Elon Musk and Nigel Farage over the riots (Danny Lawson/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 ThomasEditorLabour MPs have claimed they are quitting or “stepping back” from Twitter/X as owner Elon Musk is accused of turning it into a “megaphone for far-right fringe groups”.Two MPs have reportedly told colleagues they are leaving X altogether, with Noah Law – MP for St Austell and Newquay – already having disabled his account. Others have said they are scaling back their use though they are still posting. Labour veteran Diane Abbott told The Independent she is “limiting” her use of the platform, explaining: “The changes in X under Musk have made it worse. Only a handful of MPs would say it is better and they would mostly be Reform members.” Her last post was on Monday, about an Israeli airstrike, after a gap of four days. A Labour MP said Elon Musk had turned X into ‘a megaphone for foreign adversaries’ More