UK Politics

Ed Miliband has warned that nowhere in the UK should be a “no go area” for Jews and Israelis.The energy secretary has intervened as the row over the decision by West Midlands Police to ban football fans of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv from attending their match in Birmingham against Aston Villa has continued to escalate.It comes as Aston Villa prepare to play Tottenham Hotspur, the club which has Britain’s biggest Jewish support, in the Premier League today at Villa Park.Aston Villa have been informed away fans will not be allowed to attend next month’s home Europa League match against Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv due to safety concerns (Cody Froggatt/PA) More

Brexit will have a negative impact on the UK’s economic growth “for the foreseeable future,” Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned.The economy is, however, likely to adjust and find balance again in the longer term, Mr Bailey, who was speaking at the G30 40th annual International Banking Seminar on Saturday, added.The event in Washington, DC saw Mr Bailey highlight a decline in the UK’s potential growth rate from 2.5% to 1.5% over the past 15 years.He linked this to lower productivity growth, an ageing population and trade restrictions – including post-Brexit economic policies.“For nearly a decade, I have been very careful to say that I take no position per se on Brexit, which was a decision by the people of the UK, and it is our job as public officials to implement it,” Mr Bailey said.“But, I quite often get asked a second question: what’s the impact on economic growth?“And as a public official, I have to answer that question.“And the answer is that for the foreseeable future it is negative.”“But over the longer term, there will be – because trade adjusts – some at least partial rebalancing,” Mr Bailey added.Referencing the works of 18th-century economist and philosopher Adam Smith, he continued: “Why do I give that answer? Because that’s the Smithian growth model: making an economy less open restricts growth over the long term.“Longer term, you will get some adjustment. Trade does adjust, it does rebuild.“And all the evidence we have from the UK is that is exactly what is happening.”Investment in innovation and new technologies, including AI, may help address the decline in productivity growth in the long run, Mr Bailey said.“If we take account of the impact of ageing and trade restrictions, we’re really putting our chips on investment,” he said.“We’re putting our chips on general-purpose technology, and AI looks like the next general-purpose technology, so we need to work with it.“We need to ensure that it develops appropriately and well.”Mr Bailey warned that, although AI is likely to usher in a breakthrough in productivity long-term, it may “in the current circumstances, be a risk to financial stability through stretched valuations in the markets”.“It doesn’t undermine the fact that AI, in my view, is likely, in addressing this slower growth issue, that we have and the consequences of it – that it is actually the best hope we have, and we really do need to do all we can to foster it,” he said.The Bank of England governor’s prediction comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves is under pressure ahead of next month’s Budget, with official figures showing muted growth in August following a surprise contraction in July.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.1% month-on-month in August and fell by 0.1% in July, in a revision to the previous estimate for no growth.In the three months to August, GDP grew by 0.3% compared with 0.2% growth in the three months to July, the ONS said.The latest figures come after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier this week forecast UK inflation was set to surge to the highest in the G7 in 2025 and 2026. More

It might already be a month since Reform’s newest MP Danny Kruger jumped ship to join Nigel Farage’s right-wing camp, but walking to the ex-Tory devotee’s Westminster office, you’d be forgiven for questioning if it really happened. Two signs for his office – deep within the Palace of Westminster’s labyrinth of carpeted corridors and creaky stairwells – still show Mr Kruger as shadow minister for work and pensions under Kemi Badenoch.Then inside, hung on the wall alongside Imperial War Museum recruitment posters and a painting of conservative philosopher Roger Scruton, is a framed map of Boris Johnson’s landslide 2019 election victory.Swathes of Tory blue dominate many of the UK’s regions. The outcome of the snap election steered by Brexit not only saw Mr Kruger, then Mr Johnson’s parliamentary secretary, return his boss to No 10, but also got him his first seat in parliament as the new MP for Devizes.“I’m not putting the 2024 election map up,” he jokes. “We need that whole map to go turquoise don’t we,” he adds with a smile.Breakups in any walk of life are hard, but for Mr Kruger, it’s clear to see his split from the Tories was a particularly painful one.“I regret to say, having been a member and an employee and an MP for the Conservative Party for many years, my whole adult life… I think the time for the Conservatives as that principal opposition, that main challenger from the right, has finished,” the married father of three explains.His exit, probably the biggest scalp for Reform yet, was announced at a press conference alongside Mr Farage last month. A few weeks later, he wrote a letter to his 71,000 East Wiltshire constituents to explain his decision.Reform, currently 14 points ahead of the Tories in the latest polls, was now the new opposition to the Labour Party, he said, bemoaning a loss in voter confidence in the Conservatives on issues such as mass migration and Brexit.“We now have – in Nigel Farage’s party – the opposition that we need to Labour, so it’s not just a rejection of the Conservatives, which I deeply regret making on a personal level, it’s an active, positive choice to join Reform because I think they represent the change we need,” he says.Danny Kruger says he approached Nigel Farage over joining the party after conversations with Lee Anderson More

David Lammy has claimed Vladimir Putin wants Nigel Farage and his “right-wing populist” allies to succeed in the hope that they divide Europe.The deputy prime minister’s attack comes after a leading ally of Mr Farage – former Reform UK leader in Wales Nathan Gill – was found guilty of taking money from the Kremlin. It also follows longer-standing concerns over Mr Farage’s “admiration” for the Russian autocrat even though recently the Reform UK leader described Putin as “a very bad dude” in response to criticism.Mr Lammy used a major speech in Amsterdam on Saturday to claim that Labour and its centre-left allies “are winning” in holding back right-wing populism around the world.Deputy prime minister David Lammy More

Rachel Reeves has warned that she could trigger Labour’s biggest donors to disaffiliate from the party if she continues to “pander to the right” in the Budget.The warning from a trade union boss comes as the chancellor gave an interview to Bloomberg TV, confirming that she is pushing for more spending cuts, including on welfare.Fire Brigade Union (FBU) general secretary Steve Wright told The Independent that Labour is at a crossroads, with unions like his debating whether they should financially back the party any more.The loss of union donations ahead of the next general election would cost Labour millions. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, the party received almost £1.2m from trade unions.Chancellor Rachel Reeves (Paul Grover/Daily Telegraph/PA) More

The government has forked out nearly £115,000 for “influencer marketing” in less than a year, despite pledges to cut wasteful spending.The Conservatives have said the spend “makes a mockery” of Labour’s pledge after Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said the cash had supported “multiple campaigns” since the creation of a new government communications unit at the start of this year. It comes after the prime minister hosted a reception for online content creators over the summer, and Downing Street hailed the “content creators shaping Britain”. In response to a written question from shadow minister Mike Wood, Mr Thomas-Symonds said that the “total amount spent on digital influencer marketing by the New Media Unit since its establishment is £114,769.51”. He went on: “This investment has supported multiple campaigns of varying scale and reach. “Influencers have proven to be effective in reaching audiences that traditional marketing channels find hard to reach.”The existence of the unit was first reported on in November 2024, but it is understood that it has been up and running since January 2025. Pushed further on explicitly how much money had been spent on specific campaigns, or which influencers have received money, the Cabinet Office declined to go into further detail. Shadow cabinet office minister Mr Wood described the money as a “bung to influencers”. He told The Independent: “This makes a mockery of the government’s pledge to take ‘decisive action’ to reduce wasteful spending on government communications.“This £114,796.51 bung to influencers to promote this deeply unpopular government is another slap in the face for taxpayers just as Rachel Reeves prepares to announce more tax grabs.“Only the Conservatives have a plan to tackle government waste by cutting the civil service headcount, ensuring taxpayers get value for money.”A Cabinet Office source told The Independent that “it is really important in a changing media landscape that the government works with creators, influencers and smaller platforms to tell our story alongside traditional media”.Ahead of the spending review earlier this year, chancellor Ms Reeves pledged to wield an “iron fist against waste”.The New Media Unit is part of the government Communications Service (GCS), which describes itself as “supporting ministers’ priorities, enabling effective operation of public services and improving people’s lives”. According to a job advert posted for a position at the media unit earlier this year, it seeks to “connect and rebuild trust with audiences in the most effective way possible”. In July it was announced that former Sun editor David Dinsmore would be appointed the new head of the GCS. More

The Home Office was told last week that supporters of Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv could be barred from a Europa League match at Aston Villa, police have revealed, as a major row over the ban escalated.Sir Keir Starmer will do “everything in his power” to overturn the ban, according his spokesperson, after he condemned the move as the “wrong decision” in a major government intervention.News that Israeli fans would not be able to attend the club’s fixture in Birmingham on 6 November due to fears of violence has been met with outrage from Jewish communities. The move by council leaders in Birmingham was branded a “national disgrace” by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and a “shameful decision” by Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar.The government is now expecting West Midlands Police to come forward with proposals for what resources it would need for all fans to attend the football match safely, The Independent understands, ahead of a council Safety Advisory Group (SAG) meeting next week. However, ministers face fresh questions after it emerged the Home Office was briefed about the safety fears – and possible restrictions on fans visiting Villa Park – as early as last week by specialists from the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU).Senior officers at the unit backed the ban, saying it was “important that we respect and support the structures in place for making these decisions”.The decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv’s fans from their match with Aston Villa has been met with outrage from Jewish communities More