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.CloseRead moreCloseSir Keir Starmer will snub the Taliban as a group of officials from the brutal Afghan regime flock to the UN climate summit in in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.The prime minister will not meet with the group at the Cop29 conference, which started on Monday, in what will be its first appearance at the forum since its forceful takeover of Afghanistan. Asked what Sir Keir thought of the militant group attending the talks, and whether he had any plans to come face to face with delegates, a Number 10 spokeswoman said: “No plans to meet with them.“I think attendance is a matter for the organisers, but more broadly the summit I think is bringing together 96 different delegations from across the world and the objective is obviously to strengthen global climate action and engagement on that issue.“It is obviously vital that we approach the talks and the event with that common purpose (at the) forefront of our mind.”The Taliban-controlled foreign ministry’s spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said officials from the country’s National Environmental Protection Agency have arrived in Azerbaijan to attend the Cop29 conference. The Taliban’s leaders have controlled the environmental agency for more than three years now, after they took power in Kabul in August 2021.The group’s government is not formally recognised by the UN and the international community owing to its restrictions on the basic rights of citizens, particularly women, who are banned from education and the workplace. The UN has stopped the Taliban from taking control of Afghanistan’s seat at the General Assembly and continues to back the appointed representatives from the previous Ashraf Ghani administration to represent the country on the global stage.Azerbaijan has invited the Afghan environment agency officials to Cop29 as observers, allowing the former insurgent group to “potentially participate in periphery discussion and potentially hold bilateral meetings”, according to a diplomatic source.But the Taliban will not be allowed to take part in the proceedings of full member states as the Taliban is not recognised within the UN system as Afghanistan’s legitimate leaders, instead as de facto authorities, the source said.So far the UN has only invited the Taliban to talks specifically on Afghanistan’s future in Doha. China and Russia have expressed willingness to foster ties with the de facto administration and have invited its ministers to attend forums in China and central Asia in the past two years.Afghanistan has been badly affected by a succession of climate emergencies, including flash floods, torrential rains and droughts, in the past year.Flash floods have killed hundreds this year, sweeping away villages and people in remote parts of Afghanistan. The war-ravaged country is heavily dependent on agriculture, but successive floods and droughts have wiped away fields and produce.International isolation has compounded the country’s economic struggles, making its population one of the poorest on the planet.“Afghanistan is one of the countries that is really left behind on the needs that it has. It is a double price that they are paying,” said Habib Mayar, deputy general secretary of the g7+, an intergovernmental organisation of countries affected by conflict.“There is lack of attention, lack of connection with the international community, and then there are increasing humanitarian needs.” 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.CloseRead moreCloseOpposition to a bill attempting to legalise assisted dying appears to be growing despite promises that it will include the toughest safeguards anywhere in the world by its proposer Labour MP Kim Leadbeater.Health secretary Wes Streeting has already indicated he will oppose the legislation, which is a free conscience vote in parliament, and now he could be joined by an improbable alliance of Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Labour leftwing veteran Diane Abbott.This comes as an open letter from thousands of doctors and nurses opposing the Bill has been published today warning that safeguards cannot be strong enough.Writing in The House magazine, Ms Leadbeater said her proposal “offers hope to those terminally ill people with a clear, informed and settled wish to have a better death, while at the same time protecting all those approaching the end of their life from coercion or pressure to make a decision that isn’t right for them; indeed my Bill will contain the strictest protections and safeguards of any legislation anywhere in the world”.Labour MP Kim Leadbeater joins terminally ill advocates, bereaved families, and campaigners for a photocall outside the House of Parliament, 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.CloseRead moreCloseWatch live as Kemi Badenoch appears before the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry on Monday, 11 November.The former business secretary and her successor, Labour’s Jonathan Reynolds, are likely to be questioned on problems related to compensation for victims of the scandal.More than 900 subpostmasters were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their shops.Questions could also focus on the new Tory leader’s row with ex-Post Office chair Henry Staunton.William Paul Patterson, director of Fujitsu Services Limited, will also testify.It comes after Sir Keir Starmer responded to campaigner Sir Alan Bates’s requests for help with settling redress claims for those affected by the scandal.Sir Alan told MPs that the prime minister had not yet responded to his letter urging him to ask the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) to set a deadline of March next year for payments, but Downing Street confirmed hours later that a response had been sent.Sir Alan was representing claimants from the 555 subpostmasters who took the Post Office to the High Court between 2017 and 2019 – also known as the GLO scheme.He told MPs that 70 of the GLO scheme claimants have died while compensation is being sorted out, with others now “well into their 80s… that are still suffering”.Number 10 declined to commit to the campaigner’s suggested payment deadline. 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.CloseRead moreCloseWatch live as Sir Keir Starmer joins Emmanuel Macron in Paris before attending an Armistice commemoration on Monday, 11 November.The Prime Minister was invited to the capital city by the French president to attend the annual event.Sir Keir will hold a bilateral meeting with Mr Macron in which they are expected to discuss foreign policy issues including the war in Ukraine and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.In the morning, the Prime Minister will host veterans, defence charities and British military personnel at the ambassador’s residence, and is also expected to meet the new French prime minister Michel Barnier.Sir Keir is the first prime minister to visit France for Armistice Day since Winston Churchill joined Charles de Gaulle in 1944.Asked why Sir Keir was making the trip, defence secretary Healey told Sky News: “This is a special year.“We mark 80 years since D-Day invasions and some of the critical battles that liberated Europe and ended the Second World War.“This is also a mark of the close relationship between the two leaders, between [MR] Macron and [Sir Keir], but also the historic bonds between our two countries and our two militaries.” 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.CloseRead moreCloseBritain should move past the “special relationship” with the US, the frontrunner to become the UK’s next ambassador in Washington has said.Peter Mandelson is a favourite to replace Dame Karen Pierce, who is overseeing the transition to Donald Trump’s second administration.The Labour grandee, a key architect of Tony Blair’s New Labour, said it is time for a “new relationship” with the US.Lord Mandelson said his focus was on the election to become the chancellor of the University of Oxford (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.CloseRead moreCloseSir Keir Starmer is set to be the first UK leader to attend a French Armistice Day ceremony since the Second World War following a personal invitation from Emmanuel Macron, in what is a major step in his plans for a Brexit reset.The prime minister, who has put a revival of relations with Brussels at the heart of his mission, will attend 106th anniversary of the Armistice of 1918 in Paris on Monday, becoming the first UK leader to attend the ceremony since Winston Churchill in 1944. Paris had been liberated that summer.Amid the collapse of Olaf Scholz’s administration in Germany, Sir Keir will be keen to woo the French president and build bridges with one of the EU’s strongest powers.During the visit the prime minister will hold bilateral meetings with Mr Macron and new French prime minister Michel Barnier – the first time the two have met since Mr Barnier took office.Sir Keir will head to France on Monday 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.CloseRead moreCloseThe prime minister is being urged to bolster the UK’s relationship with the European Union following Donald Trump’s re-election, as a senior EU official argues there is a “big opportunity” for closer ties.Sandro Gozi, the new chair of the European delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, told The Independent the bloc is looking to put academic cooperation, a youth free-movement deal and conversations about artificial intelligence on the table.Mr Gozi’s intervention comes as politicians in the UK say the result of the US election should be a “wake-up call” for Sir Keir Starmer after Mr Trump swept to victory on 5 November. Mr Gozi said the issue of security and defence in Europe is “even more compelling” since the Republican politician’s re-election, amid growing concerns over the president-elect’s commitment to Nato and fears of a global trade war. Sandro Gozi, the new chair of the Delegation to EU-UK Parliamentary Assembly, said there is a ‘clear common interest’ in working together More