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 moreSir Keir Starmer has urged MPs to be realistic as he moved to crush a rebellion over massive welfare cuts planned for later this month in a speech to MPs in the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP).The prime minister has launched a preemptive strike as Labour MPs have privately voiced disquiet about plans by chancellor Rachel Reeves to slash benefits for the disabled and long-term sick as she tries to balance the books.He warned MPs: “The real world is moving quickly and people look to their government not to be buffeted about by that change – not even to merely respond to it – but to seize it and shape it for the benefit of the British people.”With Labour facing a tough by-election in Runcorn following the decision by disgraced MP Mike Amesbury to step down after being sentenced for assaulting a constituent, Sir Keir had an important message to get Labour MPs ready to fight their first real test since the election.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer marked International Women’s Day 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 moreMike Amesbury is quitting as an MP in a move which will see Sir Keir Starmer face off with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in his first by-election as prime minister.The suspended Labour MP was last month given a 10-week suspended prison sentence for drunkenly punching a constituent multiple times in the street.In an interview with the BBC, Amesbury said he was going to step down from parliament “as quickly as possible”. “I’m going to step aside at the earliest opportunity,” he said, adding: “I’ve got processes I must go through – there’s a statutory process in terms of redundancies.” Mike Amesbury was set to face a recall petition after being handed a suspended jail sentence 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 moreJustice secretary Shabana Mahmood is set for a confrontation with the Sentencing Council later this week after they wrote to her warning her against “dictating” to judges over new measures which she fears will create a “two tier” legal system.A spokesperson for Ms Mahmood has confirmed that a meeting is set to go ahead with the Sentencing Council on Thursday where she will make clear her displeasure at new guidance which could lead to lighter sentences for some based on ethnicity and gender.The Labour minister is in rare agreement with her right wing Tory shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick who raised the issue last week after the Sentencing Council ignored the views of ministers from the previous government to go ahead with the new guidelines.But after expressing her own disapproval of the guidelines, the Sentencing Council, which is independent of government, angrily put down Ms Mahmood’s objections this week and rejected claims it was creating a “two tier system”.Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood (Ben Whitley/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 moreMore details on the billions in welfare cuts Labour plans to make have been revealed as reports indicate ministers are looking to shave £5 billion from a disability benefit claimed by 3.6 million people.Reforms to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are now widely expected, with Labour MPs understood to be divided on the cost-cutting policy package. The payment is designed to help people with extra costs incurred by their disability, whether they are working or not.The changes will include making it harder to qualify for PIP, likely by changing the descriptors assessors used to determine if an applicant is eligible for the benefit.Further savings are also to be made by freezing PIP payments next year, ITV reports, meaning they will not rise with inflation as in previous years.Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall (Stefan Rousseau/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 moreTechnology Secretary Peter Kyle has said he will cut red tape so that technology like medical delivery drones can be made available more quickly.He told a tech conference that the Government would prioritise pro-innovation regulation in a dedicated plan for the sector, saying there is “no route to long-term growth and no solution to our productivity problem, without innovation”.A trial of medical drones to deliver blood samples in London could be derailed by a single noise complaint, and this is the kind of red tape that will be peeled away so technologies can be brought to market quickly, he said.It comes as former Conservative minister Lord David Willetts was confirmed as the first head of the new Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO), a role in which he will be tasked with shaping regulatory approaches for new technologies.The Technology Secretary told the techUK conference: “Everywhere you see, there is an imbalance of power in this country which has – for too long – made it impossible to imagine a better future for Britain.“To deliver our Plan for Change we have to shift the balance of power, away from stagnation and old ideas, towards innovation and opportunity, and the bold people building a new future for Britain.“In doing so, by 2035 we could see a whole new Britain emerge, harnessing the power of technological development, from engineering biology to AI, semiconductors and cyber security, or quantum and future telecoms for a stronger economy and better lives for all in the UK.”Mr Kyle also announced the 10 winners of Innovate UK’s Quantum Missions Pilot, who will receive £12 million between them to help develop quantum computing and networking technologies.The RIO was launched in October and is intended to reduce the burdens for businesses looking to bring new products and services to the market.Lord Willetts said he is “honoured” to take on the role and hailed the “exciting opportunity to shape regulatory approaches that empower new technologies”.Among the technologies the body could help make available are delivery drones for medicines and AI training software for surgeons, officials at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said.Drones could also be looked at in relation to other industries such as faster delivery of packages or groceries.Lord Willetts served as the MP for Havant from 1992 to 2015, and was paymaster general for a time under Sir John Major, before returning to the government as universities and science minister in Lord David Cameron’s administration.Mr Kyle said Lord Willetts’ experience “will be key to streamlining innovation and unapologetically unleash the innovation that we know can improve lives”. 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 moreRupert Lowe has seized on new claims that the allegations of inappropriate behaviour made by female members of staff “had nothing to do with him”.Mr Lowe has suggested he has been stitched up by the party leadership, including Nigel Farage, with the Great Yarmouth MP telling The Independent that he is a victim of “total lies” against him.But it came after the top lawyer brought in to investigate the allegations denied his claims that she said there was “zero credible evidence” against him in a bullying probe. The King’s Counsel (KC) hired to examine allegations against Mr Lowe denied telling the MP she had expressed “shock and dismay” over the investigation.Rupert Lowe was one of five people elected as a Reform MP at the general election in July (Jordan Pettitt/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 moreSir Keir Starmer will attempt to rally his MPs around plans to make cuts to the welfare system, amid fears of a growing rebellion. The Treasury is expected to make significant welfare cuts ahead of the Spring Statement at the end of this month in order to make up for tightening fiscal headroom. Rachel Reeves, who will deliver her statement on March 26, is expected to make a raft of public spending savings through curbing the cost of welfare and a drive for greater efficiency across Whitehall. But Labour MP Rachael Maskell said she had detected “deep, deep concern” from colleagues in the Commons, sparking fears of a rift between the government and the back benches.Meanwhile, 16 major charities – including the Trussell Trust, Scope, and Mind – have penned a letter to the government warning that benefit cuts would have a “catastrophic impact on disabled people up and down the country”. They claimed that as many as 700,000 more disabled households could be pushed into poverty as a result of the plans. It comes against a backdrop of growing concern among Labour backbenchers over the government’s direction, following a cut to the winter fuel allowance, the slashing of international aid and a failure to scrap the two child benefit cap. Sir Keir Starmer said the UK will ‘redouble’ its work to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas (Julian Simmonds/Daily Telegraph/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 moreYvette Cooper has been accused of “adding salt into an open wound” after rejecting calls from the family of murdered MP Sir David Amess for a public inquiry into the killing.In the letter addressed to Sir David’s widow, Lady Julia Amess, and his daughter, Katie Amess, the home secretary said it was “hard to see how an inquiry would be able to go beyond” terrorist killer Ali Harbi Ali’s trial and the recently published Prevent learning review.Responding in a statement, Lady Amess said Sir Keir Starmer should “go away and reconsider the government’s position” ahead of the family’s meeting with the prime minister and the home secretary on Wednesday.Sir David Amess (Chris McAndrew/PA) More