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 ThomasEditorSuffering from pneumonia, Reform candidate Mark Matlock checked social media after he missed election nightto find he was being accused of being an AI bot.Looking at his glossy profile picture, online commentators had decided he was computer-generated and the inevitable Twitter pile-on ensued. Fuel was added to the fire when he didn’t show up for hustings or even the election count after winning 1,758 votes for Brixton and Clapham Hill on a day of national success for Nigel Farage and his fledgling party.It wasn’t helped that on his website, he campaigned on how “we should manage the transfer of human jobs to AI responsibly”.But looking to put the rumours to bed, Mr Matlock spoke to The Independent over the phone on Monday. Speaking with a croaky voice while still recovering from the illness he opened the conversation with the reassurance he was a real person: “Good afternoon. It’s Mark Matlock speaking how are you?” “I am a real person and that is me in the photo,” he confirmed. “Though I must admit I am enjoying the free publicity and when I feel up to it I will put out a video and prove these rumours that I’m a robot are absolute baloney.“I got pneumonia three days before election night I was exercising taking vitamins so I could attend but it was just not viable. On election night I couldn’t even stand.“The photo of me was taken outside the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. I had the background removed and replaced with the logo and they changed the colour of my tie. The only reason that was done was because we couldn’t get a photographer at such short notice – but that is me.”The candidate says the original picture was taken in Oxford and had a Reform UK logo put in and his tie colour changed 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 ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer is under pressure to raise defence spending ahead of his first Nato summit as prime minister.A day after the deadliest strikes by Vladimir Putin’s forces in Ukraine for months, the Labour leader is facing calls to hike spending on defence towards 3 per cent of GDP to keep Britain safe.Former head of the army General Sir Patrick Sanders has warned that the UK’s armed forces are so depleted they could only fight a small war for around a month.Sir Keir Starmer will go the Nato summit this week (Victoria Jones/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 ThomasEditorNigel Farage has renewed calls for an overhaul of the Westminster electoral system – but should Britain abandon first past the post?Reform UK argues that the system is “broken,” and even some Conservative commentators have questioned how governments can wield significant power with a comparatively weak mandate. In last week’s election, Labour received about 35 per cent of the popular vote but secured 63 per cent of the seats in the House of Commons, resulting in a landslide 174-seat majority. Given the low turnout of 60 per cent, only about one in five adult Britons actively voted for Keir Starmer’s programme of change, meaning Starmer is now governing with one of the lowest shares of the vote for any administration since 1923.Within the more proportional systems, such as Single Transferable Vote, there are different ways of electing MPs. With some, you only vote for a party, with others, you vote directly for candidates.The Alternative Vote system, where an MP must win a majority of votes in a constituency with second and third preferences considered, was rejected in a 2011 referendum.Now we want to know what you think. Would a different system be fairer? Would you be happy to see more coalitions and fewer governments with a mandate for radical change under proportional representation? Or do you worry that this system would allow extremist parties easier access to parliament?Share your thoughts by adding them in the comments — we’ll highlight the most insightful ones as they come in.All you have to do is sign up and register your details — then you can take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here.Join the conversation with other Independent readers below. 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 ThomasEditorSir Tony Blair is set to say that the modern technological revolution means “there has never been a better time to govern”.During a speech at the Tony Blair Institute’s (TBI) Future of Britain conference in London on Tuesday, he will set out how a package of measures including private and public sector adoption of artificial intelligence, preventative healthcare, digital ID and embracing technology in education could boost growth and generate savings.The former prime minister will say that Britain faces an “unenviable triple whammy” of high taxes, debt and poor outcomes, with the “worse to come” due to an ageing population, “deep structural health problems” and rising numbers of long-term sick.He is set to warn that, unless the country improves growth and productivity and drive value and efficiency through public spending, it will become “much poorer”.Sir Tony Blair with Sir Keir Starmer (Stefan Rousseau/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 ThomasEditorJK Rowling has criticised the new women and equalities minister over previous remarks she has made on gender.The Harry Potter author called past comments made by Anneliese Dodds on gender “nonsensical” as the Labour MP’s new appointment was announced, after Ms Rowling previously accused Labour of having “abandoned” her and others campaigning for women’s rights.The novelist has frequently argued online that trans women are not women and criticised Scottish Government proposals to introduce self-identification for transgender people.Shortly after Monday’s announcement, Ms Rowling tweeted part of a transcript from an interview Ms Dodds had taken part in for BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour in 2022.According to the posted transcript, when asked for Labour’s definition of a woman, Ms Dodds said there are “different definitions legally around what a woman actually is” and, when pressed again, said: “I think it does depend what the context is.”Ms Rowling tweeted: “And if you happen to be wondering how I have the transcript of that Woman’s Hour to hand, it was sent to me by Dodds’ office after I publicly criticised her prevarication on the programme. They seemed to think I’d find her comments less nonsensical if I saw them in print.”Anneliese Dodds has been appointed a minister of state – Minister for Women and Equalities – in the Department for Education 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 ThomasEditorUnited Nations experts have warned Britain is at risk of breaching international law over allegations of child asylum seekers being placed in adult detention centres after crossing the Channel on small boats.At least 1,300 child refugees who arrived alone in the UK were wrongly identified as adults by border officials in the 18 months from January 2022, with nearly 500 placed in adult detention or unsupervised accommodation, a report by the Refugee Council and other charities found.The situation was described to The Independent as “a safeguarding crisis on an unprecedented scale”, with January’s report also revealing at least 14 children had been criminalised under new migration laws and held in adult prisons after the Home Office wrongly assessed their ages.Now five UN special rapporteurs have intervened to highlight their concerns over the report in a letter to the UK government, warning that Home Office age assessment procedures appeared to allow for potential breaches of international law.Warning that detaining children in adult settings, including at asylum accommodation, is prohibited, the letter states: “The current age determination procedures seem to allow for such a chance, and therefore would place the UK in violation of its responsibilities” under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.A slogan of the Conservative Party’s general election campaign was ‘Stop The Boats’ 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 ThomasEditorDavid Cameron has stepped back from frontline politics after last week’s election defeat but will keep his House of Lords seat for life. He was given a peerage last November so that Rishi Sunak could make him his foreign secretary. But the former PM has tendered his resignation and will not serve in the shadow cabinet now that the party is out of government. Also quitting is party chair Richard Holden, who has been blamed by many for the depth of his party’s defeat. He has faced accusations that he “stitched up” a safe seat for himself when he should have been saving other MPs – a charge he denies. The Independent has been told that Tory MPs started texting Mr Holden at 4am on Friday morning asking why he had yet to tender his resignation. Former foreign secretary David Cameron has tendered his resignation 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 ThomasEditorKeir Starmer will face his first international test just days after becoming prime minister as he meets President Biden and other world leaders at the Nato summit in Washington. The Labour leader will try to reassure the nuclear alliance of his party’s “unshakeable” support under his leadership. The meeting comes two years after his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn said he hoped organisations like Nato could be ultimately disbanded and said they could create “greater danger” in the world.The new prime minster will also restate the UK’s commitment to Ukraine at a time when questions are being asked about US support, amid turmoil over the looming presidential election. Sir Keir’s first face-to-face meeting with President Biden risks being overshadowed by calls for the 81-year-old to pull out of the race for the White House. A disastrous showing in a televised election debate 10 days ago has left senior Democrats fearful their candidate risks losing disastrously to Donald Trump. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference on Saturday (Claudia Greco, PA)The possible return of the former president, who has openly questioned continued backing for both Ukraine and Nato, is set to cast a shadow over the meeting. Nato leaders are also facing political uncertainty in Europe, where the decision of President Macron to call a snap election appears to have backfired for the French leader. Russia’s attack on a children’s hospital in Ukraine is set to add extra urgency to the organisation’s discussions on the war there. The summit, designed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Nato’s founding, will be the first since Sweden joined the alliance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Labour’s defence secretary John Healy has already visited the war-torn country, in a move designed to emphasis the UK’s backing is for the long haul. Sir Keir also spoke to Volodymyr Zelensky on his first day in office and with the Ukrainian leader also set to be in Washington the two leaders could hold talks. It would not be the first time the two men have met. They chatted during last month’s D-Day event after the then prime minister Rishi Sunak infamously left early to return home for an interview with ITV. President Joe Biden is facing calls to pull out of the race More