UK Politics

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseChildren who are “doom scrolling” for hours a day on smartphones are at risk of widespread harm, an MP has warned.The equivalent of “seatbelt” legislation is needed for children and their social media use to help them manage addictive content, according to former teacher Josh MacAlister.On Wednesday, the Labour MP for Whitehaven and Workington will introduce a Private Member’s Bill (PMB) in Parliament on protecting children from harms caused by excessive screen timeThe Bill, which aims to empower families and teachers to cut down on children’s daily smartphone screen time, will call for a legal requirement to be introduced so all schools in England are mobile-free zones.In February, schools in England were given guidance under the former Conservative government intended to stop the use of mobile phones during the school day, but it is currently non-statutory.Smartphones and the instant access they provide to harmful content is nothing short of a public health emergency for children and young peoplePepe Di’Iasio, Association of School and College LeadersThe Bill is also expected to call for the age at which companies can get data consent from children without parental permission to be raised from 13 to 16 to make smartphones less addictive.Other proposals include strengthening watchdog Ofcom’s powers to protect children from apps that are designed to be addictive, and committing the Government to review further regulation if needed of the design, supply, marketing and use of mobile phones by children under the age of 16.Mr MacAlister, who led an independent review into children’s social care for the former government, said: “The evidence is mounting that children doom scrolling for hours a day is causing widespread harm. We need the equivalent of the ‘seatbelt’ legislation for social media use for children.“Adults find it hard enough to manage screen time, so why are we expecting children to manage this addictive content without some shared rules? Parents are in an impossible bind over whether to ostracise their child from social media or expose them to the harms and addiction of content.“Countries around the world are now taking bold action and our children risk being left behind. It’s time to have the national debate here in the UK.”MPs are expected to debate the issue in the new year, Mr MacAlister’s office said.The growing evidence of the impact of smartphones on kids is deeply alarmingConservative MP Kit MalthouseConservative MP Kit Malthouse, who was education secretary during Liz Truss’s premiership in 2022, said: “The growing evidence of the impact of smartphones on kids is deeply alarming.“So being clear about our expectations from providers and regulators, and their duties towards our children, has to be a step in the right direction, and I’m pleased to support a Bill that does exactly that.”Pepe Di’lasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “Smartphones and the instant access they provide to harmful content is nothing short of a public health emergency for children and young people.”He added: “It is not enough to rely solely on parents and schools teaching children about the dangers of smartphones. We have reached a point where regulation is required over their sale and the conduct of online platforms.”The vast majority of schools already handle the use of mobile phones effectively, including with bansGovernment spokespersonJoe Ryrie, co-founder of the Smartphone Free Childhood campaign group, said: “Parents everywhere are crying out for Government to go further and faster in regulating big tech so that they alone are not responsible for guarding childhood from the addictive and predatory algorithms for which they are no match.“We need to start thinking about children’s digital safety in a more imaginative way, going beyond just the harms, so that we can build upon the Online Safety Act and start developing a new regulatory approach that has young people’s wellbeing and healthy development at its heart.”A Government spokesperson said: “We all want to find the best way of ensuring children are kept safe while also benefiting from the latest digital technology.“The Online Safety Act will introduce strong safeguards for children, preventing them from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content. This will include requiring companies to check the age of children so that parents can have peace of mind about the safety of their children online.“The vast majority of schools already handle the use of mobile phones effectively, including with bans. Legislating for an outright ban would simply remove the autonomy from school leaders who know their pupils and their communities best.” More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseYvette Cooper has joked her husband’s advice was to “shake it off” days after she faced questions over Taylor Swift’s VIP police protection at her London concerts.The home secretary also told journalists at Westminster that “haters gonna hate, hate, hate”. Last week ministers denied claims that a police escort for Ms Swift was the result of “undue influence” from senior politicians, including Ms Cooper.It followed reports the Metropolitan Police had initially been reluctant to give the pop star the kind of protection normally reserved for royalty and politicians.The Shake it Off singer finished the final leg of her globe-trotting Eras Tour with three nights at Wembley Stadium in August. The gigs happened just days after she  cancelled three planned concerts in Vienna following a failed terror plot.Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (Lucy North/PA) More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseRachel Reeves announced her fourth big tax freeze on Monday, pledging to cap corporation tax at 25 per cent for the lifetime of this parliament as she made a bold offer to the world’s largest businesses to invest in Britain.It leaves her with little space to manoeuvre in this month’s Budget, having already promised not to raise income tax, VAT, or employee contributions on national insurance.And it will increase speculation that she will try to fill a £25bn gap in her spending commitments by raising wealth taxes such as capital gains and inheritance, or employer national insurance contributions.Reeves made her big pitch to business with a fourth major tax freeze More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseSadiq Khan has piled pressure on Sir Keir Starmer over the EU single market, saying it rejoining it is “something we shouldn’t be scared to talk about”. The prime minister has ruled out a return to the common market, saying he cannot see Britain re-entering the trading agreement in his life time. Sir Keir has also made it a red line in his ongoing post-Brexit reset with Brussels. But the Mayor of London has said returning to the market should not be ruled out, despite acknolwedging there is little hope of Britain rejoining in the short term.London Mayor Sadiq Khan highlighted the importance of trade with the UK’s closest neighbours (Zac Goodwin/PA) More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseRachel Reeves has been warned that hiking employer national insurance contributions would be “a straightforward breach” of the Labour manifesto.The chancellor has been told by Paul Johnson, director of the influential Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), that the party said “very clearly” it would not make the change.Speculation has mounted that Ms Reeves is laying the groundwork to hike employer national insurance contributions while keeping the levy on employees unchanged.Paul Johnson, director of the IFS, said raising employer national insurance contributions would be a ‘straightforward breach’ of Labour’s manifesto More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseCustomers are being urged to “urgently” pressure MPs over a post-Brexit wine tax dubbed Rishi Sunak’s “sneaky Sauvignon surcharge”.Major wine companies such as Majestic have asked customers to write to their member of parliament to highlight the issue before Rachel Reeves‘ Budget at the end of this month – to “get this ill-conceived policy stopped before it is too late”.Many wine drinkers face paying more for their favourite tipple from February, as part of changes brought in after the UK left the European Union.Experts and industry leaders have also warned the Tory reforms to booze levies could see some of Britain’s favourite bottles disappear from the shelves.They say the move will raise the price of some red wines by more than 40p a bottle, as the number of tax bands for wine goes from one to 30.The reform has been opposed even by a number of leading Bexiteers, including the former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith.Experts and industry leaders have warned some of Britain’s favourite bottles could disappear from the shelves More

Keir Starmer says first 100 days in power have been a ‘bumpy road’Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseSir Keir Starmer had a playful moment with ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt today as the tech veteran said he was “shocked” at the prime minister’s drive for growth in the UK.The pair were speaking on a panel at the International Investment Summit following Sir Keir’s speech to business leaders in the audience. Tech and AI were key topics of discussion as the PM highlighted reasons to invest in the UK.It came after Sir Keir took a subtle swipe at former prime minister Boris Johnson in his speech, attempting to woo potential investors by criticising the “circus” that followed Brexit and led to less confidence in the UK.He then joked about Mr Johnson’s infamous “f*** business” comments, saying there will be no more “needlessly insulting our closest allies. And of course a few choice Anglo Saxon phrases for business.”Sir Keir Starmer also pledged to slash regulation that “needlessly holds back investment” during his speech, unveiling more than £50 billion in investment deals in AI, life sciences and infrastructure. After a chaotic first 100 days in government, Sir Keir pitched that Labour’s historic election win has given the government a “golden opportunity” to end “chop and change, policy churn and sticking plasters” that are scaring investors.Show latest update 1728902016Pinned: Ex-Google chief says ‘I was shocked when Labour became strongly in favour of growth’The former boss of Google has said he was “shocked” to hear Labour has become “strongly in favour of growth”.In a culmination of Sir Keir Starmer’s attempts to restore his party’s relationship with business, which collapsed under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, he is sat alongside the tech giant’s former CEO Eric Schmidt and GSK chief Dame Emma Walmsley pitching for investors to pile money into Britain.The PM’s inaugural investment summit, which has brought hundreds of executives from some of the world’s biggest firms to London, is a sign of how much he has changed the Labour Party since succeeding Mr Corbyn in 2020.Responding to Mr Schmidt’s apparent jibe, Sir Keir said “wealth creation is the number one mission of a Labour government”. To which Mr Schmidt replied: “Did you hear that?”It is hard to imagine a similar event taking place under Mr Corbyn’s leadership of the party, when business chiefs shunned Labour for being anti-business, something Mr Corbyn claimed was “complete nonsense”.Albert Toth14 October 2024 11:331728917127Winter fuel payment row still hangs over government after 100 daysAs Labour ministers greet business leaders with a celebratory mood, criticism continues from other sectors ahead of the new government’s first budget on 30 October.Campaigners and charities are maintaining pressure on Labour to scrap or tweak the cutback of winter fuel payments to include more pensioners, as it is feared millions could miss out.Social Affairs Correspondent Holly Bancroft speaks to a pensioner set to miss out on winter fuel help this year because she is just £3 above the weekly threshold for support. Albert Toth14 October 2024 15:451728916227Investment summit about more than Musk, Downing Street saysThe Government’s international investment summit is “not about focusing on any one specific person”, Downing Street said when asked why Tesla owner Elon Musk had not been invited.It has been suggested the billionaire was snubbed after engaging in a Twitter spat with Sir Keir Starmer during rioting in the summer, when he said demonstrators were subject to two-tier policing.Asked why Mr Musk was not attending, the PM’s official spokesman said: “This summit is not about focusing on any one specific person.“What you can see today is 300 of the most significant investors, people who can bring significant amounts of capital to the UK, attending this summit, which is obviously hugely significant.”Albert Toth14 October 2024 15:301728915347Greens criticise Labour’s deregulation driveEllie Chowns, Green Party MP for North Herefordshire, has criticised the prime minister’s promise to strip back ‘unnecessary’ regulation to boost investment.She said: “Starmer’s pledge to investors that he will “cut red tape” is a tired cliché that, in practice, too often means harming environmental standards and workers’ rights. We’ve had fourteen years of successive Conservative governments promising to “cut red tape,” and all we have to show for it is a flatlining economy and falling living standards.“If Starmer is serious about attracting investment to the UK, he will need a bolder approach that delivers on the “change” he promised in his election campaign. He could start by re-evaluating our relationship with our biggest trading partner, the European Union.”Albert Toth14 October 2024 15:151728914447Sadiq Khan: We “shouldn’t be scared” of EU single market Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is also in attendance at Labour’s International Investment Summit today, where he has spoken to reporters about Britain’s relationship with the EU.“I’m quite clear that all successful countries do the most trade with their nearest neighbours, that’s one of the signs of success,” he said.“We’ve got on our doorstep, not just friends and colleagues and family indeed, we’ve got a market of more than 500 million people.“The good news is the Prime Minister spent a lot of the last three months visiting friends in Europe, whether it’s the president of France, the prime minister of Italy, the chancellor of Germany or the European Union, indeed, in Brussels.“The current Brexit deal we have comes up before review next year. I’m hoping, unlike last time, there will be closer alignment, rather than divergence.“We should be looking at a whole host of issues and talking about them – whether it’s a youth mobility scheme, whether it’s seeing what we can do to bring people closer together.“I think the reality is, in the short term, we probably aren’t going to get back as members of the single market. But it’s something we shouldn’t be scared to talk about.”Albert Toth14 October 2024 15:001728913588Green protests outside London’s Guildhall as summit underwayWhile ministers and business leaders gather in London’s glitzy Guildhall, several protestors have gathered outside in the grey, drizzly weather.Those from the Green New Deal Rising group are calling for a wealth tax on the UK’s richest to fund green investment.“Today, we showed up at the International Investment Summit to deliver a clear message: private business won’t save us,” they wrote on Twitter / X, adding: “We need public investment for public priorities”.Another campaign group, Stop Sizewell C, is also present – protesting against the planned twin nuclear reactors in Sizewell, Suffolk.Albert Toth14 October 2024 14:461728912627No safety slips amid bonfire of red tape, Downing Street vowsDowning Street has promised the government will not let safety standards slip amid a bonfire of red tape to speed up building and planning permission.Asked how the Government would ensure consumer safety was not undermined in the context of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s conclusions on deregulation, Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesman said: “I think this exercise is about ensuring that regulators aren’t needlessly getting in the way of growth.“Clearly, there are very important examples of where regulators play a vital role in upholding high safety standards and clearly building safety is one of those examples, and you heard the prime minister speak about that recently in the Houses of Parliament.“Clearly, we are not going to compromise on those things, but it’s about striking the right balance and clearly the prime minister, the chancellor, have heard lots of feedback and representations from industry about the regulatory environment that this government has inherited and they’re determined to ensure we have a pro-business, pro-innovation regulatory environment.”Albert Toth14 October 2024 14:301728912292Government launches new Industrial StrategyAs the investment summit continues, Labour has launched a consultation into its ‘Invest 2035’ Industrial Strategy. The Green Paper sets out a 10-year plan to improve stability and investment in the UK.The foreword by Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves says: “This Industrial Strategy will provide a launchpad for businesses. It provides the firm foundation for investment businesses have told us they need. This government believes it is our role to provide the certainty that inspires confidence, allowing businesses to plan not just for the next year, but for the next 10 years and beyond.”“We will not repeat the mistakes of the past, with policy changing as fast as decision-makers.”Albert Toth14 October 2024 14:241728910827‘High-skilled’ immigration necessary for AI innovation, Starmer toldSpeaking to Sir Keir Starmer in a panel discussion, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said “A pro-growth agenda would start with high-skilled immigration, which is now in place here and should be expanded.”He adds that, as more graduates become experts in AI, it is essential the UK is able to keep home-grown experts, but also attract international talent.Speaking earlier, Sir Keir had criticised the “consequences” of Brexit, arguing that they gave the international community the impression that the UK was inward-looking and no longer interested in building relationships.Albert Toth14 October 2024 14:001728909927Elton John confirmed as summit special guestLabour ministers and summit guests will enjoy a performance from Sir Elton John later today as the event wraps up. His performance was confirmed by Sir Lucian Grange, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group.“He’s an ambassador. He wanted to be here,” says Grainge after listing off some of the UK’s best musical exports.“I wish you could see the politicians’ faces. We spend a lot of time in meetings, we don’t get out very often,” Ms Nandy jokingly told the audience.Guests will also enjoy dinner prepared by three-Michelin-starred-chef Clare Smyth at the event in St Paul’s Cathedral, where King Charles II will make an appearance.The lavish affair will perhaps raise some eyebrows given Labour’s recent row over freebies, including some ministers receiving free Taylor Swift tickets worth thousands of pounds while in opposition.Albert Toth14 October 2024 13:45 More