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 moreCloseRachel Reeves has admitted her tax-grabbing Budget will hit the pay packets of working people as the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) accused her of undermining trust in politicians.The chancellor was forced to accept that her decision to hike employers’ national insurance contributions would lead to workers being paid less.But, in a damning assessment of Ms Reeves’s claims to have protected workers in Wednesday’s Budget, IFS director Paul Johnson said she risked “further undermining trust” and that the measures would not raise “anything like” the £25bn the Treasury hopes.“How the Budget red book can include the sentence ‘the government is not increasing the basic, higher or additional rates of income tax, national insurance contributions or VAT’ is beyond me,” Mr Johnson said.Meanwhile, the Office for Budget Responsibility has predicted the government’s spending measures will only provide a temporary boost to GDP.The watchdog forecast downgrades in subsequent years, and said the Budget measures will add to pressure on inflation and interest rates.Labour’s general election manifesto promised not to raise the taxes in a bid to protect “working people”, which a series of ministers and Sir Keir Starmer went on to struggle to define.But, on Wednesday, Ms Reeves hiked employers’ national insurance contributions from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent, something she argued does not breach the commitment because it does not show up on employees’ payslips.Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves visited University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire on Thursday 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 bookmakers and many observers have almost given up on the Tory leadership final as a contest, with Kemi Badenoch now the firm favourite to replace Rishi Sunak.But history shows that Tory leadership elections are often far from predictable – whether it is in the early rounds where MPs wittle down the contenders to two, or the final run-off, where party members have their say.Ms Badenoch’s rival, Robert Jenrick, only made it to the final because of some clever tactics in persuading MPs to switch to him from former home secretary James Cleverly. He also was perceived to come off badly in the debate on GB News and a recent ConHome poll suggested Ms Badenoch had the backing of 55 per cent to his 31 per cent.It all appears to be in the bag for Ms Badenoch, but despite that there are a number of reasons Mr Jenrick’s supporters are still very confident.Tory leadership candidate Robert Jenrick ishoping to pull off an upset (Jacob King/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 moreClose Voting closed Thursday in the months-long contest to lead Britain’s Conservative Party after its crushing election defeat, with the result due to be announced on Saturday.Tens of thousands of members of the right-of-center party were eligible to vote in the runoff between lawmakers Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick.In a race that has lasted more than three months, Conservative lawmakers reduced the field from six candidates in a series of votes before putting the final two to the wider party membership.Both candidates say they think the contest is close, but no reliable polling is available. The party also does not disclose how many members it has, though the figure was about 172,000 in 2022, disproportionately affluent, older white men.The party is choosing a leader to replace former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who in July led the Conservatives to their worst election result since 1832. The Conservatives lost more than 200 seats, taking their tally down to 121.The winner’s daunting task will be to try to restore the party’s reputation after years of division, scandal and economic tumult, hammer Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s policies on key issues including the economy and immigration, and return the Conservatives to power at the next election, due by 2029.Badenoch, 44, was born in London to Nigerian parents and would be the first Black woman to lead a major British political party. A former software engineer, she depicts herself as a disruptor, arguing for a low-tax, free-market economy and pledging to “rewire, reboot and reprogram” the British state. A critic of multiculturalism and self-proclaimed enemy of wokeness, Badenoch recently said that “not all cultures are equally valid.”Jenrick, 42, is a former moderate who opposed Brexit in Britain’s 2016 referendum on European Union membership but has become more sharply nationalist. He wants to take Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights, scrap the U.K.’s own Human Rights Act, end mass migration, abolish carbon-emissions targets and “stand for our nation and our culture, our identity and our way of life.”Jenrick and Badenoch both come from the right of the party and say they can win voters back from Reform U.K., the hard-right, anti-immigrant party led by populist politician Nigel Farage that has eaten away at Conservative support.But the party also lost many voters to the winning party, Labour, and the centrist Liberal Democrats, and some Conservatives worry that tacking right will lead the party away from public opinion. The party’s last contested leadership selection, when it was in power in mid-2022, saw members choose Liz Truss over Sunak. Truss resigned as prime minister after just 49 days in office when her tax-cutting plans rocked the financial markets and battered the value of the pound. The party then picked Sunak to replace her. More

Rachel Reeves admits autumn Budget likely to hit pay for workersYour 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 moreCloseRachel Reeves Budget measures mean that by 2028 weekly wages will have grown by £13 pounds over the last twenty years, an economic think-tank has said.The Resolution Foundation has warned that the pay outlook is “dire” and many UK workers will not feel any better off by the end of this Parliament.Mike Brewer, Interim Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: “The short-term effect of these changes will be better funded public services.He added: “But families are also set for a further squeeze on living standards as the rise in employer National Insurance dampens wage growth.”It comes as the IFS has warned that Ms Reeves long term spending plans are as unrealistic as the Tories.IFS director Paul Johnson said that Ms Reeves’ current plans mean a 4.3 per cent jump in spending next year, 2.6 per cent the year after and then 1.3 per cent in each of the following years.Mr Johnson said: “I’m afraid this looks like the same silly games playing as we got used to with the last lot. Pencil in implausibly low spending increases for the future in order to make the fiscal arithmetic balance.”Show latest update 1730386029Labour MPs showed ‘unreality’ in reaction to Budget, says Tory MPLabour MPs showed “a complete lack of unreality” in their reaction to the Budget, Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin has said.Speaking in the Commons he said: “When I say that this is happening in a political bubble, it was ironic that the biggest cheer from the Labour benches yesterday seemed to be for the 1p cut in draught beer duty.“But I have spoken to people in the hospitality industry since the Chancellor sat down yesterday, and they described this as a shattering Budget, because of course what publicans and restaurateurs will have to pay their staff and pay for their staff massively dwarfs any benefit that they could possibly hand on to their customers by a 1p duty cut.“And in fact, most of the cost of the increases in beer that we will see as a result of this Budget are as a direct consequence of the tax increases that are being inflicted on business as a result of this Budget.“So I’m afraid those cheers demonstrate a complete lack of unreality about the world that we’re in.”Joe Middleton31 October 2024 14:471730384725Meet the parents taking the government to court over VAT on private schoolsIt was the manifesto promise made a reality in the first Labour Budget for 14 years, but will a legal challenge from anxious parents force a U-turn? Zoë Beaty reportsJoe Middleton31 October 2024 14:251730383056Increasing minimum wage will make it harder for young people to get jobs, former Tory minister claimsIncreasing the national minimum wage for young adults will make it harder for them to get jobs, a Conservative former minister has told the Commons.Sir John Whittingdale said: “If you increase the cost of employing people, it can have only two consequences, one is lower wages and the other is fewer jobs. And in each of those cases, that is going to hit working people.“The decision to increase the national minimum wage for young adults, a 16% increase, that will simply have a consequence that it will be even harder for those people to find jobs.”The MP for Maldon also criticised the Government’s plans to impose VAT on private school fees, adding that parents in his constituency who send their children to private schools “are not rich, they make huge sacrifices”.He went on to say: “The consequence is the children will need to be placed in state schools which are already under huge pressure, my constituency is growing rapidly, there is enormous pressure on schools and this is simply going to make it worse.Joe Middleton31 October 2024 13:571730382603To the less well off, Reeves giveth… from the rich, she surely taketh awayThere was one big loser in Rachel Reeves’s historic tax-hiking Budget – the wealthy individuals who are going to have to pay for it all, says Chris BlackhurstJoe Middleton31 October 2024 13:501730380534Keir Starmer creates new ‘Europe Hub’ as PM eyes closer ties with EU post-BrexitThe Home Office is creating a new “Europe Hub” as part of Sir Keir Starmer’s drive for closer ties with the European Union.The new unit, which will sit within the International Strategy, Engagement and Devolution Directorate, will reportedly be led by Dan Hobbs, director general of the Migration and Borders Group.Civil servants have been told the department will have responsibility for “ensuring that our strategic approach to this work is coherent, working collaboratively across the department”.Joe Middleton31 October 2024 13:151730379634Watch: Rachel Reeves appears to say Kemi Badneoch already Tory leaderRachel Reeves appears to say Kemi Badneoch already Tory leaderJoe Middleton31 October 2024 13:001730378734GB News fined £100,000 by Ofcom for breaking impartiality rules over Rishi Sunak interviewGB News has been fined £100,000 by Ofcom after it was found to have broken impartiality rules in an interview with Rishi Sunak earlier this year.The media watchdog concluded that the channel had given the then prime minister a “mostly uncontested platform” to promote the policies and performance of his government as he answered questions put to him by a studio audience and a presenter.Ofcom began the investigation into GB News three days after the airing of a programme on February 12, titled People’s Forum: The Prime Minister.Joe Middleton31 October 2024 12:451730377208NHS workload likely to go up not down, says StarmerThe NHS’ workload is “likely to go up, not down”, Sir Keir Starmer said, as he hinted at reforms the government might make to assist healthcare staff.At a Q&A in the West Midlands, the PM said: “I also want to be honest with you, we are going to be asking more of you. There’s no point me standing here and saying your workload will go down.“The whole point is people are living longer. They’ve got more conditions, what the NHS is facing now is different to what it was facing in the post-war period, your workload is likely to go up, not down.”The Prime Minister signalled administrative change was among the reforms he was planning, including “making sure that AI and technology is your friend” to prevent duplication of records.Rachel Reeves, meanwhile, criticised the previous government for “always raiding the capital budgets” and taking funding away from investment.The chancellor said: “We have got to make those longer-term investments to drive those productivity and efficiency reforms as well.”Joe Middleton31 October 2024 12:201730376242PM and chancellor talking to staff at University Hospitals Coventry and WarwickshireThe prime minister and chancellor are talking to staff at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire.Sir Keir was thanked for the extra NHS funding by Dr Amy Burridge, a consultant in acute medicine, but she asked how that income could deal with staffing gaps and burnoutSir Keir said the first thing his government would provide was a “mindset change” from the Tories, who he said “blamed” NHS staff for problems in the service.He said the Government would “really go much much faster on the technology that you need to take some of the weight off”.The PM added: “Look, I’m not going to pretend that by next week it will all be fixed, because too many politicians have done that.“It is going to take time, but what we did in the Budget yesterday is the first step, the down payment if you like, down that road, to make sure that you can do your jobs better and we can have the NHS that we need.”( 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 and Rachel Reeves deliver remarks during a visit to the West Midlands after the Budget announcement on Wednesday.The chancellor has unveiled Labour’s first Budget in 14 years, making history as the first woman to lead the fiscal event.Ms Reeves had made no secret of the difficult task she faced, with her announcement set against the backdrop of the £22bn ‘black hole’ in public finances she says was left behind by the previous Tory government.She revealed new taxation measures that aim to raise £40bn — the highest since 1993 — including an increase in employer national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, and changes to inheritance tax.On Thursday, Ms Reeves admitted the employer national insurance increase could hit workers’ pay.Asked whether the move is a jobs tax which will take money out of people’s pockets, the chancellor told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “This will have an impact in wage growth, for example.“Look, what alternative was there? We had a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.”She later added: “I did not want to increase the key taxes that working people pay: income tax, VAT and employee national insurance. So we have increased national insurance on employers.” 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 Home Office is creating a new “Europe Hub” as part of Sir Keir Starmer’s drive for closer ties with the European Union.The new unit, which will sit within the International Strategy, Engagement and Devolution Directorate, will reportedly be led by Dan Hobbs, director general of the Migration and Borders Group.Civil servants have been told the department will have responsibility for “ensuring that our strategic approach to this work is coherent, working collaboratively across the department”.According to the Guido Fawkes website, Home Office permanent secretary Matthew Rycroft said: “With shared global challenges in areas such as irregular migration, a strong UK-EU alliance is vital.The Home Office is creating a new ‘Europe Hub’ as part of Sir Keir Starmer’s drive for closer ties with the European Union 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 moreCloseJeremy Hunt has confirmed he is stepping down from the Conservative frontbench, calling for his party to be “humble” following July’s election defeat. The decision comes just hours before the Tory leadership race comes to an end, with polls closing at 5pm on Thursday.On Saturday morning, either Robert Jenrick or Kemi Badenoch will be crowned the new party leader.Mr Hunt, who served as chancellor under Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government and is currently the shadow chancellor, confirmed he will be stepping back from the role following Wednesday’s budget. He said he is unlikely to return to the frontbenches for “the next few years, at least”. Shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt (Lucy North/PA) More