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 moreDepictions of older people as hoarding wealth and working against the young are “ageist stereotypes” a cross-party group of MPs has said.The Women and Equalities Committee writes that the “boomers” trope, referring to those born between the mid-1940s and mid-1960s, is a “significant contributory factor to the normalisation of ageist attitudes” in the UK.A report from the group – entitled ‘The rights of older people’ – says this age group are stereotyped as a group “who hoard wealth to the disadvantage of younger people,” creating “unnecessary and unhelpful division” between generations.The Committee notes that many older people are depicted as “living comfortable lives in homes they own while younger generations struggle on low incomes, unable to afford to enter the housing market and struggling with high rents.”This is described as an “othering” narrative by the authors, and a “unique form of discrimination, as younger people essentially discriminate against their future selves.”There are 1.9 million pensioners living in poverty in the UK (Kirsty O’Connor/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’s popularity as prime minister has tanked to below the level of Boris Johnson, in a damning new poll from YouGov.The Labour leader is only ahead of Liz Truss in a list of recent prime ministers and is lagging far behind David Cameron, Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher.After seven months in power, nearly half of Britons (45 per cent) now say that Mr Blair did a better job as prime minister than Sir Keir, according to the poll.Voters also favour Gordon Brown’s tenure in Downing Street over Starmer’s by a margin of 42 per cent to 12 per cent.The Iron Lady is the Conservative prime minister judged to have performed better than Sir Keir by the largest margin, with 44 per cent of Britons seeing her premiership as better than Starmer’s.Boris Johnson, who was embroiled in the Partygate scandal during the Covid pandemic, is also shading Sir Keir in the polling by 3 per cent.Nearly half of Britons (45%) say that Blair was a better prime minister than Starmer 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’s business secretary has been accused of fabricating his CV, after saying he was a solicitor despite never qualifying. Jonathan Reynolds, who never finished his training contract because he quit to stand for parliament in 2010, claimed on his old constituency website that he worked as a solicitor at the Manchester branch of the law firm Addleshaw Goddard before becoming an MP.In 2014, during a speech on a piece of transport legislation, he told the House of Commons he “worked as a solicitor in Manchester city centre”. His LinkedIn profile also previously stated he was both a “trainee solicitor” and “solicitor” with an overlap in dates. The profile has since been updated. Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick claimed Mr Reynolds had “fabricated his CV” but Labour sources argued the website entry was a “human error from his office”. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds 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 moreA civil servant who lost her job after blowing the whistle about the UK’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan has won her case for unfair dismissal against the government. Josie Stewart, a former senior official who had worked at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for seven years, lost her job after giving an anonymous interview to BBC Newsnight which saw her speak about her “traumatic experiences” working in the Afghanistan Crisis Centre in summer 2021. Following the Taliban gaining control of Afghanistan, the British government evacuated 15,000 people from Kabul in what was known as Operation Pitting.Ms Stewart’s security clearance was revoked and she subsequently lost her job after it emerged she revealed failings in the withdrawal from Kabul, as well as leaking emails suggesting that former prime minister Boris Johnson had prioritised staff from the animal charity Nowzad for evacuation over more deserving cases.Josie Stewart 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 moreBritons have been warned by a senior MP not to holiday in Iran “because they think it looks cool on Instagram” after a British couple were detained in the country.Shadow home office minister Alicia Kearns issued the travel warning after Craig and Lindsay Foreman were arrested while on a round-the-world motorcycle trip and charged with espionage.The former chair of the foreign affairs committee told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday: “The priority is people need to listen to the travel advice. It is not safe for British nationals, most certainly not dual nationals, to travel to Iran.“I beg anyone who is thinking of doing it, either because they think it looks cool on Instagram, or because it’s a country that – look, I would love to visit as well, beautiful people – please do not go. The risks are really high – you don’t have to have a reputation or a history or an Iranian passport as well to be at risk. Please do not travel.”Ms Kearns, who led the foreign affairs committee’s report into the UK’s response to hostage-taking, called for specific information to be added to the travel advice page for every country on whether there is a high risk of arbitrary detention there, as was advised by her inquiry – “because unfortunately it’s not even countries you would think of where there’s a risk”. Shadow home office minister Alicia Kearns has urged Britons not to holiday in Iran ‘because they think it looks cool on Instagram’ 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 has found himself in a row with the most senior judge in England and Wales after criticising an immigration decision at last week’s Prime Minister’s Questions. A judge had granted a Palestinian family the right to remain in Britain after they applied through a scheme designed for Ukrainian refugees, which both the prime minister and Conservative leader said was “wrong.”The Lady Chief Justice said she was “deeply troubled” about the remarks, adding that “both question and the answer” from Sir Keir and Mrs Badenoch were unacceptable.But hitting back on Tuesday evening, the prime minister repeated his previous comments that it was “for Parliament to make laws and for the government to decide policy”.“Where the law is not working as we think it should be, the government will take action to tighten up the rules – and that is what we are doing,” a government spokesman said.The lady chief justice, said she was “deeply troubled” about last Wednesday’s Commons session 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 moreDonald Trump’s assault on workers should be “cautionary tale” for Britain, the UK’s leading trade union official has warned, amid the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform. Trade Union Congress (TUC) general secretary Paul Nowak said the president’s actions have shown that people considering supporting Reform UK could lose their jobs if Mr Farage were to follow his lead on rolling back workers’ rights should he become prime minister.Mr Nowak will be taking his warning to a major summit in Washington DC just a short distance from the White House as he plans a fightback against Reform’s surge in the UK polls.The TUC leader is in Washington at the World Bank HQ for a major event held by the IMF, World Bank and ITUC, bringing together leaders from the global union movement and senior officials from international financial institutions. It comes as he and other trade union leaders begin a fightback against “rightwing populism” which has seen Trump take the White House, Farage’s Reform UK surge to the top of the polls, and the far right Alternative for Germany looking set to become the second biggest party in Germany.Trump and Farage are close allies 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 moreRussia and the United States shook hands today on an agreement to resume full diplomatic relations and establish Ukraine peace talks, cementing an extraordinary reversal of international policy under Donald Trump’s presidency.US secretary of state Marco Rubio greeted his smiling counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh and said ending the war could open “incredible opportunities that exist to partner with the Russians geopolitically on issues of common interest and, frankly, economically”.Immediately, Russia hardened its demands even further over Ukraine, dismissing the idea put forward by Sir Keir Starmer of British or other Nato-led peacekeeping troops in the event of a truce.“We explained today that the appearance of armed forces from … Nato countries, but under a false flag, under the flag of the European Union or under national flags, does not change anything,” Lavrov said. “This is unacceptable to us.”The talks in Saudi Arabia – unthinkable even six months ago – were aimed as a step toward ending Russia’s war in Ukraine after Mr Trump ordered officials to begin negotiations.Mr Rubio said the sides agreed as a first step to re-establish full staffing of their respective embassies, reversing the expulsions that followed Mr Putin’s invasion.He said those moves had “really diminished our ability to operate in Moscow” and that Russia would say the same about its mission in Washington. “We’re going to need to have vibrant diplomatic missions that are able to function normally,” he said.Mr Lavrov said that “the conversation was very useful”.The comments were likely to cause dismay in Europe, where leaders met in Paris on Monday to discuss Mr Trump’s desire to end US transatlantic security guarantees.Ukraine was shut out of Tuesday’s meeting in the Saudi capital.President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has already said his country will not accept the outcome of any talks it has not taken part in, was visiting Turkey where he reiterated his demand for a full return to 2014 borders, before the annexation of Crimea.“No matter how difficult it is for us, Ukraine will not legally recognise the parts occupied by Russia,” he told reporters. “The east is ours, Crimea is ours and all the other towns and villages that are important for us.”Kyiv’s participation in such talks was a bedrock of US policy under Mr Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, whose administration also led international efforts to isolate Russia over the war.White House officials have rejected the claim Europe has been left out of the conversation, noting that administration officials have spoken to several leaders.The meeting at the Diriyah Palace also highlights de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to be a major diplomatic player, burnishing a reputation severely tarnished by the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.Saudi state media described the talks as happening at the prince’s direction. Saudi Arabia has also helped in prisoner negotiations and hosted Mr Zelensky for an Arab League summit in 2023.However, Mr Zelensky on Tuesday cancelled a visit to the kingdom planned for later this week.Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report More