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 moreCloseThe government has dropped official opposition to the introduction of a four-day working week by a local council – a move which could pave the way for other local authorities to do the same.The previous Conservative government objected to the plans by South Cambridgeshire District Council after it was introduced in 2023. But local government secretary Angela Rayner has criticised the previous administration for “micromanaging” local authorities over the policy.The four-day working week continued past the end of its trial period in March this year as the council awaited information from ministers.While it is not official government policy to support a four-day working week – and the government has no plans to consider such a move – ministers are no longer objecting to it.A letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to the Cambridgeshire authority on Friday said councils are “rightly responsible for the management and organisation of their own workforces”.The government is no longer objecting to a local council’s four day working week policy 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 NHS has been warned it is “drinking in the last chance saloon” and must end its culture of asking for more money, by Labour’s top health advisor.In the Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced what she called the biggest real-terms increase in day-to-day NHS spending since 2010 – outside the Covid pandemic – providing £22.6 billion for the health service along with another £3.1 billion of capital investment.Alan Milburn, former secretary of state for health who had success slashing waiting times under Tony Blair, will return in a role as Wes Streeting’s key adviser on reform, making him lead non-executive director of the Department of Health.He told The Times: “The NHS is in the worst state I’ve ever seen and I’ve been around health policy now for 30 years. I genuinely think it’s drinking in the last-chance saloon.”“Keir [Starmer] has got religion on public-service reform,” Milburn said. “He knows that … when you put that amount of money in, you better make sure that every pound of it is working to produce better outcomes for patients.”It came as a BBC investigation found senior consultants earning the most were more likely to be part-time, which means they can work overtime for rates of £200 an hour – more than four times normal pay.The BBC found that Medway NHS Foundation Trust paid one radiologist more than £200,000 – almost twice the average basic pay for a full-time consultant in England.Mr Milburn called for a “culture of change” in the health service, adding: “People have got to stop thinking that the answer to the NHS problem is simply more and more money.”Mr Streeting is expected to announce “tough reforms to the way the NHS is run” next week to make sure every extra pound set out in the Budget is well spent.Mr Milburn said the current health secretary would go “further and faster” than New Labour had, adding: “The NHS has got to be weaned off the ‘more, more, more’ culture, and it’s got to recognise that if you’re going to do big dollops of resources, then that has got to be matched by a massive dose of reform.”He added the United Kingdom needed “a Dunkirk-spirit moment for the NHS, where the whole nation pulls together”. 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 moreCloseSir Keir Starmer’s new national security adviser wrote an article a year ago in which he recommended a “more relaxed attitude” to engaging with terrorist groups.Jonathan Powell, who was Tony Blair’s chief of staff during the last Labour government, was appointed to the crucial role by Sir Keir after the prime minister ditched Rishi Sunak’s choice, vice-chief of the defence staff General Gwyn Jenkins.Mr Powell comes to the role from negotiating the controversial handover of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius, but also brings a great deal of experience to the job.As Mr Blair’s chief of staff, he played a critical role in bringing about the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland and ending the Troubles there.Jonathan Powell, who served in Tony Blair’s New Labour government, brings a great deal of experience to the role 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 moreCloseKeir Starmer has been warned that he must prioritise attempts to reset Britain’s relationship with the EU and unpick the trade barriers created by leaving if he wants to offset the impact of the tariffs Donald Trump has threatened to impose.With Mr Trump re-elected to the White House and intending to impose protectionist tariffs to protect sectors of the US economy, there are fears that not only will the policy wipeout the UK’s hopes for economic growth but could see the economy shrinking.Foreign secretary David Lammy, who has attempted to dismiss any ill feeling he may have created between the Labour government and Trump White House with his historic tweets calling the president-elect a “neo Nazi”, has also warned against US trade tariffs.Mr Lammy told the BBC’s Newscast: “We will seek to ensure and to get across to the United States – and I believe that they would understand this – that hurting your closest allies cannot be in your medium or long-term interests, whatever the pursuit of public policy in relation to some of the problems posed by China.”Trump could impose tariffs (Niall Carson/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 moreCloseKeir Starmer has been warned a trade deal with Donald Trump risks selling out farmers already infuriated by his ‘tractor tax’.When he was last in office the new president enthusiastically embraced the idea of a post-Brexit free trade deal with the UK, but US sources have always made clear it would have to include agriculture – a key sticking point given controversial US farming methods including washing chicken in chlorine. Former Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls said that to clinch the deal, Sir Keir would have to be willing to say to British farmers “you’re gonna have to pay a price” at a time when they are already furious with the government. On Wednesday Rachel Reeves rejected an alternative proposal to her inheritance tax raid on family farms, which farmers have dubbed “cruel” and warned will spell the end of their industry.Prime minister Keir Starmer (L) and Donald Trump after assassination attempt (R) 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 moreCloseAndy Burnham has hit out at Donald Trump as Labour’s divisions over his return to the White House become increasingly public.Sir Keir Starmer has already been warned not to roll out the red carpet for Mr Trump in the UK, as the government attempts to build bridges with the president-elect.Sir Keir sent his “hearty” congratulations on Wednesday, in a move seen as designed to smooth tensions after the Trump campaign accused Labour of interfering in the election in a row over activists campaigning for the Democrats.The foreign secretary David Lammy was also forced to try to dampen speculation of a rift with Mr Trump, after his comments branding the president-elect “a racist KKK and Nazi sympathiser” resurfaced. Asked about the result, Mr Burnham spoke of his “concerns” and said his city “won’t compromise our principles”. Labour mayor Andy Burnham struck a different tone to Keir 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.CloseRead moreCloseKemi Badenoch has cut into Keir Starmer’s poll lead in her first week as Conservative Party leader, closing the gap by two points.The Techne UK weekly tracker poll for The Independent has revealed in the week since she took over from Rishi Sunak, Ms Badenoch has increased the Conservative support by one point to 25 per cent while Labour has fallen a point to 29 per cent reducing the gap from six points to four.It comes in a difficult week for Sir Keir’s government with continued anger over the £40 billion of tax rises in the Budget particularly the farm land inheritance tax raid and increase in employer contributions to national insurance.Badenoch made a strong start at PMQs More