UK Politics

Two British women born on the Chagos Islands are set to bring legal action against the UK Government, saying the territory should remain in UK hands and not be given over to Mauritius.Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe, who were both born on Diego Garcia, have launched legal action against the Foreign Office, contesting the proposed transfer agreement.Central to their case is the right to return to their birthplace. Chagossians were forcibly removed from the islands by 1973 to make way for a US-UK military base, and there is currently restricted access to the islands, with permits required for travel.The proposed agreement includes a lease-back arrangement for the base on Diego Garcia, funded by British taxpayers.While seemingly endorsed by US President Donald Trump, the deal faces resistance from the Conservative party. Lawyers representing the two women have sent a pre-action letter to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), asserting that the Chagossian people have shut out of the conversation about the future of the islands, despite being the native inhabitants.Bertrice Pompe is one of two women launching legal action against the UK government over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands More

Rachel Reeves is preparing to axe a significant number of regulators, as the government continues its war on red tape.It comes as part of an attempt to kickstart economic growth and “free businesses from the shackles of regulation”, the chancellor said. Regulators have been summoned to Downing Street on Monday for a meeting with Ms Reeves, where she is expected to announce more detail on how the government will cut the cost of regulation by a quarter and set out plans to slim down or abolish the bodies themselves.The meeting follows the announcement last week that NHS England – dubbed the world’s largest quango – would be scrapped as part of efforts to cut costs and boost economic growth.Rachel Reeves has said she wants to ‘free businesses from the shackles of regulation’ More

Rachel Reeves may be forced to raise taxes to plug holes in Britain’s public finances, a leading think tank has warned, after the government failed to rule out watering down plans to slash the benefits bill. It comes ahead of the chancellor’s spring statement on March 26, where she is expected to make a raft of public spending savings to make up for tightening fiscal headroom and balance the books.Initial reports had suggested that Personal Independence Payments (PIP) would be frozen from rising in line with inflation for a year, but the plan has been met with strong opposition – and is now expected to be dropped. Rachel Reeves said the current welfare system is not working (Peter Cziborra/PA) More

Two tales of maverick MPs, both incredibly popular with the party membership but both forced out because they represented a challenge to the leader’s authority and were considered too outspoken and too rightwing.One man links both those tales – Ashfield MP Lee Anderson. In 2024 he was the maverick MP ousted from Rishi Sunak’s Tories by an unbending chief whip. But in 2025 he is the party chief whip forcing the latest outspoken right winger Rupert Lowe out of Reform.By chance, memories of his painful episode with the Conservatives have been replayed in detail with the publication of the diaries of Rishi Sunak’s former Tory chief whip Simon Hart entitled “Ungovernable: Diaries of a Chief Whip”.Farage embraced Anderson as a Reform MP More

At least 44 fires have broken out in the Houses of Parliament over the past decade, with more than 1,000 incidents of asbestos uncovered, figures have shown. Concerns have been raised repeatedly that the iconic Westminster building could face a Notre-Dame style blaze if restoration work is not completed, with four fires in 2024 alone.However, plans to restore the Palace of Westminster are likely to cost billions, with the fastest option likely to take more than a decade and would consist of both the House of Lords and Commons relocating on a temporary basis. Details of the toxic materials were released to Labour peer Peter Hain, which showed that asbestos had been found in 1,057 items. Plans to restore the building cost billions of pounds (John Walton/PA) More

The Tory Party is calling for a ban on phones in schools, after admitting guidance issued under former prime minister Rishi Sunak hasn’t worked. The Conservatives are expected to push for MPs to be given a vote on banning the devices in schools this week, by attempting to amend Labour’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to include the ban.The previous Conservative government issued non-statutory guidance to schools in England intended to stop the use of mobile phones during break and lunch periods in schools, as well as in lessons.But on Sunday, shadow education secretary Laura Trott admitted the guidance “hasn’t worked”. “Now it is time to make it law”, she said. “When I go into schools, headteachers are asking for this. Shadow education secretary Laura Trott More

Nigel Farage reportedly met with Brexit architect Dominic Cummings as Reform UK attempts to pick itself back up after an explosive row with one of its own MPs. Despite the pair having once been bitter political enemies, Mr Farage and Mr Cummings are said to have discussed how to tackle civil service bureaucracy – an issue figures on the right have blamed for problems in government. It comes after the Met Police launched an investigation into suspended Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe, who was stripped of the whip amid allegations he made “verbal threats” against Zia Yousaf, the party’s chairman – allegations Mr Lowe denies.At the time, he dismissed them as “vexatious” and suggested he had been stitched up by the party leadership, including Nigel Farage.Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (Jordan Pettitt/PA) More