UK Politics

Sir Keir Starmer has warned Vladimir Putin to get serious about peace in Ukraine as he urged Western leaders to ramp up economic pressure to force him to the negotiating table. The prime minister accused the Russian leader of “playing games” over peace talks, as he prepared to host a virtual summit of around 25 countries on Saturday. The countries in the “coalition of the willing”, which include Britain, France, Australia and Canada, will discuss how to help Kyiv deter future Russian aggression in the event of any peace deal.Starmer has accused Putin of playing games More

Nigel Farage should consider sacking Reform chairman Zia Yusuf to stop the bitter feuding that threatens to destroy their party.That is the controversial message from Raheem Kassam, a close ally of Mr Farage and who is also closely linked to Donald Trump’s White House.It comes as Techne’s weekly tracker poll for The Independent has shown Reform falling to their lowest point since January in the wake of Mr Farage’s suspension of fellow Reform MP Rupert Lowe over claims that he made threats against Mr Yusuf.Mr Lowe claimed Mr Farage threw him out of Reform because he had challenged Mr Farage’s leadership, deriding him as a “Messiah.”Farage and Yusuf at a press conference More

Rachel Reeves has defended huge welfare cuts set to be unveiled next week amid reports of a cabinet backlash and claims ministers are on “resignation watch”. The chancellor said the government had to “get a grip” of spiralling costs and a “broken” system, days before Labour announces proposals which would save an estimated £5bn.Ministers are facing a rebellion from dozens of Labour MPs over the cuts, overs fears of the impact of cuts on the vulnerable and those genuinely too ill to work. Ms Reeves was challenged over her plans to slash welfare and other spending during a cabinet meeting this week, with some ministers said to be considering quitting, depending on the size of the cuts and who they affect. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is facing pressure over the cuts (Yui Mok/PA) More

With Trump’s tariffs looming, the EU has responded with retaliatory measures. But what should the UK’s approach be? Are we better or worse off outside the EU in this situation? The question is particularly pressing as Britain faces Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminium – a move that will hit British exporters hard. While the European Union has retaliated with tariffs on US goods like bourbon, the UK government has opted for a pragmatic approach, refraining from immediate retaliation in hopes of negotiating an exemption. However, with Trump threatening a 200 per cent tariff on EU wines in response to European countermeasures, the UK’s ability to avoid a trade war remains uncertain.When we asked for your views, opinion was split on Britain’s new position in global trade. Some argued that being outside the EU allows the UK to forge its own path, free from Brussels’ bureaucracy. However, others worried that going it alone weakens the country’s ability to stand up to major powers like the US and China. A poll of Independent readers found that 83 per cent of respondents believed Brexit has not made Britain stronger in global trade, while only 10 per cent said it has, with 7 per cent seeing no difference.With Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds set to visit the US for trade talks, the UK is in a precarious position. It may have escaped the EU’s trade restrictions, but it now faces the challenge of negotiating with Trump alone – without the collective strength of a larger economic bloc behind it.Here’s what you had to say:Standing firm against US tariffsI’ve read the commentaries from others regarding the “tariff war” with interest. They contain a number of valid points, in my view.My own thoughts run along the following lines:The UK needs to display a considerable measure of toughness against Trump and his sidekicks – the “tread carefully” approach isn’t going to work! How could it when we’re dealing with Trump’s mindset?The US must be made 100% aware that its totally unreasonable and bullying tactics against Europe, Canada, Japan, China, Asia, and other affected countries – plus Ukraine in particular – are completely unacceptable. Appropriate retaliatory measures will be taken against the US if this becomes necessary.JanetCUK steel and free tradeThe UK’s domestic production of steel and aluminium does not meet its consumption needs, resulting in a reliance on imports for both metals. These tariffs will therefore be beneficial to the UK, as steel and aluminium destined for the US may now find their way here. If European exporters are struggling, we should buy their blast furnaces on the cheap and produce more here. Even if this were not the case and we were a net exporter, I would never advocate for reciprocal tariffs. Just because the US wants to poke itself in the eye doesn’t mean we should. Let them raise tariffs – the UK should lead in free trade!dave80A toxic and unpredictable USAWhilst Trump and MAGA are in power, the USA has turned aggressive and toxic—and worse, unpredictable. There are good people still in the United States, so we can’t totally abandon them, and it’s true that America owns much of Britain. But we need to be more independent. Maybe some US companies could be temporarily nationalized in Britain.Reform are Putin apologists and are currently a laughingstock. Their ideas of aligning with Trump will collapse when Trump is finally impeached – which he will be. There is a gathering momentum in the States, and sadly, I think it may get really ugly. So we should keep a safe distance and plan for more independence, particularly militarily. We need direct control over our nuclear arsenal, and maybe we should integrate with France’s nuclear program. We need people working on hacking the USA’s remote control switch-off on F-35s, etc.We are in Europe and need to align more with our close neighbours. The USA is having a meltdown and is untrustworthy – so sad to see! I hope the good people in the States rise up against this criminal Putin asset, and we should offer support to that cause if anything.So withdraw the invitation – time to stop appeasing and grow a ‘Great British’ backbone.StanostromoProtecting European watersI would like to suggest that the UK withdraw its Pacific and Middle Eastern fleet and station it in the waters of north-west Europe. They could be used to protect underwater infrastructure and board ships leaving the Baltic Sea to ensure restrictions on Russian imports and exports are respected.I would expect some in the US may not appreciate being left alone in Asian and Pacific waters…OrvalBrexit and business freedomBREXIT has not made the UK stronger – it has given us more choice.The EU is over-regulated, which is strangling business and growth.Without reform of the EU, the UK has better choices for growth outside the EU bureaucracy.Jez145Stronger togetherAs the Indian chief said to his five sons:”Alone, you are like five frail fingers, easily picked off one by one by your enemies.””Together, you are like a fist – a fist your enemies fear, because they can’t subdue you.”In short: let’s rejoin and end this limbo of being outside everywhere that holds power or wealth to gain.BradSome of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity. You can read the full discussion in the comments section of the original article here.The conversation isn’t over. To join in, all you need to do is register your details, then you can take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here. More

This roundup of claims has been compiled by Full Fact, the UK’s largest fact checking charity working to find, expose and counter the harms of bad information.Hoax posts about serial killers, stabbings, injured dogs and other alarming or emotive stories are still rife in local Facebook community groups, 18 months after a major Full Fact investigation exposed the scale of the problem.Full Fact has identified at least 47 communities across the UK which were the victim of such hoaxes in February. The local Facebook groups affected ranged from those covering big cities such as Belfast, Edinburgh and Manchester to those for towns including Banbury, Melton Mowbray and Oldham.Our August 2023 investigation into this problem found hoax posts were inundating community Facebook groups across the UK with stories about alarming events supposedly taking place in the local area.We found that once hoax posts had generated engagement, the author would often edit the post, changing it into something completely different, such as a survey, property listing or advert for a cashback site. In some cases the edited posts used affiliate links (special web links which allow someone to earn a small commission for promoting a product or service).Other posts never go on to be edited and their false claims remain littered across local Facebook groups, potentially drowning out entirely genuine appeals and requests for help.Hoax posts are often shared across multiple different Facebook community groups, with only the location quoted in the text changing. Often they make emotive appeals, relating to supposedly unidentified children, elderly people or injured dogs.But in February, we also debunked several alarmist posts, the kind aimed at terrifying communities rather than generating sympathy.One such post, variations of which appeared in local Facebook groups in Milton Keynes, the Lake District and Wordsley in the West Midlands, claimed that a “serial killer” was breaking into people’s houses locally, robbing them and shooting them.Another, shown to residents in Middlesbrough and Brooklands in Greater Manchester, warned a man claiming to be homeless was knocking on people’s doors and had attacked a mother with a knife.A third, shared in Bradford and in Honiton in Devon, claimed a woman had been found stabbed by a local canal.All of these claims were false, with local police forces confirming they had no records of any such incidents. The photos used alongside the posts also originated from outside the UK and did not relate to the supposed incidents being reported.Spotting hoax posts on Facebook isn’t always easy, especially as many people do use the social network to send out entirely legitimate alerts to local communities. In 2023, Full Fact wrote a guide with seven ways to spot if a Facebook post in a local community group is a hoax.One possible warning sign that a post may be a hoax is that the comments are disabled – this means Facebook users are unable to warn others that the post is not legitimate.You should also watch out for images which don’t appear to be from the UK, such as pictures of obviously American police cars or petrol stations. And the use of language which doesn’t look like it’s from the UK can be another clue – for example, if the term ‘silver alert’ appears in UK Facebook groups. (Silver alerts are used in the US to notify the public about missing people).Full Fact has written to Meta, Facebook’s parent company, to raise concerns about the hoax posts problem and ask it to take action. We also approached Meta for comment. More

Home secretary Yvette Cooper acted unlawfully in housing three asylum seekers at a “prison-like” former RAF base, the High Court has found. Ms Cooper made “a most serious and inexplicable omission” by failing to assess the impact of housing vulnerable asylum seekers there – meaning those with special needs or disabilities potentially being accommodated at the site, the court heard.And, in a damning judgment for the government, the court found that it remains in breach of the law over a failure to fulfil its duties to migrants with special needs under the Equality Act. Care4Calais called for the site to be closed immediately More

The Education Secretary has said smartphones have “no place” in schools as she warned of the damage caused by social media and technology.Bridget Phillipson told school and college leaders that they have the Government’s “full backing” on removing disruptive phones from classrooms.Addressing the annual conference of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) in Liverpool, the Education Secretary said she had tasked officials to explore how to “more effectively monitor” what is happening in schools across England around the use of smartphones.It comes after Manny Botwe, president of the ASCL, said smartphones and social media are increasingly “being weaponised” against schools.The school leader in Macclesfield called for an end to the “chaos” caused by social media as he said it was time to bring social media platforms to “heel”.In her speech to around 1,000 school and college leaders on Friday, the Education Secretary said: “You know, we all know, that phones are disruptive, distracting, bad for behaviour. They have no place in our schools.“And the Government’s position is clear, you have our full backing in ridding our classrooms of the disruption of phones.“I know that will be the case in the overwhelming majority of all classrooms, but I expect it to be true in all classrooms.“So I tasked my officials to look at how we can more effectively monitor what’s happening on the ground.”Schools in England were given non-statutory guidance under the former Conservative government in February last year intended to stop the use of mobile phones during the school day.Speaking to the media at the conference in Liverpool, Ms Phillipson said phone use can be “a driver of poor behaviour” within classrooms and she called on school leaders to enforce existing guidance on phones.She said: “The Conservatives brought in this policy, I think it was the right approach to take, what we need to ensure is that it’s being enforced right across the country, in every classroom.“So we’ll be looking into what more data we need to gather in order to identify if it’s not happening, what more schools need to do to take action.”When asked whether parents should be stricter on restricting phone use at home, the Education Secretary said: “I know lots of parents are worried about access to inappropriate material online and what children can be exposed to. That’s why we are taking action through the Online Safety Act.”She added: “I think the evidence is increasingly clear that we shouldn’t be allowing children unrestricted access to harmful content.“There’s a role for government in that, there is a role for parents in that, and as I said in my speech, schools have a role to play during the school day.”During her speech to headteachers on Friday, Ms Phillipson also called for schools to “catch up fast” to improve pupil attendance and said she would not accept the “damage” caused by children missing school.The Education Secretary said some schools were “not making enough progress” on absences as she called for “old-fashioned graft”. More