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      Wes Streeting vows to begin negotiations with junior doctors next week in first act as health secretary

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      Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorNew health secretary Wes Streeting has announced talks next week with junior doctors to negotiate an end to strikes as his first act in office.Following a landslide Labour win in the general election, Wes Streeting was appointed the Department for Health and Social Care’s new health secretary, as was expected. He takes over the office as the NHS faces ongoing junior doctors strikes and an NHS waiting list of 7.57 million. In his first statement as health secretary on Friday he said: “I have just spoken over the phone with the British Medical Association junior doctors committee, and I can announce that talks to end their industrial action will begin next week.“We promised during the campaign that we would begin negotiations as a matter of urgency, and that is what we are doing.”Mr Streeting has previously been clear he could not cave to junior doctors’ requests for a 35 per cent pay rise, but promised to open negotiations with the BMA when in office.His statement added: “When we said during the election campaign, that the NHS was going through the biggest crisis in its history, we meant it.Wes Streeting, left, has been handed one of the most challenging ministerial roles in the cabinet More

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      Who is in Keir Starmer’s new Labour Cabinet Office?

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      Sir Keir Starmer got straight to work assembling his Cabinet Office after promising to rebuild trust in politics and restore hope to the nation after a landslide Labour victory in the general election.Rachel Reeves has been confirmed as Britain’s first woman chancellor of the Exchequer, Angela Rayner is Sir Keir’sdeputy prime minister and retained the levelling up, housing and communities brief, and Yvette Cooper is home secretary.David Lammy takes the roll of foreign secretary.The Independent takes a closer look at the team at the top More

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      Rachel Reeves makes pledge as she’s appointed first female chancellor of the Exchequer

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      Britain’s first female chancellor of the Exchequer described the appointment as “the honour of my life” and a sign for all women and girls that there should be “no limit to your ambitions.”In a post on X, and in a speech followering her Cabinet appointment on Friday (5 July), Rachel Reeves said: “It is the honour of my life to have been appointed chancellor of the Exchequer.“Economic growth was the Labour Party’s mission. It is now a national mission.“Let’s get to work.”She added: “To every young girl and woman reading this, let today show that there should be no limit to your ambitions.” More

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      Nigel Farage targeted by hecklers during first speech as MP after Reform victory

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      Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorNigel Farage’s victory press conference was targeted by hecklers who accused him of being no friend to working people after his Reform party won four seats at Westminster overnight. A total of seven people had to be escorted out of the venue. As one man started shouting at him, Mr Farage, famously a large drinker, asked him: “Are you downwind a couple already? You’ve had a bigger lunch than I have.”He also questioning if they were actors – a nod to a Reform canvasser filmed using a racial slur to describe now former prime minister Rishi Sunak.Nigel Farage outlined his desire to make changes to the party during his speech More

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      Rachel Reeves becomes first female chancellor and Rayner deputy PM as Starmer appoints top team

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      Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer has made Rachel Reeves Britain’s first female chancellor as he appoints his new cabinet to get on with the job quickly.One of his easiest appointments for the new prime minister was Ms Reeves as his new chancellor. She played a major role in the campaign and as a former Bank of England economist has helped bring economic credibility back to Labour from the wreckage of the Jeremy Corbyn years.She is the first female to hold the second most important role in governent in 708 years of the office being in existance.Reeves is Britain’s first female chancellor More

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      Andy Burnham revels in moment Jacob Rees-Mogg loses seat: ‘He’s been battered’

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      Andy Burnham appeared to enjoy the moment Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg lost his seat in the general election, suggesting the former Tory cabinet minister had been “battered”.The 55-year-old Arch-Brexiteer was defeated by Labour’s Dan Norris in the new North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.Mr Norris won 20,739 votes compared to 15,420 for Sir Jacob.As the result was broadcast on Sky News on Friday morning (5 July), Mr Burnham celebrated.“That’s ‘Mogg-xit’ – he’s gone,” the Mayor of Greater Manchester said.“He’s been battered and he deserves to be. He has no clue what he has inflicted on people.” More

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      The 2024 General Election in numbers: From historic results to huge vote swings

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      Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorThe dust has pretty much settled on this year’s UK general election, with the polls closing at 10pm on Thursday and virtually all votes counted overnight.Labour has secured a historic win with a significant majority – though less than some polls predicted – while the Conservatives have suffered their lowest-ever number of seats since 1832. See the latest seat count and constituencies declared live here. But with some surprising twists and dramatic seats on knife-edge losses, let’s dive into the general election by numbers. 1. Labour gained at least 211 seats — but just 1.6 per cent increase in share of the voteThough pollsters were predicting a large Labour majority in both seats and vote share, Sir Keir Starmer’s party has not managed to move the needle far when it comes to its proportion of national votes overall. Due to lower turnout, Labour won less votes than last election, at 9.7 million compared to 10.3 million in 2019.Labour’s total vote share sits at 33.8 per cent, a minute increase from 32.2 per cent in 2019, and well below the Tories’ 43.6 per cent in the last election. Nonetheless Labour has won at least 412 seats, an increase of 211 from 2019. ( More

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      ‘Like bald men arguing over a comb’: ‘Fed up’ Tory MP savages party following election defeat

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      The first senior Tory to lose a seat in the general election launched a brutal attack on his party during during a live BBC interview.Sir Robert Buckland slammed Conservative colleagues for saying “stupid” and “inflammatory” things during an interview on Thursday night (4 July).The former Justice Secretary lost to Labour’s Heidi Alexander, who won a majority of 9,606 and wiped out Sir Robert’s majority of more than 6,000 in Swindon South.Speaking to the BBC after his loss, Sir Robert said: “I’m fed up of personal agendas, and jockeying for position. The truth is now with the Conservatives facing this electoral Armageddon, it will be like a group of bald men arguing over a comb.” More