UK Politics

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 ThomasEditorAnas Sarwar has said the two child benefit cap implemented by the previous Conservative government was “wrong” and has urged Sir Keir Starmer’s government to scrap it.The Scottish Labour leader said that ditching the cap, which has been described by campaigners as “cruel”, would depend on being able to grow the economy.However, he insisted that his party would be “pushing at an open door” for abolition of the policy that was introduced by George Osborne in 2017 and restricts Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit to the first two children in most households.Neither the Conservatives nor Labour committed to scrapping the cap in their general election manifestos. Sir Keir said it was a “tough decision” not to promise to scrap it but said he would not make “unfunded promises”.Mr Sarwar told the Daily Record: “We will continue to push for it to happen and we want to make sure we’re part of helping create the economic conditions to make that happen.“But I honestly believe we are pushing at an open door. This is a government that wants to do even more than it promised to do, but we’re going to do it in the right way.”Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer (right) and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar during an event in Edinburgh to welcome new Labour MPs in Scotland, following Labour’s victory in the 2024 general election More

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 ThomasEditorMicrosoft has relinquished its seat on the board of OpenAI, saying its participation is no longer needed because the ChatGPT maker has improved its governance since being roiled by boardroom chaos last year. In a Tuesday letter, Microsoft confirmed it was resigning, “effective immediately,” from its role as an observer on the artificial intelligence company’s board. “We appreciate the support shown by OpenAI leadership and the OpenAI board as we made this decision,” the letter said. The surprise departure comes amid intensifying scrutiny from antitrust regulators of the powerful AI partnership. Microsoft has reportedly invested $13 billion in OpenAI. European Union regulators said last month that they would take a fresh look at the partnership under the 27-nation bloc’s antitrust rules while British competition watchdogs have also been looking into the deal. Microsoft took the board seat following a power struggle in which OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was fired, then quickly reinstated, while the board members behind the ouster were pushed out. “Over the past eight months we have witnessed significant progress by the newly formed board and are confident in the company’s direction,” Microsoft said in its letter. “Given all of this we no longer believe our limited role as an observer is necessary.”With Microsoft’s departure, OpenAI will no longer have observer seats on its board. “We are grateful to Microsoft for voicing confidence in the Board and the direction of the company, and we look forward to continuing our successful partnership,” OpenAI said in a statement. It’s not hard to conclude that Microsoft’s decision to ditch the board seat was heavily influenced by rising scrutiny of big technology companies and their links with AI startups, said Alex Haffner, a competition partner at U.K. law firm Fladgate. “It is clear that regulators are very much focused on the complex web of inter-relationships that Big Tech has created with AI providers, hence the need for Microsoft and others to carefully consider how they structure these arrangements going forward,” he said. OpenAI said it would take a new approach to “informing and engaging key strategic partners” such as Microsoft and Apple and investors such as Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures, with regular meetings to update stakeholders on progress and ensure stronger collaboration on safety and security. More

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 ThomasEditorCampaigners are preparing to launch a fresh pilot for a four-day working week in the hope that the new Labour government will be more open-minded to ways of flexible working.The scheme is being run by the UK’s 4 Day Week Campaign with flexible working consultancy Timewise and companies interested in the project can sign up for a start in November.The pilot – which will also look at other flexible working policies such as compressed hours and a shorter working week – will report its findings to the government in the summer next year.Campaigners are preparing to launch a fresh pilot for a four-day working week More

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 ThomasEditorKeir Starmer has indicated that he hopes the Nato summit in Washington will “Trump proof” aid to Ukraine to help it hold off Russia.Speaking to journalists on his flight over to the summit in the USA, the new prime minister insisted that the defence and security of Britain and its allies will be his first priority.But he again declined to give a timetable for when his “iron clad commitment” to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent will come into force.His comments came as it emerged he had not been included in a discussion on air cover for Ukraine organised by the US government and including other allies.But Sir Keir made it clear in the press briefing that he believes the summit over the next few days will “lock in” financial aid to Ukraine for its war effort.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria board a plane (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More

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 ThomasEditorKemi Badenoch has reportedly used Rishi Sunak’s first shadow cabinet meeting to criticise his election campaign.At the meeting on Tuesday, the shadow housing secretary hit out at the former prime minister’s decision to call an early general election without informing his cabinet, describing the move as a mistake and bordering on “unconstitutional”.She accused Mr Sunak of instead first telling a small group of colleagues, including his parliamentary private secretary Craig Williams, who she is said to have called a “buffoon” after he admitted placing a bet on the election date.The Times reported Ms Badenoch is concerned the “enormity” of the Conservative Party’s landslide defeat is not being grasped by some colleagues and that she is urging a thorough post-mortem with lessons to be learned.Ms Badenoch is said to have called Mr Sunak’s decision to leave D-Day commemorations early “disastrous”, arguing colleagues such as Penny Mordaunt would have kept their seats if he had stayed longer in France.Kemi Badenoch has reportedly used Rishi Sunak’s first shadow cabinet meeting to criticise his election campaign More

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 doubled down on his “iron commitment” to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent but waded into a row with military chiefs as he failed to set a timetable to meet his pledge.The new prime minister has flown to the Nato summit in Washington DC with his wife Victoria for his first international visit since winning the general election last week.With the situation at crisis point in Ukraine after Vladimir Putin’s Russian army bombed a children’s hospital and Voydymyr Zelensky’s forces warned they are running out of ammunition, the defence gathering is being billed as the most important since the invasion began.During the recent UK election campaign, Sir Keir was challenged repeatedly by his predecessor Rishi Sunak whether he would meet the Conservative commitment to 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2030 after the Tories tried to make it an issue for voters. Keir Starmer is setting off to his first Nato summit More