UK Politics

After weeks of negotiations, the UK and US have announced a major trade agreement, marking a significant diplomatic and economic achievement for Sir Keir Starmer’s government. The deal follows closely on the heels of a new trade pact with India and comes amid tense economic relations caused by Donald Trump’s recent tariffs on UK exports such as steel, aluminium and cars.Britain has become the first country to reach such an agreement with the States since Mr Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs threw the global economy into crisis last month.Starmer’s supporters argue that this is precisely the kind of pragmatic diplomacy Britain needs post-Brexit – and a vindication of Labour’s competence on the world stage.Reacting to the announcement, The Independent’s chief political commentator John Rentoul said: “He has shown skill and judgement in dealing with Donald Trump, resisting the temptation to denounce the US president for turning on America’s allies, and negotiating patiently to secure a deal that will protect Britain from the worst of Trump’s war on prosperity.”Independent reader Rasputin007 commented: “So within a few days, the UK under Starmer achieved what the Tories couldn’t, two trade deals with the US and India.”And AJames added: “By getting deals done early, Starmer is hoping for a jump start ahead of other nations.”Not everyone is convinced, however. ListenVeryCarefully commented: “The only reason these deals are being rushed through is because Starmer is in deep, deep trouble domestically and desperately needs some ‘good news’ to save his premiership.”With opinions divided, the big question is: Has Starmer handled the US trade deal skilfully, or has he compromised too much for too little?We want to hear from you. Share your thoughts in the comments – we’ll feature the most compelling responses and discuss the results in the coming days.All you have to do is sign up and register your details – then you can take part in the debate. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen. More

Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak all promised – but failed to deliver – a post-Brexit trade deal with the US. And, less than a year after entering Downing Street, Sir Keir Starmer has got the job done. Or has he? The prime minister has secured what Donald Trump is calling a “major trade deal” with the US president saying it would be a “big and exciting day” for the US and UK – which he praised as a “highly respected country”. Donald Trump teased the announcement of a trade deal, believed to be with the UK, on social media overnight More

The UK and US are expected to agree a deal to reduce tariffs on Thursday after Donald Trump promised a “major trade deal” with a “highly respected country”. A month after the US president’s so-called liberation day tariffs came into effect, British negotiators are in Washington and are believed to have finalised a carve-out for the UK. In a coup for Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Trump is expected to unveil the agreement at an Oval Office press conference on Thursday. The US president promised a “very big and exciting day” for relations between Britain and the US.Sir Keir Starmer has adopted a diplomatic tone in dealings with Donald Trump More

Digitising NHS and social care will cost £21 billion over the next five years, but could be vital for driving down waiting lists, according to new research.A report said the UK will need to spend billions to fully implement electronic patient records, cloud storage, cyber security and wi-fi, with the skills and capabilities needed to use them.The Health Foundation charity commissioned PA Consulting ahead of the forthcoming Government spending review, and publication of the 10-year health plan, to estimate the costs of making the transformation to digital services.The Government has pledged to move the health service from analogue to digital as part of its “three shifts” for the NHS, which also include moving care from hospitals to communities and preventing sickness.In the new report, estimates suggest that £8 billion of capital spending (of which £5 billion is for England) is needed for things like hardware, software and electronic patient records.A further £3 billion would be one-off revenue spending (of which £2.25 billion is for England), for planning, initial education and training, implementation of new technologies and transition from old systems.Some £2 billion recurring annual spending (of which £1.5 billion per year is for England) over five years is also needed for ongoing training, software subscriptions, maintenance, improvement and optimisation. Recurring costs will then carry on beyond the five-year period.According to the Health Foundation, while it may be possible to cover some of the costs from existing budgets, it is highly likely the Government will need to commit additional funding.Tom Hardie, senior improvement fellow at the Health Foundation, said: “Digitisation is going to be really critical for the NHS and social care to be sustainable and fit for the 21st century.“When we talk about waiting times in particular, I think there are hopes that digitisation could help to address waiting times.“Within this research, we haven’t set out to define or quantify the benefits of digitisation, but I think it’s possible to say that digitisation could theoretically help to reduce waiting times.“So, for example, making it easier and simpler for people to get appointments or to cancel and rebook appointments.“It could help to optimise (operating) theatre schedules, improve prevention of acute episodes of care through remote monitoring of people with health conditions, improved triage processes to help direct people to the right services first time (and) perhaps avoiding more resource-intensive services like A&E.”Making the NHS more digitally capable will also free up staff time, he said.Figures suggest that medics lose more than 13.5 million hours a year because of inadequate or malfunctioning IT.Dr Malte Gerhold, director of innovation and improvement at the Health Foundation, said: “Our independently commissioned research finds that to achieve the Government’s ambitions to digitise health and social care, significant spending will be needed over the next five years and beyond.“But direct investment in technology alone is not sufficient.“The Government must fund the change not just the tech. This means investing in and planning for implementation and change to genuinely realise the benefits of digitisation for patients and staff.”A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said the private sector is 15 years ahead of the NHS on technology, adding: “This Government is bringing our analogue NHS into the digital age, to improve the productivity of the NHS, deliver better care for patients and better value for taxpayers.“We are already making significant progress by introducing cutting-edge AI and technology to support clinicians and improve care, reforming the NHS app to give patients more control, and centralising patient records to speed up diagnosis and treatment.“This is only possible because of the increase in employers’ national insurance, which allowed us to invest an extra £26 billion for health and social care.” More

Donald Trump is poised to unveil a “major trade deal” with the UK on Thursday, the culmination of Sir Keir Starmer’s months-long charm offensive towards the US president. A month after his so-called Liberation Day tariffs began to bite, Britain is desperate for a carve out from the 25 per cent levies on its steel and car industries. The deal will be a major boost for the prime minister, coming hot on the heels of a trade agreement between the UK and India this week. Sir Keir Starmer has taken a deferential approach Donald Trump More

Top technology firms are set to meet with the Justice Secretary for the first time to look at how artificial intelligence and technology could be used to tackle violence in prisons and cut re-offending.Shabana Mahmood is urging companies including Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and Google to work with ministers as part of Government plans to use technology to overhaul the justice system.Using data to help probation officers improve risk assessments and tracking offenders in the community are among some of the aspects to be considered.How digital platforms could help rehabilitate offenders and help them integrate back into society is also on the agenda for ministers and around 30 companies meeting on Thursday.The move follows a pledge from the Lord Chancellor to introduce technology to stop probation staff “drowning” in paperwork when more time could be spent supervising offenders.Meanwhile, the backlog of crown court cases also stands at a record high.Ms Mahmood said: “We inherited a justice system in crisis, with prisons close to collapse and staff overburdened and under pressure.“We need bold ideas to address the challenges that we face – supporting our staff, delivering swifter justice for victims, and cutting crime.“Today, we have an analogue justice system in a digital age.“The UK has a world-leading and growing tech sector, and I know our tech firms have a huge role to play in delivering our Plan for Change to make streets safer.”Julian David, chief executive of trade association TechUK – which co-organised the event, said the roundtable presents an “excellent opportunity” for the tech sector to showcase the “transformative role” technology can play in modernising the criminal justice system.After the meeting, a follow-up event for the whole industry to apply to present their ideas is expected in the coming months.Microsoft’s UK public sector general manager Amanda Sleight said: “Microsoft is committed to advancing the ethical use of AI technology to reduce the administrative burden on prison and probation staff, allowing them more time to focus on delivering high-quality frontline services, reducing recidivism and helping integrate offenders back into society.”The Conservatives suggested the Government’s plans were “not even close to being enough” to reform the justice system.Shadow justice minister Kieran Mullan said: “After 14 years in opposition, Labour still have no answers beyond putting criminals back out on to the streets and soon will be scrapping short sentences for offenders – this announcement is not even close to being enough.“Labour are clearly out of their depth.” More

The Government has announced plans to replace passwords as the way to access Gov.UK, its digital services platform for the public.In contrast to using a password and then an additional text message or code sent to a user’s trusted device – known as two-factor authentication – passkeys are unique digital keys tied to a specific device that proves the user’s identity when they log in without requiring them to input any further codes.The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said this approach is more secure because the digital key remains stored on the user’s device and cannot be easily intercepted or stolen, making them resistant to being compromised through phishing and scam emails or texts, unlike passwords, which can be more easily shared.The NCSC said it considers the adoption of passkeys as a vital step in improving cyber resilience on a national scale, in particular in the wake of high-profile cyber attacks against major retailers, including Marks and Spencer and Co-op.The NCSC’s chief technical officer, Ollie Whitehouse, said: “The NCSC has a stated objective for the UK to move beyond passwords in favour of passkeys, as they are secure against common cyber threats such as phishing and credential stuffing.“By adopting passkey technology, Government is not only leading by example by strengthening the security of its services but also making it easier and faster for citizens to access them.“We strongly advise all organisations to implement passkeys wherever possible to enhance security, provide users with faster, frictionless logins and to save significant costs on SMS authentication.”AI and Digital minister Feryal Clark said: “The rollout of passkeys across GOV.UK services marks another major step forward in strengthening the UK’s digital defences while improving the user experience for millions.“Replacing older methods like SMS verification with modern, secure passkeys will make it quicker and easier for people to access essential services — without needing to remember complex passwords or wait for text messages.“This shift will not only save users valuable time when interacting with government online, but it will reduce fraud and phishing risks that damage our economic growth.”The announcement came on the first day of the CyberUK conference in Manchester, where NCSC chief executive Richard Horne warned that the number of “nationally significant” cyber attacks in the last eight months has doubled on the same period a year ago.Mr Horne said the agency had dealt with 200 incidents since September 2024, including twice as many causing widespread disruption as the same period last year.Also at the conference, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said the cyber attacks in recent weeks should be a “wake-up call” for British businesses as he announced a £16 million package to boost defence at home and abroad. More