UK Politics

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreNigel Farage has been forced to defend his leadership of Reform as the party descends into further civil war over the suspension of MP Rupert Lowe.In what is turning out to be the biggest threat to Mr Farage since his comeback during the general election last year, Mr Lowe and his allies have accused him of conducting a “witch hunt” against the Great Yarmouth MP.It comes as former Brexit Party MEPs who worked with both men in Strasbourg six years ago have rallied to Mr Lowe and insisted he was a team player.Mr Lowe was suspended from Reform UK late last week over allegations of bullying against two female members of staff, but he refutes the accusations and counter-claims that he has been smeared because Mr Farage saw him as a threat to his authority.In an article for The Daily Telegraph, Mr Farage continued his attack, claiming he had no choice but to act against Mr Lowe. In the letter, the party leader alleged one previously undisclosed instance in which Mr Lowe reportedly pushed the shipping minister Mike Kane in the House of Commons just before the Christmas recess.Mr Kane had allegedly responded to a question posed by Mr Lowe about a damaged cargo ship that had docked in his constituency while carrying hundreds of tonnes of the potentially explosive fertiliser, ammonium nitrate.Rupert Lowe was suspended from the Reform Party following a series of allegations More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreA major Brexit rethink is needed on defence and security leading to a single European military command structure and defence of the continent’s borders, Lord Michael Heseltine has warned.The former deputy prime minister believes the threat of Donald Trump’s administration has opened the doors for Sir Keir Starmer to have a much more profound repair of the damage of Brexit beyond the limited ambitions of his reset talks.Writing in The Independent the Tory peer, who played a significant role in the Remain campaign, has issued his warning in the wake of Mr Trump’s shocking actions in withdrawing military aid and intelligence from Ukraine.Michael Heseltine says a major Brexit rethink is needed More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreCabinet minister Pat McFadden has insisted he will “not take a chainsaw to the civil service” amid concerns he plans Elon Musk-style reforms.The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who runs the Cabinet Office engine room of Whitehall, denied he had set targets for job cuts as he announced a major overhaul of the civil service.Mr McFadden – sometimes described as “Keir Starmer’s unofficial deputy prime minister” – made his remarks on the media round on Sunday morning after unveiling a series of hard-hitting reforms to Whitehall.He also made it clear that the government plans significant cuts to benefits, targeting those on long-term disability payments. This is despite revelations that ill and disabled people are already waiting too long for payments.Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said nations must “step forward themselves” to support Ukraine More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreUnder-performing civil servants could be enticed to leave their jobs, and senior officials will have their pay linked to performance, under new government plans.Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden has said that “the state is not match-fit to rise to the moment our country faces” as he said ministers will “fundamentally reshape” the service.However a union has described the plans as a “retreading of failed narratives” and accused the government of delivering a “soundbite, not a credible plan for change”.It is one in a series of reforms expected to be set out by the government this week that will also cover housing and regulation.They will go alongside what officials are calling an “intervention” from the prime minister on Thursday.In the plans to be announced by Mr McFadden at the start of the week, he will promise a new “mutually agreed exits” process, in which civil servants who cannot perform at the level required of them are persuaded to leave their jobs.Pat McFadden said ‘the state is not match-fit to rise to the moment our country faces’ More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreThe UK will still have some of the worst protections for unwell people in the developed world despite the government’s new bill on employment rights, leaving 8.3 million contracted workers with the equivalent of as little as £3 an hour.Campaigners are calling on the government to go further on sick pay and make rates more liveable as the Employment Rights Bill is put to a vote in parliament next week.Currently, around one in four workers in the UK – around 7 million people – are only entitled to receive statutory sick pay (SSP) instead of enhanced sick pay from their employers. SSP amounts to a fixed rate of just £116.75 per week, or £467 per month, for eligible workers.Dr Matt Padley from Loughborough University warns that the current rate of statutory sick pay is “not enough to live on” and says the knock-on effects are numerous. “Anyone having to rely on SSP for any length of time is likely to see a substantial drop in their income, and if they are unable to return to work for several months, the gap between income and what’s needed to live with dignity will grow,” the social policy researcher told The Independent.“At the same time, cost-of-living pressures continue and the rate of sick pay – already very low – will fall further and further short of meeting basic material needs.”The government announced it is extending sick pay to workers earning under £123 a week from day one of their illness. Staff will be paid 80 per cent of their average weekly earning or £116.75 statutory sick pay, whichever is lowest.While this will mean an extra 1.3 million people will be eligible for the statutory sick pay rate under the changes in the Employment Rights Bill, 8.3 million people in the UK will still receive far less than the living or even minimum wage if they fall sick.For someone usually working 35 hours per week, statutory sick pay equates to just £3.33 per hour. For those working closer to 40 hours per week, this would be just £2.91 per hour.Danny Hine-Berry, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2022, said the rate of sick pay – just £96 per week at the time – was not enough to survive.Mr Hine-Berry told The Independent: “It left me in a lot of financial difficulty. And when you’re going through something like that, you should be able to focus on getting better. But instead, I had kind of all these worries and stress about money on top of my physical health problems.”Danny Hine-Berry was just 23 when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, and had to travel 20 miles for radiotherapy treatment More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreMore than 1,000 sick and disabled benefit claimants died while waiting to receive vital payments last year, The Independent can reveal, laying bare the crisis in the welfare system.Department for Work and Pensions figures show that between November 2023 and October 2024, 900,000 people applied for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) benefits – the main support for those with an illness, disability or mental health condition.Applicants faced an average wait of almost four months to have their claims processed – but 1,300 died before receiving a final decision, figures released under Freedom of Information laws show.It comes as Rachel Reeves plans to slash the welfare bill by up to £5bn in her spring Budget and force people back to work, with reports on Friday suggesting the majority of the cuts will fall on those claiming PIP benefits.The figures come as Rachel Reeves prepares to take an axe to welfare spending More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreWhen Elon Musk had his epiphany in January and publicly endorsed Rupert Lowe to replace Nigel Farage as leader of Reform UK, I received a message within minutes.“That’s the end of Rupert. Nigel won’t tolerate that,” said a former ally of Mr Farage.Two months later, Mr Lowe, the MP for Great Yarmouth and former Southampton football club chair, finds himself suspended from the party. He is facing serious allegations of bullying towards female staff and claims that he made threats of physical violence against the party’s chair. Reform has even referred the matter to the police.In terms of timing, the ousting came after 48 hours of Mr Lowe creating headlines questioning Mr Farage’s leadership and complaining about the dysfunction in Reform UK.It did not take long for a number of senior former Reform figures who have been forced out in recent months, including ex-deputy leader Ben Habib and ex-London mayor candidate Howard Cox, to allege that Mr Lowe had been framed.While investigations will now determine the truth about Mr Lowe’s behaviour, the row has blown open a problem within Reform that has been bubbling below the surface for months now.Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe has been suspended from Reform UK More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreAs the world marks international women’s day, a top barrister has issued a new plea for the reputation of Christine Keeler, the model at the heart of Britain’s most notorious sex scandal, to be cleared.Felicity Gerry KC has been fighting the case to clear Ms Keeler’s name for the past five years and spoke to The Independent about how the young model best known for her brief relationship with former war secretary John Profumo may finally have her reputation restored.The Profumo scandal, often described as Britain’s first modern political sex scandal, saw the 1963 resignation of then secretary for war John Profumo after he lied to parliament about his affair with Ms Keeler. The model was later pursued in court on unrelated charges.“She was only 19 when all this happened and she had to live with it for the rest of her life with people saying and reporting what they wanted about her, most of it not true,” Dr Gerry said.Christine Keeler was the woman at the centre of the Profumo scandal More