UK Politics

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged that the UK will spend 5 per cent of GDP on national security and defence by 2035.The announcement comes as he signs a new Nato deal ahead of joining leaders at the defence bloc’s summit in the Hague.The 5 per cent figure had been demanded by Donald Trump, who has insisted that Europe needs to stop relying on the US for defence spending.However, Downing Street has continued to say that the original aim of 3 per cent on defence after the next election remains only an “ambition” raising questions over whether the UK can afford the new commitment.Keir Starmer with Volodymyr Zelensky during talks at 10 Downing Street More

After a week of rapidly escalating tensions in the Middle East, the West is gearing up for what could be the most significant Nato summit since the Cold War. Downing Street has insisted that the tone of the summit hasn’t changed, saying it is “focused on what it has been focused on all along: the commitment to step up across the board” on defence. But with Iran threatening retaliation for US strikes over the weekend, and the looming backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine, Sir Keir Starmer is desperate to demonstrate that Britain is a leader in Nato. Unfortunately for the beleaguered PM – who is keen to score some points on the global stage – it is unlikely that many watchers will be looking his way. Instead, all eyes will be on Donald Trump. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (third from right) and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds (right) during a visit to Nuneaton More

A mass evacuation has begun of British nationals from Israel and other Middle East war target zones, with the first flight leaving Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon.With more than 1,000 UK citizens trying to leave Israel amid tit-for tat missile attacks with Iran – forcing the closure of civilian airspace – David Lammy confirmed that the government is scrambling military flights.“This is an ongoing and fast-moving situation,” the foreign secretary told the House of Commons.He said the government will keep advice “under close review and there may need to be further updates over the course of the next few days”.David Lammy updated the Commons on the situation in the Middle East on Monday More

The British state has been “overbearing and feeble” and “too exposed to global volatility” Sir Keir Starmer has said, as he outlined plans to overhaul the government’s relationship with industries.In the Industrial Strategy published on Monday, the government has backed UK industries it thinks have the potential to grow, with the aim of creating jobs and prosperity across Britain and Northern Ireland.Artificial intelligence (AI), offshore wind power, and electric vehicle batteries are among the sectors which feature.The strategy aims to help realise Labour’s mission pledge to create sustained economic growth, which ministers want to see become the highest in the G7.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during a visit to Horiba Mira in Nuneaton to mark the launch of the Government’s Industrial Strategy (Jacob King/PA)In the strategy’s foreword, alongside chancellor Rachel Reeves and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, Sir Keir said that “when new opportunities present themselves, Britain often finds itself too regulated to take advantage”.The ministers added: “The result is a state that is both overbearing and feeble, poorly serving an economy that has become too reliant on one place, too exposed to global volatility and too sluggish to take advantage of transitions like the move to homegrown clean energy”.They said that the strategy marks a “new approach” and accounts for a decade-long plan to make Britain an attractive country to invest in.The industrial strategy focuses on eight areas.As well as the main strategy, on Monday the government also published five separate “sector plans”, with more details on distinct policy areas: advanced manufacturing, creative industries, clean energy, digital and technology, and professional and business services.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (third from right) and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds (right) during a visit to Nuneaton (Jacob King/PA)Plans for the defence, financial services and life sciences sectors will come later.The ministers said that the eight sectors had been “identified as those best placed to create the wealth, jobs, and higher wages our country needs in every community”.The five sector plans published on Monday emphasised the opportunities for growth across the regions and nations of the UK.Edinburgh’s robotics and agri-tech research hubs, and the space industry of the Oxford to Cambridge corridor featured among advanced manufacturing industries.Onshore and offshore wind in south-west Wales, and heat pump producers in Northern Ireland feature in the clean energy sector plans, while Birmingham and Manchester’s AI and cyber industries are highlighted in the plan for digital technology.Several of the sector plans also address the changes which AI could have upon their industries.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during a visit to Horiba Mira in Nuneaton, to mark the launch of the Government’s Industrial Strategy (Jacob King/PA)The creative industries for example, will need to “embrace new technology”, one document says, insisting the Government will maximise the value of AI, while “protecting and incentivising human creativity”.The strategy includes details on several ways the Government wants to make it easier for firms to do business, such as tackling “high industrial electricity costs” and reducing “regulatory burdens”.It also says ministers will “remove planning barriers” and “ensure our tax system supports growth”.As part of the plans, energy costs for businesses will be cut by scrapping green levies to help them compete with foreign rivals.From 2027, a new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will cut costs by up to £40 per megawatt hour for over 7,000 manufacturing firms by exempting them from levies on bills including the renewables obligation, feed-in tariffs and the capacity market.The strategy comes after the latest figures indicated the economy shrank by 0.3% in April, the biggest monthly contraction in gross domestic product for a year-and-a-half, as businesses felt the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs and domestic pressure as a result of hikes to firms’ national insurance contributions. More

The mass evacuation of Britons from the Middle Eastern warzone has begun with the first flight leaving Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon.With more than 1,000 UK citizens trying to leave Israel as tit-for tat for missile attacks continue to be exchanged with Iran, foreign secretary David Lammy has confirmed that the government is scrambling flights.Mr Lammy said: “This is an ongoing and fast-moving situation.”He said the government will keep advice “under close review and there may need to be further updates over the course of the next few days”.David Lammy updated the Commons on the situation in the Middle East on Monday More

Labour rebels have said they will refuse to support Keir Starmer’s plans to slash disability benefits – despite claims they could face deselection if they vote against the reforms.The Independent has been told that MPs – including ministers – considering rebelling against the government’s welfare reforms on Tuesday next week have been threatened with losing the whip and even, according to two sources, deselection.The issue is set to come to a head in a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday evening.The government plans to make £5bn a year in savings on welfare mostly by reducing personal independence payments (PIPs) for those with disabilities by limiting access to them for all apart from the most disabled.Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves need to balance the books More

Prague’s High Court canceled for the second time on Monday a lower court ruling that acquitted former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš of fraud charges in a $2 million case involving a European Union subsidy.The court returned the case for retrial to Prague’s Municipal Court to deal with it, saying the lower court, which acquitted Babiš for the second time last year, did not properly assess evidence.Babiš had pleaded not guilty and repeatedly said the charges against him were politically motivated. The prosecution had originally requested a suspended sentence and a fine to be paid by the populist billionaire who left the courtroom before the verdict was announced. The municipal court acquitted Babis for the first time in 2023. Prague’s High Court later canceled that decision and ordered the case to be retried at the same court.Babiš’ former associate Jana Nagyová, who signed the subsidy request, will also face retrial.The case centered around a farm known as the Stork’s Nest, which received EU subsidies after its ownership was transferred from the Babiš-owned Agrofert conglomerate of around 250 companies to Babis’ family members. Later, Agrofert again took ownership of the farm.The subsidies were meant for medium- and small-sized businesses, which Agrofert wouldn’t have been eligible for. The conglomerate later returned the subsidy.The lower court previously said what Babiš did was not considered criminal.Babi has become part of the country’s opposition after his populist ANO (YES) centrist movement lost the 2021 parliamentary election. He also contended for the largely ceremonial post of president in January 2023 but lost to Petr Pavel, a retired army general.Monday’s verdict comes just months before October’s parliamentary election in which Babiš and his movement are predicted to win the vote. More