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.CloseRead moreKeir Starmer has landed in Cyprus in the midst of a diplomatic storm after he snubbed the Turkish Cypriot northern part of the island as he became the first prime minister to make an official visit for bilateral talks for more than five decades.The prime minister is set to hold talks on Tuesday with president of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides in the Greek Cypriot controlled south of the island. But he has refused to find time for president Ersin Tatar in the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on the visit even though he wants to reinitiate talks to reunite the island.Sir Keir arrived on Monday evening after a brief tour of Arab gulf states and plans to talk to president Christodoulides about defence, trade, resetting the EU relationship after Brexit and the “Cyprus problem”.The “Cyprus problem” refers to the division of the island 50 years ago after Turkish troops intervened in the north in 1974 when a Greek Cypriot military coup attempted to unite the island with Greece and initiated attacks on Turkish Cypriot communities.President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides first met Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street in October (Dan Kitwood/PA) 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.CloseRead moreThe UK has paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims due to the uncertainty following the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime.It follows the decision of other countries, including Germany, Austria and Sweden, in suspending application decisions, after 13 years of civil war saw a coalition of rebel groups seize Damascus on Sunday.A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Home Office has paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims whilst we assess the current situation. We keep all country guidance relating to asylum claims under constant review so we can respond to emerging issues.”Millions of Syrians fled the country after the outbreak of civil war and the Assad regime’s brutal crackdown on opponents.Hundreds of Syrians gathered in Trafalgar Square to celebrate Assad’s regime collapse 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.CloseRead moreNigel Farage will be in the USA on Sunday for an astonishing sixth time since he was elected as the MP for on 4 July after he was unveiled as one of the headline acts at the biggest MAGA gala since Donald Trump won the US presidential election.The Reform UK leader, who has been dubbed “the MP for MAGA”, by some political opponents in Westminster will be giving one of the speeches at a major Republican fundraising event which will also be addressed by the president-elect via video link.Organisers of the dinner though have delivered an extraordinary snub to Kemi Badenoch and the Tories because they do not want “loser parties” involved following the Tories’ suffering their worst election defeat in their 365-year history.The extraordinary remarks come as Ms Badenoch has attempted to woo parts of Team Trump including strengthening her relationship with vice president elect J. D. Vance as she tries to revive her party and stave off the threat from Farage and Reform.Special relationship: Nigel Farage is close to Trump 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.CloseRead moreRachel Reeves has stubbornly insisted that the Labour government will “stick to our red lines” over the Brexit reset with the EU despite growing evidence that a more fundamental change is needed in the relationship.Ms Reeves became the first chancellor to join European member state finance ministers and EU commissioners for a meeting in Brussels since Brexit, with hopes running high that it would herald a more open-minded approach to reworking the flawed EU deal left by Boris Johnson.But at the subsequent press conference, Ms Reeves made it clear that the government does not intend to budge from its original red lines.Pressure has begun to mount for a more fundamental reconsideration of EU or single market membership with the re-election of Donald Trump and concerns of an international trade war with the UK being hit by US tariffs.Reeves spoke at a press conference after the meeting with EU finance ministers 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.CloseRead moreEconomic growth is more important than protecting human rights, Downing Street has suggested, amid questions over Sir Keir Starmer’s meeting with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince on Monday.The meeting between the prime minister and Mohammed bin Salman is expected to be focused on boosting growth, with the prime minister saying that such a mission “requires us to strengthen partnerships abroad”.He insisted his “international agenda starts at home” as he visits the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Monday in a bid to build closer economic ties with the two Gulf states.Asked if promoting economic growth is more important for the government than protecting human rights, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “Promoting economic growth is the prime minister’s number one priority, he has been very clear about that.”But they added that “no aspect of the relationships that we’re building internationally and abroad stop us from raising issues around human rights and protecting our values globally”.In 2022, Sir Keir accused predecessor Boris Johnson of “going cap in hand from dictator to dictator” when the former prime minister met the Saudi crown prince. The prime minister is facing calls to raise the wider human rights record of Saudi Arabia, as some 300 people have been executed in the country since 2024, the highest ever toll in a single year.Legal campaign group Reprieve said the PM could help to save the lives of those awaiting the death penalty, including two child defendants, while the widow of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi urged the prime minister to question the crown prince about the case.Starmer welcomed the end of Bashar Assad’s ‘barbaric’ regime 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.CloseRead moreOpposition to Rachel Reeves’ family farm tax raid is growing ahead of a second major demonstration in London planned for Wednesday.North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) has become the fourth local authority to publicly oppose the chancellor changes to inheritance tax rules for farms announced in the Autumn Budget. The East Midlands council has joined Cornwall, Buckinghamshire and Staffordshire Moorlands in backing the protesters.It comes as scores of tractors are expected to descend on Westminster on Wednesday as angry farmers continue to ratchet up the pressure over tax changes they believe will destroy family farms in the UK by forcing them to be sold off or broken up.Already farmers in north Wales have blocked the port at Angelsey in protest on a number of occasions.The changes mean that farms worth £1 million or more will be subject to a 20 per cent inheritance tax – half the usual death duty rate of 40 per cent – having previously been exempt.Reeves’ Budget has angered farmers 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.CloseRead moreWatch live as David Lammy delivers a statement in Parliament on Monday, 9 December, after Syria’s brutal Assad regime came to an end.Syrians are celebrating the demise of Bashar al-Assad’s government after 13 years of civil war sparked by the president’s violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters following the Arab Spring.A rebel coalition took control of the capital Damascus in a lightning offensive overnight on Sunday, 11 days after launching a major operation.Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed the end of Assad’s “barbaric regime.”Russia, a close ally that has propped up the regime for years, said Assad left the country after negotiations with rebel groups and had given instructions to transfer power peacefully.Late on Sunday, Russian state media said Assad and his family had been granted asylum and were in Moscow.Labour minister Pat McFadden said the UK government will make a swift decision on whether to lift the ban on the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) after it ousted Assad’s regime.HTS is banned in the UK because of its past association with al Qaida, the terrorist organisation once led by Osama bin Laden.Speaking to Mishal Husain on BBC Radio 4 on Monday (9 December), the cabinet minister said “the situation is very fluid” but he hoped if there was a need to hold talks with HTS “it should be a relatively swift decision”. 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.CloseRead moreBritish politicians and the family of jailed businessman Ryan Cornelius, imprisoned in Dubai jail for the last 16 years, are pleading with Sir Keir Starmer to fight for the property developer’s freedom as he visits the United Arab Emirates for trade talks. Father-of-three Mr Cornelius, 70, has spent his children’s lives languishing in prison over an alleged £370 million fraud. The UAE says he illegally obtained a loan from the government-affiliated Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) by bribing staff members, but the United Nations says the charge of fraud is unjust. Mr Cornelius accuses the DIB, which is chaired by a senior, non-royal government official, of being his “effective jailers”.Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative Party leader, says the UAE imprisoned Mr Cornelius “deliberately to take possession of his properties” financed by the loan. Some of that property, Mr Cornelius has alleged in a letter to Sir Keir this week, dictated to his brother-in-law Chris Pagett over the prison phone in a bid to secure the help of the PM to negotiate his release, is “now being marketed as Dubai’s latest prestige residential development, worth many times the value of their loan”.In a statement issued to The Telegraph, the UAE claims Mr Cornelius was convicted following a “fair trial in which all due processes were followed”, and that his sentenced was extended after he failed to repay the creditor. Mr Pagett describes the UAE’s repeated justifications for keeping the businessman in prison as “utter, cynical, bare-faced lies”.Despite the UAE constitution stating that prisoners should be released when they turn 70, Mr Cornelius wrote in his letter to Sir Keir that his sentence has been tripled, upon request by the DIB. He is now scheduled for release in 2038, when he will be 84. Already the longest-held British victim of arbitrary detention, his family say he is suffering from cumulative health effects of tuberculosis, Covid and high blood pressure.“Ryan has come to realise that the nightmare may never end,” Mr Pagett told The Independent. “The time he has lost can’t be recovered. His health has deteriorated, and his children have grown up without him. He has been stripped of everything he ever possessed.”Keir Starmer, pictured with UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday, has been urged to raise Mr Cornelius’s case as he visits the Gulf state on Monday More