UK Politics

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseKeir Starmer is set to chair his first devolved government summit on Friday – but without his new envoy and former chief of staff Sue Gray.Ms Gray was forced out as Sir Keir’s key adviser and asked to take on a new role as his representative for the nations and regions last weekend.Ms Gray, whose new position was confirmed after weeks of turmoil behind the scenes in Number 10, will be a notable absence as she takes a brief hiatus before changing jobs.At the time of her latest appointment it was claimed that Sir Keir had asked her to take on the role because reseting the relationship between the UK government and devolved government was “a priority for him”.Sue Gray has taken on a new role in Government after resigning as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseRachel Reeves is being warned that a massive hike in capital gains tax could endanger her hopes of creating economic growth.It comes as a row has broken out over claims that the chancellor has asked Treasury officials to model capital gains tax rates of 39 per cent and 33 per cent, well above the second home rate of 24 per cent.While sources close to Ms Reeves have tried to dismiss Budget speculation and allegations of disarray, the concerns have dropped at a time of intense pressure for the chancellor and Sir Keir Starmer. It follows:The Institute for Fiscal Studies warning that she will need to raise £25bn in extra taxes to meet Labour’s spending commitmentsLabour support dropping to less than 30 per cent in Techne UK’s weekly tracker poll for the first time in more than two and a half years as voters turn their backs on the new governmentStarmer repeatedly refusing to rule out a hike on employer contributions to national insurance – a move critics believe will destroy jobsPersistent question marks over Labour plans to tax non-doms and add VAT to private school fees.Criticism that Reeves should have held her first Budget soonerThe row over capital gains was broken in The Guardian, which claimed to have seen papers on modelling requested by Ms Reeves on an increase of up to 39 per cent.A source close to the chancellor dismissed the story and denied the government was in “disarray” over its tax plans, adding that they would “not be drawn on Budget speculation”.But with the Budget set for 30 October, time is running out for Ms Reeves to close a £25bn gap in her spending commitments and available financing identified by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). This is on top of the £22bn “black hole” that Ms Reeves claims to have been left by the Tory government.The IFS has speculated Ms Reeves might try to change her fiscal rules to loosen up her ability to borrow but its director Paul Johnson warned “this could spook the markets”.Starmer has promised sustained economic growth and stability More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseBoris Johnson has mounted a defence of Donald Trump’s role in the Capitol riots, insisting the former president did not intend to “overthrow the constitution”.The former prime minister claimed what happened was “the peaceful transfer of democratic power from one administration to another”.And, asked about Mr Trump’s repeated claims that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine had he remained in the White House, Mr Johnson said it is a “credible assertion”.In an interview with Times Radio to promote his new book Unleashed, Mr Johnson said: “On Ukraine, I think that some of the pessimism is overdone and I think that Donald actually… he gave the javelins to the Ukrainians where the Democrats didn’t, right?Donald Trump and Boris Johnson at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseMilitary chiefs are considering sending British troops to Ukraine to train soldiers and boost Kyiv’s recruitment efforts, it has emerged.Ministry of Defence (MoD) sources confirmed to The Independent that discussions are ongoing about whether to send troops to the country to support it amid Russia’s ongoing invasion.There is already a small number of British medical personnel in Ukraine, delivering training and mentoring to the country’s armed forces.Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is greeted by Keir Starmer as he arrives at Downing Street on Thursday More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseAt about 2.30pm yesterday James Cleverly was with his entourage talking to representatives of the Girl Guides who had a stall for the day in Portcullis House on the parliamentary estate. He seemed relaxed and confident just a like man destined to go through to the final round of the Tory leadership contest.But already things were going badly wrong for the former home secretary. An hour later Bob Blackman, chairman of the Tory backbench 1922 committee, announced that he had been eliminated from the contest.It led to the question: How could Mr Cleverly have got two votes less than he had done in the previous round when he had been the clear winner before, and favourite to be Rishi Sunak’s replacement.Fingers were being pointed to his campaign manager former cabinet minister Grant Shapps – or Mr Spreadsheet as he is often known. Shapps has made a reputation of being able to work out numbers down to the exact detail in previous contests. Had he been responsible for a cunning plan to get rival Robert Jenrick as Cleverly’s main opponent only for the whole thing to backfire?Robert Jenrick may have been lucky to get to the final two More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseUK cyber security chiefs have issued a new warning to Government bodies, tech companies and financial institutions to ensure they are safe from Russian state-backed hackers.The latest advice from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), penned alongside US security agencies, shares the most recent tactics used by the SVR – Russia’s foreign intelligence service – to collect information that could help it in future cyber operations.This could include efforts to help Russia in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, according to the agencies.The advisory warns SVR attackers are exploiting cyber vulnerabilities on a massive scale, and have two types of intended victims for their actions.The first of these are “targets of intent”, and include Government and diplomatic bodies, think tanks, tech companies, and financial institutions.The second are “targets of opportunity”, where the SVR scans internet systems to look for vulnerabilities that could be exploited.Once either kind of victim has been compromised, follow-up attacks by the SVR are likely, the advisory said.UK organisations who believe they have been subject to the kind of Russian cyber attack highlighted in the advice are being urged to report it to the NCSC.NCSC director of operations Paul Chichester said: “Russian cyber actors are interested in and highly capable of accessing unpatched systems across a range of sectors, and once they are in, they can exploit this access to meet their objectives.“All organisations are encouraged to bolster their cyber defences: take heed of the advice set out within the advisory and prioritise the deployment of patches and software updates.” More

Cleverly knocked out in huge Tory leadership shock to set up Badenoch and Jenrick clashYour support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseRobert Jenrick has thrown a thinly-veiled criticism at fellow contender Kemi Badenoch, suggesting the shadow secretary is an unserious candidate.In his speech at the Policy Exchange think tank, he told supporters that the choices in the election are framed around his “serious plan” versus “not needless drama”, which was an apparent attack at his rival.The former immigration minister also promised to bring back the government’s Rwanda deportation plan.After the address, he rejected suggestions that Tory MPs mistakenly backed him for the final two in the leadership race, following speculation about internal “horse trading”.Mr Jenrick was asked directly whether he could have made the final two by mistake. He admitted that there is always some manoeuvring but was confident that MPs ultimately chose him based on his leadership credentials. Meanwhile, as the Labour government unveils its Employment Rights Bill, the party denied claims that the proposed reforms could jeopardise jobs. However, unions criticised the proposed legislation claiming it fails to fully protect workers. Unite boss Sharon Graham said the reform would leave “more holes than Swiss cheese” for employers to exploit.Show latest update 1728571808NHS faces ‘harsh trade-offs’ this winter, experts warn Health experts are sounding the alarm as new data revealed the NHS is heading into the winter season “in bad shape”.Experts at King’s Fund warned the health service has shown deteriorating performance across key measures. The charity’s chief analyst highlighted a concerning picture of rising financial pressures, ongoing strikes and missed targets. Siva Anandaciva said: “The NHS is approaching winter in bad shape.“Industrial action is continuing, financial pressures are rising, and important performance targets continue to be missed.“Despite the hard work of staff, patient care in the NHS continues to fall short of expectations.“Today’s statistics show it has been three years since A&E performance was above the current temporary target of 78 per cent of people waiting under four hours and nearly a decade since the official target of 95 per cent of people being seen in four hours was met.”Salma Ouaguira10 October 2024 15:501728570608Bill on assisted dying to be debated next month A bill on assisted dying will have its first debate on 29 November, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater has said.It will be the first time in almost a decade MPs have debated and voted on the subject in the House of Commons in almost a decade.Her private member’s bill (PMB) on choice at the end of life for people with terminal illness will be formally introduced in Parliament on Wednesday.The details of the legislation will be published ahead of the first full debate and vote on 29 November, Ms Leadbeater’s office said.Salma Ouaguira10 October 2024 15:301728569708Pictured: Kemi Badenoch takes Tory leadership campaign to Ealing ( More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseRobert Jenrick has kicked off the final stage of the Tory leadership contest with a series of thinly-veiled attacks on his rival Kemi Badenoch.The former immigration minister painted himself as the serious contender to succeed Rishi Sunak, in stark contrast with fellow right-winger Ms Badenoch who he suggested would oversee “needless drama”.Setting out his stall with a hardline pitch on legal and illegal migration, Mr Jenrick said the Conservatives need to “get serious” after the party’s worst general election defeat in history.Robert Jenrick hinted the party would be dominated by ‘needless drama’ if he loses the leadership contest More