UK Politics

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer has been forced to accept the resignation of his chief of staff Sue Gray in the latest attempt by the prime minister to regain control of the political agenda and end the chaos in his government.After less than three months in office since the election, the loss of Ms Gray – who he personally recruited to ensure he could drive through his policies through Whitehall once in power – is a major blow for Sir Keir.But it follows weeks of infighting almost from the moment Labour won a historic election result, coupled with questions over gifts for the prime minister, Ms Gray and senior cabinet ministers, and fears the government has lost control of its own agenda.Sir Keir has already attempted to reset the agenda three times with announcements about restricting gifts in the future and paying back some of them. Now he is being forced to reset his top team.Sue Gray has quit as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff in Downing Street More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer’s decision to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius has made Britain look “weak” and “pathetic”, Boris Johnson has claimed.He dismissed the idea that the deal, intended to secure the future of a secretive military base on the island of Diego Garcia, would buy the country influence on the global stage.The agreement has faced criticism after leaving the UK without sovereign territorial control over a piece of land in the Indian Ocean that is deemed crucial to Western security.There are also fears it may open the islands to Chinese interference and undermine Western defence and security in the southern hemisphere.Boris Johnson hit out at the decision to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius on GB News on Sunday More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorSue Gray, the former senior civil servant who rose to fame when she was handed responsibility for untangling the ‘Partygate‘ saga, has resigned as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff and will take up a new role in government.Ms Gray said she was standing down because it had “become clear to me that intense commentary around my position risked becoming a distraction to the government’s vital work of change”.Concerns over the power of Ms Gray in government were recently raised when it was revealed she is paid more as chief of staff than the prime minister.The BBC revealed last month that Ms Gray asked for and was given a salary of £170,000 after July’s election – about £3,000 more than Sir Keir.Tensions flared in Sir Keir’s Downing Street operation after the salary revelation, although the party said at the time she “had no involvement in any decision on her pay”.A power struggle had reportedly been playing out between Ms Gray and Sir Keir’s election guru Morgan McSweeney since Labour’s general election win. Mr McSweeney will now replace Ms Gray as the prime minister’s chief of staff.Sue Gray said she looked forward to continuing to support the prime minister in her new role More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorJames Cleverly has overtaken Robert Jenrick in the race to become the next Tory leader, a survey of party members suggests. The former home secretary, who was lagging behind, has stormed ahead to second place in members’ first preferences just days before the next round of voting.In a hypothetical head-to-head simulation of the final round of voting, conducted by grassroots Tory website Conservative Home, Mr Cleverly is now forecast to defeat Mr Jenrick for the first time.The four candidates will be reduced to just two by 9 October after another round of voting from the parliamentary party More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorChancellor Rachel Reeves’s plan to increase borrowing in the budget risks pushing up interest rates, analysis from the Treasury indicates.The research paper, published in December, suggests rewriting the UK’s fiscal rules could increase the cost of debt. Shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt claims it could lead to “mortgage misery” for people across Britain. The government is considering changing its fiscal rules to give it more room to borrow, which could open up £50 billion of extra spending.But the Treasury paper warns a “fiscal loosening” of just one per cent of GDP could lead to a “peak increase in interest rates” of as much as 1.25 per cent.The government is considering changing its fiscal rules to give it more room to borrow More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorBoris Johnson is accused of being “two-faced” and “untruthful” in his controversial memoir in an outspoken intervention by his Tory nemesis Amber Rudd.Former home secretary Ms Rudd, known for her provocative “not safe in taxis” jibe at the former prime minister in a TV clash, says his autobiography is more akin to the Beano comic than a serious book.In a withering new put down she calls him “Johnson the Janus” – a reference to the Roman god Janus who faced both ways and which has become a euphemism for “two-faced” or “deceitful”.Mr Johnson’s book, Unleashed, is the product of his “split personality” and reads like “Billy Bunter let loose in Westminster”, writes Ms Rudd in an article for The Independent.Rudd claims Johnson’s book is ‘farcical rather than factual’ More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorOne of Britain’s leading regional mayors claimed Keir Starmer’s government is preparing to abandon British-produced steel altogether and replace it with Chinese steel diverted through Brazil.Lord Ben Houchen, the Conservative Party mayor of the Tees Valley, raised the concern in an interview with The Independent after thousands of jobs were lost at the Port Talbot steelworks in south Wales when blast furnaces were closed down.But Lord Houchen’s biggest fear is the steelworks in Scunthorpe in the North East which he believes there is a secret deal to shut down and supply steel from Brazil instead.Worse still, he claims the agreement will make it look like the steel comes from South America, but is really being produced in China.Lord Ben Houchen, mayor of the Tees Valley, is worried about the future of steel production More