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 ThomasEditor Thousands of protesters gathered outside the headquarters of Hungary’s public media corporation on Saturday to demonstrate against what they say is an entrenched propaganda network operated by the nationalist government at taxpayer expense. The protest was organized by Hungary’s most prominent opposition figure, Péter Magyar, and his upstart TISZA party, which has emerged in recent months as the most serious political challenge for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán since he took power nearly 15 years ago. Magyar, whose party received nearly 30% of the vote in European Union elections this summer and is polling within a few points of the governing Fidesz party, has been outspoken about what he sees as the damage Orbán’s “propaganda factory” has done to Hungary’s democracy.“What is happening here in Hungary in 2024, and calling itself ‘public service’ media, is a global scandal,” Magyar told the crowd in Budapest on Saturday. “Enough of the nastiness, enough of the lies, enough of the propaganda. Our patience has run out. The time for confrontation has come.” Both Hungarian and international observers have long warned that press freedom in the Central European country was under threat, and that Orbán’s party has used media buyouts by government-connected business tycoons to build a pro-government media empire. Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders estimates that such buyouts have given Orbán’s party control of some 80% of Hungary’s media market resources. In 2021, the group put Orbán on its list of media “predators,” the first EU leader to earn the distinction.On Saturday, Balázs Tömpe, a protester that traveled several hours to attend the demonstration, called the state media headquarters a “factory of lies.”“The propaganda goes out at such a level and is so unbalanced that it’s blood boiling, and I think we need to raise our voices,” he said. “It’s nonsense that only government propaganda comes out in the media that is financed by the taxpayers.”A retired teacher from southern Hungary, Ágnes Gera, said dissenting voices were censored from the public media, limiting Hungarians’ access to information about political alternatives. “It’s very burdensome and unfortunate that the system works this way where the public only hears from one side and don’t even know about the other side,” she said. Magyar demanded the resignation of the public media director, and echoed complaints from many opposition politicians that they are not provided the opportunity to appear on public television to communicate with voters. He called his supporters to another demonstration on Oct 23, a national holiday commemorating Hungary’s failed revolution against Soviet domination in 1956. 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 ThomasEditorThe Conservative leadership contest continues to ramp up after the four remaining contenders made their pitches to voters and delegates at the party’s 2024 conference.Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick and Tom Tugendhat are the final candidates for the Tory top spot. Although the race was announced on 5 July, the leader will not be revealed until early November – although two candidates have called for the timeframe to be cut down.Until then, former prime minister Rishi Sunak retains the position and has refused to be drawn into the ongoing contest so far.Conservative MPs are set to whittle the field down to two final candidates on 9 and 10 October.Polls have put Ms Badenoch ahead of the pack, with Mr Jenrick closing in at just four points behind – up from 15 points six weeks ago. Dividing lines were drawn between the pair at the conference in Birmingham when Ms Badenoch suggested maternity pay in the UK is “excessive”.Although the former business secretary later backtracked, Mr Jenrick took the opportunity to reaffirm his support of maternity provisions, saying he is “firmly on the side of parents and working mums”.Meanwhile, the polling puts Mr Cleverly and Mr Tugendhat as third and fourth favourites. Although a separate poll showed that Mr Cleverly was the general public’s first choice, it is only Conservative Party members that will be voting in the final round.Here’s your guide to the four candidates to be the next Conservative Party leader.Kemi BadenochKemi Badenoch has previously been seen as a front-runner 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 ThomasEditorJustice secretary Shabana Mahmood is facing pressure from the public to link early releases from prison to drug testing, a new poll suggests.Polling of 2,001 adults conducted by Opinion Matters revealed 90 per cent think drug testing is important to rehabilitation of prisoners while 77.8 per cent support 24/7 drug monitoring in prisons.Crucially, 40 per cent would be less concerned about early release if it was linked to drug testing with clean results.It comes as the government has faced criticism over the early release of thousands of prisoners in the last few weeks because of the overcrowded conditions they discovered when they took power from the Tories.Mahmood was faced with a prisons overcrowding crisis when taking office 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 ThomasEditorThe government is reportedly set to ban vaping in playgrounds, hospital grounds and near schools in a crackdown on e-cigarettes aimed at preventing children from taking up the habit.In a move believed to be favoured by the country’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty, Health Secretary Wes Streeting is said to be considering limiting the use of e-cigarettes outdoors in England, with restrictions set to be included in the tobacco and vapes bill due to be presented to parliament in the upcoming weeks.Mr Whitty is thought to have pushed for pub gardens to be included in the ban. While no final decision has been made, The Times reported it is unlikely this move will be made following the backlash over suggestions of an outdoor hospitality ban in August.The reported proposals are part of efforts to reduce the number of preventable deaths linked to tobacco use.A new study published in Lancet Public Health this week suggested the number of people vaping in England who have never regularly smoked has increased sharply to one million since 2021, representing a sevenfold increase in only three years.Health Secretary Wes Streeting is said to be considering limiting the use of e-cigarettes outdoors in England More

Boris Johnson explains why he thinks apologising for Partygate was mistakeYour support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseMy recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyondEric GarciaWashington Bureau ChiefBoris Johnson has said he regrets apologising for the so-called partygate scandal over lockdown-era gatherings in Downing Street in a new interview.Facing a grilling on ITV tonight, the former prime minister claimed the move had “inadvertently validated the entire corpus” as accusations were also levelled at officials who were “working very hard”.He went on to defend the revellers, insisting that he does not think officials involved in the Westminster scandal “thought they were setting out to break the rules”.Meanwhile, Sky News’s political editor Beth Rigby announced she has pulled out of an interview with Mr Johnson at the Cheltenham Literature Festival after being told she could not make a recording or transcript of the talk, marking the second interview the former Tory MP has lost this week.It comes as a group of indigenous Chagossians, Chagossian Voices, planned to stage a protest in Westminster, claiming they have been “consistently and deliberately ignored” by the UK government over discussions surrounding the handover of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, The Independent understands. Sir Keir Starmer has defended the government’s decision in the face of significant backlash, claiming that the UK-Mauritius deal ensures continued security of the US-UK Diego Garcia military base.Show latest update 1728081172We are pausing our live updates for nowWe are pausing our live updates for now.Thank you for following this blog.Tara Cobham4 October 2024 23:321728077400Bill to give ‘choice at end of life’ to be introduced to Parliament this monthProposals to change the law to give terminally ill people “choice at the end of life” are to be introduced in parliament this month.Labour MP Kim Leadbeater said she hoped for “honest, compassionate and respectful debate” when her Bill, which will be tabled on 16 October, is considered in the Commons.The conversation around legalising assisted dying has been increasingly in the spotlight for the past year, with high-profile figures including broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen calling for a parliamentary debate and vote on change.Dame Esther said she is “thrilled and grateful” at the news, which she said could mean “terminally ill people like me can look forward with hope and confidence that we could have a good death”.She said: “I never thought I might live to see the current cruel law change.“But even if it is too late for me, I know thousands of terminally ill patients and their families will be given new hope.“All we ask is to be given the choice over our own lives.”Ms Leadbeater said her private member’s bill (PMB) would establish in law the right for terminally ill eligible adults to have choice at the end of life to shorten their deaths and ensure stronger protections for them and their loved ones in the aftermath.She said: “Parliament should now be able to consider a change in the law that would offer reassurance and relief – and most importantly, dignity and choice – to people in the last months of their lives.”Salma Ouaguira4 October 2024 22:301728075600Blame Sunak for Tory election drubbing, not me, says JohnsonSalma Ouaguira4 October 2024 22:001728075240Watch: Boris Johnson refuses to rule out return to politicsBoris Johnson refuses to rule out return to politicsTara Cobham4 October 2024 21:541728075212Tom Bradby slams Boris Johnson over Partygate in heated confrontationTom Bradby slams Boris Johnson over Partygate in heated confrontationITV News presenter Tom Bradby slammed Boris Johnson over the Partygate scandal during a heated confrontation. The former prime minister and presenter clashed as the latter described it “madness” that Mr Johnson was hosting Downing Street garden parties with 100 people present, while people died alone in hospital during the Covid pandemic. In the interview, which aired on Friday (4 October) Mr Bradby told him: “People are dying alone, and here is your private secretary writing to over 100 people inviting them to a party. “People cannot understand why you are not apologetic over that.” Mr Bradby added: “You were inviting 100 people to a garden, it’s madness.”Tara Cobham4 October 2024 21:531728073800Review: Unleashed – A memoir that’s twisted, sour and full of more lies“Shameless, sour, predictable, self-exculpatory stuff”: Enjoy Sean O’Grady’s review of Boris Johnson’s memoir:Salma Ouaguira4 October 2024 21:301728072031Argentina says it will take ‘full sovereignty’ of Falklands after Chagos Islands returnArgentina has vowed to gain “full sovereignty” of the Falkland Islands after the UK gave up control of a remote archipelago.The country’s foreign minister, Diana Mondino, welcomed the step taken by Sir Keir Starmer’s Government on Thursday towards ending “outdated practices” after Britain returned the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.She promised “concrete action” to ensure that the Falklands – the British-controlled archipelago that Argentina calls the Malvinas and claims as its own – are handed to Buenos Aires.You can read the full story below:Salma Ouaguira4 October 2024 21:001728070722Boris Johnson reveals his Covid battle was worse than public knewBoris Johnson reveals his Covid battle was worse than public knewBoris Johnson has revealed his Covid battle was worse than the public knew. In an interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby on Friday (4 October), the former prime minister explained more about the impact Covid had on him. Mr Johnson admitted he was “groggier” than he let on after returning home from the hospital, but was conscious he had a job to get on with during the pandemic in 2020. The former Conservative leader said: “My oxygen levels went down to 72 or something which is pretty bad. “I know how terrible a disease Covid is. I was groggier than I let on.”Tara Cobham4 October 2024 20:381728070231ICYMI: Starmer declares carbon capture investment as ‘national renewal in action’Sir Keir Starmer hailed today’s investment announcement as a demonstration of “the politics of renewal in action”.Addressing an audience at a glass manufacturing facility, he emphasised that the government is “fixing the foundations and providing a long-term industrial strategy”.Reflecting on his past work as a lawyer for coal mining families during the industry’s decline under the Conservative government, he said: “I worked with families and communities who were going to lose their jobs in a really important industry, and I therefore know first hand what this country lost when we ended coal in that way.“Because we lost jobs, we lost communities, we lost a way of life. I think we lost dignity, and we also, I think, lost identity.”He added: “We are the first industrial nation. That’s who we are as a country. It’s our story. A source of pride that this country, our country, communities like here, changed the world. And that what is made here matters.“You can’t take that away from people without a plan to replace it. It’s like losing a part of yourself, a missing limb, an open wound, a heart ripped out of the nation.”Salma Ouaguira4 October 2024 20:301728069168Full story: Broadcaster pulls out of Boris Johnson interview after no recording allowedSky News political editor Beth Rigby said she has pulled out of an interview with former prime minister Boris Johnson at the Cheltenham Literature Festival after being told she could not make a recording or transcript of the talk.Mr Johnson had promised to “reveal what really happened during my time as Mayor, Foreign Secretary and PM” during the interview, as he promotes his new memoir titled Unleashed to be published next week.It comes after an interview with the BBC was dropped earlier in the week after presenter Laura Kuenssberg mistakenly sent him her briefing notes.Ellie Iorizzo reports:Tara Cobham4 October 2024 20:12 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 ThomasEditorFormer prime minister Boris Johnson has refused to say whether he regrets apologising to the Queen for a party in Downing Street on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral. in an interview with ITV, the ex-Tory leader made clear that he regretted his public apology for the Partygate scandal.But he would not be drawn on his conversations with the former monarch. The four candidates in the current Tory leadership contest have been urged to condemn his remarks, as he was accused of insulting “everyone who lost family members” during the Covid pandemic. The four candidates in the Tory leadership race have been urged to condemn Boris Johnson’s Partygate remarks More