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.Read moreA cabinet minister had defended the government’s controversial Chagos island deal after it emerged that one of its architects has been arrested and is facing money laundering charges. Former Mauritius prime minister Pravind Jugnauth “is under arrest”, the state-run Financial Crimes Commission said on Sunday. In response, the business secretary Jonathan Reynolds told GB news: “Let’s not lose sight of what we are trying to do here… it is about securing the long-term future of an important facility.” He added that it would be “irresponsible” to not engage “with this issue and put a UK-US base’s future in question.” US navy ship at Diego Garcia 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.Read moreThe Labour MP behind the assisted dying legislation has appealed to critics not to flood her bill with amendments before MPs have a chance to make their final verdict.Kim Leadbeater gave a full and frank interview with The Independent after a bruising first week of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill committee scrutinising the proposal line by line over two sessions. She said: “What I wouldn’t want to see would be that people do try and put so many amendments in that we don’t end up getting to third reading. But most MPs I’ve spoken to this week understand the parliamentary process.”Because a private member’s bill is not government legislation, it is vulnerable to being stopped through the parliamentary process. Already progress has been slow, with the 23 MPs on the committee still looking at the first clause when it was hoped they would have already dealt with six.Labour MP Kim Leadbeater has argued her proposed changes to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill make it stronger 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.Read moreA cabinet minister has hit back at an extraordinary rant by US vice president JD Vance, in which he attacked European democracies and claimed the greatest threat facing the continent was not Russia or China but “from within”.Mr Vance stunned delegates at the Munich Security Conference on Friday as he accused Europe of “retreating from some of its most fundamental values”, including free speech. Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the BBC he disagreed with Mr Vance’s take on the largest threat facing Europe.“I would disagree on that,” he said. “I think the threat from Russia is real.” Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he disagreed with JD Vance 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.Read moreLabour’s plan to tackle the housing crisis is unachievable, the construction industry has warned, saying it simply does not have enough workers to build 1.5m homes in the next five years.Angela Rayner last week said there was “no excuse” not to meet the target and this week Sir Keir Starmer doubled down on that pledge, committing to the creation of a generation of new towns with spades in the ground before the next election in 2029.But the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS), which supports and represents builders, has poured cold water on the plans, warning that the sector “simply doesn’t have the workforce to build it”. While Sir Keir has said ministers are “urgently using all levers available to build the homes we need so more families can get on the housing ladder”, the CCS said the government’s major infrastructure projects are at risk because of a “black hole in recruitment”.Angela Rayner insists there is “no excuse” for not meeting her ambitious home-building target 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.Read moreA cabinet minister has said the UK has to spend more on defence as he warned the US against cutting European nations out of talks over the future of Ukraine.Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said any peace settlement would not be “durable” without their participation.Sir Keir Starmer is to attend a crisis summit on Ukraine in Paris on Monday, as European leaders reel from the events of the last week. A Ukrainian tank brigade on the frontline in the Kharkiv region 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.Read moreKeir Starmer has pledged to put the government’s “full weight” behind the UK steel industry after Donald Trump’s tariffs threat. Up to £2.5 billion will be put towards supporting the sector after the US president triggered panic last Monday over the future of the fragile industry in the UK when he announced a worldwide 25 per cent tariff on steel imports. Keir Starmer has pledged billion to support the sector 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.Read moreKeir Starmer is set to join a European crisis summit to face down the threat of Russia after the US barred European leaders from peace talks with Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine war.France is preparing to host the last-minute, informal meeting with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte following comments by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky that the continent should form an “army of Europe” as it could not rely on the US for defence.Sir Keir said: “This is a once-in-a-generation moment for our national security where we engage with the reality of the world today and the threat we face from Russia.”“It’s clear Europe must take on a greater role in Nato as we work with the United States to secure Ukraine’s future and face down the threat we face from Russia. Keir Starmer is set to join a European crisis summit to face down the threat of Russia 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.Read moreDavid Lammy has warned that failure to deal with Russia over Ukraine would cost the UK billions, as the US said Europe would be excluded from talks over the country’s future. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, the foreign secretary said Ukraine had an “irreversible pathway towards Nato” and pointed to the approximate 7 per cent of gross domestic product that countries spent on defence in the Cold War, against the current UK rate of 2.3 per cent. “Don’t think that not meeting the challenge now somehow saves us money down the line,” Mr Lammy said on Saturday. “If Ukraine were to fail, the costs would be considerably more.”And he called on Donald Trump, who famously wrote a book titled The Art of the Deal, to realise a good “deal” was working with Ukraine. David Lammy called on Donald Trump, who once wrote a book titled The Art of the Deal, to realise a good ‘deal’ was working with Ukraine More