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 moreCloseRobert Jenrick has been accused of “an obnoxious distortion of history” after saying former British colonies should be grateful for the legacy of empire.The Conservative Party leadership hopeful said Commonwealth nations owe Britain a “debt of gratitude” for the democratic institutions they inherited after gaining independence from the UK.Writing in the Daily Mail, he said: “Many of our former colonies — amid the complex realities of empire — owe us a debt of gratitude for the inheritance we left them.”Mr Jenrick, a former Home Office minister, is battling against Kemi Badenoch this weekend to head up the Tory Party.Speaking to The Independent, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Labour MP and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Afrikan reparations, described Mr Jenrick’s remarks as deeply offensive.”These comments are deeply offensive and an obnoxious distortion of history,” the MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill said.“Enslavement and colonialism were not ‘gifts’ but imposed systems that brutally exploited people, extracted wealth, and dismantled societies, all for the benefit of Britain.“To suggest that former colonies should be ‘grateful’ for such unimaginable harm disregards the legacy of these injustices and the long-term impact they still have on many nations today.”The MP suggested that such comments from Mr Jenrick may serve to alienate Britain from the international community and harm economic prospects.“Following Brexit, we need to establish ourselves as a nation that everyone can do business with; we cannot afford such vile baseless commentary,” she explained.“Whilst it might send perfectly pitched dog whistles for a Tory leadership contest, these insulting sentiments are catastrophic for international relations.“Any wannabe leader should have the sense to understand that.”Labour councillor Zainab Asunramu suggested Mr Jenrick’s comments show that he’s unfit to be the next Conservative Party leader.“Raping, pillaging, murdering and enslaving Black people and subjecting them to sustained, abhorrent, inhumane and degrading treatment…that is a legacy he is proud of?,” she said.“Jenrick is not fit for office, let alone to be a leader of any political party in the UK.”Writer Ian Birrell added: “Just when you thought Jenrick couldn’t look any more desperate and ridiculous….”Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, lawyer and activist, described Mr Jenrick as a “political illiterate”, adding: “Britain would be nothing without colonised African and Asian nations.”Mr Jenrick has addressed the topic of slavery reparations before, recently calling Britain to reject such calls.During a speech at the Henry Jackson Society, a right-wing think tank, last week, he said: “While the topic of overseas aid and reparations is being discussed, let me confront it head-on.“We must unequivocally reject these claims, they are based on false and misleading narratives about our past, after all it was Britain that worked harder than nearly any other country to eradicate the slave trade.”This comes after dozens of Commonwealth nations, many of whom are former colonies and territories of Britain, lobbied Britain to discuss reparations at a recent summit.Prime minister Keir Starmer rejected the idea of reparations payments which yielded criticism. 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 moreCloseAs Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer assures the public that “working people” have nothing to fear from Wednesday’s Budget, confusion has arisen over who exactly qualifies as a “working person.”Labour has promised not to raise taxes on working people, but the term remains unclear, with care minister Stephen Kinnock recently dodging questions on whether those earning over £100,000 fall into that category. The prime minister triggered a backlash by implying that landlords and those with shares may not be classified as working people. After public outcry, Downing Street clarified that individuals whose primary income comes from work — not investments — are still considered working people.Meanwhile, health secretary Wes Streeting has said he considers himself a “working person,” despite earning £160,000 annually, and suggested that the government’s decisions are primarily focused on those with low and middle incomes. He told Sky News: “In our manifesto we were very clear about the steps we were going to take to protect working people, which was ruling out increases in income tax, national insurance and VAT, and despite all the pressures that we are under and the scale of the black hole in the public finances, we will honour every single one of those commitments.“Just on this ‘working person point’, I think what we mean is when we’re making decisions, especially in the context of a Budget, who do we have in our mind’s eye?”As Chancellor Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver Labour’s first Budget in 14 years, we want to hear your views. How should “working people” be defined? Should high earners or those with investments be included? And how should this affect decisions in the upcoming Budget?Share your thoughts by adding them in the comments — we’ll highlight the most insightful ones as they come in.All you have to do is sign up and register your details — then you can take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen. 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 moreCloseSir Keir Starmer’s approval rating has collapsed more significantly after winning an election than any other prime minister in modern history, a new poll has shown.Following the July election, which saw the Labour Party win a landslide majority of 174 seats, the prime minister approval rating reached a high of plus 11. But by October, just days before Rachel Reeves’ Budget on Wednesday, new polling from More in Common showed that the prime minister’s personal approval rating has fallen to -38 – a net drop of 49 points.His rating is now lower than that of former prime minister Rishi Sunak, which now sits at -31 following an increase of six points since he lost the election.Sir Keir’s approval rating has collapsed since winning the election 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 will raise the minimum wage by 6 per cent at Wednesday’s Budget, handing a pay rise to more than a million workers on low incomes.The chancellor is due to announce the inflation-busting hike when she delivers her first financial statement, with the increase higher than predicted in September.The boost will benefit young people the most, as the government will ensure 18 to 20-year-olds are paid the same rate as older workers – closing the current gap.Rachel Reeves will become the first woman to deliver a Budget 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 has warned that tomorrow’s Budget will just be the beginning of painful measures to fix “14 years of Tory damage”.The chancellor joined health secretary Wes Streeting for a hospital visit to highlight NHS funding ahead of her first major financial statement since becoming chancellor in July.But with the prime minister also warning of “tough choices” ahead, Ms Reeves suggested that the expected tax rises this week will not be the end of difficult decisions to fix the country.She has promised to produce economic growth but also pledged to her party that there will be “no new austerity”.However, with warnings that expected tax rises on capital gains, inheritance and employers’ national insurance will harm economic growth, Ms Reeves was unwilling to say whether that or avoiding austerity is her top priority.Prime minister Keir Starmer and chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves 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 moreCloseSir Keir Starmer mistakenly announced that Rachel Reeves would unveil five new freeports in Wednesday’s Budget, in what officials have reportedly dubbed a “total cock-up”.The prime minister told reporters that while freeports were a scheme inherited by the new Labour government, it plans to “maximise their potential”, saying they would “have this government’s stamp on them”. A press release accompanying the announcement claimed Ms Reeves would announce “five new freeports as part of the government’s package of measures to fix the foundations and rebuild the country”.But it is understood the government actually planned to announce new customs sites at five existing freeports that were previously announced by the Conservatives. A government official told the Financial Times it had been a “total cock-up with the comms”.While freeports can exist as a physical piece of infrastructure without customs sites, government sources told The Independent they do not class them as “operational” until they have designated tax and customs sites.Freeports are areas near shipping ports or airports where tariffs do not apply to imported goods.Firms in these areas also pay lower national insurance for new employees and lower property taxes.Plans to establish investment zones at 12 sites were announced by the Conservatives in 2023. Investment zones in England have the potential to create 89,000 additional jobs by 2033, bringing in a total of £11bn of private investment, the government said. Cabinet minister Pat McFadden defended the government’s plan, telling the BBC: “This is changes in five of the existing freeports that are coming out – these freeports have certain customs zones and tax-free zones and so on.“The view that we’ve taken of this, like a lot of things, is, if something’s working, can you improve it? If it’s not working, will you change it? And we take quite a pragmatic view of this.”But the Conservative Party described the situation as a “humiliating U-turn that will once again damage the already shrinking business confidence in this country”.Downing Street has been contacted for comment. More