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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.CloseRead moreRachel Reeves’ Budget measures will devastate care providers, leaving vulnerable disabled and elderly people without care next year, healthcare experts are warning.The disastrous scenario could also bankrupt local authorities, care providers say.The rise in employers’ national insurance in April, together with increases in the minimum wage and national living wage, will threaten the future of care companies, according to the Homecare Association, a membership body for care providers.It follows a report by industry analysts LaingBuisson that found a widening gap between the profits of providers reliant on privately paying customers and those of providers dependent on clients funded by the state or NHS.The care sector is especially sensitive to minimum wage changes because care worker pay is among the lowest in the UK, statistics show, and most workers are on low wages.The association says that if care providers fold, the UK risks widespread failure of care provision, which could “leave people without care, overwhelm family carers and cripple NHS services”.The Homecare Association and Care England, which jointly commissioned the report, warned the chancellor, health secretary Wes Streeting and deputy PM Angela Rayner in a letter: “Local authorities could not cope with contract hand-backs or failure of multiple providers.“Councils would have to provide the care themselves. This would cause insolvency of councils.”Councils are already struggling with spiralling costs 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.CloseRead moreReform UK leader Nigel Farage has threatened to name the Chinese spy who was revealed to have links with Prince Andrew, amid reports he also met two former prime ministers.Mr Farage says the party may use parliamentary privilege – which provides legal immunity for MPs in cases such as this – to reveal the name of the businessman in the House of Commons.The alleged spy, known as H6, has been described in court as having formed an “unusual degree of trust” with Prince Andrew and has been banned from entering the UK since 2023. The Home Office, led at the time by Suella Braverman, said the spy had engaged in “covert and deceptive activity” on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.It comes following a Sunday Times report that H6 also met David Cameron at a Downing Street reception and Theresa May at a black-tie event, keeping photos of both encounters, which took place over the last 15 years, in his London office. It is unclear whether the meetings took place while either was in office. On Thursday, a specialist tribunal in London found that Ms Braverman was “entitled to conclude” that H6 was a “risk to national security”.Farage said Reform UK is prepared to lift the anonymity order 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.CloseRead moreThe government has unveiled its “most ambitious” clean power plan yet, pledging to produce almost all its electricity from renewables by 2030 in a bid to stabilise energy prices. The plan, announced on Friday, sets a target of achieving 95 per cent clean electricity by the end of the decade by overhauling the country’s electricity grids, expanding investment and connecting more houses to renewables. Energy secretary Ed Miliband described the measures as the amounting to “the most ambitious reform to the energy system in generations”.“This is about harnessing the power of Britain’s natural resources to protect working people from the ravages of global energy markets,” he said. “The clean power sprint is the national security, economic security, and social justice fight of our time.”The announcement comes after prime minister Keir Starmer told reporters at the UN’s Cop29 climate summit that the UK wants to build on its reputation as a “climate leader”. The UK’s commitment under the Paris Agreement is to reduce emissions by at least 81 per cent by 2035 compared to 1990 levels. The government says its new roadmap will protect households from energy price spikes by shifting Britain’s reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets to homegrown renewables like wind and solar. To do this it aims to unlock £40bn annually in private investment, paving the way for economic growth and thousands of skilled jobs across the UK.“The UK has paid the price for over-reliance on expensive gas over the past few years, and the crisis is not over yet,” said Jess Ralston, head of energy at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).“Accelerating the rollout of renewables will stabilise prices, and clean technology like electric heat pumps will increasingly run off British wind and solar in contrast to gas boilers, which rely on foreign imports.”One of the biggest barriers to renewable energy expansion has been the UK’s outdated grid system. Clean energy projects have been stuck in long queues under a “first-come, first-served” system, leaving billions of pounds of investment tied up. With its new plan, the Labour government wants to prioritise ready-to-go projects that are in line for meeting the 2030 target while removing speculative or stalled proposals from the queue.The government says its Planning and Infrastructure Bill will streamline approvals for critical energy projects like wind farms and battery storage facilities.A view of the Barrett Steel factory with solar panels covering the roof in Shoreham Port, East Sussex, England 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.CloseRead moreEarlier this year, Patrick was sleeping in a field. He had nowhere else to go after fleeing an abusive ex-partner. After years spent sofa surfing following a falling out with his parents over his drug use, which saw him kicked out of the family home, Patrick found himself with nowhere to turn.“I never really had an address or somewhere to call home,” Patrick told The Independent. “I came down to London after leaving my parent’s house. I was sofa surfing for a while, then I moved in with an ex-partner who was abusive. “But early this year, I thought, no, I can’t do it anymore. It’s not healthy for me. I ended up sleeping in a field.”Patrick is one of 136,000 18- to 24-year-olds who faced homelessness in the past year, according to the latest estimates. Around 1 in 52 young people are homeless or at risk of homelessness in the UK, according to network of charities EveryYouth.But Patrick was fortunate. With the help of a local youth homelessness charity the Amber Foundation, he was quickly able to get back on his feet.EveryYouth CEO Nick Connolly has written to Angela Rayner calling for youth homelessness services to be protected from the NIC increase 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.CloseRead moreWatch as Sir Keir Starmer delivered Labour’s major “plan for change” speech on Thursday (5 December).The prime minister addressed several milestones during his speech at Pinewood Studios, including raising living standards, ending hospital backlogs and putting more police on the beat.Sir Keir promised a named, contactable police officer for every neighbourhood in England and Wales, who will be focused on dealing with local issues.The prime minister described the move as “a relief to millions of people scared to walk the streets they call home”, and promised a range of policing reforms to improve performance alongside £100m to support neighbourhood policing.In a speech billed as setting out the “next phase” of his government, the PM detailed ambitious “milestones” for achieving the five missions laid out in Labour’s manifesto. 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.CloseRead moreMPs have taken a historic step towards legalising assisted dying in England and Wales, by voting in favour of a bill that would support terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of six months or less to end their lives.After five hours of intense and heartfelt debate, in which some members of parliament were brought to tears, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was passed in the House of Commons with 330 voting in favour and 275 against. The result was a bigger majority than many were predicting, after similar legislation was roundly defeated in 2015.Under the terms of the bill, a terminally ill adult with a life expectancy of six months or less could seek assistance to end their life, provided that two doctors and a High Court judge approve their decision. Kim Leadbeater opens the debate for the second reading 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.CloseRead moreMPs have voted in favour of the assisted dying bill paving the way for historic change not seen since abortion was legalised in 1967. After five hours of intense and heartfelt debate, in which some members of parliament were brought to tears, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was passed in the House of Commons with 330 voting in favour and 275 against. The result was a bigger majority than many were predicting after similar legislation was soundly defeated in 2015.Under the terms of the Bill, terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months or less could seek assistance to end their life, provided two doctors and a High Court judge confirm their decision. MPs were given a “free vote” on the issue, meaning they could vote according to their conscience and not along party lines. Kim Leadbeater opens the debate on the second reading 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.CloseRead moreWatch live as MPs vote whether or not to legalise assisted dying on Friday (29 November).If passed, it could lead to the most significant reform in British society since the abolition of the death penalty in 1965 and the introduction of abortion two years later.The divisive issue is being debated in the Commons on Friday for the first time in almost a decade – having been voted down by MPs in 2015.Five hours have been set aside for MPs to air their views on Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, and a vote must be called before 2.30pm otherwise the Bill is highly unlikely to make any further progress through Parliament.Ms Leadbeater said she is hopeful this “major social reform” will pass this first stage in the process to becoming law.Encouraging or assisting suicide is against the law in England and Wales, with a maximum jail sentence of 14 years.Ms Leadbeater has said the current law is not fit for purpose and her proposals would allow terminally ill adults in the two nations with less than six months to live to end their lives, subject to the approval of two doctors and a High Court judge. More