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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.Read moreKing Charles could be dragged into a row with Donald Trump over the US president’s claim that he wants to make Canada the 51st state, one of Britain’s top broadcasters has warned.The monarch risks being exposed in the spat due to his role as Canada’s head of state, raising questions about whether he should stay silent as the country faces the ire of the US president.As well as being a key member of the Commonwealth, Canada and the UK both share a head of state in King Charles.But Sir Keir Starmer has so far refused to criticise Mr Trump for saying he would “love to see Canada become the 51st state”, even threatening to use “economic force” to make it happen.King Charles is also Canada’s head of state 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 moreMigrants who are unemployed or in low-paid jobs will face being forced to leave the UK under plans being drawn up by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch.As she seeks both to win back votes from Reform UK and to revitalise the party after last year’s election defeat, Ms Badenoch has pledged to crack down on legal and illegal migration.“The right to citizenship and permanent residency should only go to those who have demonstrated a real commitment to the UK. That’s why we should double the length of time before people can qualify for indefinite leave to remain from five to 10 years,” Ms Badenoch said.Under the proposal, legal migrants applying for indefinite leave to remain must navigate much stricter criteria than they’re currently faced with if their application is to succeed.They would have to have been “net contributors” to the British economy over the previous 10 years – up from five years at present.Conservatives leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged a tough stance on migration 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 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