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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 moreWatch live as Sir Keir Starmer holds a news conference on net migration.The prime minister will hold a press conference on migration in Downing Street at 3pm on Thursday (28 November).Sir Keir is expected to respond to the latest data, which revealed net migration to the UK hit a record 906,000 in 2023.The ONS figures indicate net migration has since dropped by 20 percent and stood at 728,000 in the latest period for the year to June 2024.A total of 133,409 people were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK at the end of September 2024.This is up 12 percent from 118,882 at the end of June 2024, but down year on year by 19% from 165,411 at the end of September 2023.The number peaked at 175,457 at the end of June 2023, which was the highest figure since current records began in 2010.The number of people waiting more than six months for an initial decision stood at 83,888 at the end of September, up from 76,268 at the end of June, but down year-on-year by 33% from 124,461.Home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “In the space of four years net migration rose by almost five times to a record high – that shows the serious damage that was done to the immigration system, the lack of proper controls in place, and the over-reliance on a big increase in overseas recruitment.“Net migration is still four times higher than it was at the beginning of the last parliament and we are clear that it needs to come down.” 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 Rachel Reeves delivers her CBI speech on Monday (25 November) as the chancellor insists there is “no alternative” to tax rises.Earlier today, the chancellor was accused of catching firms “off guard” and undermining investment and jobs, the head of one of Britain’s leading business groups said.Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said profit is “not a dirty word” because it underpins firms’ ability to invest, but the Government’s actions have hampered that.The Chancellor is expected to tell the organisation there is “no alternative” to tax rises as she holds firm against criticism of the £25 billion increase in firms’ national insurance contributions (NICs).Ms Newton-Smith welcomed the new political and economic stability offered by the government after the turbulence of the Conservative years, but condemned the way firms have been blindsided by the increase in NICs and the lowering of the threshold at which they start to be paid.She warned it will make it more difficult to achieve the economic growth sought by Ms Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer. 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 defence secretary John Healey faces MPs on Thursday (21 November) as Ukraine fired British missiles at Russia for the first time.The British-made missile – which Kyiv has been lobbying to use beyond Russia’s borders for months – was fired at Russia on Wednesday, with images published by Russian military bloggers purporting to show Storm Shadow fragments in Russia’s Kursk region, beyond Ukraine’s northeastern border.Meanwhile, Russia today launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from Astrakhan region during a morning attack, Ukraine’s air force said.Ukraine’s military also said it shot down six Kh-101 cruise missiles launched by Russia during the attack.The Russian attack targeted enterprises and critical infrastructure in the central-eastern city of Dnipro, the air force said, at a time of escalating moves in the 33-month-old war launched by Russia in Ukraine.It was unclear from the statement what the intercontinental ballistic missile targeted and whether it caused any damage.The missiles have a range of thousands of kilometres and can be used for delivering nuclear warheads, though they can also have conventional warheads. 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 Rachel Reeves pledges to rip up financial red tape in a major speech, arguing that regulatory changes following the 2008 economic crash have “gone too far”.The Chancellor will use her first Mansion House address on Thursday (14 November) to say that measures brought in since the crisis to “eliminate risk” have had “unintended consequences” in holding back growth.Speaking in the City of London, Ms Reeves is expected to announce a package of reforms aimed at driving competition across financial services.This will include sending “growth-focused remit letters” to regulators and overhauling the system for consumer redress aimed at giving customers and businesses “clearer expectations” about the compensation landscape in future, the Treasury said.She is expected to announce plans for pension “megafunds” which could result in around £80 billion to invest in businesses and infrastructure.It is believed she will also say the financial services sector is “the crown jewel in our economy” and “a global success story: we are the second exporter of financial services in the G7”. 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 moreCloseA senior Labour MP has intervened in the Justin Welby abuse row highlighting his “failure to act” as the party adds to the pressure piling on the Archbishop of Canterbury.Marsha de Cordova, who represents the Church of England in the House of Commons, said the sexual abuse scandal was a “stark reminder that the church has much more work to do” to clean up its act.She stopped short of backing calls for Mr Welby to resign, but her pointed remarks add to the pressure on the embattled archbishop after a damning report into a barrister thought to have been the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church of England.A senior Labour MP has intervened in the Justin Welby abuse row as the party adds to the pressure piling on the Archbishop of Canterbury 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 moreCloseWatch again as new Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch challenged Sir Keir Starmer for the first time in Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (6 November).PMQs came as Donald Trump was declared the 47th president of the United States.Both party leaders sent messages of congratulations to Trump.The prime minister congratulated the former US president on his “historic election victory”, asserting both countries stood shoulder to shoulder as close allies with shared democratic values.“The world faces many serious challenges and I look forward to our two countries working together to confront them,” Ms Badenoch posted on X earlier this morning. 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 moreCloseRachel Reeves has been accused of “traumatising” farmers with her new inheritance tax raid on a sector already grappling with a mental health crisis.Farmers will have to pay 20 per cent of tax on inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m from April under changes announced in the Budget last Wednesday.Coupled with increases in workers’ minimum wage and national insurance for employers, farmers say the “tractor tax” will kill off generations-old family farms across the country.But there are also fears that the controversial move could exacerbate a mental health crisis in the industry, which secretary of state for rural affairs, Steve Reed, said had the highest suicide rate of any sector in the UK in May.Stockton West MP Matt Vickers has accused the government of failing to listen to farmers before last week’s Budget 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 moreCloseWatch live as Sir Keir Starmer announces Labour’s plan to tackle people smuggling on Monday (4 November) at the Interpol General Assembly in Glasgow.The prime minister and home secretary will both speak at the Interpol General Assembly at the start of a week-long blitz on small boat crossings that will also see Sir Keir in Hungary for talks on tackling people smuggling.The speech in Scotland will see the prime minister pledge a further £75 million for the border command, doubling the total funding to £150 million over the next two years.The money will be used to fund high-tech surveillance equipment and 100 specialist investigators who will target criminals engaged in people smuggling.The prime minister is expected to say in his speech that “the world needs to wake up to the severity” of the challenge of crossings.“I was elected to deliver security for the British people. And strong borders are a part of that. But security doesn’t stop at our borders,” he will tell the event.“There’s nothing progressive about turning a blind eye as men, women and children die in the Channel.”More than 5,000 people crossed the Channel in small boats in October, making it the busiest month of the year so far for crossings.In addition, more than 430 people arrived over the first two days in November. More