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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 moreLabour is planning billions in welfare spending cuts as part of Rachel Reeves’ upcoming spring statement, new reports have suggested.The chancellor will be announcing her plans for the government’s finances on 26 March, with a raft of multi-department cuts floated. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is expected to bear the brunt of these, with as much as £5bn reportedly to be earmarked for savings.Estimates of exactly how much Ms Reeves is looking to pull back from government receipts have only increased in recent months.Treasury insiders have indicated that the £9.9bn fiscal headroom left after Labour’s October Budget has been severely reduced, with one telling the BBC that “the world has changed” since then.The subsequent months have seen the economy essentially flatline, while borrowing costs have risen and mass uncertainty takes hold amid tensions around the US and Ukraine.Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall claimed the new measure was ‘good for workers and fair on businesses’ (Jacob King/PA) 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 DWP has been warned against “intrusive” measures which could permit agents to spy on “everybody’s bank accounts” when new legislation passes.Labour’s new Fraud, Error and Debt Bill is currently making its way through parliament, and is set to come into force later this year. It forms a central part of DWP plans to crackdown on benefit fraud, with new powers for the department to request information from claimants’ bank accounts.The bill will revive a similar plan that was introduced by the Conservative government but placed in limbo but held back due to the general election. It will require banks to comply with government requests to share data to identify benefit fraud.But “it is not just benefits claimants who will be targeted,” Jasleen Chaggar, legal and policy officer at Big Brother Watch told MPs at the bill’s committee stage, “it is everyone’s accounts, including yours and mine.”The Department for Work and Pensions office in London (John Stillwell/PA) 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 moreThousands of farmers are set to head to London for the latest in a series of protests as the ‘Pancake Day Rally’ against Labour changes to inheritance tax gets underway.Farmers and their allies will begin to gather from midday on Tuesday for speeches outside Parliament. Industry leaders say the plan put forward by chancellor Rachel Reeves during her first Budget last October, is “marching the UK into a food crisis”.Police have warned attendees that they face arrest if they bring unauthorised tractors to Whitehall, as has been seen at previous events. This marks the first time such a warning has been put in place, with several tractors hitting the streets on central London in recent months.Farmers and their tractors protest in Whitehall, London, February 2025 (Gareth Fuller/PA) 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 moreDonald Trump is set to become the first US president to receive a second state visit to the UK, but calls are growing for it to be scrapped in the wake of his Oval Office clash with Volodymyr Zelensky.Critics – including SNP leader John Swinney and senior Conservative MP Alicia Kearns – say Britain should not reward a president who has undermined a key ally. Kearns, who is shadow minister for foreign affairs, warned that no visit should proceed unless America’s commitment to its allies is assured, adding: “State visits should be conferred to the most honourable of allies, not to curry favour.”However, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has dismissed demands to withdraw the invitation, insisting he won’t be “diverted” by those ramping up rhetoric.Lib Dem leader Ed Davey agreed, adding that the visit should be used to secure stronger commitments from Trump on Ukraine.With Trump’s recent behaviour and stance on Ukraine raising concerns, we want to know what you think. Is rolling out the red carpet the right move, or should Britain take a stand?Share your thoughts in the comments – we’ll feature the most compelling responses.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 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 moreWatch live as Sir Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs today (26 February) ahead of crunch US talks with Donald Trump.Sir Keir faces the Tory leader a day after his shock announcement to increase the UK’s defence spending to 2.5 per cent and just hours before he travels to Washington DC to meet with the US President.Defence secretary John Healey has insisted that the US president’s demands are not the sole reason for the increase.He pointed out that this promise was made in Labour’s election manifesto. but is being delivered three years early as the “world has changed”.It comes after Sir Keir said Britain would hike defence spending by 2027 with a further “ambition” to hit 3 per cent by the early 2030s.European countries including France and Germany have signalled a need to increase defence spending, but details of how and when this will happen have been vague.Sir Keir acknowledged his plans were accelerated by US president Donald Trump’s criticism of Ukraine and threats to withdraw security guarantees from Europe. 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 moreWatch as Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch stressed the importance of putting Britain first in a major foreign policy speech on Tuesday (25 February).Ms Badenoch also warned that there will be “painful decisions on government spending” when it comes to funding defence.In the address on Tuesday, she also spoke of the “need to disengage” from international bodies if they are “taken over by activists or by autocratic regimes like China or Russia”.The Conservative leader said that “our foreign policy should seek to support our national interest” and “sovereignty must be at the core of our foreign policy”.She added: “Our national interest is first and foremost to protect our country, to strengthen our country, and to look after ourselves. That means a strong military and a strong economy.“That is not a selfish objective, it is realism – because you cannot help others if you cannot help yourself. Strengthening Britain must be the principal objective at the heart of everything we do.”The speech – delivered a day after the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – also touched on defence, as Ms Badenoch said “we must do what it takes to protect Britain”. 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 planned benefit spending cuts have reportedly ballooned to as much as £5 billion as Rachel Reeves grapples with ministers over her upcoming spending review.Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) boss Liz Kendall is understood to be pushing for more funding for initiatives on back-to-work programmes for the long-term sick. The minister has argued that measures to give claimants better help now will ultimately fund themselves in the future.But chancellor Rachel Reeves remains under pressure to find substantial departmental cuts, The Times reports. And while government sources indicate that a £5 billion cut is the most likely option to be selected, packages in excess of £10 billion have been floated.It comes as the Treasury faces renewed calls to boost defence spending in the wake of Donald Trump’s drastic approach to the conflict in Ukraine. The US president has demanded all European nations increase their target to five per cent of GDP, with the UK currently spending around 2.3 per cent.Last year, Labour pledged match the previous Conservative government’s spending target and shave £3 billion from the welfare bill. It now appears that this could be a minimum, and the actual amount possibly much higher.Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall (Jordan Pettitt/PA) 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 moreDepictions of older people as hoarding wealth and working against the young are “ageist stereotypes” a cross-party group of MPs has said.The Women and Equalities Committee writes that the “boomers” trope, referring to those born between the mid-1940s and mid-1960s, is a “significant contributory factor to the normalisation of ageist attitudes” in the UK.A report from the group – entitled ‘The rights of older people’ – says this age group are stereotyped as a group “who hoard wealth to the disadvantage of younger people,” creating “unnecessary and unhelpful division” between generations.The Committee notes that many older people are depicted as “living comfortable lives in homes they own while younger generations struggle on low incomes, unable to afford to enter the housing market and struggling with high rents.”This is described as an “othering” narrative by the authors, and a “unique form of discrimination, as younger people essentially discriminate against their future selves.”There are 1.9 million pensioners living in poverty in the UK (Kirsty O’Connor/PA) More