UK Politics

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 moreMost teachers are reluctant to use or are not interested in artificial intelligence for pupil learning and assessment, new research has found.A study of more than 5,000 teachers by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, found that the majority (64%) are not using AI tools such as ChatGPT professionally, and 19% are not interested in using it in the future.A lack of clarity on their schools’ policy around AI also appeared to be an issue, with 41% saying their school does not have an agreed approach to AI, while 17% said they do not know if any such policy exists.The survey, which covered 2,000 secondary schools in England, found that 84% of those asked have not changed the way they assess their students’ work, despite the widespread availability of AI tools, and only 41% said they were regularly checking homework or coursework for plagiarised content from the web, served up by AI tools.In its report, BCS calls for the understanding of AI to be made a significant part of teacher training, alongside wider digital literacy.The IT body said schools should also get AI policies in place and publish them on their websites, but that clear guidance on the issue is first needed from the Department for Education, qualifications regulator Ofqual and other bodies.Julia Adamson, managing director for education and public benefit at BCS, said: “Teachers see the opportunity AI presents to transform their work and the lives of their students, from saving time on lesson plans, to personalising learning for each young person.“But they need better training and guidance to grow in confidence with AI, to make sure it is used fairly and that it doesn’t cause greater disadvantage in the education system.”Sarah Hannafin, head of policy for school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “While it is clear that AI has huge potential benefits for schools and children’s learning, it is important that these are harnessed in the right way.“It is understandable that school leaders and teachers need training and guidance in order to feel confident using AI. It is also true that no AI tool is infallible or can replace the judgement and knowledge of a human expert. There are also lots of safeguarding and ethical considerations around use of this technology.“It therefore makes sense that AI is introduced gradually in order to maximise its potential and mitigate the risks.”On Tuesday, the Government announced that it had asked Ofsted to carry out research into artificial intelligence in education, to investigate how schools and further education colleges are using AI to support teaching and learning, as well as to manage administrative systems and processes.The Government said it will use the data collected to understand how AI is already being used and to help it consider the technologies potential uses and benefits. 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 minister who will lead Keir Starmer’s negotiations in resetting the UK’s damaged relationship with the EU has hinted that the government is open to a major concession.After rejecting plans for a youth mobility scheme agreement to allow under-30s to travel and work more easily between the UK and EU, European affairs minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has indicated that the government is now open to consider the proposal.The youth mobility scheme is a top priority for the EU in the talks but had been consistantly rejected by the previous Tory government and then Sir Keir’s Labour government because they did not want to reopen the door to freedom of movement of people.European affairs minister Nick Thomas-Symonds gives evidence to a committee 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 moreLike a leaky old boiler the constant drip, drip, drip of Tory defectors to Reform UK appears to be draining the life away from a greatly weakened Conservative Party just weeks into Kemi Badenoch’s leadership.And the photo opportunity today with billionaire businessman Nick Candy certainly appears to suggest that Nigel Farage and his party will importantly have the money to achieve their goal.That goal is ambitious but simple: To win the next election and install Nigel Farage as prime minister.But with just five MPs after winning around 15 per cent of the vote in July, there are serious questions about whether Reform UK can in reality be anything more than a wrecking party for the Tories.After all, Keir Starmer’s massive majority was built on getting less votes than Jeremy Corbyn when he was thrashed by Boris Johnson in 2019, and winning over just 20 per cent of the entire electorate (when the 40 per cent who did not bother to vote are taken into account). Starmer had Farage as much to thank for his victory as he did himself, with scores of Tory seats going to Labour and the Lib Dems after Reform split the vote.Nigel Farage 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 moreArtificial intelligence could be used to help generate exam questions, the head of England’s exams regulator has suggested.Sir Ian Bauckham, interim chief regulator at Ofqual, said artificial intelligence (AI) can support exam boards in creating question papers which are comparable to previous years.But addressing MPs on the Education Select Committee on Tuesday, Sir Ian said it was “imperative” that a human oversees the marking of students’ work as the public still wants this process in place for qualifications.Sir Ian, who has served as the interim chief regulator of Ofqual since January, has been selected as the Government’s preferred candidate for the permanent position.My judgment would be that there are fewer risks to public confidence there, providing a human is in the loop for final sign-off, than in the actual marking of student workSir Ian Bauckham, interim chief regulator at OfqualDuring his pre-appointment hearing before the committee, Sir Ian said: “There are lots and lots of useful, helpful, quality improving things AI can do, but marking work itself must be overseen by a human being.”He added: “There is potential, I think, for some very exciting uses of AI for the generation of question papers, for comparing question papers year-on-year.”The Ofqual chief said generating question papers which are roughly the same level of difficulty each year is “labour intensive” and “difficult”.Sir Ian said: “It may well be that AI can support with that.“My judgment would be that there are fewer risks to public confidence there, providing a human is in the loop for final sign-off, than in the actual marking of student work.”You can’t easily ask a computer to explain to you why it’s made a judgment about the marking of your work in a way that you can ask an examiner to explain thatSir Ian Bauckham, interim chief regulator at OfqualThe chief regulator said: “Decisions made by AI evaluating a piece of work that a student has produced for a high-stakes assessment are less transparent and therefore less open to challenge than they might be if marked by a human.“You can’t easily ask a computer to explain to you why it’s made a judgment about the marking of your work in a way that you can ask an examiner to explain that.”He told MPs that the vast majority of GCSE and A-level assessments involve “some degree of extended writing” which would need a human to look at.But Sir Ian acknowledged that there could be some “very simple, selective response items”, such as multiple choice questions, which could be marked safely by a machine but with a human checking the process.On Tuesday, Ofsted announced that it has been asked by the Government to carry out research into the use of AI in education.The review will investigate how schools and colleges in England are already using AI, and how leaders are managing risks associated with AI use. 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 moreA former Tory MP who organised an infamous Nazi-themed stag party has joined Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Aidan Burley was sacked as a ministerial aide after the incident came to light. However, he was welcomed by Mr Farage, who hailed the politician’s decision to cross the floor, suggesting it was “death by a thousand defections” for the Conservative Party. Reform’s decision to welcome Mr Burley comes just months after a Reform candidate claimed the country would have been “far better” off if it had “taken Hitler up on his offer of neutrality” instead of fighting the Nazis.In 2014, while he was still a Tory MP, an internal Conservative Party investigation found Mr Burley “caused deep offence” with the Nazi-themed stag do. He even bought a Nazi uniform for the groom to wear on the last night of the four-day trip to French ski resort Val Thorens in December 2011.After the meal, the groom’s brother gave a Nazi-themed toast, the Tory report said, while it added that Mr Burley was not a “racist or anti-Semite” but had acted in an “unacceptable” way.The report, which was delayed while French authorities considered legal action against him, said that the groom had given a Nazi salute when prompted by a Mail on Sunday journalist also present in the restaurant and attendees had reportedly chanted the names of prominent Nazi figures.Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, welcomed the former Conservative politician to his party 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 has denied that she is imposing a new round of austerity after she ordered departments to find five per cent cuts as part of her spending review.The chancellor has already raised tax by a record £40 billion in her Budget last month, causing fury among businesses over the national insurance contributions hike. Added to that she has already made swinging cuts to tackle the £22 billion black hole she claims the Tories left behind.Critics on the left have warned that this latest round of savings amounts to another wave of austerity, which former Tory chancellor George Osborne imposed on the country in the wake of the banking collapse.But speaking to Matt Chorley on Radio 5 Live, Ms Reeves insisted that she is not repeating the austerity policies of Osborne.Reeves has launched her spending review 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 moreIt’s a coup that could further rock the landscape of British politics.Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage has secured the support of billionaire property tycoon Nick Candy, who has left the Conservatives to become Mr Farage’s party’s new treasurer.Mr Candy is the latest high-profile Tory member to defect to Reform UK, after former MP Andrea Jenkyns joining Reform last month to become the party’s mayoral candidate for Lincolnshire. Conservative Home founder Tim Montgomerie also switched last week as the party tasted a surge in the polls after Sir Keir Starmer’s “reset” speech.With him, Mr Candy, who is married to Australian singer and actress Holly Valance, brings heavy financial backing.Holly Valance and Nick Candy at a Reform UK event in July (Yui Mok/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.CloseRead moreThe UK has agreed a new deal with Cyprus to crack down on serious organised crime and illicit Russian finance, in what the prime minister has said is an attempt to “starve Putin’s war machine and protect global stability.”The two nations have agreed to set up a new National Sanctions Implementation Unit to stop dirty money being funnelled through Europe, in addition to agreeing closer cooperation to tackle serious organised crime.The partnership, agreed by Sir Keir Starmer and Cypriot president Nikos Christodoulides on Tuesday morning, will further strengthen the intelligence and security relationship between the two countries, the government said.Sir Keir Starmer is welcomed by Cyprus’ President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia (Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA) More