UK Politics

Dominic Cummings, Theresa May’s “Nick and Fi” – prime ministerial advisers rarely last as long as the PM they work for, as they become lightning rods for criticisms of the administration. And with anger growing over Labour’s welfare cuts, will the same now be true for Keir Starmer’s background fixer Morgan McSweeney?Labour MPs are calling for “regime change” in Downing Street, with some hitting out at the “over-excitable boys” in Sir Keir’s top team.Many blame Sir Keir’s chief of staff, the softly spoken Irishman Mr McSweeney, for ignoring the rising concerns of a huge number of Labour backbenchers over his plans to deny welfare payments to hundreds of thousands of disabled people in a bid to save £5bn a year.Downing Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney More

Ministers are considering stricter restrictions on alcohol advertising to bring them closer in line with junk food ads.The government said it is exploring “partial restrictions” which could include a ban on alcohol advertising before the 9pm watershed.The plans could be introduced in the ten-year NHS plan set to be revealed in July.Health secretary Wes Streeting is set to announce radical reforms for the NHS in England after the recent spending review allocated £29 billion to the health service.Under current plans for unhealthy food set to be implemented in January 2026, adverts will be banned if the products are classified as “less healthy” using a government scoring system based on salt, fat, sugar and protein content.If the alcohol restrictions follow the same guidelines as the unhealthy food ban, it may mean television ads will only be allowed after 9pm.Wes Streeting is set to announce radical reforms for the NHS in England after the recent spending review allocated £29 billion to the health service More

Sir Keir Starmer has admitted his Budget tax hikes piled massive pressure on British businesses. The prime minister said his government “asked a lot” of firms in the UK after coming to power in last year’s general election, as Rachel Reeves imposed £25bn of tax rises on companies through her employer national insurance increase. But, addressing business chiefs at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) conference, he said, in doing so, Labour had “wiped the slate clean and stabilised the economy”. Keir Starmer said Labour has ‘wiped the slate clean’ and will now ‘back business to the hilt’ More

Reform UK would become Britain’s largest party if a general election was held tomorrow, a major new poll shows, putting Nigel Farage on course to become prime minister. The insurgent right-wing party would jump from having just five MPs to 271, with Mr Farage poised to form a minority government.Labour would collapse from holding 403 seats now to just 178, with Sir Keir Starmer’s popularity having plummeted since the general election due to a series of disastrous policies and chaotic U-turns. Reform enjoyed major success at May’s local elections More

The UK must prepare for the possibility of a “wartime scenario” on home soil, a major new government review has warned.The National Security Strategy, published on Tuesday, has issued the grim warning as events in the Middle East and Russia’s war with Ukraine continue to add to international instability.It comes just 48 hours after Iran threatened to target UK bases following the US attack on its nuclear facilities, before a ceasefire was announced last night.The strategy also recommends that UK citizens undergo “national resilience exercises” in preparation for attacks at home.“For the first time in many years, we have to actively prepare for the possibility of the UK homeland coming under direct threat, potentially in a wartime scenario,” the strategy warns.It added: “The years ahead will test the United Kingdom … The direction it takes – and the decisions we take – will reverberate through the decades.” It said the UK will need “agility and courage to succeed”, but adds the country should be optimistic in part because of the “determination of the British people themselves”. “After all, we do not need to look too far into our history for an example of a whole-of-society effort, motivated by a collective will to keep each other safe. We can mobilise that spirit again and use it both for our national security and the building of our country.”Starmer arrives at Amsterdam Schiphol airport ahead of attending the Nato summit at The Hague More

A Reform UK council leader has resigned just weeks after being elected, leaving an 18-year-old in charge of hundreds of millions of pounds of public spending. Reform’s Rob Howard said it was with “much regret” that he was quitting as Warwickshire County Council leader, citing health challenges preventing him from “carrying out the role to the level and standard that I would wish”. It means his deputy, Reform’s 18-year-old George Finch, will take over as interim leader of the council until a permanent replacement is confirmed. The change means Mr Finch, a former member of the Conservative Party, is now responsible for the council, with £1.5bn of assets and a budget of around £500m. In his statement, Mr Howard said: “This has been a very difficult decision to take. “The role of leader is an extremely demanding role and regretfully my health challenges now prevent me from carrying out the role to the level and standard that I would wish. George Finch More

Britain’s first trade strategy for more than three decades has been unveiled as Keir Starmer tries to give businesses a helping hand to take on Donald Trump’s tariffs.With global trade and supply chains still in turmoil from President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff regime, the new trade strategy is the latest so-called Brexit freedom the prime minister has deployed to try to boost growth.The new strategy – which acknowledges the current “troubled waters” of global trade – sets out how the UK will unlock £5 billion for businesses and expand UK export finance (UKEF) capacity to £80 billion, delivering growth as part of the government’s Plan for Change.It comes just 10 days after Sir Keir finalised most of his deal with President Trump for the first post-Brexit UK-US trade agreement at the G7 summit in Canada. Both the president and prime minister hope that it will be the starting block for a number of other deals on future industries, including artificial intelligence.Sir Keir said: “What works for business, works for Britain. It means more jobs, more opportunities, and more money in people’s pockets. US President Donald Trump’s first meeting with Keir Starmer after his re-election (Carl Court/PA) More

Sir Keir Starmer has slapped down Wes Streeting after he claimed there is no budget for assisted dying. The health secretary last week said he is concerned MPs made the wrong choice by voting through Kim Leadbeater’s historic legislation last week. But asked about his remarks while on the plane to the Nato summit in The Hague, the prime minister – who voted for the Bill – decisively hit back, saying: “It is my responsibility to make sure the bill is workable, and that means workable in all its aspects.”“I’m confident we’ve done that preparation”, he added. While Cabinet ministers were asked to avoid weighing in too heavily on the debate, as MPs were encouraged to vote with their consciences rather than on party lines, Mr Streeting became a vocal critic of the bill in the lead up to the vote. Sir Keir Starmer pushed back at remarks made by Wes Streeting last week More