UK Politics

Rachel Reeves admits taxes will rise in first BudgetSupport trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorThe Bank of England has cut interest rates for the first time since 2020 as inflation continues to remain steady, holding at their two percent target for two consecutive months.Bank Rate is currently 5.25per cent, a 16-year high where it has been pegged for the last year to fight inflation, but it has now been set at five percent, a drop of 0.25 percentage points. Governor Andrew Bailey said the move comes after inflation pressures “eased enough that we’ve been able to cut interest rates today”.The decision will come as joy for homeowners who have been struggling with rising mortgage payments as major banks have confirmed rates could go down as low as three per cent. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has welcomed the move but warned “millions of families are still facing higher mortgage rates after the mini-budget”.Show latest update 1722523845Cabinet Office ‘calls in’ Czech billionaire’s £3.57bn Royal Mail takeoverCzech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s £3.57 billion takeover deal for the owner of Royal Mail has been called in by the UK government under security rules.International Distribution Services, the parent company of Royal Mail, agreed a takeover deal by Mr Kretinsky’s EP Group in May.The PA news agency understands that the Cabinet Office has now launched a review process into the bid under the National Security and Investment (NSI) act.Mr Kretinsky’s EP Group and the Cabinet Office declined to comment.The process will assess whether the sale to Mr Kretinsky, who is already IDS’s largest shareholder, could affect the UK’s economic infrastructure or pose a security risk.The BBC reported that government officials will particularly look into links to Russia, with the billionaire investor owning stake in a major gas pipeline from Russia to Europe.Government officials could block a deal or ask for specific commitments from the suitor if the review raises major concerns.The review process is expected to take up to two months.Sources close to the process told PA that a review under the NSI act is “not a surprise”, with the government taking a similar process when Mr Kretinsky increased his shareholding in Royal Mail’s owner to 27.5 per cent in 2022.Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorKemi Badenoch asked officials to pay for a flight to go on holiday to the US using taxpayers’ money, sources have claimed. Department for Business and Trade (DBT) sources told The Guardian the request was rejected by the top civil servant at the time. Officials reportedly ended up booking her travel to Texas for a family holiday in February 2023 but the then Cabinet minister paid for the trip herself.Mrs Badenoch, who is standing to be the next leader of the Tory party, had travelled to Mexico on a taxpayer funded business class flight for an official visit to discuss the UK’s bid to join the CPTPP Indo-Pacific trade bloc, as well as wider discussions about bilateral trade with the nation.Before travelling, sources claimed she asked Gareth Davies, the permanent secretary in DBT, if the department could cover the cost of a flight to Dallas, where she had planned to go on holiday with her family. The request was said to be made because the overall cost was lower than a business class return from Mexico.The department refused her request as a result of concerns the detour would be hard to explain, given it was not for official business.Sources close to the former business secretary said Mrs Badenoch was due to fly from Mexico to Texas on official government business to meet Governor Greg Abbott and discuss a state-level trade agreement but when the proposed meeting couldn’t take place as a result of diary clashes she paid for the flights herself, in accordance with the rules.But evidence seen by the Guardian is said to suggest the former minister asked the department to fund the flight, despite there being no official business taking place in Texas.Sources in DBT also told the newspaper that a request to book and pay for flights was in keeping with the way she generally engaged with civil servants.She allegedly admitted in meetings to having asked political advisers, funded by the taxpayer, to go to her London home to pack her suitcases for work trips.One source told the Guardian: “The stuff she asked them to do was well out of their remit. I’m amazed they put up with it but I’m not sure they felt they had much choice. Kemi treated them like a PA. It felt like such an abuse of taxpayer funded time.”On Tuesday, the former business secretary denied accusations that she bullied civil service staff. The now shadow communities secretary is alleged to have created an intimidating atmosphere at DBT, a report from The Guardian claimed. Posting on social media, Mrs Badenoch said: “Let’s be clear: these allegations are smears from former staff who I sacked after they were accused of bullying behaviour, lying about other colleagues to cover up their own failures and general gross incompetence.“Intolerable behaviour I would not stand for.”Tory grandee Lord Peter Mandelson suggested Mrs Badenoch is the Conservative leadership contender Sir Keir Starmer would fear the most.Writing in The Spectator, he said her willingness to “call out the sort of ‘wokery’ many voters dislike” would set her apart from the other candidates.A spokesperson for Kemi Badenoch said: “Yesterday the Business Department said there were no complaints or investigations into Kemi. Given that today they’ve confirmed that the proper process was followed on the ministerial code, we look forward to having to deny tomorrow that Kemi faked the moon landings.”A DBT spokesperson said: “The department takes both the ministerial code, and civil service code, seriously and ensure they are followed at all times. We cannot comment on specific claims from unnamed sources. There was no breach of the ministerial code by the previous secretary of state.” More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorThe EU has warned Sir Keir Starmer his attempt to repair relations with the bloc may fail if he does not meet a list of eight demands, it has emerged.The prime minister has made rebuilding ties with Brussels a top priority since the general election, after years of mistrust between the two sides over Brexit.And the European Commission has welcomed Sir Keir’s positive approach, but issued a list of tests through which the UK can “demonstrate real government commitment” to its withdrawal agreement with the EU.Brussels has issued a list of eight demands to the UK More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorFormer security minister Stephen McPartland has suggested Russia could be behind a social media misinformation campaign which led to appalling scenes in Southport on Tuesday night as protesters rioted.It comes as sources in the Home Office have told The Independent that an investigation is being carried out on the origin of social media posts which fuelled the angry disturbance in the town. Security sources have pointed out that both China and Russia have large teams and networks working on disinformation campaigns which fuel social division and violence in the UK and other Western democracies.The riot came after a vigil for the children who were attacked by a 17-year-old in the seaside resort. Three girls who were at a Taylor Swift holiday dance club – Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine – lost their lives, while five children and two adults are still in critical condition.The disturbance began outside a mosque in the Merseyside town with bottles and rocks thrown and a police van set alight.Clashes between protesters and the police flared on Tuesday in Southport More

Rachel Reeves admits taxes will rise in first BudgetSupport trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorShadow chancellorJeremy Hunt has accused the Labour governmento of plotting a “great tax betrayal” after Rachel Reeves accused the him of “lying” about the state of public finances.The Tory MP claimed the Sir Keir Starmer’s government were planning to raise taxes “all along” but “they just didn’t have the courage to tell you”.It comes as Rachel Reeves was accused of using the fierce attack that the Tories left £22bn hole in the public finances to justify tax rises. The chancellor admitted the increases will come in the autumn Budget and insisted the government would stick to its promise not to hike national insurance, income tax or VAT, but former Tory chancellor Lord Hammond said the fierce accusations could be “preparing the pitch” for ditching Labour manifesto pledges.Angela Rayner has removed the Tories’ beauty requirement from new planning rules for homes claiming that “beautiful means nothing really”. The housing secretary has set up a new towns taskforce to local recommend sites will “to help decide on the right places for these new towns, delivering more homes, jobs and green spaces” as part of her radical reform to the country’s housing planning system.Show latest update 1722437418Badenoch dismisses bullying claims as ‘smears’ amid Tory leadership bidKemi Badenoch has dismissed accusations that she bullied civil service staff while serving as business secretary as “smears”.The Conservative MP, now shadow communities secretary, is alleged to have created an intimidating atmosphere at the Department of Business and Trade in a report by the Guardian newspaper.“Let’s be clear: these allegations are smears from former staff who I sacked after they were accused of bullying behaviour, lying about other colleagues to cover up their own failures and general gross incompetence,” Ms Badenoch wrote on X, formerly Twitter.“Intolerable behaviour I would not stand for,” she added.The Tory former minister, among those running to be the party’s next leader, also claimed the Department of Business and Trade had confirmed there were no complaints and no investigations against her.She said the accusations would not “stop me or my campaign” and claimed her bid to be the next Conservative leader following the party’s general election rout had “spooked the lefties and now they’re coming for the one person they know can beat Keir Starmer”.Ms Badenoch, the MP for North West Essex, added: “The renewal of my party and the country is too important to let the Guardian, acting for the Labour Party, disrupt.”A spokesman for Ms Badenoch added that she has “high standards and expectations, and she has cultivated high-performing civil service teams who enjoy working with her”.Kemi Badenoch is the bookmakers’ favourite in the Tory leadership race (Lucy North/PA) More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorSuella Braverman has dubbed Labour’s decision to scrap the European Scrutiny Committee the “beginning of the end” of Brexit.Commons leader Lucy Powell on Tuesday announced plans to abolish the select committee, which was established in 1973 to scrutinise the government on EU affairs. This came as part of a wider reform of some of the MP select committees.Select committees are small groups of MPs or members of the House of Lords that are set up to investigate a specific issue or policy in detail.Suella Braverman said the decision is “anti-democratic” and “lacking transparency” More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorThe government has been urged to pursue a youth mobility scheme with the European Union (EU) alongside the “new approach” to legal migration launched by Yvette Cooper.The home secretary on Tuesday launched a plan to boost the UK workforce’s skills before recruiting abroad in a bid to bring overall numbers down.In a swipe at the previous Conservative government, Ms Cooper said rising levels of legal migration in recent years reflected a “failure over many years to tackle skills shortages and other problems in the UK labour market”.And she said: “This is why we are setting out a different approach – one that links migration policy and visa controls to skills and labour market policies – so immigration is not used as an alternative to training or tackling workforce problems here at home.But experts called on the home secretary to pursue a mobility scheme with the EU which would let young people live, study and work across the bloc in exchange for Europeans being able to do the same in Britain.Dr Mike Galsworthy, chairman of the European Movement UK, said Ms Cooper is right that Britain needs to better train its citizens to fill gaps in the work force. But he told The Independent “this should not be used as a reason to penalise our own youth, universities, NHS, hospitality and small businesses – many which badly need opportunities opened right now”.Yvette Cooper faced calls to consider a youth mobility scheme with the EU after launching her ‘new approach’ to migration More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorNigel Farage has been condemned for his response to the Southport stabbings, with the husband of murdered MP Jo Cox accusing the Reform leader of “inciting a riot”.Three young girls were killed on Monday in an attack which took place during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. Eight other children suffered stab wounds and at least two are still in a critical condition, alongside two adults who are also still in hospital.In the wake of the attack, rioting broke out in Southport, resulting in 27 police officers being taken to hospital. Police have said they believe the men involved are part of the far-right English Defence League.Nigel Farage posted a video to social media responding to the attack, questioning why the incident not being treated as terror-related More