UK Politics

Boris Johnson’s ex-wife has urged Sir Keir Starmer to take a “more radical” approach to Brexit in order to correct the errors made in the EU deal struck by her former husband.Marina Wheeler, a human rights lawyer, has announced she is writing a new book urging the prime minister to go much further in his Brexit reset mission and build closer relations with Brussels. The new book, titled A More Perfect Union, will call on political leaders to admit that “Europe is once again central to Britain’s future” and argue that Britain should “build a union” with the bloc again.It comes just days after Mr Johnson launched a scathing attack on the prime minister’s Brexit deal, which he claimed was “hopelessly one-sided”. “Starmer promised at the election that he would not go back on Brexit. He has broken that promise as he broke his promise on tax”, the former prime minister posted on X. Sir Keir – who has made a Brexit reset a centrepiece of his administration – said last week’s UK-EU summit marks a “new era” of relations with the bloc, adding that it is about “moving on from stale old debates” and “looking forward, not backwards”.Boris Johnson and Marina Wheeler, who have four children together, separated in 2018 (Dominic Lipinski/PA) More

Plans to release violent criminals, including sex offenders, from prison early will make Britain less safe without more funding, the heads of the Metropolitan Police, MI5 and the National Crime Agency have warned.The senior police and security chiefs have publicly called on ministers to provide “serious investment” at next month’s spending review – piling pressure on Rachel Reeves to rethink her strct borrowing rules.In a joint letter to the Ministry of Justice, seen byThe Times, they argue that, without the “necessary resources” the decision to release more people early could be “of net detriment to public safety”.Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley (James Manning/PA) More

Doctors in England are demanding a massive 29 per cent pay uplift to end the ongoing cycle of strikes that has caused “so much harm to patients and the wider healthcare system”. Resident doctors in England, formerly known as junior doctors, have started receiving ballots for renewed industrial action following criticism of the government’s recent pay rise offer.The fresh demands will pile further pressure on the chancellor ahead of next week’s spending review. Rachel Reeves is facing mounting questions over whether or not she will be able to stick to her fiscal rules – restrictions the government sets itself to constrain its own decisions on spending and taxes – amid mounting spending demands. Health secretary Wes Streeting said there was ‘a revolution taking place in medical technology’ (Lucy North/PA) More

The UK and US must cooperate on new technologies such as artificial intelligence to counter the “clear shared threat” from China, Lord Peter Mandelson has said.The British ambassador to the US used a speech in Washington on Tuesday to warn that China posed a more serious threat than the Soviet Union and urge the UK and US to use this month’s trade deal as a springboard for even closer cooperation.Speaking to the Atlantic Council, he said: “We face a clear shared threat.“There is nothing in this world I fear more than China winning the race for technological dominance in the coming decades.“China represents a far more dynamic and formidable strategic rival than the Soviet Union ever was – economically sophisticated, highly innovative and strategically patient.”Labour has attempted to thaw relations with Beijing since coming to power, with ministers including Rachel Reeves and David Lammy visiting the country after a period of disengagement under the Conservatives – although the Government insists it will challenge China where necessary.But US President Donald Trump has been consistently hostile, applying much higher tariffs to Chinese goods than those from any other country.Arguing that the UK and US should “combine forces” to “drive the scientific breakthroughs that will define this century”, Lord Mandelson said AI should be “the spearpoint” of British-American collaboration.He added: “Rather than stifling these transformative technologies through excessive regulation, our two governments must unleash their immense potential for human benefit and Western advantage.”Lord Mandelson’s comments follow the announcement of a trade deal between London and Washington earlier in May that saw the US cut tariffs on British steel and cars, while keeping the 10% levy on imports in general.At the time, the Government said the agreement opened a path to “a future UK-US technology partnership”, as well as a digital trade deal subject to further negotiation.Lord Mandelson suggested that the 10% tariff rate was unlikely to come down, noting Mr Trump appeared “quite wedded” to the figure as a baseline.But he added that the two countries could look “within that baseline” to reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers “where it is in our mutual advantage”. More

The transatlantic alliance needs a “boot up the backside”, Peter Mandelson has warned, saying that Britain must work closely with the US to take on Chinese technological dominance. The UK’s ambassador to the US argued Beijing represents a “far more dynamic and formidable strategic rival than the Soviet Union ever was”, urging Britain and the US to combine forces to “drive the scientific breakthroughs that will define this century”. “Rather than stifling these transformative technologies through excessive regulation, our two governments must unleash their immense potential for human benefit and Western advantage”, he said. Peter Mandelson speaking at the 2025 Atlantic Council Christopher J. Makins Lecture More

Pensioners will not be affected by Labour’s upcoming changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP), a minister has revealed.Currently, around 3.7 million people across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland receive PIP, a benefit designed to assist those facing challenges due to long-term physical or mental health issues.Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) figures show that some 690,186 people aged between 65 and 79 were receiving the benefit in January.But the government plans to tighten eligibility for PIP as part of a package aimed at getting more working-age people currently on benefits into jobs.Sir Stephen Timms has replied to questions from MPs about PIP More

Nigel Farage’s promise to slash taxes if he wins the next general election does not add up, Britain’s top economic think tank has warned. The Reform UK leader on Tuesday touted plans to hike the threshold for paying income tax and restore winter fuel payments for pensioners as he declared the party as the “true party of workers”. But, just hours after the arch-Brexiteer’s speech, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said his plans would cost tens of billions of pounds and he had failed to say how they would be funded. Nigel Farage’s tax plans would cost up to £80 billion, the IFS warned More

Something significant has changed with Nigel Farage in 2025 – and it is not only that he is a sitting MP after multiple failed attempts.The Reform UK leader has made his name as a nationalist who believed in low taxes, privatising the NHS and demanding an end to immigration. All traditionally rightwing causes.But after around three decades in British politics, Farage and his party are now openly espousing traditionally leftwing causes.As he declared today: “Reform is now the party of the workers!”Farage addressed a rally in London More