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.Read moreSupporters of the political campaign to boycott literary and arts festivals have been fiercely criticised by culture secretary Lisa Nandy, who has accused them of “gagging society, self defeating virtue signalling and moral Puritanism”.Ms Nandy rejects claims by campaigners that their protest is aimed at sponsors linked to Israel and fossil fuel companies – and not the festivals themselves.Such a notion is “for the birds”, she argues.Her intervention in the inaugural Jennie Lee lecture comes after a number of festivals, including the internationally renowned Hay Festival, ended sponsorship by the Baillie Gifford investment management firm.Singer Charlotte Church and comedian Nish Kumar were among those who pulled out of last year’s Hay Festival over its connection to Baillie Gifford.The Hay Festival is one of the highlights of the literary calendar and attracts more than 150,000 people every year 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 moreA generational divide in British politics is playing into Nigel Farage’s hands, as his party Reform UK tops the Techne UK tracker weekly poll for the first time.Overall in the Techne poll Reform leads with 26 per cent (up 1), Labour second on 25 per cent (down 1), and the Tories trailing unchanged on 22 per cent. The Lib Dems are on 12 per cent (down 1) and Greens are unchanged on 7 per cent.According to Electoral Calculus, if this was the result in a general election Reform would be the biggest party on 199 seats, with Labour on 183 and Tories on 145.Reform UK leader 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.Read moreSir Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure to boost defence spending ahead of a crucial showdown with Donald Trump over Ukraine. The prime minister travels to Washington next week as the only major UK party leader who has not backed calls to hike the defence budget to 2.5 per cent of Britain’s GDP by 2030. And, with the PM hoping to impress upon the US president the importance of his ongoing support after any peace deal in Ukraine, he faces the task of showing Britain and other European nations are serious about their own defence and not over reliant on the US. Sir Keir has promised a pathway towards Britain spending 2.5 per cent of its GDP, up from 2.3 per cent now, on defence, though he has not guaranteed the benchmark will be met before 2030. Sir Ed Davey has piled pressure on the PM, becoming the latest political leader to call for Sir Keir to hike spending as soon as possible to the 2.5 per cent mark, joining Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage in supporting a boost. Sir Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure to boost defence spending 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 moreBoris Johnson has reacted to Donald Trump’s claims that Ukraine started the war with Russia, as the president came under fire for branding Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator. The former prime minister said the US president’s statements on Ukraine – which were the latest in a series of controversial interventions by the Trump administration – “are not intended to be historically accurate, but to shock Europeans into action”.Mr Trump caused outrage when he wrongly claimed Kyiv started the war, as well as claiming the Ukraine president’s approval rating stands at 4 per cent and the country should hold an election. He later doubled down on the attack, describing Mr Zelensky as a “dictator” and warned he “better move fast or he is not going to have a country left”.A Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir Starmer had called Mr Zelensky on Wednesday evening to express support for him “as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader”.Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer backed Zelensky following Mr Trump’s comments 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 moreIn a book filled with startling claims, former chief whip Simon Hart has recounted surreal moments from the ailing Conservative government’s final months. Serialised in The Times, it covers orgies, Matt Hancock’s abrupt departure to the I’m a Celebrity… jungle, a Tory MP becoming stuck in a brothel, and the various misconduct scandals that engulfed members of Rishi Sunak’s government. Hart was the Conservative MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire from 2010 to 2024, and his diary covers the final 21 months of Tory leadership before the party’s crushing defeat at the last general election. Here are the most bizarre takeaways from his book, ‘Ungovernable’: Former prime minister Rishi Sunak is said to have described a cabinet minister as ‘f***ing useless’ 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 moreSir Keir Starmer has backed Volodymyr Zelensky as “Ukraine’s democratically elected leader” after Donald Trump claimed he was a dictator and called for Ukraine to hold elections. A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister had called Mr Zelensky on Wednesday evening and said it was “perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during wartime as the UK did during World War Two”.Sir Keir was under growing pressure to speak up in support of Ukraine after Mr Trump posted a diatribe on his social media site, TruthSocial, claiming his Ukrainian counterpart was “a dictator without elections”.Earlier, the US president had wrongly suggested that Ukraine started the current conflict in Russia, as well as falsely claiming Mr Zelenskyy had an approval rating of 4 per cent.In response, the Ukrainian leader said Mr Trump was living in a “disinformation space”.Mr Zelensky and Donald Trump traded barbs on Wednesday 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 moreBoris Johnson is charging fans £121.25 each for a meet and greet before an event in Edinburgh.The former prime minister, who will appear on 2 September at Usher Hall, will pose for photographs and shake the hands of guests who stump up the fee, before speaking at an event titled An Evening with Boris Johnson. Tickets for the main event cost between £53.90 and £159.90, charged in addition to the meet and greet fee. The event’s description praises Mr Johnson for bringing the Tory party to “an extraordinary election victory”, leading Britain “through the darkest days of the pandemic”, as well as “shattering the political and parliamentary deadlock” triggered by Brexit. “Under Mr Johnson’s leadership, the UK restored sovereign control over its borders, economy and lawmaking, finally enacting the will of the British people”, it reads. The event description adds: “More recently, Mr Johnson emerged as the pre-eminent global leader in the effort to support Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.”The former prime minister is reportedly growing tired of life away from Westminster 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 moreTop Tory Richard Holden has accidentally exposed his own party’s shocking record on increasing prison capacity, revealing that the Conservatives increased jail spaces by just 455 places in fourteen years. In what appears to have been an attempt to dig up information on Labour’s record, the shadow paymaster general used a written parliamentary question to ask how many new prison places were built under the previous Labour administration, between May 1997 and May 2010, and the previous Tory administration, between May 2010 and July 2024. Responding, justice minister Sir Nicholas Dakin revealed that the Tories increased the capacity of the prison estate by just 455 spaces in their fourteen years in power – fewer spaces than the current government has created in its seven months in office. Former Tory minister Richard Holden said the Prime Minister has serious questions to answer over the meeting (James Manning/PA) More