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 moreCloseJeremy Hunt has confirmed he is stepping down from the Conservative frontbench, calling for his party to be “humble” following July’s election defeat. The decision comes just hours before the Tory leadership race comes to an end, with polls closing at 5pm on Thursday.On Saturday morning, either Robert Jenrick or Kemi Badenoch will be crowned the new party leader.Mr Hunt, who served as chancellor under Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government and is currently the shadow chancellor, confirmed he will be stepping back from the role following Wednesday’s budget. He said he is unlikely to return to the frontbenches for “the next few years, at least”. Shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt (Lucy North/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 moreCloseRachel Reeves will have to raise taxes further in the coming years despite her Budget on Wednesday containing £40bn of tax increases, a top economist has warned.The chancellor has pencilled in spending plans almost as implausible as her predecessor Jeremy Hunt, according to the head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).Rachel Reeves has hit back at criticism, insisting that public services in the UK “needed an immediate injection of cash” and pointed out that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has backed her Budget.She said: “I do own the decisions I took yesterday. They were the right ones to protect public services and the standard of living of people in this country. I had to make difficult choices but that was necessary to start to rebuild our country.”But IFS director Paul Johnson said he would bet “an awful lot” that Ms Reeves will have to boost spending further at future Budgets to appease her cabinet colleagues.Rachel Reeves will have to raise taxes further, Paul Johnson has said More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseClimate change made the 10 deadliest extreme weather events over the past two decades worse, contributing to the deaths of more than 570,000 people, scientists have said.Climate scientists said the finding “underscores how dangerous extreme weather events have already become” with just 1.3C of global warming above pre-industrial levels.It also highlights the urgency of cutting the greenhouse gas emissions driving rising temperatures and more extreme weather, they said, as the world is currently on track for 3C of warming by the end of the century – a level recently described by UN chief Antonio Guterres as “catastrophic”.The assessment comes from the World Weather Attribution group and is published on the 10th anniversary of its formation in 2014 to analyse the impact of climate change on extreme weather events in their immediate aftermath.It marks 20 years since the first “attribution study” – attributing the role of climate change in a weather event – was published by British scientists in 2004 for the devastating 2003 heatwave which killed 70,000 people in Europe.This study should be an eye-opener for political leaders hanging on to fossil fuels that heat the planet and destroy livesFriederike Otto, Imperial College LondonThe 10 deadliest events, which between them resulted in the deaths of least 576,042 people, include three tropical cyclones, four heatwaves, a drought and two floods.They include the 2022 heatwave which gripped much of Europe, including record 40C temperatures in the UK,  and led to tens of thousands of deaths across the continent.The assessment highlights how climate change made the extreme temperatures seen that summer many times more likely and pushed them up by as much as 4C.The analysis also looks at European heatwaves in 2015 and 2023, the latter of which saw temperatures in the western Mediterranean that would have been “impossible” without climate change.In all 10 events “we see the fingerprints of climate change”, which made them more intense and more likely, the scientists said.They warned the death toll is a “major underestimate” as there may have been millions more heat-related deaths not reported in official statistics.Dr Friederike Otto, co-founder and lead of World Weather Attribution at the Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, said: “Climate change isn’t a distant threat.“It worsened extreme weather events that left more than 570,000 people dead.“This study should be an eye-opener for political leaders hanging on to fossil fuels that heat the planet and destroy lives.“If we keep burning oil, gas and coal, the suffering will continue.”With every fraction of a degree of warming, we will see more record-breaking events that push countries to the brink, no matter how prepared they areRoop Singh, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate CentreThe researchers said many of the deaths caused by extreme weather were avoidable.Countries should ramp up efforts to be prepared, including implementing early warning systems and boosting resilience in cities with measures such as wetlands, green roofs, urban forests and emergency shelters, and make sure infrastructure such as dams are climate-proofed so they will not fail.But there are limits to how much communities can adapt to some of the most extreme events the world is seeing and these will become more frequent as long as fossil fuel use continues to push up global temperatures, they said.Roop Singh, from the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, said: “The massive death tolls we keep seeing in extreme weather shows we are not well prepared for 1.3C of warming, let alone 1.5C or 2C.“Every country needs to prepare for the future. Investing in early warning systems, updating outdated infrastructure and reorienting our policies to support the most vulnerable are key actions that can drastically reduce the impacts of extreme weather.“But ultimately, we need to cut emissions. With every fraction of a degree of warming, we will see more record-breaking events that push countries to the brink, no matter how prepared they are.”The 10 deadliest weather events of the last 20 years, which have all been worsened by climate change are:– 2007: Cyclone Sidr, Bangladesh, which caused 4,234 deaths;– 2008: Cyclone Nargis, southern Myanmar, 138,366 deaths;– 2010: Heatwave, western Russia, 55,736 deaths;– 2011: Drought, Somalia, 258,000 deaths;– 2013: Floods, Uttarakhand, India, 6,054 deaths;– 2013: Typhoon Haiyan, Philippines, 7,354 deaths;– 2015: European heatwave, France, 3,275 deaths;– 2022: European heatwave, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Greece, Romania, Portugal, UK, 53,542 deaths;– 2023: European heatwave, Italy, Spain, Germany, Greece, France, Romania, 37,129 deaths;– 2023: Storm Daniel, Libya, 12,352 deaths. More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseThe Conservative Party has left itself unable to make any significant comments on Labour’s first Budget, as a consequence of its unfinished leadership race. Speaking to journalists after Wednesday’s Budget, a Conservative spokesperson said they wouldn’t be making detailed comments on the fiscal event – which saw the most significant tax rises in any Budget since 1993 – as a result of the ongoing leadership election.The contest will draw to a close on Saturday, with either Robert Jenrick or rival Kemi Badenoch being crowned the winner – the timing of which means the party is unable to properly criticise the first Labour Budget for 14 years, which saw chancellor Rachel Reeves unveil £40bn worth of tax rises.Referring to the two contenders, the spokesperson said: “I haven’t spoken to either of them about it and I don’t want to get into committing them to things that we need time to think through.”While the official spokesperson offered a few broad remarks on the fiscal statement, saying the party “wouldn’t have spent as much” and “would have made bigger savings on welfare”, they declined to offer any further commentary.The Tory leadership race will come to an end on Saturday with either Robert Jenrick or Kemi Badenoch being chosen More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseTV presenter Kirstie Allsopp has accused the chancellor of ushering in the break-up of farms and estates by imposing a new 20 per cent inheritance tax on such assets over £1m.Farming and landowner organisations also warned the change, announced in Wednesday’s Budget, would lead to the “death of the family farm” because owners would sell up to pay the tax.Rachel Reeves said from April 2026, the first £1m of combined business and agricultural assets would continue to attract no inheritance tax, but for assets over that sum inheritance tax would apply.Property expert Ms Allsopp said the decision threatened great estates, writing on social media platform X: “Rachel Reeves had f****d all farmers, she has destroyed their ability to pass farms on to their children, and broken the future of all our great estates.“It is an appalling decision which shows the government has zero understanding of what matters to rural voters.”Kirstie Allsopp criticised the Budget decision on inheritance tax on social media More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseChancellor Rachel Reeves has defied calls to reform child benefit and change the way it is calculated – which money expert Martin Lewis branded “bad news” for single-earner families.Child benefit will continue to be based on individual income rather than household income, meaning anyone earning £60,000 or more before tax each year must pay a high-income charge above that threshold.In a couple where they both earn £60,000 or more, whoever earns the most must pay the charge – regardless of who claims child benefit.Child benefit is withdrawn if the income of the higher-earning partner reaches £80,000 a year.Single parents have complained the system is ‘unfair’. Stock image More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseChancellor Rachel Reeves hopes her historic rise in tax, coupled with spending on the NHS and other investments, will kickstart the economy and get Britain’s debt under control.The level of her ambition and the size of the mountain she must climb can be seen in the numbers. Britain owes £2.7 trillion – an amount set to creep up each year through the rest of this parliament, and growth is expected to be no more than 2 per cent over the same period.Ms Reeves plans on raising tax by £40bn, much of it from businesses. She will spend £22.6bn more on the NHS to get it back on its feet.Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies said her gamble is twofold.“The first gamble is that a big cash injection for public services over the next two years will be enough to turn performance around,” he said. If she gets it wrong, she will need to raise taxes again. If she gets it right, it could mean growth.“Which brings us to the second gamble: that this extra borrowing will be worthwhile,” he added.Will the chancellor’s big gamble pay off? More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseRachel Reeves gambled on a £40bn tax rise in Wednesday’s historic Budget in a bid to boost public services and grow the economy.She told the House of Commons that the increase – a record sum, equalled only by Norman Lamont in 1993 – coupled with a massive £32bn in extra borrowing was vital to “fix broken Britain”. Ms Reeves, the first woman in the 803-year existence of the office of chancellor of the Exchequer, delivered the first Labour Budget in 14 years to cheers from her own benches, as she blamed a “toxic Tory legacy” for the measures she was forced to take.A confident-looking Reeves mocked opponents during a 77-minute speech that included swipes at Rishi Sunak’s fondness for private jets and at her predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng describing his notorious mini-Budget as “not perfect”.Rachel Reeves delivered her first Budget to cheers from her own benches More