UK Politics

Sir Keir Starmer faces one of the biggest days of his premiership on Monday, unveiling his plans for Britain’s post-Brexit reset deal towards closer ties with the EU. The prime minister has been determined to rebuild ties with the bloc after years of tension and mistrust under the Conservatives. He has made the reset a centrepiece of his administration, but has been keen to stress that its scope will be limited while the Brexit vote will be respected. So when European Commission president Ursula Von Der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa arrive in the UK, he will be keen to show progress has been made. Sir Keir Starmer is resetting Britain’s relationship with the EU More

European Union regulators accused TikTok on Thursday of breaching digital safety rules because of shortcomings in the video sharing app’s online ad database. TikTok’s ad repository isn’t up to the standards required by the bloc’s Digital Services Act, known as the DSA, the 27-nation EU’s executive Commission said in preliminary findings from its investigation. The Commission said ad databases are vital for researchers to detect scam ads as well as so-called hybrid threat campaigns, coordinated information operations and fake ads, “including in the context of elections.”The DSA is a wide-ranging rulebook that aims to clean up social media platforms and protect users from risks including election-related disinformation. Provisions include requiring platforms to be transparent about digital ads, including informing users why they’re being shown a specific advertisement and who paid for it.The Commission said TikTok doesn’t provide necessary information about the content of ads, the users targeted, and who pays for them. The database doesn’t allow for a comprehensive search for ads based on this information, “thereby limiting the usefulness of the tool,” it said.TikTok did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The shortcomings in TikTok’s ad database prevent a “full inspection” of the risks posed by its ad targeting systems, said Henna Virkkunen, the commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy. “Transparency in online advertising — who pays and how audiences are targeted — is essential to safeguarding the public interest,” Virkkunen said. “Whether we are defending the integrity of our democratic elections, protecting public health, or protecting consumers from scam ads, citizens have a right to know who is behind the messages they see.”TikTok now has a chance to reply before the Commission issues its final decision, which could result in a fine of up to 6% of the company’s annual global revenue. TikTok is being scrutinized in a separate EU investigation into whether it failed to deal with risks to Romania’s presidential election, which was thrown into turmoil last year over allegations of electoral violations and Russian meddling. More

A former economic adviser to Sir Keir Starmer has warned the prime minister and his chancellor Rachel Reeves have no choice but to raise taxes. In an astonishing criticism, Nick Williams, who left Number 10 last month, said Labour’s current public spending plans were “not credible” and would have to be reconsidered. “The bottom line is that taxes will have to go up,” he added. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer signalled his support for the assisted dying Bill has not changed (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA) More

With MPs due to cast their final votes this Friday, the assisted dying bill – spearheaded by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater – has been reshaped in ways that continue to sharply divide opinion. The headline change has removed the requirement for a High Court judge to approve every assisted‑dying request. In its place, Ms Leadbeater has proposed a Voluntary Assisted Dying Commission, chaired by a senior judge (or former judge) and supported by consultant psychiatrists and social workers. Supporters have argued that what Ms Leaderbeater calls a “Judge Plus” model will speed up decisions and add specialist expertise, while retaining a judicial anchor.Critics – including Diane Abbott and former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron – have warned that stripping out full High Court oversight makes the safeguards too weak and could endanger vulnerable people. Other amendments will require the doctors assessing assisted dying requests to have detailed training on domestic abuse, including coercive control and financial abuse, and reasonable adjustments and safeguards for autistic people and people with learning disabilities.With just 28 MPs needed to defeat it, many who supported the bill at earlier stages – citing the High Court safeguard – may now withdraw. Several MPs who previously abstained have also decided to vote against it, among them Lee Anderson and his former Reform UK colleague Rupert Lowe, who have publicly stated they will change their vote.Come Friday, Parliament must decide: does Leadbeater’s revised framework protect patients sufficiently, or has it sacrificed essential safeguards for the sake of expediency?We want to hear from you. Share your thoughts on the assisted dying bill in the comments and vote in the poll below – we’ll feature the most compelling responses and discuss the results in the coming days.All you have to do is sign up and register your details – then you can take part in the debate. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen. More

Failing NHS bosses who fail to cut waiting times face having their pay docked by £15,000 under a drive to boost performance in the under-pressure health service. Wes Streeting is outlining plans to freeze or dock the pay of bosses in beleaguered NHS trusts, while offering bonuses of up to 10 per cent for those who improve services. The health secretary said the “carrot and stick reforms will boost productivity, tackle underperformance and drive-up standards for patients”. Wes Streeting said the ‘carrot and stick’ approach would drive up standards More

Fears have been raised that Brexit has left British consumers more exposed to food that can give them cancer because the UK has failed to keep up with EU standards since leaving the bloc.Hopes are high that if Keir Starmer agrees to align the UK to EU rules and regulations in his Brexit reset deal to be unveiled on Monday, then the exposure to carcinogenic nitrites in bacon and ham can be removed.But the concerns are reflected in a new J.L Partners poll that not only revealed more than two-thirds (69 per cent) of Brits fear the UK is falling behind European food standards but the worries are shared by even 55 per cent of pro-Brexit 2024 Reform voters.Stricter EU rules limiting the amount of nitrites permitted in bacon and ham come into force in October – but the UK is currently permitting higher levels of the carcinogenic chemicals in its processed meat.Bacon has nitrates (PA) More

The Tories only realised the impact that leaving the EU would have on dealing with the small boats crisis “just before” Brexit, Boris Johnson’s former immigration minister has admitted.In a leaked recording, shadow home secretary Chris Philp appeared to concede that the Tories were late to understand the extent to which people crossing the Channel could have been returned to EU countries they had previously claimed asylum in.The admission, in a recording obtained by Sky News, reported to come from a meeting with Tory members last month, appears to stand in stark contrast to the Tories’ Brexit promises on “taking back control” of the UK’s immigration system.In summer 2020, Mr Philp had warned that “constraints” in the EU’s Dublin regulations – rules that govern which countries in the bloc should process an asylum claim – made “returning people who should be returned a little bit harder than we would like”, while Mr Johnson’s spokesperson criticised them as “inflexible and rigid”.But in the new recording, when reportedly asked by a Tory member why countries such as France continued to allow migrants to come to the UK, Mr Philp can be heard striking a somewhat different tone.( More

Albania’s prime minister on Wednesday thanked hundreds of thousands of voters who supported his Socialist Party in the last parliamentary elections, backing his pledge to take the country into the European Union in five years.Edi Rama, leader of the left-wing Socialist Party, held a celebratory rally in Tirana’s main Skanderbeg Square. The event, attended by thousands of supporters waving Albanian and EU flags, took place in front of a big poster prepared for Friday’s European Political Community summit, or EPC, a forum that gathers European leaders with the aim of boosting security and prosperity across the continent.With only diaspora ballots remaining to be fully counted, the ruling Socialists achieved a landslide victory, winning 83 seats in the 140-seat Parliament in the May 11 polls, according to the Central Election Commission. With those numbers, the Socialists are likely to govern alone.Rama’s Socialist Party says it can deliver EU membership in five years, with negotiations concluding by 2027 and becoming a member in 2030. That is a pledge met with skepticism by the Democrats, who contend Albania is far from prepared.“Most Albanians, within and outside Albania, think Albania is on the right path,” Rama said at Wednesday’s rally. “Albania can only achieve EU membership by 2030 through our collective effort, led by me and the Socialist Party.”The conservative Democratic Party-led coalition of Sali Berisha, former prime minister and president, won only 50 seats. The remaining seats went to four smaller political parties.Preliminary turnout Sunday was almost 42.16%, or 4% lower than four years ago. For the first time, those in the diaspora could vote and cast their ballots by mail. About 195,000 mailed their votes.Eligible voters in Albania and abroad voted to elect 140 lawmakers for a four-year term. Because of mass emigration, the Balkan country of 2.4 million people has a total of nearly 3.7 million eligible voters.Berisha’s Democrats alleged irregularities, including issues with the diaspora ballots, and have accused the Socialists, without providing evidence, of purchasing votes and employing other illicit tactics. They have said they would not recognize the results.On Friday, to coincide with the EPC summit, the Democrats will hold a protest against the alleged manipulation of the May election.The European Union hailed Albania’s election as “calm and well organized, despite some shortcomings,” and urged all political forces “to ensure the continued functioning of the country’s institutions.”A joint international observation mission, including the European Parliament, noted that despite being competitive and professionally managed, the election was marked by the ruling party’s misuse of public resources, a confrontational and polarizing tone, divisive language from both main parties and unbalanced media coverage of smaller parties. More