UK Politics

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 moreClose Chipmaker Intel won a fresh victory on Thursday in a long-running battle against European Union competition watchdogs when the bloc’s top court confirmed a lower tribunal’s decision to overturn a billion-euro antitrust penalty. The EU’s Court of Justice said it upheld the decision to annul the fine issued more than a decade ago, dismissing an appeal from the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s top antitrust enforcer.The court said it “rejects all of the grounds of appeal raised by the Commission,” according to a press release summarizing the decision. Intel said in a statement that it’s “pleased with the judgment delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union today and to finally put this part of the case behind us.”The case dates back to 2009, when the Commission slapped Intel with a 1.06 billion euro fine ($1.14 billion at current exchange rates) for allegedly using illegal sales tactics to shut out smaller rival AMD. The Commission accused Intel of abusing its dominant position in the global market for x86 microprocessors with a strategy to exclude rivals by using rebates.Intel scored a surprise win in 2022 when the EU’s General Court overturned the penalty, the decision that the Court of Justice backed on Thursday. The latest decision is still not the end of the road for the case, because the company is battling a separate 376.4 million-euro fine that Brussels imposed last year targeting some Intel sales restrictions that the General Court found were unlawful in its 2022 ruling. 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 will turn on the spending taps to upgrade Britain’s creaking infrastructure and invest in the clean energy transition, she will tell world leaders today.The chancellor is planning to change the government’s fiscal rules to free up billions of pounds of borrowing, which she will promise to spend laying “the foundations of future growth”.Attending her first International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meeting, Ms Reeves will set the stage for next Wednesday’s Budget – which is also set to contain harsh spending cuts and tax hikes.Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver Labour’s first Budget since returning to power on October 30 (Stefan Rousseau/PA) 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 moreCloseProposed new data laws will free up police and NHS staff time, boost the economy and make it easier to register births and deaths or start a new job, the Government has said.If made law, the Data Use and Access Bill could help grow the economy by £10 billion, the Government has claimed, by helping to cut costs, save time and drive more data-sharing to help both businesses and consumers.The Bill proposes removing manual logging requirements for police officers whenever they access personal data to work on a case, which the Government says will free up 1.5 million hours of police time and save more than £42 million in taxpayers’ money each year.The legislation will also ensure that healthcare information – such as details on patient appointments, tests and pre-existing conditions – can be accessed in real time across the NHS, GP surgeries and ambulance services, no matter the IT system they are using.Data is the DNA of modern life and quietly drives every aspect of our society and economy without us even noticingTechnology Secretary Peter KyleThe Government says this will save 140,000 hours in NHS time each year and potentially save lives by allowing staff to provide care more quickly.It says the legislation will also lay the groundwork to expand the model of open banking to other sectors, creating new smart data schemes which will allow consumers and businesses to share personal data safely with third parties in order to receive personalised market comparisons or advice to help them save money.The Government said it believes this would help foster tech innovation and boost competition, ultimately growing the economy by as much as £10 billion over 10 years.In addition, the Bill proposes simplifying important administrative tasks such as renting a home, starting work or registering births and deaths by legislating on digital verification services, meaning many tasks can be moved away from being paper-based and in-person.The Bill will offer certification to firms providing identification verification tools and which meet new Government standards to enable these new systems.With laws that help us to use data securely and effectively, this Bill will help us boost the UK’s economy, free up vital time for our frontline workers, and relieve people from unnecessary admin so that they can get on with their livesTechnology Secretary Peter KyleTechnology Secretary Peter Kyle said: “Data is the DNA of modern life and quietly drives every aspect of our society and economy without us even noticing, from our NHS treatments and social interactions to our business and banking transactions.“It has the enormous potential to make our lives better, boosting our National Health Service, cutting costs when we shop and saving us valuable time.“With laws that help us to use data securely and effectively, this Bill will help us boost the UK’s economy, free up vital time for our frontline workers, and relieve people from unnecessary admin so that they can get on with their lives.”The Bill will also include provisions to create a researcher data access regime around online harms, meaning researchers will be supported in accessing data held by online platforms so that they can conduct more robust research into online safety trends.It will also put the National Underground Asset Register on a statutory footing, meaning firms which own underground infrastructure such as water pipes or telecoms cables will be required to register their assets on the register and help create a complete map of pipes and cables to help cut accidents and reduce prolonged roadworks when holes are dug in the streets.This is an important piece of legislation which will allow my office to continue to operate as a trusted, fair and independent regulator and provide certainty for all organisations as they innovate and promote the UK economyInformation Commissioner John EdwardsInformation Commissioner John Edwards, who leads the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data protection regulator, said: “We welcome the introduction of the Data Use and Access Bill in the House of Lords and look forward to seeing it progress through Parliament to Royal Assent.“This is an important piece of legislation which will allow my office to continue to operate as a trusted, fair and independent regulator and provide certainty for all organisations as they innovate and promote the UK economy.“Our response to the Bill will be published in due course.”Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “The NHS is broken, but imagine its enormous potential if each part of the system communicated properly with each other.“That starts with sharing vital medical records between healthcare providers, because it shouldn’t be the patient’s responsibility to join the dots for their doctor.“I know people worry about Big Brother, which is why data will only be shared to the most relevant staff and anybody using data must comply with strict security protocols.” 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 moreCloseTory leadership frontrunner Kemi Badenoch has launched a blistering attack on Keir Starmer’s “lack of statesmanship” as the transatlantic row between Labour and Donald Trump continued to blow up.Sir Keir has denied accusations of “election interference” but Ms Badenoch accused him of being a “student politician” whose politics have “not evolved since he was a teen”.Ms Badenoch was speaking exclusively to The Independent as the Trump campaign filed a legal complaint against Labour for “election interference”.The Trump campaign has cited Sir Keir’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and director of communications Matthew Doyle, who attended the Democratic convention in Chicago.Trump’s team have filed a legal complaint about Labour alleging election interference 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 moreCloseElon Musk has declared war on a campaign group founded by Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, just hours after Donald Trump accused the Labour Party of interfering in the US election in an extraordinary attack.The tech billionaire accused the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) of “violating US criminal statutes against foreign interference in elections”. He said he and his team are “going after” the CCDH and their donors after a report from the Disinformation Chronicle newsletter claimed to have uncovered a strategy document from the group which included a plan to “Kill Musk’s Twitter”.The report also claims the CCDH sought out meetings with Democratic senators in an attempt to lobby against Mr Musk’s ownership of X. The organisation was founded by Morgan McSweeney, who was appointed as Sir Keir’s chief of staff earlier this month, but he hasn’t been involved since 2020.On Tuesday, the Trump-Vance campaign filed a complaint with the US Federal Election Commission (FEC) accusing the party of illegal foreign campaign donations.It came after scores of Labour activists including frontline politicians flew across the Atlantic to help campaign for Kamala Harris’s election on 5 November.Already sources in the Trump-Vance campaign have suggested that the intervention could be part of wider legal action if they lose to Kamala Harris on 5 November.One Washington source at a rightwing think tank linked to the Trump campaign told The Independent: “It is an incredibly foolish move on the part of Labour, and hugely damaging to the special relationship. “I honestly did not think it was possible for any government to be as corrupt and incompetent as the last Tory government, but this Labour government has actually managed to be more incompetent.”Sebastian Gorka, Trump’s former deputy general assistant in the White House, said: “It is all part of the subversion culture.” “Whether it is getting Twitter to suppress the Biden laptop story or get 51 spooks lie about it or hide the fact Biden was senile. It’s who they are”, he told The Independent. Others though are warning the Trump campaign that the tactic could backfire with Nigel Farage previously being a high profile cheerleader on the former President’s campaign trail.Musk has been locked in a long running feud with the CCDH, with the tech billionaire last year bringing a lawsuit agains the campaign group, seeking to blame it for “tens of millions of dollars” in lost advertising revenue after the nonprofit reported on hate speech and misinformation on X. But the case was dismissed by a federal judge in March 2024, with a CCDH spokesperson saying: “CCDH’s research held up a mirror to Elon Musk’s increasingly toxic and ugly platform, and rather than do the right thing and tackle the hate and lies disfiguring X, Mr Musk chose instead to sue the mirror.”It has campaigned for improvements to online safety as well as having previously criticised multiple social media sites including Facebook, Twitter and TikTok.The CCDH has been contacted for comment. 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 UK risks suffering a shortage of drinking water by the mid-2030s, a Labour cabinet minister has warned. Environment secretary Steve Reed said without investment in the country’s creaking infrastructure, the system could run into crisis. His warning came as it emerged that water companies want to raise bills by 84 per cent by 2030. Mr Reed described the proposed price hikes as “eye-watering” – but said the issue was not one for ministers.He told LBC Radio: “We’re all facing a shortage of water within a decade and a half if we don’t act now.”Water companies want to raise bills by 84 per cent by 2030 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 moreCloseLabour peer Waheed Alli has been found to have committed four breaches of Lords rules over his declarations in the register of interests.The prominent donor, who gave thousands of pounds worth of clothes and gifts to Sir Keir Starmer and his wife, has apologised after being instructed to by the Lords commissioner for standards.Lord Alli faced an investigation over his alleged failure to register his interests as a director of charity The Charlie Parsons Foundation and the company Silvergate BP Bidco, of which he owns more than half.Lords standards commissioner Martin Jelley also investigated Lord Alli’s late registration of his interest as an unpaid director of another company, MAC (BVI).“While I consider each individual breach of the Code to be minor, I have found there to be four breaches in total, and have therefore recommended that Lord Alli write a letter of apology to the chair of the conduct committee, Baroness Manningham-Buller,” a report by Mr Jelley said.Lord Alli became embroiled in the freebie scandal which engulfed Sir Keir Starmer’s government More

The claims follow reports of senior Labour officials meeting with Kamala Harris’ campaign More