UK Politics

Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure to consider the “overwhelming evidence” from New Zealand to consider banning smart phones from schools.In an exclusive interview with The Independent, New Zealand’s education minister Erica Stanford said she has heard “overwhelmingly positive feedback” about the world-leading phone ban in her country, with more engagement and less cyberbullying in schools.The New Zealand National Party government now hopes to take it further and introduce a ban on social media for under-16s.It comes as Sir Keir’s government is under increasing pressure to introduce similar measures in English schools, with the Tories and campaign groups pressing for a ban.A schoolgirl with her mobile phone More

Spending commitments on defence mean it is “impossible” for the chancellor to invest in economic growth, public services and net zero policies when she allocates money for the next three years, leading economists have warned. Rachel Reeves will face “unavoidably” tough choices as she set out her plans in a spending review in just over a week, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says. The government has pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GPD within the next two years. But on Saturday, ahead of the launch of a new defence strategy on Monday, the defence secretary John Healy went further as he said there was “no doubt” the UK would meet its target to raise the level to 3 per cent by 2034.Rachel Reeves faces tough choices with limited resources More

British citizens will be required to have their fingerprints scanned whenever they go to the European Union due to delays in the development of digital biometrics software.Every UK passenger entering the Schengen area will need to exit their car to be photographed and fingerprinted individually. A spokesperson for the Port of Dover, which facilitates transit and trade with countries like France and the Netherlands, told The Independent the plans will be rolled out in the autumn.This is because a new biometric entry-check system for non-EU citizens was expected to be implemented last year, but this has been postponed.The Independent initially reported on the delay to the new system at the end of 2024, with suggestions that the demand for fingerprints may quietly be dropped.Every UK passenger entering the Schengen area will need to exit their car to be photographed and fingerprinted individually More

The government has announced plans to build six new munitions and weapons factories – at a cost of £1.5bn – as ministers seek to improve the UK’s war readiness in the face of growing hostility from Russia.The plans will form part of a war-ready – or “always on” – pipeline that can be scaled up at short notice. Making the announcement ahead of a new defence review published on Monday, defence secretary John Healey said the “hard-fought lessons” of Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine “show a military is only as strong as the industry that stands behind them”.The defence review is expected to warn of an ‘immediate and pressing’ threat posed by Russia amid the war in Ukraine More

One of Sir Keir Starmer’s first acts as prime minister was to order a “root and branch” review of Britain’s armed forces. The prime minister said the UK’s military capabilities had been “hollowed out” during 14 years of Conservative rule, warning that an urgent revamp was needed with the country facing an increasingly dangerous world. And 10 months on, Sir Keir will on Monday unveil the outcome of the so-called strategic defence review.The Independent looks at what we know about the defence review and what to expect. Sir Keir Starmer ordered a review of Britain’s defence capabilities within weeks of taking office More

Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves are at loggerheads over the crucial spending review as the deputy prime minister’s department passed an unofficial deadline to settle its budget until the next general election without securing an agreement. With the spending review set to be unveiled on 11 June, departments have told The Independent that the Treasury wanted its plans agreed by the start of this weekend.But The Independent understands that Ms Rayner’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is one of several departments yet to settle with Ms Reeves and her deputy Darren Jones.The clash at the top of the government comes as ministers resist cuts to their departments and marks a distinct clash over political philosophy between the two most senior women in the cabinet.Rayner’s demands for funding for the affordable homes scheme beyond 2026 has left her at loggerheads with the chancellor More

The UK faces a race against time to prevent Donald Trump’s swingeing new 50 per cent tariffs on steel hitting an already beleaguered critical industry. The US president sent shockwaves through the global economy when he announced on Friday that he would raise the tariffs from 25 per cent to “further secure” the industry.“We’re going to bring it from 25 percent to 50 percent, the tariffs on steel into the United States of America, which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States. Nobody is going to get around that,” Trump told steel workers on a visit to a Pennsylvania plant.He later confirmed on his Truth Social platform that the change would be “effective Wednesday, June 4”.A UK-US trade deal unveiled with much fanfare earlier this month should have exempted Britain from steel tariffs – but it has yet to be implemented. Ministers now face a scramble to ensure the agreement with the US is in place before Wednesday. The government is urgently seeking clarification from the US on what the latest announcement means for the UK, the Independent understands. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump unveiled a new UK-US trade agreement this month (Carl Court/PA) More

Britain’s top union boss has issued a warning to Keir Starmer and the entire left of politics that they need to reclaim the narrative on the immigration debate in the face of the threat from Nigel Farage and Reform.Writing in the Independent, Paul Nowak, the secretary general of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), appears to both chide Sir Keir for his controversial speech on migration earlier this month, warning that the left “should not be echoing the right”.In a week where the gloves have come off in the fight between Reform and Labour, Mr Nowak has urged the prime minister to confront the “dangerous and false” claims of Farage.But, crucially, with chancellor Rachel Reeves trying to squeeze public finances in her spending review set to be published on 11 June, the union boss demanded that she finds the cash to properly fund the Fair Pay Agreement in social care and the Fair Work Agency which he believes are at the heart of part of the problems with immigration.Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC (Peter Byrne/PA) More