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 moreThe UK foreign secretary David Lammy has said the government has opened “diplomatic contact” with the Syrian rebels who ousted Bashar al-Assad’s regime last weekend.Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is still a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK, Mr Lammy said on Sunday, during remarks in which he also announced a £50 million humanitarian aid package for vulnerable Syrians.”We want to see a representative government, an inclusive government. We want to see chemical weapons stockpiles secured, and not used, and we want to ensure that there is not continuing violence,” Mr Lammy told the BBC.”For all of those reasons, using all the channels that we have available, and those are diplomatic and of course intelligence-led channels, we seek to deal with HTS where we have to.”HTS is led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, previously known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani 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 moreA leading British businessman has warned Rachel Reeves that her Budget “spooked business” as he suggested a recession could be “around the corner”. James Reed, chairman of the recruitment giant, Reed, urged the chancellor to change course. Mr Reed told the BBC”s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that the economy was “cooling” and has been “for several months”.He added that data for November showed that vacancies had fallen by 13 per cent month on month, which he described as a “significant decline”. He added that when he had seen similar figures in the past that had been an indicator that recession was “around the corner”.The chancellor Rachel Reeves (Peter Byrne/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 moreHouseholds are going to be hit with a hike in water bills of at least 20 per cent to fix the UK’s “broken” sewage system, the environment secretary has said, sparking a backlash amid fears for vulnerable customers.On Thursday, independent regulator Ofwat is expected to announce that charges will increase by more than 20 per cent by 2030, which means an average rise of £20 a year per household over the next five years, with the average bill soaring from £448 a year to £542.Steve Reed acknowledged bill-payers would be “angry” but insisted a rise is necessary to “repair the damage” after years of neglect and under-investment, with promises Labour will “reset our water sector” by fixing pipes and building reservoirs, not paying water chiefs’ bonuses.Blaming the previous Conservative governments for having “left our water system in ruins”, he wrote in The Telegraph on Saturday: “This week, the independent water regulator will announce water bill rises to repair the damage. The public are right to be angry. Tory recklessness has caused untold damage.”Consumer groups argued some households will not be able to afford a sharp rise in water bills, and urged water companies to provide more support.Scandal-hit Thames Water was close to needing to be bailed out by taxpayers this 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.CloseRead moreYvette Cooper has hit out at China over an alleged spy who became a close confidant of the Duke of York and reportedly met two former prime ministers, as MPs threatened to name him if the courts do not. The home secretary said her message to the Chinese state was that the UK would take a “very strong approach” to national security. But she admitted that the government’s stance was “complex” because Britain’s still needs economic co-operation with China.There were warnings of a “major security breach” after reports that David Cameron met the businessman at a reception in Downing Street.He is also reported to have met a second former prime minister, Baroness Theresa May, and kept pictures of both of them in his London office.Earlier this week, Prince Andrew’s connections to the alleged spy became the latest scandal to engulf the Duke of York, after the man was barred from the UK because he was judged likely to pose a threat to national security. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has told The Independent he could name the businessman, known only as H6,  as early as Wednesday if the courts do not. He said his party may use parliamentary privilege – which provides legal immunity for MPs in cases such as this – to reveal the name of the man in the House of Commons. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (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 moreSir Keir Starmer’s government has hailed the UK becoming the first European nation to officially join an Indo-Pacific trade bloc, despite having said the impact of the deal would be “very small” less than two years ago. At the beginning of 2023, when the UK began the process of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), he offered a lukewarm view of the trade deal, pointing out that the “net contribution to our economy will be something in the order of 0.08 per cent”. But on Sunday, his business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the agreement would “boost trade and create opportunities for UK companies abroad”. The UK will become the 12th country to join the trade agreement, following years of procedure, having first put in an application in early 2021. Britain will enter into the agreement with eight of the bloc’s 11 existing members who first ratified the accession on Sunday: Japan, Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, Vietnam, Peru, Malaysia and Brunei.Sir Keir Starmer said the impact of CPTPP would be ‘very small’ in 2023 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 moreYvette Cooper has repeatedly refused to set a deadline to reduce dangerous small boats crossings in the channel. The home secretary described the numbers making the journey as “too high” but claimed it would have been “thousands” higher under the last Conservative government’s approach.Some 34,880 people have arrived in Britain on small boats so far this year, up 20 per cent on this time last year but down 22 per cent on 2022.Ms Cooper repeatedly declined to say when the public could expect to see the number of small boat crossings fall.She told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “These levels are far too high, this is dangerous what’s happening. Of course we want to continue to progress, of course we want to see the boat crossings come down as rapidly as possible.” Ms Cooper conceded that remaining under 2022’s record high would be “no comfort” to people while numbers continue to rise. But she suggested the figures could have been as much as 50,000 under the Tories.Migrants crossing the Channel in a small boat 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 moreThe Foreign Office has admitted it doesn’t how much money has been spent on the Chagos Islands deal.The admission was made after The Independent submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), asking for details on how much money was handed to Mauritius as part of the deal, as well as asking for the other expenses involved in striking the deal.The department admitted that details on how much money has been spent so far is “not centrally held and is not readily retrievable”, adding that responding to the request would take a “substantial amount of work and staff hours”.While the department said no money has yet been handed over to Mauritius directly as part of the deal as the treaty is still being finalised, it was unable to produce a figure for how much has been spent on legal costs, travel costs and other expenses.David Lammy has repeatedly insisted the deal is a good one 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 moreSir Keir Starmer has been accused of continuing the previous Tory government’s so-called “hostile environment” approach to migration after the Home Office hailed a new crackdown on immigration crime. On Sunday, the government announced that nearly 13,500 migrants have been removed from Britain since the election, as well as pledging to put £8m towards technology for immigration enforcement operations such as raids and arrests. It comes after Labour previously pledged to return more people who do not have a right to stay in the country halfway through their first year in office than any other six-month period since 2018.While the government said the figures show it is on track to deliver on its returns pledge, which would need to be met by early January, campaigners have hit out at the approach, comparing it to that of the previous Tory government. The Conservative Party, which put a controversial plan to send migrants to Rwanda at the centre of their migration strategy, was often accused of using dehumanising language to describe refugees.Julia Tinsley-Kent, head of policy and communications at the Migrants’ Rights Network told The Independent: “In line with previous governments, the new government has made it crystal clear that it is content to continue the trend of criminalising migration.Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, second left, during a Calais Group meeting on Tuesday (PA/Henry Nicholls) More