UK Politics

Sir Keir Starmer is under growing pressure to introduce a wealth tax to fill a black hole in public finances, after new polling shows almost all Labour members back the move. The prime minister has been urged to adopt a “radical change of direction” after a survey, shared exclusively with The Independent, showed that 91 per cent of party members think the government should tax the rich more. It comes after deputy prime minister Angela Rayner pressed Rachel Reeves to consider eight wealth taxes rather than impose cuts on departments in a leaked memo earlier this year. Former shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds also weighed in, backing a wealth tax and warning that spending cuts will not “deliver the kind of fiscal room that is necessary”.It comes amid mounting questions over how the government will raise the money to fill the black hole in the public finances left by a series of major U-turns and spending commitments, with the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) – a leading economic think tank – last month warning the chancellor is facing a £41.2bn shortfall. ( More

Thousands of people have had their homes seized after receiving controversial ‘no-fault’ eviction notices despite Labour pledging to abolish them, new data shows.Labour said in its election manifesto it would abolish Section 21 eviction notices “immediately” after winning the election. A year on, and the relevant legislation still progressing through parliament means that the ban is still not in effect.According to Ministry of Justice figures released on Thursday, 11,400 households received no-fault evictions by bailiffs in the year to June.The number of bailiff evictions is an eight per cent rise on the previous year, continuing a trend of a heightened use of the notices.Housing charity Shelter said it is “unconscionable” that renters “continue to be marched out of their homes by bailiffs” a year after Labour’s election victory.Shelter described no-fault evictions as one of the leading causes of homelessness, with landlords able to evict tenants with little notice and no reason required More

British exports to the US have plummeted to their lowest level in three years in the wake of Donald Trump’s swingeing tariffs. The 13.5 per cent fall comes despite a much-lauded US-UK trade agreement, designed to protect businesses from the worst of the added costs.Ministers are now facing calls to secure part of the deal that is still outstanding, on steel and aluminium, which still have a 25 per cent levy imposed on exports to the US.The wider tariffs have seen an extra 10 per cent slapped on goods from most UK sectors, ranging from food and drink to chemicals, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said.Comparing the goods exported in the three months to June with the same quarter a year ago, the BCC said sales were £2bn lower, a drop of 13.5 per cent year-on-year. Trump imposed tariffs on countries around the world, including the UK More

Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelensky are united in their “strong resolve” to secure a just peace in Ukraine ahead of a historic summit between the US and Russia on Friday. Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are due to meet in Alaska, amid fears the two superpowers will try to decide the end of the war themselves, leaving Ukraine excluded. As the world nervously awaits their meeting, the Russian president has dangled the idea that the talks could lead to Moscow and Washington reaching a deal on nuclear arms control. Starmer meets Zelensky at Downing Street ahead of Trump-Putin summit More

The education secretary has said the government is looking at allowing universities to hike tuition fees every year based on inflation to stop them going bust.It comes less than a year after Bridget Phillipson announced that fees would increase in England for the first time in eight years as part of a major overhaul of the higher education system. Tuition fees have been frozen at £9,250 since 2017, but in November, it was announced that they would increase in line with the Retail Price Index inflation in September 2025. Asked whether the government would allow universities an inflation-linked tuition fee increase every year to improve their financial situation, Ms Phillipson did not rule it out. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson (PA) More

Watch live as Sir Keir Starmer welcomes Volodymyr Zelensky to 10 Downing Street on Thursday, 14 August, a day before Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are due to meet.The UK prime minister’s meeting with the Ukrainian president comes after he vowed that Britain will “increase pressure” on Russia if necessary.Meanwhile, the US president has threatened Russia with “severe consequences” if Russia rejects a ceasefire.Sir Keir joined a call with the US president and European allies on Wednesday, praising Mr Trump for his efforts to advance a “viable” chance of an end to the conflict.Concerns have been raised over the exclusion of Mr Zelensky in the meeting between Mr Trump and Putin; the Ukrainian leader has reiterated that there can be no talk of territorial concessions without his country’s involvement. Mr Trump said that if his meeting with the Russian leader goes well, he would like to have a quick second meeting with Putin and Mr Zelensky.Mr Zelensky has warned Donald Trump and European leaders that Putin is “bluffing” over his intentions to end the war.Sir Keir said ahead of the Friday meeting: “As I’ve said personally to President Trump for the three-and-a-bit years this conflict has been going on, we haven’t got anywhere near a prospect of actually a viable solution, a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire.“And now we do have that chance, because of the work that the president has put in.” More

The UK has reportedly scaled back its plans to put troops in Ukraine, now offering a smaller “reassurance force” to support peace efforts in the region.While a 30,000-strong group from countries that make up the coalition of the willing – a group of countries which have pledged support for Ukraine against Russia’s aggression – had initially been floated, military chiefs are now said to have dropped the idea, instead favouring a smaller, “more realistic” operation.It comes as Sir Keir Starmer prepares to welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to No 10 on Thursday morning, as Europe rallies behind Ukraine. Allied national security advisers discussed the war in Ukraine at the weekend ahead of a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin (Yevhen Titov/PA) More

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said he had a large knife pulled on him and was “pelted with bottles” during a visit to a migrant camp in northern France. During a trip with Daily Express journalist Zak Garner-Purkis, the Conservative MP attempted to speak to asylum seekers living in tents near Dunkirk, as they waited to cross the English Channel in small boats. After attempting to speak to a group of Eritreans and a man carrying lifejackets, he is approached by Mr Garner-Purkis, who informs him that a man with a “rather large knife” has walked behind them. In the clip, Mr Philp says: “I found it pretty shocking – you said behind me somebody had pulled out some sort of machete and we left pretty quickly.”Mr Garner-Purkis says the man was “swinging it around in the air”, adding: “It was clear he was doing it to send a message to the other people there – whether it was a case of ‘don’t speak’.”Shortly afterwards while walking along the road recounting the incident to the camera, objects can be seen being thrown at them. Mr Garner-Purkis says “they are throwing bottles at us” and Philp responds: “Right, we’ve got to go.In a post on social media, the Croydon South MP said: “We were attacked today at the migrant camp dubbed “The Jungle 2” just outside Dunkirk. “We were threatened with a machete, pelted with bottles & our car hit as we sped off. “Those responsible are likely to be in the UK soon in a taxpayer funded hotel. This border madness must end.” In another video, he filmed a group of migrants boarding a bus while French police appear to be standing by showing “complete inactivity”.Migrants climbing onto a small boats near Gravelines in France to cross the Channel More