UK

Lucy Powell has defeated Cabinet minister Bridget Phillipson in the race to succeed Angela Rayner as Labour’s deputy leader. The former leader of the Commons has long been seen as more of a challenger to the current status quo in Labour than her rival. While both candidates promised to spend more time listening to the party’s membership, Ms Powell – who was sacked as a minister in the reshuffle that followed Ms Rayner’s resignation just months ago – was seen as more of a “change” candidate than her rival Ms Phillipson. Her victory is likely to be seen as a call from the Labour membership for a change of direction amid growing unhappiness with Sir Keir Starmer’s government.Ms Powell, who says her politics were shaped by growing up in the North under Margaret Thatcher, is seen to sit on the party’s “soft left” and, launching her leadership bid, promised to urge the prime minister to pursue “bold policies, rooted in progressive Labour values”.Lucy Powell says her politics were shaped by growing up under Margaret Thatcher in the North More

Counting was underway Saturday for votes in Ireland’s presidential election, with early tallies suggesting a significant lead for left-wing independent Catherine Connolly.Voters were choosing between Connolly and center-right Heather Humphreys as their new president, a largely ceremonial role in the European Union member country.The two women were the only contenders after Jim Gavin, the candidate for Prime Minister Micheál Martin’sFianna Fail party, quit the race three weeks before the election over a long-ago financial dispute. Martin, who heads Ireland’s government, had personally backed Gavin as a presidential candidate. Though Gavin had stopped campaigning, his name remains on the ballot paper because of his late withdrawal from the race.While Irish presidents represent the country on the world stage, host visiting heads of state and play an important constitutional role, they do not have the power to shape laws or policies. Connolly, the frontrunner, has garnered the backing of a range of left-leaning parties, including Sinn Féin, the Labour Party and the Social Democrats.The 68-year-old former barrister, an independent lawmaker since 2016, has been outspoken in criticizing Israel over the war in Gaza. Polls have suggested strong voter support for her over rival Humphreys, 64, from the center-right party Fine Gael.The former cabinet minister has stressed that she is a center-ground, pro-business, pro-EU candidate who will strive for unity.Others — including musician Bob Geldof and the former mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor — had indicated they wished to run for president but failed to receive enough backing for a nomination.The winner will succeed Michael D. Higgins, who has been president since 2011, having served the maximum two seven-year terms. Connolly or Humphreys will be Ireland’s 10th president and the third woman to hold the post.Voting slips were being counted by hand. The final result will be declared later Saturday once all 43 electoral constituencies across the country have completed counting. More

Keir Starmer’s leadership of Labour has been dealt a blow after former cabinet minister Lucy Powell, who has criticised his leadership and policies, was elected as deputy leader.Ms Powell beat Sir Keir’s preferred candidate Bridget Phillipson by 87,407 votes to 73,576 in a clear message from Labour members that they want a change of direction. Although the turnout was only 16.6 per cent.The result is a huge comeback for Ms Powell, who was sacked as Commons leader by Starmer in last month’s reshuffle caused by the departure of Angela Rayner, whom she has now been elected to replace.Additionally, Ms Powell, the MP for Manchester Central, is close to Manchester mayor Andy Burnham who many would like to see replace Sir Keir as leader.Lucy Powell gives her deputy leader victory speech More

A group of senior MPs has warned the government not to cut the cash Isa allowance at the Budget as chancellor Rachel Reeves is understood to be considering the measure.In a candid intervention, the cross-party Treasury Committee has unequivocally told the government that it should not introduce a cut to the £20,000 tax-free allowance granted to every saver.The chancellor is reportedly considering dropping the figure significantly to £10,000 in a bid to boost investment in stocks and shares of British companies.But this “simply will not deliver the change she seeks”, warns Treasury Committee chair Dame Meg Hillier, sharing a new report from the group of MPs that finds savers are unlikely to be incentivised to switch to investing.Chancellor Rachel Reeves will need to find a way to meet her goal of balancing day-to-day spending with tax revenues while maintaining £10 billion ‘headroom’ More

Allied nations have pledged to act to take Russian oil and gas off the global market, Sir Keir Starmer said, after leaders gathered with Volodymyr Zelensky in London. The prime minister urged other nations to follow the US and impose sanctions, and said allies had agreed on a “clear plan for the rest of the year” in supporting Kyiv. Among the further pledges were plans to “push on with the progress” on Russian assets and “keep up the military pressure on Putin” as the conflict heads towards its fourth winter. The UK also said it would “accelerate” its missile production programme to get more weapons to Ukraine.It comes days after the White House imposed new sanctions on Russian oil in an attempt to squeeze Moscow.Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelensky speaking to the media following a meeting with the coalition of the willing allies More

Sir Keir Starmer has been issued a stark warning over the direction of the government, with pollsters speculating that he could struggle to turn things around following a devastating defeat in Labour’s heartland. Plaid Cymru snatched the traditionally Labour seat of Caerphilly away from Sir Keir’s party overnight on Thursday. It was the first time that Labour, which came third behind Reform UK, had lost an election in the former mining town in more than a century.Sir Keir said he was “deeply disappointed” by the result, adding: “We clearly need to do much more.”But with many seeing this week’s by-election as a bellwether for the local elections next May as well as national elections for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, Ipsos pollster Keiran Pedley told The Independent that it is “hard to see how Labour will turn things around”, while Professor Sir John Curtice said the result shows that the party is “in severe trouble in Wales”. The Andy Burnham-allied pressure group Mainstream warned that Labour “will be wiped out in Wales next May without a major reset”, advising Sir Keir to “reject the hyper-factional culture [that is] determined to concentrate power at the top of the party”. But one Labour MP said there is “absolutely nothing Starmer can do to turn the political tide”, urging the prime minister to “consider his position now, not later, before the Labour Party sinks into the abyss”. It comes amid growing concern over the direction of Sir Keir’s government, with many seeing next May’s local and national elections as a crucial test of how Labour is performing in power, and as a deadline for the prime minister to start delivering on the government’s priorities. In this year’s local elections, Reform UK swept to victory across more than half a dozen English councils, winning hundreds of seats – a result it is hoping to replicate in 2026.Keir Starmer is under pressure after a historic by-election defeat in Wales More

The Reform UK-led Nottinghamshire County Council is splurging £75,000 on new flag installations, prompting criticism the money could be better spent on services for local people.The 164 flags are set to be displayed across 82 locations, costing the council £475 each, which will include brackets, traffic management and utilising cherry pickers.Council leader Mick Barton said: “We just feel it’s the right thing to do, and it gives that feel-good factor, that’s what we’re doing it for.“When people are putting all these St George and Union flags up, they’re not going to last forever… so we thought we would support the public in what they want, but long term we can use it for all sorts of events that’s going across the county.” Mr Barton said that flags will also be displayed for Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, Nottinghamshire Day, Christmas, and Easter, among other celebrations. The decision has been criticised by others in the council, who feel it contradicts Reform UK’s promise that it would slash wasteful spending if elected. Labour councillor Helen Faccio, who represents Toton, Chilwell and Attenborough, told the BBC she was “shocked but not surprised” by the announcement. ‘It’s the right thing to do’: Mick Barton has defended his council’s decision to spend thousands on flags More