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Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House CorrespondentHouseholds are to be urged to cut the amount of water they use by a fifth as Labour pledges to clean up Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas “once and for all”. Strategies include having shorter showers and fewer baths, as well as putting bricks in toilet cisterns to cut consumption. More than nine in 10 people think they use “vastly” less water than they actually do, the Environment Secretary Steve Reed said.The comments came as he used a speech to tell an invited group of water bosses that new laws will mean they face prison if they continue to pump filth into Britain’s lakes and rivers.But he ruled out nationalising the sector, warning it would cost billions and make the sewage problem worse in the short term.He pledged that the government would reform the UK’s creaking water system, much of it dating from the Victorian era. Strategies can include taking shorter showers More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House CorrespondentNadine Dorries will ramp up her war with the Conservatives in another bombshell book promising to lay bare “the story of a political party on the verge of extinction”.The former culture secretary, who last year attacked the behind-the-scenes power players at the top of the party in her previous book, promises to “pick up where The Plot left off”.Scheduled for release on 21 November, Downfall promises to expose events behind the scenes during LizTruss’s disastrous 49-day stint in Downing Street and during “the self-serving drift of Rishi Sunak’s time in office”.Nadine Dorries will step up her war with the Conservative Party More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorLabour will abolish the 92 remaining hereditary peers within months under legislation to be tabled on Thursday.The government committed before the general election to abolish the hereditary peerages as part of its promised House of Lords reforms.After abolishing hereditary peerages, Sir Keir Starmer is expected to impose an upper age limit of 80 for members of the upper chamber.The Government will introduce a Bill on Thursday to remove hereditary peers from the House of Lords (Henry Nicholls/PA) More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorAngela Rayner has ruled out scrapping Margaret Thatcher’s Right to Buy scheme, saying people should have the right to buy the homes they live in.The deputy prime minister promised reform of the policy, which allows most council tenants to buy their council home at a discount, to ensure the stock of social housing is not depleted.But, after reports that Right to Buy was to be axed, Ms Rayner told Sky News: “I don’t want Right to Buy scrapped, we are doing a consultation on it at the moment and I am very clear people should have the right to buy.”Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has promised a council housing revolution (Lucy North/PA) More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorWater bosses are to be told today that new laws will mean they face prison if they continue to pump filth into Britain’s lakes and rivers.Environment secretary Steve Reed will warn executives from the industry directly at a major speech in Putney, London where he will unveil details of the new Water (Special Measures) Bill to end sewage and other pollutants being pumped into the country’s waterways.Among the new measures announced in the crackdown will be the loss of bonuses, potential prison sentences for industry executives and a duty for the water companies themselves to pay the cost of enforcement.Mr Reed will tell them: “The public are furious that in 21st century Britain, record levels of sewage are being pumped into our rivers, lakes and seas. After years of neglect, our waterways are now in an unacceptable state. Environment secretary Steve Reed says water comapany executives will face prison if they break the law More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorA major fire in Dagenham last month which had the same cause as the Grenfell Tower tragedy proves that fire fighters and the public are still at risk from a major blaze, a union boss has warned.Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), told The Independent that his members have been betrayed in the aftermath of the Grenfell disaster as well as in the events leading to the tragedy.It comes after the London Fire Brigade was severely criticised for its lack of preparation for the disaster in the report presented by Sir Martin Moore-Bick.The FBU general secretary called on the Government to ‘fundamentally alter’ building safety regulations (James Manning/PA More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorUnion leaders have backed Keir Starmer’s planned ‘reset’ of Brexit and predicted that it will help save the British car industry.In an interview with The Independent, Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), said he “absolutely” believed the policy would keep manufacturing and other jobs in the UK and prevent them being moved to the continent.Mr Nowak also urged the new Labour government to deliver the “change” he said the public had voted for. And he called for an urgent new ‘workforce commission’ to plot a way to repair the UK’s public services, as a new poll reveals that nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of voters think they are deteriorating.Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the TUC, predicted the Brexit ‘reset’ would help keep jobs in the UK (Peter Byrne/PA) More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorThe Conservatives’ latest leadership contest is underway after Rishi Sunak led the party to its worst election defeat in history. A string of senior figures have thrown their hats in the ring to succeed the former PM and lead the party through the next five years in opposition. Robert Jenrick has emerged as the frontrunner among to take leadership of the party as former home secretary Dame Priti Patel was eliminated from the contest.Former immigration minister Mr Jenrick picked up 28 votes in the first ballot of MPs, with bookmakers’ favourite Kemi Badenoch in second place on 22.Shadow home secretary James Cleverly was one vote behind on 21, shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat on 17 and shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride on 16.Dame Priti picked up just 14 votes and so was knocked out at the first stage of the race to replace Rishi Sunak.The shortlist will be whittled down gradually until a final four are paraded in front of the party faithful at October’s Tory conference. The Independent looks at the runners and riders to take the reins from Mr Sunak. Who has officially declared? James Cleverly Former home secretary James Cleverly avoided losing his seat, unlike many of his cabinet colleagues More