UK

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 ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer is facing serious questions over the appointment of Lord Peter Hendy as his rail minister after it emerged that he forced an award-winning engineer to be sacked for speaking to The Independent.Shadow transport secretary Helen Whately has written to Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden asking about the vetting process for the minister who is at the heart of another sleaze scandal to hit the new Labour government less than two months into office.Already questions are being asked over why a major Labour donor Lord Alli was granted a high security grade Downing Street pass after the election. There have also been allegations over cronyism over appointments of Labour supporters to senior civil service roles.Shadow transport secretary Helen Whately (UK Parliament/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 ThomasEditorTory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat has made a brazen appeal to the right wing of his party with a pledge to cap net migration to 100,000 a year.The former security minister has been portrayed as the leading candidate of the left of his party but has tried to change minds on his reputation with a series of hard-right policies.After launching his campaign to replace Rishi Sunak with a pledge to consider leaving the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) to prevent asylum seekers from coming to the UK, he is now playing to the rightwing gallery on curbing legal migration.He told an audience at the Royal Society of Medicine in Mayfair that “an honest and open conversation about population size is the only way to have a country that is happy with itself”.Conservative party leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat (Stefan Rousseau/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 founder of a Birmingham venue which spent thousands renovating its outdoor space has described the government’s plans to ban smoking in pub gardens as a “kick in the teeth”.Jack Brabant, who co-founded Hockley Social Club in central Birmingham, said “a lot of money” had been spent on “making our terraces hospitable and a place where people can relax”.This included spending thousands revamping the outdoor area – where there are also food stalls – including a new smoking area, ensuring there was a “space accessible to anyone” as well as a “space that smokers can go”.But he has lamented the government’s new proposals to ban smoking in pub gardens and outside areas.The Hockley Social Club, pictured, recently spent thousands on a revamp of its outdoor area 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 ThomasEditorAnybody watching Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron walking and talking together on Thursday could not fail to be struck by the warmth of the body language between the two. It was an enormous contrast to the way the French president viewed Britain’s past four prime ministers.Certainly, the UK and France have come a long way from the days when Liz Truss told a Tory leadership hustings that the “jury is out” on whether Macron was a friend or foe of Britain just before entering No 10 – albeit for a mere 49 days.And we should not be surprised that Starmer and Macron are much closer. They are political allies on the centre-left, both have had to see off the far left and both have a problem with the populist right. Starmer, after all, led the efforts to reverse the Brexit referendum result and is clearly much more pro-EU than any of the last Tory PMs.But if relations are very good with Macron it is as nothing compared to the brotherly love-in that Starmer is enjoying with German chancellor Olaf Scholz. The two men have already met five times and the UK prime minister has barely been in office for two weeks.Starmer meets Macron in Paris More

Keir Starmer and Olaf Scholz shake hands as prime minister arrives in BerlinSupport 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 ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer has confirmed he is looking at changes to smoking laws after a leaked government document reportedly revealed Labour’s intention to ban smoking in pub gardens, outdoor restaurants and near football stadiums.The prime minister is facing cabinet tensions over possible stricter Tobacco and Vapes Bill with Business Department officials warning that the move could create financial tensions for the industry.It comes as he raised concerns about a potential fuel duty increase after refusing to rule out a tax rise in the autumn Budget during a press conference in Berlin.Despite reiterating his manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, National Insurance, or VAT, the prime minister remained noncommital on fuel duty, marking the first potential rise since 2010.Sir Keir is continuing efforts to build bridges with European leaders as he holds talks with Emmanuel Macron today.He was welcomed by the French President while he visited Paris for the Paralympics opening ceremony, after meeting in Germany with chancellor Olaf Scholz as the prime minister pursues his post-Brexit reset agenda.The PM said a new treaty between Britain and Germany will help “deliver for working people” and create “deeper links on science, technology, development, people, business, and culture”.Show latest update 1724942740The real story behind Starmer, Reeves and a very painful Budget…Although they wouldn’t admit it, the model for the PM and his chancellor is less Tony Blair and Gordon Brown – and more David Cameron and George Osborne, writes Andrew Grice:Salma Ouaguira29 August 2024 15:451724941800Keir Starmer attempts to recreate David Cameron’s 2010 dealThe prime minister is looking to recreate David Cameron’s 2010 deal with France during his European tour in Germany and France.French president Nicolas Sarkozy at the time signed the The Lancaster House treaties in a bid to strengthen defense security with the UK.Keir Starmer now wants to forge new agreements on defence and security with Berlin and France – with immigration and trade also on top of the agenda.Sir Keir has faced pressure from the opposition over his move to reset relations with Europe.But the PM previosuly reiterated he wil not reverse Brexit measures.David Cameron is welcomed by France’s president Nicolas Sarkozy prior to meeting members of Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) in Paris 2010 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 ThomasEditorNigel Farage has said he will “never go to the pub again” if Labour’s mulled outdoor smoking ban comes to pass. Writing in The Telegraph, the Reform UK leader claimed “the Puritans are on the march” after details emerged of the leaked plans, which suggest the government is considering banning smoking in outdoor areas including pub gardens.Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday that he is considering tougher rules on smoking, telling reporters on a trip to Paris: “yes, we are going to take decisions in this space, more details will be revealed.”The proposed ban would see smoking banned in some outdoor spaces, extending to nightclubs, sports venues and small parks. Perhaps most controversially, the new rules would also ban smoking outside of pubs, even if they have private gardens.This aspect has drawn particular criticism from Mr Farage, who says the plans shows Labour’s “authoritarian socialist state control instincts and mentality.” He accused the government of ignoring drug abuse, instead implementing policies that will “kill off the traditional pub forever.”Reform leader Nigel Farage has often been pictured enjoying pub culture (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 ThomasEditorMinisters are considering a ban on outdoor smoking as part of a way to end the use of cigarettes and other tobacco products for future generations, Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed.The ban would also extend to small parks, outside nightclubs and sports venues according to “secret Whitehall papers”.This morning, the prime minister confirmed with journalists in Paris that he is looking at changes to smoking laws.He said: “My starting point on this is to remind everybody that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking.Former PM Rishi Sunak previously announced plans to crack down on smoking through his flagship Tobacco and Vapes Bill last year 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 ThomasEditor Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen Thursday appointed six new ministers in a major reshuffle of her three-party centrist government, bringing the number of ministers to 25 — the largest ever in 30 years. One of the ministers will head a new government office of emergency preparedness, climate change and cyber crimes. “The world has become more troubled,” Frederiksen said as she announced that Torsten Schack Pedersen will be in charge of the new ministry, after the reshuffled cabinet was formally presented to King Frederik X. Denmark now joins Sweden to have such a department. Besides the new emergency office, the government now has two other new ministries, bringing the total to 25, the largest since the 1993-1994 Cabinet of Social Democratic Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen who had 24 ministers. Marie Bjerre left her job as minister for digitalization and gender equality, to become in charge of the European Union affairs, ahead of Denmark’s rotating EU presidency in the second half of 2025.Jeppe Bruus, the outgoing taxation minister, was brought in to head a brand new ministry, which will be coordinating Denmark’s green policy. The Scandinavian country has a goal of 70% emissions reductions by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2050.Bruus was replaced by Rasmus Stoklund while Bjerre’s previous job was given to Caroline Stage Olsen, who became the digitalization minister. The gender equality portfolio was handed over to Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke.In one of the major surprises, Copenhagen mayor Sophie Hæstorp Andersen was appointed as minister in charge of social affairs instead of Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil, who left the government. Frederiksen, who is the leader of the Social Democratic Party, announced Wednesday that she was doing a government reshuffle and creating three new ministries. In 2022, she presented the current majority government, consisting of her center-left Social Democrats, the center-right Liberal Party and the newly created centrist Moderates party. More