UK

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.Read moreKim Leadbeater’s decision to remove a major safeguard from her assisted dying bill risks losing her the support of at least 81 MPs who voted in favour of it in November.The bill, which would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with a life expectancy of six months or less to seek assistance to end their lives, passed in the Commons by 55 votes – 330 MPs backed the legislation, with 275 voting against. But in a major change to what was supported by MPs, Ms Leadbeater now wants to remove the stage of a judge approving it in the High Court and replace it with a commission made up of psychiatrists and social workers who would be involved in approvingapplications. While Ms Leadbeater has denied claims she is watering down safeguards rather than strengthening them, 60 MPs during the second reading debate specifically stated that the High Court judge safeguard was important to them in providing support. Another 20 referenced the need for judicial oversight.Kim Leadbeater 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.Read moreThe government has announced its new health minister after Andrew Gwynne was sacked over the weekend following the emergence of allegedly offensive comments on WhatsApp.Mr Gwynne left the government over the weekend and apologised for comments made in the group “which I deeply regret and would not make today”.Ashley Dalton has been appointed in the health brief, while Douglas Alexander will now serve jointly in the Cabinet Office as well as the Department for Business and Trade, Downing Street confirmed on Monday.Mr Gwynne reportedly said he hoped a 72-year-old woman would soon die after she asked a councillor about bin collections, and joked about a constituent being “mown down” by a truck.Here, The Independent takes a look at the new parliamentary under-secretary of state for public health and prevention.Parliamentary careerMs Dalton worked for Southend-on-Sea Council for 17 years, before entering national politics.She was Labour’s candidate in Rochford and Southend East in the 2017 and 2019 general elections, but lost to the Conservative’s James Duddridge both times.Ms Dalton was selected as the candidate in the October 2023 West Lancashire by-election, triggered by the resignation of long-serving Labour MP Rosie Cooper.She was re-elected in the July 2024 general election with 50.5 per cent of the vote.Before serving in government, the West Lancashire MP was the shadow women and equalities minister when Labour was still in opposition.Personal lifeHer website describes her as a “mum, a carer, a cancer survivor and a proud Lancashire lass”.In a campaign video from 2023, she talks about not only facing breast cancer herself but losing her husband to kidney cancer in 2018. She said his cancer was “caught too late”.Her new appointment as health minister comes just over a month after she announced she had been diagnosed with breast cancer for a second time.Views on genderThe Labour MP for West Lancashire identifies as LGBTQ+, and in a 2023 interview with The Guardian, she said: “I’m a gay woman that’s been involved in politics for about 20 years so I’ve been on the receiving end of some pretty unsavoury comments and abuse.”Ms Dalton said in an exchange on Twitter in 2016 that “we shouldn’t have gendered bathrooms at all”.In another social media conversation in the same year – before she was an MP – Ms Dalton signalled her support for gender self-identification.Asked if people should take someone seriously were they to identify as a llama, Ms Dalton suggested they should do so with “dignity and respect” in an exchange which appears to have since been deleted.The prime minister’s official spokesperson sought to distance Sir Keir Starmer from the past remarks of the new minister.“I can’t speak to comments made by people prior to being in government,” he said when asked about the social media posts.Asked if Ms Dalton’s position on single-sex toilets reflected government policy, the spokesman replied: “No, the position remains clear. The PM has been clear before that single-sex spaces will and should be protected.” 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.Read moreThe government’s hike in employer national insurance contributions (NICs) has left 96 per cent of nurseries planning to increasing fees, while UK parents already face some of the highest childcare costs in the world. According to a survey of 728 nurseries nationwide by the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), one in six estimate that they will make a loss this year due to tax hikes. The impact of higher NICs will force nurseries to raise fees by an average of 10 per cent, pushing the affordability of UK childcare even higher for many parents. Increases to government funding for childcare providers will not keep pace with the increased costs, according to calculations by the NDNA, meaning that nurseries and parents will be left to bear the price. Funding rates for childcare will increase by just 4 per cent on average, while nursery staffing costs will increase by an average of 15 per cent, according to the NDNA.The UK is already one of the most expensive countries in the world for childcare – amounting to 19 per cent of average income, according to OECD estimates in 2022.The study found that nurseries will make a loss of £2.25 per hour for 3-4 year olds, and £1.64 for 2 year olds. The NDNA say that 80 per cent of childcare places in England will be paid for by the government from September; but that the government is “unwilling” to pay an adequate price. “Simply put, if the sector’s most significant customer is not paying their fair share, nurseries have to find this money from somewhere else or close their doors,” said Purnima Tanuku, chief executive at NDNA.According to the OECD’s latest estimates in 2022, for a couple with two children, childcare costs make up 19 per cent of average wages in the UK.Further details about the estimates are in the graph above.This makes the UK the fourth most expensive country for childcare, based on data collected by the OECD in 2022; and well above the OECD average of 10 per cent.The most expensive country is New Zealand, with childcare costs eating up 37 per cent of the average income; followed by the United States at 32 per cent. Full-time childcare is essential for many working families, in the period before children enter the school system; particularly since statutory maternity leave in the UK is only paid up to 39 weeks, while children do not go to school until aged five. Childcare in the UK is far more expensive than most other European countries, including France (7 per cent of average income), Poland (8 per cent), and the Netherlands (11 per cent). Yet analysis by the Independent suggests that costs to UK families could be higher on average. Estimates from Moneyhelper suggest that the average cost of childcare for those with young children ranges from £125.91 per week for a part-time registered childminder, to £285.31 per week for a full-time day nursery. Overall, these figures range from around £6,500 a year to more than £14,000 for a child under two, depending on the level of care and the number of hours needed. The average disposable household income in the UK, meanwhile, sits at just £34,500 in 2023 according to the Office for National Statistics; this is the average amount of money, including employment and benefits, after taxes.Under these projections, full-time childcare for a child under two could end up costing 37 to 43 per cent of household income on average.When factoring in up to £2,000 in tax-free childcare benefits which parents can claim each year, full-time childcare with a childminder or in daycare could still cost 31 to 37 per cent of the average income, according to our analysis. From September 2024, the government began partially funding childcare for children aged 9 months to 2 years old, with 15 hours of free childcare a week; while children aged 3 and 4 years old can be eligible for 30 free hours of childcare a week. From September this year, the 30 hours a week of free childcare will be extended to all children under the age of five. Currently, however, parents with children under the age of two who need full-time childcare to work may still need to pay for 25 to 35 hours of childcare alongside the 15 hours free, depending on their schedules and responsibilities. This could still amount to £4,547 a year on the lowest end (childminder for 25 hours a week) and £8,385 on the higher end (day nursery for 50 hours a week), both accounting for the £2,000 saving in tax-free childcare. 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.Read moreParents face a significant financial hit with nursery fees set to soar by 10 per cent in the wake of Rachel Reeves’s controversial tax hikes on employers, a major new survey has found.They could also find themselves struggling to find a place for their child, with one in seven nursery businesses – and the government’s flagship expansion of free childcare places – now at risk, the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) warned. Purnima Tanuku, the organisation’s chief executive, said the results of the survey of more than 700 nurseries were “alarming”.Providers were being put in an “awful situation where they are forced to either significantly increase their fees to parents or face an uncertain future”, she said. In response to the new data, critics called on the chancellor to exempt nurseries and childcare providers from a tax hike “set to cripple them”.Keir Starmer has been warned nursery fees are set to soar by 10% 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.Read moreA second Labour MP has been suspended from the party amid a row over alleged sexist, homophobic and racist messages in a constituency WhatsApp group.Labour has announced that Burnley MP Oliver Ryan has been administratively suspended from the party after a meeting with the chief whip Sir Alan Campbell this afternoon.The scandal had already cost Andrew Gwynne his job as a junior health minister, and now Mr Ryan, who used to be his assistant, has also been suspended by the party.It comes amid claims that the WhatsApp group – titled “Trigger Me Timbers” – had been flagged to the party a year ago by a local councillor.Labour MP for Burnley Oliver Ryan has been suspended 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.Read moreLabour has insisted it has a plan to deal with Donald Trump’s tariffs, as the latest threat to British steel production prompts demands for Sir Keir Starmer to set out his strategy.The US president on Monday announced a worldwide 25 per cent tariff on steel, triggering panic over the future of Britain’s fragile industry and raising fears that more trade fees could deepen problems for the UK economy, which is already teetering on the brink of a recession.As well as hitting UK exports to the US, a global trade war could see an influx of cheaper imports that would put British suppliers out of business.Mr Trump’s threat adds to the pressure on the prime minister to push for a deeper relationship with the EU; a report published over the weekend found that a so-called dynamic alignment – in which Britain would mirror EU regulations in order to allow frictionless trade without having to rejoin a customs union – would grow the economy by 2.2 per cent.US president Donald Trump arrives at the White House in Washington, DC following his trip to the Super Bowl in New Orleans 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.Read moreThe pressure is building on several Labour MPs to revolt against government plans to change rules on inheritance tax for farmers, analysis by The Independent can reveal.On Monday, hundreds of protesting farmers blocked Whitehall before MPs entered Parliament to debate a petition calling for a U-turn on Rachel Reeves’ controversial proposal.Under the chancellor’s plan, a 20 per cent inheritance tax rate will be introduced on farms worth more than £1 million from April 2026. But it has sparked a furious backlash in farming communities and created a problem for many newly-elected Labour MPs in rural constituencies.Analysis of the signatories of a petition, called ‘Don’t change inheritance tax relief for working farms’ and signed by 150,000 people, shows the Labour-held seats with the highest number of constituents signing it.It comes as Save British Farming and the Countryside Alliance urge MPs to act on the issue or face losing their seat at the next election.The Labour seat with the highest number of petition signatures (768) was Penrith and Solway, held by Markus Campbell-Savours.Mr Campbell-Savours, who has more farms in his constituency than any other Labour MP, voiced reservations on the policy in a speech in the Commons last year.More recently, the MP, who won his seat last year with a 5,300 majority, organised a survey of farmers over concerns he had heard on the viability of family farms and supply chains in Cumbria as a result of the plan.He did not respond in time to The Independent for comment.MPs Markus Campbell-Savours, Steve Witherden and John Whitby More