UK

The race to succeed Angela Rayner as deputy leader of the Labour Party has become a head-to-head battle between education secretary Bridget Phillipson and former Commons leader Lucy Powell. The first stage of the contest drew to a close on Thursday evening, with Ms Phillipson and Ms Powell being the only two candidates reaching the required threshold of 80 nominations from fellow Labour MPs. Ms Phillipson became the first to reach the required number of nominations, on Wednesday night sitting ahead with 116 nominations. All the candidates who stood for the deputy Labour leadership (clockwise from top left) Bridget Phillipson, Dame Emily Thornberry, Lucy Powell, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Paula Barker and Alison McGovern More

After the dramatic sacking of Peter Mandelson following revelations about his links with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, James Roscoe has been drafted in to take over as Britain’s interim ambassador to the US while Downing Street begins the process of finding a permanent replacement.While there is no suggestion yet that Mr Roscoe will take over from Lord Mandelson permanently, the career diplomat has a strong CV. He is currently the embassy’s head of mission, a role that sees him take over in the absence of the ambassador. Before he arrived in Washington, he was the UK ambassador to the UN General Assembly from 2019. Prior to this, from 2016 to 2019, he held the roles of director for communication at the Cabinet Office and subsequently the Department for Exiting the European Union.James Roscoe and Clemency Burton-Hill More

Nigel Farage is facing mounting questions about his £885,000 constituency home after an investigation called into question how the property was paid for. The Reform UK leader has denied avoiding more than £44,000 of stamp duty on the four-bedroom house in Clacton, which includes a heated swimming pool, after it emerged it had in fact been purchased by his partner. Mr Farage said his partner, Laure Ferrari, had paid for the home with her own funds, and was able to do so as she comes from a wealthy French family. But a BBC investigation cast doubt on the claim, suggesting that her parents do not have the means to have made a significant contribution towards the purchase. If Mr Farage had given Ms Ferrari the money to purchase the house, he would not have done anything illegal. But it would raise questions of hypocrisy, given that the Reform leader criticised Angela Rayner for her own failure to pay enough stamp duty when purchasing a flat in Hove – something she eventually resigned over. Farage says his partner, Laure Ferrari, was able to purchase the Clacton home as she comes from a wealthy French family More

Lord Mandelson has been sacked in disgrace after a series of damning revelations about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Sir Keir Starmer rallied around his man in Washington for days, praising the job the UK’s Trump-whisperer had done penetrating the president’s inner circles.But the prime minister was forced to change course on Thursday, dismissing Lord Mandelson with immediate effect. Mandelson will return to a life of luxury in the UK More

Independent readers have reacted to Sir Keir Starmer’s sacking of Peter Mandelson following revelations about his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.Readers have also weighed in on Starmer’s clarity of judgement over his appointment of Mandelson to the role of US ambassador in the first place.They described Mandelson as a long-time opportunist, accusing him of moral and political bankruptcy. Several also argued that the scandal has exposed broader failings in the Prime Minister’s vetting process and raises questions about the government’s standards.Some praised Mandelson’s swift exit, welcoming Starmer’s decision to act decisively rather than dragging out the controversy. Others said the episode highlights Starmer’s lack of foresight and the risks of appointing controversial figures, warning it could harm Labour’s reputation and electoral prospects.Here’s what you had to say:Mandelson and Epstein friendshipThis was inevitable when it became obvious that Mandelson continued the friendship and messages with Epstein after he was convicted of his crimes.And yet Starmer made a statement saying he had 100% confidence in Mandelson yesterday. The man is losing credibility at an alarming rate. He should never have backed Mandelson when it was clear further revelations and messages were waiting to be revealed.At this rate, he won’t be PM at Christmas. ChrisMatthewsThe ambassador’s role“The Prime Minister now needs to appoint an ambassador who will stand up to Trump, not cosy up to him and his cronies.”No, the ambassador’s role is to represent and further the interests of the government (and the country). But it is the role of the government to decide what those interests are at that point in time, whether to ‘stand up to Trump’, or to appease him, or whatever. The ambassador will then simply do their best to follow through with that implementation. An ambassador should be neither obsequious nor pugnacious. DaveAniAnother U-turn‘…what a fall was there, my countrymen! Then I, and you, and all of us fell down…’Shakespeare – Julius Caesar (Mark Antony’s speech).The PM has added another U-turn to his score. I agree that this is for the right reasons, but one wonders about the PM’s judgement. KrispadStarmer must goIt seems that Keir goes from one scandal to another, from bad to worse, and is unable to improve Labour’s respectability. He now must go for the party’s sake. paulThe same happened in Germany several times. Merkel had appointed a number of doubtful characters to her cabinets. Whenever they came under fire, she expressed her full confidence in them. A few days later, they were either sacked or had resigned. What a farce. ontologix2027 electionEd Davey seems to be the only sensible voice here. This whole debacle will cost Labour dearly. Starmer will at best resign and at worst lose all credibility. God forbid we get Farage, but his prediction of a 2027 general election suddenly doesn’t look so unlikely. Not a great future looming. DidoBendigoNew Labour charlatanMandelson enjoyed socialising with the rich, the famous, the infamous. That he was nominally a Labour politician was shocking in itself. Being an intimate advisor to Blair strips away further at that New Labour charlatan.Now his perverted attitude toward a serial abuser has exploded in Starmer’s face. This is a prime minister whose government is ideologically bankrupt. Now we can see his judgement is bankrupt. In light of this scandal, we must also consider to what extent he is morally bankrupt. CriticaleyeInvestigationStarmer and the former foreign secretary should be investigated so that the public can evaluate the standards they did not meet when they made this appointment. Crucially, what information did they ignore and then discount when they said that all due process was followed? orenasStarmer has done the right thing, but too late. That he initially defended Mandelson will be held against him at every opportunity. DMcG3Pointless defenceSo why did Starmer go through that pointless defence of Mandelson during Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday? Cyclone8Error of judgementAnother error of judgement from Starmer after backing him yesterday and failing to peer into the dirty closet before appointing him.MedicineDogSwift action It’s good to see people going straight away, not stringing it out for months as in the not-so-distant past. I hope this sends a message to Trump, or at least those who are keeping him in office. XrisLack of judgementThe person showing the most serious lack of judgement in all of this would seem to be the Prime Minister, as many thought at the time that Mandelson’s appointment was a highly questionable decision, and events have now shown that those with reservations were spot-on. MGHOWSome of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity.Want to share your views? Simply register your details below. Once registered, you can comment on the day’s top stories for a chance to be featured. Alternatively, click ‘log in’ or ‘register’ in the top right corner to sign in or sign up.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here. More

Eight in 10 Britons believe that senior politicians should be required to publish the amount of tax they pay every year, according to a new poll.A YouGov survey of nearly 5,000 people found that 80 per cent believe politicians should be required to disclose the amount of tax they pay each year, while only 8 per cent said they should not.It comes after Angela Rayner resigned last week as deputy prime minister and housing minister over her failure to pay £40,000 in stamp duty.Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has also evaded questions about his tax payments, particularly regarding his wife’s Clacton property, his private company assets, and his earnings from GB News.When approached for comment by The Independent, Mr Farage said he publishes all of his “monthly earnings and company figures” and that there was “no need” to disclose how much tax he pays as well. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has evaded questions about his tax payments More

The Green Party’s new leader claims he has had multiple conversations with Labour MPs about defecting to his party as they become increasingly unhappy with the direction of Sir Keir Starmer’s government.In an interview with The Independent, Zack Polanski said the number of Labour MPs he has spoken to who are dissatisfied with the party was in “double figures”. He added that the Greens would “absolutely” welcome disillusioned MPs, as long as they share the party’s values.Mr Polanski named Labour left-wingers Clive Lewis and Nadia Whittome as “obvious” examples of the MPs he would welcome into the fold.It comes amid growing concern from backbenchers over Sir Keir’s leadership, with his approval rating hitting an all-time low last month.Zack Polanski spoke to The Independent about his plans as leader of the Green Party More

Foreign minister Stephen Doughty had barely got back to his seat after dramatically announcing the sacking of Lord Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the US over his ties to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and my WhatsApp inbox was filling up with messages mostly asking variations on one question:“Why does Keir Starmer have such appalling judgment in making his key appointments?”While the now disgraced Labour peer is off into the wilderness (not for the first time in a long career), the chaos he has left behind is enveloping the prime minister.After all, this is the second big resignation in about a week, at a time when Sir Keir’s umpteenth reset in the shape of a major reshuffle was meant to relaunch his government.Only last Friday, he lost his deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner – who he appointed as housing secretary – because she had failed to pay £40,000 in stamp duty on her second home.Now, a mere seven days later, he has lost the man he had tasked to look after the most important relationship in Britain’s foreign policy – the ambassador who has to charm and deal with Donald Trump in the White House – over alleged (and what Downing Street is insisting is) “new information” over his relationship with Epstein.Lord Mandelson’s sacking is the latest scandal to hit Sir Keir Starmer’s government More