UK politics

UK politics

Mayors and councillors in England face suspensions of up to six months for serious misconduct and repeated rule breaches as the government seeks to overhaul standards in local government. Under plans unveiled on Tuesday, local authorities will be handed powers to suspend rule-breaking councillors and mayors, including those found guilty of bullying and assault, and to withhold their allowances. Ministers said the changes, which will be introduced via parliamentary legislation, would help improve public confidence in local government.

Custody is being used as a waiting room for hundreds of children who are being unnecessarily locked up while awaiting trial or sentencing due to failing services, the children's commissioner for England has warned. Dame Rachel de Souza said many children were being placed in custody not because they posed the greatest risk, but because the systems designed to support them were failing.

Under the Conservatives' proposals, mandatory ESG disclosures, including a company's carbon footprint, diversity metrics and social governance data, would be made voluntary once again. ESG rules were initially introduced as a voluntary standard, allowing firms to demonstrate transparency around sustainability, workplace culture and board governance. Over the past decade, however, the measures have evolved into complex mandatory frameworks administered by regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), HMRC, and Companies House.

Farage said at a Reform press conference on Monday, "I well remember the Wilson report two decades ago saying the BBC were not covering areas like Europe and immigration with any sense of impartiality. And you could add on to that net zero, climate change, their interpretation of the horrors that have happened in Gaza and now of course the US president."

A new survey by Employment Hero found that 86 per cent of 1,000 business leaders are worried about what the Budget will mean for their companies, with 59 per cent saying they believe the government does not take the needs of small businesses into account when setting fiscal policy. The concern comes after employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) rose from 13.8 per cent to 15.05 per cent in April - a move that many SMEs say has already strained their finances.

In an open letter, TransActual and Trans+ Solidarity Alliance urged the public to signal their opposition to the trans-exclusionary provisions after the EHRC handed its amended code of practice to equalities minister Bridget Phillipson in September. The EHRC updated its code, which provides guidance on creating gendered facilities such as toilets or changing rooms, following a Supreme Court ruling that found that trans women are excluded from the legal definition of a "woman" for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.

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.

When Jonathan Reynolds announced sweeping tariffs this summer to shield Britain's steelmakers from a flood of cheap imports, the reaction seemed almost universally positive. "This government is unapologetic in our support for the UK steel sector," declared Reynolds, then business secretary, promising to defend a "vital industry that underpins Britain's industrial strength and national security." Gareth Stace, director-general of the industry body UK Steel, hailed it as "a tremendous outcome" that would stop foreign producers from "swamping the UK and driving our steel manufacturers out of business."

Speaking during the inquiry's second evidence session on 29 October 2025, expert witnesses told Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights that, as it stands, the UK's "uncritical and deregulatory" approach to AI will fail to deal with the clear human rights harms presented by the technology. This includes harms related to surveillance and automated decision-making, which can variously impact both collective and individual rights to privacy, non-discrimination, and freedom of assembly; especially given the speed and scale at which the technology operates.

The foreign affairs select committee is drawing up plans to examine Chinese government interference in academia as part of its inquiry into the UK's strategy towards Beijing. MPs are broadening the scope of their investigation into the China audit, an internal government review of UK-China relations that concluded in June, to look into Chinese state influence at British universities. Ministers are under pressure to take a more robust approach after the Guardian disclosed

From 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.

What I can tell you is that under the last government, for quite some time, there were, on average, 17 wrong releases. Under this government that has risen. It's 22 that is completely unacceptable. It was unacceptable before, it's unacceptable now. Even one is too many, and the justice secretary is gripping this by appointing Dame Lynne Owens, who is the former director of the National Crime Agency, to make sure that we really grip this

No other European country has such a narrow base of proprietorship as Scotland. Half of all privately owned rural land is held by 421 people or entities. The roots of such disparities lie in the past. The 18th- and 19th-century Highland clearances emptied the glens and readied them for private takeover. On the continent, and eventually in England, the great estates were broken up by inheritance and land taxes. By comparison, Scotland is still feudal in scale.

I asked the Justice Secretary, you think it's a reasonable thing to ask him. They do run the justice system and he didn't make any attempt to answer whatsoever. And so I was very frustrated by that.

The culture secretary has apologised for breaking rules by failing to declare she had received donations from the man she picked to run England's new football regulator. On Thursday, the commissioner for public appointments published a report which found that David Kogan had made two separate donations of 1,450 to Lisa Nandy, when she was running to be Labour leader in 2020.

Home Office travel records used in a trial of a controversial anti-fraud crackdown that under which thousands of parents lost their child benefit were so flawed that almost half of the families initially flagged as having emigrated were still living in the UK, it has emerged. The pilot scheme saved HMRC 17m but left 46% of families targeted incorrectly suspected of fraud, a margin of error far in excess of the 1% to 5% scientifically acceptable.

The government's planning bill will reach its final stages before it is given royal assent in the coming days, after months of tussling between ministers, nature groups and ecologists. The government has promised to rip up the rules to allow 1.5m homes to be built by the end of this parliament as part of its push for growth. As last-minute wrangling over the reforms continues, peers have secured a key amendment that would ensure species such as dormice, nightingales and hedgehogs,

From 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.

From 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.

For decades, a former IRA man has undertaken a ­private search for the body of one of the Troubles' most mythical victims, Robert Nairac. Now in his 70s, last year this man told his story anonymously in a BBC podcast. Tomorrow night, he will reveal himself in a major new BBC film. Former republican prisoner Martin ­McAllister's solitary mission to find Nairac's bones demonstrates how humanity can emerge from a time of squalid sectarian slaughter.

UK military personnel and equipment are being sent to Belgium to help it bolster its defences after drone incursions on its airspace, suspected of being carried out by Russia. The new head of the UK military, Sir Richard Knighton, told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that his Belgian counterpart asked for assistance earlier this week and that kit and personnel were on the way. Belgium's main airport Zavantem was forced to close temporarily on Thursday night after drones were spotted nearby.

One of the more striking images from June's G7 summit showed a small group of world leaders engaged in an impromptu and informal evening chat at the venue's restaurant. In the foreground of that photo was a familiar blond head: Giorgia Meloni. During her three years as the Italian prime minister, Meloni has moved beyond her hard-right populism, not to mention her fascism-adjacent origins, to earn at least the respect of other leaders Keir Starmer among them for her pragmatism and flexibility.

Two of the four prisoners who are at large were mistakenly released in 2024, according to reports. The government is under increasing pressure as the details emerged, with the other two on-the-run inmates revealed to have been wrongly freed in June this year. The mistaken releases of the four offenders mark just some of a number of high-profile cases of prisoners being wrongly freed.

PA Media For the first time in its nearly 700 year history, the Lord Mayor's Show this year became the Lady Mayor's Show. Dame Susan Langley DBE is not the City of London's first female lord mayor - she's the third in 697 years - but she is the first to take the lady mayor title. The show is a procession from the City to Westminster and dates back to the early 13th Century.

The former prince and his wife have tarnished how the institution is viewed by many - and given perfect fuel for abolitionists

From 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.

I am scheduled to attend a service and to participate in an Act of Remembrance in Parliament Buildings before travelling to Windsor Castle at the invitation of their majesties the king and queen for a special reception to commemorate VJ Day 80th anniversary to honour veterans of World War II, and in particular of the Pacific on this day of remembrance.