Politics news

• UK economy grew by 0.3% in November, beating forecasts

  15-01-2026 09:59 via bbc.com
  The economy was boosted by a rebound in car production and from the services sector.
  
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• Russia expels British diplomat over allegations of spying

  15-01-2026 09:48 via bbc.com
  The man has been stripped of his accreditation and must leave within two weeks, says Russia's foreign ministry.
  
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• Twenty-three English councils ask for election delays

  15-01-2026 09:46 via bbc.com
  Most wanting a delay are Labour-led but three are Tory controlled and one is Lib Dem council.
  
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• X to stop Grok AI from undressing images of real people after backlash

  15-01-2026 09:45 via bbc.com
  Grok will no longer allow users to remove clothing from images of real people in jurisdictions where it is illegal.
  
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• Minister 'horrified' police chief still in job

  15-01-2026 09:40 via bbc.com
  Health Secretary Wes Streeting says Craig Guildford has put "a stain on his character".
  
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• Minister open to mandatory CCTV in taxis to tackle grooming gangs

  15-01-2026 09:05 via bbc.com
  It comes after a review into grooming gangs recommended the government act "immediately" on taxi licensing.
  
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• New rules to make it easier to call up reservists for war

  15-01-2026 08:55 via bbc.com
  Reservists will remain on call for an extra decade, with a lower threshold for being called up.
  
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• Hillsborough Law campaigners say they cannot back proposed bill

  14-01-2026 22:52 via bbc.com
  They are concerned security services will be exempt from a law designed to stop cover-ups.
  
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• Reeves vows rail plan will go ahead, despite cynicism

  14-01-2026 19:05 via bbc.com
  The scheme will be delivered in phases, starting with upgrades to lines between Leeds, York, Bradford and Sheffield.
  
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• Reform UK welcomes defectors among 20 new councillors

  14-01-2026 18:05 via bbc.com
  The new intake include 14 defectors from the Conservatives and one from the Green Party.
  
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• Faisal Islam: Why the Northern Powerhouse Rail plan will really go ahead this time

  14-01-2026 16:58 via bbc.com
  Faisal Islam says the Labour argues the difference in its plans this time is that the planning has come first.
  
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• Government drops plans for mandatory digital ID to work in UK

  14-01-2026 16:06 via bbc.com
  There will still be digital checks on those starting a new job, but people will not need to hold a digital ID.
  
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• Certainty needed over Ajax Army vehicles, say MPs

  14-01-2026 16:04 via bbc.com
  Testing of the vehicles, made in Merthyr Tydfil, stopped after soldiers became ill during an exercise.
  
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• Police called as council votes to shelve election

  14-01-2026 15:41 via bbc.com
  About 50 protesters turned up to the extraordinary meeting at Redditch Borough Council.
  
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• Reeves 'particularly concerned' about pub business rates

  14-01-2026 14:03 via bbc.com
  Chancellor hints there will not be more support for other hospitality businesses to soften the impact of rate rises.
  
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• UK secures record supply of offshore wind projects

  14-01-2026 13:08 via bbc.com
  The government says the projects will bring down bills but the Conservatives say it is locking in high wind prices.
  
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• How do Labour MPs feel after another government U-turn?

  14-01-2026 12:31 via bbc.com
  Some are beginning to wonder whether it is worth defending government policies, writes Matt Chorley.
  
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• Chris Mason: The climbdowns stack up for Starmer with digital ID U-turn

  14-01-2026 02:11 via bbc.com
  The government dropping the digital ID scheme's mandatory element is another climbdown for Downing Street, writes the BBC's political editor.
  
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• Income tax changes and mansion tax on £1m homes in Scottish Budget

  13-01-2026 19:06 via bbc.com
  Finance Secretary Shona Robison unveils the government's tax and spending plans for the coming financial year.
  
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• New Birmingham-Manchester rail link to be proposed

  13-01-2026 18:17 via bbc.com
  Previous plans for a high-speed rail line between the cities were scrapped by Rishi Sunak's government.
  
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• Cover-up law delayed after concerns it will not apply fully to MI5

  13-01-2026 17:53 via bbc.com
  The law would create a new legal duty on public bodies to tell the truth during investigations.
  
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• Starmer considers joining Trump's Gaza peace board

  13-01-2026 17:32 via bbc.com
  The new body is part of the White House's 20-point plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas.
  
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• MPs step up calls to block Chinese mega-embassy

  13-01-2026 17:03 via bbc.com
  The government insists no decision has been made as MPs on all sides warn of athreat to national security.
  
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• UK summons Iranian ambassador over 'brutal' killings

  13-01-2026 16:58 via bbc.com
  Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper also says the government will implement "full and further sanctions" against Iran.
  
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• I'm not racist, says Reform MS who used Chinese slur

  13-01-2026 14:10 via bbc.com
  Laura Anne Jones apologised for using the slur, saying it was a term "used for a takeaway" when she was a child.
  
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• Stop saying we can't make things work, Streeting urges Labour

  13-01-2026 13:39 via bbc.com
  The health secretary warns a growing "excuses culture" is damaging Labour in a speech to a think tank.
  
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• Lib Dems set out plan to end 12-hour A&E waits

  13-01-2026 12:39 via bbc.com
  Party leader Ed Davey calls for £1.5bn to be spent on ending a "deadly corridor crisis" in the NHS.
  
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• Mandelson apologises for continuing Epstein friendship

  13-01-2026 03:25 via bbc.com
  The former ambassador apologises "unequivocally" for maintaining links with Epstein after 2008 conviction
  
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• Crackdown on illegal working leads to surge in arrests

  12-01-2026 23:30 via bbc.com
  Raids on businesses such as nail bars and takeaways have increased by 77% since Labour took office, the government says.
  
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• Tories say Zahawi peerage request turned down before defection to Reform UK

  12-01-2026 21:50 via bbc.com
  Zahawi is the latest former Conservative MP to join Nigel Farage's party, as a Tory source claims he had approached Kemi Badenoch seeking a nomination for the Lords.
  
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• What a new law and an investigation could mean for Grok AI deepfakes

  12-01-2026 20:38 via bbc.com
  Elon Musk's chatbot is under fire for altering images of women to remove their clothes without their consent.
  
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• UK to bring into force law to tackle Grok AI deepfakes this week

  12-01-2026 20:31 via bbc.com
  It is currently illegal to share deepfakes, but the law against creating them has not yet come into force.
  
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• New Lord Speaker announced as Lord Michael Forsyth

  12-01-2026 19:32 via bbc.com
  Peers had a choice between Lord Forsyth and ex-ballet dancer Baroness Deborah Bull in a vote earlier this month.
  
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• Nick Eardley: Former Tories joining Reform is not without risk for Farage

  12-01-2026 19:20 via bbc.com
  Former Tory Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is the latest - and most senior - figure to defect to Reform UK.
  
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• UK not as ready as we need to be for conflict, says military chief

  12-01-2026 18:50 via bbc.com
  Sir Richard Knighton refuses to confirm the existence of a £28bn shortfall in defence spending plans.
  
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• Labour MPs urge minister to reject Chinese mega embassy

  12-01-2026 18:22 via bbc.com
  Nine MPs raise security concerns about the proposed site, just days before the deadline for a decision.
  
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• London homicides at 11-year low, Met Police says

  12-01-2026 10:14 via bbc.com
  According to the latest data, there were 97 homicides in London in 2025, the lowest figure since 2014.
  
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• UK can legally stop shadow fleet tankers, ministers believe

  11-01-2026 23:00 via bbc.com
  Existing law could be used to approve the use of military force to stop sanction-busting ships operated by Russia and Iran.
  
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• Guantanamo detainee paid 'substantial' compensation by UK to settle torture complicity case

  11-01-2026 23:00 via bbc.com
  Detained without trial in 2006, Zubaydah is one of 15 people who remain at the US military prison.
  
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• Trump won't take Greenland by force, Mandelson says

  11-01-2026 16:35 via bbc.com
  The former UK ambassador to the US tells the BBC the president's advisers would likely warn him against the move.
  
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• Tories would ban under-16s from social media

  11-01-2026 16:10 via bbc.com
  Kemi Badenoch has promised to follow the example of Australia, which became the first country to introduce the policy last month.
  
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• Tories will channel anger at Labour, vows Badenoch

  11-01-2026 14:34 via bbc.com
  The Conservative leader says her party has started to offer more than "reflexive" opposition to the government.
  
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• Potholes map rates council road repair progress

  11-01-2026 13:20 via bbc.com
  Thirteen local authorities received a "red rating" on the Department for Transport mapping tool for England.
  
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• Epstein kept me 'separate' from his sexual side because I'm gay, Mandelson tells BBC

  11-01-2026 12:47 via bbc.com
  In his first interview since being sacked as the UK's US ambassador, Lord Mandelson says he never saw any young women at Epstein's properties.
  
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• Starmer has kept Trump on side - but is it coming back to bite him?

  10-01-2026 15:00 via bbc.com
  The PM’s increasingly assertive opponents are set on turning one of his few sweet spots sour.
  
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• Musk says X outcry is 'excuse for censorship'

  10-01-2026 12:41 via bbc.com
  The government is urging Ofcom to use all its powers – up to and including an effective ban – against X.
  
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• How The Plan to Capture Nicolas Maduro Unfolded

  09-01-2026 21:40 via bbc.co.uk
  BBC Verify pieces together how the US mission to capture the Venezuelan President unfolded
  
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• Watch: Backlash against Musk's Grok AI explained

  09-01-2026 18:19 via bbc.com
  Technology editor Zoe Kleinman explains the row over changes made by X to it's Grok AI image edits, after the UK government called it "insulting".
  
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• UK facing £28bn defence spending gap claims

  09-01-2026 17:32 via bbc.com
  The MoD believes it requires an extra £28bn over the next four years, according to reports.
  
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• Trump's grand plan to reshape the world order leaves Europe with a difficult choice to make

  09-01-2026 17:30 via bbc.com
  The turbocharged events of the last week - and the new US National Security Strategy - raise pressing questions about the new world order, and what it means for Europe
  
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