Political news

• Trump criticises ‘stupidity’ of UK’s Chagos Islands deal

  20-01-2026 08:08
  US president says Keir Starmer’s plan to give away territory is ‘weakness’
  
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• Reeves asks businesses to pitch UK as alternative to US at Davos

  20-01-2026 06:01
  Chancellor told executives to highlight the country’s ability to offer ‘political and economic stability’
  
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• Nigel Farage seeks meeting with UAE president to boost profile and build ties

  20-01-2026 06:00
  A meeting with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan would deepen Reform UK leader’s links to the oil-rich Gulf state
  
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• Britain has spent little extra on conventional armed forces, experts warn

  20-01-2026 06:00
  Bulk of new money last year eaten up by inflation, housing costs and the nuclear programme, industry experts say
  
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• UK would be ‘foolish’ to pursue customs union with EU, business secretary says

  20-01-2026 01:01
  Peter Kyle warns against ‘simple solutions’ for boosting growth in FT interview
  
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• UK drops target for international student recruitment

  20-01-2026 01:01
  Government to encourage education providers to open campuses overseas as it focuses on reducing migration
  
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• Top UK civil servants in line for bumper bonuses, Starmer ‘enforcer’ to say

  20-01-2026 01:01
  Prime minister’s chief secretary will promise ‘a state that can move fast’ in a speech on Tuesday
  
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• Top UK civil servants in line for bumper bonuses

  20-01-2026 01:01
  Prime minister’s chief secretary will promise ‘a state that can move fast’ in a speech on Tuesday
  
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• Long-awaited audit reform bill scrapped by UK ministers

  20-01-2026 01:01
  Ministers believe bill is not best use of legislative time and will instead press on with modernising corporate reporting
  
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• UK government considering social media ban for children

  19-01-2026 23:30
  Ministers will also look at restricting addictive app features as part of a consultation on curbing harmful online activity
  
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• Starmer says he does not think Donald Trump would use military force to seize Greenland

  19-01-2026 23:08
  Trade war with US risks ‘huge damage’ to UK, warns British prime minister
  
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• End the ‘psychodrama’, Badenoch tells Tory MPs after defections to Reform

  19-01-2026 21:26
  Party leader warns Conservative parliamentarians ‘trust and teamwork’ are vital as she tries to stem flow of leavers
  
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• UK set to approve Chinese ‘mega’ embassy after inclusion of security measures

  19-01-2026 21:23
  British minister expected to give green light to project on the edge of the City of London
  
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• Starmer says he does not think Trump would use military force to seize Greenland

  19-01-2026 12:17
  Trade war with US risks ‘huge damage’ to UK, warns British prime minister
  
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• Defence policy falters when given the wrong prompt

  19-01-2026 10:30
  If the UK can no longer soothe the US with its pledges, it should refocus on what spending targets are actually for
  
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• Reeves hails ‘golden age’ for City after easing of listing rules

  19-01-2026 10:13
  Rule changes for share and bond listings come into force on Monday
  
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• UK should relax EV targets to support auto sector says report

  19-01-2026 06:00
  More investment in car production would help boost domestic battery manufacturing
  
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• Andrew Rosindell quits Tories and defects to Reform UK

  19-01-2026 05:42 via bbc.com
  His defection comes days after former shadow justice minister Robert Jenrick joined Reform.
  
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• PM to give No 10 speech over Greenland row

  19-01-2026 02:42 via bbc.com
  Sir Keir Starmer is due to respond to US President Donald Trump's latest move to take over the Danish territory.
  
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• UK Treasury to review wasteful spending by Whitehall departments

  19-01-2026 01:02
  Outside experts will help assess where government initiatives can be more joined-up
  
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• UK chancellor hails ‘golden age’ for City after easing tax and regulation

  19-01-2026 01:02
  Rule changes for share and bond listings in London come into force on Monday
  
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• House prices jump across Britain as sentiment rebounds after Budget

  19-01-2026 01:02
  January increase reverses sharp contractions in previous months
  
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• Another shadow Tory minister jumps ship to Reform UK

  19-01-2026 00:15
  Andrew Rosindell cites Chagos Islands dispute in becoming latest sitting Conservative MP to join Nigel Farage’s party
  
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• Government pulls Hillsborough Law debate after backlash

  18-01-2026 23:52 via bbc.com
  It was facing a potential rebellion by some Labour MPs over how the law would apply to security services.
  
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• More than 60 Labour MPs urge PM to ban social media for under-16s

  18-01-2026 22:21 via bbc.com
  The MPs says the UK "risks being left behind" if it does not adopt a ban similar to one in Australia.
  
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• Starmer holds phone call with Trump over Greenland tariff threat

  18-01-2026 21:42 via bbc.com
  The conversation follows the US president vowing a 10% levy on the UK and others opposing his annexation of the Danish territory.
  
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• UK parties unite to condemn Trump’s tariffs threat over Greenland

  18-01-2026 17:30
  United political front reflects potential danger to British exports and fragile economic growth
  
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• UK condemns Trump threat of tariffs over Greenland

  18-01-2026 12:33
  United political front reflects potential danger to British exports and fragile economic growth
  
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• Reform is not rescue charity for panicky Tory MPs, Farage says

  18-01-2026 12:27 via bbc.com
  He insists his party will not become "the Conservative Party 2.0" after Robert Jenrick's defection.
  
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• Why the UK needs a credible Conservative Party

  18-01-2026 12:08
  Kemi Badenoch’s Tories have to learn to like Britain again
  
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• Molly Russell's dad says under-16 social media ban would be wrong

  18-01-2026 09:12 via bbc.com
  The online safety campaigner says it is better to enforce current laws than use "sledgehammer" techniques.
  
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• Jackie Weaver: Councils should have more 'authority'

  18-01-2026 07:20 via bbc.com
  Parish councils could play a bigger role in democracy, the internet star of a viral meeting says.
  
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• Starmer says Trump's tariff threat over Greenland 'completely wrong'

  17-01-2026 22:53 via bbc.com
  The US president earlier announced plans to impose a 10% levy on allies until a deal can be struck for a US takeover of the Danish territory.
  
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• Keir Starmer says Trump’s threat to impose tariffs over Greenland ‘completely wrong’

  17-01-2026 20:29 via theguardian.com
  Prime minister and opposition politicians condemn threat to impose 10% tariff unless deal reached to buy the Arctic islandKeir Starmer has said Donald Trump’s decision to impose 10% tariffs on the UK and seven other European countries over Greenland was “completely wrong”.The US president said the levies would apply from 1 February to Nato members – including the UK, France and Germany – who have deployed troops to the territory in response to growing uncertainty ov
  
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• Blair and Rubio among names on senior executive of Gaza 'Board of Peace'

  17-01-2026 18:50 via bbc.com
  The former UK prime minister and US secretary of state will sit on the "founding executive board", the White House says.
  
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• Tech companies’ access to UK ministers dwarfs that of child safety groups

  17-01-2026 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Amazon, Meta and X among firms holding hundreds of meetings with people at heart of government, data showsTech companies have been meeting government ministers at a rate of more than once per working day, enjoying high-level political access that dwarfs that of child safety and copyright campaigners, who called the pattern “shocking” and “disturbing”.Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Elon Musk’s X, whose Grok AI image generator has sparked outrage with its sexu
  
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• Zahawi defection pushes Reform’s vaccine scepticism into spotlight

  17-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  The views of the former Tory vaccines minister clash with those of high-profile members and the party faithfulThere was no shortage of ammunition for reporters seeking to pepper Nadhim Zahawi with questions when the former Conservative chancellor was unveiled as Reform’s newest recruit on Monday.But one persistent line of questioning seemed to draw a flash of real anger from the defector: did he reject the views of a doctor who was permitted by Reform to use the main stage at its annual co
  
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• Lammy blocks Jimmy Mizen killer's open prison move

  17-01-2026 10:22 via bbc.com
  The decision to block Jake Fahri's transfer was made for "public protection", the Ministry of Justice says.
  
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• Badenoch at odds with Jenrick over 'broken' Britain

  17-01-2026 09:39 via bbc.com
  The Conservative Party leader says telling voters their "country is finished" only "drags them down".
  
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• Plaid Cymru would take minority government over coalition, leader says

  17-01-2026 08:15 via bbc.com
  Polling suggests Plaid or Reform UK could win the Senedd election - but fall short of getting a majority.
  
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• HMRC taking more than a year to pay out tax rebates

  17-01-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Taxpayers talk of having to borrow cash and wait for months amid ‘significant backlogs’ in processing of claimsSome people are waiting a year or more for HM Revenue and Customs to refund overpaid tax and national insurance contributions (NICs).In some cases, refunds that were previously processed within a few weeks are taking 10 months or more, an investigation by Guardian Money has found. Continue reading...
  
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• Jenrick's move is massive - but could it cause a bigger fight on the right?

  17-01-2026 07:55 via bbc.com
  He's a big political character adapting to a new political tribe, but his move could be overshadowed by a poisonous row.
  
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• ‘I have lost a friend’: Tories in Jenrick’s constituency shocked by defection to Reform

  17-01-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  While voters in Jenrick’s Newark constituency were mixed on the decision, members of the local Conservatives felt betrayedFor Sam Smith, Thursday began as an ordinary day. The Conservative councillor was preparing for a budget scrutiny meeting at the Reform-led Nottinghamshire county council hall, where he is leader of the opposition, when he received a message from long-time friend Robert Jenrick.The MP’s message to the Newark Conservative Association’s group chat queried what
  
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• ‘He needs to disappear for a very long time’: has Peter Mandelson finally run out of spin?

  17-01-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Bruised and tainted by his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the Labour peer still has admirers – and the drive to go againThe BBC’s interview with Peter Mandelson had offered ample evidence of the Labour peer’s “formidable political brain”, according to Louis Mosley, UK head of the US data firm, Palantir Technologies.An indefensible error of judgment had been made by Mandelson, Mosley said in a panel discussion with Laura Kuenssberg after the airing of some of the
  
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• Who will prevail in the fight on the right?

  17-01-2026 06:00
  A useful indicator of the health of the Tory party and Reform is whether ambitious people are trying to get in or out
  
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• GTFO: Trump, Minnesota and the new rules of swearing

  17-01-2026 06:00
  Blame the vulgarity vibe shift for more profanities in public life
  
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• Doctors’ strike helped forestall NHS winter crisis, say health leaders

  16-01-2026 22:00
  Senior medics who covered for younger colleagues said to be more confident and quicker to discharge patients
  
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• ‘Sadness’ and ‘betrayal’ in Newark after Jenrick’s defection to Reform

  16-01-2026 20:55
  Former Conservative Party MP’s move rocks constituents and colleagues
  
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• Is Robert Jenrick’s plan to ‘unite the right’ doomed?

  16-01-2026 20:55
  Former Conservative Party constituents and colleagues talk of anger and betrayal
  
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• Reform UK seeks court order to prevent delays to local elections

  16-01-2026 20:18
  Populist party says postponing vote in English councils risks undermining campaigns
  
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