Political news

• Londoners told to be vigilant with messages after cyber-attack on council

  28-11-2025 23:33
  Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea says it is checking whether data taken contained residents’ detailsA London council has urged thousands of residents to be “extra vigilant” when receiving calls, emails or text messages after confirming that data had been taken in a cyber-attack.The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), which has 147,500 residents, said some data had been copied from its systems in an attack this week. Continue reading...
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn and Zara Sultana’s Your Party reveals shortlist for official name

  28-11-2025 22:36
  Leftwing party asks members to pick between Your Party, Our Party, Popular Alliance and For The ManyThe leftwing party formed by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana has revealed a shortlist of names for its members to pick from: Your Party, Our Party, Popular Alliance and For The Many.Ahead of its first conference in Liverpool this weekend, the party is asking its 50,000 members to choose what it should be called, with the result to be announced by Corbyn on Sunday. Continue reading...
  
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• Former Ukip MEP denies taking money to promote Russian interests

  28-11-2025 20:56
  David Coburn, who was leader of Ukip in Scotland, denies involvement after Nathan Gill jailed for taking bribesA former leading member of the group of MEPs headed by Nigel Farage has denied taking money as part of a campaign to promote Russian interests.David Coburn, who was leader of Ukip in Scotland for four years, was responding after the jailing of his former colleague, Nathan Gill, on charges of being bribed by an alleged pro-Russian asset. Continue reading...
  
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• Woman jailed for harassing Rachel Reeves’s MP sister

  28-11-2025 20:23
  Tracey Smith sent the government minister and MP Ellie Reeves 22 emails and 10 voicemailsA woman who tried to summon her MP, the solicitor general Ellie Reeves, to court has been jailed for harassment in London.Tracey Smith sent Reeves 22 emails and 10 voicemails calling her “transphobic” and accusing her older sister – the chancellor, Rachel Reeves – of physically assaulting her at a buffet bar. Continue reading...
  
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• FT webinar: what will the Budget mean for your money?

  28-11-2025 20:17 via ft.com
  FT journalists and tax expert Dan Neidle answered your questions after the 2025 Budget
  
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• FT webinar: what does the Budget mean for your money?

  28-11-2025 20:17 via ft.com
  FT journalists and tax expert Dan Neidle answered your questions after the 2025 Budget
  
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• Britain’s wealthy must shoulder burden of rebuilding ‘creaky’ public services, Rachel Reeves says

  28-11-2025 20:01
  Exclusive: Chancellor says she made ‘fair and necessary choices’ in budget, and was unwilling to make cutsBritain’s wealthy must shoulder the burden of paying to rebuild the UK’s “creaky” public services, Rachel Reeves has said, as she warned Labour MPs that leadership speculation was bad for the country.The chancellor said she had opted to increase taxes by £26bn in this week’s budget to improve schools, hospitals and infrastructure, rejecting cal
  
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• Badenoch doesn't rule out Tory-Reform deal in Wales

  28-11-2025 19:24 via bbc.com
  Polls ahead of next year's Senedd election suggest Reform and Plaid Cymru are competing to be the largest party.
  
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• ‘The City can’t be taken for granted’: how banks won over Rachel Reeves

  28-11-2025 19:19
  JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs to expand UK presence after sector was sparedfrom higher taxes in budgetOver canapés of beef and stilton pie, bone marrow gravy and mushy peas, the financiers at JP Morgan’s New York headquarters held their champagne flutes aloft for a toast: “His majesty the king.”Just days before Rachel Reeves’s budget – amid the chancellor’s efforts to soothe business fears and bond market jitters – Jamie Dimon, the Wall Street banki
  
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• Labour MPs to demand more concessions on workers’ rights after government climbdown

  28-11-2025 19:13
  Unhappy MPs will push for stronger protections in other areas, such as bogus self-employment arrangementsLabour MPs are preparing to demand further concessions on workers’ rights as the price of accepting ministers’ decision to ditch plans for day-one protection against unfair dismissal.MPs who are unhappy about the move will push for stronger protections in other areas, such as bogus self-employment arrangements, as part of Labour’s “make work pay” agenda. Continue
  
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• Antisemitism allegations against the teenage Farage matter – look at what he went on to do | Jonathan Freedland

  28-11-2025 18:46
  Farage has cosied up to US figures who espoused conspiracy theories about Jews. That kind of talk is becoming alarmingly mainstream on the Maga right Nigel Farage could have strangled this story at birth. Confronted with the testimony of more than 20 former schoolmates, who shared with the Guardian their memories of a young Farage taunting Jews and other minorities in the most appalling terms – telling a Jewish pupil that “Hitler was right”, singing “Gas ’em all&rdq
  
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• Taliban used discarded UK kit to track down Afghans who worked with west, inquiry hears

  28-11-2025 18:33
  Whistleblower tells Afghan leak inquiry those affected were told to move and change phone numbers to protect themselves The UK left behind sensitive technology allowing the Taliban to track down Afghans who worked with western forces, a whistleblower has told the Afghan leak inquiry.The woman, known as Person A, said Afghans affected by the data leak were told to move homes and change their phone numbers to protect themselves from the Taliban because it had the resources to track them down. Cont
  
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• Reeves accused of exaggerating gloom to pave way for tax-raising Budget

  28-11-2025 18:15 via ft.com
  Office for Budget Responsibility says forecasts for public finances were rosier than chancellor suggested
  
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• Martin Rowson on a besieged Labour party – cartoon

  28-11-2025 17:43
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• Budget tax rises to hit business sales to workers, warn advisers

  28-11-2025 17:19 via ft.com
  They say changes could leave entrepreneurs to foot tax bill before receiving proceeds of sales
  
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• Bibby Stockholm operator overcharged British customers by £80mn

  28-11-2025 16:41 via ft.com
  Corporate Travel Management suspends head of UK division as it announces KPMG probe
  
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• Routine prostate screening rejected by NHS advisers

  28-11-2025 16:32 via ft.com
  Committee recommends limited programme for thousands of men with mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes
  
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• Congratulations everyone! Starmer survives another week, and it’s only cost us £26bn | Marina Hyde

  28-11-2025 16:14
  Labour can proudly say this was a budget for working people – that is, if your job happens to be prime ministerThanks to Labour’s incredible Black Friday deal, breaking manifesto policies is buy-one-get-one-free. As part of its all-promises-must-go drive, it’s ditching its flagship policy giving the right to claim unfair dismissal from day one of employment. Employers will now have up to six months to summarily sack workers who don’t pan out – unless they’re t
  
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• Alton Towers boss chosen as Reform council's next CEO

  28-11-2025 16:13 via bbc.com
  Neil Crittenden is set to take on the role of chief executive at Derbyshire County Council.
  
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• Minister defends 'pragmatic' U-turn on workers' rights

  28-11-2025 16:11 via bbc.com
  Bridget Phillipson told the BBC the climbdown would enable wider benefits to be delivered quickly.
  
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• Talks over UK joining EU defence fund break down

  28-11-2025 15:57 via bbc.com
  The two sides had been at odds over a fee to allow UK defence firms to access a greater share of loans.
  
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• Labour has trapped the British economy in a web of ‘doublespeak’

  28-11-2025 15:40 via ft.com
  Reeves’ Budget shows she’s serious about spending other people’s money — but not about growth or jobs
  
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• Budget bonanza: tax highs and growth lows

  28-11-2025 15:31 via ft.com
  Who are the winners and losers from the Budget?
  
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• Starmer accused of manifesto breach after diluting workers’ rights bill

  28-11-2025 15:08 via ft.com
  Government has dropped pledge to give employees protection against unfair dismissal from day one
  
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• State pensioners with no other income will not pay tax

  28-11-2025 14:51 via bbc.com
  The chancellor says those who only receive the state pension won't have to pay income tax before 2030.
  
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• Homeowners rush to price properties just under ‘mansion tax’ thresholds

  28-11-2025 13:21 via ft.com
  Estate agents say ‘bunching’ practice likely to pick up pace ahead of start of surcharge in April 2028
  
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• Former Brexit Party MEP denies taking payment from pro-Russian campaign

  28-11-2025 13:08 via bbc.com
  A prominent former MEP for Nigel Farage's old party denies taking bribes in a pro-Russian campaign.
  
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• France to intercept small boats after pressure from UK

  28-11-2025 12:23 via bbc.com
  The change in policy comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wrote to President Emmanuel Macron.
  
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• UK talks to join EU defence fund break down

  28-11-2025 12:20 via ft.com
  Discussions failed after UK refused to pay billions of euros in fees
  
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• Labour will not tax state pension for those with no other earnings

  28-11-2025 11:16 via ft.com
  Move reduces impact on older voters of this week’s decision to freeze thresholds
  
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• Routine NHS prostate screening set to be rejected

  28-11-2025 10:55 via ft.com
  National Screening Committee’s decision is expected to trigger backlash
  
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• Why I changed my mind on the case for a net migration target

  28-11-2025 10:30 via ft.com
  Labour should explain why it wants a shrinking population and how it will affect choices on tax, spending and public services
  
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• David Lammy is right to slash the use of juries – it’s an open-and-shut case | Simon Jenkins

  28-11-2025 09:00
  Barristers and criminals may not like the idea, but it’s key to reforming Britain’s antiquated and overloaded justice systemGaby Hinsliff: Jury trials are flawed and unwieldy – but vital for justice being seen to be doneJuries are an archaic and inefficient feature of Britain’s collapsing justice system. They survive only in some English-speaking countries as quaint relics of medieval jurisprudence. They deserve dispatch to the world of ducking, flogging, drawing and quar
  
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• Why Starmer’s desire to govern as ‘Mr Rules’ is bound to fail | Andy Beckett

  28-11-2025 07:00
  In the face of multiple crises, disruptive technology and populism, making Britain orderly again is an impossible goalThis Labour government loves rules. Fiscal rules, stability rules, investment rules, immigration rules and rules restricting protests: this government’s first impulse, when faced with the fluidity and chaos of the modern world, is to put in boundaries and try to police them. Keir Starmer, a methodical person as well as a former director of public prosecutions, is so keen on
  
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• ‘A step-change’: tech firms battle for undersea dominance with submarine drones

  28-11-2025 07:00
  As navies seek to counter submarines and protect cables, startups and big defence companies fight to lead marketFlying drones used during the Ukraine war have changed land battle tactics for ever. Now the same thing appears to be happening under the sea.Navies around the world are racing to add autonomous submarines. The UK’s Royal Navy is planning a fleet of underwater uncrewed vehicles (UUVs) which will, for the first time, take a leading role in tracking submarines and protecting unders
  
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• Badenoch defends calling chancellor 'spineless' in Budget row

  28-11-2025 06:53 via bbc.com
  The Conservative Party leader says she was "channelling" public anger when she accused the chancellor of "whining about mansplaining".
  
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• Why Immigration Policy Is Hard — a guide to breaking out of the ‘infernal circle’

  28-11-2025 06:00 via ft.com
  Economist Alan Manning takes a balanced, sometimes uncomfortable look at the costs, benefits and trade-offs of migration
  
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• ‘We had six MPs and four factions’: inside Your Party’s toxic power struggles

  28-11-2025 06:00
  Some say Jeremy Corbyn is too non-committal for project to work, while others blame Zarah Sultana’s combative natureAt an early meeting to set the path for what would become Your Party, participants quickly agreed on one thing: given the cliches about leftwingers forever falling out, at all costs they must avoid a descent into factionalism.Six months on and the Liverpool venue hosting this weekend’s inaugural Your Party conference has been warned to expect potential disruption, inclu
  
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• Thames Water’s lenders are not offering enough

  28-11-2025 06:00 via ft.com
  The water industry regulator should not let the utility’s bondholders take control too easily
  
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• Salary sacrifice shake-up: what it means for staff and employers

  28-11-2025 06:00 via ft.com
  From 2029, workers will only be able to pay £2,000 into the scheme and receive tax relief
  
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• JPMorgan’s Dimon approved London tower after UK assurances

  28-11-2025 06:00 via ft.com
  Keir Starmer’s business envoy visited US bank boss in New York last week
  
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• Changes to business rates lead to accusations of a new stealth tax

  28-11-2025 06:00 via ft.com
  UK government has cut the pandemic-era discount on levy for small companies
  
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• Business investment to fall for first time since Covid, UK fiscal watchdog says

  28-11-2025 06:00 via ft.com
  The OBR’s estimate contrasts with Rachel Reeves’ ambition to use private investment to drive economic growth
  
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