Political news

• UK armed forces helped US seizure of tanker, says MoD

  07-01-2026 23:54 via bbc.com
  Venezuelan-linked Marinera was stopped by the US Coast Guard as it travelled through waters between Iceland and Scotland.
  
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• MPs would vote on using troops in Ukraine, Starmer says

  07-01-2026 22:24 via bbc.com
  It comes after the UK and France reiterated their commitment to using soldiers to police any peace deal.
  
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• Murdered MP's daughter unhappy with review offer

  07-01-2026 21:27 via bbc.com
  Katie Amess says previous reviews have failed to provide answers, and she wants a full inquiry.
  
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• Lib Dem council to ask for election delay weeks after Davey's warning

  07-01-2026 20:39 via bbc.com
  Cheltenham Borough Council is asking for its May elections to be postponed.
  
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• Abu Dhabi paid for Nigel Farage to meet senior UAE officials

  07-01-2026 19:50
  United Arab Emirates-funded trip underscores growing international interest in Reform UK
  
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• ‘Not in my name’: Labour’s new towns battle

  07-01-2026 19:36
  Ministers’ response to the UK’s acute housing shortage is running into local opposition
  
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• Ministers look at concessions for UK pubs as business rate backlash grows

  07-01-2026 19:35
  Changes in the Budget mean landlords are facing higher bills over the next three years
  
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• The Guardian view on Britain and Europe: time to move together, faster and further | Editorial

  07-01-2026 19:30
  The chaos that Donald Trump is causing in the world makes the case for continental solidarity and explicit repudiation of Brexit divisions Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for 2026 was to talk more about the domestic issues that concern British voters. Donald Trump knocked that plan off course. US intervention in Venezuela inevitably demanded the prime minister’s attention, as did this week’s summit of Ukraine’s allies, the “coalition of the willing”, in Paris. Progres
  
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• MP refuses to resign after child sex offences arrest

  07-01-2026 18:23 via bbc.com
  Dan Norris, MP for North East Somerset and Hanham, has rejected calls for him to resign.
  
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• Desperate for attention, Nige holds marathon presser and skips PMQs | John Crace

  07-01-2026 18:20
  Reform leader warns of the terrors of London alongside his mayoral candidate and swaps Commons for radio slotCurious. Nigel Farage devoted decades to trying to get elected as an MP. His victory in Clacton in 2024 followed seven unsuccessful attempts in other constituencies. And now he is finally an MP, he seems reluctant to spend any time in the Commons chamber. The one place where we, the public, now pay him to be.It’s as if the reality of his new position is a disappointment. A reality c
  
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• Reform London mayor candidate accused of talking down capital with ‘pity’ remark

  07-01-2026 17:24
  Laila Cunningham tells press conference that people pity Londoners for having to live in a city that is ‘no longer safe’UK politics live – latest updatesReform’s new London mayoral candidate has been accused of “talking down” the UK’s capital, after she said that people “pity” Londoners.Laila Cunningham, a former senior crown prosecutor and a Reform Westminster city councillor, used a central London press conference to paint a picture of the
  
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• Farage says he would vote against deploying British troops to Ukraine – UK politics live

  07-01-2026 17:20
  Farage claims that ‘we neither have the manpower nor the equipment’ to get involved in Ukraine during Time Radio interviewFarage is now talking about London, where council elections are taking place.He says that Sadiq Khan has said he will run for a fourth term as mayor. Continue reading...
  
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• UK ministers cut estimated annual cost to business of worker rights act to £1bn

  07-01-2026 17:17
  The government previously calculated the flagship legislation would impose a £5bn hit on companies
  
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• Shadow attorney general will not advise Kemi Badenoch on Ukraine over Roman Abramovich link

  07-01-2026 16:54
  David Wolfson is part of the legal team attempting to recover some of Russian billionaire’s frozen assetsUK politics live – latest updatesThe shadow attorney general, David Wolfson, has recused himself from giving advice to Kemi Badenoch on Ukraine and Russia because he is representing the sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in a court case, the Conservatives have announced.This would prevent him from offering advice on the possible deployment of UK troops to Ukraine in the
  
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• Commons women and equalities committee to stop using X amid AI-altered images row

  07-01-2026 16:50
  Exclusive: Move follows outcry over use of Grok to digitally remove clothing from images of women and childrenUK politics live – latest updatesThe influential Commons women and equalities committee has decided to stop using X after the social media site’s AI tool began generating thousands of digitally altered images of women and children with their clothes removed.The move by the cross-party committee to mothball its official X account places renewed pressure on ministers to take de
  
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• Widow says her life can't go back to normal until brain tumour treatment changed

  07-01-2026 16:02 via bbc.com
  Ellie James said her husband wasn't told freezing more of his brain tumour tissue could be used for a vaccine before he died.
  
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• Reform UK announces 2028 London mayoral candidate

  07-01-2026 15:17 via bbc.com
  Laila Cunningham, a former senior crown prosecutor, is now a councillor for Reform in Westminster.
  
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• Labour workers’ rights concessions to cut cost to business by billions, analysis shows

  07-01-2026 15:00
  Updated government assessment says measures will now entail ‘no more than a modest increase’ for employers Labour watering down its sweeping overhaul of workers’ rights is expected to slash the cost of the plan for UK businesses by billions of pounds, the government’s own analysis shows.According to an updated Whitehall impact assessment published on Wednesday, concessions by ministers could reduce the cost of the employment rights bill for businesses to about £1bn.
  
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• Nigel Farage dismisses racist and antisemitic school bullying claims as ‘made-up fantasies’

  07-01-2026 14:39
  Reform UK leader says accusations about his behaviour at Dulwich college were politically motivatedNigel Farage has called allegations of racist and antisemitic bullying during his time at Dulwich college “completely made-up fantasy”, saying his accusers are “people with very obvious political motivation”.More than 30 people have spoken to the Guardian as part of an investigation based on multiple accounts of racism, including Peter Ettedgui, 61, an Emmy- and Bafta-winnin
  
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• MPs would get vote on troop deployment to Ukraine, says Keir Starmer

  07-01-2026 14:19
  UK and France ready to send peacekeeping troops, PM tells House of CommonsUK politics live – latest updatesMPs will have a debate and vote before any UK troops are deployed on peacekeeping duties in Ukraine, Keir Starmer has announced at prime minister’s questions.Speaking after Britain and France said they would be willing to send troops if there was a peace deal, following discussions at a wider summit in Paris, Starmer was pressed by Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, as to w
  
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• Candidate should apologise for Lammy post - Farage

  07-01-2026 14:06 via bbc.com
  Reform mayoral candidate Chris Parry had posted that David Lammy's "loyalty lies" in the Caribbean.
  
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• MPs will vote on any deployment of UK troops to Ukraine, says Starmer

  07-01-2026 13:34
  Prime minister under pressure over pledges made as part of security guarantees to underpin proposed peace deal
  
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• Poor decisions in extending prison lease, MPs say

  07-01-2026 13:01 via bbc.com
  Report says "poor commercial decisions" were made when the lease was agreed with the Duchy of Cornwall.
  
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• West Midlands Police chief should go over Israeli football fans ban, says Badenoch

  07-01-2026 13:00 via bbc.com
  Craig Guildford was quizzed by MPs over a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match in Birmingham.
  
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• Keir Starmer has a historic opportunity to fix this awful Brexit – if he follows this plan | Naomi Smith

  07-01-2026 12:00
  The new bill giving ministers the power to align trade with the EU has huge practical and symbolic value. Let it herald a new and exciting ambitionGood things may come to those who wait, but when it comes to repairing the Brexit settlement Britain was left with by Boris Johnson, the waiting has come at a heavy cost. Prices are higher, trade is weaker and our influence diminished. That is why Keir Starmer’s promise to bring forward legislation this year to improve the UK’s deal with t
  
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• Starmer should level with voters about foreign policy priorities

  07-01-2026 10:30
  Some in government would rather the PM focus on domestic challenges
  
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• Council 'disappointed' after union jack flag defaced

  07-01-2026 09:57 via bbc.com
  Nottinghamshire County Council has spent £75,000 installing new flags in 82 locations.
  
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• Let’s be clear: if the Palestine Action hunger strikers die, the government will bear moral responsibility | George Monbiot

  07-01-2026 09:00
  The three remaining hunger strikers have been convicted of nothing. Yet with astonishing cruelty, ministers refuse to listen to their reasonable demandsThey are far into the lethal zone. Three people who are being held in prison on charges connected with the protest group Palestine Action have been on hunger strike for 45, 59 and 66 days. A fourth prisoner, Teuta Hoxha, ended her strike this week, after 58 days. She could suffer lifelong health effects. The remaining strikers, Heba Muraisi, Kamr
  
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• Is Starmer’s reluctance to criticise Trump smart tactics – or the sign of a man without a plan? | Rafael Behr

  07-01-2026 07:00
  The PM won’t call out Trump over Venezuela, and won’t commit to Europe. His refusal to choose leaves vital choices for Britain to be made by othersFor an inveterate liar, Donald Trump is remarkably honest. The best guide to what he thinks is what he says. When forecasting his likely course of action, start with his declared intentions – removing the president of Venezuela, for example – and assume he means it. When he says the US must take possession of Greenland, he is n
  
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• Starmer puts minister in charge of digital ID rollout

  07-01-2026 06:00
  Josh Simons will look at expanding contentious scheme to be a catalyst for reforming public services
  
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• Keir Starmer puts minister in charge of digital ID rollout

  07-01-2026 06:00
  Josh Simons will look at expanding contentious scheme to be a catalyst for reforming public services
  
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• Businesses say Britain’s ‘jam tomorrow’ energy plans threaten their survival

  07-01-2026 06:00
  New charges to fund the building of electricity pylons and Sizewell C nuclear power station will be added to bills from April
  
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• Chris Mason: UK grapples with new era of US unpredictability

  07-01-2026 05:06 via bbc.com
  This week has seen two case studies in how Europe is trying to bind the US into its future, writes the BBC's political editor.
  
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• UK steps up roadside drug tests in push to cut traffic deaths

  07-01-2026 01:01
  Safety strategy proposes mandatory eye tests for drivers over 70 and a lower drink-driving limit in England
  
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• UK spending £4mn a year on prison contaminated by radioactive gas, say MPs

  07-01-2026 01:01
  High radon levels shut Dartmoor but government must still pay rent to Duchy of Cornwall and maintenance costs
  
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• The painful questions for Nato and the EU as Trump threatens Greenland

  07-01-2026 00:59 via bbc.com
  The White House has said that 'utilising the ‌US military is ‍always an option at the commander-in-chief's disposal'
  
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• Assisted dying campaigners request extra time for peers to scrutinise bill

  07-01-2026 00:29 via bbc.com
  Concern is growing among supporters the bill won't pass parliamentary hurdles in the allotted days.
  
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