Political news

• Ignored warnings?

  16-06-2017 18:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ministers have been accused of failing to act on lessons from an earlier tower block fire. Did they?
  
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• UK physicists raise alarm over planned funding cuts

  01-02-2026 19:40
  Research chief tries to quell alarm as government reshapes science funding in effort to boost growth
  
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• Japan’s Sanae Takaichi makes final push ahead of election day

  01-02-2026 19:15
  Plus, Thailand goes to the polls, ECB and BoE set interest rates, and Winter Olympics begin in Milan
  
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• UK to reconsider joining EU defence fund

  01-02-2026 19:00
  Ministers and officials meet on Monday to discuss ‘reset’ of relations, including closer security and trade ties
  
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• 'I've never taken drugs or drunk alcohol,' says Polanski

  01-02-2026 15:12 via bbc.com
  The Green Party leader reiterates his backing for "legalising and regulating" drugs.
  
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• Drugs policy approach needs to change, Polanski says

  01-02-2026 14:43 via bbc.com
  The Green Party leader of England and Wales says there needs to be a "public health approach" as he reiterates his backing for the legalisation of drugs.
  
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• Epstein sent $75,000 to accounts linked to Mandelson, files suggest

  01-02-2026 13:27 via bbc.com
  Lord Mandelson says he has no record or recollection of receiving the sums and does not know if the documents are authentic.
  
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• Leaseholds and fleeceholds are a blot on the UK housing market

  01-02-2026 06:00
  If more homes are to be built, the problem of rogue estate management companies has to be addressed
  
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• How to deal with defecting MPs

  01-02-2026 06:00
  Voters should be able to force parliamentarians who change parties to face the electorate
  
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• Epstein sent Mandelson $75,000, documents show

  01-02-2026 00:28
  Newly released files include 3 payments from disgraced financier’s JPMorgan account to former UK power broker
  
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• Andrew should testify to US Congress, Starmer suggests after new photos

  01-02-2026 00:08 via bbc.com
  Sir Keir Starmer suggests Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should testify over his dealings with the convicted sex offender.
  
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• Labour peer and ex-FA chairman Lord Triesman dies aged 82

  31-01-2026 21:27 via bbc.com
  He joined Tony Blair's government in 2004, holding prominent roles in politics until his death.
  
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• Why was PM Keir Starmer in Japan?

  31-01-2026 21:02 via bbc.com
  Sir Keir Starmer attended talks in Tokyo, saying the relationship between the countries was the "strongest" it has been "in decades".
  
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• Labour pick Angeliki Stogia for Gorton by-election

  31-01-2026 19:32 via bbc.com
  The councillor was chosen after Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham was blocked from standing.
  
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• Student loan system 'fair and reasonable', says Reeves

  31-01-2026 16:44 via bbc.com
  The chancellor's defence comes after Martin Lewis called her freeze on student loans "not a moral thing".
  
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• Starmer invites Japan PM to UK after Tokyo talks

  31-01-2026 16:32 via bbc.com
  Sir Keir and Sanae Takaichi discussed ways to strengthen ties between their two nations during the meeting, at the end of the UK prime minister's trip to East Asia.
  
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• Andrew invited Epstein to Buckingham Palace after child sex offender’s release, files suggest

  31-01-2026 10:48
  Emails between former prince and financier revealed in latest tranche of released documents• Epstein files – latest updatesAndrew Mountbatten-Windsor invited Jeffrey Epstein to meet him at Buckingham Palace after the child sex offender was released from house arrest, new documents suggest.The latest tranche of releases from the US Department of Justice include an email exchange in 2010 between the financier and the then prince. Continue reading...
  
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• How the right won the internet | Robert Topinka

  31-01-2026 09:00
  In the second part of our series on digital politics, we look at how online provocateurs have advanced extreme political ideas – and watched them seep into the mainstreamRobert Topinka is a reader in digital media and rhetoric at Birkbeck, University of LondonPart one: How liberals lost the internetThe internet has totally changed the way in which politics is conducted. As established in the first piece in our series, liberals have totally failed to grasp this fact. The right, however, are
  
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• UK and EU to explore renewed talks on defence cooperation

  31-01-2026 08:00
  Keir Starmer says he wants to ‘go further’ in relations with Brussels as ministers look to restart stalled negotiationsThe UK and the EU are exploring the prospect of new talks on closer defence cooperation, as Keir Starmer stressed on Friday that he wanted to “go further” in the UK’s relationship with Brussels.
  Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s trade commissioner, is due in London for talks next week, with trade, energy and fisheries on the age
  
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• Starmer hopes his China trip will begin the thaw after recent ice age

  31-01-2026 07:00
  PM flies out after courting world’s second biggest economy aware of difficult balance of risks and potential rewardsThe last British prime minister to visit China was Theresa May in 2018. Before the visit, she and her team were advised to get dressed under the covers because of the risk of hidden cameras having been placed in their hotel rooms to record compromising material.Keir Starmer, in Beijing this week, was more sanguine about his privacy, even though the security risks have, if any
  
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• The Tories have forgotten what it takes to prosper

  31-01-2026 06:00
  No one wants to look like the status quo, but the current crop of Conservatives are stuck
  
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• Bonus survey: expecting a bigger payout this year?

  31-01-2026 06:00
  Answer the FT’s anonymous survey
  
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• Seven UK Labubu shops to open, after PM's China visit

  30-01-2026 23:31 via bbc.com
  The furry dolls have a signature spiky-toothed grin and became a viral purchase last summer.
  
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• Starmer’s China trip thaws relations with Beijing but spurs criticism at home

  30-01-2026 23:30
  Fruits of improved relationship — with claims of £2.2bn in export deals and £2.3bn in ‘market access wins’ — appear relatively modest
  
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• Chris Mason: What Starmer's China reset tells us about his foreign policy

  30-01-2026 22:38 via bbc.com
  The prime minister has set out his vision - and now begun to match it with actions and overseas visits.
  
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• Epstein sent £10,000 to Mandelson's partner, released emails show

  30-01-2026 21:06 via bbc.com
  The emails were published by the US Department of Justice as part of a release running to three million pages.
  
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• Labour peer who had sanctions lifted by China says it's 'meagre return' for UK

  30-01-2026 20:12 via bbc.com
  She says raising the case of campaigner Jimmy Lai is more important than lifting sanctions against her.
  
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• Jeffrey Epstein sent money to Mandelson’s husband after prison release, emails suggest

  30-01-2026 19:43
  Child sex offender sent thousands of pounds to Reinaldo Avila da Silva, according to documents published by US justice departmentJeffrey Epstein sent thousands of pounds in bank transfers after his release from prison in 2009 to Peter Mandelson’s husband, according to emails published by the US Department of Justice on Friday.The latest documents raise fresh questions about Epstein’s relationship with Mandelson, who was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to Washington when details o
  
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• Lobbyists' trade body calls for urgent reform after Jim Murphy 'errors'

  30-01-2026 19:42 via bbc.com
  It comes after the BBC uncovered details of a firm owned by the ex-Labour minister offering access to officials for money.
  
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• Americast

  30-01-2026 19:19 via bbc.co.uk
  The president kicks off the Republican election campaign in Iowa
  
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