Political news

• Online gambling operators hit with steep tax rises

  26-11-2025 20:40
  High street betting shops and fruit machines spared from tax raid as bingo industry enjoys a cut
  
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• UAE cuts funds for citizens keen to study in UK over Muslim Brotherhood tensions

  08-01-2026 22:01
  Emirates’ fear of Islamist radicalisation weighs on exclusion of British universities from scholarships
  
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• UK to exclude financial services from push for closer EU alignment

  08-01-2026 22:00
  City of London firms have been lobbying against a return to Brussels rules
  
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• Chancellor under pressure to extend tax relief to rest of hospitality sector

  08-01-2026 20:04
  Restaurants and music venues among businesses urging chancellor to rethink rates rise plan after U-turn on pubs
  
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• Starmer vows action against X over Grok’s AI sexualised images of children

  08-01-2026 18:54
  UK prime minister steps in amid growing public anger at ‘disgraceful’ images, saying it is ‘simply not tolerable’
  
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• Reeves’ retreat on pub taxes adds to pile of Labour U-turns

  08-01-2026 18:15
  Climbdown an embarrassment for chancellor whose poll ratings are already at record lows
  
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• Rachel Reeves’ retreat on pub taxes adds to pile of Labour U-turns

  08-01-2026 18:15
  Climbdown an embarrassment for chancellor whose poll ratings are already at record lows
  
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• FCA to implement four-point ‘traffic light’ system to show pension fund performance

  08-01-2026 17:35
  UK regulator updates reforms in drive for better retirement outcomes
  
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• Post-Brexit agriculture subsidies overhauled in effort to woo farmers

  08-01-2026 15:52
  Move follows UK government’s U-turn on inheritance tax last month
  
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• Reeves set to announce U-turn on pubs business rates

  08-01-2026 14:12
  Chancellor had commissioned officials to examine the impact of her Budget on the sector
  
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• BBC warns over wait for World Service funding

  08-01-2026 13:46
  System of annual settlements from Foreign Office criticised by interim news chief
  
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• Kemi Badenoch’s illusory comeback

  08-01-2026 10:30
  Decent performances at PMQs will help her survive as leader, but she has failed to increase Tories’ appeal where it matters
  
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• Greenland’s future must be decided by island and Denmark, Starmer warns Trump

  08-01-2026 08:47
  Leaders discussed Arctic island in first call since US president’s intervention in Venezuela
  
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• Police watchdog to probe Met’s vetting standards over lax recruitment checks

  08-01-2026 01:01
  Home Office says force may have wrongly recruited ‘thousands’ of people who went on to commit misconduct
  
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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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• 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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• 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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• 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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• 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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• 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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