Political news

• UK to reduce settlement rights for many asylum seekers

  14-11-2025 23:14 via ft.com
  Home secretary’s proposal would limit permanent residence to those refugees who could prove they had been personally targeted
  
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• Young people risk losing benefits under UK welfare reforms

  07-12-2025 12:39 via ft.com
  Youths will have to accept offers of work or training as part of government plan, says McFadden
  
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• Starmer says Rayner will return to cabinet – UK politics live

  07-12-2025 10:33 via theguardian.com
  PM hails former deputy and says ‘she’s going to be a major voice in the Labour movement’Pat McFadden has defended the chancellor’s decision to scrap the two-child benefit cap at last week’s budget, which is estimated to cost £3bn a year by 2029-30.The scrapping of the cap, which came amid intense pressure from Labour backbenchers, was welcomed by campaigners and charities who argue it is the most cost-effective way to cut child poverty.The manifesto that we fo
  
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• Faith and Reform: is the religious right on the rise in UK politics?

  07-12-2025 10:19 via theguardian.com
  Powerful Christian figures are emerging in Britain but there are important differences from the US, where evangelism has fuelled TrumpAt recent Reform UK press conferences, two very distinctive heads can often be spotted in the front row: the near-white locks of Danny Kruger, the party’s head of policy, and the swept-back blond mane of James Orr, now a senior adviser to Nigel Farage.As well as guiding the policy programme for what could be the UK’s next government, the pair have some
  
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• From bricklayer to mayor: Steve Rotheram is quietly building a Liverpool success story

  07-12-2025 09:00 via theguardian.com
  With a reputation for getting things done, the man with ‘the dream job for any scouser’ has ambitious plans for his cityFrom the towering south stand of Everton’s gleaming new riverside football stadium, the Liverpool city region mayor Steve Rotheram is showing off his next big goal to the visiting government minister.It was not much to look at: acres of industrial wasteland, disused docks and a sorry-looking gothic clock tower, said to be one of only two in the world with six
  
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• ‘A move towards an authoritarian state’: what those with trial experience think of removing juries

  07-12-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  David Lammy’s plans to cut the the number of jury trials in England and Wales. A defendant, a victim, a barrister, a KC, a judge and a juror have concernsThis week the justice secretary, David Lammy, announced sweeping changes to the criminal justice system that will significantly reduce the number of jury trials in England and Wales. Under the radical plans, jury trials will be reserved for cases in “indictable-only” offences such as murder or rape, and “either-way&rdquo
  
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• Zelenskyy to meet Starmer at Downing Street to discuss US draft peace deal

  06-12-2025 18:46 via theguardian.com
  Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz will also be present for talks on guaranteeing Ukraine’s postwar securityVolodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Downing Street on Monday for an in-person meeting with Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz in a show of support for Ukraine.Starmer will use the meeting with the leaders from Ukraine, France and Germany to discuss the continuing talks between US and Ukrainian officials aimed at finding an agreement on guaranteeing Ukraine’s postwar se
  
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• Farage dodges press as he unveils Reform’s first peer after Conservative defection

  06-12-2025 18:20 via theguardian.com
  Party leader leaves latest recruit, Malcolm Offord, to field questions on antisemitism allegations at Scotland rallyNigel Farage has addressed Reform UK’s largest rally in Scotland to date but refused to engage with local journalists – leaving the newly defected peer Malcolm Offord to field questions on allegations of racism and antisemitism.Farage introduced the former Conservative peer and millionaire donor Offord at a sold-out rally of about 700 at a hotel conference centre near F
  
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• Senior DWP civil servant blames victims for carer’s allowance scandal

  06-12-2025 18:06 via theguardian.com
  Neil Couling said failings by individual claimants ‘at the heart’ of crisis, despite a report finding DWP shortcomings ‘unacceptable’ One of the most senior civil servants in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has placed the blame for the carer’s allowance benefits crisis on victims, many of who have been left with life-changing debts.In an internal blogpost written for Whitehall colleagues, Neil Couling, the director general of DWP services, said individual
  
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• Beware the Liz Truss chatshow: viewers will require survivor therapy

  06-12-2025 14:34 via theguardian.com
  SuperLiz reboots herself inside a utility room, delivering nonsense so pure even her guests look trappedWe happy few. We unlucky few. In years to come when we are all still recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder, we will be able to say we were there. That we have seen things that cannot be unseen. The 8,000 of us who, through a mixture of curiosity and comedy, chose to watch Liz Truss commit a drive-by on herself. Though only a very few will have made it to the end.Some won’t have
  
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• Trans women to be barred from main Labour women’s conference in 2026

  06-12-2025 14:12 via theguardian.com
  All delegates will be able to attend fringe programme as party tries to find compromise while complying with supreme court ruling on genderTrans women will be barred from the main part of Labour’s women’s conference next year, the party has said, with entrance to the main conference hall and voting rights denied.All delegates will be allowed to attend a fringe programme, under the party’s plans as Labour seeks to find a compromise position it believes will comply with the supre
  
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• Retired UK civil servant ordered to pay back £25,000 after pension scheme error

  06-12-2025 14:00 via theguardian.com
  Eleven years of overpayments leave 63-year-old facing hardship and return to full-time workA retired civil servant faces being forced back into full-time work after being ordered to return £25,000 in overpaid pension benefits.Derek Ritchie, 63, was informed in March by scheme administrators that his payments had been miscalculated since 2014. Continue reading...
  
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• Broadcaster targeted with racist slurs accuses Farage of emboldening ‘toxic environment’ online

  06-12-2025 13:51 via theguardian.com
  Farage is responsible for ‘dangerous’ culture shift, says broadcaster subject to alleged posts from Reform councillorNigel Farage is emboldening attacks on people of colour, according to a journalist allegedly subjected to racial slurs by a Reform UK council leader who the party has been forced to expel.The broadcaster Sangita Myska, whose long career in British journalism has included presenting shows for the BBC and LBC Radio, said she was told by the former Staffordshire council l
  
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• Rebecca Hendin on potential political candidates - cartoon

  06-12-2025 12:00 via theguardian.com
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• Nigel Farage was once run out of Edinburgh. Now Scottish voters are embracing his rabble-rousing | Dani Garavelli

  06-12-2025 09:00 via theguardian.com
  The Reform leader is exploiting growing resentment towards migrants and hosting a sold-out event - something unimaginable just a few years agoDani Garavelli is a freelance journalist and columnist for the HeraldAlmost 13 years ago, at a press briefing to launch Ukip’s first Scottish byelection campaign, Nigel Farage was run out of Edinburgh by jeering protesters. Back then, Ukip’s support was running at nearly 25% in the English local elections, and less than 1% in Scotland.On Saturd
  
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• ‘The only idea around’: will Labour return to a customs union with the EU?

  06-12-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The desperate search for economic growth is pushing the party to confront the issue that dare not speak its nameFor much of the last week, Keir Starmer’s government has been suggesting that a closer relationship with Europe will be a more prominent part of his agenda in the future.But it was a little-noted personnel change that might prove the most telling shift: Nick Thomas Symonds, the minister in charge of EU negotiations, was promoted to full cabinet rank. Continue reading...
  
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• Cash in stocks-and-shares Isas could be taxed at 20%, industry warns

  06-12-2025 06:00 via ft.com
  Investment sites demand clarity on what will count as a ‘cash-like instrument’ under new rules
  
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• Reform UK strips council leader of membership over undisclosed X account

  05-12-2025 22:31 via ft.com
  Party expels Ian Cooper in Staffordshire after historic racist social media posts emerge
  
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• Sir Keir Starmer says he is a 'big believer in devolution'

  05-12-2025 20:26 via bbc.com
  The prime minister was in Cardiff to launch the UK government's child poverty strategy.
  
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• Reform revokes council leader's party membership

  05-12-2025 19:41 via bbc.com
  It follows an investigation by the party into racist content on social media.
  
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• I’ll never forget the look of hatred Nigel Farage had for me at school, simply for existing

  05-12-2025 19:12 via theguardian.com
  The Reform UK leader doubts people can recall their abuse from years ago. I’ve never forgotten his – it felt maliciousFormer Dulwich pupil says Farage told him: ‘That’s the way back to Africa’For someone who has waited so long – umming and erring, should I or shouldn’t I – about whether to speak out, it became abundantly clear on Thursday what I had to do. There was Nigel Farage holding a press conference on live television and responding to racism
  
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• Starmer rejects EU customs union after Lammy comments

  05-12-2025 19:05 via bbc.com
  It comes after the deputy prime minister said countries in a customs union with the EU see benefits.
  
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• The Guardian view on reducing child poverty: with the two-child limit gone, Labour must go further | Editorial

  05-12-2025 18:43 via theguardian.com
  The new strategy has gaps. But ministers have shown that they are serious and capable of listeningIf the government’s long-awaited child poverty strategy, launched on Friday, was a bit of a damp squib, that is because the best bit had been absorbed by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in last month’s budget. The decision to remove the two-child limit, which prevented parents from claiming child-linked benefits for third or subsequent children, is expected to lift 550,000 children out of
  
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• The crypto investor who gifted Nigel Farage an election war chest

  05-12-2025 18:32 via ft.com
  Aviation entrepreneur Christopher Harborne’s record £9mn donation described as ‘game-changer’ for Reform UK
  
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• EU demands no cap on youth mobility scheme with UK

  05-12-2025 18:05 via ft.com
  Draft text also calls for ‘home’ fees for European students at UK universities
  
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• Call for 'Covid-style' help amid water disruption

  05-12-2025 17:13 via bbc.com
  Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin calls for an £18.5m recovery package for Kent and Sussex businesses.
  
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• PM told budget was 'missed opportunity' for NI by Stormont leaders

  05-12-2025 16:47 via bbc.com
  Sir Keir Starmer heard the criticism when he attended the latest meeting of the British Irish Council (BIC) in Cardiff.
  
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• Reeves will not face ethics probe over pre-Budget remarks

  05-12-2025 16:04 via bbc.com
  The chancellor has been accused of painting an overly-negative picture of the economy to justify tax rises.
  
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• Government pledges to end children living in B&Bs

  05-12-2025 16:01 via bbc.com
  The strategy also includes making childcare more accessible for families on Universal Credit.
  
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• Deals, donations and damage limitation

  05-12-2025 15:15 via ft.com
  Did Farage float a Tory pact? Plus, Starmer staves off Budget backlash
  
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