Political news

• Why is HS2 so expensive?

  13-01-2026 06:00
  Line set to cost more per kilometre than any other rail project in the world as total bill could surpass £100bn
  
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• Who will prevail in the fight on the right?

  17-01-2026 06:00
  A useful indicator of the health of the Tory party and Reform is whether ambitious people are trying to get in or out
  
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• GTFO: Trump, Minnesota and the new rules of swearing

  17-01-2026 06:00
  Blame the vulgarity vibe shift for more profanities in public life
  
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• Doctors’ strike helped forestall NHS winter crisis, say health leaders

  16-01-2026 22:00
  Senior medics who covered for younger colleagues said to be more confident and quicker to discharge patients
  
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• ‘Sadness’ and ‘betrayal’ in Newark after Jenrick’s defection to Reform

  16-01-2026 20:55
  Former Conservative Party MP’s move rocks constituents and colleagues
  
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• Is Robert Jenrick’s plan to ‘unite the right’ doomed?

  16-01-2026 20:55
  Former Conservative Party constituents and colleagues talk of anger and betrayal
  
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• Reform UK seeks court order to prevent delays to local elections

  16-01-2026 20:18
  Populist party says postponing vote in English councils risks undermining campaigns
  
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• Reform UK launches legal challenge over council election delays

  16-01-2026 19:31
  Populist party seeks court order to prevent postponement from May 7
  
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• Is Britain ungovernable?

  16-01-2026 19:14
  The public has lost faith in the political system and in the people operating it
  
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• UK ministers draw up options for ban on social media for children

  16-01-2026 16:22
  Officials working on proposals that could be put to public consultation within weeks
  
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• Labour to avoid risk of 10 council losses by delaying May elections

  16-01-2026 15:03
  More than 200 of party’s councillors due to face voters will now serve for another year
  
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• Disloyalty and defection: the Tory-Reform psychodrama

  16-01-2026 14:03
  Robert Jenrick's accelerated leap to Team Farage. Plus, Labour's U-turns fuel cabinetdiscontent.
  
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• Tories ‘getting act together’ after Jenrick defection, says Badenoch

  16-01-2026 13:51
  Conservative leader thanks Reform’s Nigel Farage for doing her ‘spring cleaning’ for her
  
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• 'We'd been on high alert' - How Jenrick's dramatic sacking and defection unfolded

  16-01-2026 13:43 via bbc.com
  The secret discussions, bombshell leak and sacking which led to Robert Jenrick defecting to the Reform party.
  
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• No action against Reform councillor over 'punch him' text

  16-01-2026 13:38 via bbc.com
  Kent County Council cabinet member Peter Osborne is not facing sanction for the message.
  
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• This is uniting the right, says Jenrick in BBC exclusive

  16-01-2026 13:32 via bbc.com
  In an exclusive interview with the BBC, the former shadow justice secretary says Reform UK are the only party who can fix Britain.
  
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• Nigel Farage to attend Davos conference he derided as ‘jaunt’ for ‘globalists’

  16-01-2026 12:37
  Reform UK leader due to appear at World Economic Forum next week
  
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• Farage to attend Davos conference he derided as ‘jaunt’ for ‘globalists’

  16-01-2026 12:37
  Reform UK leader due to appear at World Economic Forum next week
  
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• Public sick of backstabbing, says Tory defector Jenrick's replacement

  16-01-2026 12:24 via bbc.com
  Robert Jenrick urges Tories to follow him to Reform, but Nick Timothy argues the party does not have serious policies.
  
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• Do our politicians need better backstories?

  16-01-2026 12:00
  Sometimes, biography isn’t the best judge of what someone might do in public office 
  
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• Use film-style age ratings to limit teens' social media, say Lib Dems

  16-01-2026 11:30 via bbc.com
  The Conservatives want to see ban of all under-16s from social media, but the Lib Dems say that would be a "blunt instrument".
  
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• Tories are squandering chance to show why they are not Reform

  16-01-2026 10:30
  Party must set itself apart because anyone who wants to vote for the populist right is well-served by Farage
  
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• Millions of people to see their local council elections delayed

  16-01-2026 10:11 via bbc.com
  Most wanting a delay are Labour-led but two are Tory councils and one is a Lib Dem authority.
  
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• Jenrick defects to Reform UK after being sacked by Tories

  16-01-2026 07:39 via bbc.com
  The former minister says the Conservatives "broke Britain", as Nigel Farage welcomes him to his party.
  
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• Trump’s demand for higher NHS drug costs would be ‘huge backwards step’, medicines watchdog says

  16-01-2026 06:00
  Jonathan Benger tells FT that health service payments should not rise for years to come
  
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• EU ‘membership-lite’ plan for Ukraine spooks European capitals

  16-01-2026 06:00
  Reforms under discussion would tear up accession rules used since cold war to allow Kyiv to join in a potential peace deal
  
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• Chris Mason: Is Farage's Reform really Conservatives 2.0?

  16-01-2026 03:19 via bbc.com
  Reform UK is showing 'momentum and magnetism', but faces a familiar critique of being dubbed the Conservatives 2.0, the BBC's political editor writes.
  
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• Government to give cash payouts to people in financial crisis

  16-01-2026 01:02 via bbc.com
  The replacement for the Household Support Fund aims to help people facing sudden difficulties.
  
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• Labour to avoid risk of at least 10 council losses by delaying May elections

  16-01-2026 00:56
  At least 183 of party’s councillors due to face voters will serve for another year
  
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• Ofsted inspects school over MP visit postponement

  15-01-2026 21:50 via bbc.com
  Ofsted is concerned a school "may have been intimidated into cancelling a visit" from a Bristol MP.
  
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