Met Police investigates Reform UK over potential breach of electoral law Politics The Metropolitan Police has launched a formal criminal investigation into Reform UK over potentially illegal foreign donations after top party officials were filmed facilitating the acceptance of payments via a middle man. Detectives will look into the party’s funding following the undercover sting operation by Channel 4 News. The police were called to act by [...]
Burnham insists defence uplift ‘can’t come at expense’ of welfare Economics Andy Burnham has said an uplift in defence spending will not come “at the expense” of benefits. During Prime Minister’s Questions, Burnham said “national security can’t come at the expense of social security” in response to attacks from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch over the absence of plans to get defence spending up to three per [...]
JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon to meet Chancellor John Healey ahead of Budget Banking JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon is set to meet John Healey today ahead of the new Chancellor’s first Budget, City AM understands. The American banker – regarded as one of the most influential figures in global finance – is due to meet Healey in London for the first time following a phone call exchange last [...]
Gareth Southgate hits out at WFH and warns high taxes are harming youth unemployment September 9, 2026 Former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate has said he is against working from home and argued that young people need workplace mentors to develop their careers. On a trip with the Neets tsar Alan Milburn, Southgate hit out at companies’ working from home policies and linked it to the joblessness crisis facing under 25-year-olds. “What [...]
Why Labour can’t kick Whitehall’s consultancy habit September 9, 2026 Since coming to power, Labour has been vocal about cutting spending on external consultants to save taxpayers money. However, data suggests it has actually moved in the opposite direction, as the private sector shows it is a necessity and not a luxury, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. The pledge to cut back on external consultants was first [...]
Reform’s funding scandal is scaring away the very voters it should be appealing to September 9, 2026 A row over unlawful donations to Reform UK is getting extraordinary cut-through with voters, and it’s former Conservatives, the very people Farage is best placed to win over, who are most sceptical, says Matthew Lesh Reform’s jamboree in Birmingham last week had a weird feel. Thousands of party faithful trampled across the hundreds of square [...]
Will Westminster learn the right lessons from Scotland’s education disaster? September 9, 2026 When experiments are run in public policy, evidence can be collected and the policies can be reviewed, scored and either rolled out, tweaked or abandoned. Not every area of policy lends itself to evidence-based analysis, but sometimes it’s clear-cut. We can see, for example, whether tax revenues rise or fall in response to fiscal reforms. [...]
Nandy absence called out as MPs urge greater use of sport as soft power September 9, 2026 The government must do more to use sport and the wider culture sector to maximise global soft power, according to an influential MP. Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, has criticised the government for staging its Soft Power Council only four times, with the department’s Secretary of State Lisa [...]
Donations row ‘reflects problem in Reform UK’, voters say September 9, 2026 The donations row that engulfed Reform UK last week “reflects a real problem” with the party, the majority of voters believe. Nearly two-thirds of people believe the allegations surrounding top Reform figures show there is a problem with the way the party is run and deals with its finances, City AM/Freshwater Strategy polling has revealed. [...]
Trade sanctions on Israeli settlements attacked as ‘performative’ September 8, 2026 Trade sanctions imposed by Andy Burnham’s government on Israeli settlements in the West Bank are “performative” and could put the UK’s international standing at threat, shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat has said. On Tuesday, Ed Miliband announced the government would impose sanctions on companies and individuals who finance or help create settlements in Palestinian land, [...]