Burnham would ‘probably’ have won by-election, says Powell February 28, 2026 Andy Burnham would have won the Gorton and Denton by-election, Labour’s deputy leader said as she called for the party to make more use of the Greater Manchester mayor. Labour fell to third in the previously rock-solid seat on Thursday, with the Greens winning a fifth seat in Parliament and Reform UK coming second. The [...]
US and Israel strike Iran as Trump calls for regime change February 28, 2026 The US and Israel have launched strikes on Iran as President Trump called for Iranian citizens to “take over” the country’s government, with Sir Keir Starmer weighing in to condemn Iran’s retaliatory strikes. Trump announced in a video broadcast on Truth Social that the US has launched “major combat operations” against Iran, adding that it [...]
Legal battle over Labour’s inheritance tax reliefs set for March hearing February 27, 2026 The legal challenge to proposed changes to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) has been listed for an urgent two-day hearing next month. The proposed changes to APR and the BPR represent one of the biggest shifts in UK IHT policy in decades, following the government’s initial increase of the threshold to [...]
Greens win Gorton and Denton by-election in humiliating defeat for Keir Starmer February 27, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has said that Labour’s defeat in the Gorton and Denton by-election is “very disappointing” and promised to “keep fighting”. The Greens won the by-election with more than 40 per cent of the vote, in a humiliating defeat for the Prime Minister. Hannah Spencer has been elected the new MP for the Greater [...]
Nearly 1m young Brits not in work as Reeves told to help youth February 26, 2026 The number of Neets, or young people not in education, employment or training, has increased to nearly 1m, official data has indicated, heightening fears over the long-term health of the UK economy. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has suggested there were 957,000 people aged between 16 and 24 not working as of December in [...]
Britons grumble about hospitals despite Labour’s NHS drive February 26, 2026 Britons remain frustrated with the state of hospitals despite the Labour government’s push to splash out on the NHS, a new report has suggested. Polling by Ipsos for Deloitte and Re:State, a think tank focused on state capabilities, found that 42 per cent of Britons were dissatisfied with hospitals across the country. Under a third [...]
Watch: Spotlight turns on Reeves – and the state of our economy February 26, 2026 We haven’t heard much from Rachel Reeves so far this year – probably a deliberate strategy – but is the Chancellor set to make waves next week at the Spring Statement? Rachel Reeves didn’t have a great 2025. UK quarterly GDP growth peaked in Q1 at 0.7 per cent as firms front-loaded their activity to [...]
Family visas plummet as Mahmood targets migrant dependants February 26, 2026 The number of family-related visas plummeted over 2025 as the government clamped down on dependants joining migrant workers and students. In fresh data published by the Home Office on Thursday, it was revealed that just 67,000 visas were offered to spouses, children and other dependants of migrants. It represented a sharp 22 per cent drop [...]
It’s a sad story from brewery to pub February 26, 2026 It was a balmy 17 degrees in the Square Mile yesterday, drawing crowds out for a lunchtime pint in the sun. But in other parts of the country the hospitality sector is still in the grip of winter. Bad news came thick and fast from my native Cornwall yesterday, starting with confirmation that Sharp’s Brewery [...]
Why Rachel Reeves’ low-key Spring Statement still matters February 26, 2026 This is the Spring Statement that Chancellor Rachel Reeves has long been waiting for in opposition: a moment of sheer insignificance. In May 2023, six months after the mini-budget debacle, Reeves offered a speech in opposition to Washington DC’s top independent think tank, the Peterson Institute, exalting her core economics philosophy of ‘securonomics’. She summarised [...]