Labour’s biggest union backer eyes party split Politics Labour’s biggest union backer is considering a significant vote to split from the party in another blow to Starmer’s leadership. Senior officials at the UK’s largest trade union Unite are in talks about whether to call an emergency conference to vote on formal disaffiliation from the Labour party, according to reports from The Telegraph. Sources [...]
UK and US agree to zero tariff deal on pharmaceuticals Business The government has agreed to a major deal with Washington that will see the UK become the only country to secure zero import tariffs on pharmaceutical products into the US for at least three years. The deal follows months of negotiations between the government and the Trump administration, after the June trade deal left the [...]
Starmer to argue in favour of welfare reforms and investment measures Business Prime Minister Keir Starmer will set out plans later today on how the Budget will enable the government root “out excessive costs” and reform the welfare system, as pressure over Treasury decision grow. Starmer will discuss how choices made in the Budget will advance the government’s goals of boosting economic growth and bringing down the [...]
Kemi Badenoch: Rachel Reeves “should resign” November 30, 2025 Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called for Rachel Reeves to resign, claiming the Chancellor snuck in tax rises to her Autumn Budget “to pay for welfare”. In an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch said: “The Chancellor called an emergency press conference telling everyone about how terrible the state of the finances were and now [...]
Banned China tech firms lobbied for London embassy November 2, 2025 Chinese tech firms banned on national security grounds in both the UK and the United States lobbied for Beijing’s new embassy in London, growing fears it could be used as an overseas “spy centre”. State-controlled company ZTE Mobile, which was deemed by GCHQ to pose a risk to British telecommunications infrastructure that “cannot be mitigated”, [...]
Why are asset managers turning away from the US? October 28, 2025 Asset managers are increasingly choosing to diversify their portfolios away from US stocks, despite Wall Street’s pronounced rally, as fears over being overexposed to secular markets grows. US markets saw a significant bounce back in recent months, shaking off the lows that followed Trump’s tariff announcement in April, with investors not yet losing their appetite [...]
Mayor of London to move ahead with plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street October 6, 2025 The mayor of London has confirmed he is ploughing ahead with “bold proposals” to pedestrianise Oxford Street after claiming a one-day traffic ban significantly boosted the local economy. Footfall in the West End area was 45 per cent higher on the day when traffic was prohibited from accessing a half-mile stretch of road from Orchard [...]
Kemi Badenoch: My approach will “pay off eventually” October 5, 2025 Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, has insisted her approach to changing the struggling party will “pay off eventually” as she battles dwindling voter support. In an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch stressed that she would not “rush out” new policies and instead take the time needed to “get it right”. She acknowledged that the Conservative [...]
Starmer refuses to rule out VAT rise September 28, 2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer has refused to rule out any potential rises to VAT as he reinforced his commitment to Labour’s manifesto pledges in a new interview. In an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, after being pressed on potential changes to VAT, Starmer said: “The manifesto stands. We made commitment in that manifesto and the [...]
No 10 aware of Mandelson emails before Starmer defended him September 13, 2025 Officials at No 10 and the Foreign Office were aware of the damning emails between Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein before Starmer defended him at Prime Minister’s Questions. The Foreign Office was allegedly sent details of the emails between the pair on Tuesday and passed them on to Downing Street, two days before Starmer withdrew [...]