UK News

The UK and the European Union should not waste time “looking backwards” to Brexit, Keir Starmer said on Wednesday, as he comes under pressure to reconsider rejoining the EU. The prime minister reaffirmed his government’s manifesto commitment to not re-enter the bloc, but said there had been “real progress” with the relationship, which was “slowly but surely building”. Starmer’s potential ...

The leader of one of the country’s biggest teaching unions has said Andy Burnham is Labour’s best chance for beating Reform in a general election. The general secretary of NASUWT, Matt Wrack, was speaking to the Guardian in the run-up to Thursday’s Makerfield byelection, in which the Greater Manchester mayor hopes to return to parliament and pave the way for ...

Sir Keir Starmer has announced under-16s will be banned from social media in a “big moment for our country”. The Prime Minister announced that Britain will follow Australia in prohibiting teenagers from using apps like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat. He announced sweeping reforms to protect children online at a Downing Street press conference. The ban will come into force in ...

Roy Hattersley, who served as deputy leader of the Labour Party under Neil Kinnock, has died at the age of 93. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer paid tribute to Lord Hattersley as “a giant of the Labour movement”. The Sheffield-born politician entered Parliament in 1964 as the MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook, a post he held for more than three decades. ...

The United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy said they were prepared to lift sanctions imposed on Iran, according to a joint statement Sunday, welcoming an agreement reached between the Washington and Tehran to end the war in the Middle East. “We are prepared to lift relevant sanctions in response to clear, verifiable steps by Iran on its nuclear programme. We ...

Kemi Badenoch has accused the prime minister of “dithering” over defence spending, amid a battle within government over how new kit will be paid for. The Conservative leader said Sir Keir Starmer had been “paralysed” over the issue due to Labour MPs’ unwillingness to cut back “bloated” spending on welfare. She pressed him to rule out further tax rises to ...

Fly-tippers would face higher on-the-spot fines under proposals drawn up by Reform UK. Reform deputy leader Richard Tice said the amount of litter on the streets, in parks and in the countryside is a “sign of just how broken Britain is”. Tice called for the upper limit for fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to be increased to £5,000. The party also ...

Nigel Farage will be headlining at an American conservative summit brought to the UK by Liz Truss next month alongside hard-right speakers, despite his party previously suggesting he would be “steering clear”. The Reform UK leader has announced he will speak in July at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which claims it wants to “save Britain, save the west”. ...

Schools banning pupils from having smartphones are commonplace. But what about a school where pupils ban teachers from using their smartphones, and then get their parents to join in? And not just phones: at Holy Family Catholic primary school in west London teachers are also barred from using laptops, monitors or tablets during the school’s screen-free Mondays, after an idea ...

A parliamentary committee that scrutinises public spending has made scathing comments about the impact of delays in the publication of the government’s defence investment plan (Dip). The plan, originally expected last autumn, has been repeatedly postponed amid warnings that the military faces a huge funding gap over the next four years. It is due to be published before a Nato ...