Lead News

Keir Starmer has defended his frequent trips out of the country to Labour MPs, attempting to draw a direct link with the cost of living at home, which he warned would not be solved by isolationism. The prime minister told the meeting of the parliamentary Labour party (PLP) on Monday night that it was essential for him to be “in ...

A large majority of UK voters believe immigration is increasing despite sharp falls in the number of people entering the UK, according to exclusive polling shared with the Guardian. Voters also say they have no confidence in the government’s ability to control the UK’s borders, according to the poll by More in Common. The results will come as a blow ...

Zarah Sultana’s unauthorised launch of a Your Party membership portal may have been “serious criminal activity” and should be referred to the police, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has advised. Jeremy Corbyn’s Peace and Justice Project (PJP), which referred Your Party to the information watchdog last September over a potential data breach, has been advised by the ICO that it ...

The prime minister has promised to review laws governing franchising agreements, in response to the case of a former Vodafone store manager whose family alleges took his own life following pressure from the FTSE 100 telecoms group. Keir Starmer said in the Commons on Wednesday that he would “look closely” at the outcome of a high-profile legal claim against Vodafone. ...

The prime minister has drawn a series of sharp dividing lines with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, in an attempt to begin reviving Labour’s and his own political fortunes in the new year. Sir Keir Starmer told his political cabinet he wanted to make clear to voters that the choice was between his party “renewing the country” and Reform, who he ...

Snow and ice warnings remain in place across many parts of the UK, as the Met Office warns disruptive snow could sweep across southern England this week. Parts of northern Scotland will remain under amber warnings of snow until Tuesday night, while less severe yellow warnings cover large swathes of the UK until 11:00 GMT. South-east and central England – ...

Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK should move towards closer alignment with EU markets “if it’s in our national interest”. The prime minister told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg it would be “better looking to the single market rather than the customs union for our further alignment”, in order to protect trade deals with India and the US. But he ...

The US military action in Venezuela breaches international law and the UK should make clear it is “unacceptable”, the chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee has said. Dame Emily Thornberry is the most senior Labour MP so far to criticise Donald Trump’s strikes on the country over the weekend, which saw President Nicolas Maduro and his wife seized. The ...

Snow and ice warnings are covering much of the UK over the weekend and beyond. Amber snow warnings are in effect for Scotland until noon. Yellow snow and ice warnings are in place across the south-west, north-west and east coast of England, and Wales and Northern Ireland, until Monday. Heavy snowfall has already covered parts of Scotland, with the Met ...

The government has launched a recruitment drive for thousands of new magistrates to volunteer in England and Wales as part of its efforts to grapple with the crown court backlog. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said more than 2,000 magistrates have been trained since 2022 and the latest call aims to boost that number by another 2,000 within the next ...