Lead News

Angela Rayner has warned government proposals to make it harder for migrants already in the UK to settle permanently are “un-British” and a “breach of trust”. Ministers want to double the time it takes most migrant workers to qualify for permanent residence from five years to 10 years, while in the case of refugees it could take 20 years. Rayner’s ...

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is to offer a package of support to households struggling with higher heating oil costs following the global impact of the US-Israel war in Iran. In an interview with the Times, Reeves said she has “found the money” to help, adding the Treasury is also looking at “different options” to help those most vulnerable to soaring energy ...

The prime minister’s independent ethics adviser has said he will not investigate Sir Keir Starmer over his appointment of Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the US. Sir Laurie Magnus said documents released in relation to his appointment indicated “the relevant process for a political appointee was followed”. The Conservatives had asked him to investigate after the government published a series ...

The end is nigh for hereditary peers, whose inherited right to sit in the House of Lords is set to be stripped from them after the passage of a new law this week. The 92 remaining hereditary seats will be scrapped when the current session of Parliament ends, which is expected to be in May. But, for some, the end ...

A former Labour MP and minister had died aged 66 after suffering from brain cancer for years, his family have said. Phil Woolas, who served in both the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown governments and as MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth between 1997 and 2010, died on Saturday morning. The Scunthorpe-born politician held several ministerial roles including for local ...

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Britain is giving “serious thought” to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East, but added that the US does not need them to win the war with Iran, in the latest clash between the military allies. Trump has repeatedly criticised British Prime Minister Keir Starmer suggesting this week that he helped “ruin” ...

Sir Keir Starmer has defended the government’s approach to the conflict in Iran, saying protecting British nationals is his “number one priority”. It comes after President Trump criticised the prime minister for refusing to allow the use of UK bases in the initial US-Israel strikes on Saturday, saying he is “no Winston Churchill”. During Prime Minister’s Questions Conservative leader Kemi ...

Donald Trump has launched a deeply personal attack on Keir Starmer over his refusal to let the US launch initial strikes on Iran from British bases, telling reporters: “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.” In his latest extraordinary salvo, the US president said he was not happy with the UK even though the prime minister eventually agreed ...

Parliament is to debate whether all suicides in cases involving victims of domestic abuse should be investigated as homicide. The Liberal Democrats have tabled an amendment to the crime and policing bill saying that if “there is reasonable suspicion that a death by suicide has been preceded by a history of domestic abuse committed against the person by another person, ...

The United Kingdom’s overhaul of its asylum program takes effect on Monday, the Home Office announced, with the new rules drastically cutting protections for refugees and their children. Under the reforms, refugee status for adults and their accompanying children will be reviewed every 30 months. “Refugee status will become temporary and subject to review,” the Home Office said in a ...