UK News

he Brexit debate is back. For years, it felt like the only thing Westminster talked about. I have had a ringside seat at it all, from the Conservative election victory in 2015, with the party’s promise in its manifesto that year to offer “a straight in-out referendum on our membership of the European Union by the end of 2017.” Then ...

Reform UK has announced plans to effectively close down the UK’s asylum system for a full parliamentary term if elected. The party said all new asylum applications would be rejected and existing applications voided, with all claimants marked for deportation. It said no grants of humanitarian protection or refugee status would be made, while legal refugee routes and resettlement schemes ...

Andy Burnham has said Russia did interfere with the Brexit referendum and warned that similar activities were taking place in France and Germany. The prime minister told The Rest is Politics podcast that upon arriving in No 10, he had asked about possible Russian interference in the 2016 vote, adding: “I’ve had the clear answer that, yes, there was.” “I ...

LONDON, Oct 9, 2026 : The leader of Britain’s left-wing Greens said on Friday he would stay on as party chief after he failed to grab a parliamentary seat in the wake of a row with Israel. Zack Polanski, who is Jewish but has made the Greens avidly pro-Palestinian, was barred from Israel this month after his party backed a ...

The Labour chair of the Commons housing committee is urging John Healey to bring forward billions of pounds of planned spending on social and affordable homes in England, after housing associations said they were ready to build tens of thousands more. Abena Oppong-Asare called for the chancellor to allocate money from the £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) as ...

The UK has arrested three people over alleged links to a network accused of helping asylum seekers make false claims about being gay to obtain protection, the BBC reports. Two people were arrested at London addresses on Tuesday on suspicion of fraud and immigration offences, while a third was detained over suspected illegal residence. Officers seized phones, jewellery and thousands ...

Nearly all women who try to reach the UK in small boats from northern France have been raped on their journey, Shabana Mahmood has claimed. In an interview with The Rest Is Politics podcast, the home secretary said far-right, balaclava-wearing activists would “kill” or “kick me out of my own country” if they took power. Speaking to the former Tory ...

Andy Burnham will pass legislation to scrap the state pension triple lock in this parliament, even though the guarantee will remain until 2030, the government has said. The prime minister used his conference speech to announce a change to the policy, which guarantees that the state pension rises by the highest of 2.5%, inflation or earnings growth. In future, the ...

LONDON, Sept 30, 2026 : Andy Burnham put the idea of Britain rejoining the EU on the table Wednesday, breaking a taboo for a UK prime minister and leading French President Emmanuel Macron to declare in English “Welcome back”. Burnham reopened the divisive Brexit debate by saying his centre-left Labour government could go “all the way” and propose membership of ...

The chancellor has warned against allowing Britain’s benefits bill to balloon while not offering young people opportunities. John Healey told Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool that cutting welfare spending was “more than an economic must – it’s a moral duty”. “The best thing we can offer a young person is not a benefit payment – it’s a first job with ...