Politics

Sir Keir Starmer has admitted his decision to increase defence spending was “accelerated” by Donald Trump taking office. The prime minister said today’s announcement was “three years in the making” after Russia invaded Ukraine – but a “very changed context” pushed him forward. Politics Live: PM warns ‘everything has changed’ after announcing defence spending boost
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The prime minister has announced £200m for Grangemouth ahead of the closure of Scotland’s last oil refinery. Sir Keir Starmer, speaking at the Scottish Labour conference on Sunday, said the cash would come from the National Wealth Fund for an “investment in Scotland’s industrial future”. Grangemouth oil refinery, on the banks of the Firth of
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Sir Keir Starmer has said the United States “is right” about the UK and Europe needing to take more responsibility for defence and security. The prime minister, speaking at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow on Sunday, said he is clear Britain “will take a leading responsibility” in protecting the continent. “Instability in Europe always
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Jess Phillips has said “there is no place” where violence against women and girls “doesn’t happen” – as a new law is set to make spiking a criminal offence. Earlier on Friday, the government said spiking will now be its own offence with a possible 10-year prison sentence as part of the Crime and Policing
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An MP who was sacked as a health minister after he reportedly posted offensive messages in a WhatsApp group is being investigated by parliament’s standards watchdog. Andrew Gwynne, who was also suspended from the Labour Party earlier this month, is listed among the allegations under investigation by Daniel Greenberg, the standards commissioner. According to the
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The solicitors’ watchdog has said it will now investigate claims business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has made about his legal career. The Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA) initially said there was “no need to take any action” after Mr Reynolds was accused of misrepresenting his past work as a lawyer. The business secretary worked for Addleshaw Goddard
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Sir Keir Starmer has held private calls with European leaders to ensure the Western alliance does not fracture, a minister has said, after Donald Trump claimed Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a “dictator”. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast the prime minister has spent a “quite considerable amount of time” over the
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Rachel Reeves says “no one ever raised any concerns” about her expenses when she worked at HBOS, as she responds to reports she was investigated while working for the bank. The chancellor was accused by former employees of being involved in an “expenses scandal” while working at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) from 2006 to
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People who believe the things posted in a controversial Labour WhatsApp group shouldn’t have been MPs in the first place, according to Harriet Harman. Speaking on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the veteran Labour parliamentarian said the scandal was “very serious” as the public already thinks MPs are “contemptuous of their voters”. Politics live: Follow the
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The Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is exploring launching private criminal proceedings against NatWest Group over the debanking scandal which resulted in the lender’s former chief losing her job. Sky News has learnt that Mr Farage has instructed Chris Daw KC of Lincoln House Chambers to examine whether there are grounds for bringing a criminal
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Even after half a century, she’s still adored and revered by Tories, grudgingly respected by present and former Labour prime ministers and yet despised and reviled on the left and in many working class communities. It was 50 years ago this week that Margaret Thatcher became Conservative Party leader and began to change the course
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