Politics

Rachel Reeves faces the prospect of another “groundhog day” unless next month’s budget goes further than plugging an estimated £22bn black hole in the public finances, according to a respected thinktank. It comes as latest official figures showed the UK economy grew 0.3% in the three months to August, limited growth, despite the Treasury saying…

The extent of Chinese spying carried out on UK parliamentarians has been unveiled after evidence in the collapsed China spy trial was published. Three witness statements from the government were released following the ongoing confusion around why the prosecutions collapsed. Former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash, 30, from Whitechapel, east London, and teacher Christopher Berry, 33,…

Rachel Reeves has told Sky News she is looking at both tax rises and spending cuts in the budget, in her first interview since being briefed on the scale of the fiscal black hole she faces. “Of course, we’re looking at tax and spending as well,” the chancellor said when asked how she would deal…

The government does not currently have control of Britain’s borders, the home secretary will admit in a speech today. Shabana Mahmood is hosting counterparts from the Western Balkans and other European allies in London, and will demand greater international co-operation to tackle small boat crossings. Politics Hub: Follow latest updates The summit is designed to…

The Gaza peace deal would not have been possible without US President Donald Trump, Sir Keir Starmer has said. Speaking in the House of Commons the day after the peace deal was signed, the prime minister said: “Let no one be in any doubt that none of this would have been possible without President Trump….

Rachel Reeves has been warned that firms face a “make-or-break moment” at next month’s budget. The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) urged the chancellor, who is widely expected to announce tax hikes in November’s budget to fill a gap in the public finances, to steer clear of increasing levies on businesses. Ms Reeves raised taxes…

I’ve been around a while and seen a lot of the insides of international summits over the years, but this one was truly extraordinary. Over 20 leaders flew to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt from all over the world – Indonesia, Pakistan, Norway, Canada – to witness the signing of Donald Trump’s peace plan. Gaza deal…

The Scottish government will sponsor care home workers after Sir Keir Starmer changed the skilled worker visa this year, Scotland’s first minister has announced. John Swinney, giving his keynote speech at the Scottish National Party (SNP) conference, said the government will “step in” to sponsor “hundreds of dedicated workers” so they can “work, pay tax…

Kemi Badenoch is expected to mark the 100th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher’s birth after paying a series of glowing tributes to her at the Conservative Party conference. The Tory celebrations, 100 years after she was born on 13 October 1925, include a glittering dinner at the historic Guildhall in the City of London attended by…

Sir Keir Starmer will on Monday join world leaders at a historic summit in Egypt to witness the signing of the Gaza peace plan to end two years of conflict, bloodshed and suffering, that has cost tens of thousands of lives and turned Gaza into a wasteland. Travelling over to Egypt, flanked by his national…