Author: Fatimah Idera

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to reverse Labour’s stance on the Electoral Commission as MPs and peers prepare a renewed push to amend the upcoming elections bill. In a letter to Starmer, lawmakers will argue that the elections watchdog must be fully independent and not subject to direction from the same political actors it is meant to hold accountable. The government is expected to introduce an elections bill early next year that will extend voting rights to 16-year-olds and tighten rules around political donations. However, Labour is resisting calls to undo changes made under Boris Johnson, which placed the…

London is poised to introduce a tourist levy on overnight stays for the first time, as the UK government prepares to grant new taxation powers to mayors through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to devolve the authority to impose the charge, a move long championed by Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has argued that the capital is missing out on significant revenue. Estimates suggest a tourist tax could raise up to £240m annually. In 2024 alone, London recorded 89 million overnight stays. England is currently the only G7 nation where central government blocks local…

Rail fares in England will be frozen next year for the first time in three decades, the government has confirmed. The freeze, which will remain in place until March 2027, applies to regulated fares, including season tickets and off-peak returns that typically rise annually. The most recent increase, introduced in March 2025, was 4.6%. Although rail fares traditionally rose each January based on the July retail price index (RPI) plus 1%, this formula has not always been followed. Ministers say the freeze is intended to “directly limit inflation” and ease cost-of-living pressures ahead of Wednesday’s Budget, in which Chancellor Rachel…

A new UK clinical trial will assess the risks and benefits of puberty-blocking drugs for children experiencing gender distress, following last year’s nationwide ban on their routine use. The trial, led by researchers at King’s College London (KCL), aims to provide robust evidence on the controversial treatment, which the Cass Review previously found lacked sufficient clinical data to justify use in under-18s. Around 220 children under 16 who have reached puberty and have a diagnosis of gender incongruence will take part in the study. They must meet strict medical and psychological criteria, receive detailed assessments, and demonstrate an informed understanding…

Former Reform UK Wales leader Nathan Gill has been sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison for accepting bribes to deliver pro-Russia statements while serving as an MEP. Gill, who was aligned with Ukip and the Brexit Party under Nigel Farage, pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery between December 2018 and July 2019. Police say Gill received at least £30,000 from Oleg Voloshyn, a former Ukrainian MP and alleged Russian agent now believed to be in Moscow. Investigators were surprised by Gill’s guilty plea and believe he was driven largely by financial pressure. The bribed statements promoted…

Reeves

UK

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) will be doubled from five to 10 years, affecting an estimated 1.6 million people who have arrived since 2021. Those who already hold settlement will not be impacted. Mahmood told MPs that becoming part of the UK is “not a right but a privilege and one that must be earned,” as she unveiled the latest in a series of major immigration reforms. Currently, most work and family visa holders can apply for settlement after five years. Under the new system, the default wait will be 10…

Keir Starmer has urged Nigel Farage to publicly explain himself after the Reform UK leader issued a blanket denial of multiple detailed allegations of racist behaviour during his school years. Speaking during prime minister’s questions, Starmer referenced reports, which contains accounts from more than a dozen of Farage’s former classmates. Responding to Reform MP Lee Anderson, the prime minister criticised Farage’s repeated refusal to condemn racist comments by members of his party. “I wonder if we could ask his leader next door whether he’s got time for an explanation for the stories in today’s papers,” Starmer said. The remarks follow…

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has been accused of ethnic stereotyping and indecent demagoguery by Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama, after she highlighted Albanian families in plans for escalated deportations. Rama criticised Mahmood on X, questioning why a Labour home secretary would “echo the rhetoric of the populist far-right” by singling out around 700 Albanian families who face removal from the UK if they refuse cash incentives to return home. He said Albanians were net contributors to the British economy and that the number receiving UK benefits was comparatively low. Repeatedly naming Albanians, he argued, is not policy, it is…