A Reform UK-run council where the party sought to pilot drastic cost-cutting plans is going to have to raise council tax, a cabinet member has admitted. Services at Kent county council were already “down to the bare bones”, said Reform’s cabinet member for adult social care, Diane Morton. It makes Kent the latest local authority controlled by Nigel Farage’s party to signal its intention to raise council tax. “We’ve got…

Nursing leaders have warned that the NHS and social care could cease to function under Labour’s proposed immigration rules, describing the policy as divisive, xenophobic, and ignorant. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) criticised the plan, which would double the time foreign workers must wait before applying for indefinite leave to remain from five to ten years and bar them from claiming benefits such as child support, housing allowance, or…

Foreign nationals denied access to benefits under new Conservative welfare proposals would have the option of returning to their home countries, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride has said. Speaking ahead of his address at the Conservative Party Conference on Monday, Stride defended the party’s plan to save £47 billion a year from public spending, with £23 billion coming from cuts to welfare. The proposed reforms include restricting social security payments to…

Hundreds of international students left in limbo after University College London (UCL) exceeded its visa allocation have now been cleared to take up their places following successful negotiations with the Home Office. The students, many from China, were initially told to defer their studies until next year after UCL ran out of Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) documents electronic certificates required for student visa applications. The shortage followed what…

By Eniola Amadu Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has downplayed concerns about members defecting to Reform UK, describing the rival party as an “easier option” for those unwilling to face difficult times. Speaking to BBC East ahead of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, Badenoch insisted her party remained the only one “competent and tough enough” to deliver effective governance. Her comments come amid growing defections from the Conservatives to Reform…

Lyons to unveil strategy to boost disability employment in Northern Ireland By Eniola Amadu A new Stormont strategy designed to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities is to be launched by Communities Minister Gordon Lyons. Lyons will outline his plans for a Disability and Work Strategy in a statement to the Northern Ireland Assembly, setting out measures to make workplaces more accessible and inclusive. Alongside the strategy, the minister…

Irekans

France has been thrown deeper into political uncertainty after Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu abruptly resigned on Monday, only 27 days into the job. President Emmanuel Macron accepted his ally’s resignation, the Elysee confirmed, describing the move as both sudden and unprecedented in modern French politics. Lecornu’s departure came barely a day after he unveiled his cabinet, which had been scheduled to meet for the first time on Monday afternoon. The…

The Conservatives have called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to come clean over the collapse of the high-profile China spy prosecution, demanding full transparency about the government’s role in the decision. The case against two men, Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, accused of passing confidential reports on UK-China policy to Beijing, was dropped after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) ruled it no longer had sufficient evidence. It was reported…

Mahmood

The Conservative Party has announced ambitious plans to remove 750,000 illegal immigrants from the UK within five years, unveiling a tough, Trump-style approach to immigration enforcement as its annual conference begins in Manchester. Under the proposals, anyone entering the UK without permission would be banned from claiming asylum. Those whose claims are rejected would no longer be able to appeal decisions in the courts; instead, appeals would be handled internally…

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is preparing to unveil a series of planning reforms before the upcoming budget to stimulate Britain’s sluggish economic growth. British sluggish economic groReeves to unveil planning reforms The changes aim to simplify the process for developers to build houses and infrastructure, potentially boosting the economy by around £3 billion annually. However, there is internal disagreement within the government over how radical the reforms should be. The package…