A Labour MP has reported receiving death threats and online abuse after a Conservative colleague shared a video questioning her stance on a proposed inquiry into grooming gangs. Anna Dixon, Labour MP for Shipley in West Yorkshire, said police were investigating after she was targeted with violent and misogynistic messages. She accused Robbie Moore, the Conservative MP for Keighley and Ilkley, of spreading misinformation about her position on the issue.…

Nigel Farage has set out radical plans to withdraw Britain from key human rights treaties and carry out the mass deportation of migrants arriving in small boats, declaring immigration to be a “national emergency” and warning that public anger over asylum has reached breaking point. In an interview with The Times, the Reform UK leader outlined a programme that would see the country leave the European Convention on Human Rights…

More than 200,000 workers in the UK have moved to a four-day week since before the pandemic, signalling a significant shift in working patterns. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that between October and December 2024, nearly 1.4 million people reported working full-time across four days up by more than 100,000 from the same period in 2019, when 1.29 million did so. Another 100,000 said they worked…

Angela Rayner has unveiled plans to prevent Sir Sadiq Khan from re-entering Parliament while serving as London Mayor, fuelling speculation she is seeking to sideline potential rivals for the Labour leadership. The Deputy Prime Minister is introducing legislation that would bar anyone from holding both a mayoralty and a parliamentary seat simultaneously. The change, contained in her forthcoming English Devolution Bill, would rewrite parts of the 1999 Greater London Authority…

Former Labour home secretary Lord Blunkett has called on Sir Keir Starmer’s government to consider temporarily suspending parts of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in order to accelerate the deportation of rejected asylum seekers. Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Blunkett said a radical step may be required to address growing public anger over the use of hotels to house more than 32,000 asylum seekers. He argued that suspending…

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering extending the freeze on income tax thresholds as part of efforts to close a looming gap in the public finances, raising the prospect of higher tax bills for millions of workers. Treasury sources said the measure is among the leading options for Reeves’s second budget this autumn. The freeze, first introduced by the Conservatives in 2021 and due to end in 2028, means thresholds rise…

Dozens of demonstrations or protests are expected this weekend outside hotels being used to house asylum seekers, as political and legal battles intensify over the government’s approach. The latest figures show that more than 32,000 asylum seekers are currently accommodated in hotels an 8% increase since Labour came to power, though still below the 2023 peak under the Conservatives. Anti-migrant rallies, alongside counter-protests organised by Stand Up to Racism, are…

The Home Office has scrapped plans to use a Norfolk hotel to house asylum seekers after weeks of controversy and the threat of legal action from the local council. The Park Hotel in Diss, currently accommodating women and children seeking asylum, was earmarked for conversion to accommodate single men. The proposal sparked protests in the town last month and drew sharp criticism from South Norfolk Council, which argued the move…

The Government is considering scrapping compulsory GCSE resits in English and maths, in what could mark the most significant reform to post-16 education in a decade. At present, pupils who fail to achieve a grade 4 (equivalent to a C under the old system) in either subject at 16 are required to resit them if they remain in education. The policy was designed to ensure school leavers met the minimum…

Britain is heading into an autumn of strikes that threaten to disrupt essential services, with industrial action planned across transport, healthcare, and local government. The RMT union confirmed on Thursday that the London Underground will face a week of strikes starting September 5, just as schools reopen and passenger numbers surge. Signallers, engineers, and service control staff will walk out on staggered days, causing severe disruption across the capital. The…

Labour membership a political party in the UK has fallen by nearly 200,000 since Keir Starmer became leader, according to the party’s latest accounts. Despite Labour’s landslide general election victory in July 2024, one in ten members left the party over the course of the year, with 37,215 departing in 2024 alone. Labour’s membership stood at 333,235 at the end of last year, down significantly from its peak of 532,046…

The UK General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results released this week show overall grade stability compared to last year, but also highlight ongoing inequalities in student achievements. As core subjects like english and maths continue to be major hurdles, with this year’s results showing the highest failure rates in a decade for both subjects. There is also a clear divide between school types. Almost half (48.1%) of GCSEs taken…