Steve Reed, the newly appointed Housing Secretary, has vowed to launch one of the most ambitious housebuilding drives in UK history, pledging to pull every lever to meet Labour’s target of building 1.5 million homes during this Parliament. In his first meeting with civil servants since taking over from Angela Rayner, Reed declared his mantra would be build, baby, build, signalling a proactive approach to tackling the country’s worsening housing…

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has unveiled plans to boost the UK economy by creating thousands of new jobs in the defence sector, as part of a broader strategy to drive national growth. Defence Secretary John Healey is set to launch the Government’s new Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) on Monday, backed by an initial £250 million investment. Central to the plan are new defence growth deals to be rolled out…

Emily Thornberry, member of parliament of the United Kingdom, is preparing to run for Labour’s deputy leadership, setting up a possible challenge to Sir Keir Starmer’s authority. Thornberry, who was left out of Starmer’s Cabinet despite serving as shadow attorney general in opposition, said the role needs someone with skills and experience. She accused the Prime Minister of becoming isolated and failing to listen to MPs. Her move follows Angela Rayner’s…

The United Kingdom government is considering ways to limit how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is applied, in an effort to toughen its stance on illegal immigration. Defence Secretary, John Healey said ministers want to tighten the interpretation of the ECHR, especially rules linked to family life, which are often used to stop deportations. The move comes after Shabana Mahmood became Home Secretary in a reshuffle following Angela…

Migrants currently housed in United Kingdom (UK) hotels will soon be moved into military barracks under plans due to be announced within weeks.

At 15:00 BST, millions of phones across the UK will sound a loud siren and vibrate for about 10 seconds as part of a national emergency alert test. The alerts are designed to warn people of life-threatening events like severe weather or terror attacks. Messages will appear on compatible 4G and 5G phones, but not if devices are off, on airplane mode, or only connected to Wi-Fi. Work and Pensions…

Keir Starmer has tightened his grip on government with a sweeping reshuffle of junior ministers, a move that has sidelined key union allies and fuelled fears over the future of Labour’s flagship workers’ rights package.

By Eniola Amadu  A federal judge in California has ruled that the Donald Trump administration acted unlawfully in attempting to end temporary legal protections for more than 1 million people from Haiti and Venezuela who have been living and working in the United States under a humanitarian program. The decision, issued by US district judge Edward Chen in San Francisco, preserves the immigration status of roughly 600,000 Venezuelans whose protections…

By Eniola Amadu  Former US president Joe Biden has begun the process of building his presidential library in his home state of Delaware, setting up a governance board of former aides, allies and longtime friends to spearhead fundraising and planning for the legacy project. The Joe and Jill Biden Foundation last week approved a 13-member board that will steer the effort. Among them are former secretary of state Antony Blinken,…

By Eniola Amadu Former US Surgeon General Jerome Adams has urged President Donald Trump to dismiss Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, warning that his vaccine policies are “endangering America” and undermining public health. In an interview with CNN on Saturday, Adams, who served as surgeon general under Trump from 2017 to 2021, said Kennedy’s restrictions on access to Covid-19 vaccines threatened lives and placed minority communities at particular risk.…

By Eniola Amadu Labour’s largest union backer has warned that Keir Starmer is at risk of pushing workers towards Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, accusing the party of failing to protect oil and gas jobs and of watering down key pledges on employment rights. Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, said Labour’s retreat on plans to ban exploitative zero-hours contracts and “fire-and-rehire” practices had left many voters feeling “duped.” Speaking ahead…

Lucy Connolly is set to speak on the final day of the Reform UK party conference in Birmingham. The 42-year-old childminder was released from prison last month after serving part of a 31-month sentence believed to be the longest handed down in Britain for a single social media post. She had pleaded guilty after posting a comment in the aftermath of the Southport attack which wrongly claimed the killer, Axel…