LONDON — Britain’s Conservatives have put down their pitchforks — at least for now. Faced with the near impossible task of appeasing his fractious party eying an expect electoral defeat later this year, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered the most heavily-trailed budget in recent memory. To the surprise of no one, he confirmed a widely reported […]
Category Archives: UK Politics
Welcome to POLITICO’s live coverage of Jeremy Hunt’s high-stakes, last-roll-of-the-dice U.K. Spring Budget. The big tax and spend statement is a chance for Britain’s top finance minister to spray around goodies and convince voters he’s on their side. We’ll get updates on the U.K.’s public finances, plus a whole host of policy tweaks — with […]
LONDON — Rishi Sunak used a hastily arranged address outside No.10 Downing Street Friday night to warn that British democracy faces “intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence” — and took a swipe at Britain’s newly elected pro-Palestinian MP George Galloway. In a speech calling for more tolerance in politics after weeks of heightened tensions, […]
LONDON — Britain has a shiny new member of Parliament. He’s a familiar — and controversial — face. George Galloway, a former Labour MP who has been a repeated thorn in his old party’s side, will sit in the House of Commons as the sole representative of the far-left Workers Party of Britain, after storming […]
Listen on Spotify Apple Music Google Play Acast By now, surely everyone in Westminster knows how to get ready for government — but have enough considered how to prepare for opposition? In this week’s episode, host Aggie Chambre tackles the conundrum of how to prepare for the one job in politics no one wants. She […]
LONDON — British police have dropped their investigation into a senior member of parliament over an allegation of serious sexual assault. Julian Knight was elected as a Conservative member of parliament in 2015, but he was stripped of the party whip in 2022 after being reported to the Metropolitan Police over the allegation. The Essex […]
LONDON — Liz Truss’ latest big idea to save Britain is to rope in Nigel Farage. Not everyone is convinced. Speaking in the United States last week, Britain’s shortest-lived prime minister suggested Britain’s Mr. Brexit — once a thorn in Tory sides — should be brought into the fold to “help turn our country around.” Her […]
DUBLIN – The U.K. government’s plans to give conditional immunity to killers from Northern Ireland’s Troubles-era conflict would flout the fundamentals of European human rights law, a Belfast judge ruled Wednesday in support of victims challenging the law. Justice Adrian Colton’s judgment deals a blow to the core concept of the Legacy Act, which became […]
LONDON — Prince Harry lost his fight with the British government over the stripping back of his taxpayer-funded security protection. King Charles III’s youngest son, also known as the Duke of Sussex, had been challenging a decision to downgrade his security detail when on British soil after he resigned from his royal duties and moved […]
Prime minister’s questions: a shouty, jeery, very occasionally useful advert for British politics. Here’s what you need to know from the latest session in POLITICO’s weekly run-through. What’s going on: Wednesday’s shouting match, sorry, debate comes on the eve of the Rochdale by-election — where Labour have had to withdraw their own candidate amid a […]