Author: News Desk

British troops should join post-war peacekeeping force in Ukraine, former defence ministers say Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to raise the issue during Keir Starmer’s upcoming trip to Kyiv Two former UK defence secretaries have joined calls for British troops to form part of a peacekeeping force in a post-war Ukraine. Boris Johnson, who was prime minister when Vladimir Putin launched Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, is among those to have recently suggested that British troops should form part of a European force sent to guard Ukraine’s border under any future ceasefire with Russia. France’s Emmanuel Macron reportedly travelled to…

Reeves returns from China to new crisis in top UK business confidence amid economic woes  A survey by Deloitte of the chief finance officers of major companies has revealed that business confidence is at one of its lowest points since the Covid-19 pandemic Rachel Reeves is flying back from China to London facing a new serious warning as Deloitte reported that business bosses’ confidence is at one of its lowest points since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. After suffering a barrage of criticism for going ahead with her controversial trip to China, the chancellor is being told that her management…

UK to go ‘all-in’ on AI as Starmer throws weight of Whitehall behind technology Sir Keir Starmer will throw the weight of Whitehall fully behind AI in a bid to boost growth. The Prime Minister is set to unveil his Government’s AI Opportunity Action Plan on Monday as he seeks to make Britain a world leader in the sector. He said: “The AI industry needs a Government that is on their side, one that won’t sit back and let opportunities slip through its fingers. “And in a world of fierce competition, we cannot stand by. We must move fast and…

How Farage lost the Brexit Party and why it means Reform is not inevitable Nigel Farage has lost the rights to the Brexit Party name in an apparent admin slip – the party he led to victory in the last ever European elections in the UK, effectively took out Theresa May’s premiership and ensured Britain would leave the EU. He may not care now that he leads its successor party Reform UK but it is a rare symbolic loss for a man whose ascendancy currently appears to be inevitable. The story of how he snatched the Brexit Party name from…

Senior Labour politician questions Elon Musk’s ‘reluctance’ to appear before MPs in parliament  Chair of parliament’s technology committee invited Elon Musk in December to give evidence before MPs A senior Labour MP has questioned Elon Musk’s apparent “reluctance” to appear before MPs in parliament despite the billionaire’s barrage of interventions on UK politics using his social media site X. The House of Commons technology committee invited the world’s richest man in December to give evidence in parliament as part of its inquiry into the role of social media and misinformation in fuelling the summer riots that erupted in the wake…

Former minister ‘asked army chief to resign over national security incident’ General Sir Gwyn Jenkins is considered a frontrunner for the post of next chief of defence staff A former minister suggested that the most senior chiefs in the British military should resign over a “national security” incident that occurred under the Conservative government, it has been reported. General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, who was vice-chief of the defence staff at the time, was reportedly asked by a Tory minister whether or not he or Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the head of the armed forces, would take the fall for the…

Voices: Are you worried about the private sector’s role in the NHS? Join The Independent Debate  Jeremy Corbyn’s criticism of Labour’s NHS plans has reignited debate over the role of private healthcare in the public system. Jeremy Corbyn’s critique of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s healthcare policies has reignited debate about the future of the NHS. In an article for The Independent, the former Labour leader accused Starmer of “betraying” the NHS by expanding the private sector’s role, a move he warns will “hollow out” the public health service. Corbyn claimed this approach undermines the NHS’s founding principle of universal,…

Nurse in critical condition after Stabbing at hospital A&E A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a nurse was seriously injured in a stabbing at Royal Oldham Hospital’s A&E department. The nurse, a woman in her 50s, was left in a critical condition after being stabbed by a member of the public at about 11.30pm on Saturday, Greater Manchester Police said. The attack was carried out with a bladed article or sharp instrument which was not a knife and nurse remains in hospital after suffering life-changing injuries. A 37-year-old man was arrested at the scene on…

Starmer accused of being ‘asleep at the wheel’ as A&E waits up 400-fold in a decade The Labour government has been accused of being “asleep at the wheel” as new data has shown that there were a record 518,000 waits of 12 hours or longer in A&E last year. The figure, produced by the Liberal Democrats, is nearly 400-times higher than 2015’s figure of 1,306. The data shows that the number of 12-hour waits, recorded from the point of admission, has increased by more than 100,000 on 2023’s figure of 415,000 – a 25 per cent jump. Prior to the…

How much the average house seller made last year compared to when they bought The average house seller in England and Wales last year sold for £91,820 more than they had originally paid for their property. That’s according to the latest analysis. In percentage terms, the average seller made a 42% gross profit, which was the lowest return since at least 2015, when records started. On average, sellers had owned their property for just under nine years. In cash terms, the average gross profit made by sellers in 2024 was £10,830 lower than 2023 and down from a peak of…