UK politics

UK politics

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Perkins said: The government's target to build 1.5m homes by the end of this parliament is incredibly ambitious. Achieving it alongside our existing targets on climate and sustainability which are set in law will require effort on a scale not seen before. That certainly will not be achieved by scapegoating nature, claiming that it is a blocker' to housing delivery. We are clear in our report: a healthy environment is essential to building resilient towns and cities. It must not be sidelined.

PA Media People granted asylum in the UK will have to wait 20 years before they can apply to settle permanently, under plans due to be announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Monday. The major shake-up to asylum policy comes as the government seeks to reduce small boat crossings and asylum claims. Under the plans, people who are granted asylum will only be allowed to stay in the country temporarily, with their refugee status regularly reviewed and those whose home countries are then deemed safe told to return.

While an element of despair is forgivable, it is imperative that the plan be given a chance to work - not least as it's the only game in town. For it to fall flat again is too horrific to contemplate. It has encouraging elements, including the recognition of the need for increased infrastructure investment to support new developments. If ministers are serious about providing a "clear and robust framework" for construction, all the better.

Hotels housing asylum seekers became a lightning rod this summer for political and community tensions over illegal migration, and over the dramatic increase in the number of migrants arriving in Britain on small boats. Large numbers of people are still being housed in these hotels, though the government has promised to end the practice by the end of this parliament, in 2029.

The contrarian with an audience of millions and a father from Offaly on why he thinks wokeism can be a form of fascism

E-bikes have boomed and they are a convenient way for people to get around, but legislation is lagging behind,

The truth is that without securing higher, sustained economic growth, reconnecting people and politics, generating trust in the potential of democracy and importance of good government becomes almost impossible. And the appeal of the parties of the far right with their dogma of disruption, division and despair it becomes, too, alluring. Kyle added: We see it today with Reform, just as we did in previous times with the National Front and the British National party.

Stamp duty is a way to siphon off some of the gains when a property transaction goes through. Capital gains tax allows the state to take a slice of wealth after a sale. Never mind that both taxes deter people from buying and selling. It allows everyone to avoid the clearer, fairer annual tax on wealth that many economists support.

Heightened security measures were introduced in the Commons after the phone was found. Audio and guided tours were cancelled and there was reduced access to the Commons chamber. The House of Lords took the same decision to reduce access to the Lords Chamber as a precautionary measure. Enquiries remain ongoing and we continue to keep the speaker and clerk of the house up to date with our investigation, the spokesperson said.

Youth unemployment is at the highest level since the Covid pandemic, as younger people bear the brunt of a worsening slowdown in the UK jobs market. Excluding the peak recorded during the autumn of 2020, when the country was entering the second pandemic lockdown, the jobless rate for 16 to 24-year-olds running at 15.3% is at the highest level in a decade.

A major redevelopment which will see more than 2,500 homes built on a former gasworks site in west London has been approved. Kensal Canalside Opportunity Area will see 500 classed as affordable with 342 at social rent and 158 at an intermediate rate. Although below Kensington and Chelsea Council's 35.7% target, officers said it was the maximum viable level.

The last decade in British politics has been marked by instability and fragmentation, with six prime ministers in ten years, and Nigel Farage's Reform party now leading in the polls. A study this month from King's College London and Ipsos found that 84 percent of people now say the UK feels divided, up from 74 percent in 2020. Polling on voter intention shows a fracturing of the political landscape as people abandon two-party politics

Hussain's resignation comes only hours after he signed a joint statement criticising Zarah Sultana, a fellow founder of Your Party, for transferring 200,000 from a reported 800,000 at the centre of major split in the party. In his letter, Hussain said he had believed he was signing up to "building a political home with mass appeal" and "a force capable of challenging the rise of far-right rhetoric".

Peers have called for more time to debate legislation which would introduce assisted dying in England and Wales, as the bill makes slow progress through the House of Lords. More than 900 changes have been proposed by peers, which experts believe is a record number for a piece of legislation put forward by a backbench MP. Supporters of the bill have raised concerns that the volume of amendments put forward is a delaying tactic and claimed there are deliberate attempts to stall its progress.

If it isn't you, then it's probably your neighbour, your friend, your elderly parent; trapped in an anxious, miserable limbo for months longer than they should have been, getting passed from pillar to post. The only thing we don't all know about waiting lists, it turns out, is that actually they're coming down. Barely a quarter of Britons knew waiting lists had fallen in Labour's first year in power, according to recent polling for the Health Foundation thinktank in September:

The Government has confirmed that Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) will be scrapped, with ministers claiming the move will save at least £100 million that can instead be channelled into frontline policing, artificial intelligence and cybercrime capability. The announcement forms part of a wide-reaching overhaul of policing in England and Wales aimed at raising national standards, improving performance monitoring and ending what ministers have described as a "postcode lottery" in crime outcomes.