#uk-politics

#uk-politics

"If you take a look at London, you have a mayor named Khan. He's a horrible mayor, Trump said in the interview at the White House. He's an incompetent mayor, but he's a horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor.' I think he's done a terrible job. London's a different place. I love London, the US President said, adding: And I hate to see it happen. My roots are in Europe, as you know."

Nick Thomas Symonds, the minister in charge of EU negotiations, was promoted to full cabinet rank. The Welshman, a close ally of Starmer, will be an advocate of a closer relationship with the EU when ministers meet. But, a source close to the prime minister said, he isn't going to bang the cabinet table and say it's customs union or bust. If that happens, it has to come from Keir himself.

This is a scandalous attempt to subvert democracy by a Labour government whose credibility and popularity are already in tatters. The Conservatives firmly oppose this decision to delay the mayoral elections, especially when candidates have been selected and campaigning is well underway. Democracy is being denied yet again after the council elections cancelled by Labour this year. There is no credible justification for this move. The Labour Government must reverse it immediately.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

Rail fares in England will not be increased in 2026, the government has announced, surprising passengers with the first fare freeze in 30 years. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will confirm a freeze on fares in this week's budget, a move designed to limit inflation, ease the cost of living and support economic growth. Reeves and the prime minister, Keir Starmer, are hoping that measures such as freezing train fares and a package of support for energy bills will help mitigate the political fallout of several expected tax increases.

Cast your mind forward to a year from now. It's more than likely that prime minister's questions will look very different. A change of cast. If not a change of fortune. Keir Starmer may not even make it much further than the end of May. The budget chaos and No 10's curious briefings against itself have left many Labour MPs in despair.

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".

Asian markets closed out the week on a negative footing, as the tech-sector rout from Wall Street spilled across the globe. Meanwhile, a raft of concerning data points out of China saw weak retail sales, industrial production, and home price figures. This had a particular impact on tech-focused consumer firms such as Alibaba and JD.com. The weakness in both consumer and business indicators signalled a need to be cautious in the region.

Peter Mandelson, who was sacked as the UK's ambassador to Washington over his association with Jeffrey Epstein, was in contact with the pedophile financier as late as 2016, new emails have revealed. Mandelson was sacked in September over leaked emails in which he expressed his support for Epstein and urged him to fight for early release in 2008 while the disgraced financier was facing charges of soliciting sex from minors.

Local government minister Alison McGovern, on the morning media round for the government, said the BBC should say sorry to Mr Trump for the splicing together of clips of his speech which made it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to "fight like hell", omitting a section about peaceful protest.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

Rachel Reeves has said she put the public finances on a firm footing at the last budget - but argued that, since then, "the world has thrown even more challenges our way". The chancellor has once again left the blame at the door of the previous government, pointing to "Liz Truss's disastrous mini budget and the 22 billion pound black hole in the public finances". She also pointed to Donald Trump's tariffs and the demand for increased defence spending as she set the stage for sweeping tax rises expected in three weeks time.

"working people"