-
First serving PM finishes Great North Run in under two hours
Andy Burnham has become the first serving Prime Minister to run the Great North Run, taking part in the world’s biggest half marathon alongside 63,000 other competitors. The 56-year-old completed the 13.1-mile route from Newcastle upon Tyne to South Shields in 1hr 57min on Sunday, having previously run the race in 2021 before becoming Prime…
-
Labor minister Anika Wells confirms she will attend this years’ AFL Grand Final after her expenses scandal rocked the Albanese government
Australian Communications and Sports Minister Anika Wells has confirmed she will attend this year’s AFL Grand Final, despite an expenses scandal that saw her ordered to repay taxpayer-funded travel costs. Speaking on ABC’s Insiders, Wells defended her attendance at major sporting fixtures, arguing they are essential opportunities to meet stakeholders from the sport and broadcasting…
-
Labour’s ‘blunt’ drive to treat social class discrimination like racism and sexism is a ‘mistake’ says head of scrapped social mobility body
The chairman of the Social Mobility Commission, Alun Francis, has criticised Labour’s plan to treat class discrimination on a par with racism and sexism, calling the approach a “mistake” as the body he leads is scrapped. Equalities minister Bridget Phillipson last week announced a new dedicated unit to tackle class inequality, to sit within the…
-
‘Incoherent’ Donald Trump should back Britain in the face of Argentina’s plan for ‘colonial takeover’ of the Falklands says top Tory Tugendhat
Shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat has criticised Donald Trump as “incoherent” and “erratic” after the US president questioned whether British forces would be willing to defend the Falkland Islands against a potential Argentine attack. Trump made the comments while visiting Dublin, suggesting UK troops might be deterred by the long sea journey to the islands,…
-
The perilous economic conditions facing the UK can be traced back to Trump | Richard Partington
As chancellor John Healey prepares his autumn budget, the article argues that the difficult economic conditions he faces largely stem from Donald Trump’s policies and actions in the US. The US-Israel war on Iran has driven up oil and gas prices, fuelling inflation and a global bond market selloff, while Trump’s tariffs are hitting British…
-
‘Really helpful’: the AI bootcamps aimed at addressing UK youth unemployment
A pilot scheme in Preston is offering “AI bootcamps” to young people who are not in education, employment or training (Neets), aiming to tackle youth unemployment by equipping them with skills employers increasingly want. The three-week, taxpayer-funded course teaches participants how to build AI tools, understand business applications of the technology, and use it responsibly,…
-
Support for rejoining EU after Brexit at an all-time high, says leading pollster
Sir John Curtice, the UK’s leading polling expert, says support for rejoining the European Union has reached its highest level since the 2016 Brexit referendum, but he warns that politicians must actively make the case for closer EU ties or the shift in public opinion could stall. Speaking exclusively to The Independent as part of…
-
Reform’s £72m crypto windfall and Burnham’s Starmer split lead a turbulent day for Labour and BBC’s Today
Farage hails record Reform UK donations as new PM Andy Burnham reportedly plans a break from Starmer’s legacy; elsewhere, Emma Barnett quits Radio 4’s Today, a Saudi pipeline shuts after Houthi drone strikes, and Arsenal’s Arteta slams a “unacceptable” penalty call.
-
Swedish voters go to polls to choose a new parliament as hard right bids for role in government
Voters in Sweden go to the polls on Sunday in an election that will decide whether centre-right Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wins a second term, with the possibility that the hard-right Sweden Democrats gain Cabinet posts for the first time, or whether the centre-left Social Democrats return to power under former prime minister Magdalena Andersson.…
-
‘It’s cost upon cost for working families – they get no help’
A charity in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s successor John Healey’s Rotherham and Doncaster constituency says working families who earn just above the threshold for benefits are struggling with the cost of living and receiving little support. Staff at Activate Rawmarsh say these families miss out on schemes such as free school meals and subsidised holiday clubs,…