UK News

Andy Burnham will promise to be “unashamedly Labour” when he officially becomes the party’s leader on Friday before taking over from Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister next week. He will say in a speech that his government will have the “courage to fix the big things that politics has neglected” and the “conviction to argue for our plans”. The former Greater Manchester mayor, who returned to Westminster last month […]

The UK could be heading for a bumper butterfly season – and even a “painted lady summer” – conservationists say as they urge people to join a national count for the insects. Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation said that a warm, dry spring this year has raised hopes that butterflies could be out in force this summer. But it wants members of the public to join its annual Big Butterfly Count, […]

Vacancies for delivery drivers and couriers, actors, entertainers and presenters, and pest control officers showed the biggest increase in recent weeks, research suggests. There were a total of 1.7 million job adverts in June, a 9% increase on May and 11% up on a year ago, said the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (Rec). The biggest increases last month were in areas including Anglesey, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and […]

Workers are being exposed to higher prices, threatening a renewed cost-of-living squeeze, according to a report. The Work Foundation said households face rising energy bills, stalling wage growth and a weakening labour market. Its survey of 1,000 senior business leaders found just over one in five employers are planning to provide pay rises above inflation this year. Higher energy and fuel costs, driven by ongoing instability in the Middle East, […]

Around four out of every 100 obese people are likely to be unemployed solely because of their body weight, analysis suggests. The impact of obesity on employment was also stronger in men than women. Experts called for a “targeted and nuanced approach to tackling the negative effects of obesity on employment” to reduce “substantial economic losses”. For the study, researchers at the University of York analysed data from 284,258 UK […]

Teenagers should be offered a vaccine on the NHS to protect against deadly meningitis B (menB), Government advisers have recommended. The move from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which needs approval from the Government, means youngsters should get a jab around the age of 15, with catch-up programmes for those who would otherwise miss out. It comes after a series of outbreaks of meningitis, with the most serious […]

The UK’s support for Ukraine “will not waver” and the change in prime minister will not “change that dynamic,” Sir Keir Starmer has said on his final visit to Kyiv while in office. The outgoing Prime Minister met Volodymyr Zelensky in the Ukrainian capital on Thursday just hours after a series of Russian strikes that killed two and injured six, including a teenager. Sir Keir’s visit comes on his final […]

Downing Street has backed calls for Fifa to investigate whether Argentina players broke rules by brandishing a banner in support of their country’s claim to the Falkland Islands at the World Cup. No 10 echoed remarks made earlier by Business Secretary Peter Kyle, who said the governing body should “thoroughly” probe the behaviour of the defending champions after they beat England 2-1 in Wednesday’s match in Atlanta. “The World Cup […]

Prime minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham is set to become the Labour leader on Friday after he was backed by trade unions linked to the party. The former Greater Manchester mayor’s premiership has already been confirmed after he received the backing of 369 of the party’s 403 MPs, making it mathematically impossible for a rival to enter the contest. Under Labour rules, candidates need the backing of 81 MPs to stand in […]