UK News

Major departmental spending cuts are coming down the line to pay for the Government’s policies at next year’s spending review, John Healey has indicated. Major departmental spending cuts are coming down the line to pay for the Government’s policies at next year’s spending review, John Healey has indicated. The Chancellor warned that the UK faces more “hard decisions” about its spending priorities in the coming years, after delivering his first […]

Age checks could “significantly” enforce plans to ban under-16s from social media, but some children will find ways around the measures, Ofcom has warned. The regulator published an assessment on Thursday on how social media firms could reliably restrict access to adult or harmful content or addictive apps. Ofcom identified four methods that could be “highly effective” at checking whether users are 16 or older: banking checks, photo ID, digital […]

John Healey has denied postponing difficult decisions on the welfare system, insisting the Government is making changes “now”. The Chancellor’s Budget has faced criticism for not dealing with the ballooning cost of welfare, including from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who said the country is “drowning in an out-of-control welfare system”. The influential Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank warned the Budget delayed tough decisions. Speaking to GB News, Mr Healey […]

Douglas Stuart’s Booker Prize-nominated novel John Of John is among the books shortlisted for Waterstones Book Of The Year 2026. The Shuggie Bain author will face competition from Patrick Radden Keefe’s London Falling, which is shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for non-fiction. They join a 20-book shortlist that also includes fellow Booker-nominated novels The Things We Never Said by Elizabeth Strout and May We Feed The King by Rebecca […]

A new report has highlighted “substantial geographical variation” in prescribing of drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro on the NHS in Scotland. The first study of its kind by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) found that while there had been “strong growth in NHS prescribing” of such drugs, there were differences between health boards which could not fully be explained by patient need. GLP-1 and GIP/GLP-1 drugs […]

Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick and captain Bruno Fernandes have held clear-the-air talks. The Press Association understands Carrick and Fernandes met at United’s Carrington training ground for talks that were separate to a wider meeting of the full squad to discuss a way forward from their current predicament. Fernandes appeared to question Carrick’s tactics in the wake of last week’s 4-1 Champions League loss to Como, and was dropped […]

The Government will aim to spend 3% of economic output on defence by 2030, and will plot a course for the target at next year’s spending review, John Healey has said. Work is under way to reach the target – and Britain’s promise to Nato to spend 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035 – in a “fiscally sustainable way”, the Chancellor said, indicating that raising defence spending further could […]

John Healey has set out his first Budget as Chancellor with a bid to provide “breathing space” for the public amid a difficult domestic economic situation made worse by the turmoil of the Iran war. John Healey has set out his first Budget as Chancellor with a bid to provide “breathing space” for the public amid a difficult domestic economic situation made worse by the turmoil of the Iran war. […]

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson has been convicted of harassing two journalists and causing them to fear violence. The 43-year-old, who told his trial his full name is Stephen Lennon, was labelled a “bully” by prosecutors after freelance reporter Andrew Young and Daily Mail editor Jacob Dirnhuber felt forced to either leave their homes or employ extra security for fear of a “vigilante” attack. Jurors at Southwark Crown Court took 11 […]