Greens select nurse and ‘committed local campaigner’ as Makerfield byelection candidate

MP says current system is unfair and his idea would result in a ‘wealth tax that works’UK politics live – latest updatesFormer health secretary Wes Streeting has set out plans for a “wealth tax that works”, by equalising tax on assets and income.Streeting said the current system – in which capital gains tax is generally much lower than income tax – was not fair and penalised work, arguing the taxes should be equalised. Continue reading...

Chancellor wins support from Conservative Mel Stride, while Farage says he’d ‘like to buy man a pint’UK politics live – latest updatesRachel Reeves surprised onlookers when she gave a stern rebuke to a foul-mouthed heckler who shouted at her from his van as she conducted a broadcast interview.However, the chancellor has won support from unlikely sources as Conservative politicians have leapt to her defence. Continue reading...

Budget airline, which took £25m hit on jet fuel in March, says passengers are waiting later to book tripsThe budget airline easyJet has said its summer holiday bookings are lagging behind last year as the Iran war weights on consumer confidence and has left passengers waiting later to book trips.The carrier said it had to spend an unexpected extra £25m on jet fuel in March after the start of the US and Israel’s war on Iran. Continue reading...

Treasury’s Lucy Rigby says Rachel Reeves introduced measures in her first budget as Streeting calls for capital gains rates to be aligned with income taxGood morning. It’s a big day for Rachel Reeves, the chancellor. In a Commons statement, she is announcing a series of measures to help people with the cost of living. She wants people to enjoy a “Great British summer”, she says. Reeves’s plan for what makes for a good summer is not quite the same as Samantha Niblett’s; the chancellor is talking about free bus travel for children, as Heather Stewart, Peter Walker and Sarah Butler report in their preview.Reeves is speaking after 11.30am.We already tax wealth in this country. The chancellor introduced a host of measures in her first budget, and then further measures in the last budget as well, that try and make sure that tax is as progressive and fair as possible. Continue reading...

European state officials are meeting in Prague to discuss the state of the transatlantic alliance at a global security conferenceThe Globsec Forum in Prague is now under way.Czechia’s Pavel is on stage for his opening address. Continue reading...

Ban social media and reform education to tackle scandal of young people not in work or study, says Peter HymanSchools have become a “pipeline” to worklessness for a large cohort of young people in the UK, according to an influential former Labour adviser who has called for urgent action to help a “lost generation”.Peter Hyman, a former adviser to Tony Blair and Keir Starmer, told the Guardian the government should ban social media and enact radical education reform to tackle the “national scandal” of young people who are not in education, employment or training (Neet). Continue reading...

Gerry ‘the monk’ Hutch has won fans in north Dublin byelection campaign with anti-immigrant rhetoricElaine Roe, 61, a cafe worker, has no doubt what is the most important issue in this week’s byelection for Dublin’s north inner city. “The government is wrecking our country, they’re bringing in rapists and murderers and kidnappers. It’s a shame. I might vote Hutch, he seems a normal person.’That would be Gerry “the monk” Hutch, a prominent gangland figure who is running as an independent in an election that is far from normal. The 63-year-old – who was jailed for robbery convictions in his youth – is a celebrity candidate in a contest for a parliamentary seat that has been dominated by xenophobia and immigration. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: Behind the packed stadiums and record revenues lies a growing tension​ of a sport thriving financially while the supporters who built it ​are increasingly ​left behindGood morning. The men’s football season is reaching the sharp end. This week, Arsenal were crowned Premier League champions and last night Aston Villa won the Uefa Europa League. The men’s Fifa World Cup is just around the corner.But fans in England are also at the sharp end: rising prices inside and outside grounds, kick-off times being altered on the whim of TV channels, and a creeping sense that some clubs are desperate to replace the “legacy fan” with a premium-paying “high-yield customer”.UK politics | Andy Burnham is backing Shabana Mahmood’s controversial changes to the immigration system, his allies have said, in a blow to those in Labour who hope to soften them.AI | The Electoral Commission has called for new legal controls over misinformation from AI chatbots, after a thinktank found they had made serious mistakes during the recent Scottish election.Ebola | Doses of a potential vaccine against the Bundibugyo virus that is causing an Ebola outbreak in central Africa will not be available for six to nine months, the World Health Organization said.Middle East | Israel’s far-right national security minister has sparked a diplomatic crisis by publishing footage of Israeli security forces abusing international activists who were detained as they tried to sail to Gaza with aid.UK news | Rainwater harvesting, the use of grey water in homes and an urgent campaign to reduce water usage across society are vital to prevent water shortages of 5bn litres a day by 2055, the government has been told.In the weeks leading up to the World Cup, soccer writer Jonathan Wilson will explain how the tournament became a global phenomenon with cultural, social and political weight that extends far beyond each game. Sign up for the newsletter here. Continue reading...

Without urgent intervention England faces water shortages of 5bn litres a day by 2055, peers tell governmentRainwater harvesting, the use of grey water in homes and an urgent campaign to reduce water usage across society are vital to prevent water shortages of 5bn litres a day by 2055, the government has been told.Without intervention, England will face severe water shortages in the coming decades, as climate change-induced weather patterns, population growth and the expansion of industries such as water-intensive datacentres put excessive demand on supplies and endanger life, according to a House of Lords report published on Thursday.Changes to building regulations to require new homes to achieve a maximum water usage of 105 litres a person a day and accelerated grey water reuse.Nature-based solutions such as restoring peat bogs and reconnecting rivers to their natural flood plains to enhance water retention.An urgent awareness campaign for the whole of society to reduce water usage.A full environmental and economic assessment of drought to weigh the cost of inaction against the value of resilience.The rolling out of nature-based solutions more widely in urban and rural settings. Continue reading...

Flea treatment chemicals fipronil and imidacloprid also implicated in lower cognitive scores in children with autismToxic chemicals found in pet flea treatment are devastating wildlife in rivers, parks and special conservation areas and the government should take urgent action to limit their use, according to a study.Chemicals that are banned for use as pesticides but still used in flea treatments are causing potentially irreversible harm to aquatic life as well as decimating birds and pollinators, according to the study published on Thursday. Continue reading...

British Trust for Ornithology says 2025 breeding season was especially disastrous for warbler species After a mild, wet and stormy winter in the UK, spring 2025 was one of the warmest and driest ever, while the summer was the hottest since records began, most particularly in England and Wales.Good news, you might think, for migratory birds – especially for eight species of warblers that travel here from their winter quarters in Africa. Yet according to data from bird ringers, collated by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), last year’s breeding season was pretty disastrous. Continue reading...