NSW follows Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia in offering free treatments for kids four and under, saving up to $70Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHundreds of thousands of children will be able to access a painless, needle-free flu vaccination for free as governments attempt to curb falling vaccine rates.New South Wales has become the latest state to offer a nasal spray flu vaccine to children for free, following Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Starmer urged to go further with exemptions if he wants to avoid widespread anger from his own MPsA number of ministers concerned about Shabana Mahmood’s immigration changes are working behind the scenes with backbenchers to secure more exemptions, the Guardian has learned.Keir Starmer is consulting on the proposed changes, which would make it harder to achieve settled status in the UK, and is under pressure from within his own party to say the measures should not apply to people who have already entered the UK. Continue reading...
Government in February approved an average premium increase of 4.41% from today. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia contributing to offensive action in Strait of Hormuz ‘in national interest’, says shadow foreign ministerThe opposition says we should be “open” to sending assets and personnel to open up the Strait of Hormuz, but questioned Australia’s capability.The key question is, is it in our national interest? And my view is yes, it is. The second question is, what can we contribute in a material sense, that part of the equation we are yet to understand? And I think they’re the two questions that need to be answered … but I believe we should be open to making contribution. Continue reading...
Louis Mosley says government should resist calls to trigger break clause in £330m deal with US analytics companyUK politics live – latest updatesPalantir’s UK boss has urged the government not to give in to “ideologically motivated campaigners” as government ministers explore a way out of a £330m NHS contract with the tech company.Ministers have sought advice on triggering a break clause in Palantir’s deal to deliver the Federated Data Platform (FDP), amid questions over the company’s presence in the public sector. Continue reading...
Delegation marks four years since liberation of town as EU focus returns to Ukraine amid Iran war falloutSeveral EU ministers are expected in Bucha, Ukraine, today to mark the fourth anniversary of the town’s liberation and the massacre that became one of the early symbols of the Russian aggression against Ukraine.The anniversary marks a rare moment in recent weeks when the EU’s attention focuses back on Ukraine amid growing concerns about fallout from the Iran war. The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, leads the delegation.“The scale of Russian atrocities in the course of its aggression is unseen on European soil since WWII. The crime of aggression is the root cause of them all. There must be accountability and there will be no amnesty for Russian criminals, including the highest political and military leadership of the Russian Federation.” Continue reading...
• G7 foreign ministers have rejected US President Trump's request to send troops to protect shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, citing concerns about escalation into a broader conflict with Iran.
• The group of seven nations stated they would only assist with securing the critical energy export passage once hostilities with Iran conclude, and condemned Iran's closure of the strait as affecting non-combatant countries.
• Trump has publicly criticized European and NATO allies for refusing to establish the mission, suggesting their participation should not be conditioned on ceasefire negotiations.
Olivia Bailey says she wants Sure Start-style hubs that will be rolled out in England on Monday to be inclusive for allReform UK’s “pro-family” policies are a sham and exclude non-traditional families, the government’s early years minister has said before the rollout of hundreds of new Sure Start-style family centres across England on Monday.Olivia Bailey said she wanted the hubs to be inclusive for all families and transform communities, after what she called the “criminal” dismantling of Sure Start under the last Conservative government. Continue reading...
• G7 foreign ministers rejected US President Donald Trump's push to deploy troops for securing the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran conflict, stating assistance only after hostilities end.
• French Foreign Minister Jeanuel Baru condemned Iran's closure of the strait, impacting non-conflicting countries, while Trump criticized European and NATO allies for hesitation.
• The decision highlights transatlantic tensions over escalation risks in the energy chokepoint vital for global oil exports.
At least 77 people killed in anti-corruption youth uprising in September, which began over a brief social media banNepal’s former prime minister, KP Sharma Oli, was taken into custody on Saturday as police investigate whether he was negligent in failing to prevent dozens of deaths during Gen Z protests last September.This week, a Nepali panel which investigated violence during the anti-corruption protests recommended that Oli, 74, be prosecuted for failing to prevent the crackdown on the protests. Continue reading...
Campaigner criticises ‘shortsighted and self-defeating’ decision and says it increases risk to the UK publicThe polio virus was detected in London sewage for the second time this year, days before ministers withdrew funding for global polio eradication efforts.Its detection reveals the spending cuts to be “shortsighted and self-defeating”, campaigners said. Polio is an extremely infectious viral disease, which typically affects young children under-five. It can cause paralysis by damaging nerves in the spine and base of the brain, and can be life-threatening if it affects muscles used for breathing. Continue reading...
Allan Leighton predicts food prices will inevitably rise as group’s full-year profits dive by a third to £764mAsda’s executive chair has called on the government to “stand up and start doing stuff” to support farmers and ease the price of fuel as he warned that food prices would inevitably rise as a result of the conflict in the Middle East.Allan Leighton said farmers were under pressure but the supermarket had so far received “a trickle of requests not an avalanche” of cost price increases from its suppliers, as they were under pressure from higher fertiliser, energy and fuel costs. Continue reading...
Liz Kendall urged by online safety figures to hand job to Jeremy Wright ahead of Labour grandee Margaret HodgeMinisters are facing pressure to appoint a former Conservative cabinet minister as the new chair of the media regulator Ofcom, as he battles for the job against a Labour peer.The job of running the regulator has become a key post in public life, as concern over online content has grown rapidly, alongside the rise of more politically partisan broadcasting. No successor has yet been named to replace Michael Grade, the former BBC chair who has just weeks left in the job. Continue reading...
Investigative reporter Szabolcs Panyi covered story alleging foreign minister had passed information to Sergei LavrovThe Hungarian government has filed charges against one of the country’s most prominent investigative journalists, accusing him of spying for Ukraine, as officials grapple with the fallout of allegations that Budapest shared confidential EU information with Moscow.The claims of espionage cap off a tumultuous week in Hungarian politics, in which relations with the EU plummeted to new lows and polls suggested that Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party is still lagging behind in support before next month’s election. Continue reading...
Move is part of £27bn five-year investment plan for A-roads and motorways, with almost a third going on work such as resurfacingMinisters have pledged to spend record amounts on road maintenance as part of a £27bn five-year investment plan for England’s major roads and motorways.The government said it was aiming to “fix the foundations” with almost a third, £8.4bn, of the spending going on maintenance, including resurfacing a quarter of England’s strategic road network. Continue reading...
Government says proposed levy for international tourists is part of initiative to improve arts fundingMinisters are considering charging international tourists to access permanent collections at national museums as part of an initiative to improve arts funding.The government said there was a need for long-term options to fund the struggling arts sector in its response to a review of Arts Council England, which distributes public funding to the arts. Among the options cited was a hotel levy, a policy being consulted on. Continue reading...
Giorgia Meloni made public request for Daniela Santanchè to quit in effort to restore credibility after voters rejected judicial reformItaly’s embattled tourism minister has resigned, heeding a call from Giorgia Meloni to step down as the prime minister strives to restore credibility after a bruising defeat in a referendum that has thrown her far-right government into turmoil.The resignation on Wednesday of Daniela Santanchè, a prominent and brash member of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, came after the prime minister took the unusual step of calling in a public statement for the minister to go. Continue reading...
Former MP appears at Westminster magistrates court to admit four drugs charges stemming from raid on his homeThe former MP Crispin Blunt has pleaded guilty at Westminster magistrates court to four charges of possession of drugs including cannabis and crystal meth.The 65-year-old former justice minister appeared at Westminster magistrates’ court on Wednesday to admit four drugs charges, which stem from a raid on his home in Horley, Surrey, on October 25 2023. Continue reading...
Ed Miliband insists only clean power will provide ‘energy sovereignty’ amid opposition calls for oil and gas expansionUK politics live – latest updatesMinisters have said expanding North Sea drilling would put the UK at further risk of volatile fossil fuel markets, amid calls from the Conservatives and some Labour MPs to breach the manifesto pledge of no new oil and gas licences.The energy minister, Michael Shanks, said the UK was “learning the right lessons from this conflict so that we’re not exposed to fossil fuels in the same way again, because this isn’t the first time that households across the country have paid the price of our exposure to gas”. Continue reading...
Energy minister Michael Shanks reassures drivers ahead of chancellor’s statement to MPsGood morning. At lunchtime Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, will give a statement to MPs that will cover what the government is doing, and (more tentatively) might do, in response to the soaring global energy prices caused by the Iran war. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, also creating a global energy shortage, the Conservative government ended up spending £40bn supporting families and firms with energy bills over the following winter. Reeves’s problem is that she has not got £40bn spare. With spring upon us, and people starting to turn down their central heating, the issue may not seem particularly pressing in many households (although heating oil and petrol prices are already soaring.) But, by the end of this year, this could be the sort of colossal economic crisis that gets remembered for half a century.As Chris Mason explains in a good preview, Reeves is expected to cover three points. She is expected to confirm that the government wants to give the Competition and Markets Authority new powers to deal with any potention profiteering by oil companies. She will confirm that the government wants to go “further and faster to secure the next generation of nuclear power and to reclaim Britain’s place as a leading nuclear nation” (as the Treasury puts it in its overnight preview).[Drivers] should do everything as absolutely normal because there is no shortage of fuel anywhere in the country at the moment. We monitor this every single day, I look at the numbers personally. There’s no issue at all with that …People should go about their business as normal. That’s what the RAC and the AA have said. It’s really important people do that. There’s no shortage of fuel and everything is working as normal.Look genuinely, people shouldn’t change their behaviour or their habits in the slightest. Continue reading...
Government emphasises need to ‘get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets’ in response to Offshore Energies UKThe UK government has dismissed a warning from an energy trade body that failing to produce more homegrown North Sea oil and gas will leave the UK increasingly reliant on imports at a time of rising global instability.The industry group, Offshore Energies UK, has said the UK “urgently” needs a greater supply of domestically produced energy or consumers will be left “more exposed to global volatility and higher emissions”. Continue reading...
Homes built from March 2028 will produce 75% less greenhouse gas emissions than those built to 2013 standardBuyers of new homes are likely to be shackled to high gas prices for years to come, as the government has delayed bringing into force new regulations on low-carbon housing.Most newly built homes will come equipped with solar panels and heat pumps from March 2028, according to updated regulations for England called the “future homes standard” (FHS), but the government has relented on plans for more stringent rules under pressure from housebuilders. Continue reading...
Company will assess whether drop to 186mph from 224mph will save money and help bring forward launchMinisters have told High Speed Two to consider running its trains at lower speeds, in an attempt to rein in the spiralling budget and begin operations as soon as possible.HS2 Ltd will assess whether limiting the speed to 186mph (300km/h) instead of 224mph could save money – potentially billions of pounds – and bring the railway into being earlier in the 2030s. Continue reading...
Programme is being billed as the most ambitious housebuilding project in England for half a centuryMinisters have confirmed the locations for seven new towns, which include under-developed inner-city land, a historic village and an existing new town.The programme is being billed by the housing and communities department as the most ambitious housebuilding project in England for half a century, with the planned construction of between 15,000 and 40,000 homes in each new town. Continue reading...
PM’s ‘cost of living champion’ calls for consideration of temporary measure to prevent profiteering from Iran warThe government’s top cost of living adviser has called on ministers to explore a temporary cap on the profits of energy and petrol companies to prevent them from cashing in excessively on the war in the Middle East.Richard Walker – a Labour peer, the chair of Iceland supermarkets and the prime minister’s “cost of living champion” – said he had asked the government to examine limiting how much businesses were able to benefit from higher energy prices after Iran’s blockade of the strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route for Europe’s oil and gas, and the wider conflict in the region. Continue reading...
Steve Reed says ‘UK is not going to be dragged into this war’ after Israeli warnings that Iranian missiles could hit EuropeMiddle East crisis live – latest updatesIran is not believed to have the capability or intent to hit the UK with its missiles, a cabinet minister has said, after Tehran aimed two at the UK-US airbase on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.One missile failed to reach the island, while another was shot down by a US warship, according to reports. It was the longest-range attack yet by Iran since the country was attacked by the US and Israel. Continue reading...
‘Problem-solving’, child-focused courts to replace adversarial hearings, with earlier intervention to cut delaysFamily courts are “not good enough” and have treated women and children unfairly for decades, a government minister has said.Announcing a major overhaul of the family justice system in England and Wales that will play a central role in “rebalancing” the family courts, Alison Levitt said often brutal legal showdowns will be replaced with a “problem-solving”, child-focused model. Continue reading...
Videos of Labour’s Al Carns include him talking about his time as a marine and challenging a firefighter to pull-up contestLabour minister Al Carns has claimed thousands of pounds on parliamentary expenses for promotional videos including one showing him doing pull-ups at a fire station in competition with a firefighter.The veterans minister and former Royal Marine, who is tipped by some MPs as a leadership hopeful, claimed about £3,000, approved by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), for the production of 17 videos that show him interacting with local businesses. Continue reading...
Britain authorises use of military bases to strike Iranian missile launchers that target shipping in strait of HormuzPresident Trump branded the UK and other Nato allies “cowards” on Friday amid growing anger among cabinet ministers that his war in Iran could jeopardise Britain’s fragile finances. Senior members of the government are in despair about the potential effects on the economy, with experts warning of higher energy prices and mortgage and borrowing costs. They have already begun contingency planning in case the conflict is protracted – lowering speed limits to minimise fuel consumption is among the measures that could be considered by transport officials.With conflict continuing to escalate, the UK confirmed it was now authorising the use of British military bases to strike Iranian missile launchers that are targeting commercial ships in the strait. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Chris Bryant says policy agreements are being done in bits and pieces but a greater vision is needed by both sidesIt was all smiles and warm handshakes when the two men in charge of renegotiating the UK’s relationship with the EU met in Brussels this week.Maroš Šefčovič and the UK minister for EU relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds, sharing a stage on the third floor of the vast European parliament building, were at pains to show the cross-Channel relationship was in a good place after years of rancour. Continue reading...
Michael Randrianirina, who sacked PM and cabinet without explanation, claims measure is to root out corruptionMadagascar’s military president has said new ministers will have to pass lie detector tests to root out corrupt candidates, after he dismissed the prime minister and cabinet without explanation earlier this month.Michael Randrianirina came to power in a coup in October after weeks of youth-led protests under the banner “Gen Z Madagascar”. However, young people were quickly disenchanted by his choice of government officials, which they saw as being part of the old, corrupt elite. Continue reading...
