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Great British Politics

264,000 low-income people sign up to government backed saving scheme

More than 264,000 people have opened a Help to Save account and could be earning money on their savings, according to new statistics from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The data shows that more than ...

COVID-19 survivors from 37 countries sign open letter for 'people's vaccine' ahead of UN summit

Survivors of COVID-19 from 37 countries are among almost 1,000 people who have signed an open letter to pharmaceutical industry leaders calling for a ‘people's vaccine' and treatments that are ...

£700 million support package announced as students return to class

Following the announcement of the roadmap out of lockdown, and a return to face-to-face teaching for all children from 8 March, the government has pledged £700 million in support to help students ...

New Hydrogen Transport Hub announced as world's first hydrogen train starts trials

The first-ever hydrogen-powered train will run on the UK mainline today in a big step forward towards the UK’s net-zero targets, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced, visiting the start ...

Teachers to determine student grades in place of exams

Students will receive grades awarded and determined by teachers, with pupils only assessed on what they have been taught, the Education Secretary announced today. Teachers will be able to draw on a ...

Global plastic consumption can be halved by 2050, according to new research

The world’s reliance on plastics is hampering global efforts to confront the climate crisis as almost all plastics are made from fossil fuels, which contributes significantly to greenhouse gas ...

Rising costs of living are pushing nurses to quit London and South East hospitals

Improving the retention of NHS staff has been a long-term policy challenge, and will be of even greater importance in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. NHS pay is currently tightly regulated in ...

Labour attacks government underspends on childcare

Tulip Siddiq, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, has accused the Government of 'incompetence' in delivering childcare support to working families through tax-free childcare. ...

World's first 'space bridge' announced between UK and Australia

The world’s first Space Bridge will unlock improved access to trade, investment and academic research opportunities, better advice to businesses and innovative bilateral collaborations. The UK and ...

New EU proposal on refugees receives mixed response from MEPs

The European Commission's proposed Asylum and Migration Pact intends to improve current EU rules and procedures on asylum and migration by strengthening shared responsibility across members. The ...

£8 million in SME funding announced through new government programme

A new £8 million government fund has been announced for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to help them to modernise and go digital, with the hope that this will create new jobs. The funding ...

10,000 UK volunteers to take part in new COVID vaccine trials

Ten thousand UK volunteers will be invited to join a leading phase 3 coronavirus vaccine trial, as the number of people who have signed up to take part in research hits 250,000. The recruitment of ...

Keir Starmer proposes 'British Recovery Bond'

Keir Starmer has called on the Government to give the British people “a stake in the national recovery” with new proposals aimed at supporting savers and backing people to start their own ...

The Economist launches new prediction models for US elections

Today The Economist launched its first prediction model for elections to the United States Senate, as well as an updated version of its forecasting system for the House of ...

How did the EU get COVID so wrong?

The EU has looked entirely impregnable since 2016, whatever you think of the benefits or restrictions of membership. The conflicts of the start of the last decade, when the rising tide of anti-EU ...

Female, feminist and northern: Angela Rayner gives hope the “male, pale and stale” political class is disintegrating

In the House of Commons, the sound of female northern accents has long been subjected to - at best – marginalisation, and - at worse - contempt and scorn. Pat Glass, former Labour MP for ...

Canadian law firm joins post-Brexit UK Trade Law Panel

Canadian legal firm Bennett Jones has been appointed to the UK Government's new Trade Law Panel together with Linklaters LLP. The appointment follows an open and competitive international procurement ...

Rockstars, big cash, and yogic flying: The story behind the Natural Law party

1994 was a different time. Harry Potter was still three years away from publication, and John Major was Prime Minister. It is also the year of the now famous Natural Law party political ...

Crucial funding given to councils to support victims of domestic abuse

Councils across England have been allocated £125 million funding to provide support for victims of domestic abuse and their children, Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing Eddie Hughes announced ...

British Embassy in Paraguay teams up with local brewery for charity beer

The British Embassy in Asuncion, Paraguay and local craft brewery “The Hop” collaborated to create a beer in aid of local charities. The Hop will donate the proceeds from sales of “El ...

Labour demand extension on free school meals

Labour has demanded that the Government “do the right thing” and extend free school meals over the February half term next week. Labour’s Deputy Leader Angela Rayner, who was reliant on free ...

Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner bashes government for social care failures

The UK's social care system is in crisis. Where COVID-19 has caused acute stresses on the system, under-funding and crippling structural problems have existed for years. Labour’s Deputy Leader ...

Maritime and rail sectors benefitting from apprenticeship scheme

During National Apprenticeship Week 2021, High Speed 2 (HS2) and Skills Minister Andrew Stephenson has paid tribute to the apprentices and their employers around the country who have been stepping up ...

Nationwide US study exposes significant potential for voter fraud in 2020 election

An independent, nationwide analysis of voter rolls in 42 US states has identified thousands of probable deceased and duplicate registrants, as well as cases of individuals credited for voting more ...

9 in 10 local councils participating in community COVID-19 testing

232 local authorities are now rolling out community testing, covering a population of around 42 million people and identifying thousands of positive COVID-19 cases in people not showing symptoms, who ...

Why profitable oil companies are vital for the green energy revolution

It may seem counterintuitive, but the conventional wisdom in the environmental world is that profitable oil, gas and coal majors are good for decarbonisation - boosting R&D funding, and improving ...

Globally diverse winners of the 2021 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards announced

Five researchers have been named winners of the 2021 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards (The Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World) for their research in chemistry, ...

Social segregation in state schools widens Britain’s education inequality

If COVID-19 has achieved one thing, it has unmasked the yawning gaps in Britain’s education system. The variation of educational provision during lockdown was extremely mixed, with experts warning ...

Together for our planet: Climate action in the Netherlands

We look back on an unexpected year. The corona pandemic has shown us once again how our individual actions influence the wellbeing of humanity and the planet. Five years ago, we came together to sign ...

Breaking the law over Brexit: how the UK is playing dirty in EU talks

The UK government seems to be doubling down on threats to leave the European Union without a deal unless the EU gives in on issues of state aid and fisheries. These two concerns are as important in ...

Erasmus replacement scheme launched online

The decision to withdraw from the Erasmus scheme in light of the UK leaving the European Union left many people bereft. Today, new measures aimed at attracting more overseas students, boosting access ...

New poll shows Biden lead in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin

Today the AARP released a series of battleground state polls of likely voters in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The ...

Swedish government introduces mental health support for employees

The Social Partners' Council of Sweden has announced that it is making mental health training available to 270,000 government employees whose workload has been affected by ...

Businesses urged to display QR codes ahead of the launch of the NHS COVID-19 app

Businesses across England and Wales like pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and cinemas are being urged to ensure they have NHS QR code posters visible on entry so customers who have downloaded ...

UK local elections to go ahead

Last year’s local elections were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that councillors already in office maintained their positions for another year. It has been announced that this ...

UK trade officials start negotiations to join Trans-Pacific Partnership

The UK has taken a major step in the process of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the successor to the Trans-Pacific Partnership after the ...

Who is Dr. Alex George, the new Youth Mental Health Ambassador?

Earlier this week, the Prime Minister announced the appointment of Dr. Alex George as the Youth Mental Health Ambassador, coinciding with this year’s Children’s Mental Health week. The prolific ...

Air and noise pollution cause over 412,000 yearly deaths in Europe

A significant proportion of the burden of disease in Europe continues to be attributed to environmental pollution resulting from human activity, according to the EEA report ‘Healthy ...

Unemployment and benefit claims up, council tax receipts down in London and England’s poorest regions

The COVID-19 crisis has hit employment and incomes across the UK, which in turn has affected some households’ ability to pay major bills such as council tax. As a result, councils expect to collect ...

A lack of strategy and accountability hampered government's initial COVID-19 response

The government’s initial response to the COVID-19 crisis was hampered by the absence of a long-term strategy, lack of clarity about who was responsible for what and its poor use of evidence, ...

MSF calling for equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution

As a highly infectious new strain of COVID-19 spreads through Southern Africa, health workers in Mozambique, Eswatini and Malawi are struggling to treat escalating numbers of patients with little ...

New research exposes GDPR compliance issues amongst government departments

The results of a new comprehensive study, published today, by eCase - The Impact of GDPR in Central Government – find that half of central government’s Data Protection Officers ...

How pension tax relief could be improved

The Government gives a bonus as a reward for your savings in the form of tax relief. When you save into a pension and earn tax relief, some of your money from the tax you paid on your earnings goes ...

Brexit: As the deadline looms, why are negotiations stalling?

The UK left the EU on January 31 this year. Yet, the trading relationship between the two parties will not change until January 1 2021, when the transition period agreed by both sides expires. And ...

Highways England Stonehenge project gains traction

Highways England has recently unveiled its ambition for the A303 Stonehenge project through the voices of the people it touches most, including businesses and local communities. The company launched ...

Libya: A glimmer of hope

Since the 2011 Arab Spring, Libya – a country of 6.7 million inhabitants, potentially very rich with immense oil reserves – has been beset by violent conflicts between different factions and ...

Labour calls for 'smart' furlough scheme extension

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, or the furlough scheme, started in March 2020 to safeguard UK jobs in the face of the pandemic. It was extended multiple times, but is now projected to end on ...

Suspected violent criminals to be held for longer without trial under new law

People arrested for serious crimes can spend longer in custody as they await trial, under temporary legislation announced today. If passed by parliament, the period of time that offenders can be held ...

Many young people still lack basic knowledge of the Holocaust

A significant number of young adults in the US cannot name a single concentration camp or ghetto, believe that Jews caused the Holocaust and that two million or fewer Jews were killed. These are the ...

Betfair launches US Election Swingomiter in Washington, Country Durham

The English town of Washington, County Durham, is the ancestral home of the USA’s founding father and first President, George Washington. This sleepy North East town attracts hundreds of American ...

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