Politics

A UN panel has urged the UK to renegotiate a deal returning the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, saying it “fails to guarantee” the rights of the Chagossian people. The deal, signed last month, returned sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, but the UK retained the right to run a military base on Diego…

Oscar Bentley Political reporter PA Media The minimum income threshold for family visas should be relaxed, a government-commissioned review has recommended. A report by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has suggested a reduction from the current level of £29,000. It warned against previous proposals to raise the threshold to the same level as for skilled…

PA Media More than 300 Foreign Office staff who raised concerns about potential UK “complicity” in Israel’s conduct in Gaza were told if they profoundly disagreed with government policy they could consider resigning. The staff letter, seen by the BBC, was sent to Foreign Secretary David Lammy last month. In it, officials questioned the UK’s…

Rachel Reeves is preparing to unveil her highly anticipated spending review, setting out how much money the NHS, schools, police and other public services will get over the next few years. The chancellor will emphasise plans to “invest in Britain’s renewal” by spending an extra £113bn on infrastructure, such as energy and transport projects in…

The words Spending Review may not instantly quicken the heart rate of many, but what we hear from the Chancellor Rachel Reeves will have an impact on what your life is like in the UK in the coming years. It could be one of the defining moments between now and the next general election, as…

Joshua Nevett Political reporter PA Rough sleeping will be decriminalised next year under government plans to scrap a 200-year-old law. Ministers are planning to scrap the Vagrancy Act, which outlaws rough sleeping in England and Wales. The law was introduced in 1824 to deal with rising homelessness, but Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has called…

This is not the image Army officials had wanted. While tanks, armored troop carriers and artillery systems pour into Washington for the Army’s 250th birthday celebration, National Guard troops from the Army’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, supplemented by active-duty Marines, have been deployed to the streets of Los Angeles. It is a juxtaposition that…

Sir Keir Starmer has denied his government’s U-turn on winter fuel payments was a result of political pressure, instead arguing it was possible because of an improved economy. Speaking to Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2, the prime minister defended last year’s decision to withdraw the payments from all but the poorest pensioners, saying that…

A version of this story first ran in July. It also appears in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. CNN  —  Let’s start with the positive: Republicans and Democrats are coming together to protect same-sex marriage from the Supreme Court. The Respect for Marriage Act codifies…