MPs urge government to escape ‘regulation by default’ March 18, 2026 Ministers should overhaul the government’s approach to regulation as adding new rules has become an “easy” tool, according to a report backed by MPs from across the political spectrum. Researchers at Re:State, a non-partisan think tank focusing on growth and Whitehall governance, said justification for new red tape should have a higher bar and be [...]
Reform UK pledge energy tax cut in swipe at Labour March 17, 2026 Robert Jenrick has said Reform UK would strip VAT from energy bills months after the government flirted with the £2bn tax cut, deepening the party’s row with Labour. The “shadow chancellor” said Reform would strip VAT and green levies from household energy bills if it came to power, thereby saving households an estimated £200. Party [...]
Mel Stride vows ‘Big Bang’ as he targets careful City March 6, 2026 Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride is set to promise a new “Big Bang” on City regulation in a speech at a Conservative conference this weekend harking back to Margaret Thatcher’s financial reforms. Stride is set to decry the lack of risk-taking across the UK economy and suggest regulation has been a “vast yoke” on businesses. [...]
How sectarian is London’s politics? March 5, 2026 If the by-election in Gorton and Denton is a seismic event, then the aftershocks will be felt by Londoners in borough elections across the capital in May, writes James Ford By-elections are often exceptional, aberrant outliers from normal politics. The full attention of party campaign strategists and the national press are ruthlessly trained on a [...]
Two party politics is over in Britain March 4, 2026 Meaningful support is now spread across multiple different parties, but Westminster still acts like there’s a government and an opposition, says Louise Thompson The Green Party’s victory in the Gorton and Denton by-election is a watershed moment. Hannah Spencer secured the party’s first-ever parliamentary by-election win in what had been Labour’s sixth most secure seat. [...]
GB News loss widens despite revenue jump March 3, 2026 GB News has posted another loss-making year despite sharp growth in viewing figures, with the Paul Marshall-owned broadcaster now burning through some £120m since its launch in 2021. In new accounts filed for the year ending in May 2025, GB News said its loss amounted to just over £22m. That was smaller than in 2024, [...]
Gorton and Denton proves messy, multi-party politics is here to stay March 3, 2026 A resounding win for the Greens in the Gorton and Denton by-election reveals just how fractured and angry voters are becoming, writes Scarlett Maguire In what we may now distantly remember as ‘ordinary times’ Labour should never have lost Gorton and Denton, even on a bad day, let alone finished third on less than 10,000 [...]
Greens close gap with Labour in polls after historic by-election win March 3, 2026 The Greens are now biting at the heels of the Labour Party in national polling after its candidate Hannah Spencer stormed to a historic by-election win in Gorton and Denton last week. The latest Morning Wire/Freshwater Strategy poll puts the Greens on 15 per cent, with Labour ahead of them by three points, a smaller [...]
Reform’s sovereign wealth pitch risks raiding pensions not reviving growth March 2, 2026 Reform’s Richard Tice’s plan to consolidate local council pension schemes fundamentally misunderstands the nature of fiduciary duty, says Tim Focas Behind the rhetoric of Reform’s proposal to consolidate local council pension schemes into a near £500bn sovereign wealth fund lies a major misunderstanding of what these pension assets are and who they exist to serve. [...]
Starmer to consider ways to make student loans ‘fairer’ February 25, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has suggested he was open to making the student loans system “fairer” after pressure from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. During Prime Minister’s Questions, Badenoch pressed Starmer on costly student loan repayments, which she suggested were at a “breaking point” for graduates. The Tories have vowed to abolish real interest rates on plan [...]