Britain Pm

PM Keir Starmer plans reform of UK state in bid to counter criticism

Starmer's reset moment, including six 'milestones' designed to be tools to measure the government's progress, instead triggered more disquiet and confusion about his strategy

UK retail sales plunged more than expected before new govt's budget: ONS

A monthly rise in sales in September was also revised down to 0.1 per cent from a previous estimate of a 0.3 per cent gain

UK PM Starmer seeks India trade deal even Sunak couldn't pull off

The UK's trading relationship with India was worth £42 billion in the 12 months to June 2024

UK PM Starmer says owners of shares don't count as 'working people'

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer suggests he's willing to raise taxes on investors

Rachel Reeves aims for economic reset in UK's Budget ahead of IMF meetings

Britain's finance ministry said Reeves would support proposals in Washington to expand development financing for poorer countries to meet the United Nations' sustainable development goals and encourag

PM Modi has very clear plan for India's future: Britain's ex-PM Cameron

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a very clear plan about technology and the future of India and his third consecutive term in office demonstrates the ability to bring real change in a consistent way. Speaking at the NDTV World Summit, Cameron said it was very important to have a clear plan for driving economic growth, improving infrastructure and the future of the country. "What you find in politics, when you become prime minister everything hits you at a million miles an hour. If you don't have a very clear plan about what you want to do, you get endlessly distracted by the short term problems and difficulties," he said. Earlier, at the Summit, Prime Minister Modi shared his vision for a developed India by 2047 and listed the achievements of his government in the first 125 days of his third term. "It was great to hear Prime Minister Modi's speech. To have that energy level at the start of your third term is truly impressiv

Biden meets with European allies as Trump's new term possibility hangs over

Expected on the agenda of discussions are conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia according to a Biden administration official

Following internal complaints in administration, Starmer replaces top aide

In an attempt to end the turbulence engulfing Britain's first Labour administration in 14 years, the prime minister on Sunday moved his chief of staff Sue Gray out of her role

Following freebies row, UK's PM Starmer pays back $8K worth of gifts

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Wednesday it is right that he has paid back more than 6,000 pounds (USD 8,000) worth of gifts and hospitality, following a row over freebies. For weeks, Starmer has faced criticism over the scale of the donations, which included clothes, eyeglasses and tickets to his beloved soccer team Arsenal, that he received over recent years. During the last parliamentary term from 2019 to 2024, Starmer received around 100,000 pounds worth of donations, substantially more than any other member of parliament. Though the donations were legal and properly filed with officials in the UK Parliament, the row has dented Starmer's popularity ratings. According to officials at his 10 Downing Street offices, Starmer has covered the cost of six Taylor Swift tickets at London's Wembley Stadium, four to a horse racing event and a clothing rental agreement with a high-end designer favoured by his wife, Victoria Starmer. We are now going to bring forward principles fo

Britain's Labour Party gets back after rocky start in govt, clothes scandal

This should be a time of celebration for Britain's Labour Party, which opens its annual conference Sunday less than three months after winning power in a landslide after 14 years in opposition. But it's no victory lap for Prime Minister Keir Starmer. His government is facing a reckoning with a battered economy and an electorate impatient for change. The mood among Labour members gathering in the northwest England city of Liverpool has been further dampened by a tempest over Starmer's acceptance of freebies at a time when the millions of people are struggling with the cost of living. Starmer insists he followed the rules when he took clothes and designer eyeglasses from Waheed Alli, a media entrepreneur and longtime Labour donor. But after days of negative headlines, the party now says Starmer won't accept any more free outfits. I get that people are angry, said Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who also accepted donations to pay for clothing. But donations for gifts and hospita

Starmer, Meloni hold talks on curbing migrant boats reaching UK, Italy

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is meeting Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Monday, as the two very different politicians, from left and right, seek common cause to curb migrants reaching their shores by boat. Support for Ukraine is also on the agenda for the trip, part of Starmer's effort to reset relations with European neighbors after Britain's acrimonious 2020 departure from the European Union. The center-left Labour Party prime minister isn't a natural ally of Meloni, who heads the far-right Brothers of Italy party. But migration has climbed the U.K. political agenda, and Starmer hopes lessons from Italy can help him stop people fleeing war and poverty trying to cross the English Channel in flimsy, overcrowded boats. More than 22,000 migrants have made the perilous crossing from France so far this year, a slight increase compared to the same period in 2023. Several dozen people have perished in the frigid Channel, including at least eight who died off the French coast

Biden meets Britain's PM, brushes off Putin's threats about war with West

President Joe Biden brushed off a threat from Russian leader Vladimir Putin about war against the West if Ukraine's allies allow it to use weapons deeper inside Russia. It's a shift that Kyiv has pleaded for but does not appear likely to be announced following a meeting Friday between Biden and Britain's prime minister. Ukraine and many of its supporters in the US and Europe want Biden to lift restrictions on Western-provided long-range weapons, and there are signs Biden might shift the administration's policy. But the US, concerned about any step that could lead Russia to escalate the conflict, has moved cautiously before granting a series of earlier requests from Ukraine for specific arms, including advanced tanks, missiles and rocket systems, and F-16 fighter jets. Russian officials have issued similar threats before many of those past decisions. Ukraine was a key topic for Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer following this week's visit to Kyiv by their top diplomats, w

US, British leaders discuss Ukraine's push to ease weapons restrictions

US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are meeting Friday amid an intensified push by Ukraine to loosen restrictions on using weapons provided by the US and Britain to strike Russia. The talks come amid signs that the White House could be moving toward a shift in its policy. Ukrainian officials renewed their pleas to use Western-provided long-range missiles against targets deeper inside Russia during this week's visit to Kyiv by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UK Foreign Minister David Lammy. Blinken said he had no doubt that Biden and Starmer would discuss the matter during their visit, noting the US has adapted and will adjust as necessary as Russia's battlefield strategy has changed. The language is similar to what Blinken said in May, shortly before the US allowed Ukraine to use American-provided weapons just inside Russian territory. The distance has been largely limited to cross-border targets deemed a direct threat out of concerns about ...

Biden to host British PM Keir Starmer next week for White House talks

President Joe Biden will host British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for talks in Washington next week that are expected to touch on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and other issues. Next Friday's meeting with the leader of one of America's closest allies comes as Biden looks to step up engagement on the international stage in his final months in office. US allies and adversaries are also intently watching how the race to succeed Biden between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump plays out. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that the Oval Office visit, the second by Starmer since he was elected earlier this summer, will focus on continuing Western support for Ukraine as it tries to repel Russia's invasion, ongoing efforts to secure a hostage and cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, threats to commercial shipping in the Red Sea posed by the Houthis, an Iranian-backed group, as well as shared concerns about

UK PM Keir Starmer prepares for his first Downing Street keynote speech

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing for his first Downing Street keynote speech since being elected last month and ahead of Parliament resuming after its summer recess. According to The Sunday Times', some members of the public will be invited to the Rose Garden speech on Tuesday in a signal that the Labour Party leader intends to do things differently from his Conservative Party predecessors. In keeping with a theme the government has already struck amid major announcements since the July 4 general election, Starmer will caution the public that things will get worse before they can get better due to the state of things his government has inherited after 14 years of Tory leadership. Excerpts of the speech, which is scheduled a week before the House of Commons resumes, refer to Labour inheriting not just an economic black hole but a societal black hole. And that is why we have to take action and do things differently. Part of that is being honest with people - about the

Online misinformation fuels tensions over stabbing attack in Britain

Within hours of a stabbing attack in northwest England that killed three young girls and wounded several more children, a false name of a supposed suspect was circulating on social media. Hours after that, violent protesters were clashing with police outside a nearby mosque the first of several violent protests in across England. Police say the name was fake, as were rumours that the 17-year-old suspect was an asylum-seeker who had recently arrived in Britain. The suspect charged with murder and attempted murder was named Thursday as Axel Rudakubana, born in the UK to Rwandan parents. By the time a judge said the teen suspect could be identified, rumours already were rife and right-wing influencers had pinned the blame on immigrants and Muslims. There's a parallel universe where what was claimed by these rumours were the actual facts of the case, said Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, a think tank that looks at issues including integration and national identity. And that

New British Sikh MP Jeevun Sandher wishes for strong India-UK connection

Jeevun Sandher, one of Britain's newest members of Parliament elected in the Labour Party's landslide general election victory earlier this month, is determined to restore trust in politics and strengthen his party's connection with India and its diaspora communities. The British Sikh first-time MP was elected from Loughborough in the East Midlands region of England, considered a bellwether constituency which has reflected the national result in UK general elections over the years. He referenced the visit of UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy to India earlier this week as a symbol of the high level of priority the incoming government places on the relationship as it gets on with the job of delivering change. From a personal perspective, I am a part of the Indian diaspora so I see it as a natural connection, for the Labour Party and the incoming Labour government, he told PTI in an interview at the Parliament complex in London this week. It is a hugely important strategic partnership

Globally-mobile millionaires threaten to leave Britain over tax revamp

Starmer says the overhaul will make Britain's tax system fairer and raise funds for stretched public services

New UK PM Starmer offers strong support for Ukraine at Nato summit

Newly elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is making his maiden appearance on the international stage with a strong signal of support for Ukraine as he attends the NATO summit in Washington. After he and other European leaders met American lawmakers, Starmer sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday. They embraced and leaned in close, smiling, before holding private talks. Afterward, he reaffirmed Britain's full-throated backing for Kyiv as it battles Russia's invasion. Starmer said he and his new Labour government would use our opportunity here with our allies to make sure that that support is agreed by NATO's members. As he arrived for the summit, Starmer added that it was also important for him to "reinforce, in a sense as a message to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, the resolve of NATO bigger now than it's ever been, more united than it's ever been and absolutely clear-eyed about the threat of Russian aggression. Starmer will also meet one o

Ukraine can use UK missiles to strike inside Russia, says PM Starmer

Starmer agreed that it was up to Ukraine how it used the Storm Shadow missiles donated by the UK