British Prime Minister

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

No plans to talk with Putin: Starmer as he reaffirms support for Ukraine

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday that he has no plan to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he pledged support for Ukraine as the UK's top priority at this week's G20 Summit. Speaking with reporters on the way to the meeting in Brazil, Starmer said he wouldn't speak to Putin as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did on Friday. The call between the two leaders, which the Kremlin said was initiated by Germany, was the first publicly announced conversation between Putin and a major head of a Western power in almost two years. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised the call and said it would only make Russia less isolated. Ukraine's allies fear that the election of President-elect Donald Trump, who has questioned US aid sent to Kyiv and spoken favourably about Putin, could alter support from Washington, its biggest backer. Starmer said allies have to double down now to support Ukraine for as long as it takes. "We are coming up to the 1,000th day of

Brits won't be able to buy new Jaguars until 2026 as brand goes electric

JLR laid plans to take Jaguar in an EV-only direction in early 2021, only months after then-PM Boris Johnson announced plans to phase out sales of new petrol or diesel cars by the end of the decade

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

UK PM Starmer suffers first leadership setback as party MP Duffield resigns

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has suffered his first setback since taking charge at 10 Downing Street in July after one of his members of Parliament resigned from the Labour Party, delivering a scathing attack on his leadership. Rosie Duffield, MP for Canterbury in Kent, will now sit in the House of Commons as an Independent after her resignation letter published in The Sunday Times' attacked the Labour leader's cruel and unnecessary policies amid an ongoing expensive free gifts row. Duffield claimed there were many "last straws" that led to her decision to resign, but her main reason to step down this weekend is over the government's programme of unpopular policies. They are cruel and unnecessary and affect hundreds of thousands of our poorest, most vulnerable constituents. This is not what I was elected to do. It is not even wise politics, and it certainly is not the politics of service', writes Duffield in her resignation letter. The MP goes on to state that she has no ...

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

First Budget won't undermine growth goal, says UK PM Keir Starmer

Unfunded commitments for spending are just as bad (as unfunded tax cuts) and likely to have the same impact on the economy.

British PM Keir Starmer in Berlin for talks to reset ties with Europe

Military support for Ukraine if former U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House early next year.

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

UK's worst unrest in 13 yrs: What led to riots; how's govt handling it?

UK riots: While 'far-right' groups are protesting against 'uncontrolled' immigration, asylum seekers are also holding counter-protests

PM Starmer announces police unit to counter violence after fatal stabbings

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Thursday that he will create the ability for police forces to work across the UK to crack down on violent protesters after clashes with police across England on the past two nights that followed a horrific stabbing. Starmer condemned the violence by a tiny mindless minority and said: We will put a stop to it. The announcement came after police were pelted with bottles in several cities by what Starmer called marauding mobs who apparently were reacting to a stabbing Monday at a children's dance class that killed three and wounded 10. The attack at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance class shocked a country where knife crime is a long-standing and vexing problem, though mass stabbings are rare. Far-right activists have used the deaths to stoke anger at immigrants and Muslims though the suspect is not an immigrant, and his religion has not been disclosed. The announcement came as the 17-year-old boy charged with murdering three girls and stabbi

Britain borrows more than expected, underscoring task for new government

Public sector net borrowing, excluding state-controlled banks, was a larger-than-expected $18.75 billion last month

UK will get a 'government of service': Keir Starmer in first speech as PM

Keir Starmer promised a government of service that will urgently get down to delivering the change voted for by the British public as he took charge as Britain's 58th Prime Minister, the seventh for the Labour Party, here on Friday. Earlier, the 61-year-old Labour leader who won a landslide majority in Thursday's general election was driven to Buckingham Palace for his customary audience with King Charles III to be formally asked to form a government in the name of the British monarch. In total, Labour had 412 seats and the Conservatives 121. Starmer and his wife, Victoria, then hugged and greeted several of their supporters who had patiently lined up in Downing Street awaiting the newly-elected Prime Minister's convoy. Our country has voted decisively for change, for national renewal and a return of politics for public service, said Starmer in his inaugural address as leader of a new Labour Party-led government, adding that the work ahead is urgent and we begin it today. When the

Record Indian-origin MPs elected in UK; PM Modi congratulates Keir Starmer

A record number of around 26 Indian-origin members of Parliament have been elected to the House of Commons in the UK's general election as results were announced on Friday, with several Conservatives surviving an overall brutal outcome for their party. Outgoing prime minister Rishi Sunak leads the Tory charge of British Indians holding on to their seats, with a decisive win in his Richmond and Northallerton constituency in Yorkshire. It would have come as small consolation for the Tory leader, who saw his party haemorrhage over 200 seats as the Labour Party's landslide victory unfolded. On this difficult night, I would like to express my gratitude to the people of the Richmond and Northallerton constituency for your continued support. Since I moved here a decade ago, you have made me and my family feel so at home and I look forward to serving you for years to come, said Sunak, in a message clearly aimed at dismissing pre-election chatter around his future plans as a politician. Othe

Highlights: Will have your back, says Labour's Keir Starmer after victory

United Kingdom Labour Party highlights: Keir Starmer's Labour Party bagged the victory the UK general election by passing the magic number. Incumbent Prime Minister Rishi Sunak retained his seat

Former PM Liz Truss among big name losses amidst landslide win for Labour

Former British prime minister Liz Truss and several Cabinet colleagues of outgoing prime minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party on Friday lost their seats as the Opposition Labour Party was swept to power. Truss, whose turbulent 45-day period in power has been blamed by many Conservatives for Thursday's historic defeat, lost her South West Norfolk constituency to Labour candidate, Terry Jermy, by 630 votes, having previously held a huge 24,180 majority, the BBC reported. The result in South West Norfolk is likely to become an emblem of what looks set to be the Tories' worst-ever election result, with the exit poll predicting they will win just 131 seats nationwide. Britain's Labour Party swept to power Friday after more than a decade in opposition, as a jaded electorate handed the party a landslide victory - but also a mammoth task of reinvigorating a stagnant economy and dispirited nation. Labour leader Keir Starmer will officially become prime minister later in the day, leadin

Who is Keir Starmer, the man on course to become new British Prime Minister

The Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, has won 360 seats and crossed the majority mark of 326 seats to form the government in the UK

UK elections: Rishi Sunak concedes defeat as Labour Party crosses majority

Britain's opposition Labour Party has won a 326-seat majority in the parliamentary election, set to put an end to the 14-year-long rule of the Conservative Party

Rishi Sunak faces pre-election turmoil as 78 Tory MPs, key ministers resign

UK faces political shakeup: 78 Conservative Party MPs, including key ministers, announced their exit ahead of snap elections which are slated to be held on July 4

UK consumer price inflation slows by less than expected to 3.2% in March

The Bank of England - which has an inflation target of 2% and economists polled by Reuters had forecast an annual rate of 3.1%