UK union leaders meet on Monday to discuss possible support for a domestic cap on political donations UK politics live – latest updates Trade unions are set to launch an intervention on Tuesday on political donations after the head of Britain’s trade union movement, Paul Nowak, said the government must act to “stop the super-rich corrupting our politics.” Union leaders met on Monday to discuss possible support for a domestic cap on donations. Discussions are expected to continue but sources said that general secretaries are likely to back a donations cap for individuals. Continue reading...

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Firm, once part of Sanjeev Gupta’s empire, fell into administration last year but has failed to find buyer Business news – live updates One of Britain’s steelworks is to come into public ownership after the government said it would take over Yorkshire-based Speciality Steel UK (SSUK). Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, said officials would “work towards” acquiring the company to protect the jobs of its 1,300 workers in Rotherham, Stocksbridge and Brinsworth in South Yorkshire and Wednesbury in the West Midlands. Continue reading...

Special approval needed for amount that surpassed what Chris Wormald was ‘contractually entitled to’ The former head of the civil service Chris Wormald received a record payout of almost £860,000 when he was forced out of the top job in Whitehall by Keir Starmer. Cabinet Office accounts have revealed that the former cabinet secretary, who was sacked earlier this year , was paid £859,496 upon departure. The figure is an unprecedented amount, which required civil servants to seek a special direction from ministers to approve it because it was “greater than what Sir Chris Wormald would be contractually entitled to”. Continue reading...

There’s been a huge backlash against Reform UK after the party received £72m from two crypto billionaires over the weekend. Paul Nowak, the TUC leader, said the money showed democracy was ‘in crisis’. Labour is pushing for tighter restrictions on political donations which could be retrospective, but Reform is confident this will not affect its new war chest. How much does this money change the political landscape? And with Labour receiving millions from unions, will its new rules backfire? Please keep sending your comments and questions to politicsweeklyuk@theguardian.com . Please follow and subscribe to the Politics Weekly YouTube channel here Continue reading...

Company behind ChatGPT tells ministers to seize ‘political window’ on regulation as cross-party committee warns of rising threats to human rights UK politics live – latest updates OpenAI has urged British lawmakers to capitalise on renewed fears over AI safety and impose legislation reining in the technology. The company behind ChatGPT said the UK government should act immediately, following a call by its arch-rival Anthropic to curb AI development. Continue reading...

Leaders in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland discuss independence and call for constitutional change at summit Westminster’s time is coming to an end, the first ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have said at a landmark summit aimed at putting the UK’s Celtic nations on the path to independence referendums. The Plaid Cymru leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth; the Scottish National party leader, John Swinney; Sinn Féin’s vice-president, Michelle O’Neill, and the president and leader of the opposition in Ireland, Mary Lou McDonald, met in Cardiff on Monday to sign a memorandum of understanding recognising that “the political landscape across these islands is changing”. Continue reading...

Prime minister had been due to speak at the TUC conference in Brighton UK politics live – latest updates Andy Burnham has cancelled his engagements for Monday and Tuesday after his father, Roy, died. Among other plans, the prime minister had been due to speak to the TUC conference in Brighton on Tuesday. Continue reading...

The idea that GPs are ignoring guidelines and ‘overprescribing’ doesn’t hold water. Instead, look to our social and economic crises Dean Burnett is a doctor of neuroscience A new NHS report has revealed the highest ever levels of antidepressant use recorded in England, with roughly one in seven people prescribed an antidepressant item in 2025-26. This has resulted in a swathe of media coverage expressing alarm over the increase, with questions about what could, or should, be done to reverse the trend. Such a high level of antidepressant use should, of course, prompt concern and reflection. But the popular claim that has taken hold is that antidepressant use is too high because of “ overprescribing ”, as Dr John Read, a professor of clinical psychology, says in the Daily Mail. This is the idea that patients are being prescribed antidepressants when they shouldn’t be, or when better, safer alternatives are available. Dean Burnett is a doctor of neuroscience and the author of The Idiot Brain and Emotional Ignorance Continue reading...

Richard Tice says contributions are legally compliant after author of review into overseas donations says rules will be applied retrospectively Reform UK’s deputy leader has declined to say when two crypto billionaires who gave a combined £72m to the party returned to the UK, as the architect of a review into overseas donations said anyone here for less than 12 months would be subject to a limit on donations. Richard Tice said that while he was completely confident Reform had complied with all current and proposed laws on donations, he could not say when Ben Delo returned to the UK from Hong Kong, or how much time the Thailand-based Christopher Harborne spent in Britain. Continue reading...

US officials reportedly raided envoy’s London home and took him to American airbase without warning Met police UK politics live – latest updates British ministers face calls to act after US authorities secretly flew out of the UK a diplomat accused of possessing indecent images of children. US officials reportedly raided the diplomat’s London flat in August before taking him to an American airbase and flying him out of the country, without warning the Metropolitan police. Continue reading...

‘Commonsense change’ looks to end current confusion and put ‘passengers first, not shareholders’ when services are disrupted Rail passengers whose trains are cancelled will have the immediate right to travel on other operators’ services to finish their journey without further charge, ministers have announced. The “commonsense change” will take effect from Sunday 20 September, ending the confusion in Britain where many pre-booked tickets are not valid on other firms’ trains. Continue reading...

Exclusive: New research identifies thousands who profited from trafficking enslaved Africans and traces some financial links to institutions still operating today Continue reading...

Electoral Commission finds abuse, particularly of women, minority ethnic and disabled people, is affecting candidates’ behaviour Abuse and intimidation of election candidates is “a serious and growing concern”, the Electoral Commission has said, as a review of this year’s local and mayoral elections in England revealed a surge in threats to those who stood. More than half of the candidates for Labour or Reform UK reported abuse while those most likely to be targeted were women, people from minority ethnic backgrounds and those with disabilities. Continue reading...

More than 800 businesses ask PM to make good on pledge, or risk more closures and job losses Hundreds of UK hospitality businesses, backed by celebrity chefs including Angela Hartnett and Heston Blumenthal, have asked Andy Burnham to lay out plans to lower VAT for the sector, urging him to make good on his previous pledge. More than 800 businesses have written an open letter to the prime minister as part of the #VATsTheProblem campaign, to warn that without a “fairer tax burden for hospitality”, there will be more closures and job losses, and fewer opportunities for young people. Continue reading...

A recent consultation on corporate reporting prizes the interests of shareholders over society. It’s a step in the wrong direction The question of what corporations are for is deeply political. In a 1970 article for the New York Times, Milton Friedman argued that the “social responsibility of business is to increase its profits”. The idea that CEOs should worry about providing good jobs was “pure and unadulterated socialism”, he wrote. Friedman and his fellow neoliberals saw companies as vehicles for enforcing their politics. Their ideas endured: UK bosses are now paid 130 times more than average workers. Despite Andy Burnham’s pledge to end neoliberalism, a 12-week consultation recently launched by his government risks entrenching it. The consultation was first announced as part of the Starmer government’s crusade against “red tape”. The average annual report for some businesses now runs to 98,000 words, and no doubt there are areas that could be simplified. But the consultation proposes removing vital information and presumes that company reports primarily serve shareholders, rather than other stakeholders. Both are steps in the wrong direction. Continue reading...

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The man who once helped Richard ‘Dirty’ Desmond save a load of tax was wheeled out to face Laura Kuenssberg You wait years for one party donation of £36m and then two come along at once . Reform can hardly believe its luck. All hail the crypto billionaires. Tacky pale turquoise suits all round. And Nigel Farage won’t have to worry about spending any of his own money – if you can call the £5m freebie his own money – on his security. Nor do those champagne and oyster lunches to discuss loose change donations of £500k from people living overseas pay for themselves. From now on Reform won’t need to bother getting out of bed for anything less than eight figures. Fair to say that if it had been Labour or the Tories trousering £72m from Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo then Reform would be on full outrage rampage. How the political system was rigged against it and how the two main parties are hotwired cash machines. In bed with the super-rich. But since the money is heading towards its own bank account, everyone in the party is totally chilled. This is just the way life ought to be. Who wouldn’t want a country where two billionaires can attempt to buy the democratic process? Continue reading...

Harborne and Delo’s cash could buy a massive head start in an election, but spending big has possible pitfalls Nigel Farage once said he could spend his £5m gift from Christopher Harborne on Ferraris if he wanted to, given its unconditional nature. With the new donations to his party from Harborne and his fellow crypto billionaire Ben Delo of £72m over the past weekend alone, Farage’s party now has nearly enough cash to buy a Reform UK branded Ferrari for a party organiser in each of Britain’s 632 constituencies (though that would certainly be a waste and a bit of a tax headache). Continue reading...