The Independent UK Politics

Ed Miliband set for crucial talks in Turkey over Strait of Hormuz crisis and Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

Helen Corbett — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 23:01:30 GMT

Ed Miliband will be in Turkey on Friday for the vital talks

Wes Streeting defends government ‘be-ready’ plan as Question Time audience tackle him over ‘scaremongering’

Lucy Leeson — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 22:27:54 GMT

Wes Streeting defended the government’s campaign urging the public to prepare themselves for emergencies.

Huge crowds gather at final pre-election rally of Serbia's students

Jovana Gec — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 17:29:18 GMT

Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Serbia’s protesting students have gathered for the final campaign rally ahead of the tense parliamentary election on weekend in a mounting challenge to the Balkan country’s powerful strongman Aleksandar Vucic

Prepare for ‘state-sponsored terrorism’ and cyber attacks to cause food shortages, Streeting warns

Jane Dalton — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:20:48 GMT

Ministers issue ‘be ready’ checklist as governments and companies worldwide take websites offline after alert over widespread cyber-security issue

Autumn Budget 2026: What it could mean for pensions and benefits

Albert Toth — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:18:28 GMT

Several major policy announcements are expected later this year

Burnham admits ‘we can’t faff around’ on reducing energy bills as he mulls scrapping standing charges

Sophie Wingate — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 15:57:17 GMT

Campaigners have urged the government to make plans to support all households with energy costs this winter

Andy Burnham to become first prime minister to join Celebrity Gogglebox

Kate Devlin — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 14:38:05 GMT

Labour leader was filmed in 10 Downing Street alongside his old friend Steve Rotheram, the mayor of Liverpool

Starmer could be summoned to give evidence at grooming gangs inquiry

Anna Loren — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 13:43:24 GMT

The former PM has been given core participant status in the inquiry

Reform UK and Greens no longer considered main parties, stark new poll shows

David Maddox — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 13:09:34 GMT

Voters appear to be losing confidence in the idea that Nigel Farage would lead a government as prime minister

Three-quarters of small business owners delay having kids or buying houses over tax fears

Alex Sebastian — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 13:08:52 GMT

More than half of firms surveyed say they’ll respond to a bad Budget by raising prices

UK government services offline after global PHP cybersecurity threat

Kate Devlin and Mike Taylor — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 12:14:26 GMT

Cybersecurity chiefs warned UK organisations that a ‘critical security issue’ had been discovered in the programming language PHP

John Healey vows to be a chancellor ‘who backs business’ ahead of Budget

Millie Cooke — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 11:42:42 GMT

Chancellor says he is seeking to rebuild the damaged relationship between Labour and business

‘Limited’ Government services temporarily offline amid PHP cybersecurity issue

Sophie Wingate — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 11:08:55 GMT

Downing Street did not provide details of which websites are affected.

Sainsbury’s boss delivers tax warning to government ahead of Budget

Henry Saker-Clark — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 09:37:43 GMT

Sainsbury’s said it saw shoppers buying greater volumes of products this year

‘I worked in government during UK riots – controlling them is a balancing act’

Maja Anushka — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 08:52:23 GMT

As riots in France lead to increasingly dramatic measures, ex-deputy cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara explains the important balancing act governments face during mass unrest. Report by Maja Anushka

Argentina’s president rules out military action over Falkland Islands

Millie Cooke — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 08:19:07 GMT

Milei’s remarks mark first time he has ruled out military intervention on the territory since Trump said he would review US support for British sovereignty

New clinical trial backed by Andy Burnham could speed up Alzheimer’s treatments

Jane Kirby — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 05:51:28 GMT

The Prime Minister’s father Roy died with Alzheimer’s disease in September.

Government approves drilling in Jackdaw gasfield in North Sea

Tom Barnes — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 05:15:40 GMT

Andy Burnham says the government remained committed to renewable energy but was taking a ‘pragmatic’ approach to the North Sea