UK
Local news needed a rescue. Instead it got a grant scheme
A new grant scheme promises to prop up local journalism. The NUJ’s answer to what’s actually killing it – platform power, not just underfunding – goes much further than anything on offer from government.
Drivers put rail bosses “on notice” over toilet break failures
ASLEF has warned it is “putting the industry on notice” after train operators failed to act on a year-old regulator instruction to guarantee drivers access to toilet breaks.
Same faction, new name: Burnham hands Downing Street role to Labour Together rebrand chief
Alison Phillips, who oversaw ThinkLabour’s rebrand from the disgraced Labour Together, is Andy Burnham’s new deputy chief of staff – the latest sign that Morgan McSweeney’s old faction still holds sway in Downing Street, despite the prime minister’s promises to govern beyond factional lines.
Labour’s new Employment Rights Act barely scratches the surface, unions say
The Institute of Employment Rights says the 2025 act falls well short of Labour’s own promises. With Jonathan Reynolds back as business secretary, unions are already demanding a second bill.
Can anyone predict Britain’s political future? A new book tries
Richard Rose’s The Disruption of the British Party System offers a dispassionate, data-driven guide to a fractured political landscape, but its refusal to ask why things are breaking down is also its biggest limitation.
Burnham faces first test on Gaza as more than 80 MPs demand action
More than 80 parliamentarians have written to the new PM demanding sanctions, a full arms embargo and a ban on settlement trade. Andy Burnham apologised for Labour’s record on Gaza before taking office – now he faces a choice between the pro-Israel lobby and the millions demanding real action.