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  • NEWS STORY : Government to tighten political donation rules after foreign funding concerns

    NEWS STORY : Government to tighten political donation rules after foreign funding concerns

    STORY

    The Government has announced tougher rules on political donations after warnings that foreign money could be used to influence UK elections. The package is intended to strengthen checks on who can fund political parties, candidates and campaigners, and to close loopholes around donations from people with overseas links.

    Ministers said people who have recently moved to the UK will face a timebound cap on large political donations, meaning they will need to have been permanently based in the country for a minimum period before giving more than the cap. Candidates will also be required to prove that campaign funding comes from legitimate sources.

    The reforms will also change how company donations are assessed, with checks based on profits rather than revenue. The Government said this would help ensure that only legitimate UK-linked businesses can make political donations and that the wider package was designed to protect democratic integrity.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Government steps up action to protect children as AI-enabled toys emerge [July 2026]

    PRESS RELEASE : Government steps up action to protect children as AI-enabled toys emerge [July 2026]

    The press release issued by the Department for Business and Trade on 6 July 2026.

    Government steps up action to protect children with toy safety rules.

    • Government launches Call for Evidence to ensure toy safety rules are fit for a modern age
    • It will examine emerging risks including chemical safety and AI-enabled toys
    • Part of wider action to crack down on unsafe products, strengthen consumer protections, and provide clarity to businesses to support trade and growth

    Children will be better protected from unsafe toys under new plans to ensure the UK’s toy safety framework is fit for the modern age, giving parents peace of mind that the products they buy are safe, whether purchased on the high street or online.

    As part of its mission to protect consumers, the Government is today [6 July] launching a Call for Evidence on toy safety, to ensure protections keep pace with new technologies and emerging risks.

    It will gather evidence on a range of issues including chemical safety and AI-enabled toys.

    Kate Dearden, Minister for Consumer Protection, said:

    Every parent should be able to buy toys for their children with complete confidence that they are safe.

    But the way we shop, and the toys children play with, are changing rapidly as new technologies emerge and more purchases move online. It’s vital that our safety rules keep pace, and this Call for Evidence will ensure we can do that.

    The Call for Evidence will remain open until 6 October and welcomes views from parents, consumer groups, businesses, enforcement authorities, and members of the wider public.

    Robust product safety rules ensure products are tested to modern standards, protecting consumers while giving responsible businesses the confidence to grow.

    Consumer spending accounts for more than 60% of the UK economy. When people can trust the products they buy, they are more confident to spend, helping businesses to grow and supporting higher living standards across the country

    This is part of the Government’s wider action to strengthen consumer protection and tackle unsafe products. 

    In March, the Government launched a once-in-a-generation programme of reform of the UK’s product safety framework, including measures to address the growing challenge of unsafe products sold through online marketplaces.

    The Government has also introduced landmark new protections against fake reviews and drip pricing, is taking action against subscription traps, and will publish an ambitious consumer action plan later this year to go even further in protecting consumers and their hard-earned money.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Supported housing residents to keep more of what they earn under new rules [July 2026]

    PRESS RELEASE : Supported housing residents to keep more of what they earn under new rules [July 2026]

    The press release issued by the Department for Work and Pensions on 6 July 2026.

    More than 300,000 residents in supported housing and temporary accommodation will no longer face a drop in income when increasing their working hours, under new rules laid in Parliament today.

    • Residents in supported housing and temporary accommodation previously faced a “cliff edge” loss of income when increasing their working hours 
    • New changes to the welfare system which encourage work and ensure it always pays come into force in October 
    • Measure to benefit around 300,000 vulnerable claimants living in supported housing and temporary accommodation

    More than 300,000 residents in supported housing and temporary accommodation will no longer face a drop in income when increasing their working hours, under new rules laid in Parliament today [Monday 6 July]. 

    The system inherited by this Government left vulnerable people in supported housing having to choose between staying out of work, or risk losing their housing support, because the work allowance was higher for Universal Credit than it was for Housing Benefit. 

     The less generous rules for Housing Benefit created a cliff edge that trapped people on benefits rather than supporting them into work. Some landlords even discouraged residents from taking jobs to protect their own rental income. 

    As part of the Government’s commitment to move from a welfare state to a working state, the regulations change how Housing Benefit is calculated so it works in the same way as Universal Credit – a change that will incentivise work for 315,000 people when they come into force in October 2026. 

    Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, said: 

    The system we inherited was actively pushing some of the most vulnerable residents away from work rather than towards it. These changes fix that – ensuring residents can keep more of what they earn, so that taking a job or increasing hours always pays better than benefits.

    This announcement delivers on a commitment made in our Autumn Budget, and forms part of the government’s wider plan to reform the welfare system – tearing out the barriers that have trapped people in dependency.

    We are replacing that system with one that rewards work and ensures people keep more of what they earn, while protecting those who need it most.

    Today’s rules come alongside previous steps to help people on disability benefits that want to work, into work. We have already rebalanced Universal Credit to tackle the perverse incentives that discouraged work and introduced Right to Try legislation, allowing sick or disabled people to try work without the immediate fear of reassessment.   

    These measures come alongside our Connect to Work programme, which delivers tailored, personalised, local support that will help 300,000 people into work, and the deployment of 1000 Pathways to Work advisers to help those written off by the previous Government. 

    Additional Information 

    • The Housing Benefit (Earned Income Disregards) Regulations 2026 laid before parliament on 6th July 2026, come into force on 5 October 2026.  
    • Five new earned income disregards are being introduced for working-age Housing Benefit claimants in supported housing and temporary accommodation.  
    • Disregard values will be updated annually. No group is made worse off by this change; any variation in the immediate financial gain reflects how existing Universal Credit and Housing Benefit tapers already operate.
  • PRESS RELEASE : Tough new rules to crackdown on foreign money in UK elections [July 2026]

    PRESS RELEASE : Tough new rules to crackdown on foreign money in UK elections [July 2026]

    The press release issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 6 July 2026.

    New rules include a cap on donations from those who’ve lived overseas and tougher checks on company donations.

    • New safeguards to stop foreign money influencing UK elections, including a timebound cap on donations on those who move to the UK from overseas.
    • Tougher checks on company donations will ensure only legitimate UK-linked businesses can contribute, with donations assessed against profits rather than revenue.
    • Candidates will be required to prove campaign funding comes from legitimate sources, strengthening transparency and closing loopholes in political finance rules.

    Foreign money influencing UK elections will be stamped out under a major package of reforms to strengthen political finance rules and protect British democracy.

    The government will confirm today it will introduce a new timebound cap on large political donations from people who have recently moved to the UK, in effect creating a minimum amount of time someone must permanently be based in the country before they can donate over the cap to a political party or candidate. 

    Other new measures include stronger tests on company donations, new and tough transparency requirements for candidates, and the closing of loopholes that could be exploited by those seeking to interfere in UK elections.

    The measures, announced as part of the government’s response to the independent Rycroft Review, will strengthen safeguards against foreign financial influence and reinforce the UK’s position as a world leader in defending democratic integrity.

    Together, the reforms will ensure political donations are transparent, legitimate and firmly rooted in the UK, helping to safeguard elections for years to come.

    Secretary of State Steve Reed said:

    British democracy is not for sale. These tough new rules will shut down dodgy funding, stop foreign money influencing our elections and keep our democracy strong.

    By holding overseas donors to tougher standards and requiring candidates to prove where their funding comes from, we are taking world-leading action to protect the integrity of our elections and tackle the threats we face from abroad.

    Minister for Democracy, Samantha Dixon MP, said:

    The overwhelming majority of people who take part in our democratic process do so honestly and transparently, but our rules must keep pace with new and emerging threats.

    These reforms will close loopholes that can be exploited by those seeking to influence UK politics through foreign money, while strengthening transparency around campaign funding and company donations.

    This means political decisions are made only in the interests of voters in the United Kingdom.

    Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said: 

    For too long, foreign money, foreign bot farms and foreign powers have exploited the system, trying to warp our elections and sow division in our country for their own ends.

    We’re cracking down on those trying to buy – and sell – our democracy and putting the British people first. If you want to donate to our politics, you need to have legitimate and longstanding roots in our country.

    As part of the government’s response to the independent Rycroft Review today [Monday 6 July], new safeguards will be introduced to toughen the previously-announced cap on political donations of more than £100,000 from overseas donations. 

    Individuals returning to the UK will now be subject to the cap for at least a full calendar year to prevent the rules being dodged – not just those who are registered to vote overseas. 

    Companies will also face tougher checks, with political donations assessed against post-tax profits over the previous five years rather than revenue alone.

    This means only legitimate UK-linked businesses will be able to donate in a way that is transparent, accountable and reflective of their real financial position. Anyone could set up a business with high revenue without needing to demonstrate how they operate and make money, or whether they’re paying tax in the UK. Having a profit-based system will make donations clearer and more accountable.

    Views of key groups, including the Electoral Commission and Committee on Standards in Public Life, have been listened to and accepted the Rycroft recommendation, which stated corporate donation income tests should be amended to one based on post-tax profits, rather than revenue.

    This will strengthen the rules already set out in the Representation of the People Bill, which outlines that companies making donations will be required to show a genuine connection to the UK or Ireland by demonstrating that they are headquartered in the UK, majority owned or controlled by UK electors or citizens and have generated sufficient revenue to cover the donation.

    For the first time, candidates will also be required to prove that any campaign funding received before they become a candidate has come from legitimate sources.

    Candidates will also be required to declare donations above £2,230 received prior to officially becoming a candidate, improving transparency even further. At present, donations received before the regulated election period are not covered by the same requirements, meaning funding from illegitimate sources could go undeclared and later be used to support a campaign.

    This builds on the measures announced in March as part of the government’s initial response to the Rycroft Review, including the hard cap on political donations from overseas electors and a ban on crypto donations. The changes being made today will accept the rest of Philip Rycroft’s recommendations in full. 

    The major reforms will be taken forward through as amendments to the Representation of the People Bill, which returns to the Commons for Report stage next week [w/c 13 July]. 

    The government has been clear that we will act decisively to defend the UK’s democratic system from malign influence and the measures will safeguard the integrity, transparency and resilience of elections and political finance for years to come.

  • Keir Starmer – 2026 Joint statement on the Strait of Hormuz

    Keir Starmer – 2026 Joint statement on the Strait of Hormuz

    The joint statement made by Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron on 3 July 2026.

    The Strait of Hormuz is a vital artery for the global economy. Restoring safe transit for ships of all nations through the Strait is a matter of global concern.

    The Sultanate of Oman has agreed to work with the United Kingdom and France to ensure that its sovereign territorial waters are safe for navigation. 

    The UK and France also stand ready to deploy the wider Multinational Military Mission to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

    The United Kingdom and France reaffirm their shared commitment to regional stability, respect for the sovereignty of all States, and their willingness to maintain close cooperation with their partners in order to uphold global security, freedom of navigation and international law.

  • PRESS RELEASE : UN Human Rights Council 62 – UK Statement for the Interactive Dialogue on Ukraine [July 2026]

    PRESS RELEASE : UN Human Rights Council 62 – UK Statement for the Interactive Dialogue on Ukraine [July 2026]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 3 July 2026.

    UK Statement for the Interactive Dialogue on Ukraine. Delivered by the UK’s Human Rights Ambassador, Eleanor Sanders.

    Thank you, Mr President.

    The United Kingdom thanks the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General for their report. Our thoughts are with all those affected by Russia’s devastating attack on Kyiv this week.

    We remain deeply concerned by Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine and ongoing human rights atrocities in temporarily occupied territories, including Crimea. We condemn Russia’s actions highlighted in the reports, including: restrictions on fundamental freedoms, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment, and the persecution of Crimean Tatars and other communities. We are also concerned by the transfer and deportation of Ukrainian civilians and children.

    The UK reaffirms its unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, including Crimea. We remain committed to supporting accountability for violations of international law and continue to support international efforts to maintain attention on Crimea, including through the International Crimea Platform.

    We welcome continued UN monitoring and reporting, which remain vital for promoting accountability and protecting human rights.

    Thank you.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Over £4 billion invested in next-generation fighter jet with new international contract [July 2026]

    PRESS RELEASE : Over £4 billion invested in next-generation fighter jet with new international contract [July 2026]

    The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 3 July 2026.

    The £4.6 billion contract awarded to industry joint venture Edgewing, funded jointly by the three partner nations, will advance the next stage of the aircraft’s design.

    • £4.6 billion contract secured with Italy and Japan to deliver a next-generation combat aircraft.
    • Major milestone in trilateral programme to bring a sixth-generation fighter jet into service from 2035.
    • Comes as Defence Investment Plan confirmed that the UK will invest £8.6 billion in the programme over four years, supporting British jobs, innovation and national security.

    Over £4 billion is being invested today in the next generation high-tech fighter jet, which will secure the skies and support skilled manufacturing jobs in Britain.

    The contract, signed today, is a key milestone for the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a groundbreaking collaboration between the UK, Japan and Italy to develop a sixth-generation combat aircraft, targeted to enter service in 2035.

    It comes just after the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) confirmed this week that the UK would invest £8.6bn into the programme over four years.

    Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard MP said:

    The Global Combat Air Programme will give our pilots a cutting-edge stealth fighter jet. Signing this £4.6 billion contract alongside Italy and Japan is a major step forward towards delivery.

    This milestone strengthens our partnership with international allies, supports thousands of highly skilled jobs across the UK, and will give the RAF the tools they need to keep the UK safe, all backed by an £8.6bn commitment in the Defence Investment Plan.

    The GCAP fighter jet will work alongside Typhoons, F-35s and autonomous systems as part of a next-generation Royal Air Force. The aircraft will use complex digital engineering, AI and ground-breaking technologies to be the most advanced fighter jet flown by the RAF.

    The £4.6 billion contract, funded jointly by the three nations, has been awarded through the GCAP Agency to industry joint venture Edgewing, and will advance the next stage of the aircraft’s design by establishing its key requirements and rigorous testing. GCAP and the UK’s future combat air system has already delivered tangible advances in UK digital engineering and advanced manufacturing, including the use of AI, robotics, augmented reality and additive manufacturing to speed up design, testing and production processes.

    GCAP delivers significant long-term economic benefits to the UK and is part of the UK’s future combat air system, which already helps support 4,500 jobs across the country. With a supply chain of approximately 600 organisations, the work strengthens the UK’s sovereign industrial base, securing skilled good manufacturing jobs.

    The DIP committed over £1.1 billion of new funding to upgrade and sustain the RAF’s Typhoon force into the 2040s, £2.2 billion for purchasing new F-35s to expand the UK’s fleet of stealth fighter jets, and £300 million to begin developing a new UK autonomous combat aircraft.

    GCAP brings together the industrial and technological strengths of all three nations, driving innovation and skills across key areas such as digital engineering, advanced propulsion, sensors and data systems, delivering a highly capable future combat air system.

  • NEWS STORY : World War One soldier laid to rest after DNA identification nearly 110 years on

    NEWS STORY : World War One soldier laid to rest after DNA identification nearly 110 years on

    STORY

    A World War One soldier from Cambridgeshire has been laid to rest in France nearly 110 years after he went missing during the Battle of the Somme. Private Robert Leonard Lock, from Littleport near Ely, was buried at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Warlencourt British Cemetery on 30 June 2026 after his remains were identified through DNA testing.

    The burial service was organised by the Ministry of Defence’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre, also known as the “War Detectives”. It took place on the eve of the 110th anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme, which began on 1 July 1916.

    Private Lock served with the 12th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry. His remains were discovered in 2022 when a farmer was ploughing a field near Le Sars, and DNA testing coordinated by the JCCC later confirmed his identity.

    The service was attended by members of Lock’s family, including his great nephew Anthony Wright and Wright’s sons. Roland Lock, a first cousin once removed of Private Lock who had provided a DNA sample, also attended.

    Wright said the family was grateful to the JCCC for its work in ensuring that Robert could be properly laid to rest. He said the occasion was sad, but that the family remained proud of the sacrifice Lock had made.

    Private Lock had been a farm labourer before serving with the Durham Light Infantry. On 7 October 1916, his battalion attacked the sunken road south east of Le Sars and occupied a trench position known as the Tangle, the same area where his remains were later found.

    By the end of that day, the battalion had captured the sunken road and consolidated its position, but suffered heavy losses. One officer was killed, another was missing, and 31 other ranks were killed with 86 wounded. Private Lock was among those killed and was 20 years old.

    The burial service was supported by serving soldiers from The Rifles and was conducted by the Reverend Stephen Cassells, Chaplain to 2nd Battalion The Rifles. Serving members of the German and Belgian military were also present.

    Vice Admiral Peter Hudson, Vice Chairman of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, said the reburial restored Private Lock to his rightful place among his comrades of the Durham Light Infantry. His grave will now be cared for by the CWGC in perpetuity.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Export bar to save flint handaxes crafted by some of Britain’s very first human settlers [July 2026]

    PRESS RELEASE : Export bar to save flint handaxes crafted by some of Britain’s very first human settlers [July 2026]

    The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 3 July 2026.

    A temporary export bar has been placed on two prehistoric handaxes representing some of the oldest human settlements in Britain.

    • The handaxes are believed to be around 500,000 years old 
    • The bar will allow time for UK museums or institutions to acquire the handaxes for the nation

    Culture Minister Baroness Twycross has placed export bars on two flint handaxes that offer insights into the lives of Britain’s earliest settlers, allowing time for a UK buyer to be found.

    Both flint handaxes were discovered on the Happisburgh shoreline in Norfolk. Their discoveries followed the unexpected consequences of storms in the East of England, which cleared away clay on the beach shore and exposed ancient land surfaces underneath.

    Created using a stone or antler hammer to knock off flakes from both sides of a larger piece of flint, these handaxes have strong, skilfully shaped edges suitable for cutting and scraping. They were used without handles.

    One of the handaxes has an asymmetrical appearance, with small patches of orange-brown staining from the sediments in which it was deposited. This handaxe is 13cm long and weighs 465 grams.

    The other handaxe is distinguishable by its mottled light brown and grey colouration. One side of the flint also retains a small patch of chalky outer cortex. This piece is just over 10cm long and weighs 308 grams.

    Found on the Happisburgh shoreline, the handaxes belong with a series of finds connected to some of the first human occupation of northern Europe. They provide internationally significant insights into the type of technologies that first enabled humans to survive in northern environments.

    Britain’s environment was different from today when hunter-gatherers made these handaxes around 500,000 years ago. What became the River Thames then ran a northeastern course through Norfolk, entering the North Sea near the find site at Happisburgh. Subsequently, a cold period caused ice sheets to cover the North Sea, East Anglia and the Midlands, churning up and moving the ground beneath. As the climate warmed again, the ice sheets melted, dumping dirt and rock across the landscape covering the Happisburgh area. Recent rising sea levels and storms exposed the hunter-gatherers’ campsites sealed underneath.

    Culture Minister, Baroness Twycross said:

    These handaxes present a window into the lives of some of our oldest ancestors. The Britain they inhabited was very different from our own and items like these provide a valuable insight into a world that is extremely difficult to research.

    I hope these handaxes can find a UK buyer who can keep them accessible to the public, so that we can all share in the revelations they bring about some of Britain’s very first settlers.

    RCEWA committee member, Tim Pestell said: 

    Happisburgh, on the East Norfolk coast, can be said to represent the first page in British history. These wonderfully tactile flint handaxes, found on Happisburgh’s shoreline, help provide internationally-significant evidence of the earliest human occupation in northern Europe, some 500-600,000 years ago. Follow-up research excavations and citizen science have revealed archaeological and geological evidence to contextualise these stray finds, and even recorded stretches of footprints preserved in ancient sediments, made by ancestor species of modern humans. It is hard to overstate the importance of finds from Happisburgh to scientific knowledge and to our nation’s history. I therefore earnestly hope that these handaxes will be preserved in a museum collection where they can be accessible to both the general public on display and to the research community, to continue unlocking their secrets.

    These objects are some of the oldest to be under export deferral in the last decade. This marks the seventh temporary export bar issued since the start of the year by the Government. This follows export bars placed on items such as a bust of John Gordon of Invergordon, Shock Dog by Anne Seymour Damer, and an archive of the Scots Mining Company.

    The Minister’s decision follows the advice of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA).

    The Committee made its recommendation on the basis that both the handaxes met the first and third Waverley criteria for their outstanding connection with our history and national life and its outstanding, global significance to the archaeological, geological and palaeontological study of the most ancient human population of Britain.

    The decision on the export licence application for the handaxes will be deferred for a period ending on 2 September 2026 inclusive. At the end of the first deferral period owners will have a consideration period of 15 Business Days to consider any offer(s) to purchase either handaxe at the recommended price of £15,000 (plus VAT of £3,000, which could be reclaimed by an eligible institution). The second deferral period will commence following the signing of an Option Agreement and will last for three months.

    Offers from public bodies for less than the recommended price through the private treaty sale arrangements, where appropriate, may also be considered by the Minister. Such purchases frequently offer substantial financial benefit to a public institution wishing to acquire the item.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Culture Secretary celebrates over 400 towns applying to be UK Town of Culture [July 2026]

    PRESS RELEASE : Culture Secretary celebrates over 400 towns applying to be UK Town of Culture [July 2026]

    The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 3 July 2026.

    Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy visited the Museum of Liverpool yesterday to see a digital display of postcards from towns hoping to become the first UK Town of Culture, as judges whittle down hundreds of applications to a final shortlist. 

    Following the launch of the inaugural UK Town of Culture competition last year, the government has confirmed that it received 398 bids representing over 400 hopeful towns from across the UK. 

    In order to celebrate the local pride expressed in the submissions so far, every bidding town was invited to submit a postcard to champion their bid. These have been showcased by National Museums Liverpool in a digital display in the Museum of Liverpool yesterday, (Thursday 2 July), to celebrate the diversity of each and every town that has participated in the competition. 

    Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and chair of the independent panel judging the bids, Sir Phil Redmond, visited the museum to see the display ahead of the shortlist for the competition, which will be announced in the coming weeks.

    It marks a return to the city which secured the title of European Capital of Culture in 2008 and was the catalyst for the introduction of the UK’s own City of Culture competition.

    Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: 

    For far too long, towns across the UK have felt left out of our national story.

    Today we celebrate the local pride that has always existed in towns around the country within this amazing display of postcards from bidding towns. 

    Through UK Town of Culture, I wanted to shine a light on our amazing towns all across the UK and the huge contribution they make to our national life. That contribution is clear to see today and I hope each and every town is incredibly proud of the work they have done to champion their community in the competition.

    Chair of the independent panel, Sir Phil Redmond said: 

    The number of towns that have entered the competition is incredible. It is a distinct moment in its own right, when people overwhelmingly wanted to demonstrate the sense of pride they have in their own communities. 

    It is why we invited every one of them to send a postcard, a snapshot, of where they are, who they are, and how taken together, each contributes to our shared national story. 

    The postcards, along with their initial bids will form part of our national archive so future generations can look back and appreciate this significant cultural moment of history.

    The UK Town of Culture competition is part of the Government’s ambition to restore pride in every part of Britain. The competition – together with the UK City of Culture competition – will shine a light on local visions and voices from across the UK, which will encourage local investment, create a lasting sense of pride, and open doors to the arts for everyone. 

    After the display, the postcards will remain within the National Museums Liverpool’s national collection in recognition of the importance that this moment represents for the UK.

    Laura Pye, Director of National Museums Liverpool, said:

    It is a great honour to welcome the Secretary of State to Museum of Liverpool, a venue built to celebrate a city’s history, culture and people, past and present.

    The Museum of Liverpool is itself a lasting legacy of Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture. It stands as a powerful reminder that investment in culture creates benefits that endure long after the spotlight has moved on – not only in our buildings and public spaces, but in the confidence, pride and opportunities it creates for communities.

    We wish the hopeful towns every success and look forward to seeing how their ambitious cultural visions continue to inspire local communities and visitors alike.

    The winner of the UK Town of Culture competition will go on to host a season of culture in 2028, which will help them to deliver a long-lasting legacy of cultural participation and local pride as has been seen in previous winners of the UK City of Culture competition; Derry-Londonderry, Hull, Coventry and Bradford. 

    The government’s ambition behind the competition is for towns to reap similar benefits from the experience of bidding in the competition and encouraging local residents to get involved in cultural events to celebrate their town.  

    Competing for the title, irrespective of whether or not a place wins, can have a hugely positive impact on the local community. 

    Last year, as UK City of Culture 2025, Bradford led a showstopping cultural programme of 5,000 events – over 75% of which were free – that pulled in an audience of three million, involved over 800 organisations, and resulted in capital investment for more than 30 local cultural organisations. Bradford’s year in the spotlight also led to increased opportunities for local people to get involved with events, with over 100,000 residents taking part in key projects throughout the year.