Tag: News Story

STORY

Reform UK is facing scrutiny over its conduct in the Senedd after making a turbulent first impression as the official opposition in Wales.

The Guardian reported that Reform MSs have caused walkouts, emotional exchanges and procedural embarrassment since taking more than a third of seats in the Welsh Parliament. The party has defended its right to challenge the political establishment, but opponents have accused it of importing a more confrontational style into the chamber.

The developments matter beyond Wales because Reform UK remains a major challenge to Labour and the Conservatives at Westminster. Its performance as a parliamentary opposition in the Senedd is likely to be watched closely by other parties seeking to test whether Reform can convert electoral support into disciplined scrutiny and credible Government-in-waiting behaviour.

STORY

The House of Lords is due to debate regulations under the Climate Change Act 2008 covering international aviation and international shipping.

The debate is linked to the Climate Change Act 2008 (International Aviation and International Shipping) Regulations 2026 and an associated regret motion tabled by Lord Moynihan. The regulations form part of the continuing parliamentary scrutiny of how the UK accounts for emissions from transport sectors that have historically been more difficult to include fully in domestic carbon budgets.

The debate comes after renewed warnings from the Climate Change Committee that weakening net zero policy would damage investment and the economy. Ministers are likely to face questions over how aviation and shipping targets fit into wider climate policy, including the seventh carbon budget and the Government’s approach to economic growth.

STORY

The House of Lords is preparing to complete detailed scrutiny of the National Security (State Threats) Bill, with committee and remaining stages scheduled for Tuesday.

The Bill would create a new power for the Home Secretary to designate bodies involved in foreign power threat activity, with new offences applying to those supporting, assisting or obtaining material benefits from designated organisations. Ministers argue the legislation is needed to respond to hostile state activity and the changing nature of national security threats.

Peers are expected to consider amendments on involvement with hostile states, financial concealment and the scope of the new powers. The legislation has already prompted scrutiny over how the designation system would operate and how ministers would balance national security with legal safeguards.

STORY

The House of Commons begins the week with questions to Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, followed by the first allotted day of Estimates debates.

MPs are due to debate estimates relating to the Cabinet Office, Northern Ireland Office, Home Office and Ministry of Justice. The Hansard Society said Parliament is being asked to approve the Government’s request for £1.15 trillion of public expenditure for the current financial year.

The week’s Commons business also includes further Estimates debates on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Work and Pensions. Prime Minister’s Questions is scheduled for Wednesday, followed by proceedings on the Supply and Appropriation Bill and the Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill.

STORY

The Government is moving towards a major change in Royal Navy procurement, with plans for next generation destroyers replaced by at least six new Common Combat Vessels designed to coordinate drones and autonomous systems.

Sources reported that the Ministry of Defence will abandon the planned Type 83 destroyer replacement programme and instead invest in hybrid vessels able to operate with uncrewed air, surface and underwater systems. Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis has said the ships will be British built and intended to support domestic defence jobs as well as military capability.

The move forms part of the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan and reflects the Government’s focus on emerging threats, including Russian activity in the North Atlantic and around undersea infrastructure. The decision follows weeks of political pressure over defence funding and comes after John Healey resigned from the Ministry of Defence amid concerns over the scale of available investment.

STORY

Passengers faced fresh disruption on the beleaguered rail network after engineering works overran between Peterborough and St Neots, causing delays and service disruption on the route. National Rail said the problem was caused by overrunning engineering works between Peterborough and St Neots. The disruption affected services on one of the key routes into and out of London, adding to passenger frustration after a period of unreliable timetables, replacement buses and repeated disruption across parts of the network.

The incident caused further inconvenience for passengers who have already faced a difficult period of altered services and rail replacement arrangements. Although National Rail later said that all lines had reopened and that the disruption had ended, passengers were still warned that services would need time to recover.

The latest disruption will increase scrutiny of Network Rail and train operators over the planning and delivery of engineering work, with questions being asked about the oversight of the Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander.

STORY

Sir James Cleverly has distanced himself from Kemi Badenoch’s comparison of a Government minister to a Gestapo officer, saying he would not have used the language deployed by the Conservative leader.

Badenoch has faced criticism after Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, said the Conservative leader had compared her to a Gestapo officer during a row over Labour’s decision to end tax exemptions for private schools. Phillipson said Nazi comparisons rarely served political debate well and accused Badenoch of engaging in a “unique brand of unpleasant politics”.

Asked about the remarks, Cleverly declined to endorse Badenoch’s wording. The former Home Secretary said he would not have compared a Government minister to a Gestapo officer, although he also said opposition politicians had a role in challenging ministers robustly.

STORY

Joe Biden has accused Donald Trump of corruption in one of his strongest public attacks on the US President since leaving office. The former President made the comments during a speech to Democrats in Hanover, Maryland, where he criticised Trump’s conduct in office and sought to rally the party ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Biden described Trump as corrupt, incompetent and vain, and told Democrats they had a duty to challenge what he called an abuse of presidential power.

Biden used the speech to attack Trump over public spending, White House renovation projects and alleged political favouritism. He singled out work connected to the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, saying Trump had given work to an old associate and using the episode as an example of what he described as “brazen, blatant corruption”.

The remarks marked a notably combative intervention from Biden, who has been less prominent in day-to-day political campaigning since ending his re-election bid in 2024. His comments came on the second anniversary of the televised debate that badly damaged his campaign and led to Democratic pressure for him to withdraw from the race.

Biden also criticised Trump’s approach to foreign policy, accusing him of weakening America’s alliances and damaging the country’s standing in the world. He said Democrats needed to present themselves as defenders of democratic institutions, international partnerships and basic standards in public life.

STORY

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has declined calls for passengers to receive discounted tickets when rail replacement services and extended journey times are imposed on Government-operated Great Northern routes.

James Wild, the Conservative MP for North West Norfolk, said passengers faced a journey of four hours and 20 minutes with three changes and rail replacement services for a route which should take around one hour and 45 minutes by train. He said the continued poor service was causing significant inconvenience to passengers and damaging the economy.

Wild said the situation was particularly serious because Great Northern is now under state control, meaning the Government has direct responsibility for both the track and the trains. He argued that passengers should not be expected to pay full fares when they are given a materially worse service than the one advertised.

STORY

Uganda’s military chief has ordered the closure of leading independent media outlets in a sharp escalation of the country’s authoritarian drift, using the power of the army to suppress journalism and tighten control over public debate.

Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of President Yoweri Museveni and a likely successor to his father, ordered the shutdown of the Daily Monitor and NTV Uganda, two of the country’s most prominent independent media organisations. Soldiers were deployed to the Daily Monitor’s offices in Kampala, preventing staff from entering or leaving the premises.

The move represents a grave attack on press freedom in a country already facing growing concern over militarisation, political intimidation and the repression of dissent. Kainerugaba made no serious attempt to disguise the nature of the intervention, declaring on social media that he did not believe in a free press and that the media should be guided by cadres of the revolution.

The closure order comes after a period of deepening repression in Uganda, where Museveni has ruled since 1986 and where opposition figures, lawyers and activists have faced increasing pressure. Kainerugaba has become an increasingly powerful political figure, combining his military role with open political ambition and a public style marked by threats and inflammatory statements.