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Labour MPs call to extend provision to every primary pupil in England after study finds health and learning improveLabour is facing calls from MPs to back the provision of free school meals for all primary school children in England, after a new study found evidence that it reduces obesity and boosts reading skills.Levels of obesity were reduced by 7% to 11% among reception children...

A business department report trumpeting the four-year benefits of leaving the EU does not match the reality faced by companiesOn the four-year anniversary of Brexit last Wednesday, business and trade secretary Kemi Badenoch trumpeted its successes. “The British people’s conviction that the UK would excel as masters of our own fate has paid dividends,” she said, launching a report detailing the benefits.Among the top...

Plans to reform social care and House of Lords are trimmed as Keir Starmer’s party opts for caution ahead of voteLabour is planning only limited first-term reforms of social care and the House of Lords and a smaller green investment plan as part of a stripped-down general election manifesto, as it seeks to make its policies “bombproof” to Tory attacks.Shadow cabinet ministers have been...

Countdown for republicans to potential Irish unification ticks louder as new first minister pledges to ‘serve everyone equally’ at StormontThe chamber’s ornate ceiling remained blue, red and gold, and Portland stone still held up the Stormont edifice, but the beaming Sinn Féin faces declared this was a historic moment for Irish nationalism.Michelle O’Neill became Northern Ireland’s first nationalist first minister in a day of...

Assembly members to gather at Stormont to restore power sharing under Sinn Féin first ministerNorthern Ireland’s devolved government is to reconvene on Saturday after a two-year boycott, with Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill making history as the first nationalist first minister.Assembly members (AMs) are to gather at Parliament Buildings at Stormont at 1pm to restore power-sharing institutions that collapsed exactly two years ago. Continue reading...

The man who reportedly once organised sex parties for the wealthy is alleged to be involved in a plot to replace Rishi Sunak“Advisers advise, ministers decide,” goes Margaret Thatcher’s aphorism. But if Nadine Dorries is right, one Conservative adviser has the power to elevate and overthrow prime ministers and has been exercising it for two decades.Some might accuse Dorries of hyperbole. But even to...

Sources say party will keep plan to invest in green infrastructure but will in effect cut green ambitions by about two-thirdsThe Green party is calling for a wealth tax to fund a green investment programme. Here is another extract from the statement issued by Carla Denyer, the Green party’s co-leader, criticising Labour for dropping the £28bn a year target for green investment. (See 9.19am.)...

The chancellor said he wanted to manage people’s expectations ahead of the spring budget In his interview with the BBC’s Nick Robinson, Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, criticised Richard Hughes, head of the Office for Budget Responsibility, for calling the Treasury’s long-term public spending forecasts worse than “a work of fiction”.Hughes told a Lords committee last month:Some people call [the projections] a work of fiction,...

Chancellor says less room now for giveaway in March despite being widely thought to be gearing up for cutsThe chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has said there will be less room for tax cuts in the spring budget next month, just days after the International Monetary Fund warned that the UK needed to focus on repairing its public finances.Hunt, who in November announced he was cutting...

Reeves says she does not have ‘any intention’ of bringing back cap and wants to champion financial services in UKYesterday, as Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, set out details of the deal he has got from the UK government to adjust the Windsor framework, there were no senior figures from his party speaking out to denounce the deal. Full details are only being...

Shadow chancellor says party aims to be champion of a thriving financial sector if it wins electionBusiness live – latest updatesLabour will not reinstate a cap on bankers’ bonuses if it wins the next election, the shadow chancellor has said.Rachel Reeves said she had “no intention” of bringing back the cap, saying she wanted to be the “champion of a thriving financial services industry”.The...

The DUP has endorsed a deal with the UK government to restore power sharing in NI, paving an end to two years of political deadlockGood morning. Rail strikes are still going on in England, but in one part of the UK a long-running “strike” by key public sector workers seems about to come to an end. DUP MLAs (members of the legislative assembly) have...

In today’s newsletter: how the DUP finally brought two-year boycott of Stormont assembly to an end• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. It took 726 days, and a fraught five hour meeting that ended at one o’clock this morning – but at last, it looks like power-sharing is back on in Northern Ireland.At a press conference after a meeting at...

Requirement for importers to give 24 hours’ notice of deliveries described as ‘unfeasible’ by suppliersNew Brexit border rules could cut the shelf life of fresh food from mainland Europe by a fifth and leave some deliveries from the EU unsaleable, major food bodies have warned.The SPS Certification Working group, which represents 30 trade bodies covering £100bn of the UK’s food supply, has said new...

Former PM is fomenting revolt describing proposal as ‘absurd’ as government set to go ahead with plans to ban disposable vapesGood morning. Two weeks ago Rishi Sunak saw off the Tory rebels wanting him to toughen up the Rwanda bill, last week former cabinet minister Simon Clarke was shouted down by colleagues when he called for a new leader, but the turmoil in the...

In today’s newsletter: The head of the British army has hinted at a future citizen’s army – so is Britain fighting fit?• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.As Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds on and the prospect of a Trump presidency becomes more likely, military leaders in the UK and across Europe have been warning that peacetime may be coming...

Move by several countries comes after allegations that UNRWA staff took part in attacks on Israel last yearMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe decision by the US, UK and other western nations to freeze ­funding for the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees will significantly worsen the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, Palestinians have warned.Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland joined the...

Opposition would do better on issues including the economy, health, education, the environment, immigration and crime, public saysMore than twice as many voters believe a Labour government would be better for housing than the Tories, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.The survey shows Labour is well ahead of the Conservatives on most issues including the economy, health, education, the environment, immigration...

Individuals deemed unfit for office still walked away with payments from taxpayers, says shadow Cabinet Office ministerLabour has pledged to reform the rules surrounding ministerial redundancy payments after it emerged that the high turnover of cabinet ministers under the past three prime ministers generated a severance bill worth more than £930,000 in the last financial year.Since 1991, sacked ministers under the age of 65...

Chris Philp says manufacturers found ploy to get around previous ban on previous ban on zombie knives Good morning. Labour and the Conservatives are in a bidding war over knife crime today, with Keir Starmer announcing or re-announcing various plans to deal with the problem on the day when the Home Office is laying legislation before parliament to ban zombie-style knives. Pippa Crerar has...

In today’s newsletter: Former minister Simon Clarke has called for the prime minister to walk before the next election – here’s why• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.Betrayal, treachery and drama: combined together these elements make for great reality TV. They do not work quite as well in government.Middle East | Thousands of people sheltering in hospitals in Khan Younis...

Leader proposes taking steps to reduce availability of ‘zombie’ knives and creating bespoke plans for all offendersKeir Starmer has promised to “get a grip” on soaring knife crime as he announced that a Labour government would bring in a bespoke plan for every offender, including tags and curfews.The Labour leader said there would be an urgent crackdown on the availability of machetes and zombie-style...

Clarke, a Truss ally, says Tory party should ditch PM ahead of general electionAs Eleni Courea reports, in private Conservatives have been even more critical of Simon Clarke than the former ministers who have been criticising him on X. She says:Speaking privately, other Tory MPs were even more forthright. “Not sure we should be taking top tips on leadership from Liz Truss’s right hand,”...

PM rejects calls from MPs for Commons vote over military action as pressure grows to clarify long-term strategy on Red Sea crisisRishi Sunak has warned there could be further bombing of Yemen if Houthi attacks on shipping continue, as he came under mounting pressure from MPs to clarify Britain’s long-term strategy for tackling the deepening crisis.The prime minister told parliament that a second round...