Latest UK News

The Conservatives unveil plans to deliver a “nationwide super-fast broadband”, partly funded by a portion of the BBC licence fee.

Labour says Treasury figures show the cost of the council tax freeze is already higher than Conservatives claimDavid Cameron’s policy of slashing government spending was thrown into confusion last night after his party suddenly promised to spend more on annual grants to local authorities, allowing them to freeze council tax while maintaining local services.The pledge [...]

• Department for Work and Pensions paid out £2.6bn due to fraud and error last year• ‘It’s unforgivable while taxpayers tighten their belts’ says Conservative spokesmanTen benefit claimants were overpaid an average £100,000 each by the Department for Work and Pensions last year before the mistakes were realised and they were asked to return the [...]

While senior Conservatives say Gordon Brown is wrong to believe Tory strategy could endanger the peace process, some are nevertheless uneasy about their leadership’s tacticsHatfield House, scene of the secret talks between Northern Ireland unionists I blogged about yesterday, has waited a long time to receive so much publicity.Not since 1558, when the young Elizabeth [...]

Tories increasingly seen as upper class but poll shows party increasing lead over Labour as voters think Gordon Brown’s leadership made recession worseSteve Bell…

British and Irish leaders fly in to save peace process as Cameron’s intervention causes consternationThe prime minister Gordon Brown flew into Belfast last night for urgent talks with his Irish counterpart, Brian Cowen, to try to rescue Northern Ireland’s power-sharing executive, as senior British government sources expressed deep unease at the Conservative approach to [...]

Tories seen increasingly as upper class, but lead over Labour widens to 11 points thanks to a rise in the Lib Dem voteThe Conservatives are losing the battle over class, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published today, which shows a third of voters see the Tories as the party of the upper classes.Overall, Labour has [...]

Gordon Brown believes the Conservatives are endangering the Northern Ireland peace process by adopting a pro-unionist stance in breach of the bipartisan approach which dates back nearly 20 years.As the prime minister flew to Belfast tonight with his Irish counterpart, Brian Cowen, to try to rescue the power-sharing executive, senior British government sources expressed deep [...]

Conservatives claim the lessons of the Edlington torture case will never be learnt unless the Serious Case Review is published.

The Conservatives say they could bring back prison ships, although the move is not in their draft manifesto.