Author: James Carter

The Conservatives say they will abolish rules that allow extra payments for certain overseas polygamous marriages. The Government says only a handful of households are involved and that the arrangements are not more generous than separate claims. The Conservatives have pledged to end rules under older benefit arrangements that allow extra payments for a second or subsequent spouse in some legally recognised overseas polygamous marriages. The party’s critics of the rules have branded them an “outrageous” loophole. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says fewer than 10 Housing Benefit households were recorded as involving such a marriage. The Government…

President Trump’s new press secretary left her post after about a week. Reporters from the Wall Street Journal say a senior aide tapped her on the shoulder while she was speaking to them. Katie Zacharia has left her role as White House press secretary after only days in the job, with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) describing how her departure unfolded. According to its reporters, she was giving an interview on Friday when a senior White House aide told her “JD wants to chat” and led her out of her office. She did not return. Minutes later, President Donald Trump…

Kemi Badenoch’s party has moved ahead of Reform UK on who the public regards as Labour’s main challenger, though the survey measures perceptions and not voting intentions. The Conservatives have overtaken Reform UK as the party the public sees as Labour’s main opposition, according to an Ipsos poll. Some 35% named the Tories and 32% Reform, the first time the Conservatives have led on this measure in this Parliament. In May, Reform was 28 points ahead. The shift follows Kemi Badenoch’s party conference, and comes as Reform faces police inquiries over donations and a fresh racism and sexism row. What…

Kimberly Reiser says she broke her arm and dislocated her shoulder on what her lawsuit calls a “defective and hazardous wooden stair”. The claim is an allegation, and the city has not been reported as responding. A Pennsylvania woman has sued the City of Salem, Massachusetts, for $767,825 over a fall at the Jonathan Corwin House, which tourists know as The Witch House. Kimberly Reiser was on a group tour in November 2023 when she tripped on a staircase, according to the lawsuit. She filed a slip-and-fall negligence claim in Essex County Superior Court on 8 October. The claim was…

The US president would not directly blame the Russian leader for the 2022 invasion, widening a rift with Britain and other Nato allies as Washington faces questions over restrictions on Kyiv’s military satellite access. President Donald Trump has declined to say that Vladimir Putin started the war in Ukraine, again putting him at odds with the UK and most other Nato members. Asked whether he had forgotten that the Russian leader launched the 2022 invasion, he did not answer directly and implied the matter was not straightforward. He also denied the US was responsible for the disruption to Ukraine’s access…

Party chair Bridget Phillipson says Labour will end co-operation with Green groups that cannot assure it they oppose the motion, as the equality watchdog writes to the Greens. Labour has threatened to end power-sharing arrangements with the Green Party in local government unless Green branches publicly reject their party’s new policy that Zionism is racism. Labour chair Bridget Phillipson announced the ultimatum on Thursday, giving local Green groups seven days to respond. The motion, passed at the Greens’ conference, calls for Israel to be treated like apartheid South Africa and has been branded antisemitic. The Equality and Human Rights Commission…

The Prime Minister will visit Lanarkshire on Friday and argue that Scotland’s devolved government is among the most centralised in Europe, while the SNP holds its conference and presses for another independence referendum. Prime Minister Andy Burnham will invite First Minister John Swinney to work with him on pushing power away from both Holyrood and Westminster. He will make the offer during a visit to Lanarkshire on Friday. Mr Burnham is expected to say that Scotland’s devolved administration is one of the most centralised in Europe, and that giving more decision-making powers to cities and regions should be the next…

The 80-year-old president, hoarse after a punishing run of midterm rallies, said he hoped his voice would “hold out” and floated the idea of a robot double so he could “sit home and watch”. President Donald Trump has joked that he could send a robot lookalike to campaign for him, after a punishing schedule of midterm rallies left his voice raspy. Speaking at a White House lunch on Thursday, the 80-year-old said: “I just hope my voice holds out.” He had returned to Washington at 4am that morning after speeches in Arizona and Montana. The midterm elections are on 3…

The Ukrainian president, visiting London, says the United States and SpaceX knew what they were doing when the satellite service was restricted overnight, and warns that “people will die”. Volodymyr Zelensky has said he feels betrayed by Donald Trump after Ukraine’s military reported that Starlink, the satellite communications system produced by Elon Musk’s SpaceX but managed by the US government, stopped working at speeds above 100mph. The Ukrainian president, who is in London, accused his US counterpart of picking the other side after more than four years of war. He made the remarks ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister…

Dean Miller, who was elected to Bromley Council in May, was secretly recorded while campaigning in the Makerfield by-election, according to ITV. He says he was heavily medicated at the time. A Reform UK councillor in south-east London has resigned from the party after an ITV undercover investigation alleged that he made racist remarks, including that King Charles is a Muslim. Dean Miller, who represents Bromley, was recorded while campaigning for Reform in the Makerfield parliamentary by-election, according to the broadcaster. ITV’s Undercover: A Year In Reform airs on Sunday 18 October at 10.20pm on ITV1 and ITVX. Mr Miller is now…