#independent

#independent

The plan was for a morning of low-key door knocking for the Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, and Michael Shanks, the party's candidate for the anticipated byelection in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, the seat held by the former Scottish National party MP and Covid rule-breaker Margaret Ferrier.But as the media descended, looking for Sarwar's reaction to the arrest of the former first minister Nicola Sturgeon in Police Scotland's investigation into the finances of the party she previously led, it was clear that the significance of this seat in the political landscape had again been heightened: once more the SNP was in turmoil and Scottish Labour primed to seize the momentum.

Lord Heseltine has called for Britain to recreate our position at the centre of Europe after the failure of Brexit.The Tory grandee accused political leaders of hiding from the damage being caused by the UK leaving the EU.The former deputy prime minister under John Major said the time has come for the British people to be told the truth.

The UK is facing a "dangerous" teacher shortage as the recruitment crisis in the sector deepens, headteachers have told The Independent.Shock new figures this week show teacher vacancies in English schools have doubled in the past two years as falling pay and worsening conditions make recruitment increasingly difficult.

Rishi Sunak's government has vowed to end the windfall tax on oil and gas companies if prices continue to fall, in a move branded premature while millions across Britain continue to struggle with the cost of living.Ministers said the tax has raised 2.8bn and will soon have saved a typical household 1,500 on their energy bills since it was imposed last May to fund support for consumers and businesses, as prices skyrocketed following the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Boris and Carrie Johnson hosted a close friend at Chequers while some coronavirus restrictions were still in place, it has been reported.The former prime minister and his then-pregnant wife are said to have invited corporate events organiser Dixie Maloney to the Buckinghamshire country mansion on 7 May 2021.

Jump to content Sign up to our newslettersSubscribe News Sports Voices Culture Lifestyle Travel Premium NewsUKUK Politics Martha McHardy Saturday 17 June 2023 10:00Comments Close Privileges Committee finds Boris Johnson misled Parliament Boris Johnson has been accused of committing a clear breach of the rules for failing to follow protocol ahead of announcing his new columnist role at the Daily Mail.

Recently I reread C.S. Lewis's 1945 novel, That Hideous Strength, the last book in his Space Trilogy, and since I wrote about aliens last weekend it seems like a good week to talk a little bit about the novel's contemporary relevance.For those who haven't read it, the book is a curious hybrid, mixing the anti-totalitarian style of dystopia familiar from Lewis's contemporaries like George Orwell and Aldous Huxley with a blend of supernaturalism and science fiction that anticipates Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, among other works.

Dezeen School Shows: bird boxes designed to be mounted under bridges and a series of prosthetics that use VR technology are included in Dezeen's latest school show by students at Zurich University of the Arts.Also included are a waterproof garment design for individuals who use wheelchairs and a piece of mobile furniture that aims to unite the functionality of kitchen and living areas.

Rishi Sunak's pledge to clear a backlog of asylum decisions by the end of this year is on course to fail after the annual cost of Britain's asylum system hit 3.6bn, a watchdog has revealed.The National Audit Office (NAO) said Home Office officials had internally warned that the pledge is in doubt, with urgent action required as costs soared amid an accommodation crisis, unrealistic targets, staffing issues and highly uncertain assumptions made by the government.

A pensioner came face to face with a man suspected to be behind the triple murders in Nottingham as he attempted to break into his bedroom.The resident of the care home on Mapperley Road told The Independent that he punched his glass bay window and added: No one's coming in my room.CCTV shows a man peering through the ground floor window before being shooed away by a staff member.

Rishi Sunak has lashed out at Nadine Dorriess failure to resign as an MP as promised with No 10 describing her decision to hang on days after she said she was quitting as unusual.The prime minister said her constituents deserve proper representation and he was looking forward to a by-election in the former culture secretary's Mid Bedfordshire seat.

An experienced gardener has come forward to remind the British public of the dangers of giant hogweed after finally being burned by the UK's most dangerous plant having spent six years clearing it from riversides in protective clothing.We had been treating giant hogweed for the previous five or six weeks prior to being burnt, said Martyn Ferguson from Aberdeenshire in Scotland.

The family of 19-year-old student Barnaby Webber have described their complete devastation as they condemned the senseless murder of their son in a knife and van attack in Nottingham.The talented young sportsman was among three people killed in the rampage in the early hours of Tuesday, which saw a knife-wielding assailant fatally stab Webber and fellow student Grace Kumar, before killing a 50-year-old man, stealing his van and mowing down three others.

1686703227 Former President Donald Trump's federal arraignment in Miami on Tuesday was historic yet virtually invisible to the public.In an era when people are accustomed to instantly available images and sounds of important events, Trump's not-guilty plea to charges of hoarding classified documents was a step back in time.

Guardian News & Media, the publisher of the Guardian and Observer newspapers, has apologized to at least one woman for its handling of her complaint that one of its star columnists, Nick Cohen, groped her in the newsroom.The company also told staff members that it was changing how it investigates sexual harassment complaints.

One in five fathers are not taking any paternity leave, mainly because they cannot afford to reduce their income, damning new research suggests.A study by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) also found half of families struggle with money when fathers go on paternity leave.Another half said they did not feel able to take enough time off work to support their families.

Not everyone in Puerto Rico agrees we are the oldest colony in the world.But as a territory that is neither independent nor a state we have no voice in Congress the tension feeds lack of clarity and an illusion of self-governance that obscures our political reality.It robs us of a defined national identity, an economic road map and political dignity.

Founded by Henry Ford in 1903, the Ford Motor Company rocketed to success by mass-producing reliable, low-priced automobiles.When Henry's son, Edsel, took the helm in 1918, he championed a different strategy for a new era.He sought to replace the Model T - iconic but outdated - with a more modern design geared to high-end and foreign markets, and later embraced compromise with labor amid the suffering of the Great Depression.

Sir Keir Starmer has performed a major U-turn on one of Labour's key economic policies, as the party delayed plans to borrow 28bn a year for a green investment pledge.Labour rowed back on its flagship green prosperity plan, which promised to pour 28billion per year into climate-friendly investments until 2030 if it wins the next election.

The Democratic governor's proposal would raise the federal minimum age to buy a firearm to 21 from 18; mandate universal background checks; institute a "reasonable" waiting period for all gun purchases and ban assault rifles nationally.Newsom acknowledged the seemingly unimaginable hurdles to creating a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The multimillionaire hedge fund manager Crispin Odey has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple woman who have worked with him.The Tory donor, a leading figure in London's financial world, faces shocking allegations that he groped female members of staff and masturbated on a female entrepreneur.

Prince Harry's decision to become the first royal in 130 years to enter a witness box has revealed a host of claims about his life and relationship with the British press, as he gave five hours of testimony in his blockbuster trial against The Mirror publisher.In the first day of his cross-examination, the Duke of Sussex was grilled by Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) barrister Andrew Green KC over his claims to have been the victim of illegal information-gathering such as phone hacking.

Prince Harry has claimed that the UK government is at rock bottom in an extraordinary intervention into politics during his High Court case against a tabloid newspaper group.The Duke of Sussex used a remarkable 55-page witness statement in his case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) over alleged phone hacking to lash out at the standards of British government and democracy.