Politics - Daily Politics

The UK’s elections watchdog has ruled out opening an investigation into the constituency campaign spending of Nigel Farage, saying there is no evidence that electoral rules were breached.

The Electoral Commission said it had reviewed complaints and information relating to Farage’s campaign during the recent general election but found no grounds to launch a formal inquiry. Under UK law, constituency spending must remain within strict limits, with candidates required to accurately declare campaign costs.

Critics had questioned whether activities linked to Farage’s wider party campaign may have benefited his local candidacy without being properly attributed to constituency spending. The commission said the ...

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir Starmer opened by condemning the anti-Semitic terror attack at Bondi Beach and said he had spoken with UK security and community leaders to help protect Hanukkah events, reaffirming a crackdown on antisemitism and hate crime.

Starmer was pressed on a UK scholarship scheme for students from Gaza due to expire on 31 December. He said the government was working on solutions for those unable to leave and wanted students to take up their places, pointing to an existing medical evacuation scheme for children.

The Leader of the Opposition attacked Starmer over economic performance, claiming unemployment has ...

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer opened a wide-ranging appearance before Parliament’s Liaison Committee by condemning an antisemitic terror attack in Sydney, warning it had heightened fear within Jewish communities in the UK. He said the government was working closely with police, the Community Security Trust and religious leaders to ensure safety during upcoming Hanukkah events, stressing that antisemitic violence was “not an isolated incident”.

The session quickly turned to standards in public life, with MPs pressing Starmer on adherence to the Nolan Principles and the ministerial code. He was challenged over a social media post on bus fares, written ministerial statements being ...

US President Donald Trump has filed a high-stakes $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC in a Florida federal court, claiming the British broadcaster intentionally misrepresented his speech ahead of the 6 January 2021 Capitol attack.

Trump’s legal complaint centres on a Panorama documentary aired in October 2024, which he alleges spliced together separate sections of his speech in a way that falsely implied he incited violence at the US Capitol. According to the lawsuit, the documentary omitted portions of his remarks that called for peaceful protest, creating a misleading narrative with “defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious” content.

The lawsuit, filed on 16 ...

The UK government has launched an independent review into foreign financial interference in domestic politics, prompted by the recent conviction and lengthy prison sentence of former politician Nathan Gill for accepting bribes to promote Russian interests.

Gill, a former member of the right-wing Reform UK party and ex-representative in the European Parliament, was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison after admitting he received approximately £40,000 between 2018 and 2019 in exchange for making pro-Russian statements in various forums. Prosecutors presented evidence of payments and directives from a sanctioned former Ukrainian lawmaker, as well as incriminating material found on Gill’s phone.

In ...

• Opening tribute / Ukraine

  • PM paid tribute to Lance Corporal George Hulie (Parachute Regiment) who died in Ukraine in an accident while observing testing of a defensive capability.
  • Reaffirmed UK support for Ukraine and referenced hosting Zelensky, Macron and Chancellor Merz in Downing Street; pledged to “redouble efforts” for a just and lasting peace.

• Refugees / ILR pathway

  • MP raised a case of journalists with refugee status nearing eligibility for indefinite leave to remain, worried policy changes could destabilise families.
  • PM said the UK will remain compassionate and comply with convention obligations, but gave limited detail on transitional arrangements.

• Child poverty / early years

  • Question focused on the “first 1,001 ...