UK Politics
The latest political news and updates from around the UK.
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Eurosceptics baulk as May pitches status quo Brexit transition
U.K.British Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament her plan on Monday for a Brexit transition period with broadly the same access to European Union markets but was met with scepticism from pro-Brexit lawmakers fearful of a watered-down EU exit. -
Electoral body fines Liberal Democrats over Brexit vote expenses
U.K.Britain's Electoral Commission said on Tuesday it has fined the Liberal Democrats party 18,000 pounds for breaching campaign finance rules in the 2016 European Union referendum. -
Brace for a UK election next year, opposition Labour leader Corbyn says
U.K.Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said there is likely to be a British national election next year but that he opposes a second referendum on European Union membership, Grazia magazine reported. -
UK wants to set rules 'right for our situation' after Brexit - May's spokesman
U.K.Prime Minister Theresa May told ministers on Tuesday Britain's objective should be a deal that enables it to set rules that are right for its situation after leaving the European Union, her spokesman told reporters after a meeting where May presented her long-term aims for upcoming Brexit talks. -
UK's Nissan Brexit letter still too sensitive to disclose a year on
U.K.A letter sent by the British government to Nissan a year ago offering reassurances about Brexit which helped secure a major investment from the Japanese carmaker in its UK plant is still too sensitive to release, the business ministry told Reuters. -
Stairway to Brexit: Barnier maps out UK's Canadian path
U.K.A free trade deal with the European Union similar to those it has with Canada and South Korea is the logical outcome of Britain's Brexit "red lines" and EU rules, according to a graphic issued by EU negotiator Michel Barnier on Tuesday. -
Britain's Brexit rebels offer compromise on latest EU exit laws row
U.K.British MPs who inflicted defeat on Prime Minister Theresa May last week in parliament over Brexit have signalled a possible compromise to avoid another row on Wednesday when legislation taking Britain out of the EU is debated. -
Too late, Theresa - Brexit offer to EU citizens leaves many cold
U.K.Back from Brussels with a hard-fought Brexit deal, Prime Minister Theresa May wrote an open letter to the three million citizens of other European Union states living in Britain. -
UK employers downbeat on economy, less confident about hiring - survey
U.K.Fewer British employers plan to hire extra staff next year due to one of the gloomiest economic outlooks since Britain voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, a monthly recruitment industry survey showed on Wednesday. -
Bank of England says firms expect to offer bigger pay rises in 2018
U.K.British businesses expect to offer pay deals averaging around 3 percent next year, up from about 2.5 percent this year, the Bank of England said in a regular report on economic conditions from its regional staff. -
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IMF'S Lagarde sees Brexit weighing on UK economy
U.K.Britain's economy is feeling the impact of last year's decision by voters to leave the European Union and the government's resolution to press ahead with Brexit, Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. -
Britain will fight to retain City of London's position in Brexit talks
U.K.Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday Britain would fight hard to preserve the City of London's position as a top global financial hub in talks to leave the European Union. -
Full Brexit in January 2021 as EU sets transition deadline
U.K.The European Union wants a transition period after Brexit to end no later than the last day of 2020, according to the European Commission's negotiating directives agreed on Wednesday. -
May will allow Brexit delay in exceptional circumstances
U.K.Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday she would permit a short delay to Britain's departure from the European Union in exceptional circumstances, bowing to criticism from her own party over the government's plan to fix the exit date in law. -
Explainer - Damian Green, PM's May deputy, resigns
U.K.British Prime Minister Theresa May forced her most senior minister, Damian Green, to resign on Wednesday after an internal investigation found he had made misleading comments about pornography on computers in his parliamentary office. -
May forces her deputy to resign over pornography scandal
U.K.British Prime Minister Theresa May forced her most senior minister, Damian Green, to resign for lying about whether he knew pornography had been found on computers in his parliamentary office. -
UK's Brexit legislation to return to parliament on Jan. 16 - government
U.K.The legislation underpinning Britain's exit from the European Union will return to parliament for more debate on Jan. 16 and 17, the leader of the House of Commons said on Thursday. -
Critics accuse UK government of not taking Brexit preparations seriously enough
U.K.Pro-European campaigners accused ministers of failing to take preparations for Brexit seriously enough on Thursday, after a committee of lawmakers published the government's sector-by-sector analysis on the impact of leaving the European Union. -
UK business confidence rises to five-month high in December - Lloyds
U.K.Confidence among British businesses has picked up to its highest level since July as firms expect a busier 2018, though optimism remains well below its level before last year's Brexit vote, a survey by Lloyds Bank showed on Friday. -
Legal action to see whether UK could unilaterally stop Brexit gets go-ahead
U.K.A group of anti-Brexit Scottish members of parliament has been given the go-ahead to pursue legal action to establish whether the United Kingdom can unilaterally stop the process of leaving the EU, a Scottish court said on Friday. -
Taking back control - UK's classic blue-and-gold passport to return
U.K.Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday hailed the return of Britain's classic blue passport as a benefit of leaving the EU, pleasing Brexit campaigners for whom it is a symbol of national sovereignty but attracting derision from many remainers. -
Britain wants financial services included in EU trade deal - Davis
U.K.Britain wants to include financial services in a trade deal with the European Union which covers a full sweep of economic areas, Brexit minister David Davis said on Tuesday. -
Ryanair applies for UK licence to shore up routes before Brexit
U.K.Ryanair recently applied for a British air operating licence in a move it said on Tuesday may be required to keep its small domestic UK service operating in the event of a hard Brexit. -
Liam Fox - Too soon to seek membership of Trans-Pacific trade deal
U.K.British trade minister Liam Fox said on Wednesday it was too soon to seek membership of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact. -
Prince Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle 'set to boost UK economy'
U.K.Prince Harry's wedding to American actress Meghan Markle could provide a 500 million pound boost to Britain's economy as tourists flock to the country and Britons celebrate, according to an estimate. -
UK building firms see growth slow in December - PMI
U.K.Growth in Britain's construction sector slowed last month for the first time since September, as weaker growth in house-building combined with a fall in commercial building and stagnating infrastructure work, a survey showed on Wednesday. -
Labour Party grassroots support second Brexit vote - survey
U.K.Eight out of 10 grassroots members of Britain's opposition Labour Party want a referendum on the terms of the country's exit from the European Union, according to a survey published on Thursday. -
British PM May apologizes as overwhelmed hospitals cancel non-emergency operations
U.K.Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May apologized on Thursday to tens of thousands of patients whose operations were canceled to free up staff and beds to deal with emergency patients. -
Farm spending to focus on environment after Brexit - Michael Gove
U.K.Britain will only pay public funds to farmers who provide public benefits such as wildlife habitats or improved soil quality under a post-Brexit shake-up in agricultural policies announced on Thursday. -
May appoints David Lidington as cabinet office minister - May's office
U.K.British Prime Minister Theresa May appointed justice minister David Lidington to the post of cabinet office minister on Monday, filling the job responsible for the administration of the government. -
May names new Northern Ireland minister after Brokenshire resigns
U.K.Prime Minister Theresa May appointed a new Northern Ireland minister on Monday after James Brokenshire resigned due to ill health, posing a new challenge in efforts to resolve a political crisis in the British province. -
Factbox - Who's in, who's out? May reshuffles her ministerial team
U.K.British Prime Minister Theresa May made changes to her ministerial team on Monday, hoping to re-energise a party damaged by divisions over Brexit and still smarting from an ill-judged election last year. -
PM May believes she has right government team after reshuffle - spokesman
U.K.Prime Minister Theresa May believes she has the right government team to tackle the challenges Britain faces, her spokesman said on Tuesday, dismissing criticism that a reshuffle of her top team was shambolic. -
'How to Lose Friends' author quits watchdog job, embarrasses PM May
U.K.The author of the satirical memoir "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People" became the latest figure to embarrass British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday, resigning from a watchdog for British universities over a history of misogynist tweets. -
British Brexit minister complains about EU's planning for no-deal
U.K.Brexit minister David Davis has complained in a letter to the prime minister that Brussels is damaging British interests by talking up the threat to companies if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal. -
UK pledges to amend EU withdrawal bill, soothe Scottish devolution worries
U.K.Britain's government will amend the European Union withdrawal bill in time for it to win backing from Scotland's pro-independence devolved administration, Britain's Scotland minister said on Tuesday. -
UK plans three-month window after Brexit to start court cases under EU law
U.K.Britain said on Tuesday it wanted to give businesses and citizens a three-month window after leaving the European Union in which they can start court cases about a breach of EU legal principles. -
Britons gloomier about Brexit but no change of heart - pollster Curtice
U.K.British pessimism on the economic consequences of leaving the European Union is growing, but Britons have not broadly changed their minds about how they voted, Britain's leading pollster John Curtice said on Tuesday. -
'Farce' - no new start for May with reshuffle
U.K.A government reshuffle by British Prime Minister Theresa May was dismissed even by some of her allies on Tuesday as a failure that one said left her attempt to reassert her authority in "smoke and wreckage". -
Cutting out Brussels middleman, UK ministers make Brexit pitch to Germany
U.K.Facing a tough line from Brussels on what economic ties between Britain and the European Union will look like after Brexit, a pair of senior British ministers made a direct pitch to Germany to cut Britain a good deal. -
UK economy set for 'underwhelming' 2018, says British Chambers of Commerce
U.K.Britain's economy looks set for an underwhelming 2018, according to a major survey on Wednesday that showed businesses are in a subdued mood ahead of Brexit. -
UK industry on track to have boosted economy in fourth quarter 2017
U.K.British industrial output looks set to make a strong contribution to economic growth in the final months of 2017 but construction is likely to drag, official data showed on Wednesday. -
UK business minister meets Peugeot CEO after Vauxhall plant job cuts -
U.K.Britain's business minister Greg Clark is meeting Peugeot Chief Executive Carlos Tavares on Wednesday in Paris to discuss the firm's Vauxhall car plant, a source told Reuters after the firm announced job cuts, raising concerns about the site's future. -
PM May to meet finance bosses to discuss Brexit - sources
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May will meet executives from major finance companies on Thursday to give them a clearer idea of what Britain's divorce from the European Union will mean for the industry, two sources familiar with the matter said.
The meeting will take place amid concerns that Brexit is threatening London's status as the financial capital of Europe and that banks are preparing to move thousands of jobs to the continent to preserve their access to the EU's single market.
A spokesman for May was not immediately able to comment.
Myanmar police focused interrogation on Rohingya story: Reuters journalist
YANGON A Reuters reporter on trial in Myanmar said the police questioning after he and a colleague were arrested in December centered on their reporting of a massacre of Rohingya Muslims, not on secret state documents they are accused of obtaining.
