https://www.scmp.com/rss/322474/feed On June 23, 2016, British voters decided in a referendum that the UK should leave the European Union. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters Labour’s Wes Streeting announced his resignation ⁠as health minister on Thursday, calling for a leadership contest to oust British Prime Minister Keir ⁠Starmer, who has shown no sign he is ready to step down. Disastrous results for the governing Labour Party in last week’s local elections have plunged Britain into its latest crisis, just under two years after Starmer won a large majority on a vow to bring stability and end a decade of political chaos. After days of calls by a growing number of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3353599/uk-health-minister-quits-calls-leadership-contest-oust-pm-starmer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3353599/uk-health-minister-quits-calls-leadership-contest-oust-pm-starmer?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 May 2026 12:49:31 +0000 Reuters Reuters British Prime ⁠Minister Keir Starmer defied calls to resign on Tuesday, telling ministers he would “get on with governing” despite a “destabilising” 48 hours of growing calls to set out a timetable for his departure after a drubbing in local elections. At a meeting of his cabinet, Starmer, in the top job for less than two years, repeated that, while he took responsibility for one of his Labour Party’s worst election defeats, there had been no official move to trigger a leadership contest.... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3353292/uks-starmer-get-governing-defies-calls-quit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3353292/uks-starmer-get-governing-defies-calls-quit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 May 2026 10:51:27 +0000 Stephanie Sam Stephanie Sam “You could do with some international exposure. China, maybe,” a law firm partner said as we stood over the water cooler. His offhand comment was so blasé. I wasn’t sure what unsettled me more – the comment or my reaction to it. Was it xenophobia or the inertia of assumption? He was perfectly pleasant, encouraging even, but beneath the civility was an implication I couldn’t ignore. I had never set foot in Asia, yet suddenly, it felt as though my credibility required a pilgrimage. I wrestled with... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3351898/china-time-geopolitical-flux-i-feel-right-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3351898/china-time-geopolitical-flux-i-feel-right-home?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 May 2026 01:30:09 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg After a year of refusing to choose between Washington and Brussels, Keir Starmer shifted tone in Munich by edging Britain closer to the European Union and calling for an end to over-reliance on American military support. In a speech to the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, the UK Prime Minister urged Europe to deepen its interdependence and sovereign deterrence in light of less support from across the Atlantic since Donald Trump returned to the White House. British officials told reporters... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3343742/starmer-urges-europe-deepen-interdependence-amid-trump-threats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3343742/starmer-urges-europe-deepen-interdependence-amid-trump-threats?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Feb 2026 09:42:46 +0000 Reuters Reuters Britain’s former ‍Conservative Party leadership candidate Robert Jenrick became the biggest-name defector to Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK on Thursday, saying the nation was broken and its two mainstream political parties rotten. Sacked by the Conservatives when his potential switch was leaked, Jenrick appeared alongside Farage at a press conference, the latest of 21 current ⁠or former Conservative lawmakers to join Reform. Farage’s anti-immigration party was ahead of both Prime Minister... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340067/uk-conservative-lawmaker-robert-jenrick-defects-farages-reform-uk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340067/uk-conservative-lawmaker-robert-jenrick-defects-farages-reform-uk?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jan 2026 17:34:49 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Britain is to rejoin the European Union’s popular Erasmus student exchange programme almost five years after leaving the scheme following Brexit, a joint UK-EU statement said on Wednesday. “The UK has successfully agreed terms to join the Erasmus+ programme in 2027, widening opportunities for young people from all backgrounds, learners, educational, youth and sport staff to study and train abroad,” a UK government statement added. The scheme, which will have to be approved by all EU member... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3336797/uk-rejoins-erasmus-student-exchange-programme-post-brexit-reset-under-pm-keir-starmer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3336797/uk-rejoins-erasmus-student-exchange-programme-post-brexit-reset-under-pm-keir-starmer?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Dec 2025 11:11:00 +0000 Reuters Reuters The United States and Britain announced a deal on Monday to secure zero tariffs on British pharmaceutical products and medical technology in return for Britain spending more on medicines and overhauling how it values drugs. Under the agreement, Britain will raise the net price it pays for new US medicines by 25 per cent. In return, UK-made medicines, drug ingredients and medical technology will be exempt from Section 232 sectoral tariffs and any future Section 301 country tariffs. “The United... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3334813/us-uk-deal-slashes-tariffs-medicines-boosting-nhs-spending?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3334813/us-uk-deal-slashes-tariffs-medicines-boosting-nhs-spending?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Dec 2025 15:15:50 +0000 Reuters Reuters British finance minister Rachel Reeves on Sunday denied she misled the public over official forecasts ahead last week’s budget, saying she had been honest about the need to build up a bigger financial buffer. In a speech on November 4, Reeves appeared to lay the groundwork to break the Labour Party’s promise to voters before the 2024 election and raise income tax rates, citing a “weaker than previously thought” productivity performance. In a letter published on Friday, the head of Britain’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334693/uks-rachel-reeves-says-she-did-not-mislead-public-budget?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334693/uks-rachel-reeves-says-she-did-not-mislead-public-budget?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Nov 2025 17:39:10 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Britain’s unpopular centre-left Labour government sought to seize the political narrative on Wednesday with a tax-raising budget that it hopes will boost economic growth by fostering a stable debt outlook, reduce child poverty and ease cost-of-living pressures. But the entire contents of the budget were leaked half an hour before Treasury chief Rachel Reeves delivered the budget statement in the House of Commons, in a sign of the chaos that has engulfed the government during weeks of mixed... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334265/uks-reeves-unveils-tax-plan-amid-embarrassing-budget-leak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334265/uks-reeves-unveils-tax-plan-amid-embarrassing-budget-leak?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Nov 2025 13:30:18 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A hard-right British politician and former ally of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was sentenced Friday to 10½ years in prison for accepting bribes to make favourable statements about Russia in the European Parliament. Nathan Gill, 52, pleaded guilty earlier this year to eight counts of bribery between December 2018 and July 2019. Police have estimated that the former leader of Reform in Wales took at least £40,000 (US$53,000) in bribes. Prosecutors said Gill, a member of the European Union... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333753/hard-right-uk-politician-jailed-taking-bribes-make-pro-russia-statements?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333753/hard-right-uk-politician-jailed-taking-bribes-make-pro-russia-statements?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Nov 2025 14:45:44 +0000 Reuters Reuters Britain on Monday said it would make refugee status temporary and speed up the deportation of those who arrive illegally, in a major overhaul aimed at stemming the rise of the populist Reform UK party and tackling abuse of the current system. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood outlined changes to how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) should be interpreted by UK courts to give the government greater control over who can remain in Britain. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a former human... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333164/britain-toughens-asylum-policy-major-overhaul-anti-immigration-sentiment-rises?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333164/britain-toughens-asylum-policy-major-overhaul-anti-immigration-sentiment-rises?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Nov 2025 18:28:24 +0000 Jinghan (Michael) Zeng Jinghan (Michael) Zeng British politics is once again allowing domestic drama to override strategic thinking. The latest hysteria surrounding alleged Chinese spying and Beijing’s plans for a new embassy in London illustrates how Britain’s foreign policy risks being driven less by sober calculation than by political theatre. The consequences could be severe: Britain is edging towards repeating the mistakes of Brexit, trading its long-term national interests for short-term populist gain. In the United States, the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3332033/britain-danger-repeating-brexit-mistakes-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3332033/britain-danger-repeating-brexit-mistakes-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Nov 2025 12:30:09 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng The full impact of the US removing import duty exemptions for e-commerce shipments may take a year to reach consumers, similar to the timeline seen after the UK’s exit from the European Union, according to the CEO of DHL Express. Consumers had yet to fully realise the additional costs they might have to bear, said John Pearson. “When Brexit happened, I was receiving calls from customers even one year later, saying the duties charged on their orders must have been incorrect,” he told the Post in... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3329192/full-impact-us-e-commerce-duty-change-may-take-year-dhl-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3329192/full-impact-us-e-commerce-duty-change-may-take-year-dhl-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 03:23:28 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A pep talk from Australian leader Anthony Albanese kick-started UK Labour’s annual conference on Sunday, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer struggling to convince nervous members that he can lead the “fight of our lives” against the surging hard-right. Although the ex-lawyer led Labour back to power in Britain in July last year after 14 years in opposition, scandals and policy missteps have already raised doubts about his future. The four-day gathering in Liverpool, northwest England, comes amid... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327167/starmer-warns-uk-labour-fight-our-lives-party-meets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327167/starmer-warns-uk-labour-fight-our-lives-party-meets?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Sep 2025 17:55:11 +0000 Ali Ünal Ali Ünal Western media outlets and think tanks have warned that artificial intelligence (AI) could pose an existential threat to democracy. The early internet and digital communication tools helped disperse political power and strengthen public participation. But today’s advanced algorithms and data-driven systems are often seen as doing the opposite: centralising influence rather than fostering openness. Another common fear is that AI-generated texts, images and voices could be weaponised to manipulate... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3323765/western-democracies-are-facing-their-greatest-test-and-its-not-ai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3323765/western-democracies-are-facing-their-greatest-test-and-its-not-ai?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Sep 2025 12:30:09 +0000 Reuters Reuters Nigel Farage, leader of Britain’s anti-migration Reform UK party, announced a plan on Tuesday to repeal human rights laws to allow for mass deportations of asylum seekers, action he said was needed to prevent “major civil disorder”. Farage said his party, which is leading in national opinion polls, would remove Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), repeal the Human Rights Act and nullify other international treaties that have been used to block the forced deportation of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3323259/uks-nigel-farage-unveils-plan-deport-asylum-seekers-warns-civil-disorder?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3323259/uks-nigel-farage-unveils-plan-deport-asylum-seekers-warns-civil-disorder?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Aug 2025 21:04:55 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A UK judge on Tuesday blocked asylum seekers from being housed at a hotel in a town which has witnessed violent protests, dealing a blow to the government. The High Court judge approved a request by the local authority in Epping, northeast of London, for a temporary injunction to stop migrants from being housed at the Bell Hotel. The ruling, which came after the interior ministry was unsuccessful in trying to dismiss the case, raises questions about the government’s ability to provide... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3322425/protest-hit-uk-town-wins-bid-empty-asylum-seeker-hotel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3322425/protest-hit-uk-town-wins-bid-empty-asylum-seeker-hotel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Aug 2025 17:42:23 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Former leftist Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn announced on Thursday he was forming a new political party alongside another ex-member of Britain’s ruling party, as UK politics continues to splinter. Corbyn, who lost two elections as Labour leader in 2017 and 2019, and fellow independent MP Zarah Sultana said the new left-wing outfit would be called “Your Party”. “It’s time for a new kind of political party. One that is rooted in our communities, trade unions and social movements,” they said in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3319497/ex-labour-leader-jeremy-corbyn-launches-your-party-shake-uk-politics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3319497/ex-labour-leader-jeremy-corbyn-launches-your-party-shake-uk-politics?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Jul 2025 14:08:02 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz signed a landmark treaty on Thursday that pledges to tighten defence ties, as European nations try to protect Ukraine, and themselves, from an aggressive Russia in the face of wavering support from President Donald Trump’s US-focused administration. “This is a historic day for German-British relations,” Merz said, making his first official visit to Britain since taking office in May. “We want to work together more closely,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3318644/uk-and-germany-sign-historic-defence-treaty-amid-russia-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3318644/uk-and-germany-sign-historic-defence-treaty-amid-russia-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Jul 2025 14:53:44 +0000 Reuters Reuters The British government said on Thursday it planned to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all UK elections in a major overhaul of the country’s democratic system. The government said the proposed changes were part of an effort to boost public trust in democracy and would align voting rights across Britain, where younger voters already participate in devolved elections in Scotland and Wales. “They’re old enough to go out to work, they’re old enough to pay taxes … and I think if you pay... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3318605/uk-lower-voting-age-16-all-elections-landmark-reform?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3318605/uk-lower-voting-age-16-all-elections-landmark-reform?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Jul 2025 09:48:30 +0000 Reuters Reuters French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that Britain and France must work together to counter the world’s many destabilising threats and protect Europe from “excessive dependencies” on the United States and China. Macron, in a rare address to both houses of the British parliament, celebrated the return of closer ties between the two countries as he became the first European leader to be invited for a British state visit since Brexit. Having been greeted earlier by the British royal... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3317458/uk-and-france-must-end-dependency-us-and-china-macron-warns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3317458/uk-and-france-must-end-dependency-us-and-china-macron-warns?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jul 2025 19:10:01 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Britain on Tuesday for a state visit mixing royal pageantry with thorny political talks about stopping migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats. Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also try to advance plans for a post-ceasefire security force for Ukraine, despite apparent US indifference to the idea and Russia’s refusal to halt the onslaught on its neighbour. Macron’s three-day visit, at the invitation of King Charles III, is... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3317426/king-charles-hosts-frances-macron-first-european-state-visit-brexit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3317426/king-charles-hosts-frances-macron-first-european-state-visit-brexit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jul 2025 11:57:38 +0000 dpa dpa Singer Rod Stewart has called on Britain to “give Nigel Farage a chance” as he revealed how close he came to pulling out of his Glastonbury appearance. The 80-year-old singer backed the far-right Reform UK leader ahead of appearing in the festival’s afternoon legends slot on Sunday, 23 years after he headlined the Pyramid Stage. “I’ve read about [UK Prime Minister Keir] Starmer cutting off the fishing in Scotland and giving it back to the EU. That hasn’t made him popular,” he told The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3316202/rod-stewart-backs-nigel-farage-he-prepares-glastonbury-return?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3316202/rod-stewart-backs-nigel-farage-he-prepares-glastonbury-return?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jun 2025 06:59:17 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Prime Minister Keir Starmer heralded a deal to strengthen post-Brexit relations with the European Union after opposition politicians criticised a late climbdown by UK negotiators over fishing rights. The reciprocal rights give European fishing crews access to UK waters until 2038 and could be politically risky for the ruling Labour Party, which faces an electoral threat from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. In return, Britain has unlocked agreements on food and agricultural standards to remove the vast... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3310907/uk-and-eu-forge-new-post-brexit-deal-fishing-security-and-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3310907/uk-and-eu-forge-new-post-brexit-deal-fishing-security-and-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 May 2025 08:13:28 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg The UK was drawing up plans for a special visa for foreigners who invest significant sums in Britain, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government seeks to blunt the economic blow from recent tax hikes and wider curbs on work permits. Ministers were considering proposals for an investor visa open to people willing to fund sectors seen as strategically important by Starmer’s administration, such as artificial intelligence, clean energy and life sciences, according to people familiar with the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3310421/uk-aims-cut-immigration-yet-eyes-new-investor-visa-strategic-sectors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3310421/uk-aims-cut-immigration-yet-eyes-new-investor-visa-strategic-sectors?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 May 2025 04:56:59 +0000 Thomas O. Falk Thomas O. Falk The UK-US trade deal, trumpeted by President Donald Trump as a grand achievement, is no triumph of statecraft. It is a hollow spectacle, political theatre masquerading as economic progress. For Britain, it lays bare the perils of negotiating from weakness. For other major economies – the European Union, Japan or China – it stands as a cautionary tale. They must heed Britain’s experience: strength, not desperation, must define their approach; substance, not optics, must be their demand. Strip... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3310170/britain-blinked-against-bullying-trumpian-america-others-must-not?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3310170/britain-blinked-against-bullying-trumpian-america-others-must-not?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 May 2025 08:30:09 +0000 Reuters Reuters The British government outlined plans on Sunday to end what it called the “failed free market experiment” in mass immigration by restricting skilled worker visas to graduate-level jobs and forcing businesses to increase training for local workers. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under pressure to cut net migration after the success of Nigel Farage’s right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party in local elections this month. Under the government’s new plans, skilled visas will only be granted to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3309888/uk-toughen-skilled-worker-visa-rules-immigration-overhaul?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3309888/uk-toughen-skilled-worker-visa-rules-immigration-overhaul?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 May 2025 02:26:46 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A “pragmatic” approach to talks on food standards, youth mobility and European courts could yield an “ambitious” post-Brexit deal between the EU and UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an interview published on Saturday by The Guardian newspaper. London and Brussels are hopeful of signing a deal at the first UK-EU summit since Brexit, which will take place in the British capital on May 19. However, Labour’s drubbing by the anti-EU Reform UK party in recent local elections and critical... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3309873/uk-hopes-pragmatic-approach-will-yield-ambitious-eu-deal-starmer-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3309873/uk-hopes-pragmatic-approach-will-yield-ambitious-eu-deal-starmer-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 May 2025 14:28:13 +0000 Reuters Reuters India and the United Kingdom concluded on Tuesday a long-coveted free trade pact, in a landmark deal that represents London’s most significant post-Brexit agreement that was finalised in the shadow of US President Donald Trump’s tariff increases. The deal, between the world’s fifth and sixth-largest economies, concluded after three years of stop-start negotiations and aims to increase bilateral trade by a further £25.5 billion (US$34 billion) by 2040 with liberal market access and eased trade... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3309307/india-uk-clinch-landmark-trade-deal-shadow-trumps-tariffs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3309307/india-uk-clinch-landmark-trade-deal-shadow-trumps-tariffs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 May 2025 13:42:39 +0000 The UK pledged £20 billion (US$26 billion) on Sunday to help exporters including those affected by US tariffs, as US President Donald Trump’s sweeping stop-start import taxes roil global markets. Britain’s finance ministry said the move would expand the UK’s export finance package by £20 billion to a total of £80 billion, with “thousands of UK businesses affected by tariffs set to benefit”. Up to £10 billion of that support would be used specifically for firms “impacted in the short term by the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3306375/uk-pledges-us26-billion-help-firms-amid-us-tariff-turmoil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3306375/uk-pledges-us26-billion-help-firms-amid-us-tariff-turmoil?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Apr 2025 23:29:23 +0000 The UK and European Union are optimistic about striking a deal to reset post-Brexit relations at a summit in May, as President Donald Trump’s tariffs and policy on the Russia-Ukraine war spur calls for greater cooperation and reduced trade barriers in Europe. Progress has been made on efforts to secure a defence and security pact between Britain and the EU in time for the meeting in London next month, according to people familiar with the matter from both sides of the negotiations. They... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3305782/trumps-tariff-onslaught-takes-uk-eu-reset-deal-closer-finish-line?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3305782/trumps-tariff-onslaught-takes-uk-eu-reset-deal-closer-finish-line?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Apr 2025 04:30:09 +0000 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump have held “productive” talks towards a UK-US trade deal, the British Prime Minister’s Downing Street office said on Sunday. Since Britain’s exit from the European Union at the start of the decade successive UK governments have sought to strike a trade deal with the United States. “They discussed the productive negotiations between their respective teams on a UK-US economic prosperity deal, agreeing that these will continue at pace... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3304502/keir-starmer-donald-trump-hold-productive-talks-us-uk-trade-deal-downing-street?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3304502/keir-starmer-donald-trump-hold-productive-talks-us-uk-trade-deal-downing-street?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Mar 2025 21:19:59 +0000 Former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon has been cleared in a police investigation into the Scottish National Party’s finances that had tarnished the legacy of Scotland’s longest-serving first minister. The nearly four-year old investigation has been looming over Sturgeon, arguably Scotland’s best-known politician, who led the devolved government in Edinburgh from 2014 until her shock resignation in early 2023. Police have been investigating since 2021 what happened to more than £600,000... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3303228/scotlands-former-leader-nicola-sturgeon-cleared-investigation-party-finances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3303228/scotlands-former-leader-nicola-sturgeon-cleared-investigation-party-finances?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Mar 2025 19:16:06 +0000 Reuters Reuters Mark Carney, soon to become Canada’s new prime minister, is a two-time central banker and crisis fighter about to face his biggest challenge of all: steering Canada through Donald Trump’s tariffs. The Liberals announced Carney as Justin Trudeau’s successor on Sunday after party members voted in a nominating contest. Trudeau resigned in January, facing low approval ratings after nearly a decade in office. The 59-year-old Carney is a political outsider who has never held office, which would in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3301715/mark-carney-crisis-fighting-central-banker-lead-canada-through-us-trade-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3301715/mark-carney-crisis-fighting-central-banker-lead-canada-through-us-trade-war?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Mar 2025 23:25:21 +0000 Reform UK has more than 200,000 members, leader Nigel Farage announced on Sunday, as he set out the party’s next goal to overtake the membership of the Labour Party. Farage called his right-wing party’s growth “truly extraordinary” at a Reform UK regional conference event in Wiltshire, England. He held up a placard saying “200,000 members”. He then pointed to a screen displaying the party’s live membership ticker on their website and said the message would change when he came offstage. “That... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3297998/reform-uk-membership-tops-200000-nigel-farage-aims-overtake-labour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3297998/reform-uk-membership-tops-200000-nigel-farage-aims-overtake-labour?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Feb 2025 23:45:08 +0000 The United Kingdom’s trading relationship with the United States is “fair and balanced,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office has insisted, after US President Donald Trump said that the UK was “out of line”. The prime minister trusts Trump to keep his word, Starmer’s office at 10 Downing Street said after the US president suggested he thought a deal could be “worked out” to avoid slapping tariffs on the UK. Trump suggested in comments overnight that he was poised to expand tariffs to both the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3297229/starmer-rejects-trump-out-line-comment-calls-uk-us-trade-fair-and-balanced?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3297229/starmer-rejects-trump-out-line-comment-calls-uk-us-trade-fair-and-balanced?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Feb 2025 18:54:13 +0000 Five years ago Friday, two crowds of people gathered near Britain’s Parliament – some with Union Jacks and cheers, others European Union flags and tears. On January 31, 2020 at 11pm London time – midnight at EU headquarters in Brussels – the UK officially left the bloc after almost five decades of membership that had brought free movement and free trade between Britain and 27 other European countries. For Brexit supporters, the UK was now a sovereign nation in charge of its own destiny. For... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3296908/5-years-brexit-uk-better-outside-eu?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3296908/5-years-brexit-uk-better-outside-eu?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Jan 2025 07:27:42 +0000 Elon Musk said Nigel Farage should quit as leader of Britain’s right-wing Reform UK party in an abrupt withdrawal of support by the US billionaire for the Brexit campaigner who is trying to shake up the British political establishment again. “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes,” Musk said on his social media platform X on Sunday, a few hours after Farage described him as a friend who made Reform look “cool”. Musk – a close ally of US President-elect Donald... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3293518/elon-musk-says-nigel-farage-should-step-down-leader-right-wing-reform-uk-party?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3293518/elon-musk-says-nigel-farage-should-step-down-leader-right-wing-reform-uk-party?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Jan 2025 16:29:56 +0000 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, navigating the domestic minefield of his early days in office, now faces his first defining test on the global stage in 2025 – a test that could determine not only the trajectory of his government but Britain’s role in a changing world. Given the UK’s stagnant economy and post-Brexit identity crisis, and the increasingly precarious global order, Starmer’s foreign policy will be defined by a cold, pragmatic pivot towards Beijing. This is not an ideological... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3292894/china-germany-offers-britain-both-blueprint-and-cautionary-tale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3292894/china-germany-offers-britain-both-blueprint-and-cautionary-tale?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Dec 2024 21:30:07 +0000 Membership of Britain’s upstart anti-immigration Reform UK party has overtaken that of the centre-right Conservative Party for the first time, the party said on Thursday. Party leader and Brexit figurehead Nigel Farage hailed the figure as an “historic moment”. Immigration was a major issue at the ballot box at the UK’s July general election which saw the Conservatives ousted after 14 years in power. The digital counter on the Reform website showed a membership tally ticking past the 131,680... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3292379/membership-uks-anti-immigration-reform-party-overtakes-conservatives-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3292379/membership-uks-anti-immigration-reform-party-overtakes-conservatives-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:38:35 +0000 At Britain’s general election in July, the populist Reform UK Party leader Nigel Farage finally won a seat in the House of Commons on his eighth attempt, entering Parliament with four colleagues. Now he is setting his sights on upturning the country’s traditional two-party duopoly. “At the next election in 2029 or before, there will be hundreds of newcomers under the Reform UK label,” Farage promised rival politicians at a swanky London dinner earlier this month. “We are about to witness a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3290810/farage-challenges-uk-two-party-system-threatens-european-style-fragmentation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3290810/farage-challenges-uk-two-party-system-threatens-european-style-fragmentation?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Dec 2024 10:25:35 +0000 Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed on Thursday to reduce the number of migrants coming to Britain, saying he would produce a plan for reform of the points-based immigration system that would put the onus on businesses to train British workers. Hours after official data showed net migration had reached a record of more than 900,000 in the year to June 2023, much higher than original estimates, Starmer called a news conference to spell out his determination to reduce the numbers, which he blamed on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3288579/uks-keir-starmer-vows-slash-immigration-reform-points-based-system?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3288579/uks-keir-starmer-vows-slash-immigration-reform-points-based-system?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Nov 2024 17:56:28 +0000 Kemi Badenoch will announce her shadow cabinet within days, as she begins her term as leader of Britain’s opposition Conservative Party. The new Tory leader is understood to want her top team in place by Tuesday, when the shadow cabinet is scheduled to meet for the first time since her election. During the campaign, she suggested she would be open to offering roles to all five of her leadership rivals, although former home secretary James Cleverly has already announced his intention to return to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3285001/uks-new-conservative-party-leader-name-shadow-cabinet-days?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3285001/uks-new-conservative-party-leader-name-shadow-cabinet-days?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Nov 2024 07:57:48 +0000 “Anti-woke” candidate Kemi Badenoch on Saturday won the vote to become the UK Conservatives’ new leader, replacing Rishi Sunak who quit after the party’s disastrous showing in July’s general election. Badenoch, 44, came out on top in the two-horse race with former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, winning 57 per cent of the votes of party members. She said that becoming party leader was an “enormous honour”, but that “the task that stands before us is tough”. “We have to be honest about the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3284953/badenoch-elected-new-leader-uk-conservative-party?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3284953/badenoch-elected-new-leader-uk-conservative-party?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Nov 2024 12:17:24 +0000 A woman on Monday pleaded guilty to assault after throwing a milkshake at the hard-right Reform UK leader Nigel Farage during the general election campaign. Victoria Thomas Bowen, 25, doused the anti-immigration lawmaker as he left a pub in the seaside resort of Clacton, east of London, on June 4. Anti-immigration politician Farage was elected as the town’s member of parliament at the July 4 election. Thomas Bowen initially denied the charge and criminal damage to a jacket belonging to Farage’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3283298/woman-admits-milkshaking-hard-right-reform-uk-leader-nigel-farage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3283298/woman-admits-milkshaking-hard-right-reform-uk-leader-nigel-farage?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Oct 2024 21:13:07 +0000 Reuters Reuters Shein’s British business made 1.55 billion pounds (US$2 billion) in revenue in 2023, a filing by the online fast-fashion group showed on Tuesday, as it prepares for a hotly debated listing in London. The annual revenue from the UK, Shein’s third-biggest market, was 38 per cent more than it had previously reported for a 16-month period to the end of 2022. The group’s rapid growth, fuelled by its low-cost business model of sending parcels to customers worldwide straight from factories in China,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3281628/sheins-uk-sales-hit-us2-billion-2023-it-moves-towards-london-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3281628/sheins-uk-sales-hit-us2-billion-2023-it-moves-towards-london-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Oct 2024 02:34:21 +0000 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s chief of staff resigned on Sunday, citing concerns that growing news reports about her role “risked becoming a distraction to the government”. Sue Gray’s resignation came after recent reports about tensions between her and Starmer’s chief adviser Morgan McSweeney, and that she was earning more than the prime minister. The BBC has reported that Gray’s annual salary was £170,000 (US$223,000), about £3,000 (US$3,933) more than Starmer is paid. Gray said she... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3281298/uk-pm-starmers-chief-staff-quits-over-reports-about-salary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3281298/uk-pm-starmers-chief-staff-quits-over-reports-about-salary?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Oct 2024 18:41:42 +0000 Several people died, including a young child, when an overcrowded boat attempted to cross the English Channel to Britain, French authorities said on Saturday. Another would-be asylum seeker was injured and airlifted to hospital after the dinghy issued a call for help on Saturday morning. A French tow vessel, the Abeille Normandie, picked up 14 people on board, including the deceased during a rescue mission between 8:00 and 9:00am, officials said. “Yet again, several migrants lost their lives... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3281230/child-trampled-death-asylum-seekers-channel-crossing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3281230/child-trampled-death-asylum-seekers-channel-crossing?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Oct 2024 13:25:35 +0000 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday as part of his push for a reset with the EU and a first chance to discuss issues like trade, security and youth mobility with Brussels. Starmer, whose Labour Party won an election in July, has said his government will not seek wholesale negotiation of the Brexit deal that took Britain out of the European Union in 2020. But he is looking to tweak the relationship in a range of areas. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3280844/uks-pm-keir-starmer-visits-brussels-first-talks-eu-reset?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3280844/uks-pm-keir-starmer-visits-brussels-first-talks-eu-reset?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Oct 2024 13:59:36 +0000 UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday praised the migration policies of Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni as the centre-left British leader aimed to learn how her nationalist conservative government has made “remarkable progress” in reducing the number of migrants reaching Italy’s shores by boat. The meeting in Rome between the two leaders came after at least eight seaborne migrants died off the French coast over the weekend trying to cross the English Channel. The Labour Party prime minister is... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3278790/uk-pm-starmer-seeks-learn-melonis-tough-migration-policies-meeting-rome?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3278790/uk-pm-starmer-seeks-learn-melonis-tough-migration-policies-meeting-rome?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Sep 2024 21:30:55 +0000