https://www.scmp.com/rss/522347/feed The Conservative Party is a major political party in the United Kingdom, currently serving as His Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition, led by Kemi Badenoch. Headquartered in London, its primary mission is political governance, advocating for private property, enterprise, and traditional values. As one of the UK’s two main parties, it focuses on policy development, campaigning, and parliamentary representation. With a long history of forming government, it has significantly shaped British policy,... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji South and Southeast Asian nations may emerge as unexpected clean energy beneficiaries after the Green Party of England and Wales made record-breaking gains in recent UK local council elections, according to analysts. The Greens expanded their footprint in the May 7 council elections, capitalising on widespread voter disillusionment with Britain’s two major parties, Labour and Conservative. It was the party’s best-ever performance in a local election. While Nigel Farage’s right-wing populist... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3353672/greening-uk-politics-could-mean-big-business-asian-renewable-exporters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3353672/greening-uk-politics-could-mean-big-business-asian-renewable-exporters?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 May 2026 06:45:17 +0000 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 Keir Starmer faced his biggest challenge yet on Wednesday when his health minister was reported to be readying his resignation to try to trigger a contest to replace a British prime minister who had sought some respite to set out his government’s agenda. As Starmer and his ministers stood in silence to hear King Charles read out their government’s agenda, the ceremony was overshadowed by what could be the most dangerous threat to the prime minister since lawmakers began urging him to resign over... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3353455/uk-pm-faces-biggest-challenge-yet-resignation-threat-overshadows-kings-speech?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3353455/uk-pm-faces-biggest-challenge-yet-resignation-threat-overshadows-kings-speech?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 May 2026 11:52:56 +0000 Reuters Reuters British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under pressure to resign after more than 80 lawmakers in his Labour Party said he was not the right person to lead the country and win the ⁠next national election. He has vowed to stay on as no formal ⁠leadership challenge has yet been triggered. If Labour were to choose a new leader, here is ⁠a list of those in the frame to replace Starmer: Wes Streeting, 43 Streeting has served as health and social care minister since Labour came to power in July 2024 – a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3353408/who-could-replace-starmer-uk-prime-minister?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3353408/who-could-replace-starmer-uk-prime-minister?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 May 2026 07:46:53 +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 Reuters Reuters British Prime ⁠Minister Keir Starmer’s position ⁠is under serious threat after ⁠dozens of his own lawmakers called for him to set out a timetable for his departure, or resign, in the wake of heavy losses in local elections. Here’s what could happen next: Has a leadership contest been triggered? Not yet. On ‌Monday, several ministerial aides stepped down and more than 70 Labour lawmakers publicly called for Starmer’s departure after his appeal for another chance seemingly fell on deaf ears. Some... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3353255/starmer-fighting-stay-power-heres-what-could-happen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3353255/starmer-fighting-stay-power-heres-what-could-happen?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 May 2026 08:04:38 +0000 Reuters Reuters Keir Starmer ⁠came under renewed pressure on Monday when four ministerial aides stepped down and more than 70 Labour lawmakers publicly called for the British prime minister’s resignation after his appeal for another chance seemingly fell on deaf ears. At an address to the party faithful in London, Starmer had made an impassioned plea to both his party and voters to stick with him and avoid a leadership contest he said would only bring chaos, but his speech appeared to do little to stem the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3353163/under-threat-uk-pm-starmer-vows-prove-doubters-wrong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3353163/under-threat-uk-pm-starmer-vows-prove-doubters-wrong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 May 2026 10:45:39 +0000 Cliff Buddle Cliff Buddle British Prime Minister Keir Starmer swept to power two years ago, winning a landslide election victory with a promise to bring change. In his victory speech, the Labour Party leader pledged to forge national renewal, rebuild the country and “relight the fire”, after 14 turbulent years of Conservative rule. Change, he said, “begins now”. Last week’s local and regional election results demonstrated in stark terms that he was right about one thing: change is coming. But the transformation of... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3353013/starmer-was-right-about-political-change-not-what-he-planned?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3353013/starmer-was-right-about-political-change-not-what-he-planned?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 May 2026 15:08:47 +0000 Reuters Reuters British Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed on Friday to stay in office to “deliver change” after his Labour Party suffered heavy losses in the English local election and parliamentary votes in Scotland and Wales, deepening doubts over his ability to govern. Just under two years after winning a landslide national election, Starmer saw voters punish his Labour government, dealing it a blow in some of its traditional strongholds in former industrial regions in central and northern England. The main... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3352908/defiant-starmer-digs-after-uk-labours-local-election-drubbing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3352908/defiant-starmer-digs-after-uk-labours-local-election-drubbing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 May 2026 09:55:15 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Embattled UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday survived a bid by opposition politicians to subject him to a parliamentary probe over his controversial appointment of Peter Mandelson as envoy to the US. Members of parliament voted against referring Starmer to a committee to consider if he misled parliament over giving Mandelson, an ex-associate of late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the plum diplomatic post. It was the latest development in an unrelenting scandal that has plagued Starmer’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351759/uk-pm-starmer-avoids-parliament-probe-over-epstein-associate-peter-mandelson?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351759/uk-pm-starmer-avoids-parliament-probe-over-epstein-associate-peter-mandelson?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Apr 2026 18:12:51 +0000 Reuters Reuters Britain’s parliament will vote on Tuesday on a possible inquiry into Prime Minister Keir Starmer, looking at whether he misled the House of Commons ‌over the appointment of former US ambassador Peter Mandelson. Any such inquiry could have serious implications for Starmer’s future. He has so far resisted pressure to quit over his decision to hire Mandelson, but if found to have knowingly misled parliament his position would likely become untenable. House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said he... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351611/uk-pm-starmer-faces-vote-possible-parliamentary-probe-over-mandelson?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351611/uk-pm-starmer-faces-vote-possible-parliamentary-probe-over-mandelson?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:41:24 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press British Prime Minister Keir Starmer acknowledged on Monday that he made the wrong judgement when he picked Jeffrey Epstein’s friend Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to Washington, batting away a barrage of calls to resign over a scandal that has left his leadership teetering. Starmer said he would have withdrawn the appointment if he had known Mandelson had failed security checks, as he tried to explain why Mandelson was given the UK’s most important diplomatic post. Starmer placed blame... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350783/starmer-admits-mistake-appointing-mandelson-us-envoy-resists-calls-resign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350783/starmer-admits-mistake-appointing-mandelson-us-envoy-resists-calls-resign?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2026 16:46:21 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Senior Cabinet ministers on Sunday rallied around UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose leadership is teetering over his decision to give Britain’s most important diplomatic job to Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished politician and friend of Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer will face restive lawmakers in Parliament on Monday to fight for his job after the explosive revelation that Mandelson was appointed ambassador to the United States despite failing security checks. Starmer says he is “furious” that... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350654/allies-back-starmer-mandelsons-epstein-links-leave-uk-leader-fighting-his-job?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350654/allies-back-starmer-mandelsons-epstein-links-leave-uk-leader-fighting-his-job?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Apr 2026 17:34:54 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced mounting pressure to quit on Friday over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as envoy to Washington, after it emerged the veteran politician had failed security vetting. The affair has haunted Starmer for months amid growing anger over Mandelson’s 2024 nomination to the top diplomatic post despite his close ties to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson, a long-time insider with Starmer’s ruling Labour Party, has held multiple ministerial posts since... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350451/uks-starmer-faces-calls-resign-mandelson-scandal-reignites?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350451/uks-starmer-faces-calls-resign-mandelson-scandal-reignites?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:36:42 +0000 Reuters Reuters Britain’s former US ambassador, Peter Mandelson, received money from Jeffrey Epstein and ‍leaked a confidential government briefing to him, newly released files appeared to show, renewing scrutiny of his conduct in public office. Late on Sunday, Mandelson left the Labour Party to prevent “further embarrassment”, after he was fired from his envoy role last year after revelations about his connections to the late convicted sex offender. He said he had no recollection of any payments after the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3342145/uks-starmer-demands-mandelsons-removal-house-lords-amid-new-epstein-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3342145/uks-starmer-demands-mandelsons-removal-house-lords-amid-new-epstein-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Feb 2026 15:59:12 +0000 Reuters Reuters British ‍lawmaker Suella Braverman, a former home secretary, became the latest prominent Conservative to join Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK on Monday, and she accused her former party of lying to voters over immigration. Opinion polls put Reform UK ahead of both Prime Minister Keir ⁠Starmer’s Labour Party and Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives, the two parties that have dominated British politics for more than a century, though a national election is not expected until 2029. For now, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341307/ex-conservative-lawmaker-suella-braverman-defects-right-wing-reform-uk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341307/ex-conservative-lawmaker-suella-braverman-defects-right-wing-reform-uk?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jan 2026 16:50:02 +0000 Reuters Reuters British Labour Party politician Andy Burnham was on Sunday blocked from trying to return to parliament, with lawmakers on the ‍left of the party accusing Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his allies of a political move to keep out a potential leadership rival. Burnham said he was disappointed at the decision and, while he called for unity in the Labour Party, criticised the way the situation had been handled. One of the party’s most high-profile politicians and an elected mayor in the ⁠northern... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341182/row-erupts-within-uks-labour-party-after-manchester-mayor-blocked-coming-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341182/row-erupts-within-uks-labour-party-after-manchester-mayor-blocked-coming-election?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Jan 2026 16:50:50 +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 Reuters Reuters Former British finance minister Nadhim Zahawi defected to ‌Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK Party from the Conservative Party on ‍Monday, saying the country was broken and needed Farage as prime minister to fix it. Zahawi, who had a short spell in charge of the nation’s finances under former prime minister Boris Johnson ⁠in 2022, becomes the latest in a long line of former Conservatives to switch to Farage’s populist Reform UK. Reform is currently leading the polls in Britain, far ahead of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3339647/former-uk-finance-minister-nadhim-zahawi-defects-nigel-farages-reform-uk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3339647/former-uk-finance-minister-nadhim-zahawi-defects-nigel-farages-reform-uk?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jan 2026 17:32:36 +0000 Cliff Buddle Cliff Buddle The hallowed tradition of trial by jury, dating back hundreds of years, is one of the most fundamental and best-known features of Britain’s legal system. It has been adopted around the world, including in Hong Kong. But nothing is sacred, it seems. Last week, UK justice secretary David Lammy announced plans to dramatically cut back the use of juries, slashing the number of criminal trials using them by half. It is a drastic step. The proposal, for England and Wales, is to only use juries in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3335475/role-jurors-legal-system-should-be-strengthened-not-restricted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3335475/role-jurors-legal-system-should-be-strengthened-not-restricted?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Dec 2025 15:30:10 +0000 Reuters Reuters The head of Britain’s financial watchdog resigned on Monday after his agency last week inadvertently released the key details of finance minister Rachel Reeves’ annual tax-and-spending budget statement ahead of time. Richard Hughes said he wanted to help the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to recover quickly from the lapse which an investigation linked to IT weaknesses and leadership failures. “I have, therefore, decided it is in the best interest of the OBR for me to resign as its chair... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334817/head-uk-financial-watchdog-quits-after-early-leak-rachel-reeves-budget?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334817/head-uk-financial-watchdog-quits-after-early-leak-rachel-reeves-budget?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Dec 2025 18:40:15 +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 Cliff Buddle Cliff Buddle Hong Kong was decked out in red for national day this month, displaying thousands of flags representing China and the city, as part of celebrations intended to promote patriotism. National flags are flying seemingly everywhere in England, too, also in the name of national pride. But their proliferation in recent months has been much more controversial. The union jack and England’s flag of St George fly not only from public buildings but also houses, gardens, and, in a movement that began in the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3329546/national-flag-should-be-symbol-unity-not-prejudice-and-divisiveness?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3329546/national-flag-should-be-symbol-unity-not-prejudice-and-divisiveness?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Oct 2025 23:46:14 +0000 Reuters Reuters British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday promised to release evidence provided to prosecutors by a senior official, seeking to distance ministers from the collapse of a China spying case which has led to weeks of criticism. In an unexpected move last month, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped charges against two men who had denied passing politically sensitive information to a Chinese intelligence agent. The CPS said the decision was made because the additional evidence it... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3329147/uks-starmer-vows-release-china-spying-case-evidence-amid-criticism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3329147/uks-starmer-vows-release-china-spying-case-evidence-amid-criticism?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Oct 2025 12:36:00 +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 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted on Monday that he would never have appointed Peter Mandelson as his ambassador in Washington if he had known the full extent of the diplomat’s relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The comments, Starmer’s first since he sacked Mandelson last week, come as the prime minister faces growing questions about his judgment, including from his own Labour MPs. Starmer, whose popularity has tanked since taking office in July 2024, has endured several days... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325645/embattled-starmer-defends-himself-over-ex-diplomat-peter-mandelsons-epstein-links?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325645/embattled-starmer-defends-himself-over-ex-diplomat-peter-mandelsons-epstein-links?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Sep 2025 17:53:29 +0000 Reuters Reuters Norway voted on Monday on the final day of a parliamentary election dominated by concerns over the cost of living and turmoil in international politics, with the ruling Labour Party narrowly favoured to remain in office. A left-wing bloc of Labour and four smaller parties is seen winning 88 seats in parliament, three more than the minimum needed to secure a majority and down from a combined 100 seats in 2021, according to an average of recent opinion polls. Casting his ballot in Oslo, Prime... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324797/norway-votes-tight-election-dominated-cost-living-global-turmoil-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324797/norway-votes-tight-election-dominated-cost-living-global-turmoil-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Sep 2025 15:42:22 +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 Irish-language rap group Kneecap performed to tens of thousands of people on Saturday at the Glastonbury Festival despite criticism by British politicians and a terror charge for one of the trio. Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged under the Terrorism Act with supporting a proscribed organisation for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London in November. He is on unconditional bail before a further court hearing in August. “Glastonbury,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3316223/irish-rappers-kneecap-set-play-glastonbury-despite-criticism-politicians?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3316223/irish-rappers-kneecap-set-play-glastonbury-despite-criticism-politicians?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jun 2025 11:11:01 +0000