Latest United Kingdom government News
UK Conservatives pick Kemi Badenoch as new leader, first Black woman to head a big British party
LONDON (AP) — Outspoken, right-leaning lawmaker Kemi Badenoch was named leader of Britain's opposition Conservatives on Saturday, as the party tries to rebound from a crushing election defeat that ended its 14 years in power. The first Black woman to lead a major British political...
Who is Kemi Badenoch, the first Black woman to lead Britain's Conservative Party?
LONDON (AP) — The first Black woman to lead a major U.K. political party, Kemi Badenoch is an upbeat and outspoken libertarian who thinks the British state is broken — and that she's the one to fix it with smaller government and radical new ideas. The new leader of Britain’s...
As data center industry booms, an English village becomes a battleground
ABBOTS LANGLEY, England (AP) — Originally built to store crops from peasant farmers, the Tithe Barn on the edge of the English village of Abbots Langley was converted into homes that preserve its centuries of history. Now, its residents are fighting to stop a development next door that represents...
Slovak populist premier is in a spat with the UK ambassador to Bratislava over the war in Ukraine
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico reacted angrily on Friday after the U.K. ambassador to Bratislava criticized his interview with Russia’s Rossiya 1 state-owned television, saying, “Slovakia is not Britain’s colony.” “I don’t...
Financial market worries over the UK budget appear to ease
LONDON (AP) — Worries about this week's tax-raising U.K. budget within financial markets appeared to ease Friday with the interest rates charged on British debt steadying and the pound rising against most other currencies. In the wake of Wednesday's budget statement, the first by a...
Voting closes in contest to lead UK Conservative Party as it seeks to rebound from defeat
LONDON (AP) — Voting closed Thursday in the months-long contest to lead Britain’s Conservative Party after its crushing election defeat, with the result due to be announced on Saturday. Tens of thousands of members of the right-of-center party were eligible to vote in the runoff...
UK apologizes for child's death in case that made air pollution in low-income areas a national issue
LONDON (AP) — The British government has apologized for the death of a 9-year-old girl who is believed to be the first person in the U.K. to have air pollution listed on her death certificate, after a decade-long battle that highlighted the risks vehicle emissions pose to children in low-income...
Yemen's Houthi rebels target ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off Red Sea
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted a ship traveling through the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the Red Sea on Monday, though it escaped undamaged, authorities said. The attack ended an 18-day lull in reported assaults attributed to the Houthis, who...
Keir Starmer warns the UK budget this week will reflect 'harsh' economic reality
LONDON (AP) — Fixing Britain's troubled economy will be a long haul in a “harsh” fiscal environment, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday, setting the stage for his government's high-stakes first budget this week. Starmer hopes voters will accept his argument that higher...
Diamond-rich Botswana holds an election with new economic challenges for a long-ruling party
GABORONE, Botswana (AP) — Botswana votes in a national election this week that will decide if the ruling party extends a 58-year stretch in power in a southern African country that is a leading diamond producer and often held up as one of the most stable and least corrupt democracies on the...
