Latest United Kingdom government News

Contenders to lead Britain's defeated Conservatives woo members at a key party conference

Sep. 29, 2024 06:32 AM EDT

LONDON (AP) — Members of Britain’s defeated and divided Conservative Party gathered Sunday for an annual conference dominated by the search for a new leader capable of bringing the right-of-center party back from a catastrophic election defeat. U.K. voters ousted the Tories in a...

New British leader vows his nation will reengage on global leadership

Sep. 27, 2024 05:08 AM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer took the international stage at the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday for the first time with a message: His nation is returning to “responsible global leadership.” The Labour Party leader, who won a landslide...

UK political magazine The Spectator's new editor is Michael Gove

Sep. 25, 2024 10:31 AM EDT

LONDON (AP) — Michael Gove, who was a longtime U.K. Cabinet minister under successive Conservative Party governments, has been appointed the editor of The Spectator, one of the world’s oldest political magazines. Wednesday's announcement came little more than two weeks after...

UK leader Starmer aims to shed gloomy image by saying things will get better — eventually

Sep. 24, 2024 20:44 PM EDT

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer tried to shake off his image as a gloom-monger on Tuesday, telling voters exhausted by years of political and economic turmoil that better times are on the way — if they swallow his recipe of short-term pain for long-term gain. ...

Ex-NYC COVID adviser is fired after video reveals he attended parties during pandemic

Sep. 24, 2024 20:05 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — A former New York City official who helped coordinate the city’s response to the pandemic was fired from his private-sector job after a recording showed him talking about attending a sex party and other private gatherings when the city was urging people to practice social...

Britain's Treasury chief tries to turn on the economic optimism after months of gloomy talk

Sep. 23, 2024 09:19 AM EDT

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — British Treasury chief Rachel Reeves promised on Monday not to return to an era of public spending cuts despite the dire state of the U.K.’s national finances, as she tried to inject a dose of optimism after weeks of negative headlines for the country’s new Labour...

Climate activists cleared in UK of charges in rooftop protest at Sunak's estate

Sep. 21, 2024 13:11 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) — Four Greenpeace activists arrested for scaling the country estate of former U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and draping it in black fabric to protest his plan to expand oil and gas drilling in the North Sea have been cleared of criminal charges. Judge Adrian Lower in...

UK leader Starmer is facing flak for taking freebies. He says he's done nothing wrong

Sep. 19, 2024 12:45 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) — Less than three months after he was elected on a promise to restore trust in politics, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is trying to shake off criticism over donations from a wealthy businessman and the hefty salary of his most senior aide. The Labour Party leader,...

Search for suspect in Kentucky highway shooting ends with discovery of body believed to be his

Sep. 18, 2024 22:55 PM EDT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A body found in rural southeastern Kentucky is believed to be the man suspected of shooting and wounding five people on an interstate highway, authorities said Wednesday night. The search ended with two private sleuths joining in the dramatic discovery. ...

Guardian Media Group in talks to sell the Observer newspaper to Tortoise

Sep. 17, 2024 12:29 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) — News publisher Guardian Media Group said Tuesday it is in talks to sell The Observer newspaper to Tortoise Media, a “slow news” outlet founded by a former BBC executive and a U.S. diplomat. Founded in 1791, the Observer is the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper. It...