Also known as: Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch
Kemi Badenoch — Conservative Party leader who has backed referendums on asylum housing, supported expanding grooming gangs inquiries, and called for scrapping public equality duties.
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Joy Online
… Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has also backed the visit, while other opposition parties have been critical of it. …
Trump says King will be ‘very safe’ during US visit after security talksSome Premier League clubs have expressed concern about potential political interference following comments by Prime Minister Andy Burnham regarding Manchester City's appeal of Premier League financial rule breaches. Senior club figures described his remarks to the BBC as "absolutely bizarre" and questioned what his comments were designed to achieve.
8 October 2026 · Joy Online →
Some Premier League clubs have expressed concern about potential political interference following comments by Prime Minister Andy Burnham regarding Manchester City's appeal of Premier League financial rule breaches. Senior club figures described his remarks to the BBC as "absolutely bizarre" and questioned what his comments were designed to achieve.
8 October 2026 · Joy Online →
Bestselling author Jeffrey Archer, who sold over 300 million books across a five-decade career and served as a Conservative MP before being jailed for perjury in 2001, has died aged 86. His publisher HarperCollins said he died suddenly and peacefully at home on Monday.
5 October 2026 · Joy Online →
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, supported calls for referendums in Suffolk on whether asylum seekers should be housed in military camps, saying referendums demonstrate public feeling and that people are "asking for help." The government is considering housing over 1,000 asylum seekers at RAF Barnham while their applications are processed, with residents raising concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour.
1 October 2026 · Joy Online →
Kemi Badenoch has welcomed the Statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs expanding its focus to include Birmingham and Wales, saying she hopes it moves quickly to secure justice for victims. Birmingham Children's Trust reported 98 CSE cases under police investigation and 99 CSE crimes recorded between January and June this year.
1 October 2026 · Joy Online →
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she would support a police-requested ban on face coverings at protests, citing concerns about people using disguises to commit crimes. She linked the issue to broader border and immigration concerns, saying the UK should leave the European Convention on Human Rights to enable deportations.
1 October 2026 · Joy Online →
The UK is reviewing its agreement to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after US President Donald Trump called the deal "terrible" at the UN General Assembly. The original deal would see the UK hand over sovereignty and pay an average of £101m ($136m) per year to lease back a joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.
23 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Andy Burnham, the new UK prime minister, is set to announce new support to help people with the cost of living crisis as his cabinet meets for the first time. He has vowed to provide "breathing space" for households struggling with costs and pledged to set out details on Tuesday.
21 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Andy Burnham, the new UK prime minister, is set to announce support for households struggling with the cost of living crisis on Tuesday. Burnham has appointed a cabinet including John Healey as chancellor and Ed Miliband as foreign secretary, and pledged to provide "breathing space" for people facing financial hardship.
21 July 2026 · Joy Online →
FIFA is assessing match reports after Argentina players displayed a "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" banner following their 2-1 World Cup semi-final victory over England in Atlanta. Argentina's football association was previously fined £20,000 by FIFA in 2014 for displaying the same banner, which the governing body said breached rules on political action and team misconduct.
16 July 2026 · Joy Online →
The 78-year-old former Conservative minister was found with serious injuries at her Devon home on Thursday; police believe the attack occurred on Wednesday around 12:30 pm. Detectives are searching for a white male suspect after releasing a 26-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder.
11 July 2026 · Joy Online →
A 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of 78-year-old Ann Widdecombe, a former Conservative MP and Reform UK spokesperson. Police found her body with serious injuries at her home in Devon on Thursday and said there is no indication the crime was politically motivated.
10 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Ann Widdecombe, a former Conservative MP who later joined Reform UK and became a Brexit Party MEP, has died at 78. She served as a Home Office and employment minister under John Major and was known as a prominent Brexit supporter.
10 July 2026 · Joy Online →
The chief executive of Adura, the owner of the Jackdaw gas platform in the North Sea, told BBC News that government approval is "hyper critical" to avoid domestic supply shortages this winter, saying the project could meet 6% of UK gas needs from 1 October. Environmental campaigners oppose the project, citing this summer's record heatwaves as evidence of the need to tackle climate change.
9 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch will argue in a speech that the Public Sector Equality Duty, which requires public bodies such as schools and hospitals to promote equality, should be scrapped because it has become "a minefield" exposing public decisions to legal challenge. The Labour government meanwhile is promising a new equality and diversity strategy focused on getting working-class people into the civil service.
8 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Sir Keir Starmer has accused tech billionaire Elon Musk of "trying to whip up division" following the death of 18-year-old Henry Nowak, whose killer claimed he was the victim of a racist attack. Musk posted on X criticising police treatment of the teenager and comparing media coverage to the George Floyd case, prompting the PM to accuse him of interfering in British politics.
5 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called a case in which three teenage boys were spared custodial sentences over the rape of two girls "appalling" and said it was "right" that the Attorney General was reviewing the sentences. The boys received Youth Rehabilitation Orders instead of jail time for attacks in Hampshire in November 2024 and January 2025, prompting one victim to criticize the outcome as a "slap on the wrist."
25 May 2026 · Joy Online →
The UK government has watered down plans to ban imports of diesel and jet fuel made from Russian oil in third countries, instead phasing in sanctions over coming months amid concerns over supplies and price rises following the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Ukraine's sanctions commissioner said he understands the rationale but disagrees with the approach, citing concerns that temporary exemptions may generate additional revenues for Russia's war machine.
20 May 2026 · Joy Online →
Thousands of people gathered outside Downing Street on Sunday for a protest against antisemitism, led by main Jewish community organisations, in response to a string of recent attacks on synagogues and Jewish sites, including the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green.
11 May 2026 · Joy Online →
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party suffered sweeping losses across traditional heartlands in British local elections, with the hard-right Reform UK and Green Party making significant gains and reshaping the UK's political landscape. Despite the electoral defeat, Starmer rejected calls to resign.
8 May 2026 · Joy Online →
Electoral analyst Sir John Curtice reports that overnight local election results confirm Britain's electoral politics has become highly fragmented, with Reform winning the most seats at 30% of those declared and recording a 26% average vote share across a sample of over 500 wards. The Greens averaged 16% support, representing a seven-point increase from 2022, suggesting their best local election performance ever, though they gained just 25 seats so far.
8 May 2026 · Joy Online →
Donald Trump has said King Charles III will "be very safe" during his state visit to the US beginning Monday, after further security talks between the White House and Buckingham Palace following a gunman incident at a Trump event in Washington DC on Saturday. The King and Queen's programme will go ahead largely as planned, with the UK government hoping to ease diplomatic tensions.
27 April 2026 · Joy Online →