Keir Starmer won praise for taking the UK ‘back to the heart of Europe’ at the weekend, but will it be a long-term move? Britain is back. That was the concise verdict of Eléonore Caroit, the vice-chair of the French national assembly’s foreign affairs committee. And the optics of Sunday’s crisis talks on Ukraine bore this out, with Keir Starmer at the very centre of the leaders’ joint photo. “You are back on the scene, of the leadership in Europe,” Caroit told the BBC on Monday morning. James MacClearly, the Liberal Democrat MP who speaks for the party on Europe, was equally adamant, praising ..read more

Last week’s much-trumpeted Anglo-US meeting has not reduced concerns about Ukraine, Nato or tariffs – or boosted confidence in the UK government Most people I know were ­concerned about the prospect of a second Trump presidency; but we did not have a vote. However, those Republicans who elected him should have been mindful of the old Chinese proverb: be careful what you wish for. A classic example has been provided recently in the columns of the New York Times. On 17 December, the rightwing columnist Bret Stephens wrote: “Here’s a thought for Trump’s perennial critics, including us on the righ ..read more

The PM will not and should not pick a fight with the president. But it is his duty to go there upholding British and European values Day by day another vast hole opens up beneath what was once solid. The man who is on course to become Germany’s next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, once the most pro-US of leaders, has declared Nato in effect over. In his clear-eyed perception of Donald Trump’s first month, 80 years of shared transatlantic values have fallen into that crater. The US “doesn’t care about the fate of Europe one way or another” and Washington’s actions have been “no less drastic, dramat ..read more

Call for investigation into unfair payment for labourers on seasonal visa scheme When 26-year-old Ben* boarded a flight in Uzbekistan in June, he was looking forward to more than just a summer job picking fruit and vegetables on a British farm. “I wanted to see new places, cities I’ve never seen before,” he said. “I wanted to make friends, exchange ideas and make new memories ..read more

Exclusive: Lack of understanding by ‘progressive activists’ of other voting blocs has led to rise of far right, authors argue Leftwing activists in Britain are less likely to work with their political opponents than other groups and more likely to think those holding different views have been misled, a study has found. The study by the polling group More in Common finds that 8-10% of the population, whom they classify under the heading “progressive activists”, hold strikingly different views on a range of issues than the rest of Britain ..read more

London mayor tells meeting of ambassadors that mobility scheme would benefit young people and economy Sadiq Khan has told EU diplomats Brexit was a mistake and called on the UK government to be bold as it looks to strengthen ties with the bloc, arguing this would act as a counterweight to the tariffs threatened by Donald Trump. The mayor of London told the EU ambassador and the UK ambassadors to the 27 member states at a meeting on Tuesday that Britain’s departure from the union “continues to have a negative impact” on the country and its capital city, and vowed he would make the case for clos ..read more

Firms want review of decision to remove architecture from shortage occupation list and raise salary threshold Architecture firms are calling on the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, to urgently review the post-Brexit visa salary rules, claiming they are choking an industry that is trying to help meet Labour’s housing targets. They say there were hit by a double recruitment whammy when the rules changed last April, with architecture removed from the shortage occupation list and the minimum salary to get a visa increased from just over £26,000 to £45,900 ..read more

Value of imports and exports is now about €32bn, with chemical sector among those hit by Brexit red tape Trade between Great Britain and Ireland dropped more than €6bn in 2024 as post-Brexit frictions hit shipments across the Irish Sea. The value of imports and exports between the nations fell to about €32bn last year, down from €38bn in 2023, according to Ireland’s Central Statistics Office ..read more

End of ‘de minimis’ policy for Chinese goods also expected to hit bigger fashion retailers such as Asos and Boohoo Many UK-based independent sellers on marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon could suffer a significant hit to US sales from planned changes to import rules under Donald Trump, with experts comparing the impact to a second Brexit. The new rules, which mean all parcels originating or made in China and being sold into the US must pay import duty – of as much as 15% on fashion items – and an additional 10% tariff, are also expected to impact bigger online clothing retailers such as Asos ..read more

America is in retreat from its underappreciated good works around the world. Europe needs to act – and Brexit only hinders this essential response In July 1817, Lord Amherst, the leader of a British delegation to China, stopped on his return journey at Saint Helena and met the exiled Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon had seldom been out of the news, but Amherst himself was also in the news for having ­pointedly refused to kowtow when having an audience with the Chinese emperor ..read more