UK News and Discussions

[firestar464]

Ban on TV junk food advertising before 9pm comes into force in UK

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/ ... ne-obesity

[wjfox]

[firestar464]

[wjfox]

[firestar464]

[wjfox]

From: Petitions: UK Government and Parliament
To: You

Fri 16/01/2026 01:12

Subject: Government responded to “Call a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy”


Dear William Fox,

The Government has responded to the petition you signed – “Call a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy”.

Government responded:

Russian interference threats to the UK will be examined as part of the Independent Review of Foreign Financial Interference. Review findings will be presented to the House for scrutiny in late March.

The Government shares the public's concern regarding the threat from Russian interference to UK democracy. The Government will not tolerate attempts to interfere in our politics from any foreign actor and we will take all measures necessary to defend our democracy.

The UK Government has already announced an independent review, in light of the deeply concerning evidence of Russia’s attempt to influence democracy in the UK. In December 2025, the Government commissioned Philip Rycroft to lead the independent review of foreign financial interference in UK politics, including efforts by Russia. The review will thoroughly assess current financial rules and safeguards, and provide recommendations to mitigate future interference risks. This will include an examination of recent cases of attempted interference in UK politics by a range of foreign actors, including events surrounding the conviction of Reform UK’s former Wales leader, Nathan Gill, for accepting bribes to promote pro-Russian views.

Review conclusions will directly inform the major reforms to protect our elections from foreign interference, which will be set out in a forthcoming elections and democracy bill, and support the Government’s Counter Political Interference and Espionage Action Plan, which aims to make UK politics a harder target for foreign threat actors.

Launching a new, parallel inquiry at this time would be premature as it would risk prejudging the conclusions of the ongoing review and duplicating its efforts. However, the Government will present the findings of the report by the end of March providing an opportunity for further scrutiny and debate.

Cabinet Office

Click this link to view the response online:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petition ... sponse=yes

This petition has over 100,000 signatures. The Petitions Committee will consider it for a debate. They can also gather further evidence and press the government for action.

The Committee is made up of 11 MPs, from political parties in government and in opposition. It is entirely independent of the Government. Find out more about the Committee: https://petition.parliament.uk/help#petitions-committee

Thanks,

The Petitions Team
House of Commons

[weatheriscool]

[firestar464]

Farage says ‘centre right is uniting’ as he welcomes Andrew Rosindell to Reform

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/h ... 03209.html

Lol "centre"

[weatheriscool]

Farage says ‘centre right is uniting’ as he welcomes Andrew Rosindell to Reform

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/h ... 03209.html

Lol "centre"

I hate to say it but if the polls are anywhere near accurate Farage is likely your next prime minister. WTF is wrong with people?

[firestar464]

FPTP and lack of proportional representation will do that to a country.

[wjfox]

Chinese mega-embassy in London approved by government after debate over security risks

20 January 2026

• Plans for a huge Chinese embassy in London have been approved by the government after years of debate over security risks

• China bought the site of the proposed new embassy, at Royal Mint Court, near the Tower of London, for £255m in 2018

• The decision on whether to approve the new embassy was under close scrutiny due to concerns about the security implications of the plan, including the location, size and design of the building

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cly4r20q1qyt

[firestar464]

What are your thoughts on the grooming gangs scandal?

[weatheriscool]

What are your thoughts on the grooming gangs scandal?

Anyone that would hurt children either from men like Trump or these gangs need to go to prison for a very long time.

[firestar464]

Farage denies talking to sacked Tory about defecting to Reform

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0erdwrp972o

[firestar464]

[firestar464]

[firestar464]

Much talk about the upcoming byelection in Gorton and Denton.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjdj8jg4gnyo
https://archive.ph/25j6j

[firestar464]

Analysis of Reform UK proposal for income tax cuts in Scotland

https://ifs.org.uk/articles/analysis-re ... s-scotland

The biggest direct beneficiaries of such a change would be the high-income taxpayers who currently pay substantially more in income tax than in the rest of the UK: for example, someone on £50,000 a year currently pays around £1,500 a year more than in the rest of the UK, while someone on £125,000 pays around £5,200 a year more. If Reform UK’s ambitions for Scottish income tax were fully realised, they would instead pay around £1,100 and £3,700 a year less, respectively, than they would in the rest of the UK. Reform UK hope that there could be wider indirect benefits from making Scotland more attractive to high-income individuals.

It is a legitimate and indeed feasible goal to cut income tax rates to below prevailing rates in the rest of the UK. But doing so requires a credible plan for cutting spending, and a recognition that this would involve difficult choices over service provision.

Reform UK say they would fund the initial £2 billion cost by reducing the £9 billion that they estimate is currently spent on environmental protection, economic development and what they term ‘unaccountable Quangos’. But this does not properly confront the challenges they would face in finding £2 billion or more of spending cuts in the coming parliament. The ‘Quangos’ (arm’s-length public bodies funding or delivering services on behalf of the government) include such bodies as the Scottish Funding Council, which funds colleges and universities, and Healthcare Improvement Scotland, which carries out inspections of health and social care facilities. Many of these have already been set targets to improve efficiency and productivity that outpace what has been achieved in the past as part of the Scottish Spending Review. Further cuts in spending would make it even more likely that services would need to be cut back.

[firestar464]

[firestar464]

Starmer has little to offer voters of either right or left in Gorton and Denton. That’s why he’s facing a perfect storm

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... ens-labour