NHS
More than half of mental health trusts expect to cut clinical staff, survey finds
An unpublished NHS Alliance survey of 37 mental health providers found 68% expect to cut or close services in 2026-27.
UK FACT CHECK POLITICS
Voting intention Labour Lab 27% Reform Ref 24% Con Con 22% Lib Dem LD 10% Green Grn 9% Poll tracker
Popular Fact Checks
Seen a claim that looks wrong? Run an article or image through our fact checker.
Check a claimInfluencers fact-check Farage as he fights Clacton by-election under £5m gift inquiry
Met Office forecasts 36C next week as 31-year heat record nears
Farage faces 33 rivals but no major party in Clacton as Lennon trails Scottish Labour nominations
Burnham begins UK cost-of-living tour as rivals dismiss it as a 'vanity tour'
Banks investigated a reporter, as unions demand an OBR review
Badenoch urges Clacton to reject Farage while refusing to field a candidate
Sadiq Khan urges Burnham to recommit to net zero as Rosebank ruling nears
Politics
MORE →Labour sheds 68,000 members in a year as Greens close in on its total
Accounts published by the Electoral Commission show Labour's membership fell 20.6% during 2025 to 264,754, a loss of 68,481 members and its lowest level in a decade, with donation income down from £39.4m to £6.5m. A Green party spokesperson said membership had quadrupled since Zack Polanski became leader, with the party reporting 215,000 members. Labour's figure is audited, while the Green totals are self-reported and unverified.
Tories pledge to bar foreign nationals from social housing, claiming 230,000 homes freed
Burnham orders urgent review after grooming gang members escape early release ban
LATEST 24H | Watchdog faults Starmer's £270bn defence claim as officer bitten in second night of Thetford disorder
Tory mayor demands cash back as Labour rival picks buses
England Faces Worst Harvest on Record, With 2.5 Million Tonnes Lost and Food Shortages Feared, NFU Warns
NHS
MORE →Medway hospital staff working pub shifts to make ends meet after 20% pay cut — now parking is up 63%
The 24-hour parking charge at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham rose from £9.20 to £15 on 1 August, following a 20% cut to bank shift rates in May. Staff say they are taking second jobs, including pub shifts, to cover costs, with one midwife saying her monthly travel bill would rise from about £150 to £250. The trust said the income funds repairs, lighting, CCTV, security and new payment machines and barriers, and that eligible staff can apply for permits.
NHS told to prepare for summer heat like winter as heat deaths near record
Burnham Warns NHS 'Will Collapse' Without Social Care Reform
NHS to Launch Walking Challenge With Rewards for Daily Exercise
Andy Burnham is expected to block Palantir from the NHS if he becomes Prime Minister.
NHS Digital warns critical Cisco ISE flaws could allow remote code execution
Elections
MORE →Latest 24H | Good Law Project launches legal challenge on day one of new single-sex spaces code
The Equality and Human Rights Commission's revised Code of Practice on single-sex spaces came into force at midnight on Wednesday in England, Scotland and Wales. Within hours the Good Law Project sent a pre-action protocol letter to the UK government and the commission on behalf of a trans claimant and trans-inclusive organisations. Its trans rights lead Jess O'Thomson called the code "transphobic", while Sex Matters chief executive Maya Forstater said the law is clear and the code practical.
Labour Overtakes Reform UK in More in Common Poll for First Time in 16 Months
Nigel Farage Resigns as Clacton MP and Vows to Contest By-Election Amid Funding Inquiries
Reform UK defends Makerfield candidate Robert Kenyon after sexist posts linked to him resurface
Reform UK candidate who won a seat in Sunderland beat his girlfriend black and blue and allegedly abused a child
Behind Politics UK: the "impartial" platform owned by a Reform councillor
Middle East
MORE →Eight Arab and Muslim states urge Security Council to act over Gaza hospital strikes
Foreign ministers from Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the UAE issued a joint statement condemning Israeli strikes on hospitals and civilian infrastructure in Gaza and calling on the UN Security Council to take "effective measures" to enforce international law. They said the attacks jeopardise the second phase of the plan to end the war. Israel's army and Shin Bet said they destroyed five Hamas weapons depots, one near Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
Five Palestine Action activists could be sentenced as terrorists over Barclays protest
Israeli Settlers Set Fire to Mosques, Cars and Farmland in West Bank
UN inquiry concludes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza by deliberately targeting children
Iranian air defences activated in Tehran as explosions reported in Bandar Abbas and Minab
Congress nears 60-day Iran war deadline without vote to approve Trump’s conflict
Fact Checking News
MORE →Fact Check: “Drill the North Sea” won’t cut UK energy bills anytime soon
Claim: Reform UK, senior Conservatives and Donald Trump say the UK should “drill” the North Sea to bring down energy prices and boost security. Reality: UK oil and gas prices are largely set on international markets, so extra UK extraction would only marginally affect what households pay—especially in the near term. New exploration takes years (often decades) to turn into production, so it won’t change the next price-cap periods.
Minab Girls’ School Strike: What We Know, What’s Disputed, and the Evidence
Shocking Differences in Reporting of the Bondi Terror Attack… Or Was There? We Checked.
Research cited by Guardian says 150 UK-focused YouTube channels targeting Labour drew nearly 1.2bn views in 2025; YouTube removed them
Fake News Now Seen as Biggest Threat to UK Democracy
AI Deepfake Doctors Push Unproven Menopause Cures on Social Media Amid UK Regulation Gaps
World
MORE →Judge orders Meta to pay extra $567m over child safety failures in New Mexico
Judge Bryan Biedscheid at the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe ordered Meta to pay a further $567m over its failure to warn the public about risks its platforms posed to children, adding to $375m in civil penalties imposed by jurors in March for a total of $942m. He found Meta created a public nuisance and imposed five years of design changes. Meta said it disagrees with the ruling and will appeal.
Meta AI breaks out of test lab and hacks firm
Miliband tells Rubio reopening Strait of Hormuz is UK's 'number one priority'
OpenAI's Sam Altman Says World Has Entered the Technological Singularity
Trump administration to award $12 million to organisations founded by UK Conservatives Jacob Rees-Mogg and Toby Young
The Egyptian Football Association has called on FIFA to remove the officials who oversaw Egypt’s World Cup last 16 defeat to Argentina
UK
MORE →HMRC urges 18 to 23-year-olds to check for forgotten Child Trust Funds worth £2,242 on average
HMRC figures show 758,000 matured Child Trust Funds were unclaimed as at 5 April 2025, with an average balance of £2,242 for holders aged 18 to 23. HM Treasury put the total at more than £1.6bn in June 2026. HMRC said 27,000 accounts hold at least £10,000, and that holders can trace accounts free via GOV.UK using a National Insurance number and date of birth.
