Shocking crimes, royal illness and Labour’s landslide: The eight big moments that defined 2024 for Britain
Winds of change howled across Britain in a year when a Labour election victory ended 14 years of Tory rule
Keir Starmer
Peter Mandelson named UK ambassador to US for ‘new chapter of friendship’
‘Prince of Darkness’ will seek to woo Trump administration, avoid trade war and ensure the countries remain aligned over Ukraine
Stormont votes to retain some EU trade laws post-Brexit for Northern Ireland
Rules will continue to serve as a means of maintaining an invisible Border on the island for further four years
Britain pauses Syrian asylum decision process after fall of Assad
Focus will be reflection on ‘diplomatic relations with Syria’ and a cautious observation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
‘Don’t take Fine Gael for granted’: Simon Harris on Government formation talks with Fianna Fáil
Taoiseach says his party’s mandate must be respected, while Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin also raises the issue of Rockall in Scotland, where both leaders were attending a British-Irish summit
Keir Starmer waters down UK clean power target in policy reset
British prime minister redefines economic growth goals as he sets out ‘milestones’ for government
Louise Haigh a casualty of the Westminster power machine
Sheffield MP and UK transport secretary was destined to implement a core Labour policy by nationalising railways but she quit suddenly last week
Downing Street comments on Gregg Wallace allegations indicative of pressure on BBC
Prime minister’s office has criticised Wallace, presenter of popular cookery show Masterchef
‘Starmer the Farmer Harmer’ the target of ire as British farmers mobilise in London
Planet Business: Infowars auction saga, Howard Lutnick’s thoughts on Ireland and a brief history of the Observer
‘Unspeakable’ Birmingham pub bombings remembered 50 years on
Explosions, widely blamed on the IRA, killed 21 people in the city in November 1974
Farmers have a point - if only they could make it more reasonably
New rules introduced by the UK government bring a quarter of farms back within inheritance tax, after three decades of being fully exempt. They’re right to be annoyed, but sympathy is waning
Ire of farmers and pensioners mounts as British Labour faces possibility of new ‘winter of discontent’
Protest this week by farmers over inheritance tax raid sounds alarm bells for Labour’s rural prospects
Vote on assisted dying Bill due to be a cliffhanger as Britain’s Labour opposition mounts
Wes Streeting, health secretary and potential future Labour leader, is against the plan
Cop29: UK attempts to become global leader on climate with new emissions target for 2035
Starmer commits to cutting emissions by 81% at climate summit overshadowed by Trump election win
Big beams, tiny halos and cable ties: election posters are back
Parties and candidates have had lots of time to finesse their lamp-post strategy. But have they?
Jonathan Coe: ‘The morning after the election felt like waking up in a safe room, having been in an abusive relationship for 14 years’
Following the release of his latest novel, The Proof of My Innocence, the author discusses his ‘stylistic homecoming’, the evolution of Liz Truss and why he’s spending more time with his ‘imaginary friends’
Trumpian vibe as Kemi Badenoch faces Keir Starmer in House of Commons
New Tory leader Kemi Badenoch faces Labour prime minister Keir Starmer in the Commons for the first time
Israel-Hamas war: At least 73 killed in Israeli strike on residential building, Gaza officials say
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu says he and his wife were targeted by a drone attack at their holiday home
Biden calls for greater backing for Ukraine and praises German support on short visit to Berlin
US president in Germany to hold talks with Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer
Kamala Harris has three weeks to tell the American public what she stands for
The Democratic candidate has much in common with Keir Starmer, but there is one big difference: he tells us who he is
Britain’s anti-obesity jab plan is the stuff of sci-fi
Drastic action is considered essential, but this is part of a wider strategy that represents a looming calamity for Stormont
UK government must say what Brussels ‘reset’ means, says EU delegation head
‘New phase in bilateral relationship’ is possible, Sandro Gozi says
Keir Starmer’s first 100 days: after a ‘good start’, his Labour government has lost its shine at an alarming speed
The UK’s budget this month takes on near-totemic importance for Labour as it tries to reset the narrative
Zelenskiy seeks arms and backing for Ukraine’s Nato bid on whistle-stop European tour
EU says latest deadly Russian strike on Odesa is “Putin’s answer” to calls for talks with Kremlin
UK and EU are entering a ‘situationship’
Europe Letter: Brussels and London will have to give each other some leeway for post-Brexit reset to work
‘I may not be as lucky as my dog’: Britain gets ready to consider whether there is a right to an assisted death
Campaigners such as Esther Rantzen, who has lung cancer, welcome the news that Westminster will debate a proposal to give terminally ill people to right to seek help ending their lives
When two becomes one: Starmer’s first mistake was to allow competing power bases into Number 10
Exit of Sue Gray and consolidation of Morgan McSweeney’s power allows the prime minister a chance to reset
Who is Morgan McSweeney, the Irishman heading up Keir Starmer’s Downing Street operation?
Political strategist Mr McSweeney has been named chief of staff
Jon Sopel on the madness of post-Brexit Britain: ‘I think we’ve done some stupid sh*t’
The BBC correspondent turned award-winning podcaster has published a new book, Strangeland: How Britain Stopped Making Sense
David Lammy becomes first British foreign secretary to visit Dublin for seven years
Sparse detail of talks emerges after meeting with Micheál Martin but countries vow to deepen ‘key strategic links’
Varadkar seems intent on ensuring Ireland continues to haunt Starmer’s Britain
If Keir Starmer wants to be remembered as a prime minister for the United Kingdom, not just England, he needs to address the question of a Border poll
Starmer pledges return to ‘stable and positive’ EU-UK relationship
Ursula von der Leyen says EU and UK should explore ‘scope for more co-operation’
Chance for ‘rapid progress’ on EU-UK defence deal - MEP
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen set to meet UK prime minister Keir Starmer in Brussels
Newspapers using AI to ‘revive’ late writers are not serious
London Standard’s resurrection of art critic Brian Sewell to review a Van Gogh exhibition was at best a pointless gimmick, at worst the thin end of the wedge
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE...
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Election 2024
Full general election coverage including analysis and results for all 43 constituencies
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
Family NoticesOpens in new window
Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices