Politics

Published: 13 October 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. The UK government is formally abolishing the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), the much-criticised watchdog responsible for scrutinising the jobs ministers can take after leaving office. The closure, announced by the Cabinet Office, is part of a wider reform of the country’s ethics framework, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged will strengthen oversight and restore public...

Published: 13 October 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Charities across the UK have raised alarm over a sharp rise in racial abuse, intimidation, and threats of violence directed at their staff and beneficiaries, amid increasingly toxic political and social rhetoric around immigration and race. Voluntary organisations, including refugee and asylum seeker charities, ethnic minority groups, women’s organisations, youth bodies, homelessness charities, and even charity shops, report...

Published: 13 October 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Scottish First Minister John Swinney has insisted that the precedent set ahead of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum strengthens his case for a second vote, should the Scottish National Party (SNP) secure a majority in next year’s Holyrood election. Speaking on BBC Scotland’s The Sunday Show, Swinney argued that the outcome of the 2011 election, in which the...

Published: 11 October 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Approval for China’s planned “mega embassy” in London is reportedly facing yet another delay, amid rising tensions over the UK Labour government’s approach to Beijing. Officials at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) are said to be preparing to postpone the previously set deadline of 21 October, according to sources cited by The Telegraph. The...

Published: 11 October 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Newly released documents reveal that former UK Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair met the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein at Downing Street in 2002, six years before Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor. The meeting, which lasted less than 30 minutes, was reportedly arranged at the urging of Lord Peter Mandelson, a close political ally of...

Published: 11 October 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Zarah Sultana has confirmed that she and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn have patched up their turbulent working relationship within a new left-wing political project, comparing their reunion to the famously feuding Gallagher brothers. Speaking at The World Transformed political festival in Manchester, Sultana emphasised that the duo are ready to collaborate, despite previous disagreements that had cast...

Published: 11 October 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Boris Johnson, the former UK prime minister, has been found to have breached rules designed to prevent the misuse of contacts and influence gained while in public office, according to an ethics watchdog. The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) concluded that Johnson failed to cooperate fully with inquiries into his conduct after leaving office, prompting concerns over...

Published: 11 October 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and ex-deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg hosted a private dinner earlier this year that granted a select group of technology entrepreneurs direct access to a senior government minister, according to newly released documents. The event, organised by Blair in his role as head of the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), was held at...

Published: 10 October 2025 | The English Chronicle Desk | The English Chronicle Online Richard Tice, Reform UK’s deputy leader, has built a public image as a staunch critic of the UK’s net-zero carbon policies, branding them “net stupid zero” and describing renewable energy initiatives as costly and harmful. Yet, an examination of his 15-year business record reveals a long history of actively supporting sustainability and green energy initiatives through...

Published: 10 October 2025 | The English Chronicle Desk | The English Chronicle Online Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, is facing mounting criticism after several of his remaining progressive allies were reportedly pushed out of government as part of a major Downing Street shake-up. The move, aimed at restructuring the machinery of government and empowering Chief Secretary Darren Jones, has been described by insiders as a “progressive clear-out” that...