No10 defends flight to Manchester to collect Andy Burnham

Watchdog writes to Nigel Farage’s party to ask what action it is taking to comply with the Equality Act The official equalities watchdog has written to Reform UK to raise concerns after an undercover TV documentary showed councillors and candidates for the party expressing racist and misogynistic views, with one of the party’s MPs complaining about ingrained sexism. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said it had written to Nigel Farage’s party in the wake of revelations in ITV’s Und

Exception for care workers will allow up to 300,000 people to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years UK politics live – latest updates Shabana Mahmood has softened plans to force low-paid workers to wait 15 years before settlement in the UK following a backlash from fellow cabinet ministers and backbench Labour MPs. Under pressure from health unions to make an exception for care workers, the home secretary has moved to allow up to 300,000 people to apply for indefinite leave to re

As home secretary Shabana Mahmood announces her controversial migration plans, Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey discuss the political context that has led to this announcement and why the timing for Andy Burnham – who is out of the country – is very convenient for him You can read Pippa’s story about reparations for the transatlantic slave trade here Send your questions for Pippa and Kiran to politicsweeklyuk@theguardian.com You can watch Politics Weekly on our YouTube channel here Continue reading

Critics decry ‘Air Miles Andy’ after plane that took off from Stansted diverted to collect prime minister and wife A government-chartered plane taking Andy Burnham to a Commonwealth summit in the Caribbean made a stop-off in Manchester to collect him, Downing Street has said. The decision, which will have been more financially and environmentally costly than if the prime minister had travelled to London, leaves him open to accusations of hypocrisy after Labour repeatedly criticised Rishi Sunak f