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
Rupert Murdoch succession saga completes stage one of its Reno era
Planet Business: Employers and the menopause, a new global consortium on the information environment, and UK Labour’s unhappiness with its inheritance
Politicians must stop being management consultants and become storytellers
Without the energy and charisma of a storyteller - Boris Johnson, Bertie Ahern - a country has nothing to believe in
‘Britain is no longer sure of itself’: Keir Starmer tries to steady his troops as he promises hard work will deliver
In his conference speech at the Exhibition Centre in Liverpool, the new Labour prime minister tells racist rioters and their supporters: ' We see you and we reject you.’
Schisms and sleaze plague Keir Starmer’s first Labour conference, risking long-term damage
Party’s first event after 14 years in opposition was meant to be a celebration of election victory but risks being overshadowed
Keir Starmer prepares for his first Labour conference as prime minister as infighting breaks out among his team
Starmer’s chief of staff Sue Gray is targeted by anonymous internal critics
The Irish Times view on the NHS: Keir Starmer’s most daunting challenge
The much-loved institution, once admired all over the world, is itself on its deathbed
British chancellor Rachel Reeves needs a credible growth plan
The UK chancellor should explain how her programme is going to work
Next government must not waste what is a generational opportunity to transform the country
Focus must be on infrastructure, education, and, critically, an energy strategy that balances the need for decarbonisation with the demands of a competitive economy
Western allies should think carefully about Putin’s war warning, says former UK official
The issue is coming to a head on Friday with the first visit to Washington DC by new UK prime minister Keir Starmer
Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian supply lines would likely expose Putin’s escalation bluff
Permission from US and Britain for Kyiv to hit targets deeper inside Russia expected to spark closer Moscow link with Iran and North Korea, not conflict with Nato
If Britain is broken, here are ideas on how to fix it
Central London gathering of policy experts and academics hears suggestions about how to revive Britain’s public services and stuttering economy
Starmer promises 10-year plan to fix NHS
British prime minister says NHS will receive no money without reform following damning report
State will ‘look to co-operate’ with new €10bn GB Energy renewables company - Eamon Ryan
Transport and environment minister is in London for talks with senior British cabinet members
Ukraine repeats call for UK and US to allow use of western weapons against Russia
Blinken and Lammy hail country’s ‘bravery’ in fighting off invasion by Moscow’s forces but would not be drawn on missile usage
A ball of smoke and not much fire as Labour backbench rebellion over winter fuel cut burns out
The row had a little bit for everybody in the audience as Westminster gets back to business
Keir Starmer delays appointing Washington ambassador until after US presidential race
London Letter: Former Labour heavyweights David Miliband, Peter Mandelson are said to be contenders for the role of UK ambassador to Washington, along with Belfast Agreement negotiator Jonathan Powell
Guildford pub bombings among first cases to be examined by commission into Troubles-era crimes
Former judge says ICRIR aiming to present ‘unvarnished truth’ but acknowledges dealing with events of 50 years ago will be ‘difficult’
‘Wasn’t happy with it’: Micheál Martin criticises booing of God Save the King at Ireland-England match
Vast majority of Irish fans in the stadium respected singing of the English national anthem at what was a ‘very happy occasion’, says Tánaiste
Cosy British-Irish relations a welcome change, but to achieve reset considerable work required
Jump-starting warm bilateral understanding complex and delicate as both sides pursue common ground after a corrosive decade
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