Politics

The Paramount-Warner Bros merger is being fought in the US and UK. Britain’s culture secretary knows the risks and can intervene. She should Though it has yet to become front-page news in the UK, you should know about the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros merger . It threatens to inflict immense harm on the British public. As actors and public figures who have spent our careers in the arts in Britain – working with British crews, on British stages and sets – we have a responsibility to the public who support, enjoy and consume the art we make. The UK is being threatened by a media merger that would harm our workers, our culture and the public – but we can stop it. We are encouraged by Lisa Nandy, the secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, who recently sent letters to Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery , as well as a statement to parliament , indicating that she is “minded to intervene” in Paramount’s $110bn takeover of Warner Bros. Alan Cumming, Benedict Cumberbatch and Benedict Wong are actors working in the UK and Hollywood Continue reading...

The Guardian Politics • 9 hours ago

Exclusive: Experts say policy could also cause shortages of school teachers and drive some universities to bankruptcy Reform UK’s plan to make employers pay an annual levy for overseas staff would harm the NHS and social care, cause a shortage of schoolteachers, and could push some universities into bankruptcy, experts have warned. Nigel Farage’s party has pledged a “migrant worker surcharge”, which would involve a higher rate of employer national insurance as well as a separate annual charge. It would apply to any employees without a UK passport, including EU nationals with settled status, with the exception of Irish passport holders. Continue reading...

The Guardian Politics • 9 hours ago

Airports in England and Wales are likely to lose millions of passengers if third runway goes ahead, DfT economic paper shows Expanding Heathrow airport will take thousands of jobs from other regions of the UK, including almost 10,000 from the West Midlands alone, according to an analysis of the government’s own forecasts. An economic paper published by the Department for Transport last month shows that airports in England and Wales are likely to lose millions of passengers if Heathrow builds a third runway , in a significant blow to regional jobs. Continue reading...

The Guardian Politics • 10 hours ago

The ruling on Saturday was the latest rebuke to President Trump’s attacks on mail-in voting. The government says it may take the case to the Supreme Court.

NYT Politics • 11 hours ago

The investigative journalist Lucas Amin reports on how the tech company Palantir won a £330m contract with the NHS … and what happened once its software was introduced How did Palantir – sometimes described as ‘the world’s scariest company’ – start working with the NHS? The investigative journalist Lucas Amin shares the findings of his and his colleague Peter Geoghegan’s investigation into the tech company and its relationship with the UK’s public health service – and tells a story of controversial politicians, paid-for political access, and shocking loopholes in UK lobbying regulations. Continue reading...

The Guardian Politics • 12 hours ago

The changes separated the casualty numbers into two separate web pages, potentially making it more difficult to tally the war’s full toll.

NYT Politics • 13 hours ago