Sky News UK
Revealed: Incidents that almost triggered UK emergency alerts
The UK government came close to activating its national emergency alert system on at least three occasions, including during the Southport riots, an uncontrolled Chinese rocket reentry, and a parasitic water contamination threat. The revelations offer a rare glimpse into the threshold at which authorities consider mass public notification necessary. Each incident ultimately fell short of triggering the system, raising questions about where exactly that line is drawn.
Read article →Guardian UK Politics
Sick pay rule changes to benefit up to 9.6m UK workers, TUC says
Changes to statutory sick pay under the Employment Rights Act 2025 will see up to 9.6 million UK workers entitled to pay from their first day of illness, scrapping the previous four-day waiting period. The TUC says the reform will deliver meaningful financial relief to lower-income households who could least afford unpaid sick days. Despite resistance from some business groups, unions report the policy commands broad public support.
Read article →Guardian UK Politics
Struggling families like mine don’t talk about the cost of living any more – now it’s the cost of survival | Ella Michalski
Rising energy and food prices have pushed low-income families beyond the breaking point, with many now framing their daily struggle not as a cost-of-living crisis but a fight for basic survival. Ella Michalski, writing as part of the Changing Realities project, argues that geopolitical shocks like the war in Ukraine have compounded pre-existing hardship for families already stretched to the limit. She is calling on the government to stop treating poverty as a footnote and start listening to those living it firsthand.
Read article →Guardian UK Politics
NHS urges patients not to put off care as doctors in England prepare for strike
Tens of thousands of resident doctors in England will walk out for six days starting Tuesday, after the government withdrew a key element of its pay offer, prompting the BMA to press ahead with industrial action. Health officials are urging patients to seek care as normal, while the health secretary has described the strike as "disappointing." The stoppage marks a fresh flashpoint in a prolonged dispute over pay that has repeatedly strained NHS capacity.
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The Greens, Reform and the end of two-party politics? – podcast
Britain's two-party stranglehold on politics is loosening, with both Labour and the Conservatives hemorrhaging voters to the Greens and Reform. Political scientist Rob Ford breaks down which demographics are defecting and why traditional party loyalties are fracturing. May's local elections could prove a critical test of whether this realignment has lasting power.
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