PM to highlight energy bill and interest rate cuts, plus end to two-child benefit cap, and to invite his MPs to Chequers

Keir Starmer will attempt to rescue his relationship with disillusioned voters and his own fractious MPs in a new year push to reduce the cost of living.

The prime minister will give a speech in the coming days focusing on how his government is bringing down living costs, highlighting recent cuts to energy bills and interest rates and the end of the two-child benefit cap.

Officials warned of major economic, environmental and social disruption to Australia due to its dependence on coal

• Cabinet papers: Philip Ruddock laments removal of lifetime pensions for MPs as cabinet papers shed light on Howard government

• Cabinet papers: Howard government was warned in 2005 that schools and borders might need to close in a pandemic

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The Howard government was warned in 2005 that climate change was occurring more quickly than previously predicted and “many human and natural systems and economic activities in Australia” were vulnerable, newly released documents show.

Cabinet papers made public by the National Archives on Thursday show officials warned the Coalition government of critical gaps in knowledge about the timing, location and magnitude of climate-related damage, even as international cooperation geared up to try to limit the worst effects on the planet.

Post-Fukushima nuclear closures of dozens of reactors forced the country to rely heavily on imported fossil fuels

A pity that Trump, or one of the 18 intelligence agencies reporting to him, did not trace the image back to its source

Even while on holiday at his Florida resort, Donald Trump has refused to take a break from his unrelenting war on wind energy.

Late Tuesday, the US president posted an image of a dead bird beneath a turbine on social media, accompanied by the lament: “Windmills are killing all of our beautiful Bald Eagles!”

Applications to build battery storage drive boom as offshore wind projects given go-ahead jump sevenfold year on year

A record number of renewable energy projects were given the go-ahead in Great Britain in 2025, after planning approvals almost doubled year on year, according to an analysis.

The energy capacity of new battery, wind, and solar projects that received approval climbed to 45GW this year, 96% higher than in 2024, according to data from Cornwall Insight.