Today's ballot

The government has updated school food standards for the first time in over a decade. From September 2027 state-funded schools in England must follow stricter rules that ban deep-fried foods, limit high-fat and high-sugar items including desserts to once or twice a week, require fruit or vegetables with every meal, and increase fibre and wholegrains. Compliance is already a legal requirement and the changes align with latest dietary advice to tackle childhood obesity and improve nutrition.

UK polls show 40-53% of Britons view Islam or its growth as incompatible with British values or society, citing issues like attitudes to homosexuality, gender roles, free speech and sharia councils. Around 4 million Muslims live in Britain, with most saying they feel British and support integration, while the government distinguishes between Islam as a faith and Islamism as an extremist ideology. Hate crimes against Muslims have risen sharply.

US President Donald Trump said during a September 2026 visit to Dublin that he would love to see a united Ireland, describing it as fantastic, inevitable and something that may as well happen now. This breaks with decades of US neutrality on the issue under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which requires majority consent in Northern Ireland for any change in its constitutional status. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said a referendum on unification is off the table.

The UK currently applies income tax at 20% on income between £12,570 and £50,270, 40% up to £125,140, and 45% above that for the 2026/27 tax year in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. A single rate for all citizens would replace this progressive structure. Proponents claim flat taxes simplify compliance and reduce incentives for evasion through complex avoidance schemes.

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 allows adults to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate changing their legal gender for most purposes including birth certificates after medical diagnosis and two years living in the acquired gender. A 2025 Supreme Court ruling established that sex in the Equality Act 2010 means biological sex at birth and a GRC does not alter this for single-sex services or spaces. The updated EHRC Code of Practice confirms trans people retain gender reassignment protections but sex remains biological. The Labour government has committed to reforming the GRA to simplify it while retaining a dysphoria diagnosis but has not yet introduced legislation.

The Israeli flag is the national symbol of Israel, a country with which the UK maintains diplomatic relations. UK law under the Public Order Act 1986 and Terrorism Act 2000 does not criminalise displaying it on its own; prosecution requires evidence of intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress, or support for a proscribed organisation. Recent protests over the Israel-Gaza conflict have seen incidents where Israeli flags prompted police intervention for potential breaches of the peace when displayed confrontationally, but the flag itself remains lawful to hold or wear in most settings.

Under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, the maximum prison sentence for illegal entry into the UK and for overstaying a visa is four years on indictment. Over 1,000 people have been convicted of illegal arrival since 2022, with typical sentences of 8-12 months. Prosecutions for simple overstaying remain rare unless combined with other factors such as illegal working.

The UK constitution reserves the Union and sovereignty of Parliament to Westminster. The 2022 Supreme Court ruling confirmed the Scottish Parliament cannot legislate for an independence referendum without UK consent. Today, nationalist leaders from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland signed a Cardiff memorandum declaring Westminster's time is ending and demanding the UK government facilitate constitutional referendums in each nation. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has repeatedly stated further independence referendums are off limits, prioritising economic growth and public services instead.