5 top UK news stories today (27 February 2026)

Here’s your UK news roundup for Friday (27 February 2026):

Green Party wins key election

The Green Party’s Hannah Spencer has won the Gorton and Denton by-election, with 14,980 votes. She beat Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin with 10,578 votes, and Labour’s Angeliki Stogia with 9,364 votes. The constituency had long been considered a safe Labour seat, with the vote triggered by the resignation of former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne in January due to ill health. He was elected as a Labour MP in 2005 in the previous Denton and Reddish constituency, but was suspended from the party last year after sending offensive WhatsApp messages. [BBC]

Drop in overseas workers is ‘car crash’ for UK hospitals and care homes

Hospitals and care homes in the UK face ‘an impending car crash’, experts have warned, as research shows the number of overseas nurses and carers has collapsed. Analysis of Home Office quarterly data reveals the number of overseas nurses granted entry to the UK has fallen by 93% over three years. Just 1,777 overseas nurses were granted entry in 2025, compared with 26,100 in 2022. Visas for workers in the caring personal service occupations category – which includes care workers, but also nursing auxiliaries, ambulance staff and dental workers – had the steepest decline in new workers from overseas in absolute terms. [Guardian]

Sainsbury’s to cut 300 jobs

Sainsbury’s is putting around 300 jobs at risk across the supermarket chain and its Argos business, amid a restructure of its technology and data teams and head office changes, the firm announced. The changes form part of the supermarket chain’s ongoing Next Level strategy, now entering its third year, aimed at boosting efficiency and sharpening commercial focus. The restructuring could affect roles across Sainsbury’s and Argos from a combined workforce of roughly 140,000 employees. As part of the revamp, Sainsbury’s is reorganising its technology and data operations, creating one dedicated team for Argos and two separate teams for the supermarket [Express]

Lloyds to go mostly online

Britain’s biggest bank is to stop opening accounts for customers at its branches and instead force them to go online. Lloyds Bank’s staff will no longer open joint, premium or student accounts in branches or switch customers from another lender – a move that critics warned signalled “the death of branch banking”. Instead, staff will direct customers to use its app and website, according to internal documents seen by The Telegraph. It comes as the bank shuts more than 100 branches across the country, adding to the 1,470 sites it has already closed over the past decade. Last week, Lloyds scrapped the option for customers to deposit cheques at the Post Office despite the closures. [The Telegraph]