Politics LIVE: Starmer ‘bending knee’ to Brussels as EU looks to undo Brexit with ‘disgraceful’ Customs Union deal

Reform UK chairman REJECTS Suella Braverman's offer of a Tory-Reform pact: 'Betrayed British people!'

Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf has expressed disappointment at Suella Braverman's suggestion for an electoral pact between the populist party and the Conservatives.

Speaking on GB News, Yusuf firmly rejected any possibility of a deal with the Tories, questioning how Reform could work with a group that "deal entirely in deception, in falsehoods, and betrayal".

He said: “I agree with her that there isn't space for two, and the reality is Reform has already overtaken the Conservative Party.

“Look, how can you do a deal? How can you do a pact with a group, with a tribe who deal entirely in deception, in falsehoods, and betrayal?

“They have betrayed the people of Britain to such an extraordinary degree that they will fully deserve the extinction event that's now facing them.

“The pollsters have a great deal of discretion to flex things up and down and none of the pollsters want to go first, because pollsters largely have no interest in being correct. They just want to not be demonstrably wrong. You'll see in the coming weeks, Reform surging ahead of the Tory party, as we already have done in several polls.

“But look, just look at the Tories’ track record here. Over the 14 years that they were in government, they grew the size of the population of the United Kingdom by six and a half million people.

“They built no new net prison places, which is why we have violent criminals running rampant around the United Kingdom and people feel terrified to leave their homes, particularly women. The 2010, the 2015, the 2017, and the 2019 manifesto, they promised to bring that migration down to the tens of thousands. What did they do? They left office with that number at one million."

Rachel Reeves makes shocking U-turn on non-dom tax rules after 'concerns'

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has indicated the Labour Government will be making an U-turn on one of her controversial tax decisions which was announced during the Autumn Budget.

Specifically, Reeves has asserted she is open to relaxing the rules impacting the "non dom community" in a move to stop wealthy taxpayers fleeing the UK while appearing at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier today.

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'We have to kick start the economy!' MP defends building plans as Labour accused of 'ignoring will of the people'

Labour MP Matthew Pennycook has defended the Government's new planning reforms, insisting that local communities will retain their right to object to developments.

Speaking to GB News, Pennycook emphasised that "no one is saying that the views of local communities should be ignored".

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Rayner under-fire after dismissing Southport stabbing terror connection as Farage demands apology over 'fake news' accusation

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has come under-fire after previously dismissing claims that Axel Rudakubana's Southport attack was terror-related.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage yesterday demanded an apology from Rayner after she also accused him of spreading "fake news" about the perpetrator.

Rudakubana, now 18, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to murdering Alice da Silva Aguiar, aged nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

Responding to Rayner's previous comments last night, the Reform UK leader told The Telegraph: “Many public figures, including Angela Rayner, made derogatory and inciteful remarks about my comments in the vacuum that followed the terrorist attack in Southport.

“I was right all along. This man was known to the authorities and the truth was withheld. As the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation Jonathan Hall KC confirmed, the public should have been told the truth without damaging the trial. This is an appalling cover-up and I deserve apologies.”

'My views haven't changed!' Khan sets out stall on Heathrow expansion

Sir Sadiq Khan has set out his stall on a potential expansion at Heathrow Airport.

The London Mayor said his views on the building of a third runway at Heathrow airport “haven’t changed”.

He told the London Assembly: “What Londoners know and the Government knows, is the aviation sector is important for growth, jobs and prosperity, but we face a climate crisis and a climate emergency.

“The Climate Change Committee, well respected, set out quite clearly its recommendations, which is the only time expansion of aviation should be considered, I’m paraphrasing, is if it abides with our climate change commitments and so forth.

“The three big concerns that would need to be addressed if, in the hypothetical case, the speculation was to become a reality, is could a new runway be built that abides with carbon targets, concerns around noise pollution, and concerns around air pollution?

“Should that speculation become a reality, we’ll of course consider the merits of that case.

“But I’m quite clear, my views on the expansion of Heathrow by a new runway haven’t changed.”

EU's top Brexit negotiator claims bloc should 'consider' UK joining tariff-free customs scheme

A top Brussels bureaucrat has claimed the EU should “consider” letting the UK join a tariff-free customs scheme.

However, given Sir Keir Starmer’s red lines on the Single Market and Customs Union, the EU’s new trade chief Maros Sefcovic stresseed such an agreement would represent membership of the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM).

PEM operates under common rules which enable parts, ingredients and materials for manufacturing supply chains to be sourced from across dozens of countries in Europe and North Africa tariff-free.

The suggestion, rejected by the previous Tory Governments, was touted during Sefcovic’s appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

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Starmer faces more Waspi fury as SNP plots crunch Commons vote

Sir Keir Starmer has been left bracing for more Waspi fury as the SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn plots to hold a crunch vote in the House of Commons next week.

Flynn's proposed bill would require Ministers to publish measures to address the findings of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) report, which recommended the government pay compensation to women born in the 1950s whose state pension age was raised so it would be equal with men.

The watchdog stressed the women should be paid up to £2,950 each, a package with a potential total cost of £10.5billionn to the public purse.

It also claimed that poor communication meant the women had lost out on the change to plan their retirement finances.

Flynn hopes to bring the vote in a 10-minute rule process after the Prime Minister last month ruled out a compensation package.

Britain's strictest headteacher warns Starmer is pushing Marxist ideology

Sir Keir Starmer's Labour is pushing Marxist ideology in education reforms, Britain's strictest headteacher has warned.

Katherine Birbalsingh, who co-founded the Michaela Community School in North London, told The Telegraph: “ I do see a sense of Marxism that is coursing through the veins of the [new education] bill.

"Bridget Phillipson is looking at this in a manner that is just not very informed. You see her Marxist outlook in every decision that she’s making.

"Social mobility is not something that you can just place upon children, you need to inspire them to take ownership of their own lives and jump over the obstacles that are in front of them.

“They need to feel like they belong to their school and wear their uniform. They need to work hard to get grades at GCSE that will compete with the boys at Eton.

"They need to own their lives and push themselves forward. It’s about self empowerment, it is not about holding your hand out to the state and saying: ‘Please give me more.' And that is unfortunately what a Marxist view will do.”

Starmer takes fight to Nimbys as PM vows 1.5 million housing blitz

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to make it more difficult for the public to block new major infrastructure projects after announcing plans to build 1.5 million homes.

Announcing the planning changes, the Prime Minister said “taking on the Nimbys” was part of making the planning system “pro-growth”.

Starmer said: “For too long, blockers have had the upper hand in legal challenges – using our court processes to frustrate growth.

“We’re putting an end to this challenge culture by taking on the Nimbys and a broken system that has slowed down our progress as a nation.

“This is the Government’s Plan for Change in action – taking the brakes off Britain by reforming the planning system so it is pro-growth and pro-infrastructure.”

Rayner braces for Cabinet clash after vowing to make economic growth 'trump' Net Zero plans

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been preparing for a Cabinet clash over potential backing for an expansion at Heathrow Airport.

Speaking at Heathrow Airport, Reeves said: “There was always somebody that said, ‘Oh, yes, of course, we want to grow the economy but we don’t like that investment.’

“Or, ‘We don’t like that wind farm, we don’t like those pylons, we don’t like that airport’.”

She added: “When we say growth is the number one mission of this Government we mean it — and that means it trumps other things.”

Sir Keir Starmer was yesterday unable to set out his position on a potential Heathrow expansion, despite previously opposing the move.

However, Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband, Environment Secretary Steve Reed and London Mayor Sadiq Khan have all voiced opposition to an expansion.