Politics LIVE: Starmer in crisis as damning poll shows Brexit backlash costs PM

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Greens and Lib Dems back Scottish budget

The Scottish Greens and Scottish Lib Dems will back the Government’s Budget, making it near-certain the plans will pass.

The Government said on Tuesday it had struck deals with both parties to secure their backing ahead of the final vote, due to take place next month.

As a result of the deal with the Scottish Greens, the Government has announced plans to expand free school meals to pupils in the first three years of secondary school who are in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment, as well as a regional pilot for a £2 cap on bus fares.

While the Scottish Lib Dems secured increased investment for drugs services and hospices. The deals will cost £16.7 million, the Government said.

Finance Secretary Shona Robison said: "We are determined to deliver on the issues that matter most to the people of Scotland – and that is why this Budget invests in public services and in eradicating child poverty, acts in the face of the climate emergency, and supports jobs.

"The First Minister was clear that we would bring forward a Budget by Scotland for Scotland, and the negotiations we have taken forward have been in that spirit. These additional initiatives demonstrate the value of a progressive approach and dialogue."

UK migration has 'spiralled out of control' under Labour, Lee Anderson claims

Reform UK MP Lee Anderson has launched a scathing attack on the Government over migration projections, labelling parliamentary colleagues as "lunatics" who are disconnected from reality.

Speaking to GB News, Anderson claimed migration has "spiralled out of control", starting under "Blair's leadership" and "worsening under Conservative governments".

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Starmer faces backlash from party backbenchers over Waspi repayments

Sir Keir Starmer has faced growing Labour calls to establish a compensation scheme for women affected by state pension age changes after 10 of his MPs supported a proposed law.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn was given permission by MPs to introduce the Women’s State Pension age (Ombudsman report and compensation scheme) Bill to the House of Commons for further consideration by 105 votes to zero, majority 105.

The Bill would require ministers to publish measures to address the findings of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) report, which recommended the UK Government pay compensation to women born in the 1950s whose state pension age was raised so it would be equal with men.

The Labour MPs who backed the bill are Jonathan Brash (Hartlepool), Julia Buckley (Shrewsbury), Neil Duncan-Jordan (Poole), Chris Hinchliff (North East Hertfordshire), Terry Jermy (South West Norfolk), Brian Leishman (Alloa and Grangemouth), Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields), Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes), Jon Trickett (Normanton and Hemsworth) and Steve Witherden (Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr).

Long standing Tory councillor defects to Reform - 'no difference between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats'

A long-standing Conservative councillor defected to Reform UK.

Bente Height, who represents Shepton Mallet at Somerset Council, said she was "very happy" at her decision to quit the Tories and become the first Reform councillor for the region.

After retaining her seat in 2015, Height successfully stood as an independent in 2019 before re-joining the Tories in July 2020, becoming one of two division members for Shepton Mallet on the new Somerset Council in the May 2022 local elections.

She told the BBC: "My constituents constantly tell me they see no difference between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, and there should be a substantial difference. We have unique problems in Shepton Mallet that are just not being dealt with by these parties.

"There are only two surgeries with no extra provision made for the many newly arriving people."

Reform's constituency branch chair Aimee Smith said: "It's fabulous to have Bente with us as we rapidly expand our members and supporters, and it's clear we are going to work very well together to bring the genuine change that people are so desperately seeking."

Former Brexit Minister rejects claim that joining customs scheme would undermine Brexit

Lord Frost has denied claims that joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM), a Europe-wide customs scheme, would undermine Brexit.

The former Brexit Minister, who negotiated the post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, said that joining PEM would not threaten any of the benefits from leaving the EU.

He told The Times: [When we were in government] we didn’t see it as raising any issue of principle, but we equally didn’t consider it to be particularly in UK interests. The EU also seemed to lose interest rapidly so the negotiations on this point quickly ran out of steam."

Former Tory MEP and prominent Brexit campaigner Daniel Hannan said: "Immediately, Conservatives were denouncing “membership through the back door” while Lib Dems were exulting in Brussels being “receptive to the UK joining the Customs Union”.

"But the PEM is not a customs union (something which, for the avoidance of doubt, the UK, as a global trading nation, should not join). Are we really going to oppose, on principle and without looking at it, anything containing the word 'Euro'"

Patel demands Labour to confirm that taxpayer money is 'not being abused by Hamas'

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel has urged the government to confirm that British taxpayers’ money is "not being abused by Hamas."

It comes as Foreign Office minister Anneliese Dodds announced £17 million in funding from the UK to get aid into Gaza, adding that Israel has "a responsibility under international law to facilitate humanitarian assistance."

Dodds stressed the need for UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) to continue its life saving assistance to the people of Gaza and the West Bank.

Patel told the Commons: "We know the facts, UNRWA staff and institutions have been infiltrated by Hamas, including the shocking allegations of UNRWA staff involved in the seventh of October attacks.

"In July, the Foreign Secretary announced £21 million for UNRWA and the Prime Minister announced 13 million last month. What measures are in place to ensure that every penny of British taxpayers’ money is going to those most in need and not being abused by Hamas?"

Dodds responded: "When the UK resumed its support for UNRWA, we were very clear that the findings from the Colonna report had to be implemented. In fact, £1 million of the £21 million that we provided to UNRWA at that point were earmarked to support that reform programme.

"This is something that I discussed directly with the head of UNRWA, I know that my colleagues have done it repeatedly, I have also discussed it with UNRWA staff in the region, and indeed I saw it for myself that work, particularly around neutrality, when I was in the West Bank. So I can assure her of UK Government commitment in that regard."

Keir Starmer REFUSES to back Denmark as Trump sets sights on Greenland

Sir Keir Starmer has today refused to back Denmark in its ongoing row with Donald Trump over Greenland.

Trump has been eyeing up incorporating the giant Arctic island into the US since his first Presidency - and in 2025, has escalated his interest in a buyout.

And with the UK caught between the EU and US as part of Labour's litany of "relations resets", Starmer declined to back Denmark when pressured on Greenland at a meeting of CEOs in London this morning.

"I'm not going to comment on issues that are not central to what I have to deal with in relation to the UK and the US relationship," he said.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Peter Mandelson referred to FBI as Starmer's US ambassador pick faces probe over 'damning' China links

A dossier on Lord Peter Mandelson's links to China has been passed to the FBI, casting further doubt over his impending confirmation as Sir Keir Starmer's US ambassador.

Mandelson's file, put together by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, has been handed to the Bureau after being seen by US Senators - but the long-time Labour grandee has denied any such links.

The file is said to detail Mandelson's role as an adviser to the China-based global investment bank CICC, a connection which he did not declare in the House of Lords register, Australian outlet The Nightly revealed.

It also lists a number of visits to China where the peer met with top officials, including a 2019 meeting with Zhou Yubo, then the Secretary of the CPC Committee and chairman of China Guoxin.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Labour appoints reparations advocate as trade envoy to Ghana

Labour has appointed a pro-reparations MP as Britain's new trade envoy to Ghana - whose own president has labelled the potential payments a "valid demand for justice".

Clapham & Brixton Hill MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy leads the All-Party Parliamentary Group for "Afrikan Reparations", notable members of which include Jeremy Corbyn, Zarah Sultana, Diane Abbott, Dawn Butler and Clive Lewis.

Ribeiro-Addy has called for UK taxpayers to foot the bill for reparations - while the APPG has lauded reports which estimate the payments' value at as much as £20trillion, just over six times Britain's GDP.

Keir Starmer claims economy 'starting to turn around' despite 'signals of recession'

Sir Keir Starmer has claimed Britain's economy is "starting to turn around" - in the face of growing fears that the UK is teetering on the brink of recession once again.

Speaking to Bloomberg after a meeting with business bosses in the City today, the Prime Minister vowed: "We have to get our economy working. I think we're beginning to see how that's turning around."

"The number one priority of this Labour government is growth. Growth, growth, growth."

But the private sector remains unconvinced - with firms expecting a significant fall in activity over the next three months, according to Confederation of British Industry (CBI) analysis.

Businesses are bracing for a plunge to around -0.5 per cent private sector growth over the next quarter - which Institute of Economic Affairs economics fellow Julian Jessop has warned is "another UK recession signal".

The CBI's Alpesh Paleja added: "After a grim lead-up to Christmas, the New Year hasn't brought any sense of renewal, with businesses still expecting a significant fall in activity.

"Anecdotes suggest that companies are being hit by lacklustre demand and caution among consumers, while also continuing to adjust to measures announced in the Budget.

"There is an urgent need to get momentum back into the economy."

Lammy leaves Australia out in the cold as Foreign Office snubs Aukus in US call readout

The Foreign Office appears to have omitted discussions about Australia from its official readout of David Lammy's call with new US counterpart Marco Rubio.

The US readout name-checked the Aukus defence pact and its three members' initiative to promote a "free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable," - but the FCDO's statement made no mention of the key partnership.

In response, Guido Fawkes reports, The FCDO has pointed to Lammy's speech earlier this month in which he talked up Aukus and "strengthening of our friendship with both sides of the aisle" - and added that its readouts aren't "exhaustive".

Similarly, when Britain and America released their respective details about Donald Trump's Sunday call with Sir Keir Starmer, Downing Street insisted that the pair had mentioned plans to "meet soon" - while the White House made no such mention.

Labour MPs turn on Starmer as they warn he risks damaging US ties over military spending delay

Labour's own MPs have warned Sir Keir Starmer that a failure to boost military spending could put the "special relationship" with the US at risk.

Starmer is expected to delay bringing defence spending up to 2.5 per cent of GDP until after 2030, The Times revealed - a cut below President Donald Trump's expectations.

Prior to his return to the White House last week, Trump was understood to be approaching Nato allies with a "demand five per cent, accept three per cent" line on military expenditure as part of the alliance.

Labour quartet Luke Akehurst, Dan Carden, Tan Dhesi and Luke Pollard have all made public statements calling for a spending boost, with defence committee chairman Dhesi warning: "The cost of fighting a war... is significantly higher than providing a credible deterrence force."

While Liverpool Walton MP Carden said: "The simple reality is to build strong alliances, we must maintain and build our autonomy. To maintain a good relationship with the US, we will have to spend more on defence."

Five former Tory Defence Secretaries - Grant Shapps, Sir Ben Wallace, Penny Mordaunt, Sir Gavin Williamson and Sir Michael Fallon - have turned up the heat on Labour too.

Shapps told The Sun: "This decision is a green light to adversaries and a slap in the face to our armed forces," while Mordaunt added: "The default setting of the Starmer Government is to pivot away from the US.

"All things are possible if there's the political will to do it," she said.

'This MUST not happen!' Fury as migration surge set to skyrocket Britain's population by MILLIONS

Tory MP Nick Timothy and Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe have led public outrage at damning new figures on Britain's impending population boom.

Almost five million migrants are projected to come to the UK in the next seven years - with the country's total population projected to reach 72.5 million by mid-2032, the Office for National Statistics has said this morning.

The ONS data says the increase is driven almost entirely by net migration - sparking fury as a result.

Lowe said: "Between 2022 and 2032, 10 million people will come to the UK.

"5 million will leave, many of our best and brightest. Uncontrolled mass immigration is destroying our country. We simply cannot cope."

While Timothy said: "This must not happen. We need to cut the numbers drastically. And we need to deport the criminals and illegal immigrants who should not be here."

READ THE FULL STORY ON THE POPULATION EXPLOSION HERE

Cooper to REJECT calls to include far-left in 'extremism' definition

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is set to reject the recommendations of a Home Office report to include environmentalists, the far-left, and men prejudiced against women as examples of "extremism".

The dossier which branded "two-tier policing" concerns a "right-wing extremist narrative", sparked serious concerns when it was leaked by think tank Policy Exchange on Monday.

Cooper is said not to agree with the findings of the "rapid analytical sprint on extremism" she commissioned in August following the unrest sparked by Axel Rudakubana's horror Southport murders.

But ministers are set to push on with a focus on "Islamist and far-right extremism".

A Home Office spokesman said: "The counter-extremism sprint sought to comprehensively assess the challenge facing our country and lay the foundations for a new approach to tackling extremism - so we can stop people being drawn towards hateful ideologies.

"This includes tackling Islamism and Extreme Right Wing ideologies, which are the most prominent today.

"The findings from the sprint have not been formally agreed by ministers and we are considering a wide range of potential next steps arising from that work."

David Lammy accused of misleading Commons over Chagos deal - 'Demonstrably incorrect!'

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has been accused of misleading the Commons over Labour's controverisal Chagos surrender.

Campaign group Chagossian Voices has written to Lammy after Labour's own MP Peter Lamb claimed there was evidence that his statements in the Commons "do not appear to be true".

The letter and Lamb's remarks refers to Lammy's claims that the Government had "kept the Chagossians informed all along the way" - which Chagossian Voices have branded "demonstrably incorrect".

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Reform UK calls for urgent 'asylum seekers' review as thousands slip through the net - 'It's a scam!'

Reform UK's Rupert Lowe has called for an urgent review of Britain's asylum processing system as "thousands" of migrants are "slipping through the net" without proper evidence.

Writing on social media this morning, the party's Great Yarmouth MP said he had pushed on the Home Office to "review every single successful asylum claim from those who have arrived illegally" and called for heightened "face-to-face" processing of migrants trying to settle in Britain.

"Currently, thousands of illegal migrants are being approved for any such claims on their sexuality, religion, gender identity, age and more... With very little actual evidence required. It's a scam," he warned.

"The Home Office needs to get its act together, not just for future cases, but also all those who have already been approved.

"Thousands have slipped through the net, to be eligible for benefits, housing and their families joining them in the UK. No, no, no.

"Evidently, the authorities aren't going to do the right thing and deport anyone arriving illegally. We need to ensure that refugee claims aren't being approved in a mad rush. Every single case must be urgently reviewed."

'Be very, very careful' - Former Met Chief's warning to Home Office as Cooper moves to target 'extremism'

Ex-Metropolitan Police chief superintendent Dal Babu has warned that ministers must be "very, very careful" when changing legislation around extremism following last night's leak of the Home Office's "Rapid Analytical Sprint" counter-extremism review.

He told the BBC: "I think it's very, very important that we do things in a measured way - we don't do things very, very quickly when we're outraged by incidents.

"Unfortunately when we have these outrageous murders of innocent people, people are quite rightly angry and want to know whether things can be done different. What are the missed opportunities?

"But I think the key things are to look at the missed opportunities, look at the resources we have in place to deal with serious incidents, and be very, very careful of introducing legislation quickly or making changes quickly."

Asked whether the Met had the resources to cope with a broadened definition of extremism, Babu said: "I think, to be perfectly honest, we're at the moment struggling with the resources we have to deal with terrorism now."

Our top story from last night: Two-tier policing fears branded 'an extremist narrative' - fury as leaked doc exposes Home Office distain for public's concerns

Britons who hold fears about two-tier policing peddle an "extremist narrative", a leaked Home Office document shared with GB News has claimed.

The People's Channel was sent a copy of the Home Office's "rapid analytical sprint" by the think tank Policy Exchange.

The document, which is looking to determine the UK's future counter-extremism policy, directly addresses concerns about two-tier policing.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick have been among the most promiment politicians calling for an end to so-called two-tier policing, particularly when it comes to the grooming gangs scandal and the handling of pro-Palestine protesters.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

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