Starmer now insists Rachel Reeves WILL remain as Chancellor after dodging question from GB News this morning

Tory mayor warns Reform will benefit from party chaos in local elections

A Conservative mayor has warned Reform will be a "significant force" in this year’s local elections.

Mayor of Teesside Ben Houchen said that while Kemi Badenoch had been performing a "little bit better" in recent weeks, the party had a long way to go to re-establish credibility against Nigel Farage's party.

He told the BBC: "Historically, where the Labour Party has done poorly, naturally, support has … leaked over to the Conservative Party and vice versa.

“I think things are very different [now]. Let’s be honest, very few people see the Conservative Party as credible as a result of the 2024 election. The Labour Party is doing a terrible job at the moment, in broad terms, and Reform are, by default, benefiting from that opportunity.”

Labour refuses to follow US lead declaring genocide in Sudan despite pressure from Tories and Lib Dems

Labour has refused to follow the US in declaring that a genocide is being committed in Sudan, but said those responsible for "atrocities" should be held to account.

Sudan descended into conflict in April 2023 after months of worsening tensions turned into open fighting between rival factions seeking control of the country. Earlier this month, America accused Sudan’s Rapid Support Force rebel group and proxies of committing genocide in the country and imposed sanctions on the group’s leaders.

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said Sudan was "hurtling towards a man-made catastrophe on an unimaginable scale", before adding: "Is it this Government’s intention to now go further on sanctions and to mirror the United States?"

Foreign Office minister Anneliese Dodds replied: "We keep our sanctions under review, but we will not comment on future designations for reasons that I know she fully understands."

LiberalDemocrat foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller pressed the Government for a deadline on when it would decide whether genocide was taking place. He said: "In light of the judgment of the US administration, can the minister give the House a date by which the Government will have determined whether genocide is now being committed?"

Dodds said it was important there was "robustness" and "trust" in the determination, adding that it was "through determinations of those expert lawyers" at the International Criminal Court that decisions would be made.

Former Brexit Secretary says Badenoch 'must commit' to pulling UK out of ECHR

A former Cabinet minister says Kemi Badenoch must commit to pulling the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights if the Tories are to return to power.

Former Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay has now said the UK cannot fully stop illegal Channel crossings unless it quits the Strasbourg court.

Barclay wrote in The Telegraph: "Secure borders will not be delivered whilst porous legislation remains. Until the law is watertight in stopping the army of human rights lawyers, it will not stop the flotilla of small boats.

"The Conservative Party must not shy away from accepting what is required to make this change.”

Tories warn Starmer against 'looking for scapegoat' on economy 

The Tories have warned Sir Keir Starmer against finding a 'scapegoat' as the Prime Minister has stood by Rachel Reeves.

Shadow Financial Secretary Gareth Davies said: "The Prime Minister is looking for a scapegoat but this crisis was made in Downing Street by Rachel Reeves.

"The markets and businesses are watching - Labour promised stability and confidence but they have lost control. They must take action to reverse before this gets worse for families."

That came after Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith warned that Reeves was "so out of her depth, she needs a decompression chamber".

He told GB News: "What we've got here is a relaunch of what we were already doing in Government. All we've done is lose six months. The new Chancellor came in and cancelled £1.3billion for AI and supercomputing. Now, I'm glad some of that money's gone back in today, but we've just lost six months in that global race."

Number of asylum hotels will be down by end of March, says minister

A Home Office minister has told the Commons that the number of hotels accommodating asylum seekers will be down by the end of March. Nine hotels are scheduled to close in March as part of the the Government’s commitment to reducing hotel use, Dame Angela Eagle said.

During Home Office questions, she told MPs: "The Government is committed to reducing hotel use through reform of the asylum system, including streamlining asylum processing and establishing the Border Security Command to tackle people-smuggling gangs at source.

"Since the general election there’s been a net increase of six hotels in use; however nine are scheduled for closure by the end of March."

Conservative MP Sir Ashley Fox pressed the minister on when the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels will be lower than it was prior to the general election.

The MP for Bridgwater said: "The Government’s new policy of smashing the gangs has enabled them to close seven asylum hotels, but unfortunately they’ve had to open another 14. Could the minister tell us when the number of asylum seekers in hotel accommodation will be lower than when she took office?"

Eagle said the issue "can’t be solved overnight" because of the"size of the backlog we inherited from the party opposite," She added: "We are working very, very hard to close hotels."

Rayner clashes with Labour MPs over rent control demands

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is locking horns with Labour MPs who are demanding legally-enforced rent controls.

Labour rebels have joined forces with Green MPs and independents in an attempt to amend the Government’s Renters’ Rights Bill, which is to be debated in Parliament today. Calls for rent increases to be capped in line with inflation or average wage rises, whichever is lower.

However, there are warnings it would destroy the housing market, and Rayner, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has vowed to resist the demand as well as calls for landlords to be banned from increasing rents faster than the rate of inflation.

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said: "The Government believe that would impact negatively on tenants as well as landlords, as a result of reduced supply, discouraged investment and declining property sales."

Rotherham Labour MP comes out in support of 'locally led' national inquiry

My plan to tackle child abuse in the UK, including a national inquiry. pic.twitter.com/M875IviQ3A

— Sarah Champion (@SarahChampionMP) January 13, 2025

Rotherham MP Sarah Champion has called for a national inquiry into grooming gangs with a local focus.

In a statement posted on X, Champion said that "local inquiries do not have the power to compel witnesses/evidence, nor would they satisfy the public concern of cover-ups".

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Lammy and Foreign Office silent on Jerusalem trip as Israeli foreign minister smiles with counterpart

David Lammy was in Jerusalem on Sunday to meet Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa'ar - but neither Lammy the Foreign Office has not yet mentioned the visit.

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar shared images of the pair shaking hands, captioned: "Pleasure to host in Jerusalem my British counterpart David Lammy David Lammy.

"We discussed a wide range of issues, including Syria, Lebanon and the Iranian threat.

"I emphasised Israel's intent on securing a hostage deal in Gaza. Israel is a pillar of strength and stability in the region and will remain so."

GB News has approached the Foreign Office for comment.

Badenoch warns Chancellor is 'hanging on by her fingernails' in swipe at Starmer, Reeves and Tulip Siddiq

Rachel Reeves is "hanging on by her fingernails", Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has warned, after Sir Keir Starmer failed to commit to her future as Chancellor.

Writing on social media, Badenoch said: "The Prime Minister just refused to back his Chancellor staying in her job.

"Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have driven Britain's economy into the ground.

"The markets are in turmoil and business confidence has crashed, yet the Chancellor is nowhere to be seen.

"Labour promised stability and instead the City Minister is mired in corruption investigations and the Chancellor is hanging on by her fingernails."

Starmer's silence on Reeves flies in the face of previous pledges to Lammy - Adam Cherry

GB News' Adam Cherry points out that Downing Street promised to keep David Lammy in his post for the entire Parliament - that's not a luxury which has been afforded to the Chancellor today.

Starmer was given another opportunity to say Reeves will be in No11 at the next election - but refused to commit to the Chancellor again, saying she was "doing a good job" and has his confidence.

Foreign Office FINALLY breaks silence on Chagos - but no deal in place just one week away from Trump inauguration

The Foreign Office has confirmed that a deal on the Chagos Islands giveaway is still yet to be reached - just one week before Donald Trump returns to the White House.

A statement from the department today confirmed that "Mauritius and the UK held further productive discussions in London this week" on the future of the archipelago - with the former reportedly seeking billions of pounds in payments over the course of a planned 99-year lease for Diego Garcia, home to a UK-US military base.

"Both countries reiterated their commitment to concluding a treaty providing that Mauritius is sovereign over the Chagos Archipelago; and that would ensure the long-term, secure and effective operation of the base on Diego Garcia," the Foreign Office said.

Trump could veto any deal on his return to office - and the President-elect has been very vocal about his opposition to Britain handing over territory to a country with close ties to China.

His incoming Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also warned that the surrender "poses a serious threat to our national security interests in the Indian Ocean and threatens critical US military posture in the region".

Starmer DODGES question on Rachel Reeves' future as Chancellor as UK borrowing costs soar AGAIN

Keir Starmer has refused to confirm whether Rachel Reeves will still be his Chancellor at the next General Election.

The Prime Minister was quizzed by GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope about the "flatlining" UK economy after he set out ambitions to make the UK a global leader in the AI sector.

He told The People's Channel: "We're going to stick to the fiscal rules. That is a very important thing that we've said throughout.

"We set out those fiscal rules very early on in the day because we knew that the missing ingredient in recent years has been economic stability, we're determined to bring about that economic stability, and that's why the fiscal rules are absolutely central to what we do."

He said changes to planning rules, industrial strategy and embracing AI would fuel growth.

"I'm confident in our mission for growth and I'm confident - completely confident - in my team," he added.

Starmer rattles off list of AI benefits as he vows new tech will 'transform the lives of working people for the better'

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed that AI "will transform the lives of working people for the better" in a landmark speech today.

The Prime Minister said: "If you're sitting around the kitchen table tonight worrying about the opportunities at your children's school, AI can help teachers plan a lesson tailored to your children's specific needs.

"If you're worried about waiting times - aren't we all? AI can save hundreds of thousands of hours lost to missed appointments, because it can identify those on the list most likely not to turn up and help get them the support that they need, maybe change for a more convenient appointment.

"It can spot potholes quicker, speed up planning applications, reduce job centre form-filling, help with the fight against tax avoidance and almost halve the time that social workers spend on paperwork."

"Yes, there will be teething problems. Of course there will. But we can't lose sight of the vast potential here."

Starmer rolls out AI plans as Labour scrambles to boost growth - but PM blasted over 'meaningless guff'

Sir Keir Starmer is set to roll out Labour's plans to use AI to boost growth in Britain today.

The PM is slated to announce "AI growth zones" around the country, more use of the technology in the public sector, and a new supercomputer.

Writing on social media, Starmer said: "It's important to me that this Labour Goverment [sic] improves your life and your community in ways you actually notice.

"Al has enormous potential to do that.

"While the Tories stifled growth and innovation, my government will use Al to turbocharge our Plan for Change."

That was rebuffed by Reform UK's Rupert Lowe, who declared: "Did AI write this post? Looks like it. Meaningless guff, Prime Minister."

Nicola Sturgeon ends marriage to Peter Murrell as she admits 'we have been separated for some time'

Ex-Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced she will be ending her marriage to former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell.

Writing on Instagram, the former FM confirmed that "with a heavy heart I am confirming that Peter and I have decided to end our marriage".

Murrell, who married Sturgeon in 2010, was charged in connection with the embezzlement of SNP funds last year.

Sturgeon and former treasurer Colin Beatie were also arrested - but the pair were released without charge, pending further investigation.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Reform UK hits out at 'bitter' 'paid agitators covertly working for the failed Tory party'

Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf has lashed out at reports of "bitter agitators" working for the Conservatives to "try to derail" his party.

Writing on social media this morning, Yusuf said: "During Reform's historic surge, we've been attacked harder by those who claim to be 'friendly critics' of Reform than the left-wing media.

"They are long-departed Reformers and Ukipers, consumed with envy and bitterness, and deal in lies. Sad really.

"I have it on good authority that these people are paid agitators, literally covertly working for the failed Tory party to try to derail Reform.

"They have no loyalty to the mission nor their country, only to their own profiles.

"Now they are plotting to create a formalised unit of the Tory party, working to Kemi's order.

"Sadly for them, it will not work - as proven by the fact that the more they attack, the higher our polls and membership surge! Our supporters are too smart!"

Labour issued 'serious' national security warning as Miliband's net zero agenda to 'hand power to Beijing'

Labour has been slapped with a series of national security warnings amid reports the party is angling for Chinese investment into its net zero drive.

Diplomats have said the Government is involved in discussions with "leading Chinese wind power companies about investing in manufacturing or assembly plants in the UK" - but ex-MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove has warned against relying on China for Britain's energy infrastructure, The Times reports.

Dearlove has claimed Energy Secretary Ed Miliband would ignore security services' advice in favour of an "ideologically driven" push to reach net zero.

It's not just security personnel - Labour's own MPs have raised fears that Chinese state-run companies are being given control over key British infrastructure and that cheap imported goods will undercut any attempt to develop coastal areas in the UK.

One said: "There is a persistent and widespread infiltration of energy generation - and, frankly, while the Government needs to generate growth, it can't come at any cost.

"Rachel Reeves and others need to make sure they're going into these discussions about driving Chinese capital into the UK economy with eyes wide open. There are serious potential downsides that may come from Chinese investment, which we saw with things like Huawei."

Miliband is slated to follow Reeves to China in a few months' time after vowing back in September to "expand and deepen" UK-China ties on renewable energy.

But one Whitehall source warned that "when ministers have asked about the risks in the past, the answer has basically been it would be too expensive to uncouple ourselves from China if we're going to meet net zero goals".

But a Government spokesman hit back, saying: "We take a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing relations with China and will co-operate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must."

Rachel Reeves accused of 'spaffing away' £9BILLION in taxpayer cash on Chagos surrender in furious attack on Labour 

Rachel Reeves has been accused of "spaffing away" £9billion on the Chagos Islands surrender in a scathing attack on Labour by the Shadow Business Secretary.

Andrew Griffith told GB News this morning that the Chancellor "doesn't have any credibility" amid spiralling doubts over Labour's economic plans - and issued a series of swipes at the Government's "blind panic" to boot.

"I don't think she's got any credibility," Griffith said. "This is a government that's spanking billions up the wall on failed ideas around energy, that's trying to desperately pay Mauritius to take away some of our sovereign territory - another £9billion that she's spaffing away.

He added: "It's not a credible idea that Rachel Reeves is now going to come out and make difficult decisions - all of the decisions you've made have been the wrong ones!

"She inherited the fastest growing economy in the G7. That is no longer the case... This is a Chancellor who's so out of her depth, she needs a decompression chamber. All of the choices she's made are wrong."

Tony Blair urges Britons not to 'self-diagnose depression' as UK 'can't afford mental health benefits bill'

Tony Blair has told Britons not to self-diagnose depression as the country cannot afford a "spiralling" mental health benefits bill.

Speaking to LBC, the ex-Prime Minister warned that many issues were simply part of "the challenges of life" - not medical conditions like anxiety or depression.

"I think we have become very, very focused on mental health and with people self-diagnosing," Blair said.

"We're spending vastly more on mental health now than we did a few years ago... And it's hard to see what the objective reasons for that are."

"Life has its ups and downs and everybody experiences those. And you've got to be careful of encouraging people to think they've got some sort of condition other than simply confronting the challenges of life.

"We need a proper conversation about this because you really cannot afford to be spending the amount of money we're spending on mental health."

Britain braces for 'ruthless' public spending cuts as Labour scrambles to mop up financial chaos

Cabinet Ministers have been told to be "ruthless" in sniffing out cuts to public spending as Labour wrestles with surging borrowing costs and rising doubts over its economic plans.

An internal letter from the Treasury about Labour's spending review, which is due to conclude in June, warns that "success will require ruthless prioritisation" - with "difficult" decisions set to follow, according to The Telegraph.

The letter, from Chief Treasury Secretary Darren Jones, vows that growth - Labour's much-repeated goal - is the only way to improve Britain's public services without further tax hikes on working Britons.

But growth forecasts have fallen, the pound has weakened, and a surge in the cost of government debt has put Rachel Reeves's own borrowing rules at risk of being broken.

Reeves's October Budget took day-to-day public spending from one per cent a year under the Tories to 1.5 per cent a year.

But she spent much of the £40bn raised in her Budget on the NHS and education - prompting fury from her shadow counterpart Mel Stride.

He told the BBC: "We should have had a different approach to the economy that didn't tax the daylights out of businesses... We should have had something from this Government that was far more about productivity."

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