Diane Abbott lays into Keir Starmer over gifting scandal as she accuses PM of being in 'pockets of millionaires'

Diane Abbott has slammed Sir Keir Starmer as the backbencher claims the Prime Minister is "in the pocket of millionaires".

Speaking ahead of Labour's annual conference in Liverpool, Abbott condemned Starmer following a dispute over his acceptance of thousands of pounds worth of clothing from Lord Alli, a Labour peer and his largest personal donor.

On Friday, Starmer, Angela Rayner, his deputy, and Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor said they would stop taking donations for clothes.

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Starmer arrives at Labour conference with promise to 'rebuild UK'

Sir Keir Starmer said Labour was “rebuilding our country”, as he arrived at his party’s conference intent on shifting attention away from rows over donations and internal No 10 infighting.

The Prime Minister said “change has started” as he arrived at the Liverpool conference centre.

But the feel-good factor of Labour’s landslide win in July’s general election has already begun to wear off, as Starmer battles a backlash over donations of clothing to him and his wife and damaging briefing revealing splits within his No 10 operation.

There is also lingering anger over the decision to strip winter fuel payments from about 10 million pensioners, with union calls at conference to reverse the move.

With the conference taking place against a backdrop of rising tensions in the Middle East, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on Liverpool’s waterfront to coincide with the start of the Labour event.

Reform Councillor Maria Bowtell on why Reform must replicate the Liberal Democrats' strategy focusing on local councils to achieve widespread success

Claire Coutinho slams Lisa Nandy over 'GB Energy con'

Claire Coutinho claims the Labour Party has "lied" about bill savings.

The shadow energy secretary wrote on social media: "The GB Energy con is unravelling.

"In the election Labour promised bill savings of £300.

"Then they stopped repeating the £300 figure as they knew it was a lie.

"Now Ministers can’t even bring themselves to promise bill savings at all."

‘Will not pay for anything that funds perverts’: Lee Anderson fires warning shot to BBC after licence fee stunt - ‘Clear off!’

Lee Anderson has made it clear on GB News that he has no plans to kickstart a TV licence agreement once more.

The Reform MP ripped apart a licence fee reminder on stage at the party’s conference in Birmingham, much to the delight of the thousands of supporters in attendance.

Speaking to Tom Harwood on GB News, Lee addressed the stunt and warned he will not engage with anyone potentially arriving at his door to discuss the matter.

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Nigel Farage says ‘I can become next PM’ as he talks up Reform’s election chances

Nigel Farage, former UKIP leader and current Reform UK figurehead, has suggested he could become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom.

In a recent interview with GB News, Farage claimed that the current political climate presents a unique opportunity for change.

"I've never lived through a moment in my life where there has been such absolute disappointment and disillusionment with the two parties," Farage told GB News.

He added that while it may not be probable, it is possible for him to become prime minister, citing bookmakers' odds of 8/1.

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Rachel Reeves could declare all-out war on pensioners with cap on tax-free lump sum in the wake of the Winter Fuel Payment cut

The chancellor could declare all-out war on pensioners with a cap on Lump Sum Allowance (LSA) off the back of the Winter Fuel Payment cut.

Under the current LSA, Britons can withdraw lump sums of up to 25 per cent tax-free, and to the same amount of £268,275.

However, Rachel Reeves could curb the tax-free sum at a lower amount or slash the proportion pensioners can take.

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'That’s great surely!' Lee Anderson says criticism of Reform MP Rupert Lowe donating part of his salary to charity are ‘unbelievable’

‘Contradicted yourself in the most extraordinary way!’ Nigel Farage snaps back at Reform ‘far-right’ claims: ‘How on earth?’

Nigel Farage has slapped down suggestions he is leading a ‘far-right’ political party in the form of Reform UK.

The party conference kicked off in Birmingham yesterday, an occasion which Nigel says marks the moment his party “comes of age”.

Many of Reform’s detractors have dismissed the party as ‘far-right’ given its hardline stance on immigration and its previous struggle to properly vet candidates, leading to extremist candidates slipping through the cracks.

But Nigel was in a defiant mood at the conference as he vowed to impose a proper selection process, before telling GB News that any ‘far-right’ talk is for the birds.

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Nandy says Government shares public’s priorities after clothing donations row

Ministers have sought to end the perception they are leading “very different lives” to the public ahead of Labour’s party conference amid efforts to draw a line under a row about clothing donations to high-profile Government figures.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said it was important to demonstrate the Government’s priorities are “the country’s priorities” after it emerged on the eve of Labour’s annual gathering that clothing donations would no longer be accepted by the Prime Minister and his top brass.

Neither Sir Keir Starmer, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner nor Chancellor Rachel Reeves will accept such donations in the future.

Starmer and his wife Lady Victoria Starmer had faced scrutiny over the acceptance of gifts, including clothing, from prominent Labour donor and peer Lord Alli.

Asked about the reasoning behind the decision, Culture Secretary Nandy told BBC Breakfast: “For exactly the reason that you just said, that people are really struggling in this country, and we don’t want people to believe that we are living very different lives from them.

“Most people who go into politics, of all political parties, are ordinary people who want to make people’s lives better.

“It is important to us that people know that that is what we are as a Government and that we have their priorities absolutely up front and centre of ours.

“The country’s priorities are our priorities.”

'We've come of age!' Reform push ahead with democratisation as Farage delivers farewell address

Reform UK has pushed ahead with its democratisation plans as Nigel Farage delivered his farewell speech to 4,000 members at the NEC in Birmingham.

The resolution to approve Reform UK's new constitution was passed by a show of hands.

Responding to the resounding result, Farage said: "We have come of age and we are a properly constituted party."

Rachel Reeves considers alcohol duty hike in tax-raid Budget

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has reportedly been considering increasing alcohol duty as Labour's Budget looks set to include a tax raid.

Reeves refused to rule out putting up tax on beer, wine and spirits as part of efforts to plug what Labour claims is a £22billion black hole in the public finances.

It also comes as the Government considers more "sin taxes" on unhealthy products, including fast food.

Smokers have also found themselves impacted after Sir Keir Starmer revealed plans which would impact pub-goers and football supporters.

Nigel Farage issued a 'damning' verdict about his Tory rivals as leadership contest continues

Nigel Farage has claimed he does not "give a damn" about who replaces Rishi Sunak as the next Conservative Party leader as the Tories "brand is bust".

The Reform UK leader, who won his Clacton seat from the Conservatives on July 4, was far from complimentary about the runners and riders to become the next Leader of the Opposition.

After tearing into each of the contenders, Farage simply said: “And the truth is, I don’t give a damn who the next leader of the Conservative Party is. I really don’t. It doesn’t matter who leads them, the brand is bust.”

The four remaining leadership contenders - Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat - have all distanced themselves from working with Farage.

However, they all claim to want to court support from voters who backed Reform UK on July 4.

YouGov revealed that 25 per cent of 2019 Tory voters opted to throw their support behind Reform UK in 2024.

The figure is even higher among 2019 Tory voters who also supported Brexit, with 30 per cent endorsing Farage's populist party.

EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of asylum seekers 'lying about their age' to 'break in' to Britain as Home Office accused of 'performative empathy'

A few weeks ago, the department made its quarterly migration data public - as it does, on a rolling basis.

In it, the Home Office identified that the top five nationalities making so-called "detected irregular arrivals" in the UK were Afghan, Iranian, Vietnamese, Turkish and Syrian nationals - a bloc which together accounted for 16 per cent of illegal arrivals.

The majority of illegal immigration to the UK is not accompanied by asylum claims, but a Freedom of Information request by GB News revealed a pattern in asylum application data between 2019 and mid-2024 which has been identified by analysts as a "really significant statistical spike, which just does not look natural".

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Farage sits down with GB News for Chopper's Political Podcast

A crowd has gathered around GB News' broadcasting hub at the NEC as Nigel Farage sits down to record the next episode of Chopper's Political Podcast.

The Reform UK leader appeared on GB News yesterday and revealed he spoke with ex-President Donald Trump after a second assassination attempt.

Farage exclusively revealed that Trump offered him some advice as the Brexit stalwart plots to become Prime Minister in 2029.

EXCLUSIVE: Labour accused of 'bowing to the mob' over Israel arms ban after 'Hamas gunmen hijack food aid trucks'

The UK Government has been accused of "bowing to the mob" over its partial arms ban on Israel after images and eyewitness accounts shared exclusively with GB News appear to show Hamas hijacking food aid trucks in Gaza.

On September 2nd, David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, announced the suspension of 30 arms licences to Israel.

These include components for fighter aircraft (F-16s), parts for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs or drones), naval systems, and targeting equipment.

Lammy said he had decided to suspend licences because he had concluded that for certain UK arms exports to Israel “there exists a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law”.

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Stage set for second day of Reform UK's annual conference

The stage has been set at the NEC in Birmingham as up to 4,000 delegates prepare for another day of Reform UK's 2024 conference.

Events kick off at 11am, with a speech from Bridlington Councillor Maria Bowtell following shortly after.

London Assembly Member Alex Wilson will deliver a second speech shortly before a lunch break.

Ahead of a farewell address, former Finnish Deputy Prime Minister Timo Soini and pollster Matthew Goodwin will address delegates.

The farewell speech has been scheduled for 1.30pm and delegates will then have the opportunity to meet regional organisers.