Labour scrap Sunak's 'out of touch' helicopters as party warns of more tax 'sacrifices' to come
Sunak is understood to have personally intervened to keep the VIP trips available
PA
Labour has confirmed it has scrapped the "totally out of touch" VIP helicopter service enjoyed by Rishi Sunak in a scathing attack on the former PM.
The multi-million-pound travel option had been used for a number of domestic trips by Sunak as well as ministers including ex-Defence Secretary Grant Shapps - which was lambasted for being doable by road or train.
Shapps, Labour said, had "regularly" been picked up or dropped off by the VIP helicopter near his constituency home.
Sunak is understood to have personally intervened to keep the VIP trips available, with the PM renewing the £40million-valued contract for the choppers last year.
But now, Labour's Defence Secretary John Healey has canned the contract.
A Labour spokesman slammed the helicopter trips, but in a statement today, also raised the spectre of tax hikes - echoing Sir Keir Starmer's "short term pain" address earlier.
They said: "The Tories' VIP helicopter service became a symbol of their government: grossly wasteful, head in the clouds, and totally out of touch with the problems facing the rest of the country.
"Given the sacrifices the British people will have to make as a result of the last government, it's only right that this service is brought to an end... Our new government is putting politics back in the service of working people and getting a grip of the public finances.
"It tells you everything that, on top of the £22 billion black hole that the Tories were blowing in the public finances, Rishi Sunak's priority was keeping his VIP helicopter service.
"The Conservatives left behind an unforgivable inheritance. This is just one step towards showing the British people that, with Labour, they have a government that will deliver on our promise of change and fix the foundations of our economy."
Liz Truss planned to 'SCRAP NHS cancer treatment' to repair economic crisis, bombshell new book claims
Truss weighed up killing off cancer treatment on the NHS to plug her mini-Budget "black hole", Sir Anthony Seldon claimed
PALiz Truss considered scrapping cancer treatment on the NHS to fund her Government's mini-Budget "black hole", a damning new book has claimed.
The book, top political biographer Sir Anthony Seldon's "Truss at 10: How Not to Be a Prime Minister", claims that after proposing £45billion of tax cuts, Truss and then-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng had to scramble to find spending cuts to match.
Seldon writes that a senior Truss advisers, Alex Boyd, "was told that Truss and Kwarteng were thinking they could still sort out the black hole with severe cuts".
"We've been told that they're looking at stopping cancer treatment on the NHS," Boyd said, according to the book.
His response? To ask whether the then-PM was "being serious", Seldon writes, while other top aides alleged she had "lost the plot".
They told Seldon: "She's shouting at everyone that 'We've got to find the money'... When we tell her it can't be done, she shouts back: 'It's not true. The money is there. You go and find it'."
In response, Kwarteng said: "I wasn't involved in any conversations about restricting healthcare, but that doesn't mean the Prime Minister and her team didn't discuss this," speaking to The Independent.
Badenoch joins leadership hopefuls in condemning PM's 'dishonest' address
Kemi Badenoch said "Keir Starmer is taking the British public for fools"
PATory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch has blasted Sir Keir Starmer after his speech in Downing Street's rose garden.
The former Business Secretary, who is seen as the frontrunner to replace Rishi Sunak as Leader of the Opposition, said: “Keir Starmer is taking the British public for fools, but his dishonest analysis won’t wash. He campaigned on promises he couldn’t deliver and now he is being found out.
“At the election Starmer and his Energy Secretary told us energy bills would go down under Labour – six weeks later they are going up. To make matters worse, he is removing the winter fuel payment many pensioners rely on to pay those bills.
“Of course we made some mistakes in government. But remarkably, Labour are doubling down on those mistakes - from immigration to Net Zero policy. Worse still, they are prioritising the demands of their trade union paymasters over investment in public services.
“The truth is that Keir Starmer is managing voters' expectations for a decade of decline. A Conservative Party led by me will not let him get away with it. We will be ready to take on Labour with a renewed vision for a better country in 2030.”
The Prime Minister used his speech to confirm tough decisions were being made ahead of Rachel Reeves' autumn budget.
He also took a swipe at Tories for embracing populism, blaming his rivals for the recent spate of violent disorder seen in England and Northern Ireland.
Cleverly and Sunak lash out at Labour as fallout grows over Starmer's 'meaningless' speech
Top Tories Rishi Sunak and James Cleverly have hit out at Sir Keir Starmer following his address to the nation this morning.
The PM had warned Britons that Labour's October budget would be "painful" and that the public should brace for "short term pain for the long term good" - which opened the doors to significant ire from the other side of the Commons.
Cleverly, the shadow home secretary and party leadership hopeful, accused Starmer of "rolling out dishonest policies" amid a growing cronyism row fewer than two months into his run as Prime Minister.
He described his speech as "meaningless drivel" which sought to "distract" from said row - and accused him of not adhering to his own manifesto.
Cleverly said: "The Conservatives left Labour with low inflation, falling migration, and the highest growth in the G7.
"Yet the Labour Government have waged war on pensioners, caved to their union paymasters and splurged millions of pounds of taxpayers' money on unaffordable pay rises for strikers.
"Keir Starmer was elected on a manifesto that he won't stick to, and he is now rolling out a series of dishonest policies for which he has no democratic mandate."
While outgoing party leader Rishi Sunak slated the address as the "clearest indication of what Labour has been planning to do all along... Raise your taxes."
'Hasn't called us at a single one!' Christopher Hope highlights Starmer SHUNNING GB News
GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope has highlighted Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's snub of GB News after he refused to answer questions submitted today during his keynote speech in Downing Street.
Addressing the move on GB News, Christopher explained: "I had my hand in the air for GB News throughout that press conference.
"He's had four press conferences now since he became Prime Minister, he hasn't called a single one. I've been at three of them."
HELP GB NEWS STAND FOR ISSUES THAT MATTER TO YOU - BECOME A MEMBER TODAY
Inside Reform's Scottish breakthrough: How Nigel Farage is set for 9 seats in Scotland
Nigel Farage didn’t travel to Scotland ahead of the 2024 General Election.
The Reform UK leader, who oversaw breakthroughs in Westminster, Cardiff Bay and Brussels, has not particularly enjoyed his visits north of the border since 2013.
Farage, 60, was forced to leave an Edinburgh pub under police escort, with protesters in the Scottish capital chanting: “Nigel you’re a bawbag.”
However, as Reform UK kickstarts its efforts to professionalise the party, Farage could soon become kingmaker in Holyrood.
The Scottish Parliament looks set to house as many as nine Reform UK MSPs, the most recent Nortstat opinion poll has revealed.
Conservative leadership hopeful parks Tory tanks on Farage's lawn - 'I'm here in Clacton!'
Tory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat has released a video in Clacton as the ex-Security Minister appeared to park Conservative tanks on Nigel Farage's lawn.
Speaking from the Essex seaside town, Tugendhat said: "I'm here in Clacton, home of fish and chips, obviously, but also where the biggest swing against the Conservatives happened at the last election.
"Now, I'm talking to voters about why they didn't choose to vote for us last time and what we can do to win their vote next time."
The video included a number of voters discussing why they opted to vote for Reform UK, with one woman expressing disappointment with Farage.
She also revealed she would switch her support to the Conservative Party if Tugendhat succeeds Rishi Sunak on November 2.
Reform UK posed a lethal threat to the Tory Party in the recent general election, picking up five seats with more than four million votes.
Tugendhat did not mention Farage by name but made clear it was important to engage with voters who switched to Reform UK last month.
'Pain is coming' - Starmer issues stark warning of crippling tax hikes and spending cuts
Sir Keir Starmer during his speech and press conference in the Rose Garden at 10 Downing StreetPAThe Prime Minister has said: "Things are worse than we ever imagined" and warns of "painful" budget in October.
Britons could see tax rises as the Government work to fill the gaps within the public finances.
Hinting at possible tax rises for the highest earners, the prime minister said: "Those with the broadest shoulders should bear the heavier burden" and "those who made the mess should have to do their bit to clean it up".
Read the full story HERE.
Starmer blames Tories for riots across UK as he claims 'snake oil populism' led to violence
Sir Keir Starmer rose garden addressGB NEWSSir Keir Starmer has blamed the Tory Party for riots across the UK after blasting Conservative Prime Ministers for embracing "snake oil populism".
The Prime Minister took aim at his Conservative rivals as Tory MPs mull over who should succeed Rishi Sunak as Leader of the Opposition.
Speaking from Downing Street's rose garden, Starmer said: "These riots didn't happen in a vacuum. They exposed the state of our country, revealed a deeply unhealthy society, the cracks in our foundations laid bare, weakened by a decade of division and decline, infected by a spiral of populism that fed off cycles of failure of the last Government."
Read the full story HERE.
Starmer claims situation worse than he thought
Sir Keir Starmer has claimed that the situation in Government was even worse than he realised upon entering No10.
Amid accusations Labour has overplayed claims of the state of the British economy, the Prime Minister said: In the first few weeks we discovered a £22 billion black hole in the public finances and before anyone says ‘Oh this is just performative or playing politics’ let’s remember the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) did not know about it, they wrote a letter setting that out.
“They didn’t know because the last government hid it and even last Wednesday, just last Wednesday, we found out that thanks to the last Government’s recklessness we borrowed almost £5 billion more than the OBR expected in the last three months alone. That’s not performative, that’s fact.”
Keir Starmer vows to eliminate rot as he's hit with cronyism row
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer awaits the arrival of Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq Al SaidPASir Keir Starmer has vowed to eliminate the “rot” the Tories left in power despite being accused of cronyism just 50 days into entering Downing Street.
The Prime Minister cancelled the appointment of a top general as National Security Adviser, sparking concerns Starmer could bring in a close political ally.
Starmer is now discussing the “rot” left in the Downing Street rose garden by recent Tory Prime Ministers.
Writing for The Times, Starmer said: “Under the Conservatives, the rose garden at Downing Street became a symbol of the rot at the heart of their Government.
“It came to represent their disrespect — not just for the office they held, but for the people they were supposed to serve.”
Tory hopeful demands 'military engagement' to end immigration crisis FOR GOOD as Labour 'sticking plaster' blasted
Tory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat has vowed to bring in the Royal Navy to deal with the migrant crisis after it helped stop the slave trade.
The former Security Minister claimed the UK's security “demands the same level of commitment” the Royal Navy showed “in the fight against slavery almost 200 years ago”.
During a speech delivered to a Conservative association in West London, Tugendhat said: “Our national security today demands the same level of commitment the Royal Navy’s West Africa Squadron showed in the fight against slavery almost 200 years ago.
“The tools have changed but the focus remains - human trafficking is evil and we must be serious and invest in long-term commitments, not Labour’s short-term sticking plasters.”
He added: “The UK must show the same determination and commitment to fighting this evil trade as we did in fighting slavery. We need to see our military engaged in fighting this threat.”
The Tory leadership race will enter its next stage next week, with candidates soon facing a series of votes after the summer recess.
Conservative MPs will cut down candidates from six to four, with just two being put forward to members following the party's upcoming conference in Birmingham.
Scottish Tory urges party against lurching to right to win over Reform UK voters
Nigel FarageGETTYConservative MSP Murdo Fraser has urged Tory colleagues against lurching to the right to win back Reform UK voters.
Fraser, who was speaking after an opinion poll suggested the Tories risk losing seats to Reform UK, cautioned against trying to “embrace the Farage agenda”.
He said: “There is no doubt that the rise in the Reform vote presents a challenge to the Scottish Conservatives, although it would be wrong to assume that all their votes come from us.
“It would be unwise, in my view, to embrace the Farage agenda in response, as that risks losing more moderate voters.
"In my experience many Reform voters are disillusioned former Conservatives who just expect us to have honesty and integrity and deliver on our promises.
“The key to winning them back is to demonstrate as a party that we are listening to their concerns and are willing to change, not carry on as we are.”