Suella Braverman warns Tories against 'smearing' Reform UK - 'It's a fundamental error!'

New Chairman of 1922 committee confirmed

Bob Blackman is the new chairman of the Conservative Party’s 1922 committee of backbench MPs.

Of the 98 votes cast, Bob Blackman received 61 and Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown 37. Blackman been the Tory Member of Parliament for Harrow East since 2010.

When a Conservative leadership contest is held, the chairman of the 1922 Committee will announce the rules to be followed and the timetable.

WATCH: Former Labour leader and Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn whispers 'nonsense' while being sworn in

Jess Phillips and Luke Pollard pick up Government positions

Downing Street has confirmed Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips and Plymouth Sutton MP Luke Pollard will join the government as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Home Office and Ministry of Defence respectively.

Phillips resigned from her position on the shadow front bench following a vote on a ceasefire in Gaza last year.

Meanwhile, former MP for Delyn Sir David Hanson has been given a life peerage.

Sir Keir Starmer 'breaks with convention' as he issues statement on Diane Abbott

Sir Keir Starmer has admitted a "departure from convention" in his opening statement in the House of Commons, welcoming Diane Abbott, the mother of the House to the Commons.

The Labour Leader paid tribute to Abbott, who is now the longest-serving female MP in the Commons.

Addressing the Commons for the first time as Prime Minister, Starmer said: "I hope you will not begrudge me for a slight departure from convention.

"To also pay tribute to the new Mother of the House, Diane Abbott who has done so much in her career over so many years to fight for a Parliament that truly represents modern Britain. We welcome her back to her place."

Diane Abbott is only the second person to be given the 'Mother of the House' title, the first being Harriet Harman.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Lindsay Hoyle re-elected as Speaker of the House of Commons

Sir Lindsay Hoyle has been re-elected as Speaker of the House of Commons.

The motion was agreed by the House, by shouts of “Aye”. No “Noes” could be heard, meaning Hoyle took the chair as Speaker-elect.

If the motion had been rejected there would have been an election by secret ballot.

Suella Braverman warns Tories against 'smearing' Reform UK 

Suella Braverman has warned the Tories against "smearing" the Reform party, saying it is a "fundamental error".

Speaking at PopCon today, the former home secretary said: "To my mind the Reform phenomenon was entirely predictable and avoidable and all our own fault.

"It’s no good denigrating Reform voters, it’s no good smearing the Reform party, it’s no good comparing Reform rallies to the rallies of Nuremberg.

"That’s not going to work. Criticising people for voting Reform is a fundamental error to make."

Jacob Rees Mogg: 'Don't pretend the General Election was not a disaster'

Speaking at PopCon today, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg warned attendees not to "pretend that Thursday was not a disaster” - referencing the General Election result.

But the former Conservative MP said there was “great opportunity” for his party in opposition.

He added: “We must not pretend that Thursday was not a disaster, and a reminder, a warning, an alarm bell against the arrogance of presumption that we thought we had a divine right to rule and a divine right to certain voters.

“We didn’t. We thought our core vote had nowhere else to go. They did.

“And we cannot just assume that the pendulum will swing back to us or that all the Reform voters will suddenly repent. We need to win them over one way or another.”

Tories to hold 1922 committee hustings today for new chairman 

The Tory party is preparing to elect a new leader of the 1922 Committee today, which could be key in deciding who takes over from Rishi Sunak.

The committee plays a pivotal role in organising the process to choose the next leader of the party, including making decisions over the rules and timeframe for the contest.

Hustings to elect the chairman of the committee are being held today, with the new chairman expected to be in place by this evening.

Rishi Sunak is expected to stay on as interim leader of the party until September, when he will step down.

Suella Braverman blasts 'weak' Tory record on migration as she launches full-blown assault on Jenrick

Suella Braverman has blasted the Conservative Party's record on migration, saying her party has been "weak, squeamish" on the issue.

This comes the same day as the former home secretary launched an attack on Robert Jenrick.

She dubbed Jenrick a “centrist Rishi supporter” and a Remainer “from the Left of the party”.

Speaking at the Popular Conservatism conference, the MP for Fareham and Waterlooville said the Tory party should bid to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and axe the Human Rights Act.

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Tracy Brabin: There is 'no doubt' that devolution should be expanded to more areas of the UK

Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin said there is “no doubt” that devolution should be expanded to more areas of the UK.

Speaking on Downing Street after a meeting with the Prime Minister, she said: "We were talking in some detail about a single settlement – that we are often in a bidding war and beauty contests for small pots of money."

Asked if devolution should be expanded across the UK, Brabin told PA: “I think there’s no doubt about it.

“The majority of citizens in the north have a mayor and you can see that voice and champion for a region really does bring delivery.”

Five new Reform UK MPs arrive in Parliament as Farage says: 'We will fight for you' 

Nigel Farage posed alongside his four fellow MPs after arriving in Parliament.

Posting the image to social media, he said: "We will fight for you".

Reform UK returned five MPs at the General Election, after receiving just over four million votes.

Speaking to GB News yesterday, the party leader noted that for every one of his MPs, there are "800,000 votes behind them", while for every Labour MP there are "fewer than 30,000".

Labour, which secured 412 seats, got 9.7 million votes. The Tory party won just 119 seats after receiving 6.8 million votes.

Rwanda government reacts to Starmer's decision to axe deportation flights

The Rwandan government has reacted to Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to axe deportation flights, as people smugglers brag about how easy it is to cross the Channel.

The new Prime Minister scrapped the scheme - which he branded as a “gimmick” - hours after entering No10.

The Rwandan government said in a statement on Monday night: “Rwanda takes note of the intention of the UK Government to terminate the Migration and Economic Development Partnership Agreement, as provided for under the terms of the treaty passed by both our parliaments.

“This partnership was initiated by the Government of the UK in order to address the crisis of irregular migration affecting the UK — a problem of the UK, not Rwanda.

“Rwanda has fully upheld its side of the agreement, including with regard to finances, and remains committed to finding solutions to the global migration crisis, including providing safety, dignity and opportunity to refugees and migrants who come to our country.”

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Starmer's Government wants to build 'real partnership' with regional leaders

Sir Keir Starmer said the Government wants to build a “real partnership” with mayors during a meeting with regional leaders in Downing Street today.

He said: “I know many of you already have growth plans in place – some of you have shared them and that is fantastic. What we want to do is build on that with a real partnership where you feel that the Government is up alongside you, supporting what you’re doing.”

The PM added: “I think it’s the first meeting like this in Downing Street. I don’t think all the metro mayors have come together in Downing Street like this – so this is a first and that’s good.”

The Downing Street meeting was attended in person by 11 mayors from England, with Mayor of South Yorkshire Oliver Coppard absent through ill health.

Among those present were London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, and Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram.

Conservative Tees Valley mayor Lord Houchen was also present at the meeting.

Starmer meets with mayors in No 10 

Sir Keir Starmer is meeting with mayors in No 10 Downing Street after pledging to loosen central control over big cities and regions.

Opening the meeting, the Prime Minister said: “Having this meeting four days after I was invited by the King to form a government is a real statement of intent.”

He added: “I’m a great believer in devolution, I’m a great believer in the idea that those with skin in the game – those that know their communities – make much better decisions than people sitting in Westminster and Whitehall.

“We will do regular meetings, probably around the country, because I think it’d be good to do it in different areas.”

Starmer urged to boost defence spending as ex-army head issues stark warning

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to boost defence spending on the eve of the Nato summit, amid warnings about a more dangerous world.

The new Prime Minister will head to Washington tomorrow for the Nato summit, where he will hold talks at the White House with President Joe Biden.

He is also expected to push for Ukraine to be put on an "irreversible" path to membership of the alliance.

Speaking to the Times, former head of the army General Sir Patrick Sanders warned that the armed forces are so depleted that they would only be able to fight a small war for no more than a month. He warned of an alarming drop in troop numbers, as well as depleted ammunition stockpiles.

He said the true size of the army's stockpiles after two years of fighting in Ukraine would "put the hairs up on the back of your neck".