Reform surge leaves Tories facing wipeout as nightmare poll for Badenoch edges Farage closer to No10

Tory MSP brands GB Energy a ‘sham’ as Holyrood passes consent motion

A Conservative MSP has branded GB Energy a “sham” with the Prime Minister “taking my constituents for fools”, amid fierce exchanges at Holyrood over the new energy investment company.

Scottish Labour’s energy spokeswoman Sarah Boyack hit back, branding the comments from Douglas Lumsden “utterly negative and inaccurate”.

GB Energy was set up by the Labour Government as a publicly owned energy company, with headquarters in Aberdeen, which will invest in renewables infrastructure.

SNP ministers backed the motion after discussions with their UK counterparts in recent weeks who amended the legislation.

The change means the UK Government must seek the “consent” of Scottish ministers before including devolved issues in a “statement of strategic priorities”.

Lumsden, the Tories’ energy spokesman at Holyrood, said during the preceding debate: "GB Energy is a sham. The Prime Minister is taking my constituents for fools.The structure of GB Energy is absurd and the promise of 1,000 jobs – it will take 20 years to deliver."

Kemi Badenoch denies Tory Party is 'going bust' - and says triple lock is safe if she wins election

Kemi Badenoch has denied that the Conservative Party is going bust, and played down suggestions the Tories might be forced out of its London headquarters because donations are drying up.

The Conservative leader also made clear that her party will go into the next election with a commitment to maintain the pensions triple lock for pensioners in a wide ranging interview with GB News.

There were reports this week that the party's finances have not recovered since the General Election and the Tories might be forced to end the lease on Conservative Campaign Headquarters in Westminster.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Tom Tugendhat slams Chagos explanation as 'NONSENSE'

Former Security Minister Tom Tugendhat has slammed the justification for the Chagos deal as "nonsense."

UK security officials familiar with the issue told Bloomberg a satellite communications system used by the US and UK to run military operations is central to efforts to resolve the sovereignty of the islands

The Tonbridge MP posted on social media: "As Security Minister I saw the advice on the Chagos Islands deal. This ‘explanation’ is nonsense."

Reform UK eyes FOUR electoral upsets TODAY in ‘nightmare scenario’ for under-pressure Starmer

Reform UK is eyeing multiple electoral upsets today in a fresh wave of elections that couldn’t have come at a worse time for Labour and Keir Starmer.

The Prime Minister is facing intensifying calls to resign after it emerged he’d met with a voice coach just before Christmas in 2020 when the nation was in a severe lockdown.

READ THE FULL EXCLUSIVE FOR GB NEWS MEMBERS HERE.

Liberal Democrats say growth figures should be a 'wake-up call' for Reeves

The Liberal Democrats have called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to "see sense" after news that the Bank of England is downgrading its growth forecast to 0.75 per cent.

The party's Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper MP said: "The new growth forecast needs to be a wake up call for the Chancellor.

"Our economy will never see the back of the years of Conservative economic vandalism if she continues to push ahead with her misguided national insurance hike. Reeves must also change course on her baffling refusal to negotiate a bespoke UK-EU Customs Union to turbocharge growth."

The MP for St Albans continued: "People are still having to choose between heating and eating and being forced to use public services that are completely broken. Without an economy that is thriving none of this will change.

"Rachel Reeves needs to see sense, scrap her national insurance rise, which is hammering small businesses, and jettison her short-sighted red lines on a Customs Union. Only then will we see an end to these putrid growth figures."

Conservative-Reform merger calls labelled ‘desperate' as Zia Yusuf issues brutal no-no to 'traitorous’ Tory backbencher

Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf has labelled calls for the Conservatives to merge with his party "desperate pleas" in a fiery slap-down of Tory backbencher Esther McVey.

McVey had endorsed an electoral pact between the two parties on the TaxPayers' Alliance podcast this week - though she said she did not think a formal merger was realistic.

That followed Jacob Rees-Mogg's call for a "non-aggression pact" between the Tories and Reform. Yusuf had swiped that aside, saying: "After what you and your traitorous Cabinet did to this country, no thanks mate.

"Reform will fight every Tory, and we will win a decisive victory for the United Kingdom!"

And responding to McVey today, he wrote: "All these desperate pleas in public are beginning to look undignified."

Grenfell Tower decisions are a 'deeply personal matter', says Downing Street

A Downing Street spokesman said decisions about Grenfell Tower are a "deeply personal matter" for the community.

The spokesman for the Prime Minister said: "As you’ll appreciate, it’s a deeply personal matter for the community. The Deputy Prime Minister is committed to keeping their voice at the heart of this this.”

"A priority for the Deputy Prime Minister is to meet with and write to the bereaved, the survivors and the immediate community to let them know their decision on the future of Grenfell Tower.

"The Deputy Prime Minister has considered expert information about health and safety, mental health and well being. The Government will ensure its decision will not interfere with the path to justice."

Jenrick refuses to rule out merger with Reform UK - despite Zia Yusuf's warning

Robert Jenrick has refused to rule out a merger with Reform UK - in the face of both Kemi Badenoch and Zia Yusuf's shut-downs of any such idea.

Speaking to The Sun, Jenrick said: "Reform themselves are saying they don't want to. Reform has said repeatedly they have no intention of doing this. Kemi has said she has no intention.

"My whole mission is to bring home all the small-C conservatives in this country back to the Conservative Party.

"We should be their natural home. We're not at the moment, because of the mistakes we made in office... It can be done!"

Earlier this month, Badenoch labelled Reform a "protest party", and added: "Nigel Farage says he wants to destroy the Conservative Party. Why on earth would we merge with that?"

Yvette Cooper backs metal detectors in SCHOOLS as Britain's knife crime epidemic spirals out of control

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has backed the use of metal detectors in schools following the stabbing of 15-year-old Harvey Willgoose in Sheffield.

Cooper, speaking to Lisa Theobald - whose son was also stabbed to death - over the phone on LBC, said: "Already schools can use those sorts of metal arches and things like that, and I would support schools that want to do that, because schools need to be kept safe.

"I do take it extremely seriously, and Lisa is right to raise the concerns of parents on this.

"We need to make sure that schools are safe, that travelling to school is safe, that people, that children can be able to feel safe in town centres and on the streets."

Her remarks come as knife crime has reached its highest level since records began in 2011 in seven parts of the country, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The seven areas inclides London - where the Metropolitan Police has seen knife crime offences jump to 18 per cent to 16,521 incidents in the year to September, more than 2,000 more than the previous record of 14,025 in 2019.

Nationally, knife offences have hit 55,000 for the second time ever.

'F**k off!' Lord Mandelson rebukes alleged Epstein links AND Farage-Trump role as Labour peer lands in Washington

Lord Mandelson has rebuked alleged links to Jeffrey Epstein and the prospect of Nigel Farage taking up an "envoy" role with Donald Trump in a scathing new interview - just as he arrives in Washington DC.

The incoming British ambassador to the US told the Financial Times to "f**k off" when pressed on his relationship with the sex offender, adding: "I regret ever meeting him or being introduced to him by his partner Ghislaine Maxwell... I regret even more the hurt he caused to many young women.

"I'm not going to go into this. It's an FT obsession and frankly you can all f**k off. OK?"

Mandelson is alleged to have stayed at Epstein's New York City townhouse while the financier was in prison for soliciting prostitution from a minor in a 2019 JPMorgan report - which also suggests the pair had a "particularly close relationship".

He also quashed the idea of Nigel Farage taking up some kind of "interlocutor" role between the Labour Government and the Donald Trump White House, despite having pitched the idea of Farage as a "bridgehead" into DC in the past.

"Nigel Farage is part of the ecosystem around President Trump," Mandelson said.

"He says he wants to help build a good relationship between the US and UK, and I take him at face value. But he's not going to be an envoy, official or unofficial."

But in a blow to the Reform UK leader, the FT also reports that some British diplomats privately believe "Farage's star is already waning" with the President.

It comes as Downing Street has confirmed that the long-time Labour grandee has arrived in the US capital - and will officially begin his stint as British ambassador on Monday.

Could Starmer be forced to resign? The FIVE steps that could leave the PM with no choice as calls grow louder

Five steps could force Sir Keir Starmer to resign if his position as Prime Minister became untenable.

It comes as Starmer's future appears increasingly uncertain, with public opinion souring after just six months in office.

From cutting the winter fuel allowance for millions of pensioners, to sparking a revolt from farmers over the inheritance tax changes, to "wardrobe-gate" and his handling of the Southport killings, the PM's ratings have taken a tumble in the opinion polls.

A petition launched at the end of last year calling for an early General Election garnered more than three million signatures, but Starmer could easily ride this out due to his commanding majority in Parliament.

However, his hand could be forced in other ways. The process for removing a Labour leader is more onerous than that of the Conservatives - but there are mechanisms in place...

GB NEWS MEMBERS CAN READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Bank of England SLASHES UK growth forecast in hammer blow for Reeves

The Bank of England has revised its UK growth forecast down to just 0.75 per cent in 2025 - a reduction from its last forecast three months earlier, and another bump in the road for Labour's much-hailed growth plans.

The BoE said: "GDP growth has been weaker than expected at the time of the November Monetary Policy Report, and indicators of business and consumer confidence have declined.

"GDP growth is expected to pick up from the middle of this year... Productivity growth has been weaker than previously estimated, and the committee judges that growth in the supply capacity of the economy has weakened.

"As a result, the recent slowdown in demand is judged to have led to only a small margin of slack opening up."

In response, Downing Street said: "Growth is the priority of the Government, we are focused on taking the necessary decisions for growth."

Chancellor: Interest rate cut is 'welcome news' - 'but I'm still not satisfied!'

Rachel Reeves has called the Bank of England's 0.25 percentage point interest rate cut "welcome news" - but has vowed that she is "still not satisfied" with Britain's sluggish growth rate.

"This interest rate cut is welcome news, helping ease the cost-of-living pressures felt by families across the country and making it easier for businesses to borrow to grow," the Chancellor said.

"However, I am still not satisfied with the growth rate. Our promise in our Plan for Change is to go further and faster to kickstart economic growth to put more money in working people's pockets.

"That's why we are taking on the blockers to get Britain building again, ripping up unnecessary regulatory barriers and investing in our country to rebuild roads, rail and vital infrastructure."

READ THE FULL STORY ON THE BoE'S INTEREST RATE CUT HERE

Starmer urged to follow Trump and ban trans athletes from women's sport - 'Sex in sport really matters!'

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to follow in Donald Trump's footsteps after the President signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from women's sports.

British Olympic medallist Sharron Davies took to social media to urge the PM to act, writing: "Please Keir Starmer can you now do as you said you would and protect all female athletes here in the UK in sport and stop males from stealing their places, awards amd increasing their risk of injury? Sex in sport really matters..."

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

ANOTHER blow for Reeves and Labour's growth plans as construction output falls for the first time in almost a year

Activity in Britain's construction sector fell for the first time in nearly a year last month amid "gloomy economic prospects" under Labour, according to new figures.

The latest S&P Global construction purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed a reading of 48.1 in January, down sharply from 53.3 in December - and the first result signalling a contraction since February 2024.

Any reading above 50 indicates that activity in the industry is increasing - while anything below means it is shrinking.

Economists had expected activity to rebound to 53.7 in January - but S&P Global Market Intelligence's economics chief Tim Moore has warned of spiking business concerns under Labour.

"UK construction output fell for the first time in nearly a year as gloomy economic prospects, elevated borrowing costs and weak client confidence resulted in subdued workloads," he said.

"The forward-looking survey indicators were also relatively downbeat in January.

"New orders decreased at the fastest pace since November 2023 amid many reports of delayed decision-making by clients.

"Reduced workloads, combined with concerns about the general UK economic outlook, led to a dip in business activity expectations to the lowest for 15 months."

Kemi Badenoch unveils first major policy as Tory leader and vows to DEPORT low-paid migrants

Kemi Badenoch has vowed to remove unemployed or low-paid migrants from Britain in a bid to cut their net drain on the state.

Setting out her first real policy as Tory leader, Badenoch is proposing that legal migrants in the UK should only be allowed to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) once they have been in the country for 10 years, double the current five-year threshold.

Under her plans, migrants would only be able to qualify for ILR if they had not claimed benefits or used social housing during their entire 10-year period in Britain.

They would also have to have been "net contributors" to the economy over that decade, meaning their salary and tax payments must be high enough to outweigh their costs to the state, including those of their children, other dependents, or any benefits they may have claimed.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Chris Philp: The 'Boriswave' was 'wrong and it shouldn't have happened'

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has apologised for the surge in non-EU migration under the former Tory Government - and admitted it "shouldn't have happened".

Philp told GB News: "The last Government made mistakes. We've said that already, it was a mistake, we got it wrong and it shouldn't have happened."

And putting his weight behind Kemi Badenoch, he said: "And that is why, under a new leader, there is a new approach.

"Today's policy announcements - which are specific, they're credible, they're properly thought through - this is one of the steps in the process to rebuild that trust and show that under a new leader, there is a new approach, and that a future Conservative Government would take tough action, specific action… that will sort this out."

Millions of non-EU migrants arrived in Britain after Boris Johnson's Government introduced the "New Plan for Immigration" - which has been dubbed the "Boriswave" as a result.

Lord Hermer claimed 'stop the boats' slogan was DEHUMANISING in woke podcast tirade

Attorney General Lord Hermer called the "stop the boats" slogan "dehumanising" and claimed there was a "moral argument" for Britain to pay slavery reparations, it has emerged.

Hermer, a close friend of the Prime Minister who has been branded an "activist" for international law by Ministers, had been revealed to have made a slew of anti-Trump comments yesterday - but now, The Times has uncovered even more of his past remarks.

In January 2024, Hermer said he was "acutely conscious that slogans such as stop the boats, control our borders, so on and so on, are capable not only of being distracting, but also dehumanising."

Labour has since made curbing illegal migration a cornerstone of its messaging.

While he had also said that he had represented Caribbean countries on a "potential reparation case", and claimed there was a "moral argument" for Britain to pay up.

In the same episode, Hermer said that "obviously statues of people like [Cecil] Rhodes and slave owners should go" - despite Starmer's warning that pulling down a statue of Edward Colston in Bristol was "completely wrong".

Donald Trump said just this week that Starmer has "been very nice" and the pair were "getting along very well" - but Hermer called Trump "such a coward", an "autocratic populist", an "orange tyrant" and accused him of running a government of "chaos and hatred".

A Government spokesman said: "The Attorney General is the Government's chief legal advisor and provides impartial legal advice."

Starmer warns Britain's nuclear plans 'leaves us hostage to Putin' as PM gears up to slash planning laws

Sir Keir Starmer has warned that Britain's restrictions on atomic energy are "leaving us hostage" to Vladimir Putin ahead of a mass reform of planning rules on nuclear reactors.

Again attacking "blockers" - a much-touted line in Labour's growth plans - Starmer has vowed to slash red tape and deliver "cleaner, more affordable" nuclear power across Britain.

Writing on social media this morning, he said: "For too long, the blockers and Nimbys have strangled our chances of cheaper energy, growth and jobs, leaving us hostage to Putin.

"I'm putting an end to it. We are changing the rules on nuclear to deliver cleaner, more affordable energy across the UK."

Mini-nuclear power stations will be included in planning rules for the first time and a list of eight sites where they can only be built will be scrapped, the PM will say today in Lancashire.

An "expiry date" on nuclear planning rules will be scrapped, and a Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce will be established under his plans.

Ben Wallace issues scathing slap-down of Chagos 'satellite communications' claims - 'Totally fabricated!'

Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has slapped down new claims the Chagos Islands surrender is being done to protect British satellite communications systems.

Last night, Bloomberg revealed that UK security officials have said the giveaway will help ensure that American and British military and diplomatic communications in the region can be securely controlled.

The officials said that Diego Garcia, the base set to be leased back from Mauritius under Labour's deal, is a "key communications base in the southern hemisphere" and provides "huge operational range" over Asia, the Middle East and Africa, while staying out of reach of many adversaries.

If approved, a deal between the UK and Mauritius would see a buffer zone around Diego Garcia in which Britain would have final sign-off on the construction of any new tech that could threaten national security, the sources said.

But in a new rebuke to the rumoured multi-billion-pound giveaway, Wallace said: "This is a totally fabricated excuse by the Cabinet Office.

"The islands are far more important than just this, and the potential threat to our operations is a total fiction from the pen of Cabinet Office comms - and no doubt... Lord Hermer."

A Government spokesman told GB News: "We have a longstanding convention that we do not comment on security matters."

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