Both Angela Rayner and Yvette Cooper are predicted to lose their seats as revealed in a shock poll which forecasts that Labour, Conservatives and Reform UK will be locked in a three-way tie.
A new MRP poll shows Reform at the top with 24 per cent of the vote, with Labour and the Tories just inches behind at 23 per cent each.
The survey of 5,743 British adults, the largest post-Election poll to date, shows that the Conservatives could win 178 seats (up from 121), Labour 174 (down from 412), and Reform UK 175 (a huge rise from only five seats).
The poll conducted national communications agency PLMR and Electoral Calculus predicted that multiple Labour ministers will have to give up their seats.
Rayner will lose her seat of Ashton-under-Lyne to Nigel Farage's party, whilst Home Secretary Cooper is also forecast to give up her seat of Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley to Reform UK.
Jonathan Reynolds, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, is also forecast to lose Stalybridge and Hyde to Reform, whilst Wes Streeting is expected to lose hold of Ilford North to the Tories.
If a General Election were held today, based on these figures the most likely outcome would be a Conservative/Reform UK coalition, PLMR and Electoral Calculus said.
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The deal will see the UK hand over the Chagos Islands to MauritiusGettyBritain's nuclear deterrent would be vulnerable to Chinese interference if Sir Keir Starmer signs a deal with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands, senior defence sources have warned.
A top-secret satellite system used to direct British and US nuclear missiles would be compromised if a deal was signed, they fear.
They say that Britain's nuclear missile coordination system depends on crucial connection points at the Diego Garcia base.
These systems require both physical protection and British control of the islands' electromagnetic spectrum to operate effectively.
A concerning clause in the proposed agreement would allow other nations to access the electromagnetic spectrum around the islands. This arrangement could become a revenue stream for Mauritius.
Sources warn this could give Beijing an opportunity to disrupt the top-secret Automated Digital Network System 3, shared by British and US navies. The system is a critical component of the 'Nuclear Firing Chain' (NFC)
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves GB NewsAfter Labour MP Jo White claimed Sir Keir Starmer needs to appoint a Red Wall Minister to his Cabinet, GB News asks its members if there is a “southern bias” in Government.
The Bassetlaw MP, who defeated Boris Johnson loyalist Brendan Clarke-Smith last July, put pressure on the Chancellor to do more for left-behind communities.
Asked if she felt that the North of England had been largely ignored in Rachel Reeves' growth speech, White told GB News: "I agree. There was a level of anger from my Red Wall colleagues."
An official decision on whether to demolish Grenfell Tower is to be announced today.
Bereaved families and survivors of the tower block fire are understood to have been told by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner on Wednesday that it will be demolished.
Rayner has been slammed as ‘disgraceful’ by families of Grenfell Tower victims, who felt there had not been enough consultation.
An official update will be given on Friday, but the Government has previously said there will be no changes to the west London site before the eighth anniversary of the disaster in June.
Reform UK has landed two electoral blows to Labour overnight in a fresh wave of council elections that couldn’t have come at a worse time for Labour and Keir Starmer.
In the Medway council of Rochester East & Warren Wood (Kent), Reform won two seats unseating Labour incumbents whose vote share crashed 22 per cent.
Reform's other triumph came at the expense of the Tories in the Bentleys and Frating ward in rural Essex, not far from Nigel Farage's adopted town of Clacton.
Rachel Reeves
PABritain is at risk of falling into "stagflation" this year as the consumer price index (CPI) rate of inflation is forecast to hit 3.7 per cent by the summer while economic growth plateaus, according to analysts.
Earlier this week, the Bank of England delivered a stark warning for the UK economy, slashing its growth forecast for 2025 to just 0.75 per cent - half of its previous 1.5 per cent prediction made in November.
The downbeat assessment comes as a double blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who recently reaffirmed the Government's commitment to growth in a major speech.
Migrants would need to be earning more than £28,000 to remain in Britain
PA
Over half of migrant workers would be prohibited from staying in Britain as they wouldn't earn enough, should the Conservatives come to power under their new immigration plans.
Kemi Badenoch said migrants granted indefinite leave must be “net contributors” over the 10 years, which means their tax payments would outweigh all other benefits.
Migrants would need to be earning more than £28,000 to remain in Britain.
Ed Miliband has given his backing to plans for a third runway at Heathrow, dropping his long-held opposition to the proposals.
The Energy Secretary had previously threatened to resign in 2009 if the then-Labour government gave its backing to the expansion plans.
In 2018, he voted against the plans in the House of Commons, stating that“we owe it to future generations not just to have good environmental principles but to act on them”.
However, he has now said he will “support what the Government is doing” and abide by his collective responsibility as a minister.
He also said he believed airport expansion could be delivered without breaking climate change rules.
Speaking to Sky News, Miliband said: “Obviously I abide by collective responsibility and what the Government has done, I do support what the Government is doing which is that we have asked Heathrow to come forward with their plans.”
Attorney General Lord Hermer
PALord Hermer has said "almost every element" of the British Empire was racist and that there was a "moral" argument that the UK should pay slavery reparations.
The comments were made by the Attorney General on a podcast that has just been rediscovered.
Speaking on the Matrix Law podcast in 2022, Lord Hermer said that the British Empire enforced a “racial superiority that allows you to treat entire populations like school children”.
The former human rights barrister backed the removal of statues of slave owners and controversial British Empire figures like Cecil Rhodes, a 19th Century politician in southern Africa.
He said that "racism impacted almost every element of [the British Empire]," and that children should be taught about its “legacy of violence”.
Allies of Lord Hermer told the Times that the podcast were recorded years ago and his views did not influence any legal advice he gives to the Government.
Suella Braverman, Rael Braverman and Nigel Farage
X
Suella Braverman’s husband has seemingly set his wife a deadline to defect to Reform UK as speculation mounts as to whether the former Home Secretary will switch to the populist party.
Rael Braverman, who defected to Reform UK late last year, gave a timeframe for Tories to sign up after a number leading Conservative enlisted into Nigel Farage’s ranks.
Ex-MPs Dame Andrea Jenkyns, Marco Longhi and Aidan Burley all switched from the Tories to Reform UK at the tail end of 2024.
Sir Keir Starmer and his Dutch counterpart have agreed on “further co-operation” on tackling illegal migration, as well as continuing support for Ukraine.
The Prime Minister met Dick Schoof in Downing Street on Thursday evening, where the leaders reflected on the UK and the Netherlands’ strong friendship and shared approach to global challenges.
A No10 read-out of the meeting said they talked about the successes of existing co-operation on tackling organised crime, including the people-smuggling gangs driving illegal migration, and agreed further co-operation on this issue.
Starmer reiterated the UK’s “iron-clad” support for Ukraine and the leaders underscored their commitment to working together so that Ukraine is “in the strongest possible position”.
Reform UK Chairman Zia Yusuf said the party can win the general election
GB NewsReform UK's chairman has predicted the party could win “350 to 400 Members of Parliament” at the next general election.
Zia Yusuf also said he does “understand” any potential concerns over the prospect of the party accepting a donation from Elon Musk.
The comments come after Reform topped a YouGov voter intention poll for the first time this week.
The party returned five MPs in July’s general election but came second in 98 constituencies.
Discussing the results with the BBC, Yusuf said he thought his party “will win between 350 to 400 Members of Parliament” at the next general election, which must be held before August 2029.
Reform UK came top in the YouGov poll with 25 per cent support, compared with Labour on 24 per cent and the Conservatives with 21 per cent.
