Reform UK has issued seven immigration demands to Sir Keir Starmer after warning the Prime Minister against "deliberately concealing" information form the British public.
In the letter, which was signed by all five Reform UK MPs, Starmer was asked to release information about tax contributions, welfare claims, crime rates, sentencing, financial costs and spending programmes.
The Prime Minister was also asked: "Why the Office for National Statistics has discontinued analysis of our population by nationality and when this will resume?"
New poll puts Tories ahead of Labour for the first time since 2021
Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ends his tenure as Tory leader with the party in front according to a poll
PA
With just hours of his premiership left, Rishi Sunak's Conservatives are now ahead of Labour in the latest poll for the first time in three years, according to a new poll.
The I reports half (48 per cent) of voters said they have a worse opinion of Labour since the party won July’s election with a landslide 174-majority, with just a fifth (20 per cent) saying it had improved and a quarter (24 per cent) saying it had not changed.
BMG Research for The I had the Tories are on 29 per cent, with Labour just a point behind on 28 per cent. Reform UK are in third on 17 per cent with the Liberal Democrats on 13 per cent and the Green Party on eight per cent.
The Tories’ one-point lead is within the poll’s margin of error, but it is believed to be the first time that any published poll has shown a lead of any size for the party since December 2021, when the "Partygate" scandal was beginning to emerge.
Cleverly says he will return to the backbenches after Tory Leadership contest is over
Former Conservative Party leadership candidate and Braintree MP James Cleverly
PA
James Cleverly will return to the backbenches after ruling out serving in the next Conservative leader’s shadow cabinet.
The MP, who has served as both foreign secretary and home secretary, told the Financial Times he felt "liberated" by the leadership campaign and did not want to be "boxed back into a narrow band" with a frontbench role.
Cleverly had been expected to make the final two of the leadership election as the standard bearer for the Tory moderates after topping the ballot in the penultimate round of MP voting. But the MP for Braintree slipped to a shock third place in the final round, leaving the party members the choice of Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick.
‘Growing alliance of aggression’ warns Healey as North Korea sends troops to help Russia
The Defence Secretary has warned of a "growing alliance of aggression" between North Korea and Russia, after intelligence reports confirmed the presence of North Korean troops near the Ukrainian border.
John Healey said on that UK Defence Intelligence had confirmed 10,000 North Korean soldiers had arrived in Russia, with a “significant proportion” heading for the Kursk region.
In an intelligence update, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it was "almost certain some have already deployed to the Kursk region", where Ukraine has been carrying out a counterattack.
Healey said: "This growing alliance of aggression shows why we must continue to stand steadfast behind Ukraine’s fight for freedom."
Chief secretary to the Treasury says UK is still 'suffering' from Liz Truss's budget
Liz Truss left No10 after just 49 daysGETTYThe Chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones has claimed the UK is still suffering from the fallout of Liz Truss’s economic mismanagement amid market jitters after this week’s budget.
Darren Jones said "we are in a very different world" from the market panic that followed Truss’s mini-budget two years ago, adding "I think we all have PTSD from Liz Truss."
The MP for Bristol North West told Sky News: "Under Liz Truss they sacked the permanent secretary [to the Treasury], they ignored the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, they announced £45bn of unfunded tax cuts and said they were only just getting started. And then the market went mad, and we all know what happened then."
Conservative source tells GB News ahead of new leadership result: 'It's very tight'
The polls have closed in the vote for the Conservative Party’s new leader, with Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick going head-to-head to replace Rishi Sunak.
Dame Priti Patel, Mel Stride, Tom Tugendhat and James Cleverly also put themselves forward to lead the party, but were eliminated in a series of votes by Tory MPs to narrow the field down to the final two.
The result will be announced tomorrow. A campaign source tells GB News: "It is very tight."
GPs ask Streeting for ‘urgent assurances’ over employers national insurance hike
Wes Streeting
GB NewsGPs have called for “urgent assurances” from the Health Secretary Wes Streeting that practices will be exempted from the hike in national insurance employer contributions announced in the Budget.
It comes amid warnings that some surgeries will make staff redundant as a result of the change, while some care homes could be forced to close. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the tax hike on Wednesday, with organisations representing care homes and hospices voicing concerns about the sector’s ability to plug the funding gap.
There have also been concerns about the impact on GP surgeries, with one practice manager suggesting it could cost about £40,000 a year.
The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) said it has contacted Wes Streeting, seeking assurances that practices will be protected like "the rest of the NHS and public sector."
Labour scrambles to meet NFU chief as farmers plot tractor protest over inheritance tax raid
Labour's Environment Secretary Steve Reed will meet with NFU chief Tom Bradshaw on Monday, GB News understands.
Reed will look to discuss growing frustrations from farmers about Rachel Reeves' inheritance tax raid impacting the agriculture industry.
A source close to the Environment Secretary told the People's Channel: "We have been engaging closely with the farming sector since the announcement."
The meeting comes after the National Farmers' Union confirmed it is organising a protest against Reeves penny-pinching Budget on November 19.
Following Reeves' Budget on Wednesday, Bradshaw said: “It’s clear the Government does not understand that family farms are not only small farms, and that just because a farm is an asset it doesn’t mean those who work it are wealthy.
“I have said, every penny the chancellor saves from this will come directly from the next generation having to break up their family farm. It simply mustn’t happen.
“MPs need to understand the consequences of these actions which is why we are mobilising our members for a mass lobby in the coming weeks. British farmers will ask their MPs to look them in the eye and tell them whether they support this.
“There’s still time for the government to accept they’ve got this wrong, and my message to ministers is that they should do the right thing and reverse this awful family farm tax.”
Cleverly refuses to endorse Badenoch or Jenrick
Former Tory leadership hopeful James Cleverly has refused to endorse either Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick ahead of tomorrow's result declaration.
He added: “Halfway through the last parliament, the idea of Labour having a government, let alone a record majority, was laughable.
“So if the pendulum can swing that aggressively away in half a parliament, it is not inevitable, but it can be made to swing back in one parliament. We’ve got to be disciplined.”
Labour go on 'front foot' as farmer fury sets in over inheritance tax
Labour's Environment Secretary Steve Reed has doubled-down on Rachel Reeves' inheritance tax raid.
Reed, who will meet NFU chief Tom Bradshaw on Monday, said: "The wealthy are buying up huge estates to avoid paying tax.
"This Labour Government will reform Agricultural Property Relief to put a stop to it. Small, family farms will be protected."
Labour minister defends inheritance tax changes despite furious backlash from farmers
Labour's Chief Treasury Secretary Darren Jones has defended the party's controversial inheritance tax changes for farmers.
Speaking on GB News, Jones explained the new scheme, which allows the first £1 million to be passed down tax-free.
Sadiq Khan wants to build solar farms in leafy commuter suburbs in £175m Net Zero push
Sadiq Khan has unveiled plans to build solar farms in leafy commuter suburbs in yet another Net Zero push.
Transport for London, which is chaired by the capital's Labour Mayor, kicked off with a tender push to developers to build banks of solar panels for the tube network.
Khan hopes to construct solar farms near tube stations which will connect directly to the London Underground power system.
In a plea to developers, TFL’s chief environment officer Lilli Matson said: “We’re inviting bidders to help us deliver purpose-built solar photovoltaic (PV) farms for the Tube network … This is the start of a long-term journey to decarbonise London’s iconic transport system.”
Angela Rayner reignites Lord Alli row as she admits accepting £3,550 of free clothes from Labour donor
Angela Rayner has admitted to receiving thousands of pounds worth of free clothes from "donorgate" Labour peer Lord Alli.
In her register of interests, the Deputy Prime Minister declared she took some £3,550 in "work clothes" from the top party donor.
After previously claiming she had taken the cash for help with "Parliamentary duties", she then changed the record after taking advice from authorities, The Times reports.
The register now says "work clothes for use while undertaking my duties" rather than the previous "donation in kind for undertaking Parliamentary duties".
While it's the first time that Rayner - also the Housing Secretary - has brought her clothes donations to light, Lord Alli appears five times on her register of interests.
Back in September, it came to light that Lord Alli had greenlit Rayner's use of his multi-million-dollar apartment in New York - prompting outrage and calls for an official investigation by the Conservatives.
But the Deputy PM defended herself to the BBC, saying: "I think I followed the rules."
Addressing the backlash, she added: "I get that people are frustrated, in particular the circumstances that we're in, but donations for gifts and hospitality and monetary donations have been a feature of our politics for a very long time.
"People can look it up and see what people have had donations for, and the transparency is really important."
Pollster issues Starmer Reform UK warning - 'Pincer movement!'
A polling expert has warned Sir Keir Starmer faces a "pincer movement scenario" after Reform UK won yet another local by-election last night.
Following the populist party's triumph in Wolverhampton, More in Common's Luke Tryl said: "Two main parties down 49 per cent. This ward in Pat McFadden’s seat highlights potential nightmare pincer movement scenario for Labour in seats where Reform are 2nd 1) Remaining Tory vote collapses to Reform 2) Labour lose votes on their progressive flank to Greens enabling Reform win.
"Labour need to take the Reform threat seriously (and as I’ve argued before should have done so pre election). But it’s also the case Labour would have held this seat if they’d got (likely held) the extra share of the vote that went to the Greens.
"Obviously what can’t be accounted for here is low turn out, how many Labour voters didn’t vote and how many were direct switchers given the collapse in Labour vote. But what is clear is even beyond that a Tory collapse or Green surge could also enable Reform to challenge Labour."
Labour DEFENDS 'Value for Money Office' chief's £950 day rate - 'Actually, it's competitive!'
GB NEWS
Chief Treasury Secretary Darren Jones has defended Labour's new Office for Value for Money chief's £950 day rate as "competitive" this morning.
Asked about the pay of ex-HS2 board member David Goldstone, Jones told LBC: "The rate of return for the improvements that we will make from looking at these areas of spending will be far, far greater.
"It is right that we pay people for their time. We can't expect people to work for free. That is an important way in which we do things in this country.
"Actually, the day rate for David is, on a benchmark basis, competitive."
He was then grilled on GB News on the November 19 protests planned by the National Farmers' Union - but cast off concerns, telling hosts Stephen Dixon and Ellie Costello: "People are never going to be happy about paying more tax."
‘They’re killing the hand that feeds them!’ Farmer facing ‘monumental’ inheritance tax bill blasts Rachel Reeves: ‘D-Day for agriculture’
‘They’re killing the hand that feeds them!’ Farmer lashes out at ‘monumental’ inheritance tax billGB NEWSFarmer James Fairlie has ripped into Labour's proposed inheritance tax changes, describing them as "D-Day for agriculture" to GB News.
The seventh-generation farmer, whose family has worked the same land since 1703, accused Westminster of failing to understand the vital role of British agriculture.
"We're doing this to produce food to keep you alive," Fairlie said, and accused Labour of "killing the hand that feeds them" with the proposed tax reforms.
'The tsunami CONTINUES!' Anderson and Yusuf bullish on Reform as party wins crucial by-election
Reform Gain.
— Lee Anderson MP (@LeeAndersonMP_) November 1, 2024
The political tsunami continues.
And more defections incoming.
We will get our country back. https://t.co/5lSOIhu7Jn
Lee Anderson has heaped praise on Reform UK's council by-election win after his party surged to victory over Labour.
In Bilston North in Wolverhampton, Nigel Farage's party - spearheaded by Anita Tolgyesi Stanley - decimated Labour, handing the party of Government a crushing -38 percentage point blow.
Deputy leader Richard Tice had predicted "hundreds" of new council seats for Reform after Farage extended a "lifeline" to potential defectors - and his predictions look to be paying off already.
Reacting to the vote, Reform's chief whip Lee Anderson said: "The political tsunami continues... And more defections incoming. We will get our country back."
While party chairman Zia Yusuf offered his congratulations to Stanley, saying: "Another Reform WIN. A huge swing to Reform from Labour, with the Tories falling even further behind."
Thousands of private schools wage legal war on Labour as VAT hikes loom
Schools will argue that Starmer's VAT raid infringes on children's "right to education"
PAOver 1,000 private schools are set to sue the Labour Government over its upcoming VAT raid on fees.
The Independent Schools Council announced that its members - including big names like Eton and Harrow - had voted in favour of taking Labour to the High Court just yesterday afternoon.
The 1,400-member-strong independent education bloc has enlisted the services of top barrister - and Manchester City's legal lead against the Premier League - Lord Pannick KC to bring their case to court.
The ISC said legal proceedings would "begin shortly" ahead of the VAT hike coming into force from January 1.
The group will be looking to prove that Labour's policy undermines pupils' human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as well as the Human Rights Act 1998.
The group will also argue that the VAT raid infringes on children's "right to education" - and that the policy amounts to a discriminatory practice against independent schools.
Badenoch wins crucial senior Tory endorsements as one day remains until new party leader announced
Badenoch now has the support of 13 Shadow Cabinet members
GB NEWS/PA
Kemi Badenoch has been handed a raft of senior Conservative Party endorsements in the wake of yesterday's leadership contest voting coming to a close.
The Shadow Housing Secretary has taken on a litany of frontbench backers - including, most recently, shadow Welsh and education secretaries Lord Davies and Damian Hinds, respectively.
Meanwhile, rival leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick has recently been backed by ex-Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Wendy Morton.
Badenoch now has the support of 13 Shadow Cabinet members, while Jenrick has three.
The two went head-to-head on a GB News special political programme on October 17 - with the audience picking Badenoch as their favourite to take over from Rishi Sunak.
But with just over 24 hours remaining until Sunak's successor is announced, a Badenoch ally has counselled caution, telling The Telegraph: "The little that we do know is that the turnout is low.
"The issue with low turnout is it makes it very hard to predict what is going on."
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