An ally of Sir Keir Starmer has warned Labour backbenchers should be up for the "fight of our lives" against Reform UK.
Cabinet office minister Pat McFadden was speaking to around 100 Labour MPs in a Commons committee room for an hour after last week's dismal local election results.
Officially billed by the party's top brass as a briefing on their "plan for change", the meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party quickly descended into a showdown where sources said McFadden was acting as a "human shield" for Starmer.
McFadden opened the speech saying: "The big point I want to make to you is that a new fight is taking shape.
"It's a fight between our values and a nationalist politics of the right. It's a battle for the very future and the heart and soul of our country."
"Labour is always at its best when we look to the future. This is the fight of our lives, this is the generational fight in this new political era. I want to tell you we have to take on this new fight for the future - and we have to win."
Many of the party's most high-profile rebels on winter fuel payments, benefit cuts and other issues were absent, with the exception of former Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott.
The MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington and Mother of the House attended but left before the end, declining to talk to journalists, reports Sky News.
FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY…
The SNP's leader in Westminster Stephen Flynn has waved away speculation about his own leadership ambitions, describing First Minister John Swinney as the "best politician in Scotland."
The MP for Aberdeen South is to stand for Holyrood in the 2026 election and there have been suggestions he may be eyeing a possible future as party leader.
Swinney however has made clear that if he wins next year’s election, he intends to serve the full five-year term as First Minister.
Flynn told BBC Scotland: "When Nicola Sturgeon stood down as first minister, the first person that I called to take over the party hoping that they would was John Swinney. Of course he didn’t want to do so at the time.
"When the same happened with Humza Yousaf shortly thereafter again, the first person called to ask to take over as first minister and leader of our party was John Swinney.
"I did that because John Swinney is the best politician in Scotland, and he is the best-placed person to lead our party and our country."
Defence Secretary John Healy has warned that "freedom is not free" in response to a concerning poll showing a significant decline in awareness of VE Day among younger generations.
The statement comes as new research commissioned by SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, reveals that six in ten members of Generation Z have never heard of VE Day.
The poll, conducted by Censuswide, also found that 51 per cent of people across the UK don't know what VE Day represents.
President Donald Trump has suggested that today is going to be a "very big and exciting day" for both the United States and the UK.
It comes as the White House set to confirm a trade deal with the UK later today, the second deal with the country following the deal with India.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social page: "This should be a very big and exciting day for the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Press Conference at The Oval Office, 10am. Thank you!"
Sir Keir Starmer with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
PA
An internal Treasury analysis from the previous Government found that a trade deal between the UK and India would cost £200million in lost taxes.
Earlier this week, Downing Street announced it had come to terms on a trade deal with India, which will mean dramatic tariff reductions on scotch whisky and car exports to India.
However, sources told The Times that an impact assessment of the deal found that excluding Indian workers sent to Britain from National Insurance contributions for three years would see tax revenues fall by up to £200million a year.
Ministers have been pressed as to whether Sir Keir Starmer will "negotiate away any control of our waters" as part of negotiations with the EU.
Conservative MP for Gordon and Buchan Harriet Cross told the Commons: "A recent poll by the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation showed that 87 per cent of Scots believe that the UK should control access to our fishing waters.
"Two-thirds of seafood that’s landed in the UK comes into Scotland and this is a vital part to our economy and many of our coastal communities.
"So, can the minister assure the House and rural and fishing communities across the country that the Prime Minister will not negotiate away any control of our waters during his EU reset later this month?"
Environment minister Daniel Zeichner replied: "I absolutely recognise the importance of the Scottish fishing fleet and the contribution they make.
"I am afraid she will have to wait a bit longer to hear the full details, the outcomes of any negotiations, but I do have to remind her that the sense of betrayal across fishing communities came under her Government’s watch."
Bristol Central MP Carla Denyer is stepping down as her role leading the party
PA
Carla Denyer has confirmed she will not stand again as the Green Party co-leader, saying it had "been an enormous privilege."
The Bristol Central MP said she was focusing her efforts into her parliamentary role as one of the four MPs the party has in the Commons.
She told The Guardian: "It’s been an enormous privilege to lead the Green Party alongside my excellent co-leader Adrian, wonderfully supported by our deputy leaders – first Amelia [Womack] and then Zack [Polanski].
"We’ve achieved so much, taking the party from one MP to four, from 450 councillors to over 850, and winning nearly 2m votes at the last general election. But this is just the start for me and the party.
"For me, my guiding light has always been: ‘How can I make the biggest positive impact?’ And I’ve decided that for the next few years, the best way I can serve the party and the country is to pour all of my skills, passion and energy into being the best MP I can be, in parliament and in Bristol Central."
Her co-leader and Waveney Valley MP Adrian Ramsay must now decide whether to stand as a solo candidate or with someone else at the next leadership election.
Nominations open on June 2 and Green Party members will vote throughout August.
Polanski, the party's deputy leader, announced on Monday that he would stand, saying the party, which saw gains at the local elections, transform itself into a radical, mass-membership "eco-populism" movement to counter Nigel Farage and Reform UK.
Sir Keir Starmer has delivered his speech at VE Day 80, unveiling a huge boost to the armed forces.
The PM said: "[It is] an investment in peace, but also an investment in British pride and the British people to build a nation that, once again, lives up to the promises made to the generation who fought for our values, our freedom and our security."
Speaking at the London Defence Conference, he said: "I didn’t think in my life time there would be Russia tanks entering a European country. We stand with Ukraine."
Conservative MP Matt Vickers has faced intense questioning on GB News over the Conservative Party's proposed Deportation Bill, with presenters challenging him on why his party won't leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The grilling came as the Conservatives unveiled plans for a new bill that would disapply the Human Rights Act in immigration cases.
Labour MPs have issued a warning to Sir Keir Starmer, saying the party faces an "existential threat" following anger at the party over cuts to winter fuel and disability benefits.]
It comes as top Cabinet minister Pat McFadden told the party to reject Reform UK's call for a return to Britain's past, saying the party was focused on the country’s "glorious future."
The Labour Red Wall group of MPs said: "Our voters told us loudly and clearly that we have not met their expectations. The response that the Government will go further and faster on the Plan for Change has fallen on deaf ears."
Bassetlaw MP Jo White told the BBC: "The anger in the room was palpable because we could all sense the vote for Labour we had in 2024 had just melted away.
"We always said people voted for Labour for change. They are not loyal to Labour any more as they used to be in the past and we have to hold that vote in. I see it as an existential threat."
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves
PA
A thinktank has warned Rachel Reeves that any budget plans will be ruined by ongoing inflation and slow growth.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said the problems Britain faced this year were largely of their own making as opposed to being a result of slowing global trade.
It predicted the UK economy will grow by 1.2 per cent in 2025, down from a previous forecast of 1.5 per cent following "low business confidence, high uncertainty and rising cost pressures."
The report said: "While global headwinds such as the recently imposed US tariffs are disrupting international trade, the biggest factors dragging down UK economic growth are domestic."
Labour has been accused of "undercutting" British workers over a deal between the UK and India by the Liberal Democrats.
Party deputy leader Daisy Cooper MP said: "This deal risks undercutting British workers at a time when they’re already being hammered by Trump’s trade war and Labour's misguided jobs tax.
"The Government’s failure to even publish an impact assessment of these changes gives the impression of something that is completely half-baked.
"It shows exactly why Parliament needs the opportunity to debate and vote on trade deals. We Liberal Democrats are clear, we cannot vote for any trade deal that undercuts British workers in this way.
"With trade talks with the US continuing, it doesn’t give us much hope for any Trump trade deal this Government negotiates."
John Healey refused to confirm rumours of a potential trade deal being announced between Washington and Westminster later today.
Defence Secretary spoke to The People's Channel this morning ahead of today's VE Day celebrations.
Donald Trump is expected to announce a trade deal with the UK on Thursday, according to reports.
The US President teased the announcement of a "major trade deal" with a "big, highly respected country" in a post on his Truth Social platform overnight, and a press conference is expected at about 3pm UK time.
US media, including the New York Times, have reported the deal is with the UK, citing people familiar with the plans.
