Britons sign petition demanding Digital ID referendum as fury grows at Keir Starmer’s push for ‘state control’

WATCH: 'We cannot have more ministers gaslighting the British people', says Suella Braverman

Jess Phillips should resign as she has lost the confidence of grooming gang survivors by gaslighting them, according to former Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

Asked why she thinks Phillips should go, the Fareham and Waterlooville MP told GB News: "We cannot afford to waste more time, and we cannot have more ministers gaslighting the British people and the victims and the survivors.

“We need an inquiry now. We need to get to the bottom of the truth, and we need justice for the victims."

Green Party membership has DOUBLED since Zack Polanski became leader

The Green Party has announced its membership has doubled since the election of Zack Polanski.

Membership of the Green Party of England and Wales now stands at over 140,000, making them the third largest party on member numbers alone .

The party's Deputy Leader Mothin Ali said: "That's the effect the Politics of Hope can have. Let's keep going, let's keep growing."

WATCH IN FULL: Angela Rayner's resignation speech

Liberal Democrats accuse Keir Starmer of 'disgraceful stitch up' over local elections

Sir Keir Starmer has been skewered by the Liberal Democrats after they asked for a "cast-iron guarantee" that voters across the country won't lose their right to vote in May for a second year in a row.

The party's Local Government Spokeswoman Zöe Franklin said: "The Prime Minister should have had the decency to tell voters whether their elections will be delayed by another year, but he dodged the question.

"This is a disgraceful stitch up between Labour and the Conservatives, who are running scared of the voters. The Prime Minister should return to the chamber immediately and clarify what he's agreed with Conservative council leaders.

"Democracy delayed is democracy denied."

Jeremy Corbyn demands Labour withdraw 'grossly misleading' Maccabi Tel Aviv comments

Jeremy Corbyn has called on Lisa Nandy to withdraw her "grossly misleading" comments relating to Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.

The Your Party co-leader said he was "deeply disappointed" by the remarks made by the Culture Secretary, accusing her of conflating a public order decision with antisemitism.

In a letter, the Islington North MP said: "This is about a group of football fans with a history of racism and violence.

"This is not about banning Jewish people, and you know full well that none of us would support such a ban.

"Any attempt to conflate these two issues is not just grossly misleading; it is irresponsible and represents a shameful attempt to exploit the fears and anxieties of Jewish people."

WATCH: Top Tory issues bleak Jess Phillips verdict amid grooming gang inquiry chaos

Jess Phillips is "in a bit of trouble" as the chaos surrounding the grooming gangs inquiry continues to escalate, a top Tory has claimed.

Speaking to GB News, Richard Fuller MP hit out at Labour councils for "turning a blind eye" to the scandal, and highlighted the mass exodus from the grooming gangs inquiry panel.

The Safeguarding Minister is facing backlash from survivors after claiming remarks made about the inquiry were "categorically untrue".

Richard Tice appointed new Reform UK Head of Doge, taking over from Zia Yusuf

Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice has been appointed the new head of the party's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) unit.

The MP for Boston and Skegness is taking over from Zia Yusuf who remains the party's Head of Policy.

Reform UK’s DOGE unit was set up to assist and support local councils to find efficiency savings and deliver value for money.

Reform-led local authorities have already made hundreds of millions of pounds worth of savings over the past six months, delivering on their election promise to cut wasteful spending at a local level.

“In May, Reform won a historic and unprecedented victory because voters knew that we would do things differently. Across the twelve councils we control, we have been doing exactly that and already cut hundreds of millions of pounds in wasteful spending," Mr Tice said.

“I am delighted to now be heading up Reform’s DOGE unit which has been carefully assisting our efficiency drive in local government under Zia’s stewardship. I look forward to progressing this vital and innovative project and ensuring that we continue to deliver on our election promises.”

Mr Tice has already been involved in the DOGE process, revealing that last month local authorities in England and Wales were paying at least £1billion more than they should in fees to local government pension fund managers, with inadequate performance costing between £8billion and £10billion annually over the past five years.

He also unearthed that, across the 13 councils where Reform has the largest number of councillors, pension funds had unperformed by an average of 1.9 per cent a year since 2019.

Former Deputy PM says stamp duty error was 'honest mistake'

Angela Rayner declared she made a mistake about stamp duty due to trust arrangements relating to her disabled son.

She added it was "an honestly made mistake".

The former Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary said she had a strong record in Government.

Ms Rayner raised the Hillsborough law being passed and how, having experienced dealing with the Grenfell Tower fire, how significant it was to hold people of authority to account.

Angela Rayner makes resignation speech after tax scandal

The former Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary is making her resignation speech in the House of Commons after the tax scandal surrounding her £700,000 Hove home.

"The last few weeks have been incredibly tough on my family, with my personal life so much in the public eye," she said.

"All of us in public life know all too well the toll of the intense scrutiny we face places on our loved ones."

Ms Rayner said she always "believed in the highest standards of transparency and accountability".

She said she would pay back any monies she owes.

Keir Starmer appears to back proposal for MP-led inquiry into Prince Andrew

Sir Keir Starmer has seemingly voiced his support for a proposed MP-led inquiry into Prince Andrew.

The development came after Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey asked whether the Prime Minister would “support a select committee inquiry so all those involved should be called for evidence including the current occupant”.

“It’s important in relation to all properties, Crown properties, that there is proper scrutiny so I certainly support that," the Prime Minister replied.

PM dismisses Tory calls for judge-led rape gangs probe and defends Jess Phillips

The Prime Minister has dismissed Tory calls for the rape gangs inquiry to be led by an independent judge.

Sir Keir Starmer said: “It’s a serious point, because whether it should be judge-led was looked at by Louise Casey and she decided against that for a reason.

"And her reasons were twofold. The first was the speed with which we could do this. The second is really important and that is at the same time as the inquiry I was absolutely determined that criminal investigations would go on at the same time.

“One of the problems that judge-led inquiries run into, I’ve seen and experienced this myself, is they’re often held back until the end of the criminal investigations and I was determined that we were going to be able to run the two together.”

Defending Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips from calls for her to resign, Sir Keir added: “I respect the views of all the survivors and there are different views, I accept that.

"But the safeguarding minister has probably more experience than any other person in this House in dealing with violence against women and girls.

“Alongside her will be Louise Casey. These two individuals have spent decades standing up for those who have been sexually abused and exploited and I absolutely think they’re the right thing to take this people.”

Keir Starmer accused of grooming gangs cover-up in fiery spat with Kemi Badenoch

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of covering up the grooming gangs scandal in a fiery spat with Kemi Badenoch.

The Tory leader said: “He says that he wants survivors to be at the heart of this but in his first PMQs this year he said we did not need a national inquiry and when he did all of these MPs cheered, they were nodding their heads including the safeguarding minister.

“They voted against the national inquiry three times so the victims don’t believe them. They can say ‘no’ as much as they like, it is on the record.

"They don’t like it but it’s true. Now one of the victims has quit. Contrary to what the Prime Minister has just said, and what the Home Secretary wrote this morning, they believe that the inquiry will downplay the racial and religious motivations behind their abuse. Aren’t the victims right when they call it a cover-up?”

The Prime Minister replied: “Let me reassure the victims and the House that the scope of the inquiry will not be diluted and we won’t shy away from cultural or religious issues.

"It was me who commissioned Baroness Casey in the first place [...] In the four months since then, we have finalised the panel and are trying to get the leadership of this inquiry right with survivors at the heart.

“In that period we have also reopened 1,200 historic closed cases. I have long argued the criminal route where it can be pursued is the right route for perpetrators. We have introduced mandatory reporting for child sex abuse.”

Kemi Badenoch gives rape gangs survivor first question at PMQs

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has given her first question at Prime Minister's Questions to a survivor of the rape gangs scandal.

Mrs Badenoch said: “Four victims on the rape gangs survivors’ panel have resigned and they’ve resigned because they’ve lost all confidence in the Government’s inquiry. So I’m giving my first question to one of them, to Fiona."

She added: ‘Being dismissed and contradicted by a minister when you’re telling the truth takes you right back to that feeling of not being believed all over again’. Fiona’s question is simple. What’s the point in speaking up if we’re just going to be called liars?”

Sir Keir replied: “Can I thank her for raising that on behalf of Fiona? The grooming scandal was one of the worst scandals of all time. Women and girls were abused and exploited by predatory gangs of men and survivors have been ignored for many years including by the state that is of course supposed to protect them."

Keir Starmer faces heated PMQs showdown over grooming gangs panel

Sir Keir Starmer has faced a heated line of questioning today over Labour's handling of the grooming gangs scandal.

It comes as four survivors have resigned from the Home Office’s Survivor Liaison Panel in protest over how the inquiry was being handled earlier this week.

Sir Keir assured MPs that the inquiry will "never be watered down" as he addressed the criticism.

PM swats away concerns about 'misguided' digital ID

The Prime Minister has dismissed Ros Savage's concerns about digital ID.

In an early exchange at this week's PMQs, Sir Keir was asked: “I regret to inform the House that yesterday there was a very, very serious breach of national security when my PMQ was photographed heading into No 10 through a transparent folder.

“However the nation can rest easy, on this occasion no state secrets were revealed. However, it does make me wonder whether this Government can be trusted with a digital ID scheme that is mandatory in all but name.

“I like to keep the Prime Minister on his toes. Will the Prime Minister reverse this misguided scheme or will he persist with a plan that makes all our personal data vulnerable to hacks and attacks?”

Sir Keir replied: “The whole point of digital ID is that you can’t see it. It is important that we make access to public services as easy as possible for people and we all know of the difficulties that so many people have accessing services.

“Digital ID has been shown in other countries to help. I do think this is an important step forward, I do think it’s very important as part of our plan to tackle those who are entering our country illegally.”

Keir Starmer lauds bravery of Claire Throssell

Sir Keir Starmer has lauded the bravery of Claire Throssell at the opening of today's Prime Minister's Questions.

Ms Throssell’s sons Jack, 12, and Paul, nine, died in a house fire started by her ex-husband Darren Sykes in October 2014.

Sir Keir said: “Claire’s bravery and her campaign is humbling and today I’m pleased we can announce that we will repeal the presumption of parental involvement, putting children’s safety first.”

Lindsay Hoyle delivers surprising sporting message ahead of PMQs showdown

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle started Prime Minister's Questions with a surprising sporting message.

Sir Lindsay, an avid rugby league fan, welcomed the return of the Ashes series between England and Australia.

The Commons Speaker pointed out that the Ashes series has not been contested on English soil for more than two decades.

England face Australia in the first test at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

Keir Starmer heads to Commons for PMQs showdown

Sir Keir Starmer is preparing for a likely grooming gangs grilling from Kemi Badenoch.

The Prime Minister is expected to come under pressure from the Leader of the Opposition after four rape gang victims quit a panel advising the national inquiry over fears survivors had been silenced.

Mrs Badenoch had accused Labour of "sabotaging" the grooming gangs inquiry.

"Many will now suspect Labour is sabotaging the Grooming Gangs inquiry and deliberately dragging it out beyond the next election," she said.

Zack Polanski unveils three Labour defectors as Greens ramp up attacks on Keir Starmer

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has unveiled three Labour defectors ahead of Prime Minister's Questions.

The London Assembly Member, who has overseen a steady rise in support in the polls, met with the three former Labour councillors in Swindon.

He said: "The Green Party is having a moment now.

"Since I was elected a month ago, our membership has increased now by 85 to 90 per cent.

"It's going up a few thousand every single day - we've just hit 130,000 members."

Taking aim at Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Polanski added: "Very often it doesn't feel like anybody is leading the Labour Party."

Who's grilling the PM? The full list of MPs speaking at PMQs revealed

Scottish independence plan is a 'win for Vladimir Putin', Labour Minister claims

The SNP’s push to remove the UK’s nuclear deterrent from an independent Scotland would be a “gift to Putin”, a defence minister has warned.

Luke Pollard criticised the plan—announced by First Minister John Swinney earlier this month—saying it would seriously undermine national security and be welcomed in Moscow.

“This isn’t just bad policy—it’s dangerous,” said Mr Pollard. “Scrapping the nuclear deterrent tears apart our defences at a time when threats are growing. It’s exactly what Putin wants to see.”

He argued that Britain’s Trident system remains one of the few military assets the Kremlin truly fears, and warned that abandoning it was not a “credible position” in today’s volatile global climate.

Pollard also accused SNP ministers of disrespecting the “dedication and sacrifice” of Royal Navy submariners who operate the deterrent, saying their efforts had been “effectively attacked” by the Scottish Government’s stance.

Britain receives migrant crisis olive branch as ally offers to become UK return hub

Britain has been extended a migrant crisis olive branch as Kosovo's Prime Minister has said he "wants to help the UK" by offering to accept the UK's rejected asylum seekers.

Albin Kurti said he wants to help Britain combat illegal immigration in return for more support to strengthen its national security against Serbian and Russian threats.

Mr Kurti spoke before a summit of Western Balkan leaders, hosted by Sir Keir in London on Wednesday, where he said talks were ongoing between British and Kosovo officials.

The move makes Kosovo the first country to express its interest in Sir Keir's plan to establish a series of return hubs where rejected asylum seekers would be sent after they have exhausted all avenues of appeal in the UK.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Lib Dems: Rachel Reeves keeps sitting on her hands

The Liberal Democrats have told Chancellor Rachel Reeves to take more action after inflation held at 3.8 per cent.

“The Government can’t keep sitting on its hands - thoughts and prayers won’t fix this," the Liberal Democrats' Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said.

“As families look on at the ever increasing costs of food bills, energy bills, children’s school uniforms and more, the winter is looking very expensive and very bleak.

“Ministers need to roll up their sleeves and set out a proper plan to slash energy bills, tackle food prices by backing our farmers, cut red tape for business, and boost jobs by scrapping the damaging jobs tax.”

Mel Stride issues tax warning as inflation holds at 3.8 per cent

Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride has issued a tax warning after inflation held at 3.8 per cent.

Sir Mel said: “Inflation remains at almost double the Bank of England’s two per cent target because of Rachel Reeves’ decisions – pushing up the cost of living and punishing those Labour promised to protect.

“This financial year Labour have borrowed £100billion because they do not have the backbone to reduce spending.

"Combined with her £25billion Jobs Tax, Rachel Reeves is pushing inflation higher and higher.

“Starmer and Reeves do not have the backbone to sort this mess out.

"Only the Conservatives have the plan and the strong team to break the doom loop and ease the cost of living by delivering £47billion in savings and bringing inflation under control – delivering a stronger economy.’

Inflation SHOCK as CPI rate remains at 3.8% for third month is a row

Inflation for the 12 months to September 2025 remained at 3.8 per cent, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This is the same level reported for the consumer price index (CPI) rate over recent recent months and is nearly double the Bank of England's desired target for inflation.

Previous forecasts had estimated inflation would rise to four per cent, which means today's figures offer slight relief for inflation for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to deal with ahead of November 26's Autumn Budget.

In the wake of the Covidi-19 pandemic, households have been forced to content with inflation-hiked prices for goods and services amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE