Labour's Deputy Leader has issued a dire warning to plotters within the party not to start a "bloody internal contest" after the local elections.
Lucy Powell warned party members would take a very "dim view" of any leadership challenge at a time when Sir Keir Starmer was dealing with momentous issues.
The Manchester Central MP admitted Labour was facing "difficult" elections on May 7, being squeezed in the polls by Reform UK and the Greens, she said the party needed raise its game and to remind people what the Labour government was doing and who it was trying to help.
Mrs Powell, a key ally of Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, told the FT: "I think we’ve been too shy about some of the radical things we have been doing.
"People want us to sharpen up, get more political, tell the story much more strongly and take the fight to our political opponents."
In a veiled swipe at the Prime Minister, she suggested the party had failed to persuade voters that this was "a Labour government, doing Labour things".
While Mrs Powell admitted Sir Keir was getting a good reception on the doorstep for his handling of the Iran war, she said the party's focus now needed to be on issues including the cost of living, housing and security in work.
She added: "Some kind of messy, bloody internal contest is not going to help us address those issues."
Asked if Labour members wanted a leadership contest, she added: "I think the membership would take a very dim view of that."
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Labour minister slaps down suggestion British armed forces are 'on their knees'
Defence Procurement Minister Luke Pollard spoke to The People's Channel this morning
|GB NEWS
A Labour minister has rejected the claims that the British armed forces are "on their knees" as he took a swipe at opposition politicians.
Defence Procurement Minister Luke Pollard told GB News: "I don't subscribe to this talking down of our armed forces that we're seeing from sone figures in the media and some politicians.
"The PM is right when he says we're being buffeted by international events.
"We're keeping our efforts focused on addressing the cost of living and getting the Strait of Hormuz open again."
Bank of England warns of 2008-style financial crash as Iran conflict decimates British economy
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has warned that the conflict in Iran could trigger a financial crisis similar to the 2008 meltdown.
Mr Bailey said turmoil in the $3trillion private credit sector, equivalent to around £2.2trillion, could spread across the global economy.
Speaking on Thursday in his role as Financial Stability Board chairman, he said Britain is already facing an energy shock alongside volatility in debt markets.
Our money reporter Joe Sledge has the full story here.
Huge £31billion investment in Britain is pulled over Labour's red tape and 'mad Net Zero agenda'
A £31billion investment in Britain has been pulled because of high energy costs and Labour's red tape.
The project, named Stargate UK, was intended to build a large data centre in northeast England and make thousands of powerful chips for AI development.
OpenAI, behind the massive investment push, has now said it will only move forward with the cash when the "right conditions" in the UK are in place.
At the moment, regulation and energy costs left "long-term infrastructure investment" off the table, it warned.
Our reporter Peter Stevens has the full story here.
Scottish Tory leader says Greens are 'more extreme' than Reform UK
The Scottish Greens are more extreme than Reform UK, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives has said.
Russell Findlay attacked the left-wing party after one of its candidates in the Holyrood election backed the abolition of prisons.
He also accused the party of wanting to "effectively" legalise heroin and crack cocaine, while Mr Findlay also accused the SNP of having a "bitter streak of Anglophobia".
He said he disagreed with Reform’s claim that Scotland was "at breaking point", but added that "uncontrolled mass migration" was putting pressure on public services.
Asked which other Scottish party he considered the most extreme, he said: "It’s a tough question. I genuinely think the Greens, if you just look at some of what they are proposing.
"Just this week, we’ve had a senior candidate who may well end up in Holyrood saying we should abolish prisons. That would mean murderers and rapists aren’t locked up.
"It is their policy that heroin and crack cocaine should be effectively legalised, which would cause further devastation and drugs deaths in Scotland."
Police in London and Manchester given extra £5m following Golders Green attack
The aftermath of the incident in Golders Green
| GETTYPolice in London and Manchester are to be given an extra £5million to pay for more patrols around places of worship, the Home Office has said.
Security minister Dan Jarvis said the money would help "keep people safe in the places where they live, work and worship".
The funding uplift follows an alleged arson attack in Golders Green, north-west London, where four Jewish community ambulances were set alight last month, and a terror attack on a synagogue in Manchester last October.
It will go towards Project Servator deployments, involving specialist officers who are trained to spot suspects who might be preparing to commit serious crimes.
More than 20 people have already been arrested on suspicion of antisemitic hate crimes, as part of a separate Metropolitan Police effort to crack down on hate crimes after the incident in Golders Green.
Mr Jarvis said: "At a time of heightened concern for some communities, it is vital that we step up our support.
"Project Servator has a proven track record of stopping criminals and terrorists through highly visible, unpredictable deployments that vary in time and location, deterring those planning harm and reassuring the public.
"This new funding will back the police with the resources they need to step up patrols, protect communities, and keep people safe in the places where they live, work and worship."
Here's what's happening today in Westminster and beyond...
Good morning and Happy Friday from all of us on the GB News Politics team. Here's what's happening today in Westminster and beyond...
Shabana Mahmood has been told to tear up Labour’s "one-in, one-out" deal as new exclusive analysis by GB News exposes how more than 21,100 migrants ignored warnings about being transferred to France in the first seven months of the pilot scheme. Our Deputy News Editor Jack Walters has the full story here.
Sir Keir Starmer held a phone call with Donald Trump last night, just hours after the Prime Minister said he was "fed up" with the US President and Vladimir Putin. You can read the full write up from our reporter Fintan Starkey here,
Elsewhere, Defence Secretary John Healey is due to open the London Defence Conference where he'll be answering questions about the UK's response to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage will launch his party's local election slogan "Vote Reform. Get Starmer Out."
Green leader Zack Polanski, who had his own similar "Vote Green. Let’s Make Hope Normal Again" slogan launched yesterday, is facing calls from senior party figures not to alienate the party’s traditional environmental base with issues including the Israel-Palestine conflict and LGBT+ rights.
Meanwhile Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey will begin the last day of his Red Wall tour with a rally in the Midlands.
North of the border, the Holyrood campaign is ramping up with Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar launching his party’s battle bus at 10am in Glasgow, with his Conservative counterpart Russell Findlay also in the city where he’ll be accusing the SNP of wasting taxpayer money.
First Minister John Swinney is in Inverness today, announcing out a package of measures that he says will support people into home ownership.
Parliament is back sitting on Monday and here on GB News this morning we'll be joined by Defence Procurement Minister Luke Pollard.