Keir Starmer hit by defection deluge as five swap Labour for Green Party

Zack Polanski and Green Party ready to 'bury' Labour

Zack Polanski has said the Green Party is ready to "bury" Labour at local elections, after five London councillors defected to his party.

The party leader told a press conference in Wembley that they were more concerned about stopping Reform than growing larger than Labour, due to their increasing unpopularity.

He said: “I think [Labour] are broken, and I think we’re ready to bury them.

“I think the real challenge really is, how do we make sure people don’t pick up on the politics of hate and division that Reform are offering?”

Former cabinet member, Harbi Farah, and a former whip, Iman Ahmadi-Moghaddam, Mary Mitchell, Tony Ethapemi, and Erica Gbajumo are the five to defect to the Greens.

Councillors Farah, Moghaddam, Ethapemi and Gbajumo were said to have been deselected as Labour candidates earlier this year.

Intruder slips past guards to breach Houses of Parliament in broad daylight

Westminster security is undergoing a major inquest after an intruder broke into the Houses of Parliament in broad daylight.

The incident has raised serious questions about lawmakers’ safety after the individual was able to slip past armed police and round-the-clock guards.

The man gained access by climbing over the roof of the Parliamentary Education Centre on the southern side of the palace, per the Mail.

He is then understood to have made it as the Cholmondeley Room, a reception venue within the House of Lords, without being apprehended.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Downing Street say doctor strikes are 'self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous'

Downing Street accused the British Medical Association of being “self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous" after doctors voted to go ahead with their five-day walkout this week, despite a new offer on the table from the Government.

A No10 spokesman said: "This decision to go ahead with those strikes at this precise point reveals the shocking disregard the BMA has for patient safety and indeed for other NHS staff.

"These strikes are unnecessary, they’re self-indulgent, they’re irresponsible and they’re dangerous.

"Our offer would have halved competition for jobs and put more money in resident doctors’ pockets, but the BMA has again rejected it because it doesn’t meet their ask of a further 26 per cent pay rise.

"Resident doctors have already had a 28.9 per cent pay rise. There is no justification for striking just because this fantasy demand has not been met."

Sir Keir Starmer also condemned the strike action, saying he is "very gutted" medics voted to go ahead with the "irresponsible" walkout, pleading with the BMA to "push back against" the union.

Conservatives say they would 'ban strike action' as doctors vote to continue five-day walkout

Shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew told MPs that the Conservatives "would ban strike action", as doctors vote to go ahead with their planned five-day walkout this week despite a new offer from the Government.

Mr Andrew said: "Delayed discharges are worsening – 19,000 more bed days have been lost this year.

"Still, there is no winter discharge plan, no new funding and no clarity, and today, yes, resident doctors confirmed further strike action next week that will add pressure to the system already under significant strain.

"And that is why we would ban strike action.

"But at the same time, this Government is literally making it easier for unions through their Employment Rights Bill. When the NHS is under this level of pressure, families deserve the reassurance that care will be there when they need it.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the Commons in response: "I will ignore the political nonsense about banning strikes and clamping down on trade unions."

The British Medical Association said 83 per cent of its members had voted to continue with the walkout in an online poll over the weekend.

Briefings against cabinet ministers 'completely unacceptable', says PM as he pledges to 'get to bottom' of Budget leak

Sir Keir Starmer said briefings against cabinet ministers are "completely unacceptable" and pledged to "get to the bottom" of the leak of Rachel Reeves's Budget.

The Prime Minister told MPs: "Briefing against cabinet ministers is completely unacceptable whether that is from No10 or anywhere else and I have made that repeatedly clear to my staff, to the cabinet and I am putting in place a number of procedures where there have been such allegations to give me a level of assurance that it has not happened in relation to direct briefings against ministers and members of the cabinet."

When quizzed on the leak of the Chancellor's Budget last month, he said: "In relation to that incident there is a leak inquiry going on so that will go where the evidence takes us. I have no reason to think there was a leak from No10."

"I will get to the bottom of these leaks, they are in any organisation intolerable," he added.

Sir Keir Starmer says Britain will 'use all powers' to ensure Jewish communities are safe following Bondi Beach attack 

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to use "all powers" to ensure Jewish communities in Britain are safe as he acknowledge the Bondi Beach attack was not an “isolated incident”.

The Prime Minister told MPs sitting at a Liaison Committee: "It has impacted not just in Australia, but across the globe, and it has impacted on Jewish communities here in the United Kingdom that I know feel even more insecure today than they did before yesterday.”

He added: “This is clearly not an isolated incident, and these incidents are chillingly focused on some of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar.

“And of course, we have in our minds, Heaton Park here in the United Kingdom in October, and I want to reassure our Jewish communities here in the United Kingdom that we will take every step that we can, use all of our powers to make sure they’re safe and secure as they should be in the United Kingdom.”

Labour urge Nigel Farage to sack mayoral candidate who told David Lammy to 'go home' to Caribbean 

Labour have urged Nigel Farage to sack one of his party’s mayoral candidates, after it emerged he had said deputy prime minister David Lammy should “go home” to the Caribbean.

Reform UK MP Danny Kruger said it was up to the party’s leadership to decide whether to continue supporting Chris Parry, who was chosen to run as the party’s candidate in the Hampshire and the Solent mayoral election.

Mr Kruger also suggested he was technically not the candidate at the moment, because the election in which he is due to stand is among those postponed until 2028.

Mr Parry posted on X earlier this year that Mr Lammy, who was born in London to Guyanese parents, should “go home to the Caribbean” where his “loyalty lies”.

Mr Kruger said he could not comment without knowing the “context” but called Mr Parry a “distinguished public servant” and said it was “good to have his support for Reform”.

Labour said it was “staggering” that Mr Farage has not taken any action and that there is no “context” that can excuse “telling a black British man from London to ‘go home to the Caribbean'”.

WATCH: Kemi Badenoch says the west is 'becoming less safe for Jewish people' as she slammed 'disgusting' Bondi Beach attack

Resident doctors to strike ahead of Christmas after rejecting latest Government offer amid surging number of flu cases 

Resident doctors in England will stage a five-day strike after voting to reject the latest offer from the Government on working conditions, the British Medical Association (BMA) union has said.

The doctors' union - which represents resident doctors who are qualified practicians making up nearly half of the medical workforce - will stage a walkout from Wednesday until December 22 as part of a series of strike actions that have taken place earlier this year over pay and working conditions.

It comes amid growing pressure on the NHS as flu cases in hospitals are at a record level for this time of year.

NHS England aid hospitals were facing the “worst case scenario” after flu cases jumped by more than 55 per cent in a week.

Sir Keir Starmer last week called the BMA "irresponsible" over the proposed strikes.

Rachel Reeves handed major blow as key adviser leaves after just four months 

A leading lawyer appointed by Rachel Reeves to advise on Labour's proposed planning law reforms is set to leave her post after four months.

Catherine Howard, who was appointed by the Chancellor in September, will leave the role when her term is up on January 1.

Her departure will go ahead despite informal requests to stay on in the job, The Guardian reports.

Ms Howard was appointed to advise Ms Reeves to help drive through the Government's planning overhaul as part of its Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

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Rishi Sunak tells Covid inquiry there was no 'playbook' to deal with pandemics 

Rishi Sunak said there was no "playbook" to deal with pandemics but the impact on jobs was "considerably better" than originally forecast, as he gave evidence at the Covid inquiry.

The former prime minister, who was chancellor during the height of the pandemic, said there was an “enormous amount of uncertainty” about the virus.

He told the inquiry: “There wasn’t a toolkit – there was not a playbook that you could pull off the shelf to say this is how you tend to deal with pandemics, in the same way you somewhat have with other economic or financial shocks."

Mr Sunak said his initial understanding was that there would be a temporary economic shock lasting “several weeks to a few months”.

The former PM said while it was not possible "to save every person's job" but acknowledged the impact on employment was “considerably better than what anyone had forecast at the early stages of the pandemic”.

The coronavirus job retention scheme, known as furlough, was announced my Mr Sunak in March 2020.

WATCH: Labour minister refuses to confirm if inmates mistakenly released from prison are still at large

Danny Kruger: Reform would boost bonus pot to reward high performing civil servants by £400million and scrap work-from-home policies 

Danny Kruger said Reform will invest an additional £400million into a bonus pot to reward high performing civil servants.

He said: "We want to make Whitehall a rewarding place to work and one that attracts the best talent.

"We want to hire and retain good people and we recognise the great work that many officials do.

"We want them to feel valued and properly rewarded so that means retaining expertise within a subject area so that we grow real experience and knowledge in each domain of government.

"It means paying good people more than they get at the moment with proper rewards for performance."

He added that Reform would reduce pension entitlements in favour of higher wages for civil servants and scrap work-from-home policies.

Reform will save taxpayers £5.2million a year by slashing 68,000 civil service jobs - Danny Kruger 

Reform UK would cut the number of civil servants by 68,500 if it won the next election, Danny Kruger has said.

Mr Kruger told a press conference: “I can announce today that a Reform government will reduce the number of FTE (full time equivalent) civil servants by 68,500 roles, cutting the salary bill by 17 per cent and saving the taxpayer £5.2billion a year.

“That’s £4billion in averted salary costs, which will be realised within two years, and £1billion in averted pension contributions that will be realised in the years ahead."

Civil service is 'over staffed, badly led and under performing', Danny Kruger says

Danny Kruger has pledged "change is coming" as he described Britain's civil service system as being "over staffed, badly led and under performing".

The East Wiltshire MP said: "Beyond the responsible parties though the immediate cause of our problems isn't the politicians, it is the systems they are supposed to be in charge of."

"Over the last 30 years under Labour and the Conservatives, power has drained away from Parliament - to quangos, to the EU, to so-called operationally independent public servants, to parts of the civil service so obscure and complicated that ministers don't even know that they are there," he added.

"There has been a failure of political leadership and a civil service machine that is over-staffed, badly led and under-performing. My message today is to the civil servants - change is coming."

Danny Kruger declares Britain 'in crisis' as he delivers speech on Reform's plans for civil service

Danny Kruger is delivering a speech on Reform UK's plans for the civil service.

He began his speech by declaring Britain "is in crisis".

The Reform MP added: "We have become inured to that word and the fact is our underlying strengths do remain.

"We are resilient and optimistic people with some incredible companies, some lovely communities and our institutions are still the envy and emulation of the world.

"But just consider, we are literally almost defenceless, we have next to no missile defence, not enough ammunition to sustain a war for more than a week.

"Socially, we have a deeply divided country and epidemics of physical and mental ill health and we have millions of people parked on welfare with a totally unsustainable bill for the shrinking base of taxpayers to carry."

New MI6 chief to warn of growing threats from Russia in first major speech

The new head of MI6 will warn in her first major public speech of the growing threat of Russia and the need for spies to master technology to deal with increasingly complex threats.

Blaise Metreweli will say the “front line is everywhere” as she sets out her understanding of the global security landscape in a speech at the headquarters of Britain’s foreign intelligence service.

Ms Metreweli, appointed head of MI6 in June, is expected to speak of the threat posed by an “aggressive, expansionist and revisionist” Russia.

She will say: “Putin should be in no doubt, our support is enduring. The pressure we apply on Ukraine’s behalf will be sustained.

“The export of chaos is a feature, not a bug, in the Russian approach to international engagement, and we should be ready for this to continue until Putin is forced to change his calculus.”

Threats from across the globe are increasingly intricate, the spy chief will say, including sabotage, technological disruption, and disinformation.

But she will insist the UK is already working to harness technology to tackle them.

WATCH: 'Time is running out': Lib Dems call for new winter discharge unit to tackle number of patients waiting to leave hospital over Christmas

Labour admits it has 'not yet' got a grip on small boats crisis 

Shabana Mahmood admitted the Government has "not yet" tackled Britain's small boats crisis.

More than 700 migrants crossed the English Channel on Saturday, bringing the total for the year so far to 40,029.

When asked if Labour had turned the tide on the issue, the Home Secretary told Sky News: "Not yet."

"We are working very closely with our partners in France particularly in the north of France. But actually further upstream in Europe as well," she added.

"The work that we are doing with law enforcement in France has already stopped 20,000 crossings.

"In fact, even yesterday when we saw the change in weather led to people successfully making the crossing again there were disruptive methods and they did stop some of those boats."

The Birmingham Ladywood MP admitted she faced a "difficult challenge".

WATCH: Conservatives to drop plans to ban new petrol and diesel cars 

Father Christmas would vote for the Greens, new poll suggests

Nearly a third of voters think Father Christmas would back the Green Party if a general election was to be held tomorrow, according to a new poll.

The YouGov poll of more than 2,000 voters concluded that Santa would support Zack Polanski's party in an election - while Ebenezer Scrooge would put his weight behind Reform UK.

Even 20 per cent of Labour voters who took part in the poll agreed Mr Clause would vote for the Greens instead of Sir Keir Starmer for a second term, The Times reports.

27 per cent of Conservative voters meanwhile thought Santa would back the Tories, while almost half of Reform voters believed he would back Nigel Farage.

Nigel Farage reveals plans to slash thousands of civil service jobs to tackle 'Whitehall bloat' 

Nigel Farage has promised to axe thousands of civil service jobs if his party is elected in a plan to save £5billion of taxpayer cash.

The Reform UK leader has pledged to slash 68,000 civil service jobs to end the "Whitehall bloat" and increase the pay-related bonus pot for top civil servants to incentivise staff, The Sun reports.

The Clacton MP said: "This is a radical plan to modernise, streamline and incentivise the civil service.

“Giving huge benefits to the public finances and the operational effectiveness of those overseeing our vital public services."