'Double standards!' Keir Starmer accused of 'betrayal' deal with Lib Dems over peerages
Landlord accuses Rachel Reeves of treating pubs as an 'easy target' |
GB NEWS
Check out all of today’s political coverage from GB News below
Don't Miss
Most Read
Trending on GB News
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of offering the Liberal Democrats peerages to back his controversial workers' rights bill.
Top Tories pointed the finger at Sir Ed Davey after Tuesday's vote in favour of several amendments to the legislation.
Just hours later, Sir Keir handed out several peerages, including five to the Liberal Democrats.
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith said: “On Monday, the Lib Dems were against Labour beefing up their (un)employment bill.
“Last night, they supported Labour. What changed? They were handed two extra peerages for their hereditary peers. A shameful betrayal of British business – they’re not on your side.”
Lord Jackson of Peterborough, a Conservative peer, added: “Yesterday, the Lib Dems about-turned to troop through the division lobbies with Labour in an attempt to stop Conservative amendments to protect British businesses.
“The very same day, the Prime Minister rewarded them with life peerages for their hereditary peers. The double standards on hereditary peers when it suits them stinks.”
However, the Liberal Democrats have insisted they offered their support after the Government pledged to carry out an impact assessment on an unlimited cap on tribunal payouts.
Despite the Liberal Democrats supporting the Government, Sir Keir suffered a defeat in the House of Lords.
No10 remains determined to pass the legislation before Christmas.
Green Party leader in Calias to pick up litter and refill water tanks for small boat migrants
Green Party leader Zack Ponalski was in Calais today helping pick up litter and refill water tanks for would-be small boat migrants.
He called on Britain to allow all prospective migrants to enter legally while condemning the “brutality” of conditions on the French coasts.
“At the moment, 5 per cent of Britain is built on,” Mr Polasnki said.
“We know that Germany is taking double the amount of people seeking asylum than we are, and France is taking more than we are too.
“So I think the first thing is to say it’s about taking a fair amount of people in proportion to other people,” he told The Times.
Britain’s 'symbolic' post-Brexit gesture to EU celebrated by Belgian PM during Starmer visit
The Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has celebrated Britain’s “symbolic” post-Brexit gesture to the EU as he was hosted by Keir Starmer at Downing Street.
“Our relationship with the UK is much older than the European Union. It goes back to the Middle Ages,” he said.
“You have always been our ally, always been our friend. There’s never been an English soldier in an unfriendly manner on our soil.”
The premier said he had been to the UK a few times but never since Brexit and that it was “symbolic” that “now, after Brexit” they were holding a meeting on “a lot of bilateral topics” including energy and security.
He and Sir Keir acknowledged that Europe was facing “very important decisions” over Ukraine in coming weeks.
Nigel Farage hails ‘fantastic victory’ following Reform’s shock triumph
Nigel Farage has hailed a “fantastic victory” after Reform UK won its first-ever seat in Scotland.
David McLennan was elected as a councillor for the Whitburn and Blackburn ward on West Lothian Council in an unexpected by-election triumph.
With 1,177 first preference votes, he came in ahead of the SNP, whose candidate polled 1,028, while Labour was third on 627.
“This is a fantastic victory for @ReformUKScot in a seat we were not expected to win,” Mr Farage wrote on X.
Mr McLennan described the result as a “vote of faith in Reform in Scotland”, claiming his party has “all the momentum in Scottish politics”.
He added: “I want to thank the people of Whitburn and Blackburn for putting their trust in me and in Reform.
“This is a clear signal from local residents that they want their community to take a new, positive direction,” the triumphant councillor declared.
Reform becomes UK's largest party after Labour membership collapses
Reform UK has overtaken Labour to become the largest political party in Britain after the number of Labour members slumped by 100,000.
Internal figures show the number of paid Labour members has fallen below 250,000 since the 2024 General Election.
Meanwhile, Reform UK's membership total stands at 268,703 on its live counter, just 12 months after overtaking the Tories on 131,680 on Boxing Day.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “As we have suspected for some time, Reform is now the largest political party in British politics — a huge milestone for us. The age of two-party politics is dead.”
Reform UK secures first by-election win in Scotland
Reform UK has secured its first by-election win in Scotland.
Nigel Farage's party claimed victory in the West Lothian ward of Whitburn & Blackburn.
Reform UK ended up with 32 per cent of the vote, four per cent more than the SNP.
Meanwhile, Labour's support halved to just 17.1 per cent.
No10: Growth is our number one priority
No10 has confirmed growth remains Sir Keir Starmer's number one priority despite the ONS revealing the economy shrank in October.
"We continue to push through our planning reforms - those measures are part of our manifesto of change," a Downing Street spokesman said.
"A process to go through and that continues. Default yes for developments around stations."
Rachel Reeves handed scathing assessment by top Tory as UK economy shrinks: 'Really bad news!'
Rachel Reeves has been handed a damning assessment by the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, as the latest ONS figures revealed the UK's GDP has shrunk.
Speaking to GB News, Richard Fuller declared the latest economic figures are "really bad news" for the Chancellor.
In figures confirmed by the ONS this morning, Britain's economy contracted by 0.1 per cent during October, extending a troubling pattern of stagnation that has persisted since June.
This marks the third straight month without expansion, following September's identical 0.1 per cent decline and flat performance in August.
Delivering his blunt verdict of the state of Britain's economy, Mr Fuller told GB News: "It's bad. It's really, really bad news.
"Seriously. But I mean, what did the Chancellor think?"
Richard Tice delivers damning verdict on dire growth rates
Reform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice has delivered a damning verdict on Britain's direct growth rates.
In a short social media post, Mr Tice said: "Labour are killing jobs & industry Labour are making us poorer."
Tories blame Rachel Reeves for GDP slump - 'Economic mismanagement!'
Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride has blamed Rachel Reeves after the ONS this morning revealed a slump in GDP growth.
Sir Mel said: “This morning's news that the economy unexpectedly shrank in the three months to October is extremely concerning but it's as a direct result of Labour's economic mismanagement.
“Rachel Reeves promised growth but Labour has no plan for the economy - just their own survival, that's why Reeves presented a Benefits Budget that rewards welfare not work.
“For months, Rachel Reeves has misled the British public. She said she wouldn't raise taxes on working people - she broke that promise again. She insisted there was a black hole in the public finances - but there wasn't.”
UK economy SHRINKS by 0.1% as Rachel Reeves blamed for sparking panic ahead of Budget
The UK economy shrunk by 0.1 per cent in October, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Monthly GDP is estimated to have fallen following a fall of 0.1 per cent in September and no growth in August.
During the month, the services sector fell by 0.3 per cent, while construction was down 0.6 per cent. However, production grew by 1.1 per cent.
The ONS found that growth on a rolling three-month basis, to October, was down 0.1 per cent.
More From GB News