Nigel Farage has told his newly-elected Reform UK councillors that they will not attend any "DEI and climate change training."
The party took control of 10 local authorities in England at last week’s local elections, including Durham, Lancashire and Staffordshire.
Now, the Clacton MP has said his councillors will not attend any training sessions related to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) and climate change.
Farage wrote on social media: "Reform UK councillors are being instructed to take part in DEI and climate change training. Our new elected officials will do no such thing because we believe all people should be treated equally.
It comes just hours after top brass at the party clashed with local MPs over what flags could be flown over the new Reform-controlled councils.
Reform chairman Zia Yusuf had said on Monday that "Reform-controlled English councils will move at speed to resolve that the only flags permitted to be flown on or in its buildings will be the Union Jack and St George’s flag."
Chris Webb, Labour MP for Blackpool South, said Reform was off to "a great start" by "banning" the Lancashire rose from flying. Dover MP Mike Tapp accused Reform of banning the Ukrainian flag from being flown, and called on the party to reverse the decision.
A Reform spokesman later said: "Reform UK will proudly fly the Union Jack, St George’s flag and county flags. Unlike the Tories and Labour, we are proud of our country and history."
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Wes Streeting has branded Commons leader Lucy Powell's remarks about grooming gangs as "indefensible" following widespread backlash.
Speaking to GB News, the Health Secretary said: "The comments that Lucy made were indefensible, and she's not defending those comments."
He added that Powell is "mortified" about her comments made during a BBC Radio 4 programme.
Labour is preparing for a direct military attack from Russia following concerns Britain is not ready for war. A request has been made to update a set of contingency plans that would put the UK on a war footing after threats of attack by the Kremlin.
The Telegraph reports ministers are concerned British armed forces would not be able to cope against Russia and its allies, both on the battlefield and at home.
A classified "homeland defence plan", which has not been updated since 2005, will lay down a strategy for the immediate response to any attack on Britain.
A Government spokesman told The Telegraph: "The UK has robust plans in place for a range of potential emergencies that have been developed and tested over many years."
FirstMinister of WalesBaronessElunedMorgan prepared to criticise Sir Keir Starmer’s administration as Welsh Labour is already preparing for its own showdown with Reform next year.
In a speech marking one year to the 2026 Senedd election, the Welsh Labour leader will say that she "will not hesitate to challenge from within", with the welfare squeeze thought to be a particular concern.
Speaking in Cardiff on Tuesday, Baroness Morgan will tell supporters: "Where we disagree we’ll say it, where we see unfairness we’ll stand up to it.
"When Westminster makes decisions that we think will harm Welsh communities, we will not stay silent. I will not hesitate to challenge from within, even when it means shaking things up and disrupting the comfortable."
Mike Amesbury stood down from his Runcorn & Helsby seatPADisgraced former Labour MP Mike Amesbury has broken his silence on the results of the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, saying he was "disappointed" by the results.
Amesbury's resignation as an MP in March triggered the by-election which Reform UK stole off Labour by just six votes.
He said: "I am really disappointed, obviously it has been a difficult few months myself. It has been like being buried alive. I am in a position through my own fault, my own mistakes. But that was to add to the difficulties of that result [Runcorn], which was reflected unfortunately throughout the country."
Asked if he felt guilty, he added: "The constituents of Durham, or up and down the country, didn't vote how they did because of my mistake."
Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Kevin Hollinrake has described Wes Streeting's NHS investment as "nonsense."
The Health Secretary announced an extra £100million for GP surgeries which will be used for extra consultation rooms and refurbishments, raised from a rise in National Insurance Contributions.
However, Hollinrake hit back, accusing Streeting of lying in the party's manifesto.
Streeting wrote on social media: "Today we’re investing £100 million in the NHS to deliver millions more GP appointments. Only possible because of the NICs rise, which every other party opposed. The choice is between Labour investment in the NHS vs cuts with the Tories and Reform."
Hollinrake responded saying: "Nonsense, you could have got more people back to work through welfare reform (saving £12bn pa), you could have returned the public sector to its pre-covid levels of efficiency (£30bn+ pa). Instead, you lied that you had a fully costed, fully funded manifesto then whacked up taxes (£40bn pa)."
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch joins Second World War veterans
Reuters
Conservative MPs are meeting this week to discuss how to oust Kemi Badenoch as party leader.
Two senior backbenchers have confirmed to The Independent that they are calling meetings to discuss how to overthrow Badenoch, with one saying "we cannot continue as we are."
It comes after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said his party has overtaken the Conservatives as the main opposition to Labour as it won 676 seats and overall control of 10 councils.
One Conservative MP told The Independent: "These results were actually worse than last year’s general election. We have somehow gone backwards."
Another senior Tory MP said: "She is talking as though we have lots of time to turn things around. We do not. It may even be too late already. She has left a huge space for Nigel Farage to fill."
Labour is rethinking its controversial winter fuel cuts amid Reform's roaring success at the polls last week.
MPs have even started to fear that the party's stance on the payments could cost them the next election, The Guardian has claimed.
Discussions reportedly had started since before last week's local elections which saw Labour losing ground to Nigel Farage's Reform UK.
Sir Keir Starmer's top team is now searching for ways to calm simmering tensions as Labour MPs increasingly sound the alarm over the controversial move made shortly after the Labour leader was handed the keys to No10.
It is claimed plans could include raising the £11,500 threshold when pensioners are no longer able to collect the payment, although a full U-turn is not expected.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage during a visit to The Big Club in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham
PA
Nigel Farage's Local Elections victory coincided with a 10,000-strong membership boost which could bring Reform UK a step closer to overtaking Labour, new GB News analysis has revealed.
Reform UK now counts just over 230,000 Britons in its growing grassroots club, just 79,000 behind Labour's 309,000 signed-up support base.
The figure is now around 100,000 more than Kemi Badenoch's grassroots Tory backers, a milestone that resulted in a Boxing Day bust-up last Christmas.
Wes Streeting said that new funding to upgrade one in six of England’s GP surgery buildings will "start moving general practice in the right direction."
Speaking on GB News this morning, he said: "One of the messages we heard loud and clear from GPs is that the state of their buildings isn’t good enough. Often, the constraining factor isn’t just money, it’s also about where they’ve got the consultation rooms.
"What we’re announcing today is the funding just over £100 million to upgrade 1,000 GP practices across England, roughly one in six, and it means with the extra space created, we could deliver up to eight million extra GP appointments a year.
"So if you are one of those people that will be on the phone at eight o’clock this morning after the bank holiday, kind of screaming down the phone trying to get through with frustration – all of these things we are doing (will) start moving general practice in the right direction.
"I can’t solve all of the problems in general practice in one year, but whether it’s recruiting more GPs or upgrading their practices, this is how we fix the front door to the NHS so that people can get a GP appointment when they need one."
Health Secretary Wes Streeting spoke to GB News this morning about Labour's response to the local election results
Streeting said he wanted to "reassure viewers" over their results last week, where the party had major losses to Reform UK.
He said: "Voters have sent us a very loud and clear message."
