Politics LIVE: Trans Labour councillor QUITS and blasts Keir Starmer over Supreme Court gender ruling - 'Throwing trans people under a bus!'

UK must 'do-everything' to rebuild EU trade relationship as Bank of England governor slammed for 'trying to undermine our freedom'

The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has said the UK must do "everything we can" to rebuild trade with the EU.

Bailey told the BBC that the UK-US trade deal will be "beneficial" for closer ties with Europe and an effort to "rebuild" relationships with our neighbours.

He said: "It is important we do everything we can to ensure that whatever decisions are taken on the Brexit front do not damage the long-term trade position. So I hope that we can use this to start to rebuild that relationship."

In response, Reform UK MP Lee Anderson told GB News: "Andrew Bailey is the perfect example of a man putting his own interests and the interests of foreign governments before the British public. We fought hard for Brexit, and people like Andrew continue to undermine our independence, sovereignty, and freedom by pushing for greater dependence on the EU."

Chancellor Rachel Reeves backs policy for welfare reforms

Despite the anger from some Labour backbenchers, Rachel Reeves has backed her policy for welfare reforms.

Speaking to broadcasters, the chancellor said: "I don't think anybody, including Labour MPs and members, thinks that the current welfare system created by the Conservative Party is working today.

"They know that the system needs reform. We do need to reform how the welfare system works if we're going to grow our economy."

The chancellor explained the key to getting individuals out of poverty is "supporting people into work".

A letter was sent to Downing Street this week by more than 40 Labour MPs, stating the welfare reforms were "impossible to support".

Defence Secretary John Healey shares the priorities of the Strategic Defence Review

Defence Secretary John Healey spoke at the London Defence Conference 2025 and explained the priorities of the Strategic Defence Review.

Healey said: "I think everyone in this room can draw some obvious conclusions. Ukraine is a searing moment which is confronting us with lessons we have overlooked for too long.

"So the recognition that armed forces in a country are only as strong as the industry that stands behind them, if forced to fight or face conflict. So there will be a really powerful emphasis on the strength, resiliance and innovation of British industry."

Healey explained a second priority is "innovation" as the "nature of warfare is not just changing, but changing so rapidly in Ukraine".

He said: "This tells us that, for instance, six-year timelines for major defence procurements to get to contract, let alone production and delivery, simply can't continue.

"Our ability to innovate and upgrade continually has got to be a big part of the way we equip and make our armed forces ready to fight. And then you can't look at the nature of warfare now and say, 'Well, we can see the army doing this, and see the RAF doing that'.

"Absolutely, our armed forces have to be integrated, and how you do that is a big logistical, technical and digital challenge."

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Now I'm back in the ring, Sadiq Khan will pay for his £21bn refusal to keep Londoners safe - Susan Hall

Susan Hall shared her thoughts on returning as the Leader of City Hall Conservatives.

She said that with this position comes great responsibility - to be the voice of Londoners who have been let down, time and again, by Sadiq Khan's administration.

The resumption of business at City Hall marks a renewed focus on scrutinising the Mayor and his team.

READ HER FULL COLUMN HERE.

Starmer could deploy UK troops on European Union military missions

Keir Starmer could deploy British soldiers on European Union military missions as part of joining the bloc's rearmament programme.

Deployments have been shared in a leaked draft of the new defence and security partnership, the Telegraph reports.

The draft details that Starmer will consider sending British troops on "civilian missions and military operations and missions, upon the invitation of the EU".

The EU have been scrambling to boost armed forces funds, after Donald Trump's warning over a lack of defence spending.

Keir Starmer grants Donald Trump 'veto' over Chinese investment in Britain

Donald Trump has been handed "a veto" over Chinese investment in Britain, Government sources suggest.

It comes as the White House and Westminster reached a deal that would eliminate several planned tariffs between the nations.

Sir Keir Starmer said the "historic" deal would save thousands of jobs, while President Trump said "everybody benefits" from the deal, adding it was "a very big and exciting day".

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Kemi Badenoch calls on Labour to back her Deportation Bill

Kemi Badenoch has called on the Labour Party to back her Deportation Bill.

She said in a video posted on X: "From next year, two million immigrants could automatically claim British citizenship.

"That's nearly twice the population of Birmingham. We have introduced a deportation bill because we are committed to bring immigration down."

The leader of the Conservatives laid out a five-point plan in her Deportation Bill.

Starmer arrives in Oslo to announce sanctions on oil and gas exports

Sir Keir Starmer has arrived in Oslo, Norway and is due to make an announcement at a summit of north European leaders known as the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).

The PM has said the UK will do everything possible to "destroy" Russian President Vladimir Putin's "shadow fleet operation".

Starmer noted that action will be taken against up to 100 Russian oil tankers carrying more than £18billion worth of cargo.

Labour Minister claims US-UK trade deal will 'protect jobs and communities'

The Treasury's chief secretary, Darren Jones, spoke exclusively to GB News about his thoughts on the US-UK trade deal.

Jones said: "This is a good trade deal for the United Kingdom. It protects thousands of jobs that were at risk. The Prime Minister has been able to protect jobs and communities.

When asked if it is a Brexit benefit, the Labour Minister stated: "Who knows, we left the European Union a very long time ago. What I do know is we are the first country in the world to secure a new trade deal with the President of the US.

"It is also an indication of the strategy from this Prime Minister in being able to agree this with the President."

He confirmed that "food standards have been protected" and part of the trade deal has reduced tariffs for UK beef going into the American market, "so there will be opportunities for British farmers to export more".

Leader of opposition parties react to UK-US trade deal

Leader of opposition parties have given their thoughts on the US-UK trade deal.

Leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage, said to the BBC: "There's a lot more detail to come out, but you know what, we are heading in the right direction, and we have an American President who is pro-Britain, and we can take this much further."

Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, stated: "This is not a free trade agreement, this is not what we were signing. We are now in a worse position than where we were in March."

Leader of the Lib Dems, Ed Davey, said on X: "Even after today's deal, Trump's terrible tariffs will still be hitting British jobs and businesses hard."

UK-US trade will allow beef industry 'to grow' but does 'remain very nervous'

The UK-US trade deal will provide great access for the beef industry, according to leading food executive Neil Shand.

The chief executive of the National Beef Association explained that 13,000 tonnes of US and UK beef will be allowed to export to either country as part of the deal.

Shand said on Times Radio: "We have access to the US market. We had limited access - there's a carryover of a WTO (World Trade Organisation) deal that the US had, that existed from pre-Brexit times, and we were allowed to send small amounts of beef to the US, but this will allow our market to grow as well.

"In volume terms, there is an argument that they have a bigger access or a larger quantity into our market. But in the overall scheme of things, 13,000 tonnes is not a huge amount of beef, if you consider last year we imported 241,000 tonnes."

Shand explained it was likely the US-imported beef would be used in the services industry, but the industry does "remain very nervous" about the future.

'We are still worse off from when we started': Andrew Griffith slanders US-UK deal

The Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Andrew Griffith, spoke exclusively to GB News about his thoughts on the US-UK trade deal.

He said: "We are today, still facing higher tariffs than two months ago. Tariffs are generally bad; they reduce economic trade between countries.

"Let's be crystal clear what's happened; car tariffs have only been lowered to 10 per cent, but we are still worse off from when we started."

Griffith explained that "we will have to see the devil in the details" on the "selective deal".

US-UK trade deal splits opinions in British car industry

Opinions have been divided following the announcement of lower tariffs on cars in the trade deal between the UK and the US.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' chief executive, Mike Hawes, praised the announcement, saying the reduced tariffs were "great news for the industry".

While Tom Jervis, Consumer Editor at Auto Express, said the announcement was "timely" but would only provide "limited relief" to a struggling industry.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Deputy Reform UK leader Richard Tice shares his views on the US-UK trade deal

Speaking exclusively to GB News, Richard Tice gave his thoughts on the trade deal agreed between the US and UK.

Tice said: "This is a glorious Brexit benefit because if we had still been in the EU, we would not have been able to have any of these negotiations."

The MP for Boston and Skegness explained that it is a "work in progress" and there are "a lot of details to work out", but believes "there are some interesting aspects" to the deal.