Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of dodging hordes of Labour MPs furious with the party after its local elections blowout last week.
The Prime Minister, currently in Norway for talks with the Joint Expeditionary Force nations, has been blasted for "going missing in action" as Labour recovers from an electoral wipeout across England's councils.
On May 2, Labour haemorrhaged almost 200 councillors and lost the Runcorn and Helsby by-election to Reform UK - and is facing brewing rebellions from the party's left over Winter Fuel Payments, and its right over losing the "Red Wall".
On Wednesday, arch-Starmer ally Pat McFadden addressed the Parliamentary Labour Party to boost morale, and prepare MPs for a "generational" fight against Nigel Farage's Reform.
And one MP at the "wash out" meeting laid into Starmer for his absence.
They told The Telegraph: "Where was Keir? Where the f**k was he? He's MIA... We have no leader. There's no one that can lead the party, no one that can come out and say: 'This is the direction, this is what we're going to do."
"He's too busy on foreign stuff. Everybody is saying the same," the MP added.
'After 140 years, this historic retailer is shutting its final store - forced out by Labour’s punishing tax hikes,' Stride said
X/MELJSTRIDE
Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride was spotted on the South Coast today posing at an historic department store as it holds its "Rachel Reeves closing down sale".
Beales in Poole, Dorset, will shut its doors at the end of this month after more than 140 years of trading, with chief executive Tony Brown directly blaming Reeves's slew of tax raids for the move.
Stride, posing with Brown, said: "Tragic day in Poole, meeting Beales owner Tony Brown, and some of his staff, as they hold their 'Rachel Reeves' Closing Down Sale'.
"After 140 years, this historic retailer is shutting its final store - forced out by Labour’s punishing tax hikes. A £200,000 tax bill. 30 jobs lost. Rachel Reeves's jobs tax isn't just breaking promises - it's breaking businesses. We can't afford Labour."
Kemi Badenoch has warned that Britain 'will probably now not get a comprehensive free trade agreement'
POOL
Kemi Badenoch has warned that Britain "will probably now not get a comprehensive free trade agreement" with Donald Trump's America following yesterday's tariff announcement.
The Tory leader, asked whether she thought the deal was a success, said: “It’s not a huge success at all. It’s not even a trade deal, it’s a tariff deal - and we are in a worse position now than we were six weeks ago.
“It’s better than where we were last week, so it’s better than nothing, but it’s not much.
“One of the things that concerns me is that we will probably now not get a comprehensive free trade agreement. It looks like Labour has settled.”
She added: “What we must do is be sensible and not be naive. What I see Labour doing is making concessions all the time and not getting very much in return.”
Sir Keir Starmer has issued a direct message to Russia and China as he spoke following a meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force (Jef) nations in Norway.
The Prime Minister said the UK-led group's utmost priority was defending the values "hard-won" during the Second World War - and continuing to stand behind Ukraine.
He was asked what his message would be to Russia and Beijing as Chinese President Xi Jinping attended events in Moscow marking Russia's own 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
He replied: "The message of leaders here is very, very clear, and that is that we’re focused on Ukraine. [President] Zelensky came in virtually to part of that meeting.
"And so that's where our absolute focus is: With Ukraine, defending the values that yesterday at VE Day we were remembering and commemorating, that were hard-won in the Second World War."
Pat McFadden addressed the Parliamentary Labour Party on Wednesday
PAOn Wednesday, when Cabinet Office chief Pat McFadden addressed the Parliamentary Labour Party, he told MPs: "The big point I want to make to you is that a new fight is taking shape.
"It's a fight between our values and a nationalist politics of the right.
"It's a battle for the very future and the heart and soul of our country.
"Labour is always at its best when we look to the future.
"This is the fight of our lives, this is the generational fight in this new political era.
"I want to tell you we have to take on this new fight for the future - and we have to win."
A trans Labour councillor has quit the party having accused Sir Keir Starmer of "throwing transgender people under the bus" in response to the Supreme Court ruling on gender.
Councillor on Plymouth City Council, Dylan Tippetts, said he can no longer represent a party "that does not support my fundamental rights".
Britain's top judges unanimously agreed the terms "woman" and "sex" in gender legislation will only refer to a biological woman and biological sex.
Starmer's shift in standpoint from previously saying that "trans women are women" has led to Tippetts' resignation.
The PM now believes that "a woman is an adult female". He said: "The court made that absolutely clear. I actually welcome the judgment because I think it gives real clarity."
Tippetts stated: "Everyone deserves the right to live peacefully, and the Labour Party continues to deny transgender people that basic right.
"I cannot continue to represent a party that does not support my fundamental rights. I cannot as a trans person continue to support the Labour Party."
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 reformsPoolDespite 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".
John Healey speaking at London Defence ConferenceGB NewsDefence 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."
Susan Hall returns as the Leader of City Hall Conservatives
PASusan 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.
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.
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".
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 with Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store
Reuters
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.
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".
Leaders of opposition parties react to the UK-US trade deal
PA
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."
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.
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".
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.
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.
