5 d. ago Farage as Prime Minister? 'Red flag' reason why voters aren't convinced

Could Nigel Farage really be headed for No.10? As Reform UK surges and many see the party as the main opposition over the Tories, we asked if you thought the right-winger could be our next Prime Minister

Politics

8 d. ago ‘The brand is broken’: is there any way back from abyss for Tories?

Conservative party has repeatedly proved able to adapt and reinvent itself – but this time might be differentAt a carefully staged factory visit rich in pre-written lines, one part of Keir Starmer’s delivery felt entirely unscripted: his insistence that Reform is now his main electoral challenger, rather than a Conservative party “sliding into the abyss”.This was, one No 10 source said afterwards, “not posturing”, but simply an acknowledgement that under Kemi Badenoch there appeared to be no way back for a party slumping in the polls and that followed up a disastrous general election with almost equally bad local results at the start of this month. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Starmer says Tories ‘sliding into abyss’ and Reform is main challenger

Nigel Farage’s tax and spend plans are ‘Liz Truss all over again’, prime minister tells workers in MerseysideThe Conservatives are “sliding into the abyss”, Keir Starmer has said, as he described Nigel Farage and Reform as the main challengers to his Labour government.During a hastily arranged visit to a glass factory in St Helens, the prime minister castigated Farage as a fake defender of working people and compared him to Liz Truss as someone whose fiscal plans would crash the economy. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago From the day Britain left the EU, this reset was inevitable. What a pointless waste of time, money and effort | Simon Jenkins

Keir Starmer is not blameless when it comes to Brexit, but he is moving in the right direction. Even the Tories attacking him know thatFor the Tories to attack Keir Starmer’s first step towards a Brexit reset is monumental hypocrisy. Their Brexit led to £4.7bn being spent on implementing post-EU border arrangements, according to the National Audit Office, including a vastly expensive “take back control” border post at Sevington in Kent. No other country in the world can have erected such ludicrous barriers against its biggest trading partners. All are now wasted. At least the nonsense can stop. Memorial plaques to Boris Johnson should be pinned to their gates and passersby invited to sign a 50-page customs form in his memory.Meanwhile, Starmer should hang his own head in shame. He was Jeremy Corbyn’s Brexit henchman back in 2019, when Labour voted down Theresa May’s bid to negotiate a soft Brexit deal that would certainly have gone beyond what was signed this week. It was Starmer wh...

Politics

2 w. ago Keir Starmer: I want to make more pensioners eligible for winter fuel payments

Sir Keir said the Government would act after first needing to ‘stabilise the economy with tough decisions’.

Economics

2 w. ago Tories mock Keir Starmer's 'bogus' claim that his Brexit 'reset' deal will allow Brits to use e

The Prime Minister boasted his agreement with Brussels, signed yesterday, would end 'huge queues' for holidaymakers at passport control in Europe.

Economics

2 w. ago Panic stations for Kemi Badenoch as Tories slump to FOURTH in poll

YouGov research found the Conservatives on just 16 per cent support, down two points over the past week.

Politics

2 w. ago Keir Starmer warns rebellious Labour MPs that Reform is now their 'main rival' and they have a 'moral duty' to stop Nigel Farage becoming PM

The Prime Minister lashed out at the Reform leader as 'a state-slashing, NHS-privatising Putin apologist' as faced the Parliamentary Labour Party.

Events

2 w. ago Starmer branded 'the closet Remainer who never got over losing referendum' as Tories claim EU deal will unleash 'free movement by the back door'

Writing for MailOnline Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, accused him of moving towards 'freedom of movement by the back door' with plans for a youth mobility scheme.

Economics

2 w. ago Voices: The Tories ‘sliding into oblivion’? Keir Starmer should be careful what he wishes for

Mocking the Conservative Party may win applause, but it also helps Nigel Farage dominate the stage, writes John Rentoul. The prime minister should be trying to prop Kemi Badenoch up instead of boosting Reform

Politics

3 w. ago Keir Starmer 'says Tories are finished and Nigel Farage's Reform are real opposition'

A source with knowledge of Keir Starmer's thinking has said Nigel Farage's Reform are the 'real opposition' and the Tories are finished after brutal attacks on Kemi Badenoch

Politics

3 w. ago Starmer says Tories are ‘dead party walking’ as Badenoch dismisses trade deals

The Opposition leader said agreements with Narendra Modi and Donald Trump’s governments are ‘tiny tariff’ deals.

Economics

3 w. ago There’s only one problem with Labour’s immigration plans: they’re completely untethered from reality | Jonathan Portes

The government’s new policy will take us back to an uglier, more dangerous place – and it’s not even supported by the dataHow do you reduce immigration while at the same time boosting growth? Labour’s recent immigration white paper sets out a supposedly clear answer. Since the recent “surge” in immigration was driven by the system shifting away from “higher-skilled migration”, it has “distorted the labour market” and undermined the UK’s productivity and GDP.This argument, which has been made in increasingly shrill tones by the rightwing press and thinktanks over the past two years, was echoed by the prime minister, Keir Starmer, who tweeted that “the Tories ran an immigration system that relied on cheap foreign labour”. It sounds plausible. There’s just one problem. It doesn’t fit the facts, and the government knows it.Jonathan Portes is professor of economics and public policy at King’s College London and a former senior civil servant Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Bank of England chief urges Starmer to 'do everything' to 'rebuild' trade with the EU after sealing deal with Trump... as Tories warn Brexit must NOT be unwound

Andrew Bailey backed deepening relations as the PM pushes ahead with his Brexit 'reset' - after sealing a damage limitation deal with Donald Trump .

Events

4 w. ago Trump hails Brexit for making UK trade deal possible: Inside astonishing day that saw President blindside Starmer during Arsenal match and resulted in Tories deriding 'Diet Coke' agreement

The deal, which President Trump said was only possible 'because of Brexit ', will cut US tariffs on cars imported from the UK from 25 per cent to 10 for the first 100,000 vehicles.

Politics

4 w. ago Tories accuse Starmer of 'shafting' Britain with US trade deal: Trump lowers tariffs on car and steel exports to America while US farmers get access to Britain

Donald Trump said the agreement would be 'really good' for both sides - as British businesses hope for relief from his brutal tariffs.

Economics

4 w. ago Tories accuse Starmer of 'shafting' Britain with US trade deal: President lowers tariffs on car and steel exports to America while US farmers get access to Britain

Donald Trump said the agreement would be 'really good' for both sides - as British businesses hope for relief from his brutal tariffs.

Economics

last month Environment Secretary accuses Tories of trying to ‘weaponise’ farmer deaths

Victoria Atkins asked whether Steve Reed will ‘on a point of principle’ resign if Labour does not change its approach to inheritance tax.

Events