Author: Miles Donavan

“Can Richard Tice provide any details or evidence for this?” Richard Tice has again added to the list of claims that Reform UK has made without providing evidence.  Reform’s Deputy Leader said during urgent questions on the government’s new electoral strategy that on postal votes, the right-wing party has “grave concerns” about “the risks to security” and “impersonation”.  He added: “I myself, Minister, have seen people carry bagloads of postal votes to a polling station on election day. That is surely completely wrong.” Democracy minister Rushanara Ali responded: “Impersonating another voter is a deliberate act of fraud. It completely undermines…

A video clip has shown an astonishing interaction between a protester and two police officers in Kent. In the clip, the protester – Laura Murton – was threatened with arrest while they held a Palestine flag and displayed a placard reading ‘Israel is committing genocide’. In the clip, Murton is seen being approached by two police officers who asked them what their intention was. The police went on to ask whether Murton supported any proscribed group. She confirmed that she did not, going on to say “I support a free Palestine and the end of genocide.” Following this, one of…

Reform has criticised Suella Braverman for the Afghan leak and previously said she was “too toxic” for the party’s image Rael Braverman, Suella Braverman’s husband, announced he had left Reform UK “effective immediately” yesterday. Rael defected from the Conservative Party to Reform back in December, stating at the time that it was “nice to believe in something again”. But that didn’t last long.  His exit follows comments from a Reform source earlier this week claiming Suella wouldn’t be welcome in the party, stating she is “not a team player” and that she and Liz Truss would be “too toxic” for…

A major change to British democracy The government has announced that it will be lowering the voting age to 16. According to the government, this is part of a series of “seismic changes to modernise UK democracy”. Lowering the voting age was a key element of the Labour Party manifesto in advance of the 2024 general election. Votes at 16 are already in place for devolved and local elections in both Wales and Scotland. Announcing the move, the minister for democracy Rushanara Ali said: “We are modernising our democracy, so that it is fit for the 21st century. By delivering…

“The Prime Minister should be listening to these voices, not punishing them” Four Labour MPs have had the whip suspended for what the party leadership has said is “persistent breaches of party discipline”. As a result, the MPs – Chris Hinchcliff, Brian Leishman, Neil Duncan-Jordan and Rachael Maskell will sit as independents unless and until the whip is restored. All four of the MPs voted against the government’s Universal Credit Bill, which initially sought to make substantial cuts to disability benefits. Additionally, Maskell tabled an amendment to the bill which intended to stop it progressing through parliament. The move to…

‘The mainstream of the party will not sit quietly whilst No 10 turns on its own backbenchers for defending Labour values.’ Three Labour campaign groups have joined forces to oppose the suspension of four Labour MPs yesterday afternoon. The petition, coordinated by Compass, with the support of Open Labour and Momentum, calls for the immediate reinstatement of the whip to the suspended MPs, Chris Hinchliff, Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan Jordan and Brian Leishman. A further three Labour MPs – Rosena Allin-Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammad Yasin – had their trade envoy roles removed. All of the MPs voted against the…

A fourth MP, Rachel Maskell, is currently in meetings with party whips… The Labour Party has suspended at least three MPs for repeated breaches of party discipline, it is being reported. Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff and Neil Duncan-Jordan have lost the whip, meaning they are no longer part of Labour’s parliamentary party and will sit as independent MPs. All three had rebelled against Labour’s welfare cuts. However, it’s understood this isn’t the only reason behind the decision with a party source telling the Times the suspensions related to “persistent breaches of party discipline”. A fourth MP, Rachel Maskell, is currently…

He said former ministers have “serious questions to answer” over leak At PMQs today, prime minister Keir Starmer said that former Tory ministers had “serious questions to answer” over a secret scheme to resettle Afghan nationals who were named in a data leak. The breach, which occurred in February 2022, saw a British official mistakenly leak personal details of Afghans who had applied to move to the UK following the Taliban’s takeover.  Starmer said he supports a planned inquiry into what happened led by the Commons defence committee, adding that he hoped “those who were in office at the time…

They missed out a key detail… The Daily Mail has run another misleading and sensationalist story about asylum seekers, claiming that money is being spent on ‘fun days’ and ‘gift cards’, leaving out a key detail in its bid to whip up another moral panic. Over the weekend, the paper ran an article with the headline: ‘Crazy golf trips, circus tickets and countless Amazon parcels: How cash-strapped councils are handing out gift cards and fun days to asylum seekers using taxpayer money.’ The paper tried to suggest that asylum seekers were receiving favourable treatment, yet when you dig deeper, the…

‘They’re defending the broken status quo and are putting their own vested interests ahead of working people’s lives.’ The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has slammed Conservative and Lib Dem peers for voting to halt Labour’s ban on zero hours contracts. A total of 264 to 158 voted to change the requirement for an employer to offer guaranteed hours merely to a right for employees to request them.  This means the proposals to ban zero hours contracts in the Employment Rights Bill have been significantly watered down. The changes were pushed through by 172 Conservative and 54 Lib Dem peers, and…