How a school mock election launched the careers of Britain’s most powerful sisters

Now Rachel is chancellor of the exchequer, while Ellie is chair of the Labour Party. Both are pivotal figures in Keir Starmer’s top team and were hand-picked by him to change the country and make the party a winning machine.

Political editor David Maddox reports:

Tara Cobham22 September 2024 06:00

‘Out of touch’ Starmer failing to deliver change in Scotland, says Flynn

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has said that Labour is failing to deliver the change it promised voters in Scotland at the UK general election.

Speaking before Labour’s party conference starts on Sunday, Mr Flynn said Sir Keir Starmer has shown he is “completely out of touch” with people north of the border by imposing further austerity.

He said the SNP is ready to work with Labour to “deliver the step change people in Scotland deserve”.

Sir Keir has faced criticism over his Government’s decision to cut winter fuel payments and this week was caught up in a row over clothing donations.

Mr Flynn said: “The Labour Party has only been in office for three months but it is already plummeting in the polls as a result of breaking so many promises to voters.

“Sir Keir Starmer has shown he is completely out of touch with people in Scotland by imposing billions of pounds of austerity cuts on pensioners, low income families and public services, while milking the system for all its worth to get £100,000 of designer clothes and freebies for himself.”

He described this as “shockingly bad judgment” and said the Labour government is “failing to deliver the change it promised voters in Scotland”.

On Friday, it emerged that the Prime Minister and his most senior ministers will no longer accept donations to pay for their clothes.

Mr Flynn said: “Governments are defined by the choices they make. The Labour Party’s political choice to cut the winter fuel payment for 860,000 Scottish pensioners, push thousands of Scottish children into poverty with the two child benefit cap, and to continue Tory cuts to public services stains its reputation and shows its election promises were worthless.

“The SNP wants to work with Labour to deliver the step change people in Scotland deserve. That means an end to austerity and real investment to improve our NHS, boost household incomes, deliver affordable homes, and build a strong economy that works for ordinary families.”

He added: “The time for warm words is over and patience is fast running out. People in Scotland want to see real change now.”

Tara Cobham22 September 2024 05:00

Labour doubles down on pensioner winter fuel cuts

Keir Starmer’s top team is unapologetic about the cut to the winter fuel payment for millions of pensioners as the party chair warned “we have to get the money from somewhere” on the eve of Labour’s conference in Liverpool.

Rising star in the cabinet Ellie Reeves, who is due to open the conference on Sunday, has insisted the government shouldn’t “paper over the cracks” as she admitted she understood that the party would face a wave of emotion if pensioners die this winter in cold homes.

Her warning, in an exclusive interview with The Independent, comes as Sir Keir prepares to square up again to the left of the party trying to embarrass him by demanding the reversal of the winter fuel cut.

Political editor David Maddox reports:

Tara Cobham22 September 2024 04:00

Recap: Watch as Nigel Farage pledges to vet ‘extremists’ from Reform UK membership

Tara Cobham22 September 2024 03:00

Eminem, fireworks, and the cult of Nigel Farage: Inside Reform UK’s party conference

Reform UK’s conference had the buzz of a party punching well above its weight. And that is exactly what the party’s leadership is attempting to do. Nigel Farage and other senior figures spent today’s conference – the largest it has ever held – trying to persuade its members, and the wider public, that it is a credible electoral force.

They even went so far as to suggest Mr Farage could be the next prime minister.

With just five sitting MPs, the most the party has ever secured in its short history, it’s certainly a bold ambition.

Political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Tara Cobham22 September 2024 02:00

Feel-good factor of Labour’s landslide win in July’s general election already begins to wear off

The feel-good factor of Labour’s landslide win in July’s general election has already begun to wear off, as Sir Keir Starmer battles a backlash over donations of clothing to him and his wife and damaging briefing revealing splits within his No 10 operation.

There is also lingering anger over the decision to strip winter fuel payments from about 10 million pensioners, with union calls at conference to reverse the move.

With the Labour conference taking place against a backdrop of rising tensions in the Middle East, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters also gathered on Liverpool’s waterfront to coincide with the start of the party’s event.

The prime minister arrived with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and was met by a small group of cheering activists ahead of the formal start of the conference on Sunday.

He said the conference would show “how we’re fixing the foundations and rebuilding our country”.

Sir Keir said the gathering was “our biggest conference ever and the first one in 15 years with Labour in government”, adding “change has started”.

Tara Cobham22 September 2024 01:00

Recap: Watch as Starmer defends accepting free Arsenal tickets

Tara Cobham22 September 2024 00:00

Starmer promises to protect public services from future austerity cuts

Sir Keir Starmer has promised to protect public services from swingeing cuts, as he made a bid to move on from rows over donations and strife at No 10, after arriving at the Labour Party conference.

The Prime Minister said his Government was not “going down the road of austerity”, like that pursued by David Cameron’s administration.

It may signal that the Treasury has found new ways to free up funds, after the halt on spending to address a £22bn black hole in the public finances announced not long after Labour came to power.

David Lynch reports:

Tara Cobham21 September 2024 23:25

Starmer wants Government to be compared with Labour’s post-war administration

Sir Keir Starmer said he wanted his Government to be compared with Clement Attlee’s transformational post-war administration.

The 1945 Labour government set up the NHS and helped rebuild the UK after the devastation of the Second World War.

The Prime Minister told Labour activists he wanted his plans for the country to be viewed with the same sense of pride.

He also joked that since entering No 10 he had bonded with Larry the cat because they both had experience “chasing pests out of Downing Street”.

At a reception at the Labour conference in Liverpool he said: “In less than 14 weeks, we’ve achieved more than the Tories did in 14 years. We’ve ended the strikes in the NHS so our doctors are back in the surgeries, carrying out operations, getting waiting lists down.

“We’ve set up a national wealth fund to get the investment we need into our country. We have launched GB Energy, that publicly owned company.

“We talked about this for years, now we are doing it, to generate the next generation of clean power.

“We have begun to end no-fault evictions.

“We’ve reformed planning, we’ve got rid of the ban on onshore wind, we are moving ahead with solar.

“Buses across the country will be better regulated, with fares and routes regulated by local people and railways are coming back into public ownership.”

He added that Labour had a “10-year plan for the NHS so we get it back on its feet and fit for the future so that people will, in years to come, look back with the same pride at the 2024 Labour Government as they do the 1945 Labour government”.

The Government was also carrying out “the biggest levelling-up of workers’ rights in a generation”.

Tara Cobham21 September 2024 23:24

Drones seized by police for breaching Labour Party conference restrictions

Drones have been seized by police after they were flown in breach of airspace restrictions during the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

Merseyside Police said they seized three drones on Saturday after a temporary airspace restriction covering much of Liverpool city centre was put in place.

The restriction means it is an offence for any unmanned aircraft to fly below 2,000 ft above sea level in the specified area between 10pm on September 20 and 5am on September 26, without the explicit permission of Merseyside Police.

In a post on social media, Merseyside Police said: “We seized three drones in Liverpool today, Saturday 21 September, as they were being flown in breach of restrictions put in place for the duration of the Labour Party conference taking place in the city this week.”

Drone users flying inside the restricted airspace that have not been granted permission could be prosecuted, as well as have their equipment seized and confiscated, police said.

Chief Inspector Iain Wyke, of protective security operations at Merseyside Police, said: “Our policing plans for the Labour Party conference are extensive and take into consideration land, sea and air.

“These airspace restrictions, like other security measures we will have in place such as road closures or patrols on the River Mersey, are aimed at keeping delegates and the wider public safe.”

He added: “Specialist resources, made up of Merseyside Police officers and officers from regional and national teams, including air support, will be in place for the duration of the conference.”

Anyone who wants to seek consideration to fly a drone in the restricted area must obtain permission from Merseyside Police by emailing [email protected].

Tara Cobham21 September 2024 23:23