UK politics live: Keir Starmer faces Labour rebellion over winter fuel payment cuts ahead of PMQs showdown
Starmer to be grilled over Sue Gray and recent freebies row as senior Labour MSPs protest against winter fuel payment cuts
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Sir Keir Starmer heads into a tense PMQs session today, already grappling with a rebellion within his party north of the border over winter fuel payments.
Two senior Scottish Labour MSPs, Richard Leonard and Alex Rowley, defied their leadership by backing a motion in Holyrood calling for the government to reverse its cuts to the benefit.
The vote, superheated by First Minister John Swinney, passed with 99 votes to 14, with Labour members joining forces with the SNP to demand an end to means-testing.
As Sir Keir prepares to face Rishi Sunak in his first PMQs since reshuffling his top team, this internal dissent adds another layer of pressure to the prime minister.
He is also set to face questions over Sue Gray’s shocking resignation as his chief of staff, following internal disputes, and controversy over his acceptance of hospitality freebies.
The showdown comes after Tom Tugendhat’s elimination saw the Tory leadership contest narrow to a final three contenders, with James Cleverly receiving a significant boost in support in Tuesday’s vote.
Mr Cleverly topped the ballot, securing 39 votes from Tory MPs – placing him as a frontrunner as the race intensifies, as a tight contest emerged between Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch, who received 31 and 30 votes respectively.
Starmer has ruled out biggest benefit to UK from EU reset, think tank
Sir Keir Starmer has already squandered the biggest potential dividends of his post-Brexit reset with the EU by ruling out a return to the single market and customs union, a report has warned.
The prime minister has repeatedly talked up his push to rebuild ties with the bloc after years of acrimony under successive Tory governments, promising that doing so will boost economic growth and living standards.
Our politics correspondent Archie Mitchell has the full story below:
Starmer has already ruled out biggest benefit to UK from EU reset, think tank warns
PM has repeatedly talked up his push to rebuild ties with the bloc after years of acrimony under successive Tory governments
What time is the final vote of the Tory leadership contest?
The Conservative Party is gearing up for the decisive final round of MP voting in its leadership contest.
The ballot is scheduled to kick off at 1.30pm today, with around 90 minutes on the clock for votes to be cast.
The results will be revealed at 3.30pm, determining which candidate will be eliminated from the race.
The remaining two contenders will then advance to face a vote from the wider Tory membership.
Here are yesterday’s results:
- James Cleverly: 39 votes (leading the race)
- Robert Jenrick: 31 votes
- Kemi Badenoch: 30 votes
- Tom Tugendhat: 20 votes (eliminated)
WATCH | Minister denies reports Labour ‘personally intervened’ to provide blue-light escort for Taylor Swift
Culture secretary denies Labour ‘personally intervened’ to provide Taylor Swift
The culture secretary has denied reports that Labour “personally intervened” to provide a blue-light escort for Taylor Swift during her Wembley tour dates. A report in The Sun newspaper claims that top Labour politicians have been accused of pressing the police to give the pop star the same blue-light escort given to senior members of the royal family. Appearing on Sky News Breakfast on Wednesday (9 October), culture secretary Lisa Nandy denied the reports. She said: “When you have a major event, the home secretary will be involved in a conversation where there is a security risk. “I also know she doesn’t have the power nor would she use it to insist that any individual got the top level of private security arrangements. That is an operational matter for the police, not the government.”
Robert Jenrick doubles down on Special Air Service claims
Conservative leadership contender Robert Jenrick has reiterated his belief that human rights regulations are constraining the Special Air Service (SAS) and compromising public safety.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Jenrick claimed that the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) limits the decision-making abilities of military planners.
Defending his position, he said: “The ECHR and our human rights apparatus is limiting the discretion of military planners when they come to decide how to conduct operations overseas and in some cases, it is leading them to do things like a lethal drone strike rather than sending in men and women on the ground.
“And I think that’s wrong. I want to ensure that those in charge of operations have the greatest discretion possible.
“I was supporting our special forces, not suggesting that they would act outside of the law.”
He added: “We can’t allow human rights to get in the way of keeping the public safe.”
Jenrick warns Tory leadership decision to ‘seal party’s fate'
Robert Jenrick has warned Conservative MPs voting this afternoon that the party risks being “stuck in the political wilderness for years” if it mishandles the contest.
In a final appeal for support ahead of today’s crucial vote on Sky News, the former immigration minister urged members to choose the right candidate.
After finishing second in yesterday’s ballot, Mr Jenrick found himself in a precarious position, barely edging out Kemi Badenoch, while James Cleverly surged ahead in first place.
With Tory MPs poised to cast their decisive votes this afternoon, only two candidates will advance to the final round.
Speaking on the morning media round, he said: “The polling suggests that of the candidates I am the best placed to win back the millions of voters we lost to Reform and the voters we lost on our Left to the Lib Dems.
“If we don’t do that then there is no future for our party and we will be stuck in the political wilderness for years to come.
“So the party needs now somebody who is professional, who is competent and is focused on the most salient issues.”
MPs pile pressure on Labour to oppose Saudi bid to join UN’s Human Rights Council
Parliamentary pressure is building on the UK government to vote against Saudi Arabia’s bid for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), in what has been described as a “litmus test” for the new Labour administration.
A letter to foreign secretary David Lammy – signed by MPs and peers from across parties – outlines concerns over the Kingdom’s human rights record, including the jailing of women’s rights advocates and a surge in executions.
Shared exclusively with The Independent, it warns that electing Saudi Arabia to the council would “undermine global confidence” in the UN’s ability to “protect human rights” and pleads with the foreign secretary “not to vote for such an unsuitable candidate”.
You can read the full story below:
MPs pile pressure on Labour to oppose Saudi bid to join UN’s Human Rights Council
Exclusive: Labour under pressure to take a stand against human rights abuses
Minister defends Labour’s actions over Taylor Swift police escort
Culture secretary Lisa Sandy has firmly denied any allegations of misconduct regarding the Labour government’s involvement in Taylorswift’s blue-light escort to her Wembley concert.
It comes after claims emerged that Labour Party members intervened in the decision-making process, Ms Nandy stated that any conversations about security risks would have involved Yvette Cooper.
But she insisted that she does not possess the authority to mandate such high-level police protection.
“It’s an operational matter for the police, not for the government,” she told Sky News.
The minister added that the home secretary will have made a “considered judgement about that and express a view”.
She added: “Don’t forget that when it comes to Taylor Swift, what had just happened was that a series of concerts have been cancelled in Vienna because of the very serious security threat.
“I really utterly reject that there’s been any kind of wrongdoing or undue influence in this case.”
Labour ‘pushed’ police for royal-style escort for Taylor Swift concert
Labour’s top politicians have reportedly pressured police to grant Taylor Swift a costly VVIP blue-light escort during her August shows at Wembley Stadium.
The request doe special treatment came after security concerns, following a thwarted suicide bomb plot in Austria the week before, The Sun reports.
However, Metropolitan Police chiefs initially resisted providing the high-level protection, which is typically reserved for senior royalty and political leaders.
The singer’s mother and manager are said to have threatened to cancel the shows.
Despite the opposition from senior police figures, including those in charge of the Special Escort Group (SEG), the intervention of senior Labour figures, including home secretary Yvette Cooper and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, reportedly led to the decision being overturned.
The revelation comes at a time when Labour continues to face criticism over its close relationship with freebies, with the prime minister and the mayor of London among those receiving complimentary tickets to Swift’s gigs.
A spokesperson for Sadiq Khan told Sky News: “We don’t comment on the Met’s security arrangements – they are operational decisions for them.”
ICYMI: Keir Starmer as unpopular with public as Nigel Farage
Sir Keir Starmer is now as unpopular as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, the latest opinion polling has suggested.
Some 60% of people now hold an unfavourable opinion of the Labour Party, according to pollsters at YouGov, just three months after it swept to power with a landslide majority at the general election.
Sir Keir’s net favourability ratings have dropped to minus 36 with the British public, while Mr Farage is at minus 35.
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