UK politics - live: Reform level with Labour in new poll as Treasury responds to gloomy economy update
New poll by FindOutNowUK marks a fresh political blow for Sir Keir Starmer who has overseen a rocky start to his leadership of the country
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Your support makes all the difference.Sir Keir Starmer has been dealt a further blow with a new poll predicting Labour would lose its overall majority if an election was held now.
The poll by FindOutNowUK has put Reform level pegging with Labour on 25 per cent and the Tories five points behind on 20 per cent. According to the calculations, if the result was repeated in a general election Labour would lose 173 seats but remain the largest party on 238.
Reform would leap into second place from the five MPs to 170, taking deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel’s seats. The Tories would be left with just 89 seats and a viable government could only be formed with a deal between Labour and the Lib Dems on 70 seats and SNP on 42.
The poll, which comes after a survey by think tank More in Common that also found Labour would lose its majority, marks a fresh political blow for Sir Keir who has overseen a rocky start to his leadership of the country.
There are also fears over the economy with the pound plunging to its lowest level for over a year after a rout in the bond markets. And with government borrowing costs also increasing, Treasury minister Darren Jones has warned that “public services will have to live within their means”.
Government plan to reduce VAWG is not ambitious enough, Shadow minister says
Shadow equalities minister Mims Davies said the Government should be more ambitious in its aims for tackling violence against women and girls, calling for it to be eliminated completely.
Responding to Alex Davies-Jones from the Conservative frontbench, Ms Davies said: “I do appreciate the focus on halving violence against women and girls, that’s not enough.
“Let’s focus on pure eradication. And that is one thing that all sides of this house can agree on.”
Ms Davies added: “There are women and girls in our communities who want to know that we are here with the focus of keeping them safe.
“And when it comes to domestic abuse or any kind of criminality, when it comes to women and girls in our community, criminality is criminality, where ever it is found, and domestic abuse wherever it is must continue to be tackled, it cannot remain untackled, it must always be uncovered.”
Angela Rayner says she would challenge Elon Musk on ‘factual basis’ of his claims
Angela Rayner has said she would meet with Elon Musk and challenge him on the “factual basis” of his recent social media attacks against the Government.
Asked whether she would meet with Mr Musk, the Deputy Prime Minister said: “I would meet with Elon Musk, yeah, of course I would and I would challenge him on a factual basis.
“I think we all have a responsibility to make sure that we work on facts, and, you know, as politicians, we have to correct the record if we’re incorrect.
“I think that there is a responsibility if you’re using your wealth and your platform in that way to make sure that all those facts are correct, because otherwise there’s real consequences.
“We’ve seen this in real time on the number of incidents where people have been factually incorrect and it’s led to really serious outcomes.”
She added: “So, therefore, I say to anyone who’s got a platform, a significant platform, have a responsibility to make sure that they’re factually correct, and when they’re not correct they should be correcting the record as soon as possible.”
The scale of violence against women and girls is a national emergency, minister says
The extent of violence against women and girls is “intolerable”, a Government minister has said, as she branded the problem a national emergency.
Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said women had been let down by the system and that women and girls should be free to live their lives without violence, abuse and harassment.
She said: “The scale of violence against women in this country is intolerable, a national emergency, so I welcome the opportunity for this house to unite and debate it today.
“Tackling violence against women and girls in all its forms is a top priority for this Government, and central to our wider mission to make this country’s streets safer.”
Ms Davies-Jones went on condemn threats against her ministerial colleague Jess Phillips. “They are absolutely abhorrent,” she said. “They demonstrate all too clearly the way that some men view women’s place in the world.”
She added: “We will continue to speak out, we will not be silenced.”
Calls for internet pornography that ‘dehumanises’ women to be regulated
Online pornography should be regulated in the same way as offline material, a Conservative MP has said.
Rebecca Paul warned about the impact of internet pornography, warning that content often contains “harmful, degrading and violent imagery that dehumanises women”.
“This material has become mainstream, though it bears little resemblance to real sex or what goes on in genuinely loving relationships,” she said. “Worryingly, in these videos women are typically shown responding neutrally when on the receiving end of this aggression, or even with pleasure.
“Make no mistake, this content reinforces the idea that women desire and derive pleasure from violence, and ultimately perpetuates rape culture.”
The Reigate MP said she believes online platforms should be required to verify that every person in a pornographic video is an adult, and gave permission for the video to be uploaded.
Previous poll suggested Labour would lose nearly 200 seats if election was held in December
The FindOutNowUK prediction (2.21pm post) is not the first time a poll has predicted dire conditions for Sir Keir Starmer’s party.
At the end of 2024, the first major seat-by-seat analysis following the general election found Labour would lose its majority and nearly 200 seats in the Commons.
The MRP polling from think tank More in Common found Labour would lose 87 seats to the Conservatives, 67 to Reform UK, and 26 to the SNP.
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Andy Burnham breaks with Starmer to back national inquiry into grooming gangs
Andy Burnham has broken with Sir Keir Starmer to back a limited national inquiry into child grooming gangs, so that “those who may have charges to answer are held to account”.
It comes after Labour MPs voted against Conservative demands for a national probe into the scandal.
The prime minister has insisted that another national inquiry would delay justice for victims, pointing out that recommendations from a seven-year probe which reported in 2022 had not yet been implemented.
"I do think there is a case for limited national inquiry that draws on reviews like the one that I commissioned, the one I've seen in Rotherham, and the one we saw in Telford”, Mr Burnham told BBC Radio Manchester. (
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Downing Street says grooming gang victims do not want another national inquiry
The Prime Minister is not wavering on whether to set up a new grooming gangs inquiry, his official spokesman said.
Asked if he would reject the suggestion the Prime Minister was wavering on his insistence there would not be a fresh inquiry, the spokesman said: “Of course. We will be guided by the victims, and what we’ve heard from the victims is that they don’t want to see another National Inquiry.
“We’ve had a national inquiry, it… engaged 7,000 victims, and what victims are telling us is that they want to see action, and that’s where the Government is focused, and that’s why we’re not going ahead with another national inquiry.
“But as the PM said on Monday, we will always listen to victims, we will always listen to local areas, we always listen to specific allegations or issues as they are put to us, and we will faithfully deal with them, but what we have heard loud and clear from victims is that they want to see action.”
Starmer meets with police chiefs to discuss people smugglers
Speaking with law enforcement chiefs in central London, Sir Keir Starmer described the new sanctions regime for people smugglers as a “very powerful addition to the powers at your disposal”.
Among those meeting the Prime Minister at the City of London Police station were Martin Hewitt, the Government’s border security commander, and the City of London Police Commissioner Pete O’Doherty.
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