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”.
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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.
Downing Street suggests millions across the country share Starmer’s view on Truss’ mini-budget
Sir Keir Starmer will not be moderating his language about Liz Truss’s record in office, Downing Street has suggested, after lawyers representing her sent the Prime Minister a letter asking him to stop saying she crashed the economy.
Asked whether the Prime Minister stands by his assertion that the former premier tanked the economy, his official spokesman said: “There’s only so much I can talk about previous administrations, but you’ve got the Prime Minister’s language which he absolutely stands by in relation to the previous government’s record, and you don’t have to take it from the Prime Minister.
“I think you can ask people up and down the country what the impact of previous economic management was on their mortgages, on inflation, and I think you’ll get similar answers.
“But what we’re focused on now is the decisions this Government needs to take to ensure that we tackle the long-standing underlying weaknesses in the UK economy that you know have obviously been around for many years – low productivity, low growth – because ultimately they are the fundamental reasons why wages have been low over recent years and… the Government’s number one mission (is) to deliver growth and deliver higher living standards for working people.
Asked whether Sir Keir had plans to moderate his language, he said: “No.”
Shock poll puts Reform level with Labour
A stunning poll by FindOutNowUK has put Reform level pegging with Labour on 25per 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 their current 5 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.
Reform chairman Zia Yusuf said: “Wow, Reform set to win almost twice as many seats as the Tories based on the latest poll!”
Ed Davey calls on Reeves to cancel China trip to focus on cancelling NI hike and rebuild with EU
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called on the Chancellor to cancel her trip to China and instead make an emergency fiscal statement to Parliament cancelling the national insurance hike planned for April, to boost economic growth and bring interest rates down.
Mr Davey said: “Instead of jetting off to China, the Chancellor should urgently come before the House of Commons to cancel her counterproductive jobs tax and set out a real plan for growth.
“The country is paying an ever-higher price for the total mess the Conservative Party made of our economy, and the Chancellor needs to realise that she’ll never dig us out of this hole without a far more ambitious plan to grow our economy, including rebuilding trade with Europe.
“The Government’s misguided jobs tax is hurting businesses and hitting investment badly, meaning it will hold back growth while failing to raise the funding the Chancellor claims for the NHS.
“The Chancellor should look instead at our plans to raise revenue without hitting jobs and growth, by raising taxes on the profits of the big banks, social media giants and online gambling firms – all of which are making eye-watering profits while ordinary families struggle.”
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