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Jeremy Corbyn has said that \u201cdiscussions are ongoing\u201d after former Labour MP Zarah Sultana said that she would \u201cco-lead the founding of a new party\u201d with the ex-Labour leader.<\/p>\n
In a post on social media, the Independent MP and former Labour leader said: \u201cReal change is coming.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne year on from the election, this Labour Government has refused to deliver the change people expected and deserved. Poverty, inequality and war are not inevitable. Our country needs to change direction, now.<\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations to Zarah Sultana on her principled decision to leave the Labour Party. I am delighted that she will help us build a real alternative.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe democratic foundations of a new kind of political party will soon take shape. Discussions are ongoing – and I am excited to work alongside all communities to fight for the future people deserve.<\/p>\n
\u201cTogether, we can create something that is desperately missing from our broken political system: hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Share<\/p>\n
Updated at\u00a008.41 EDT<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n <\/span>Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Se\u00e1n Clarke<\/span><\/p>\n It is a year since Labour\u2019s landslide victory on 4 July 2024, with Keir Starmer promising \u201cto end the politics of performance and return to politics as public service \u2026 it is now time for us to deliver\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n After a rollercoaster week in which the prime minister suffered a large Commons rebellion and caused bond markets to spike when he appeared not to back the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, we consider his government\u2019s record in Westminster, Whitehall and across the country\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron will host a meeting of the coalition of the willing when the French president visits Britain next week.<\/strong><\/p>\n The prime minister and France\u2019s leader will dial into a meeting with allies on Thursday, as Macron makes his first state visit to the UK, it is understood.<\/p>\n Britain and France have led efforts to establish the coalition, a peacekeeping force aimed at policing any future ceasefire deal in Ukraine, and deterring further threats by Russia, PA reported.<\/p>\n The effectiveness of the coalition has been called into question, as only London and Paris have so far indicated they would provide frontline soldiers towards it.<\/p>\n The peacekeeping mission would also be predicated on American air support, something which US president Donald Trump has been unwilling to openly say he would provide.<\/p>\n ShareAmelia Gentleman<\/span><\/p>\n Rachel Reeves\u2019s tears this week triggered a fall in the pound and attracted widespread derision from political columnists, mostly male. \u201cWhat is wrong with Rachel Reeves?\u201d the Telegraph asked. In an article headlined \u201cThe meaning of the chancellor\u2019s tears\u201d, a New Statesman columnist told readers that Reeves\u2019s authority was \u201cbeginning to melt away\u201d. The Daily Mail spoke disdainfully of her \u201cwaterworks\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n But in the longer term the chancellor\u2019s display of distress may prove to have an unexpectedly positive legacy, helpfully normalising a still hugely stigmatised phenomenon \u2013 women\u2019s tears in the workplace.<\/p>\n Until now, tearful outbursts at work have mostly been mired in shame, the source of acute embarrassment. This week\u2019s live broadcast of the chancellor\u2019s silent tears could help shift the taboo, highlighting a little-discussed truth: sometimes women cry at work, and it\u2019s no big deal.<\/p>\n Reeves reflected on her own tears with a shrug a day later. \u201cPeople saw I was upset, but that was yesterday. Today\u2019s a new day and I\u2019m just cracking on with the job,\u201d she said on Thursday. She declined to explain what had prompted her distress, describing it simply as a personal issue and refusing to go into details. Within 24 hours the markets had bounced back with the assurances of the prime minister, Keir Starmer, that she would remain in her job for the long term.<\/p>\n Clearly it is far from ideal to be filmed in tears during the week\u2019s most-watched exchanges in the House of Commons, but ministerial jobs are immensely tough. Some of Reeves\u2019s male predecessors have exhibited the strain of their roles in more extreme ways \u2013 while attracting less attention, because their behaviour is classed as routine and acceptable machismo.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Downing Street<\/strong> would not guarantee that the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats would fall next year, but said the figure \u201cmust\u201d come down, reports the PA news agency.<\/p>\n A No 10<\/strong> spokesperson said:<\/p>\n We\u2019re clear that number\u2019s too high, they must come down. That\u2019s our goal and we are pulling every lever to achieve it.<\/p>\n We have never shied away from the fact that dismantling a multibillion-pound international criminal enterprise that has been allowed to develop for almost a decade largely unchecked is challenging.<\/p>\n There is no single solution but the government is taking serious measures in order to drive those numbers down through the borders bill providing counterterror-style powers, with that international cooperation that we have set out many times.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.26 EDT<\/p>\n Downing Street<\/strong> has welcomed new French<\/strong> tactics to tackle small boat crossings, saying it is a \u201csignificant moment\u201d.<\/p>\n A No 10<\/strong> spokesperson said:<\/p>\n What we saw this morning was a significant moment.<\/p>\n We welcome action from French law enforcement to take action in shallow waters, and what you have seen in recent weeks is a toughening of their approach.<\/p>\n We are seeing new tactics being used to disrupt these boats before they begin their journey and, together with every other lever that the government is pulling, we think this can have a major impact on shutting down the tactics these gangs use.<\/p>\n Earlier, Yvette Cooper<\/strong> welcomed reports that French police had intervened in French waters to stop a small boat setting off across the Channel.<\/p>\n Responding to a report from the BBC\u2019s Today programme that officers had slashed at a boat with a knife while it was in shallow waters off the French coast, the home secretary said:<\/p>\n That is a different strategy, and that is welcome that it\u2019s taking action in the shallow waters, but we want broader action.<\/p>\n Downing Street also said on Friday that Keir Starmer\u2019<\/strong>s efforts to \u201creset\u201d relations with Europe<\/strong> have helped bring about a change in French tactics in the Channel.<\/p>\n The No 10 spokesperson said:<\/p>\n No government has been able to get this level of cooperation with the French.<\/p>\n That is important. We are looking to see France change its maritime tactics, and that is down to the prime minister\u2019s efforts to reset our relationships across Europe.<\/p>\n This is down to a serious government recognising this is a complex problem, a serious challenge, and pulling all levers in order to take action on this.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.21 EDT<\/p>\n Liberal Democrat MP Danny Chambers<\/strong>\u2019 private member\u2019s bill has passed through the House of Commons<\/strong> today, with the government backing the bill.<\/p>\n Chambers, who is also a veterinary surgeon, said the animal welfare (import of dogs, cats and ferrets) bill<\/strong> will help improve the UK\u2019s \u201cbiosecurity\u201d.<\/p>\n He told the Commons:<\/p>\n As a vet, I\u2019ve seen the devastating consequences of puppy smuggling. It\u2019s unimaginably cruel to separate puppies and kittens from their mothers at a very young age, and then bring them across borders in substandard conditions where they\u2019re then sold for maximum profit by unscrupulous traders who prioritise profit over welfare.<\/p>\n Turning to \u201cbiosecurity\u201d, he added that:<\/p>\n There are a lot of diseases that we do not see in the UK that can affect humans as well \u2026 one of those is rabies, another\u2019s brucella canis.<\/p>\n Chambers said:<\/p>\n The bill will close the loopholes in our pet travel rules, which are currently exploited. It does this by reducing the number of animals permitted per non-commercial movement from five per person to five per vehicle, including vehicles on board a train or a ferry, and three per person for foot or air passengers.<\/p>\n Careful consideration has been given to setting these limits, balancing the need to disrupt illegal trade with minimising impact on genuine pet owners. To underpin this, only an owner, not an authorised person, will be permitted to sign and declare that the movement of a dog or cat is non-commercial.<\/p>\n Crucially, the bill places a duty on the government to use these regulation-making powers to first deliver three key measures \u2013 a ban on the import of puppies and kittens under six months old, a ban on the import of heavily pregnant dogs and cats that are more than 42 days pregnant, and a ban on the import of dogs and cats who\u2019ve been mutilated.<\/p>\n The bill will now move to the House of Lords<\/strong> for final approval with government backing.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Aneesa Ahmed<\/span><\/p>\n Liberal Democrat candidate Terry Rooney<\/strong> won the Benfieldside ward byelection<\/strong> on Thursday to unseat Reform UK\u2019s Andrew Kilburn<\/strong> \u2013 who was elected during the county-wide elections on 1 May but stepped down after it was discovered he already worked for the council.<\/p>\n This meant Kilburn was found to be ineligible for office, as employees are disqualified from standing as councillors at the same time under national law. He resigned after just nine days.<\/p>\n The Lib Dems won with a total of 824 votes, as Reform slipped to third in the byelection, getting 747 votes, behind Labour, who got 800.<\/p>\n Benfieldside by-election result: Earley, Kevin (Lab) 800, Harrison, Stephen (Ref) 747, Lowes, David (Con) 76, Robinson, Stephen (Ind) 459, Rooney, Terry (Lib Dem) 824, Simpson, Richard Edwin (Green) 40. #LE2025<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/e4OgoolQtk<\/a><\/p>\nDowning Street says new French tactics to tackle small boat crossings are ‘significant moment’<\/h2>\n
Lib Dems take seat from Reform in Durham county council byelection<\/h2>\n