Author: James Carter

Kemi Badenoch has questioned why documents Sir Keir Starmer promised to release about Lord Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador have not been published, accusing the government of attempting to hide information ahead of Prime Minister’s Questions. The Conservative leader stated she would press the Prime Minister at Wednesday’s PMQs to explain the delay in releasing files showing how Mandelson was selected for the role despite his connections to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. “Tomorrow at Prime Minister’s Questions, the Prime Minister will need to explain why the documents he promised to release last week have not turned up yet,” Badenoch said during…

Nigel Farage has outlined plans to eliminate working from home arrangements as Reform UK positions itself on a “general election war footing” ahead of crucial May elections. The Reform leader addressed approximately 2,000 supporters at a Birmingham rally on Sunday, where he announced preparations to unveil his shadow cabinet this week whilst declaring his party ready to win the next general election, which he hinted could arrive sooner than expected. Farage’s attack on remote working represented a central pillar of his call for an “attitudinal change to hard work” across Britain. He dismissed claims that employees are more productive working…

Sir Keir Starmer’s director of communications has resigned just hours after the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney quit Downing Street. Tim Allan, who joined Sir Keir at Number 10 in September last year, stated he was stepping down to allow the Prime Minister to build a new team. “I have decided to stand down to allow a new No10 team to be built,” Allan said. “I wish the PM and his team every success.” The resignation comes on the same day McSweeney departed his role as chief of staff, dealing a double blow to Starmer’s inner circle as…

Eighteen months after Labour’s landslide victory, British politics has been turned on its head. Reform UK leads national polls, Labour trails in third behind the Conservatives in some surveys, and the Greens are projected to win more seats than the governing party. If voters went to the polls tomorrow, the result would be unlike anything seen in modern British electoral history. The Polling Snapshot: Reform’s Commanding Lead Multiple polling firms place Nigel Farage’s Reform UK decisively ahead of all rivals in early February 2026. Ipsos recorded Reform on 30 per cent at the end of January, eight points clear of…

Several senior Labour figures are emerging as potential successors to Keir Starmer amid Westminster speculation about an internal challenge, though no leadership contest is currently underway. A YouGov-Sky News poll in late 2025 found approximately half of voters expect Starmer to be replaced as prime minister by the end of 2026, reflecting ongoing discussion within political circles about his leadership. Current Situation Starmer recently invited numerous Labour MPs to his Chequers retreat in a last-ditch attempt to prevent them turning against him. One attendee told Politico the PM insisted to the room he “had been grievously lied to” about the…

The French government has expressed concern about the rise of “municipal Islam” and community-based electoral lists as the National Assembly prepares to debate granting voting rights to six million non-European Union foreigners in local elections. The Interior Ministry currently monitors several dozen towns for explicit community lists whilst remaining vigilant against harder-to-detect entryism strategies, according to conservative weekly Valeurs Actuelles. Officials fear the proposed constitutional amendment would provide further encouragement to such electoral movements. In Strasbourg, far-left candidate Cem Yoldas, a member of the Jeune Garde Antifasciste (Young Anti-Fascist Guard), printed campaign leaflets in Turkish and Arabic under the guise…

A motorist who declined to provide breath samples following a police pursuit along the M5 has received a suspended prison sentence and three-year driving ban at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court. Stuart Kent, 45, from Benfieldside in Durham, was sentenced on Tuesday 27 January after pleading guilty to driving without due care and attention, failing to cooperate with a preliminary test and failing to provide a specimen for analysis. The court imposed a 16-week custodial sentence suspended for 18 months, a 36-month driving disqualification, 200 hours unpaid work, a £154 victim surcharge and £85 court costs. Kent’s ban can be reduced by…

Reform UK has secured a second Member of the Senedd through defection whilst announcing a former London borough Conservative council leader will head its Welsh campaign for May’s crucial election. James Evans, sacked as a Tory Senedd frontbencher last month over suspected defection plans, has joined the party alongside Dan Thomas, who led Barnet Council between 2019 and 2022 before it fell to Labour. Thomas defected to Reform last summer and resigned as Finchley Church End councillor in December after returning to Wales with his family following nearly 30 years in London. The dual announcement at a Newport press conference…

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has delivered a damning assessment of the global response to sexual violence in Sudan, stating the international community has failed to protect women and girls during nearly three years of conflict. Speaking during a visit to Adré on the Sudanese border in Chad on Tuesday, Cooper described the world turning its back on “horrendous” stories of brutal attacks, sexual torture and public rape used as weapons against fleeing populations. The Foreign Secretary called for urgent international action to secure a ceasefire and demanded all nations pressure warring parties to halt what she characterised as a war…

Residents of a South Yorkshire town will receive free artificial intelligence courses and enhanced public services after major technology companies pledged support for a government initiative positioning Barnsley as Britain’s AI trailblazer. Microsoft, Cisco and Adobe have committed to providing training programmes and digital skills development following Technology Secretary Liz Kendall’s announcement on Tuesday designating Barnsley as the UK’s first government-backed Tech Town. The corporate backing will enable people of all ages to access training in growing tech industries, with companies promising initiatives to boost AI and digital talent across the community. Microsoft and Cisco’s UK chief executives joined Kendall…