Author: James Carter

Sir Keir Starmer is facing accusations of breaching the ministerial code after it emerged that an undeclared visit to the Washington headquarters of defence technology firm Palantir — a company that was simultaneously a client of Lord Mandelson’s lobbying firm — was never logged on his official transparency returns. The Prime Minister and Lord Mandelson attended the meeting at Palantir’s Washington DC offices on 27 February 2025, while Mandelson was serving as Britain’s ambassador to the United States. The visit, which involved a presentation on the company’s work followed by an office tour, was also attended by Britain’s defence attaché…

Sir Keir Starmer is considering sacking Rachel Reeves as Chancellor in a sweeping post-election reshuffle that Labour insiders are describing as a last-ditch attempt to salvage his authority after what is widely expected to be a disastrous set of local election results on 7 May. According to sources close to the government, Downing Street has pencilled in significant changes to the Cabinet for the days immediately following the local polls, with Reeves’s position among those under consideration. One insider described the plan as “one final roll of the dice” to re-establish the Prime Minister’s grip on his administration before potential…

Labour is facing the loss of Birmingham city council for the first time in decades as around 40 pro-Palestinian independent candidates make gains across traditionally safe seats in Britain’s second-largest city, capitalising on a toxic combination of local failure and deep anger over the government’s position on Gaza. The scale of what is unfolding in Birmingham represents one of the most significant electoral shifts in British urban politics in a generation. In ward after ward with large Muslim populations, candidates running under independent and pro-Gaza banners are on course to win seats that Labour has long treated as untouchable. The…

Labour backbenchers are actively plotting to remove Sir Keir Starmer from Downing Street in the immediate aftermath of the local elections on 7 May, with multiple MPs telling The Telegraph that the Prime Minister’s position has become untenable and that a swift leadership transition is now the party’s only viable path forward. The mood within the parliamentary Labour Party has shifted sharply from despondency to outright anger over the past week, driven by the continuing fallout from the Mandelson security vetting scandal and the subsequent revelation that Downing Street had sought to secure a diplomatic posting for Lord Doyle —…

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has sparked a fresh political storm by declaring that Britain’s “special relationship” with Donald Trump poses a greater danger to British people than Vladimir Putin’s ongoing assault on Ukraine — a claim that has immediately drawn fierce criticism and renewed scrutiny of his foreign policy positions. Speaking at a press conference for international journalists in London on Tuesday, Polanski was asked about his previous comparisons between Trump and Putin. Citing the US President’s recent threat that “a whole civilisation will die” in relation to Iran, he argued that Trump’s conduct had crossed a line that…

Nigel Farage has predicted that Sir Keir Starmer will be removed as Prime Minister before the end of May, declaring that the Mandelson vetting scandal has destroyed the leader’s credibility and that Labour MPs will move against him once the local election results are in. Speaking at a rally in Barnsley on Wednesday as he continued his campaign ahead of the 7 May elections, the Reform UK leader said Sir Keir would “cling on” until polling day but that a damaging set of results would trigger a move against him from within his own party. “If Labour get obliterated in…

Israel has called on Polish authorities to expel a sitting member of parliament from the Sejm after he held up an Israeli flag bearing a swastika in place of the Star of David during a speech in which he accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Confederation MP Konrad Berkowicz made the gesture at the close of a formal parliamentary motion in which he delivered a sweeping condemnation of Israel’s military campaign, citing the use of banned weapons including phosphorus bombs and the deaths of civilian women and children. He claimed that significantly more children had died in Gaza than…

The newly elected mayor of Saint-Denis, one of Paris’s most densely populated and culturally diverse suburbs, has placed a Palestinian flag in the municipal council chamber — a provocative political statement from a man who won office just weeks ago with a fraction of the area’s total population backing him. Bally Bagayoko was officially installed as mayor of Saint-Denis on 21 March 2026, having won the election in the first round with 50.77% of the vote — 13,506 ballots — defeating incumbent mayor Mathieu Hanotin. However, the turnout stood at just 42.84%, corresponding to a 57.16% abstention rate, meaning Bagayoko’s…

The hospitality group behind some of London’s most celebrated restaurants is set to expand into the capital’s hotel market with a new property in the heart of Mayfair, marking the UK debut of a freshly created premium brand. Minor Hotels, which owns The Wolseley Hospitality Group and operates a portfolio that includes The Wolseley, The Delaunay, Colbert and Zedel, will open The WestDill Mayfair Hotel London in the fourth quarter of this year. The property will occupy a Grade II-listed former NatWest bank building on the corner of Piccadilly and Albemarle Street, following a comprehensive transformation of the historic structure.…

Tucker Carlson has issued a public apology for his role in supporting Donald Trump’s rise to power, telling his audience he is “tormented” by his endorsement and accepts personal responsibility for helping bring about what he now views as a deeply troubling presidency. The former Fox News host made the admission during a conversation with his brother Buckley Carlson — a former Trump speechwriter — on Monday’s episode of The Tucker Carlson Show. Speaking directly about their shared culpability, Tucker told his brother: “You wrote speeches for him, I campaigned for him. We’re implicated in this, for sure. It’s not…