Fresh headache for Labour as questions grow over Angela Rayner's tax affairs

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner is facing fresh questions over her tax affairs - and there's a feeling in Westminster that they will not be the last.

from Political News - International and UK Politics | Sky News https://ift.tt/RIEPZ0X

PM says UK 'shocked by bloodshed' but stands by 'Israel's right to defend security' as Gaza war reaches six month mark

The UK is "shocked by the bloodshed" but continues to stand by "Israel's right to defend its security", Rishi Sunak has said, six months on from the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

from Political News - International and UK Politics | Sky News https://ift.tt/nZGYRVk

Starmer needs to start considering what a Labour landslide would look like | Adam Boulton

No complacency.

from Political News - International and UK Politics | Sky News https://ift.tt/1O2hBYq

Trump tipped to END Russia war as more countries ‘line up against the West’

Author and Historian Victor Davis Hanson has claimed that Donald Trump could be the person to "be the peace broker" between Russia and Ukraine, as Vladimir Putin continues his invasion on the nation.

The former US President has previously claimed in an exclusive interview with GB News that Putin would "never have invaded Ukraine" if he was still in charge.

In a tell-all interview with Nigel Farage, Trump said: "He would never have done it with me. Everybody knows that. We used to talk about it. It was the apple of his eye, Ukraine.

"He would never have done it. He understood the consequence and we had a good relationship."

Speaking to host Nigel Farage on GBN America, Hanson said if Trump beats Joe Biden and is re-elected as President in November, he could "lead the peace negotiation" between Russia and Ukraine.

Nigel admitted that he has "wondered for a long time at what point a peace negotiation may come", if at all.

Nigel added: "The Trump administration showed it could be possible with the Abraham Accords, which I think even his fiercest critic would admit was a very major foreign policy success."

Hanson responded: "I think he could tell the Ukrainians, we're not going to put you in Nato, but we are going to arm you to the teeth."

Hanson also suggested that Trump could confront Putin and encourage him to "institutionalise the Donbas and Crimea".

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

• Putin loses six more warplanes after Ukraine drone attack on Russian airfield
• Russia issues urgent 'state of emergency' alert after mysterious radiation leak
• 'Putin would have never invaded Ukraine with me': Donald Trump on Russia's war

Hanson told GBN America: "He could tell Putin, you've got to institutionalise the Donbas and Crimea, so that you can tell your people that was an objective. And Ukraine's not Nato, but if you try it again, they're going to be armed to the teeth and ready and it wouldn't be in your interest.

"We in America, we always had this triangulation that China should be no better friend to Russia than they are to us, and Russia should be no better friend to China than they are to us."

In criticism of the Biden administration, Hanson said that the US has "thrown that triangulation out the window", and there's an axis of certain powerful countries that is "starting to peel away".

Hanson said: "We've got this Chinese, Russian, Iranian, North Korean axis that's starting to peel away. Countries like Turkey, Qatar, even India in some ways are being sympathetic."

Expressing his concern for the "alliance" of certain countries against the West, Hanson admitted: "The number of countries that are lining up against the West is not good.

"So the sooner this could be ended, it would be better for everybody."

Nigel agreed with Hanson, and admitted he has been "confused" over the years about Putin.

Nigel revealed: "I've always thought this guy is a smart political operator. It's not a country I wish to live in as a journalist or a broadcaster, but I always thought he was a very smart political operator. And the American right appears to be very, very confused over Putin."

from GB News https://ift.tt/XZmgVwb

WhatsApp tips to social media monitoring: The online security advice given to MPs

MP safety has long been a concern in Westminster but the issue is back under the spotlight after conservative MP William Wragg was this week caught up in a "phishing" scandal.

from Political News - International and UK Politics | Sky News https://ift.tt/v5aDiFo

I haven’t believed a single word Sunak has said on stopping illegal immigration, says Nigel Farage

It sounded really good, didn't it? But did he actually mean it?

Would he seriously consider us saying to the European Court of Human Rights, ‘we can't put up with this, we can’t have you stopping planes going to Rwanda, as you did a year ago, we're actually going to leave'.

Did he actually mean it?

I was absolutely certain as soon as I heard about this, that what he was doing was telling an audience what they wanted to hear, that he didn’t mean it for one little bit.

Well, this afternoon, we sought clarification on this. GB News asked this question of Number 10. Now, they said, ‘GB News are reporting that Rishi Sunak would consider leaving the ECHR.

And the response was, ‘no, only if the planes were stopped from going, then we would consider the option of leaving.’

Well, this afternoon, we sought clarification on this. GB News asked this question of Number 10. Now, they said, ‘GB News are reporting that Rishi Sunak would consider leaving the ECHR.

And the response was, ‘no, only if the planes were stopped from going, then we would consider the option of leaving.’

Well, let's just think about those words one more time. Is he saying he just wants to look at it, or is he saying he really intends to do something?

He's saying if it came to it, and the ECHR was the block of the Rwanda scheme, we would consider leaving, yes.

So, we will consider leaving. Not - we will leave. Not - we will give the British people a referendum.

I don’t believe a single word of it. I haven’t believed a single word Sunak, or any of his predecessors have said on stopping illegal immigration.

from GB News https://ift.tt/Ptq6cOh

'You have earned your place in history!' Donald Trump delivers heartfelt birthday message to Nigel Farage

Ex-US President Donald Trump has delivered a heartfelt birthday message to Nigel Farage to mark his 60th.

Trump took time out from his bid to earn a second term in the White House to brand the GB News star a 'historic' figure and praise his role in attacking the establishment for its wrongdoings.

from GB News https://ift.tt/WarnsIu

Former Tory minister under investigation criticised for latest Israel comments

A former Tory minister who is under investigation by his party is facing fresh criticism for his latest comments about Israel.

from Political News - International and UK Politics | Sky News https://ift.tt/iEUDrfa

Europe accused of turning 'friendly eye' towards Beijing amid security concerns over TikTok

Europe has been accused of lagging behind the US when it comes to regulating China as major concerns have been raised over security and TikTok, a media executive and US-China expert has warned.

Chris Fenton said countries like Germany are definitely turning more of a friendlier eye towards China.

In March, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to pass a bill giving ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, about six months to sell the US assets of the app or face a ban, citing national security concerns.

Now Fenton has said that Europe is behind the US when it comes to regulating China, surrounding concerns over the ban.

He said: "Well, it's surprising to me that Europe is behind on this particular equation because if you look at how tough the European Union has been, or even the UK on various other technology platforms, I would say they're paving the way and leading by example, in the US is typically behind on that type of regulatory framework.

"This one in particular is a little different. I do think there are a lot of crosswinds in terms of how people look at China and look at Beijing, in both Europe and the United States.

"Right now, you can see Germany is definitely turning more of a friendlier eye towards China. While it seems the United States is going the opposite way.

"So it really depends on where the crosswinds are blowing and how people are looking at the nation and that government and that system at any particular moment in terms of how all the more micro effects occur and TikTok is one of those."

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

• Non-binary patient wants tax-funded surgery to create a vagina alongside FUNCTIONAL penis
• South China Sea: Philippines preparing for 'worst-case scenario' - 'We are studying all options'
• Chinese car brand aims to launch the UK's cheapest electric vehicle later this year

Fenton also stressed the influence that TikTok could have when it comes to news for younger people.

He said: "When you look at how much influence it has on under 35-year-olds, which is a big voting demographic, it's a lot.

"If you ever try to focus your attention here on just watching, say MSNBC, or maybe just watching Fox or Newsmax you can literally start to think of the world in one particular way.

"So if they want to throttle, say, an elected official that they would like not to win office, again, they can try to skew news a particular way.

President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held a telephone conversation earlier this week, with Biden raising American concerns about the app's ownership.

Senators are still undecided on how to proceed on the legislation currently working its way through the houses. Biden has said he would sign such a bill if it reached his desk.

from GB News https://ift.tt/fA3YHIt

‘Might as well have stayed with Labour!’ Lee Anderson blasts ‘socialists in disguise’ for ‘destroying’ Tories

Lee Anderson has blamed One Nation Tories for the ‘destruction’ of the Conservative Party while making the staggering assertion that he ‘might as well’ have remained with the Labour Party.

The Reform MP last month opted to defect to Richard Tice’s party after being suspended by the Conservatives.

The party removed the whip from Anderson after he refused to apologise for claims Islamists had ‘control’ of London mayor Sadiq Khan, a decision he lamented in a GB News interview with Martin Daubney.

A new YouGov poll suggests things could be about to get a lot worse for the Tories with a forecast of over 400 seats for Labour at the next General Election.

The Reform MP told GB News: “There's that arrogance and I think they're getting a little bit concerned now and it's unfortunate because there are still some good Tories in the Conservative Party, some good Tory MPs who I'm still friends with who will probably lose their seats at the next election.

“Then there's some MPs who are not so good, a little bit wet, the One Nation lot, who I think have destroyed the Conservative Party.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• Tories facing electoral DEVASTATION as new poll hints ELEVEN Cabinet ministers set to lose seats
  
• 'Absurd!' SNP dubbed 'financially illiterate' after attempting to blame high Scottish taxes on Westminster
  
• David Cameron calls for 'urgent and transparent' Israeli investigation into deaths of British aid workers
  

“The One Nation lot are actually worse than what the Labour Party are, because they're just socialists in disguise...they're not talking about stuff that we talk about, the common-sense stuff, they hate talking about migration, illegal and legal migration.”

In a discussion with Martin Daubney, he continued: “When I moved the Reform party, or should I say when the whip was taken off me, I had lots of councillors contacting me, Conservative councillors from around the country saying they weren't standing again, they were resigning their membership.

“They're fed up, they’re not going to vote Conservative at the next election as well.

“So, that's the sort of place the party is in at the moment.

“It’s very sad because I've got a lot to thank the Conservative Party for.

“They gave me a political home but unfortunately that home wasn't the home I thought it was going to be. I might as well have stayed in the Labour Party. There’s no difference.”

Asked if Reform was splitting the Tory vote, he said: “You could say that the Conservative Party is splitting the vote. There's a lot of anger out there about the two-party politics…

“It's the same old song being chirped out by both political parties. They do not listen to the public and people, quite frankly, have had enough and the Reform party gives people an alternative.”

He went on to suggest there is no difference between the two parties who will be warring for power at the election, expected to take place later this year.

“The Labour Party and the Conservative Party are both out of touch, they need to get out more”, he said.

“They need to spend some time on the ground talking to real people. You can talk about the migrant crisis, you can talk about net zero, you can talk about anything, really.

“They’re completely out of touch.”

from GB News https://ift.tt/A6Pse2S

Donald Trump vows to introduce 'Christian Visibility Day' as he blasts Biden in trans row

Donald Trump has slammed President Biden's declaration of Transgender Day of Visibility, which this year happened to fall on Easter Sunday.

Biden has faced backlash after his annual day to honour the transgender movement, which has taken place since 2009.

Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate, has vowed to introduce November 5 as "Christian Visibility Day" if he is elected.

Estimates from the Pew Research Centre from 2021 suggest that about 63 per cent of the US population is Christian, roughly 210 million. A study from 2022 estimates that nearly 1.64 million people over the age of 13 in the United States identify themselves as transgender.

Speaking at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Trump said: "And what the h*** was Biden thinking when he declared Easter Sunday to be trans visibility day?... Such total disrespect to Christians.

"And on November 5, it is going to be called something else. You know, it's going to be called Christian Visibility Day."

President Biden faced backlash to his post on social media marking the event, which has been held annually on March 31 since 2009.

Trump's national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, previously called the Trans Day of Visibility "appalling and insulting".

LATEST IN THE RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE 2024:

• US economic crash possible in just MONTHS with America surging towards crisis point
• Trump banned from attacking judge's daughter after slamming her on social media
• Trump lashes out after Mexico demands Biden pay $20bn a year: 'I wouldn't give him 10 cents!'

A statement by the White House responding to the claims said: "As a Christian who celebrates Easter with family, President Biden stands for bringing people together and upholding the dignity and freedoms of every American.

"Sadly, it’s unsurprising politicians are seeking to divide and weaken our country with cruel, hateful, and dishonest rhetoric. President Biden will never abuse his faith for political purposes or for profit."

The Republican candidate has previously been called out for seeming to flip sides on issues surrounding transgender rights. In since unreported radio and television interviews from spring and summer 2012, Trump celebrated the interest in a 23-year-old transgender woman named Jenna Talackova participating in a Canadian pageant.

The then-owner of the Miss Universe pageant would go on to cite the possible participation of transgender women in Olympic sports to justify his decision to end a ban on transgender pageant participants.

However, in the run-up to the upcoming election, Trump promised to "ban men from participating in women’s sports," when speaking about transgender athletes.

He has also referred to gender-affirming surgery for minors as "child sexual mutilation," and said he would seek to make such surgeries illegal if he returned to the White House

from GB News https://ift.tt/sDUnp79

Online comments made by JK Rowling not recorded as non-crime hate incident, police confirms

Online comments made by Harry Potter author JK Rowling have not been recorded as a non-crime hate incident, Police Scotland has confirmed.

from Political News - International and UK Politics | Sky News https://ift.tt/kqWhw3z

Sunak demands 'transparent investigation' into strike that killed British aid workers in Gaza

Rishi Sunak has demanded a "thorough and transparent investigation" into an Israeli airstrike that killed three British aid workers in Gaza.

from Political News - International and UK Politics | Sky News https://ift.tt/kb1zmHs

Trump lashes out after Mexico demands Biden pay $20bn a year: 'I wouldn't give him 10 cents!'

Donald Trump has hit out at President Joe Biden saying he 'lacks respect' from his Mexican counterpart over the migrant crisis.

The former President has suggested Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's plan to ask for money simply to speak with Biden is a sign of Biden's weakness.

President Obrador has reportedly demanded $10 billion to talk with President Biden, with Trump suggesting it reflects Biden's perceived weakness.

It comes after President Obrador suggested that the Mexican government would work to support the US efforts to curb the surge of illegal migrants, but only if certain conditions were met.

Trump told Fox News: "[President Obrador] said he wants $10 billion essentially just to talk, $10 billion to talk. That wouldn't happen with me, with the wall.

"It's very simple: lack of respect for the president. They would never say that to me. They would never say before we even talk.

"They want $10 billion a year, Mexico just asked for $10 billion a year. They would never ask it. I wouldn't give them 10 cents."

Obrador has expressed demands for President Biden to lift sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela government and the granting, amnesty and providing of legal status to "millions of law-abiding Mexicans living in the US."

LATEST US DEVELOPMENTS

• US immigration sparks outrage after adding new gender option to forms
• Joe Biden gaffe brutally mocked after embarrassing slip up in Easter message
• Biden in awkward gaffe as he makes completely false claim about Baltimore bridge

In March, Mexican President Obrador criticised a Texas law that would empower state law enforcement authorities to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the US Mexico border, saying Mexico will not accept anyone deported by Texas.

He called the law "draconian, dehumanising and unfair" and would prompt a diplomatic response from Mexico.

He said: "Let me say this once and for all, we will not accept deportations from the Texan government.

"We oppose this draconian law, it is completely contrary to human rights, completely dehumanizing, anti-Christian, unjust, it violates the norms of human coexistence (and) not only international law, but even violates the Bible."

Arrests of migrants for illegally crossing the US Mexico border have dropped so far this year after a record high in December.

The biggest decline was among Venezuelans, whose arrests plummeted to 3,184 in February and 4,422 in January from 49,717 in December.

House Speaker Mike Johnson recently said that the US could force Mexico to comply with American immigration policy.

President Obrador however disagreed, telling CBS News: "We are not a colony. We are not a protectorate of any foreign country.

"And we have a very good relationship with the government of the United States — but not one of subordination."

from GB News https://ift.tt/tmkxl3W

Sir Keir Starmer slammed for 'uncertainty' as Labour refuses to guarantee free childcare hours

Labour under pressure as Tories slam party for for sowing 'uncertainty' with failure to guarantee childcare policy.

The Labour Party is under pressure to confirm whether or not it will keep the Government's plan for free childcare after the election.

The Conservative Party has promised to introduce 30 free hours of childcare a week to all eligible families from September 2025. As of April 1, parents of two-year-olds are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare per week during term time, something which will be extended to working parents of children older than 9 months.

Labour has said it will "not reduce" the number of hours parents are currently entitled to in England if it wins the election, but it has not committed to matching what the Tories have promised in the future.

In a statement yesterday, a spokesperson for the party said: "Labour has been clear: we will not take away entitlements".

This came after Education Secretary Gillian Keegan wrote to Labour's Bridget Phillipson and shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves' demanding clarification on the party's position.

Keegan said: "Parents have told me that they are now uncertain whether they should go back to work, grow their families, or take a promotion, because they don’t know if they will still have this childcare provision.

"Will the Labour party commit to supporting our policy of giving working parents 30 hours free childcare a week from when their child is nine months old to when they start school? If not, how would you make up for the 60,000 fewer people in work that our policy will support?"

But a Labour spokesperson told the Guardian that the current system is a "shambles".

They said: “This is yet another pathetic attempt by the Conservatives to distract attention from the chaos that we now see unfolding in our childcare system on the day the new system of entitlements begins.

“The Conservatives have no plan to deliver the entitlements they have offered this year, let alone from 2025, and they still cannot guarantee parents will receive what the chancellor promised them in the 2023 budget."

The spokesperson added: "Labour has been clear: we will not take away entitlements.

"We have asked Sir David Bell to lead a review into delivering a more effective childcare system, far from the shambles that the Conservatives have created."

A Tory source said: “The fact Labour has no plan is a dividing line here.”

Speaking to GB News, Labour's Nick Thomas-Symonds said: "If Labour is privileged enough to form a government, we will stand by these entitlements.

"We will not take these entitlements away or reduce them. But what we will do is put forward an actual way of accessing them of making them a reality for everybody who is entitled to them."

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

• Reform UK 'could cost Tories 53 seats' with Sunak considering summer general election
• Labour MPs refuse to use 'racist' union flag on campaign leaflets - 'Symbol of the far right'
• SNP plunges 20 POINTS in the polls as Humza Yousaf branded 'a total disaster'

The opposition has accused the Government of having a "childcare pledge without a plan" after childcare place numbers fell as new entitlements come into effect.

Labour pointed to Ofsted data suggesting the number of childcare places declined by more than 1,000 between March and December 2023, ahead of an anticipated increase in demand for places.

from GB News https://ift.tt/Phy1xsc

'We'll always protect free speech!' JK Rowling backed by Rishi Sunak as Harry Potter author hits out at new SNP misgendering laws

Rishi Sunak has backed Harry Potter author J K Rowling after she challenged police in Scotland to arrest her over her views on transgender issues.

The SNP introduced new hate crime laws under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, which creates a new offence of “stirring up of hatred” for protected characteristics, or “misgendering” trans people.

An SNP minister admitted that Rowling could be investigated after she described a series of transgender women as men on the day the laws came into force.

In a mocking post on social media, the author encouraged Police Scotland to arrest her.

But Sunak threw his weight behind the Harry Potter author, saying the Conservative Party would always protect free speech.

The Prime Minister said: "People should not be criminalised for stating simple facts on biology. We believe in free speech in this country, and Conservatives will always protect it."

Yesterday, Rowling posted images of 10 trans people, mocking their claim that they are women.

She referred to rapist Isla Bryson as a "lovely Scottish lass", but at the end of the list wrote: "April Fools! Only kidding. Obviously, the people mentioned in the above tweets aren’t women at all, but men, every last one of them." She also used the hashtag "#arrestme."

She used the hashtag #arrestme.

Hitting out at the new legislation, Rowling said the MSPs who had voted for it had put a "higher value on the feelings of men performing their idea of femaleness, however misogynistically or opportunistically, than on the rights and freedoms of actual women and girls".

She added: “The new legislation is wide open to abuse by activists who wish to silence those of us speaking out about the dangers of eliminating women’s and girls’ single-sex spaces, the nonsense made of crime data if violent and sexual assaults committed by men are recorded as female crimes, the grotesque unfairness of allowing males to compete in female sports, the injustice of women’s jobs, honours and opportunities being taken by trans-identified men, and the reality and immutability of biological sex."

She claimed that self-identification would have "serious consequences" for women's rights and spaces, claiming that the "strongest impact" will be felt by victims of sexual assault and female prisoners.

Rowling added: "It is impossible to accurately describe or tackle the reality of violence and sexual violence committed against women and girls, or address the current assault on women’s and girls’ rights, unless we are allowed to call a man a man.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

• Reform UK 'could cost Tories 53 seats' with Sunak considering summer general election
• Labour MPs refuse to use 'racist' union flag on campaign leaflets - 'Symbol of the far right'
• SNP plunges 20 POINTS in the polls as Humza Yousaf branded 'a total disaster'

"Freedom of speech and belief are at an end in Scotland if the accurate description of biological sex is deemed criminal.

But First Minister Humza Yousaf said the legislation "absolutely protects people in their freedom of expression" while guarding "people from a rising tide of hatred that we’ve seen far too often in our society".

The act was supported by MSPs from Scottish Labour and the Scottish Liberal Democrats, as well as the SNP.

It also creates a new offence of “threatening or abusive behaviour that is intended to stir up hatred” on the grounds of age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and variations in sex characteristics.

from GB News https://ift.tt/JO4GegT

PM backs JK Rowling as row over Scotland's new hate crime laws escalates

Rishi Sunak has said people should not be criminalised "for stating simple facts on biology" as he backed author JK Rowling in her criticism of new Scottish hate crime laws.

from Political News - International and UK Politics | Sky News https://ift.tt/R8KF3XP

'Cost of chaos': Labour hits out at Tory spending with new website

Labour is set to launch a "cost of chaos" website that criticises the amount of government spending under Rishi Sunak.

from Political News - International and UK Politics | Sky News https://ift.tt/lxbNWg0