Labour embroiled in ‘cronyism’ row after TUC chief given £20k Bank of England job after war of words with Nigel Farage

Former Reform MS who defected to Plaid Cymru says party is ‘falling apart’

A former Reform UK MS who defected to Plaid Cymru says Nigel Farage’s party is “falling apart at the seams”.

Sarah Cooper-Lesadd quit the party on the same day it was revealed its Welsh leader, Dan Thomas, had been arrested on suspicion of assault and controlling or coercive behaviour.

The 45-year-old announced he was stepping down just hours after missing First Minister’s Questions for “personal reasons”.

Now, Cooper-Lesadd has told the BBC: “Reform has no interest in the work I came here to do. They are not serious about governing Wales. They are far more interested in division, opposition and headlines than in finding solutions.”

She later told the BBC the party is “completely chaotic.”

“When I came into Reform, I did think that there was a certain element of being a broad church, and that’s what I believed. It has become extremely narrow, whereas Plaid has a set of values that is values-based, and that’s what I believe in.”

‘Labour is taking Britain back to 1970s with Paul Nowak appointment’, top Tory says

A top Tory has accused Labour of taking Britain back to the 1970s following Paul Nowak’s appointment to the Bank of England.

“The last thing our country needs is a trade union leader helping to run the Bank of England,” Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith said.

“If it wasn’t obvious who is driving this Labour government’s agenda, this should give you a good idea.

“Labour are taking us back to the 1970s with their high-tax, high-spend agenda – just as Burnham’s own former economic adviser Andy Haldane admitted.”

Reform UK claim Paul Nowak appointment is ‘cronyism in plain sight’

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Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice has claimed the appointment of TUC chief Paul Nowak to the Bank of England’s board of directors is “cronyism in plain sight”.

The party’s deputy leader said: “Our socialist Chancellor has dished out a big Bank of England finance job to a socialist union boss who knows nothing about finance.

“Clearly, trade union donations not only buy your way into government policymaking, but also onto the Bank of England’s board. This is cronyism in plain sight.”

Andy Burnham set to hand water nationalisation plans over to local mayors 

Labour has been urged to go further to fix failing water companies amid reports Andy Burnham plans to hand oversight powers to mayors and other political leaders.

According to The Telegraph, the Prime Minister is planning to announce nine new regional bodies to oversee water firms.

These bodies would reportedly have local political leaders sitting on them, alongside public health officials, customers and environmental officials.

This idea was one of the recommendations of Sir John Cunliffe’s Independent Water Commission published in June last year.

Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Tim Farron has called for water companies to be brought into public ownership, putting billpayers in charge rather than mayors.

The former Lib Dem leader said: “After a summer of hosepipe bans and sewage being dumped at the first sight of rain, Andy Burnham thinks the answer is more politicians on boards.

“Water companies shouldn’t be controlled by mayors, they should be owned by the people. No-one is asking for more politicians and everyone knows there are better solutions.

“This isn’t a solution, it’s a stitch-up for the very water companies who caused this mess. Bills will keep going up, sewage will keep going in, and when these companies go under it’ll be customers who bail them out.

“The only real fix is taking water out of the hands of profiteers and putting it into mutual ownership, run by and for the people who actually use it. Everything else is window dressing.”

Reform MS rules himself out of leadership contest

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Reform UK Member of the Senedd James Evans has ruled himself out of running for leadership following the resignation of the party’s former Welsh leader Dan Thomas.

Mr Evans told reporters: “There has been a lot of speculation said about me over this past 48 hours whether I was going to take and run for the leadership of Reform UK in Wales.

“I always put my family first, and having consulted with my family and my wife, who means the world to me more than anybody else, I’ve decided on this occasion I will not be putting my name forward for the leadership and running in the contest that will come.

“I hope that the party can unite behind a single candidate, that we can get on with the job of representing the people here in Wales in opposition and fighting for those communities that feel left behind.

“I had the majority of support in the group but I do not think a competition at this time would be any beneficial to anybody.”

Piddington residents demand urgent action from Labour after voting to leave UK in symbolic referendum

Residents in Piddington have demanded urgent action from the Government after voting to “leave the UK” in a symbolic independence referendum.

Speaking to GB News, three residents reacted to the results of the referendum after more than 90 per cent voted in favour of the tiny Oxfordshire village leaving Britain.

Announcing the result this morning, Susannah Parden revealed 285 of 350 residents voted to leave the UK, with 26 opting to stay.

The symbolic vote is the latest protest from residents of the village, who are opposing the Government’s plan to move 1,256 asylum seekers into the local MoD Bicester site.

FIND OUT MORE HERE.

Andy Burnham’s ‘EU reset’ torn apart by Alex Burghart

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Alex Burghart has launched a scathing attack on Andy Burnham over Labour’s plans to “reset” the UK’s relationship with the European Union.

Speaking to GB News, the Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party declared the move goes “completely against the Brexit referendum”.

In a recent grilling in the House of Commons, Mr Burghart asked if Labour would rule out rejoining the bloc in the party’s next general election manifesto.

In response, Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer told MPs: “I can hear from the outrage behind me that I have many responsibilities, but writing the next Labour Party manifesto is not one of them.

WATCH HERE.

Andy Burnham left scrambling to fill £10bn hole as Britons warned ‘tax rises or spending cuts inevitable’

Andy Burnham is scrambling to fill a £10billion hole in the public purse as Britons are warned that tax rises or spending cuts are “inevitable”.

Ahead of the ever-looming Budget next month, Whitehall’s money watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, is currently examining the state of the UK economy.

Their assessment is then used to work out the price of debt interest, which then has a major impact on the Chancellor’s plans.

A top Whitehall source said the timing of John Healey’s inaugural Budget was “hugely challenging” due to rising pressures from the Iran war.

Now, leading financial experts have warned that the tax rises – or spending cuts – will be “inevitable” as Mr Healey looks for ways to expand his headroom, which is said to have dropped from £23billion to a mere £5billion.

In the public eye, the Chancellor has informed markets he would commit to a “buffer”, although he is yet to expand on this promise.

The Budget will be held on October 28.

‘People are sick of it!’ Chris Philp tells Labour to ‘wake up’ and leave the ECHR following Piddington referendum

The Tories have told Labour to “wake up” and leave the European Convention on Human Rights following the Piddington “referendum”.

Chris Philp, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: “Piddington’s villagers have spoken – not just for themselves, but for the whole country.

“People are sick of illegal immigrants being foisted on them – whether accommodated in expensive hotels, flats, or military sites.

“We know that these mainly young men have a high propensity to commit rape and sexual assault against women and girls as young as just 12. One illegal immigrant in an asylum hotel even murdered Rhiannon Whyte.

“The Government must now urgently wake up and adopt the Conservative plan to leave the ECHR so illegal immigrants can be rapidly deported – not foisted on communities around the country.

“This should also be a wakeup call for anyone who voted Lib Dem – a party even weaker on border control than Labour.”

Zia Yusuf hits out at Labour’s ‘failure to stop the boats’ following Piddington protest referendum

Zia Yusuf has condemned Labour’s “failure to stop the boats” in light of Piddington villagers voting to leave the UK.

The small Oxfordshire village has been fighting back against plans to house 1,250 male, undocumented migrants in a former Ministry of Defence site.

Reform’s Home Affairs spokesman said: “The result in Piddington is evidence that the British people are at breaking point with the illegal migrant invasion.

“Villagers chose to symbolically vote to leave the UK in order to force Labour to acknowledge the real human impact that its failure to stop the boats is having.

“When I visited, mothers told me they were taking self-defence classes with their daughters, while fathers said they were worried sick about the safety of their families.

“But this isn’t isolated to Piddington. In Portsmouth, we saw 140 illegal migrants arrive with a police escort. In Essex, hundreds of single male migrants are being housed at Wethersfield and transported into nearby towns every day.

“Working-class people have suffered illegals being dumped in their areas for years and the media has totally ignored it.

“Reform UK will ensure this ends. We will stop the boats in the first 100 days of a Reform Government and detain and deport all illegal migrants from Britain.”

Zack Polanski delivers message to by-election voters… in FRENCH

Zack Polanski has delivered yet another controversial message to voters in the upcoming by-election.

This time, the Green Party leader opted to address the electorate in French despite a mere two per cent of the constituency’s population speaking the language.

Still, it is an increase on the number of people who speak Urdu as their main language (139, as of 2021).

Mr Polanski was ridiculed after the former amateur hynotherapist decided to push out a Urdu campaign video on Monday.

Andy Burnham shares heartfelt message following father’s death

Andy Burnham has shared a heartfelt message, thanking those who have shown “warmth and compassion” following his father’s death.

This morning, he said: “We are grateful to everyone who has shared a kind message about my dad, particularly the leaders of the other parties.

“My family and I have been helped though this difficult time by people’s warmth and compassion. It means a great deal to us and we wanted to say thank you.”

Lisa Nandy to consider new legislation to protect Britain’s monuments after vandal who ‘desecrated’ Winston Churchill statue is cleared

Lisa Nandy has confirmed she will consider new legislation to protect the country’s monuments after the “desecration” of the statue of Winston Churchill.

Speaking to GB News, the Culture Secretary declared the nation’s “culture and heritage belongs to us” and should not be “defaced” by people on the left or the right.

The pledge comes after a Dutch activist who defaced Winston Churchill’s statue in London was found not guilty of criminal damage.

Olax Outis, who also goes by the name of Caspar San Giorgio, climbed the statue in London’s Parliament Square in February and sprayed the words ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Zionist war criminal’ on the monument of the former Prime Minister.

WATCH THE INTERVIEW HERE.

Labour branded ‘amateurs with a bunch of pet projects’ as inflation rises to 3.1% – ‘Every family is paying the price’

Labour has been branded “amateurs with a bunch of pet projects” as inflationi rises to 3.1 per cent.

Andrew Griffith MP, the Shadow Chancellor, said: “Inflation is now at 3.1 per cent meaning that every family is paying the price for Labour’s choices.

“Labour’s jobs tax and employment red tape are being passed on to consumers in the weekly shop and their mad energy policies are pushing up costs and leaving Brits exposed.

“In difficult times, we need a serious government with a plan, not amateurs with a bunch of pet projects.”

Labour REFUSES to rule out tax hikes ahead of mounting fears Britons could be in for bludgeoning Budget

Labour has persistently refused to rule out tax hikes ahead of mounting fears Britons could be in for a bludgeoning Budget next month.

At the start of September, during Andy Burnham’s first Prime Minister’s Questions, he was accused of dodging questions on possible tax rises.

The “King of the North” repeatedly grilled by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch over a £14billion blackhole in public finances.

Mrs Badenoch, who warned the Prime Minister his “honeymoon is over”, said: “The markets are clearly worried that we now have a spendthrift Prime Minister who wants to say yes to everyone but cannot tell us where the money is coming from.

“He needs to pay for all his new promises and he has a choice: higher taxes, more borrowing or spending cuts.

“Yesterday, he said change begins with honesty. So will he be honest and tell us is he preparing to raise taxes again, yes or no?”

Mr Burnham replied: “I’m not going to do what any Prime Minister has done and is write the Budget here.

“But can I also say to her and indeed to the whole of her new Shadow Cabinet, the majority of whom were part of a Government that lasted for 49 days, a short-lived Government that crashed confidence in the economy, hammered people’s mortgages.

“She took a decision at the weekend, she removed a shadow chancellor who said that the Truss mini-budget was a mistake and she replaced that shadow chancellor with one that helped write the Truss mini-budget and dare I remind the House that the leader of the Opposition is on record as saying that Liz Truss is 100 per cent right?”

Inflation rises AGAIN as CPI rate hits 3.1% in cost of living blow

The UK’s consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate for 12 months to August jumped to 3.1 per cent per cent, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This is a slight jump from July’s 2.9 per cent rate and is attributed to a rise in transport costs, particularly motor fuels, towards the end of summer.

Today’s figure comes as a blow to Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey ahead of the latter’s Budget statement next month on October 28.

It also comes the day before the Bank of England’s next base rate update, with many analysts pricing in four hikes to the cost of borrowing over the next 12 months.

READ THE WRITE-UP HERE.

Andy Burnham to face Donald Trump in person for first time amid Falklands and Northern Ireland rows

Andy Burnham is set to face Donald Trump in person for the first time next week amid recent rows over the Falkland Islands and Northern Ireland.

The face-to-face talks are expected to take place on Tuesday while both leaders are in attendance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Although the pair have not met in person, they spoke over the phone shortly after the Prime Minister replaced Sir Keir Starmer at No10 in July.

The US President described the call as “interesting”, and revealed that the two discussed North Sea oil, trade, the military alliance and the Strait of Hormuz.

READ MORE HERE.

BRITAIN’S WORK (FROM HOME) FORCE: Labour to make remote working even easier with pro-union ‘shirkers’ charter’

Labour has pledged to make it even easier to work from home by tightening rules around employers’ ability to reject workers’ requests.

First Secretary of State Louise Haigh told delegates at the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) in Brighton that firms would need to show they had “properly” weighed up an employee’s application before turning it down in future.

“If an employer wants to turn down a request, they will have to sit down with their employee, properly consider and explain why,” she said.

“There’s kids to pick up. Parents to look after. Families who rely on us at short notice. And sometimes, a little bit of flexibility can make all the difference.”

Labour is believed to be planning further legislation under the Employment Rights Act to bolster workers’ protections while “flexible working”.

READ MORE HERE.