Nigel Farage has ruled out an electoral pact with the Conservative Party as he launched a scathing attack on Tory MPs whom he branded as “stuffy boring old b******s”.
The Reform UK leader made the comments during a Westminster event yesterday, where he dismissed the possibility of working with the Conservatives.
“I have never met a more stuck up, arrogant out of touch group of people, than at least half of the Tory MPs,” Farage said.
He added that Conservative MPs, “should all be in the Lib Dems anyway. They don’t have a single conservative idea among them.”
Farage’s criticism extended to the Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, whose work ethic he openly questioned.
During his address, he mockingly claimed that Badenoch “often works very hard in the afternoon for a few hours”.
He added: “There is no pact, there is no deal. We’re not the Conservative Party. We’re not Conservative-lite. We’re not Tory-lite.
“In fact, frankly, we pretty much despise them for their level of betrayal.”
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Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood ‘humiliated’ by Sentencing Council, says Robert Jenrick
Robert JenrickGETTY
Shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick says Shabana Mahmood has been “humiliated’ by the Sentencing Council after her request to review guidelines – dubbed ‘two-tier’ by critics – was rejected.
Jenrick said: “Shabana Mahmood has been humiliated by the Sentencing Council.
“In three days time we will have two-tier sentencing because of her and Two-Tier Keir.
“It is shameful they sat on their hands and chose not to legislate to prevent two-tier justice.”
Sentencing Council REJECTS call to drop new ‘two-tier’ sentencing guidelines
The Sentencing Council has rejected Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s request to review controversial sentencing guidelines for criminals from ethnic, cultural or faith minorities.
The independent body held a special meeting to consider the justice secretary’s demand that it changes recommendations that pre-sentence reports “will normally be considered necessary” for these groups.
In a letter to Mahmood, Lord Justice William Davis, chair of the Sentencing Council, defended the guidelines which apply to courts in England and Wales.
The Council “concluded that no errors were made” in the process of developing the guidelines. Mahmood had previously expressed opposition to the recommendations herself.
The guidelines have been branded as “two tier” by critics, with the Conservative opposition claiming they show “blatant bias” against Christians and straight white men.
Nigel Farage outlines how he would end tariff row with Donald Trump as he explains US trade deal proposal
Nigel Farage and President Trump are long term allies GETTY
Nigel Farage has revealed exactly what he would go about ending the tariff row with President Trump.
The Reform UK leader is a Trump ally and has often talked up his right-wing counterpart.
He was grilled on BBC Radio 4 today about whether he condones Trump’s actions which could pummel UK businesses.
Speaking to Nick Robinson, he said the whole row could have been avoided if Britain arranged a free trade deal with the US in 2017, claiming the previous Tory government had the opportunist to do so.
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Labour opens first ever ‘green’ all-electric mega-prison to house 1,500 inmates
Labour opens first ever ‘green’ all-electric mega-prison to house 1,500 inmates
PA
Labour has opened the first ever “green” all-electric mega-prison to house 1,500 inmates.
“Megaprison” HMP Millsike in East Yorkshire is set to become one of the UK’s biggest jails and the first of four to be built as part of the Government’s plans to create 14,000 additional prison places by 2031.
The all-electric facility, featuring solar panels and heat pump technology, has been constructed adjacent to the maximum-security HMP Full Sutton, which holds nearly 600 category A and B male inmates.
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Keir Starmer’s director of communications QUITS after just nine months
Keir Starmer’s communications director, Matthew Doyle, is stepping down after nine months in No 10.
Doyle is the second senior member of Starmer’s team to be in post for less than a year after the General Election.
The senior special adviser is leaving that Downing Street’s strategy and messaging have settled following the initial turbulence of the administration, according to The Guardian.
His responsibilities will be divided between James Lyons, who will oversee communications strategy, and Steph Driver, who will manage communications delivery.
UK economy stalls under Rachel Reeves, GDP figures reveal
The UK economy expanded more than initially estimated in the first half of last year but has shown minimal growth since Labour took office last summer, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The ONS revised its GDP growth estimate for January to March 2024 from 0.8 per cent to 0.9 per cent, while second-quarter growth was adjusted from 0.4 per cent to 0.5 per cent.
Labour took power in July during the third quarter, for which GDP remained flat at 0.0 per cent. The fourth-quarter estimate remained unchanged at 0.1 per cent growth.
Following the upward revisions, the ONS reported that the UK economy grew by 1.1 per cent in 2024, an increase from the previous estimate of 0.9 per cent.
Grant Fitzner, the ONS chief economist, noted that the revised GDP figures suggest the economy performed slightly better in the first half of last year than initially thought but has shown little growth since last summer.
Labour councillor facing complaint over grooming gangs vote after ‘warning’ her paedophile son of arrest
Councillor Carol Clark and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council HQ
A Teesside councillor is facing a complaint after she voted against a motion calling for a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal despite allegedly “warning” her paedophile son ahead of his arrest.
Labour politician Carol Clark, who chairs the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Children and Young People Committee, is under fire for not declaring a potential conflict of interest due to her son’s criminal history.
Cllr Clark’s son Richard was jailed for 12 years in 2018 after the “malign puppet master” paedophile coerced people to abuse their own children.
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Rachel Reeves on course to be less popular than Liz Truss’s mini-budget Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng after Spring Statement
Rachel Reeves on course to be less popular than Liz Truss’s mini-budget Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng after Spring Statement
Getty
Rachel Reeves is rapidly becoming as unpopular as Kwasi Kwarteng, the Chancellor behind Liz Truss’s catastrophic mini-budget.
The current Chancellor’s approval ratings are plummeting towards the historic lows seen during the 2022 financial crisis that ended Truss’s premiership after just 49 days.
A damning Ipsos poll released yesterday shows just one in five believe Reeves is doing a good job, with half saying she is performing badly.
Her approval rating stands at -32, just five points above Kwarteng’s post-mini-budget score of -37.
The poll was conducted as Reeves unveiled a fresh round of benefit cuts in her Spring Statement.
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Civil servants rally against Angela Rayner as staff strike against returning to office
Deputy Prime Minister Angela RaynerGETTY
Civil servants working for Angela Rayner have voted to strike over demands to attend the office three days a week, just as the Deputy Prime Minister pushes forward with her Employment Rights Bill.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union said Rayner’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government staff are planning action over office closures and “rigid office attendance policies”.
Members also object to restrictions on which jobs can be done from which offices. They have raised concerns about limited promotion opportunities.
Fran Heathcote, the general secretary of the PCS, said: “As the main face of the Employment Rights Bill, the Deputy Prime Minister must match her words with action and listen to her own workers.”
The timing is particularly awkward for Rayner as she champions workplace reforms. Her reforms, currently progressing through Parliament, would give unions twice as long to strike after an initial ballot.
RECAP: Keir Starmer vows MPs WILL vote on sending British soldiers to Ukraine as he prepares to deploy military top brass to Kyiv
‘If we were to deploy in any scenario on a long-term basis then of course Parliament will have a say in that,’ Starmer told GB NewsREUTERS
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed that MPs will have a vote on sending British soldiers to Ukraine “in any scenario on a long-term basis”.
After facing calls from the leaders of the Tories, Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats to put the deployment of troops to Parliament, Starmer has confirmed the Commons “will have a say”.
A triple-pronged approach will see military experts from Europe’s three largest economies work together on plans that could be implemented when a peace agreement is eventually reached.
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