What next in Gaza, will Russia launch new attack and lessons from Iran: Michael Clarke Q&A
Michael Clarke is here and ready to start answering your questions.
Lots of you have been in touch, and we will aim to get through as many of your questions as we can, with presenter Kamali Melbourne putting them to him.
You can watch along in the live stream at the top of this page.
You can also still submit your questions using the form above - we'll try to put as many as we can to Clarke.
You can still submit your questions
There's still time to ask Michael Clarke a question before his latest Q&A at 1pm today.
Just put it in the box at the top of this page.
We'll be back with answers to your questions at 1pm on Wednesday
Thanks for all your questions so far - you still have time to get in touch, using the form at the top of the page.
We'll be back at 1pm on Wednesday, when presenter Kamali Melbourne will put your questions to our expert Michael Clarke.
Do you have a question for our military expert?
Our military analyst Michael Clarke will be back later this week to answer your questions.
He regularly answers your Ukraine war questions but there have been lots of other stories recently you might want to pick his brains on - from the UK increasing defence spending, to Donald Trump dominating a NATO summit, and the short but concerning Israel-Iran conflict.
Use the form at the top of this page to get in touch and submit your question.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
34 minutes ago
- The Sun
Fresh hope for thousands of households suffering with extreme service charges planned by government law change
THOUSANDS of households will be able to challenge extortionate leasehold service charges more easily, the government has said. Households who live in leasehold properties pay fees to the person who owns the building or their managing agents for services including building insurance and maintenance. These service charges can include repairs and maintenance for things such as the roof, windows, drains and gutters. The payments are usually due twice a year and the exact amount can vary depending on the costs the landlord incurs. This can mean that they can be hit with surprise bills that can often run into thousands of pounds. Almost five million homeowners pay service fees, which have risen by 11% in the last year to an average of £2,300 a month, according to Hamptons. Leaseholders have been promised that the system will change by several governments and Labour when it was in opposition. The government is hoping to tackle this problem by forcing companies to be transparent about the fees they are charging, Sky News reports. The reforms will be introduced after a consultation, the government said. Leaseholders will receive standardised service charge documentation that will explain clearly and in detail how the fees are calculated and where their money is being spent. Other reforms will stop leaseholders from automatically having to pay for a landlord's legal costs even if they have won their case. The changes will allow homeowners to challenge unreasonable service charges more easily, housing minister Matthew Pennycook said. He added that the changes will put pressure on managing agents to reduce the fees. It will also introduce a strict new qualification system for managing agents to try and improve standards in the sector. Mr Pennycook told Sky News: "The system has some inherent inequities in it that do allow leaseholders to be gouged and particularly when it comes to managing agents there are unscrupulous people out there. "They are abusing leaseholders and there's poor practice. How do service charges work? Service charges are fees paid by a leaseholder or resident and are set by the landlord. The amount varies every year depending on costs to the landlord. The details are usually set out in your lease. Landlords usually calculate the fee based on what they think they will spend. At the end of the year they should provide a statement. Some leases allow landlords to ask for contributions towards a "sinking fund" which is a reserve that can be built up for larger scale works. These could include repairing the roof of the building or fixing issues with the foundations. "The reforms we are announcing today and reforms that are to come are going to bear down managing agents and ensure the sector as a whole is properly regulated." Unfair charges Some leaseholders have said that they have been charged unfair fees. Judges have made some landlords pay back up to £100,000 after the leaseholders took them to tribunal. In one example, the leaseholders were charged £135 to change two lightbulbs. In February 2023, it was revealed that landlords and insurance brokers were taking up to 60% of the £1.6billion leaseholders paid for building insurance as hidden commissions. New rules now stop insurance companies from choosing policies just to earn the highest commission. But brokers and managing agents are still allowed to take commissions. The government has previously promised to ban excessive building insurance commissions through the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. Instead, landlords will only be able to charge a straightforward and fair "permitted insurance fee" for the work they actually do, making costs clearer and protecting leaseholders from hidden charges. However, these proposed laws still need further legislation to come into effect, and the government hasn't yet provided a timetable for this. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing previously sold The Sun that "far too many leaseholders" are being hit with "unreasonable and extortionate charges". New rules planned by the government also plan to introduce commonhold agreements to replace leasehold ones. Commonhold allows flat owners to jointly own and manage their buildings, which cuts out landlords and property management companies. But the proposed rules only apply to new homes. How to challenge fees Leaseholders have the right to request extra information from their landlord within six months of receiving a summary of costs. You can challenge a cost if you think it's unreasonable, the standard of work is poor or you don't think you should have to pay it. For example, you could question why you need to pay for lift maintenance if you live in a ground-floor flat and it's not included in your lease. Or you can challenge for communal services, such as a garden that is always closed or a concierge that never has any staff. To challenge these services you need to apply to a tribunal which has the power to rule on whether the service charge is reasonable or payable. In England this is the first-tier tribunal (property chamber). In Wales it's the leasehold valuation tribunal. Applying to the tribunal usually costs a fixed fee of £114, but you may be able to waive it if you have certain benefits. If your case is transferred from court to the tribunal, you'll only pay the difference between the court fees and the tribunal fee - or nothing if you've already paid more than £114 in court fees. If a hearing is scheduled, you'll need to pay an additional £227 hearing fee. Speak to the Leasehold Advisory Service online at or call them on 020 7832 2500 to find out more and get free advice on service charge issues. You could also apply to the Housing Ombudsman if you want to complain about how your service charge fees have been managed. The Ombudsman said cases have jumped by 25 per cent in the last four years. .
Telegraph
35 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Steve Coogan claims working class is being ‘ethnically cleansed'
Steve Coogan has claimed working-class people are being 'ethnically cleansed'. The Alan Partridge actor told BBC Breakfast that the redevelopment of major northern cities did not 'actually benefit' the working class. Coogan, who endorsed the Green Party in last year's general election, appeared on the programme to promote co-operatives, which he said fought back against 'big business'. 'The problem with all these cities like Liverpool and Manchester is they've got all these big shiny buildings,' he said. 'But all the people who are disenfranchised have been ethnically cleansed from the area. They don't actually benefit. 'What the Co-operative movement does is tries to keep that money in the area and empower people and try to mitigate and push back against the effects of big business.' Coogan's remarks appeared to be a criticism of gentrification rather than mass migration. Going on to accuse Reform UK of ' racist rhetoric ', he added: 'What it's about is the system, the political system isn't really working for most working people. 'From the economy to public services, it just isn't having any kind of effect for ordinary people. 'The Government leans into big business and cosies up to them without actually delivering for working people. So people are struggling. They're ignored.' 'Reform's racist rhetoric' Coogan continued: 'We've seen all these benefits cuts from the party that is supposed to represent ordinary hard-working people and the Co-operative movement is basically the best way out of that. 'If the Government want to stop Reform making all these gains, instead of dealing with the symptoms of the problem by leaning into the racist rhetoric of Reform, they can deal with that by helping working people and the best way of doing that is to support the Co-operative movement.' Coogan is a former Labour supporter who endorsed Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 and 2019 general elections. He signed a letter in October 2024 saying Britain was 'aiding and abetting' alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza. During the interview, he also took aim at supermarkets and other large companies, which he said had 'driven out' smaller businesses in 'dying' post-industrial areas. He said: 'If you're a small business owner you're going to get driven out of business by people like Tesco who come along, build a huge. 'Any money that's generated [by a Co-operative] is kept in the local economy so it supports local business, supports social initiatives, so the money doesn't get sucked out by huge extraction that takes place on a global scale so that you create microeconomies where people support each other both socially and economically. 'And these towns in the post-industrial landscape that are dying can be reinvigorated. And the Co-op has demonstrably done that throughout the world and yet it started in this country and it's largely ignored in this country. 'So what I'm trying to do is shine a light on it and say local Co-operative movement. That's the best way out of any dire economic situation.' Coogan previously attracted criticism for calling Conservative voters 'ill-informed' and 'ignorant' before the 2019 election and saying earlier this year that Margaret Thatcher was so lacking in empathy that she would be diagnosed with a disorder today.
Daily Mail
35 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
'I'm a hard-enough bast***': Keir Starmer shrugs off disastrous first year as PM as he pleads for Labour MPs to stick with him saying the 'toughest' part is over
Keir Starmer has shrugged off his disastrous first year in No10 telling panicking MPs the 'toughest' part is over. The PM pleaded for his party to stick together and focus on 'fantastic' achievements in a BBC interview to mark the anniversary of his July 4 election landslide. But Sir Keir also acknowledged an array of blunders, saying caving into Labour rebels on welfare was a 'tough day' and he regretted a speech warning uncontrolled immigration could turn Britain into an 'island of strangers'. Speaking on the Political Thinking podcast with Nick Robinson, the premier tried to make a virtue out of U-turns on issues such as the national inquiry into grooming gangs, arguing it was 'common sense' to 'look again' when doubts were raised. And he bizarrely branded himself a 'hard-enough bast***' when asked whether he had the determination to revive Labour's fortunes. Pollsters and political historians have suggested Sir Keir has endured the worst start of any PM on record. Since racking up one of the biggest Commons majorities ever, the PM has seen his personal ratings nose-dive and Reform leapfrog Labour in voting intention. Polling guru Sir John Curtice has warned that Sir Keir was 'never especially popular' and the public 'still don't know what he stands for'. This week has been especially stormy, with the massive Labour rebellion on benefits reforms and chaos over Rachel Reeves breaking down in tears during PMQs. In his interview, Sir Keir insisted the government had 'done some fantastic things' and 'driven through so much change'. He said that included bringing down waiting lists in the NHS, as well as 'loads of improvements in schools and stuff that we can do for children'. Sir Keir went on: 'Whether that's rolling out school uniform projects, whether it's school meals, breakfast clubs, you name it - and also [bringing in] a huge amount of investment into the country. 'And of course we've been busy getting three trade deals.' Sir Keir said he did not 'pretend' that the Labour revolt this week forcing him to neuter his benefit curbs was not a 'tough day'. 'I take responsibility,' he said. 'we didn't get the process right'. But he tried to make a virtue of his 'Sir U-turn' reputation, suggesting it meant he was listening. 'In the world that isn't politics, it is commonplace for people to look again at a situation and judge it by the circumstances as they now are and make a decision accordingly,' he said of the changes. 'And that is common sense, it's pragmatic, and it's a reflection of who I am. 'It was important that we took our party with us, that we got it right. 'And Labour politicians come into public life because they care deeply about these issues.' He said: 'I'm not one of these ideological thinkers, where ideology dictates what I do. I'm a pragmatist. You can badge these things as U-turns - it's common sense to me,' he said. 'If someone says to me, 'here's some more information and I really think it's the right thing to do', I'm the kind of person that says, 'well in which case, let's do it'.' In a message to Labour MPs, Sir Keir said the government needed to 'emphasise the many good things we have done'. 'We're only just starting. This in a sense is the toughest year, so we're only just beginning,' he said. It was put to Sir Keir that a friend he plays football with had described him as a 'hard bast***', but he appeared to have 'lost the dressing room'. 'Absolutely not,' he said. 'The Labour dressing room, the PLP, is proud as hell of what we've done, and their frustration - my frustration - is that sometimes the other stuff, welfare would be an example, can obscure us being able to get that out there.' He added: 'I'm a hard-enough bastard to find out who it was who said that, so that I can have a discussion with him.' Sir Keir said he was ready to turn things round, saying 'I hate losing in football, I hate losing in politics'.
