Rod Stewart backs Reform and Nigel Farage as he criticises Starmer
Reform has been ranking highly in the polls over the past year since last year's General Election when they got five seats at Westminster.
But now Stewart reckons they deserve more as he criticised Keir Starmer for his fishing deal.
The singer insists he is not out of touch despite his 'extreme wealth' - which he says he deserves – and he says he 'likes Farage's brother' having got to know him quite well in recent times.
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Speaking to The Times, Stewart said: 'It's hard for me because I'm extremely wealthy, and I deserve to be, so a lot of it doesn't really touch me. But that doesn't mean I'm out of touch.
'For instance, I've read about Starmer cutting off the fishing in Scotland and giving it back to the EU. That hasn't made him popular. We're fed up with the Tories. We've got to give Farage a chance. He's coming across well.
'What options have we got? I know some of his family, I know his brother, and I quite like him.
'But Starmer's all about getting us out of Brexit and I don't know how he's going to do that. Still, the country will survive. It could be worse. We could be in the Gaza Strip.'
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Wales Online
42 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Fear and loathing in Labour: A party on the edge angry at Drakeford, Morgan and Starmer
Fear and loathing in Labour: A party on the edge angry at Drakeford, Morgan and Starmer Welsh Labour is approaching next year's Senedd election in a state of consternation Keir Starmer's visit to Wales included a short speech to party members (Image: Getty Images ) There are a few facts that are inescapably true about the Labour Party in Wales. It has had a very long time in power and still maintains a lot of support yet being under the red umbrella of "Welsh Labour" doesn't mean they are one homogeneous group. In Wales, it has a leader who wasn't the first choice of many of the party's elected politicians, and didn't win a member ballot, and in the UK they have a leader who did win a leadership contest, but whose popularity is tanking. These things matter because right now the party is facing up to a very difficult year with a fight on at least two fronts - the new, populist appeal of Reform on one side and the familiar thorn of Plaid Cymru on the other. Despite its history, resources, supporters and traditions, Labour is approaching the Senedd elections in May next year fearing two historic disasters - its first defeat in a Welsh election in more than 100 years and the formation of the first Welsh Government since devolution began in 1999 in which it is not the dominant party. There are many causes for concern nagging at and dividing party members, politicians and leaders. Among the most divisive are the recriminations over how and why the party was instrumental in bringing in a new electoral system that some believe will cost it the inbuilt advantage which it has enjoyed through first-past-the-post elections for generations. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Mark Drakeford personally comes in for a lot of the criticism. He is the one who pushed through, alongside Plaid Cymru, the new electoral system for choosing the 96 members of the expanded Senedd. At first, the new system was seen by political pundits as having been a stitch up by the two parties which would shut out smaller parties and independents through a complex list system in which Wales would be divided up into 16 super constituencies, from each of which six Senedd Members would be chosen through a system of proportional representation. Article continues below Yet the rise of Reform has left that political calculation looking far less certain. If Reform repeats the success it saw in last year's Westminster election - in which it came second in 13 constituencies, third in nine and fourth in four - it would be uniquely poised to benefit from an election in which there could theoretically be no advantage from actually having the most votes in a constituency if the numbers are tight. Devolved Wales has always had some proportional representation through the 20 regional Senedd Members, alongside the 40 directly-elected ones. But now all 96 will be chosen by PR. Thanks to the geographic spread of its support, Reform could pick up one or two Senedd Members in all of the super constituencies in Wales. Former First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford (Image: Getty Images ) "Thankyou very f***ing much Mark Drakeford" I remember being told long before the polls started showing just how bad it could get for Labour. There is a widely held belief that this has been his pet project, something he believed to be right so insisted on delivering before he retires from front line politics. But, Labour is a strange, unforgiving beast. Rivalries from decades ago between different Cardiff branches are not forgotten and he is criticised for listening to his Cardiff West group and long-term allies rather than taking the electoral pulse of other parts of the party, lay members or even voters. The theory is this is something he has long wanted and has delivered, so no matter what the collateral damage he is stubbornly wedded to this model whatever the implications. He is accused of defiantly pursuing reform "intent on losing us the next election" because he listens to few outside his local circle. However, all the dredging up rows and bad blood from decades ago, masks a reality that the new electoral system might be the thing that actually saves Labour from total annihilation. First-past-the post won't help a party if it isn't the biggest party in a seat, and the latest polls suggest there may not be many seats in Wales where Labour can be certain of that any more. A huge MRP poll by YouGov last week gave us an indication how Labour would fare in a straight first past the post election, and it wasn't good with almost all the red wiped off Wales' electoral map. Of the 32 constituencies polled, Labour is projected to get four seats. Suddenly that 18% in the new Senedd looks an awful lot better than that 12.5%. The polling shows that in Wales, Labour would be left with just four MPs This weekend, in a warm and muggy Llandudno party members did their usual, booking out the hotel rooms, going to a disco led by the First Minister, and then a gala dinner after a long day of being moved to empty seats to clap at speeches so the camera picks up a full and enthusiastic room. But you'd be lucky outside that room if you knew that because someone had decided to curtail media access to the top politicians more than I have ever seen at a party conference before. Yes, it fell at a terrible time with Keir Starmer in the spotlight over his U-turn on reform of Personal Independence Payments (Pip) and facing criticism from many in his own party in Wales over how his handling of the situation. But surely the party would want people to know the Prime Minister had been there? A few reasons were given to me as to why any of the usual things didn't happen. There was extra limited access to the traditional visit the day before, no media huddle to ask questions, no one-on-ones. Not even the attempt to get the party's usual favoured choice of an opinion piece on our website or paper. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is shown a Hawk T2, the RAF's premier fast jet trainer during a visit to RAF Valley (Image: Getty Images ) Different reasons were given to me as to why that happened - Welsh Labour told Number 10 to steer clear and others wondered if the heightened security was signs of something going behind the scenes - but it was, as a side note, galling given it wasn't long since Keir Starmer invited members of the regional press to Downing Street to explain how important their role is and how much he values our audience. My own theory? They didn't want more questions about division, so let's get in, get out, and tick the box of having visited Wales. "Mad" is how one comms professional responded when I explained the above. Keir Starmer came and ticked a box, but delivering a short, anti-climatic speech which was short of substance and didn't really offer much to the electoral battle Labour faces. The line from his team about a "backroom stitch up between the Tories, Reform and Plaid" didn't go down well with his colleagues, let alone the opposition. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks during the 2025 Welsh Labour party conference (Image: Getty Images ) Granted, there is a small cross-section of people who attend a party conference, clearly you're a big fan, a big fan with the time, resources, inclination and money to attend. But in some ways, it's the most telling way to gauge the mood, because if you're one of these uber fans and you're not happy, then there is a real problem. The dynamics were variously described to me as being "end of days" and "awful" and some of that is inevitable because there are wider, worldwide factors at play which will impact the result here. Populist parties are doing well, traditional parties are getting a kicking and the news agenda is dominated by things that are out of the control of anyone but Eluned Morgan personally is in for flak too. She is cheerleading to the best of her ability, but she is not the leader her colleagues wanted, and she is described as "chaotic" and taking a scattergun approach to policy. Having surrounded herself with communications advisors, there is a real dearth of policy or substance, it was repeatedly put to me - but there are lots of glossy videos. Each time she announces a new big idea, there are cabinet members and civil servants having to rejig to deliver it. The latest of those is that this weekend she announced a new government department for AI, and how much money is dedicated to creating this "world leading AI growth zone"? Just £2.5m. There is real disbelief the party has failed to get its election candidates in place, or even a plan to appoint them. There is real worry and uncertainty about what the election result will be in May. Relations between MPs and MSs are never entirely hunky dory but Eluned Morgan's Norwegian Church speech where she said the UK Government had not done "enough" and "we need to see more from them" really angered the Parliamentary Labour Party, as did a call where she reportedly accused Welsh Labour MPs in Westminster of not standing up for Wales. And while a lot of photos are being released showing they are truly BFFs, there are questions about just how much the Welsh secretary and First Minister agree on. First Minister of Wales Eluned Morgan during the 2025 Welsh Labour party conference (Image: Getty Images ) When she took to the conference stage, she whipped out a Welsh flag showing she's different to London. She emphasised that message with her choice of clothes at an evening conference event, wearing a red jacket and T shirt promising 'the red Welsh way'. MPs who went in expecting the change Labour had promised are bruised - it has been far from the first year they expected. While their Senedd colleagues are still recovering from an utterly bruising spell with egos out of place, anger, upset, factions and - as one said - "bodies still all over the floor". Eluned Morgan's choice to hammer home this message of "I will do what's right for Wales" (even if that means calling out UK Government) is galling to MPs there who say actually, Welsh Labour has made a mess of health and education over the last 26 years on its own, and now they have been given a huge chunk of change, they are the ones who need to do the right thing with it. And you cannot escape the fact succinctly put to me that "There's an irony that we invented the system that will oust us." If Labour is in a position to form a government, even as a minority partner, the locker of experience has been depleted because big players will have gone. The decades of experience of Mark Drakeford, Julie James, Julie Morgan, Rebecca Evans and Jane Hutt to name just five will no longer be there. But this changing of the guard also sees some of the most tribal soldiers leaving. Eluned Morgan is criticised for surrounding herself with too many people tasked with "communications" and too few with actual policy. New projects and policies are announced on the hoof with no thought about how it will be delivered or will play out outside her core team. And the party itself is not blameless. While other parties are flying through their candidate selections, Labour - which let us not forget started this whole reform idea - has thus far failed to agree on the rules by which candidates will be chosen let alone chosen its candidates. That means they still do not have a full list of the 96 candidates required under the new system, ranked in the order of which they will appear on the ballot paper. There is no date for when that will happen either, so while incumbent Senedd members have been chosen, the new blood of prospective candidates believe it will be October or November before they know. What does that do? Well it keeps them on their toes. If you're someone trying to secure selection and get the number one slot to maximise your election chances, then having to be on your best behaviour for longer, showing the party's upper echelons you're a good loyal servant works for them. That's a lot more leaflets you'll deliver. But it doesn't work for you if you're trying to out-compete a constituency colleague, building resentment at the number of events they post X status' from, who you may well end up on the list next to and (potentially) sat next to in the Senedd. It's a mad election strategy because normally, parties want the longest built-up time possible. They want voters to know the names, the faces. If Labour seriously doesn't deliver its decisions until the autumn or even the winter, they are limiting their potential for campaigning and will let their candidates loose at the time of year they least like campaigning, because people are more bothered about planning their Christmas than talking about politics on a cold damp doorstep. How did this happen? More than one person told me a plan for candidates had been drawn up by the Welsh Executive Committee and the party was ready to go, but then it was pulled, with no explanation. Before Eluned Morgan spoke, one long standing member told me she needed to row it back, stop talking about abstract things people can't grasp like green energy or economic summits, get back to three things - education, waiting times and social care. Then she went on stage and announced Wales was to be an AI wonder zone. Yes lots of people were talking about that idea as they filtered out of the hall but not in a good way. The big ideas she likes talking about about economic summits and green jobs are too abstract for Mrs Jones on the street. They need simpler messages. What is telling is how many people, even senior figures, have no idea what the next year holds. But no-one in Labour is talking about Labour being the biggest party. They are reasonably optimistic that they will get more than 18%, but a lot of that will be down to people not turning out for Reform or turning out at all, not because they actually want to back Labour. Article continues below Eluned Morgan might claim "we are family" but this is far from a happy one.
Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
'Keir Starmer is sowing the seeds of bigger political battles ahead'
Skyrocketing military spending is Keir Starmer's Achilles' heel when funding a dubious splurge will make the welfare crisis appear a picnic. Because thinking of a number, doubling it then adding some more without a clue where the cash comes from- fresh deep cuts, tax rises, higher borrowing? - is a £30billion ticking time bomb. Our under-fire Prime Minister could be forgiven should he go to bed cursing not Vladimir Putin but Donald Trump when the Kremlin's Oval Office bullies him and other European leaders into squandering precious extra resources on rearmament. Britain's near £60billion last year confirmed us in the world's half-dozen top spenders, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and there's little confidence a wasteful, profligate Ministry of Defence would deploy the windfall wisely. Starmer's sowing the seeds of bigger political battles ahead even as he utters mea culpas for a battered first 12 months. Stick to the panicky Nato 3.5% or 5% target, both figures would be damaging when the UK's below 2.5% and the raided aid budget is shrivelled, and a 2028 or 2029 General Election will be a minefield for whoever is Labour leader or, for that matter, heading the Tories, Reform and Lib Dems. Enhancing living standards and transforming key public services such as education and justice, health enjoying deservedly reviving injections, would be nigh on impossible to promise realistically in a second term manifesto alongside tanks, destroyers and nuclear bombers. Distracted Starmer blaming international summits and the Middle East for taking his eye off the benefits ball, failing to appreciate Labour rebels put their country first, party second to champion the disabled, is a potential reset, a restart, a relaunch, ahead of Friday's anniversary of a Westminster landslide from a different age. The optimism's vanished, vanquished by own goals over winter fuel, free spectacles and, Tuesday's Commons vote will attest, welfare, yet all is far from lost for him and Labour. Deeply unhappy Labour MPs are heard contemplating life after Sir Keir, ears of deputy Angela Rayner and Health Secretary Wes Streeting likely to be buring. Up in the polls, Nigel Farage and Reform could repeat the shooting star crash of Roy Jenkins and the SDP back in the early 1980s. David Cameron and George Osborne were pronounced for the hot pot during the 2012 pasty tax furore before winnin a Tory majority in 2015. Starmer may have up to four years to put it all right but the PM needs a plan to avoid plummeting into that defence black hole he dug to appease Trump. Obscenity not glamour was paraded in Venice with Forbes calculating the Jeff Bezos-Lauren Sanchez grotesque nuptials may have cost upwards of £20million. As the only Socialist Senator in the USA, Bernie Sanders, reminded us, kids go hungry and 60% of Americans live paycheque to paycheque while a super-wealthy oligarchic class party at the expense of the impoverished many. Britain has its filthy rich and dirt poor too with relatively lightly taxed tycoons now threatening to up sticks and flee abroad should a wavering Treasury require this entitled bunch to pay a slightly fairer share, Eggheads Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson's groundbreaking 2009 study, The Spirit Level, demonstrated how equality is better for everyone and fairer societies are happier countries. So to put a smile on our faces I'm offering to drive to Heathrow in my nine-year-old Sunderland-built Nissan Qashqai any bloodsucking parasites doing us a favour by leaving. I Don't Want to Talk About It when I'm a big fan of his music but rock legend Rod Stewart can be a leg end over politics. Long viewed as a Tartan Tory despite a 2024 Labour flirtation courtesy of influential wife Penny Lancaster, there are two reasons why It's a Heartache that Rod's suddenly giving, as he puts it, Nigel Farage a chance. The first is ignorance, Rod falling hook, line and sinker for the lie Starmer sold out Scottish fishing when the PM in fact netted a big catch for the industry by persuading the EU to cut export red tape while rolling over Boris Johnson's trawler deal. And the second is fishy Farage is essentially the same slippery Putin fan boy criticised by Rod in 2024 for parroting the Kremlin line that the West provoked Russia into invading Ukraine. Music and politics are never plain Sailing. It's no wonder some asylum seekers work on the side when they receive not untold riches but £1.42 a day in accommodation with meals provided or £7.03 if they must buy their own grub, clothing and toiletries. The only folk who earn a fortune from a multi-billion broken system bequeathed to Labour by incompetent Tories are spiv bosses exploiting willing hands barred from employment and Fat Cat landlords and hoteliers milking taxpayers. Ending the ban on newcomers legally taking jobs while awaiting decisions on whether they stay or go would allow them to pay their own rent and bills as well as tax and save us a small fortune. It's a no-brainer. The Reform, Tory and Labour politicians opposed are the ones costing up a packet. With foreshortened limbs the Commons' only visibly physically disabled member, talk of Marie Tisdall's fraught call with Rachel Reeves emphasised the value of the Penistone MP's insights and why the Chancellor was dangerously marooned on the wrong side of benefit cuts. Tory ex-Minister George Freeman reporting himself for investigation despite insisting he broke no rules leaves us wondering when these money-grabbing second-jobber will learn after emails showed the MP asked a company paying him £5,000 a month for eight hours work to help draft Parliamentary questions. 'ALL life is sacred. And I find it pretty revolting we've got to a state in this conflict where you're supposed to sort of cheer on one side or the other like it's a football team.' I'm with Wes Streeting after Glastonbury rapper Bob Vylan nauseatingly led crowds chanting 'death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]' yet the bigger outrage at the mo is the actual relentless, ongoing wholesale slaughter of innocent Palestinians in Gaza and settler killings in the occupied since West Bank since that horrific Hamas pogrom.
Wales Online
9 hours ago
- Wales Online
Rod Stewart makes political statement on Glastonbury stage
Rod Stewart makes political statement on Glastonbury stage The Maggie May singer was performing on the legends slot on the fifth day of the festival Rod Stewart's performance was met with mixed reviews (Image: BBC ) Rod Stewart has made a political statement while performing in the legends slot on the fifth day of Glastonbury festival in Somerset. After delivering some of his classic tunes, Sir Rod took a breather to appreciate the festival vibe. He shed his jacket amidst complaints about the sweltering heat and expressed that he was "so excited" to perform during the renowned slot. He then shifted focus to global issues, saying: "There's been a lot about the Middle East in the news recently, quite rightly so. I want to draw your attention to Ukraine for a minute. "The next song is called The Love Train. Get on board The Love Train." It comes after the singer sparked outrage when he voiced his backing for Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. In an interview with The Times, he said that people should "give Farage a chance". His comments also emerge after Glastonbury festival organisers said chants by punk duo Bob Vylan on the fourth day of the event had "crossed a line". Article continues below Footage from their set is assessed by the police. From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What's On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here . The performer Bobby Vylan led crowds on the festival's West Holts Stage in chants of "Death, death to the IDF" on Saturday, June 28. On Sunday, music fans had their say on Rod Stewart's performance, reports The Express. Rod Stewart made a political statement during his set (Image: EXPRESS ) On X, one fan said: "Why are people trying to cancel Rod Stewart for saying we should give Nigel Farage a chance? "I don't agree with him on that, but that's no reason to try to cancel him or wish harm on him. Disagreeing with someone shouldn't mean silencing them. He seems a good man." Meanwhile, another fan praised the singer and said: "Like him or not. Rod Stewart has still got it! ! He's a showman, a great entertainer, and can work a crowd. You go Rod! ! Big shout out to his Band." A different user expressed a contrasting sentiment: "I hope everyone at #Glastonbury tells Rod Stewart exactly what they think of him and his support for Farage." Journalist India Willoughby observed the situation, noting: "I note the BBC are censoring Kneecap - but Rod Stewart can declare his support for Reform, Farage, and - previously - Enoch Powell." Article continues below Glastonbury Festival coverage can be streamed on BBC iPlayer and listened to on BBC Sounds.
