Is Keir Starmer 'bold and brave' to suspend rebels?
The government are also reckoning with a revelation that leaked information compromised the safety of Afghans who supported the British military, and inflation has risen higher than expected.
Plus: Labour introduce plans to lower the voting age to 16.
Rachel Cunliffe is joined by Andrew Marr, George Eaton and Will Dunn to discuss.
[See also: Why Keir Starmer has purged Labour rebels again]
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The National
15 minutes ago
- The National
Flynn: Farage wrecked UK and threatens Aberdeen's future
Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the SNP Westminster leader said it was astonishing that Farage, who was central to the Brexit campaign, has faced no accountability for the damage done. 'Finances are in a mess and the politicians are lost as to how you get out of that particular mess,' Flynn said. 'And yet the guy who orchestrated it … doesn't have to face the consequences of the economic damage that Brexit has done to the UK.' READ MORE: UK Government facing legal action over refusal of medical evacuations from Gaza Flynn was clear about the scale of the crisis: 'It has made us smaller and it has made us poorer.' He urged Labour to take a stronger stance against Farage, saying: 'If the Labour Party want to defeat Nigel Farage, they need to accept the premise that Brexit has been a disaster.' Realigning with the EU, Flynn argued, is the best route to economic recovery. 'The best way to grow the economy and to get our public finances in a fit state is to realign our relationship with the European Union.' Flynn also addressed Reform UK's impact on recent elections, pointing to their 26% share in the Hamilton by-election. But he rejected the idea that Reform is eating into SNP support. 'The SNP vote in that election reflected what national polling would suggest,' he said. 'It's the Conservatives and the Labour Party who are feeling it.' READ MORE: When 'critical friends' fall out: Angus Robertson's Israel meeting details revealed Taking aim at Farage's recent attacks on Scotland's renewables, Flynn said: 'The best way to take Nigel Farage on is to deal in the facts with him, to say to him 'if you are going to come after Scotland, you are putting at risk tens of thousands of jobs'. "You're going to leave cities like mine [Aberdeen] looking like Detroit in 30 years' time, rather than an expansive, future-looking city which exports its skills and expertise across the globe.' 'He wants to sabotage our renewable future to serve his own ideology, and whilst doing so, doesn't have to face any of the consequences for decisions he's made in relation to collapsing the UK's economy with Brexit."
The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Young Scots back UK Government decision to lower voting age
Of course, here in Scotland, 16 and 17-year-olds have been able to vote in Holyrood and council elections since 2016. So what do young Scots think about the decision to expand voting rights, and which party could benefit most? SNP activist Alex Gill said a "stronger youth voice" could convince the UK Government to pursue more progressive policies. The 22-year-old said: 'This will reshape the electorate and elevate issues that matter most to younger citizens such as action on climate change, access to affordable housing and opportunities for fulfilling work. 'Successive UK governments have shown little appetite for strategic, long-term policymaking, too often chasing short-term optics. With luck, a stronger youth voice will hopefully pressure them to start rectifying that failure. Read more: Shane Painter, a Scottish Conservative who was one of the youngest parliamentary candidates in 2024, is also in favour of expanding the franchise. He said: 'Lowering the voting age to 16 is a good move. It might finally force parties to speak to young people's concerns. In Scotland, 16-year-olds can already vote and they take it incredibly seriously. Painter had strong words for his own party's positions on young people, noting: 'Conservatives must stop being the party of pensioners, back housebuilding, scrap the triple lock & WFP, and invest in the future and young people if we ever want to be in government again.' Painter's position is somewhat unique among members of his party. Former Tory MP candidate Shane Painter. (Image: Aberdeen Conservatives) In the House of Commons on Thursday, Conservative shadow housing, communities and local government minister Paul Holmes told MPs: 'This strategy has finally revealed [Labour's] ambition for allowing a 16-year-old to vote in an election but not stand in it, probably because young people are being abandoned in droves by the Labour Party. 'So, why does this Government think a 16-year-old can vote but not be allowed to buy a lottery ticket, an alcoholic drink, marry, or go to war, or even stand in the elections they're voting in? That position was echoed by Joshua MacLeod, the chair of the Scottish Young Conservatives, who told The Herald: "This is just another rushed headline with no serious thought behind it. It's yet another case of Labour trying to rewrite the constitution to suit their own electoral interests. "If voting is meant to reflect adult responsibilities, then let's have a proper debate about adulthood. Not just a spontaneous change to mask their political weakness." Calum Mackinnon, who was unable to vote in the 2019 general election due to his age, says extending the franchise would be a step in the right direction. He told The Herald on Sunday: 'I was literally weeks away from turning 18. It felt like my almost 'mature enough' voice was going to be missed out on by about 60 days. In 2016, Brexit focussed my mind firmly towards independence, having been more sympathetic towards a No vote in 2014. 'Even as a young S2, I still remember 2014 so clearly and how it changed Scotland forever. Having lived and studied in the EU post-Brexit, I am a fierce advocate – despite its imperfectness, so I would have 100% voted in the 2019 general election.' Ellie Gomersall, the Scottish Greens activist and former president of the National Union of Students Scotland, also spoke out in support of the change, which she says is long overdue. Gomersall noted: 'From cracking down on their right to protest, to stripping them of their disability benefits, Westminster governments have consistently failed to represent the needs and interests of young people. 'This change means that young people will be able to have their say in the decisions Westminster takes that have a huge impact on their lives. However, Gomersall believes the government should go further, and introduce legislation to abolish 'the utterly undemocratic first past the post system' and 'replace the unelected – and overwhelmingly old and male – House of Lords.' Scottish Greens activist Ellie Gomersall. (Image: Ellie Gomersall) What about concerns raised by some that teenagers aren't mature enough to make informed decisions about who to vote for? Mackinnon, now 23, concedes that 'nuance' is often lacking at 16. 'It's a tough one,' he says. 'I think that nuance is difficult to obtain at 16/17. That being said, young people are always getting more and more aware and involved in our politics. 'I think, on balance, the young people who vote are probably interested enough to 'do the research' on what they want their politicians to achieve.' University student Caitlin Kelly, 20, shared similar thoughts. 'At 20 do I think differently than 16?' she queried. 'A bit less naive maybe but I largely vote the same. I think it is important to encourage young people to be part of the future of our country, and that is what voting at 16 does. 'When I was 16, the desire to vote was all the more prevalent except I then had the skills to read and research critically, and so being Scottish I was lucky enough to vote.' Fred Byrne, a student at the University of Aberdeen, agrees. 'Many 16 year olds have better informed political beliefs than their parents and grandparents,' he told The Herald. 'At 16, British youth can join the army or attend university, so it's only right they have been granted their long overdue right to vote. Young people are the biggest stakeholders in our future and will cast their votes for a just and sustainable world.' Will 16 and 17-year-olds be persuaded to vote for Keir Starmer's Labour? Hope Merriweather, who recently graduated from Dundee University with a degree in law, says she isn't sure if the change would boost voter turnout. 'I don't know if it would increase participation,' she told The Herald on Sunday, adding: 'I do think that the 16-year-olds that care should get to participate. 'I have some questions about 16-year-olds' ability to think critically, so I would want some level of education around it to prevent their parents from influencing their opinions too much. 'However, overall I think 16 and 17-year-olds have plenty of capacity to think and vote for themselves, as long as they are given the tools to do so. 'That goes for the entire population, the most important issue with voting right now is a lack of voter knowledge. If we could increase that across the board it would improve participation.' Will extending the franchise shift the balance of power, potentially giving Labour a bulwark from which to combat the rise of Reform among working class voters? A leading pollster believes it may. Luke Tryl, executive director of More in Common told the Mail: 'Given young voters tend to lean to the left, we should expect the Greens and Labour to be the bigger winners of extending the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds, with Reform doing well among young men, and the Tories the big losers.' Read more: Meanwhile, Reform's Nigel Farage has hit out at the move, accusing Labour of attempting to 'rig the political system.' Gill believes that the lowering of the vote age could be a boon for the SNP. He said: 'The latest polling shows that 75% of Scots aged 16 to 29 back independence, and support is likely even stronger among 16 and 17-year-olds. "Therefore, expanding the franchise will certainly be a positive development for pro-independence parties.' Of course, with the next general election not scheduled until 2029, the UK's political parties will have ample time to court young people ahead of what could be one of this nation's most consequential electoral contests.
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband blasts 'stalling' government over Brit couple
Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, has told the Mirror he believes the UK government has a "playbook of stalling" when it comes to detained Brits in Iran For nearly six excruciating years, Richard Ratcliffe's wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, was held hostage in Iran. Arrested on false charges of espionage and plotting to topple the Iranian regime, the British-Iranian citizen became a diplomatic pawn between the UK and Iran. Richard campaigned tirelessly to secure his wife's freedom, and reunite their family - with Nazanin cruelly separated from her daughter Gabriella when she was only a baby. Richard, who has advised the family of the British couple Lindsay and Craig Foreman, who are currently detained in Iran, on their own campaign to help bring their parents home, told the Mirror that he believes the UK government has a "playbook of stalling" when it comes these cases. He also added that the way the Foreman family had allegedly been treated before launching their public campaign was "depressing" and suggested the Foreign Office had learned few lessons from Nazanin's case, despite making "promises" to change their approach. "I found it really alarming that in the six months since Craig and Lindsay were taken hostage, the family had not met the Foreign Secretary or any Minister, or even the Ambassador - and that only changed when they decided to go public," Richard said. "It had been the same in Nazanin's case. So it was depressing to see none of the lessons from our had been learned, despite the Foreign Secretary's promises in the elections to transform consular protections." The Foreign Office advises against all travel to Iran, and a spokesperson said to the Mirror in response to Richard's claims, "We are deeply concerned by reports that two British nationals have been charged with espionage in Iran. We continue to raise this case directly with the Iranian authorities. 'We are providing them with consular assistance and remain in close contact with their family members.' Lindsay and Craig are believed to be held in Kerman Prison, but their family has had little contact, and distressingly, doesn't know very much about the conditions the couple is enduring. The couple were arrested at the start of the year, whilst embarking on a motorbike trip from Spain to Australia, and undertaking a project about what makes a good life as they went, connecting with strangers and learning about communities. They have been accused of espionage by the Iranian authorities, something their family has insisted is utterly false. It was supposed to be the adventurous trip of a lifetime: but the couple suddenly went out of contact with their family as they were travelling through Iran - and never arrived at their hotel. In early June, the Foremans were due to be transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran - where Nazanin was imprisoned between 2017 and her eventual release in 2022. However, just weeks later, Is raeli strikes hit the infamous facility, and Lindsay and Craig's family had no idea if they were safe, or whether the planned transfer had even gone ahead. Through the Foreign Office, Iranian authorities have since said that the couple are in Kerman - but their four children spent weeks in an unbearable limbo, with no idea what was going on. Richard told the Mirror he found it "really shocking" that the UK government had seemingly not stayed on top of the couple's whereabouts during the conflict. "I was really shocked that the government had lost track of them in the middle of the Iran-Israel war, and had just closed the Embassy and not updated the family," the campaigner said. "When Evin prison got bombed, the only thing that mattered was proof of life. Not a vague assurance from the Iranian authorities, but a phone call to the family where they confirmed where they were, and a visit from an independent doctor to confirm they are ok. "It is quite astonishing that after six months, the government still has not secured that." The embassy in Tehran has since been reopened, and Hamish Falconer MP - Minister for the Middle East said, "We will continue to play our full role to ensure the safety of British nationals in Iran." Richard explained that during his own family's ordeal, "The main thing that kept us going across the years was knowing we were not alone, finding all these people following our story and caring." He added, "So talking to other families in the same shoes helped me understand our own story better - to realise Iran's games weren't personal, and to better spot the UK's playbook for stalling. That made it gradually easier to navigate, to know the game we were a chess piece in. It takes us all time to accept. Richard revealed to the Mirror some of the advice he shared with Lindsay and Craig's family as they campaign to secure the release of their "generous and fun" parents. "The main thing I told them when we first met was that they needed to get it confirmed where they were, and that they were still alive," Richard said, but added that their journey will likely differ from his own during those difficult years when Nazanin was imprisoned. "I told them that there is no road map - and what works for them will be their own path. But they should remember that the government's interests were different from the family's, and that it would continually find ways to kettle the campaign, and stop their suffering getting in the way of other agendas. "They would get sympathy, but they would have to push hard for any action." Lindsay and Craig's children encourage anyone moved by their parents' story to write to their MP to help their campaign to secure the couple's release from Iran.
