
Rod Stewart comes out in support of Reform UK
Rocker Rod Stewart has publicly endorsed Nigel Farage and the Reform UK party, urging his fans to give Farage a chance.
Stewart expressed dissatisfaction with the current government and criticised Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer 's new Brexit deal, stating he is also 'fed up with the Tories'.
He said Farage is coming across well as a political option for the UK.
Stewart's current support for Farage contrasts with his 2024 criticism of the politician for blaming the West for the war in Ukraine.
Stewart has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine since the conflict began, even renting out a home for a refugee family.

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South Wales Guardian
6 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Starmer: Labour will not take away ‘safety net' from vulnerable people
In a speech to the Welsh Labour conference that came after a major U-turn on reforms in the face of a backbench rebellion, he said fixing the 'broken' system must be done in a 'Labour way'. 'We cannot take away the safety net that vulnerable people rely on, and we won't, but we also can't let it become a snare for those who can and want to work,' the Prime Minister said. 'Everyone agrees that our welfare system is broken: failing people every day, a generation of young people written off for good and the cost spiralling out of control. 'Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way.' He called Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan a 'fierce champion' and 'the best person to lead Wales into the future' to applause and cheers from the audience. Baroness Morgan had publicly criticised the welfare plans and called for Sir Keir to change tack on restrictions on winter fuel payments, which he also eventually reversed. Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC she was 'right to raise concerns' and promised to 'deliver on those as far as we can'. Farmers gathered outside the conference in Llandudno to protest ahead of Sir Keir's speech, with about 20 tractors parked on the promenade in the north Wales resort town by late morning. Sir Keir also said any deal between the Tories, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru at next year's key elections in Wales would amount to a 'backroom stitch-up'. The elections to the Senedd will use a proportional system for the first time, meaning coalitions are likely. The Prime Minister said it would risk a 'return to the chaos and division of the last decade' and risk rolling back the progress his party is starting to make. He told the Llandudno conference it would be 'working families left to pick up the bill'. 'Whether that's with Reform or with Plaid's determination to cut Wales off from the rest of the country, with no plan to put Wales back together,' he said. 'I know that these are the parties that talk a big game, but who is actually delivering?' Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out making deals with Plaid Cymru or Reform at the next Senedd election. Reform UK is eyeing an opportunity to end Labour's 26 years of domination in the Welsh Parliament. Labour performed poorly in this year's local elections in England, which saw Nigel Farage's party win a swathe of council seats. Sir Keir also took aim at Nigel Farage, calling him a 'wolf in Wall Street clothing' who has 'no idea what he's talking about'. He said the Reform UK leader 'isn't interested in Wales' and has no viable plan for the blast furnaces at Port Talbot.


Telegraph
11 minutes ago
- Telegraph
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill risks unravelling Windsor Framework
As a former Solicitor General and Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee, I am no stranger to the legal complexities that arise when Westminster legislation intersects with our post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland. Yet even by those standards, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill now before Parliament represents an extraordinary and avoidable collision course with the law. Ministers have sheepishly suggested that the Bill does not affect trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. That is a surprising conclusion, and, in my view, a legally indefensible one. As someone who helped oversee the legal machinery of government, I can say this plainly: legislation that purports to apply across the UK but cannot lawfully operate in Northern Ireland is both constitutionally and legally incoherent. The problem is relatively straightforward. Under the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland continues to follow key parts of EU law to maintain access to the EU Single Market for goods. One such law is the 2014 EU Tobacco Products Directive, which mandates that tobacco can be legally sold to adults aged 18 and over. The UK Bill proposes a generational ban, effectively criminalising the sale of tobacco to anyone born after 2008. The contradiction is obvious. If the Bill applies UK-wide, Northern Ireland will be out of step with EU law. If the Bill is not enforceable in Northern Ireland, then the UK's internal market will be fragmented. Either outcome exposes the UK to legal challenge and breaches the treaty obligations we signed only last year. The Windsor Framework is not merely political scaffolding; it is now part of an international treaty that carries direct effect in UK law. As I saw time and again during my tenure as Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee, the unique legal position of Northern Ireland requires careful and nuanced handling. Blunt instruments like this Bill risk unravelling the hard-won gains of recent years. The legal risk is not hypothetical. The courts in Northern Ireland – in cases such as Dillon v Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, have confirmed their power to dis-apply UK legislation that contravenes the Framework. The relevant test, long established, would be easily met here. The right to purchase legal goods, like tobacco, is an economic right protected under the Framework and the Good Friday Agreement. To remove that right in Northern Ireland, by domestic legislation that conflicts with EU law, would be a direct breach of both. It is simply inconceivable that such a law could stand in Northern Ireland without falling foul of the courts. I say this not as a political opponent of the Bill's objectives, (I actually voted in favour of the Bill in principle under the last government) but as a KC who has spent years navigating the legal thickets of post-Brexit Britain. The law matters. International obligations matter. Our constitutional order depends on Parliament respecting both. I have been greatly disappointed by the level of forensic legal rigour applied to the Bill that is required for it to get muscular enough to be considered remotely workable. The choice now before Parliament is not whether to press ahead with the generational ban. It is whether to press ahead lawfully. That cannot be done until the UK secures agreement through the UK–EU Joint Committee or expressly exempts Northern Ireland from the scope of the Bill. Until then, the Government must pause this legislation. Anything less risks breaching international law, undermining the internal market, and inviting yet another avoidable constitutional crisis.

Western Telegraph
18 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Starmer: Labour will not take away ‘safety net' from vulnerable people
In a speech to the Welsh Labour conference that came after a major U-turn on reforms in the face of a backbench rebellion, he said fixing the 'broken' system must be done in a 'Labour way'. 'We cannot take away the safety net that vulnerable people rely on, and we won't, but we also can't let it become a snare for those who can and want to work,' the Prime Minister said. 'Everyone agrees that our welfare system is broken: failing people every day, a generation of young people written off for good and the cost spiralling out of control. 'Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way.' He called Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan a 'fierce champion' and 'the best person to lead Wales into the future' to applause and cheers from the audience. Baroness Morgan had publicly criticised the welfare plans and called for Sir Keir to change tack on restrictions on winter fuel payments, which he also eventually reversed. First Minister and Labour leader in Wales, Baroness Eluned Morgan, has publicly criticised the welfare plans (PA) Farmers gathered outside the conference in Llandudno to protest ahead of Sir Keir's speech, with about 20 tractors parked on the promenade in the north Wales resort town by late morning. Sir Keir also said any deal between the Tories, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru at next year's key elections in Wales would amount to a 'backroom stitch-up'. The elections to the Senedd will use a proportional system for the first time, meaning coalitions are likely. The Prime Minister said it would risk a 'return to the chaos and division of the last decade' and risk rolling back the progress his party is starting to make. He told the Llandudno conference it would be 'working families left to pick up the bill'. Sir Keir warned his audience about allowing Reform UK or Plaid Cymru to gain power in Wales (Screengrab/Welsh Labour TV/PA) 'Whether that's with Reform or with Plaid's determination to cut Wales off from the rest of the country, with no plan to put Wales back together,' he said. 'I know that these are the parties that talk a big game, but who is actually delivering?' Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out making deals with Plaid Cymru or Reform at the next Senedd election. Reform UK is eyeing an opportunity to end Labour's 26 years of domination in the Welsh Parliament. Labour performed poorly in this year's local elections in England, which saw Nigel Farage's party win a swathe of council seats. Sir Keir also took aim at Nigel Farage, calling him a 'wolf in Wall Street clothing' who has 'no idea what he's talking about'. He said the Reform UK leader 'isn't interested in Wales' and has no viable plan for the blast furnaces at Port Talbot.