RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: We're dealing with a PM who hates Britain - or at least the British people who embraced Brexit. The so-called 'far-Right' gammons, too thick to know what's good for them
Even if Starmer did enter the conference chamber naked - as the post-war Labour foreign secretary Nye Bevan once remarked in different circumstances - it was only because he voluntarily prostrated himself face down on the slab, gagging to be split butterfly fashion along the dorsal ridge, before being gutted, salted and cold-smoked.
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Western Telegraph
7 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Minister shrugs off ex-Labour MP's announcement of new political party
Zarah Sultana, who had the Labour whip suspended last year, said on Thursday night she was quitting Sir Keir Starmer's party and would 'co-lead the founding of a new party' with the ex-Labour leader. Mr Corbyn is yet to comment on the announcement. On Friday morning, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said Ms Sultana had 'always taken a very different view to most people in the Government' on several issues, adding: 'That's for her to do so.' But during a series of broadcast interviews, Ms Cooper declined to be drawn on whether she was concerned the new party could pose a threat to Labour. Asked whether she was concerned, the Home Secretary told LBC: 'People have always had different views, and I just disagree with the views and the approaches they're taking.' In her announcement of a new political party, Ms Sultana accused the Labour Government of failing to improve people's lives, and claimed it 'wants to make disabled people suffer' in reference to ministers' proposals to reform welfare. Ms Cooper rejected the accusation, telling Sky News: 'I just strongly disagree with her.' Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said Ms Sultana had 'always taken a very different view to most people in the Government' on several issues (PA) The Home Secretary pointed to falling waiting times in the NHS, the announcement of additional neighbourhood police officers, extending free school meals and strengthening renters' rights as areas where the Government was acting. She said: 'These are real changes (that) have a real impact on people's lives.' Ms Sultana was one of seven MPs who had the Labour whip suspended last summer when they supported an amendment to the King's Speech which related to the two-child benefit cap. Four of the seven had the whip restored earlier this year but Ms Sultana was not among them. The people running Labour at the moment need to ask themselves why a young, articulate, talented, extremely dedicated socialist feels she now has no home in the Labour Party and has to leave John McDonnell John McDonnell, another of the suspended MPs who has not had the whip restored, posted on X that he was 'dreadfully sorry' to see Ms Sultana quit the party. 'The people running Labour at the moment need to ask themselves why a young, articulate, talented, extremely dedicated socialist feels she now has no home in the Labour Party and has to leave,' he said. Mr Corbyn led Labour from 2015 to April 2020, stepping down after the party's loss at the 2019 general election. He was suspended from Labour in 2020 after he refused to fully accept the Equality and Human Rights Commission's findings that the party broke equality law when he was in charge, and said antisemitism had been 'dramatically overstated for political reasons'. Today, after 14 years, I'm resigning from the Labour Party. Jeremy Corbyn and I will co-lead the founding of a new party, with other Independent MPs, campaigners and activists across the country. Join us. The time is now. Sign up here to stay updated: — Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) July 3, 2025 He was blocked from standing for Labour at last year's general election and expelled in the spring of 2024 after announcing he would stand as an independent candidate in his Islington North constituency, which he won with a majority of more than 7,000. Last year, Mr Corbyn formed the Independent Alliance with other independent members of the Commons. Asked on ITV's Peston programme on Wednesday whether that group could turn into an official party, Mr Corbyn said that they have 'worked very hard and very well together' over the last year in Parliament. He added: 'There is a thirst for an alternative view to be put.' 'That grouping will come together, there will be an alternative,' he later said.
The Guardian
9 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Rachel Reeves needs wider headroom against fiscal rules, ex-Bank of England deputy says
The former Bank of England deputy governor Charlie Bean has urged Rachel Reeves to create much wider headroom against her fiscal rules – a decision likely to require significant tax rises or spending cuts. Bean suggested that the current slim margin of less than £10bn, had led the chancellor to 'fine-tune' the government's tax and spending plans to meet the Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) forecasts five years ahead. 'Government spending is about one and a quarter trillion, so £10bn is a small number … and it is a small number in the context of typical forecasting errors,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He added: 'She should aim to operate with a larger margin of headroom, so previous chancellors have typically operated with headroom of the order of £30bn. 'Because she has chosen about a third of that … it is very easy for numbers to go in the wrong direction and she finds she has to neurotically fine-tune taxes to control the OBR forecast that is several years ahead.' Bean, who is also a former member of the OBR's budget responsibility committee, added: 'The original sin is that she should not have chosen to operate with such a tight margin of error.' Reeves increased taxes by a historic £40bn in her budget last October. However, with most of the proceeds earmarked for public services, she left herself on track to meet her strict fiscal rules with a relatively slim margin of £10bn. That 'headroom' was set to be wiped out before the spring statement in March, prompting the scramble for savings that led to the £5bn cuts to disability benefits, which Labour dropped this week after a backbench revolt. Reeves's team privately acknowledge that the small headroom of less than £10bn she left herself against the forecasts has contributed to the challenges of the past 12 months – but argue that she had little choice given the poor fiscal inheritance left by the Tories. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The chancellor is widely expected to have to increase taxes in her autumn budget, to close the gap created by U-turns on disability benefits and the winter fuel allowance, and because of the prospect of weaker economic forecasts. She insisted she was 'cracking on with the job' on Thursday, after a tumultuous day on Wednesday in which bond markets dumped UK government debt amid speculation about the chancellor's future. Creating an additional £20bn of fiscal headroom, as Bean suggested, would require tax rises equivalent to 2p on the basic and higher rates of income tax.
Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Charlize Theron torches celebs attending Bezos-Sánchez wedding
Have YOU got a story? Email tips@ Charlize Theron eviscerated Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding guest list at a charity event she hosted over the weekend. The lavish nuptials drew a star-studded crowd in Venice, Italy, with Tom Brady, the Kardashians, Ivanka Trump, Oprah Winfrey and more in attendance. But the three-day celebration also sparked backlash, with locals protesting the disruption and criticizing the pair's decision to wed in the historic city. Theron, 49, addressed the guest list while on stage at the Block Party charity event on Saturday night, which supports the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project. 'I think we might be the only people who did not get an invite to the Bezos wedding. But that's OK because they suck and we're cool,' she deadpanned, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The comment was likely a joke, but the actress didn't hold back as she shifted to other issues — taking aim at Trump-era politics and what she called a 'backwards' handling of immigration, abortion and LGBT policies. The Monster actress thanked everyone for 'taking the time to be a part of this, especially when the world feels like it's burning because it is.' She added: 'Here in Los Angeles, in the U.S. and across the globe, we're moving backwards fast. Immigration policy has destroyed the lives of families, not criminals; women's rights are becoming less and less every day; queer and trans lives are increasingly being erased; and gender-based violence is on the rise. This isn't just policy, it's personal,' she said, before adding, 'Yeah, f**k them.' Charlize Theron eviscerated Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding extravaganza at her charity event Block Party on Saturday night (pictured hosting the event) The lavish nuptials boasted a guest list of major players in entertainment and Hollywood, from Tom Brady to the Kardashians, but has also sparked controversy, with protests being staged in Venice, Italy Created in 2007 by Theron, CTAOP 'invests in and advances the health and safety of young people in Southern Africa to create a more equitable future for all,' according to their website. Theron herself has a personal connection to the issue of immigration - she originally hails from South Africa and came to the United States, however was deported at age 19 after she overstayed her work visa, according to THR. Ultimately, she was granted permission to return and in 2007 became a US citizen. 'I got deported when I was 19 for producing and financing a documentary on Cuba,' she told OK! in 2008. 'You don't want to keep pushing your luck. I only became an American citizen last year,' she added. She told Vogue of becoming a U.S. citizen back in a 2007 interview: 'After the last two elections I kind of went, You know what? If this is where I'm going to live, I want to be able to vote. 'I don't want to just talk a good game. I want to be able to be involved without having some horrible fear that I'm going to get kicked out.' Theron brought her mother and numerous friends along as she became a naturalized citizen in a day-long event in downtown Los Angeles. 'My mom got really emotional,' Theron continued. 'She was like: "We're Americans!" You know, you stand up and you take your oath and you get a piece of paper personally written from President Bush, welcoming you to America. 'But it's weird. There's something in my blood that will always be South African. Even if I wanted to, I don't think I could ever lose that.' Theron has a personal connection to the issue of immigration, having become a U.S. citizen in 2007 Described as the 'wedding of a century,' Bezos and Sanchez exchanged vows in front of nearly 200 VIPs on San Giorgio Maggiore island in Venice, Italy, last Friday. Leonardo DiCaprio, Kylie Jenner, Usher, Khloe Kardashian and new bachelor Orlando Bloom were among those who were present to see Bezos and Sanchez exchange vows. But the couple's arrival in Venice was far from smooth sailing, with the duo plagued by protesters who were furious the needs of local residents were allegedly being sidelined to make way for wealthy tourists. Bezos is worth around $224.6 billion and is thought to have spent tens of millions on his wedding. 'If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax,' one gigantic banner read in St. Mark's Square. The lavish nuptials boasted a guest list of major players in Hollywood and sports but has also attracted controversy Greenpeace and the UK-based collective Everyone Hates Elon joined protests in Venice attempting to disrupt, or even prevent, the planned wedding celebrations of Amazon founder Bezos. 'Jeff Bezos is the second-richest man in the world yet is reported to pay a 1.1 percent true tax rate,' the two groups previously said in a joint statement. 'The multi-million-dollar wedding is reportedly happening over three days, with the wedding ring alone worth as much as $5million.' A spokesperson from Everyone Hates Elon previously said: 'As governments talk about hard choices and struggle to fund public services, Jeff Bezos can afford to shut down half a city for days on end just to get married.' Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro and regional governor Luca Zaia have spoken out in favor of the nuptials, which have been dubbed, 'the wedding of the century,' pointing out that the celebrations are expected to bring $23-34million to local businesses.
