What will save the Tories? The economy, or Robert Jenrick?
Lots to discuss today: Robert Jenrick takes on TfL, a Nazi jibe from the attorney general and allegations of shoplifting made against our own Michael Simmons.
But we start with Keir Starmer's big speech yesterday, where the theme was 'get Nigel', after polling from More in Common showed that framing the election as a two-horse race could be beneficial to Labour. They are attempting to cut the Tories out altogether but, in response, the Conservatives plan to use fiscal credibility as the battleground to crawl back up the polls. Will the economy save the Tories?
Elsewhere, Robert Jenrick is the star of the week after a video of him reprimanding fare-dodgers on the Tube went viral, racking up more than ten million views on X. He seems to have struck a chord both within his party and with the public more generally, who are growing tired of our low-trust society and the blight of petty crime. Is Jenrick the one to tackle 'Scuzz Nation'?
Oscar Edmondson speaks to James Heale and Michael Simmons.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
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Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Dangerous neo-Nazi death cult to be outlawed alongside Palestine Action
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will proscribe neo-Nazi group the Maniacs Murder Cult (MMC) alongide Palestine Action and the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) - meaning membership or support will carry a lengthy prison sentence A deadly neo-Nazi cult aiming to spead the "flames of Lucifer" across the world is set to be outlawed in the UK. Yvette Cooper will this week set out plans to proscribe the Maniacs Murder Cult (MMC). The vile organisation, which is believed to have been founded in Ukraine, has been linked to dozens of racist attacks and murders in Europe and America. One terrifying plot in the US would have seen a supporter dressed as Santa hand out poisoned sweets to children, prosecutors said. And sick videos shared on the Telegram messaging app show bloodied victims lying dead after savage knife attacks by newly-recuited fanatics. MMC has been named in draft legislation which also outlaws Palestine Action and the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) - a hard-line nationalist group that has sent units to fight in Ukraine. Membership or support for any of these groups will carry hefty prison sentences. Last month MMC chief Michail Chkhikvishvili, nicknamed "Commander Butcher", appeared in a US court accused of plotting and inspiring killings around the world. The court in New York heard he 'spent years soliciting gruesome attacks from his followers'. He helped publish a manifesto known as the Hater's Handbook, the New York Times reports. This book called on readers to commit chilling acts of mass murder. Palestine Action has voiced its outrage at being included alongside MMC. It said in a statement: 'Bundling Palestine Action – a domestic civil disobedience protest group – in with foreign neo-Nazi organisations (the Moldovan 'Maniacs Murder Cult' and the Russian 'Imperialist Movement') further highlights how unjustified and preposterous the Home Secretary's proposed proscription of Palestine Action is. 'These foreign organisations are the kind of groups proscription was created to target – not protesters who disrupt arms factories and spray paint on war planes to protest war crimes and genocide.' And suspended Labour MP John McDonnell wrote: "The order published today by Yvette Cooper to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group lists them alongside the Maniacs Murder Cult & Russian Imperial Movement/Legion. To compare a protest movement like PL with these violent, murdering terrorists is beyond all credibility." It comes as Palestine Action launched a legal challenge over the decision to proscribe it. Lawyers for co-founder Huda Ammori are seeking an interim order blocking Ms Cooper from outlawing the group. An urgent hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice was told a decision is expected next month on whether Palestine Action can mount a full legal challenge.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Labour equate Palestine Action to Maniacs Murder Cult in terror order
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has published a draft order which would label both groups as terrorist organisations in the UK, meaning supporting or joining them could lead to up to 14 years in jail. At the same time, Cooper is also aiming to proscribe the Russian Imperial Movement – a far-right group aiming to rebuild the Russian Empire – and its paramilitary wing the Russian Imperial Legion. A Palestine Action spokesperson said: 'Bundling Palestine Action – a domestic civil disobedience protest group – in with foreign neo-Nazi organisations (the Moldovan 'Maniacs Murder Cult' and the Russian 'Imperialist Movement') further highlights how unjustified and preposterous the Home Secretary's proposed proscription of Palestine Action is. READ MORE: BBC responds after live streaming Bob Vylan IDF chant 'These foreign organisations are the kind of groups proscription was created to target – not protesters who disrupt arms factories and spray paint on war planes to protest war crimes and genocide.' Palestine Action has brought a legal challenge against the UK Government's plans to proscribe it, which is due to have a second hearing at the High Court on Friday. It comes as a host of famous names, including Tilda Swinton and Frankie Boyle, joined calls for the Home Secretary not to proscribe Palestine Action. The group claimed that Cooper was concerned that she would not get the support needed to proscribe it. 'The Home Secretary is borrowing tactics from Trump's playbook to circumvent democratic debate and accountability by effectively proscribing Palestine Action via the backdoor without proper parliamentary consideration,' they said. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper'This extraordinarily undemocratic abuse of power also smacks of desperation. Is the Home Secretary so concerned about her ability to withstand scrutiny from MPs about the widespread condemnation of her unprecedented proposal to ban a civil disobedience protest group as terrorists for the first time in British history? 'Does she fear not being able to pass this unless she lumps Palestine Action in with two foreign extremist groups?' Cooper previously said Palestine Action's activity has increased since 2024 and its methods have become 'more aggressive', with its members showing 'willingness to use violence'. She named three attacks at Thales defence factory in Glasgow in 2022, Instro Precision in Kent, and Elbit Systems UK in Bristol in 2024, as causing damage costing millions of pounds. The Home Secretary claimed the ban will allow law enforcement to 'effectively disrupt the escalating actions of this serious group'.
STV News
3 hours ago
- STV News
Starmer's disability benefits U-turn risks pleasing no one
Once the number of rebels was there in black and white, a UK Government U-turn on cuts to disability benefits was inevitable. This isn't the first time Keir Starmer has had to yield to political pressure from within his own party to change course – there have been some major about-faces already during the first year of his premiership. But this might end up being the one that people remember, that historians point back to as the moment his authority crumbled and his government went wrong. The first reason is that despite watering down his proposed welfare reforms, Starmer still faces what could be the biggest rebellion by Labour MPs since he took over as leader, when the legislation comes to a vote on Tuesday evening. While the changes are believed to have won over the majority of the 120-odd MPs who had signed a wrecking amendment, dozens of Labour parliamentarians remain who simply won't back the reforms on principle. The hardcore opponents say that cutting support for the disabled and vulnerable is un-Labour and not why they went into politics. A significant chunk of the Labour vote will agree with them. The official government analysis released on Monday, showing that the reforms will still push 150,000 people into relative poverty across the UK, rather than 250,000, will add to their argument. So will media coverage of people with debilitating long-term health conditions losing out on benefits they would previously have received – even if those currently getting support are no longer at risk of losing it. Campaigners will keep up the pressure in public, and likely in the courts, over what they say will be a two-tier benefits system. Meanwhile, the Tories will argue that the cuts to the ballooning welfare bill fall short of what's needed to get spending under control. In short, if no one is happy with the outcome, there isn't much upside for the Prime Minister. The U-turn also leaves Rachel Reeves scrambling to find £3bn more, now that the cuts won't be as deep as expected. The Chancellor was already facing questions about how she was going to stick within her fiscal rules, which prevent her from boosting borrowing, and also keep her promise not to raise more taxes. At the Budget later this year, she is widely expected to have to do one or the other – since more cuts are now seen to be politically unacceptable to Labour MPs. That all leaves Reeves' own future in doubt – and she's the only Cabinet minister so indispensable to the Starmer project that he's taken the unusual step of saying he wants to keep her in her job until the end of the Parliament. The episode has left Labour MPs in despair at the standard of political leadership from 10 Downing Street. The Prime Minister's top advisers and the party whips have blamed each other, and negative briefings have emerged about Starmer's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and his relationship with his boss. Unhappy MPs have claimed the Prime Minister and his government are aloof and don't listen to outside voices that could help them avoid mistakes. When he took power, Starmer made a virtue of his qualities as a good manager rather than a political performer. His critics now say the prime minister's lack of political instinct has let him down. For Scottish Labour MPs—some of whom have broken with the government for the first time over this issue—the political damage is even greater. With less than a year until the Holyrood elections, this gives the SNP more ammunition. It all has the whiff of a government heading into its final chapters, rather than just getting started only a year after a landslide general election victory. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
