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The Sun
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Starmer may have failed miserably but here's why replacing him with Rayner would be height of stupidity for Labour
THE collapse in the authority of Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Government has been the most dramatic in modern political history. Elected with a crushing majority exactly one year ago, the Prime Minister and his beleaguered Cabinet are now sinking in the mire of unpopularity. 3 3 On every front they are failing miserably. They have driven up taxes and driven down employment. They promised to 'smash the gangs' of people-smugglers, but the only thing they have smashed is the record for the number of illegal migrants crossing the Channel. They have performed so many U-turns that their government is in danger of going down the S-bend. Yet there is a far worse prospect for Britain than the continuation of Starmer's ineffectual administration — and that is the potential succession by his loud-mouthed deputy Angela Rayner, an aggressive, left-wing partisan who has openly called Tory MPs 'scum', has demanded more taxes on the wealthy and wants more powers for the trade unions. 'I make no apologies that we will work hand-in-hand with trade unions to deliver a real partnership based on mutual respect,' she said to huge cheers at the 2023 TUC conference. If Starmer departs and Rayner becomes PM, our country will be plunged back into the dark days of the 1970s, when the unions regularly brought Britain to a standstill with reckless industrial action Rayner's opportunity arises because speculation is rife at Westminster over the immediate future of the PM, as he limps from one crisis to another — an increasingly weak, diminished figure. Legacy of Corbyn The recent rebellion over welfare reform not only left a huge black hole in the Treasury's balance sheet, but also demonstrated how little loyalty he inspires in the Parliamentary Labour Party. As Tory former Chancellor Norman Lamont famously said about John Major, Starmer is 'in office but not in power'. His Government lacks a sense of purpose, his party a sense of unity. PM vows to drastically increase the numbers of channel migrants sent back to France The welfare row proved that the legacy of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership is much stronger in Labour's ranks than many critics recognise. Corbyn himself, who was expelled by Starmer from the party but subsequently easily retained his Islington North seat when he stood as an independent in 2024, is being urged by supporters to launch a radical new party to challenge Labour from the Left. Indeed Zarah Sultana, the hardline MP for Coventry, last week announced her resignation from Labour in advance of the creation of this party. It is now likely that some kind of new socialist grouping will soon be formed. That will be bad news for Starmer, since such a party would siphon off support from left-wingers. One poll last week showed that a new Corbynite grouping could attract no fewer than 20 per cent of voters. Starmer in terrible bind If Starmer tried to counter that by shifting to the left himself, then he would alienate traditionalist, centre-right voters who could go over to Nigel Farage's Reform UK. So Starmer is in a terrible bind. He is like the driver of a school bus who was never very sure of the route he was meant to take, but now has to cope with the pupils in open mutiny, condemning his driving and urging him to go in different, even opposite, directions. But what makes his position even more precarious is the threat he faces from his own Deputy Prime Minister. Ferociously ambitious, Rayner is by far the most dangerous rival for his crown, especially with Chancellor Rachel Reeves badly undermined by her mishandling of the economy and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper bogged down with the immigration fiasco. By contrast, the two biggest issues that Rayner has in her portfolio — the homebuilding programme and the strengthening of trade union rights — are highly popular with MPs and party members. There are other reasons why Rayner is the darling of the activists. One is her uncompromising, left-wing outlook, which made her invaluable to Corbyn and also ensured she easily won the deputy leadership contest in 2020. Another is her perceived authenticity, which reflects her tough upbringing on a council estate. She is no slave to convention, as shown by her willingness to go raving in Ibiza even as a Cabinet Minister, and by her unorthodox, on/off relationship with hard-Left former MP Sam Tarry. A third factor is her background as an official with the public sector union Unison. Don't be fooled by yesterday's vote by Unite to suspend her over the Birmingham bin strike — she's a union sister through and through. 'I was born in Stockport but raised in the union movement,' she is fond of saying — just the sort of slush that appeals to Labour sentimentalists. Embroiled in controversy Last year she was embroiled in controversy following Tory claims she had dodged capital gains tax on the sale of her council house. She said she would quit if found to have broken the law. Police, the local council and HMRC investigated but concluded she had done nothing wrong. Self-confident and proud of her striking looks, Rayner is a formidable operator who regularly outmanoeuvres opponents. In May 2021, for instance, after Labour's disastrous Hartlepool by-election, Starmer tried to demote her but ended up enhancing her status with additional responsibilities. While the Labour Left might cheer at the thought of this unreconstructed socialist in No10, rule by Rayner would be a disaster for Britain In the same manner, she emerged as the key player from the mess of Labour's discord over the Welfare Reform Bill. She tried to broker a settlement with the rebels, while she used her knowledge of her colleagues to give Downing Street accurate predictions of how the votes would go — thereby saving the leadership from a humiliating defeat. 'Angela's had a good war,' said one Labour MP. Following the withdrawal of the most contentious elements of the legislation, Rayner boasted that 'Labour is now in a better place'. She is certainly in 'a better place' herself. With the premiership almost within touching distance, she is the real power behind the throne. Failed socialist recipe As Sir Keir stumbles, her stature grows, so she could soon become only the third Deputy PM to reach the summit. But while the Labour Left might cheer at the thought of this unreconstructed socialist in No10, rule by Rayner would be a disaster for Britain. The state would become larger and more authoritarian, while woke ideology and union bullying would return with a vengeance. In fact, Rayner wants to make it easier for unions to organise walkouts by repealing a host of legal restrictions. Striking 'is a fundamental freedom that must be respected,' she says. Other glimpses into a future Rayner premiership can be found in her present work, such as her controversial attempt to draw up a legal definition of Islamophobia, which will serve as a shield for zealots and a wrecking ball for free speech. The same threat to liberty can be found in her current Employment Bill, under which a network of officials — nicknamed the Banter Police — could be recruited to monitor conversations in pubs and workplaces for non-PC content. It is a measure that belongs not in Britain but the East Germany of the 1970s. The last person we need in Downing Street In the same vein, she has pledged to introduce a new 'Race Equality Act' that will involve the usual burdens of official interference, including ethnicity pay audits and diversity training programmes. Like so many left-wingers, Rayner loathes imperialism but loves bureaucratic empire-building. Rayner's Britain will be filled with quangos, government centres, agencies and regional offices, all paid for by rising taxes as our country slides towards bankruptcy, and anyone with money emigrates. Tellingly, during the internal debates over spending cuts, Rayner sent Reeves a memo urging her to hammer the wealthy and corporations. The Deputy PM likes to think she is very clever, and is often underestimated because of her broad Stockport accent. But her socialist recipe has been tried before and failed catastrophically. To think it will now work in indebted, fractured Britain is the height of stupidity. She is the last person we need in Downing Street. 3
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tory ex-cabinet minister David Jones joins Reform UK
A former Conservative cabinet minister has announced he is now backing Reform UK as the party that now 'best represents my views'. David Jones, who served as Welsh secretary under David Cameron between 2012 and 2014, announced he was joining Nigel Farage's party on Monday after more than 50 years as a Tory. The former Clwyd West MP described the move as 'a very difficult decision for me' and said he had written to the Conservatives in October to say he would not renew his membership, but received no reply. He said: 'I joined the Conservatives all those years ago because I believed it was the party that best reflected my values and beliefs. Regrettably, that is no longer the case. 'Today, Reform UK is the party that best represents my views – and, I believe, those of many others who have become disillusioned with the two old major parties.' After losing his cabinet job in the 2014 reshuffle, he went on to become a minister in the Department for Exiting the EU under Theresa May for a year between 2016 and 2017. He later became deputy chairman of the European Research Group, a Eurosceptic group of Tory MPs. Mr Jones, who stood down from Parliament last year after 19 years as an MP, said he had no intention of standing for election, and had joined Reform 'as a private individual'. But as a former cabinet minister, he is the most senior ex-Tory MP to join Reform so far, following Marco Longhi, Anne Marie Morris, Ross Thomson, Aiden Burley and Dame Andrea Jenkyns, now the mayor of Greater Lincolnshire. His defection also comes as Mr Farage's party seeks to make significant gains in next year's elections at the Senedd in Wales, where polls suggest the party is in second or third place. It is a boost for Reform after a difficult weekend in which one of its five MPs 'removed the party whip from himself' amid allegations about two of his businesses. James McMurdock, MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, insisted 'all' of his 'business dealings' complied with regulations following claims he improperly borrowed money from the government during the pandemic.
The Sun
06-07-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Scale of French cops' ineptitude laid bare as nearly FOUR times more migrants made it to UK than they managed to stop
NEARLY four times as many small-boat migrants made it to Britain in one recent week than the French managed to stop, it emerged yesterday. A total of 703 crossed the Channel in the seven days to June 29 — while French cops stopped just 191. 2 2 Shocking new Home Office data shows a further 2,599 migrants made it to Britain in the week to July 5. That includes 879 people who crossed on June 30 alone, the highest daily figure so far this year. The damning figures were released days before President Emmanuel Macron arrives for a lavish state visit and crunch talks with Sir Keir Starmer. The migrant crisis is believed to top the agenda. The UK has already handed France £480million under a flagship deal but ministers are under pressure to stump up even more to fund extra French police, boats and drones. Last night Tory MPs and Reform UK demanded No10 halt further payments and suspend French fishing rights until crossings stop. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told The Sun: 'Over 2,500 illegal immigrants have crossed in the last week alone. 'Barely any have been stopped by the French — despite being paid nearly half a billion pounds of our money. 'We should suspend the fishing deal, which the French really care about, until they actually stop the illegal immigrants.' Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said: 'It's clear that Labour aren't serious about stopping the boats. French cops SLASH small boat & drag it to shore as conveniently placed BBC crew film scene 'They're wasting millions of pounds on deals that have only increased the numbers coming over. 'We shouldn't send another penny to France while they allow this invasion to continue. 'The solution is simple. 'We need to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and return the boats back to France.' Figures for the seven days to June 29 showed that 11 attempted crossings were foiled — stopping 191 migrants. However, last Friday police with knives slashed a packed inflatable dinghy off the coast near Boulogne-sur-Mer to sink it before it could set off. Dozens of migrants had to wade back to shore. The new tactic is understood to be a precursor to wider changes in French maritime law allowing officers to intercept and disable boats in shallow waters before they reach open sea. Officers on jet skis have also been laying nets designed to jam dinghy propellers. The moves are aimed at countering so-called 'taxi boats,' where traffickers launch vessels from rivers or canals and pick up migrants offshore to dodge beach patrols. President Macron and French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau are expected to discuss the crackdown at this week's UK-France summit before it is formally rolled out later this month. But it was unclear if a long-awaited 'one in, one out' returns deal will be ready in time. It would see illegal arrivals sent back to France in exchange for Britain accepting legal asylum seekers. British and French officials are scrambling to finalise terms before Mr Macron lands in London on Tuesday. Sir Keir is pushing to announce the deal at the summit as a 'game-changer' — but opposition from five Mediterranean nations has delayed talks. The Home Office said: 'We all want to end dangerous small-boat crossings that undermine our border security and put lives at risk. 'Smuggling gangs do not care if the people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay. 'We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice. 'Through international intelligence-sharing under our Border Security Command and tougher legislation in the Borders Bill, we are boosting our ability to identify and dismantle criminal gangs.'
Daily Mail
07-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Boy, 8, turned away by NHS because he is a private school pupil, amid claims by MPs that Labour's raid on fee-paying schools has triggered 'class war' and 'discrimination' in our public services
An outraged mother has accused the NHS of 'shocking discrimination' after her eight-year-old son was denied vital treatment – just because he goes to private school. Tory MPs described the move as 'morally indefensible' and a symptom of Labour's 'vile class war', while the parent attacked the unfair 'two-tier' decision as a blatant breach of the health service ethos of offering equal treatment for all. Yet her case is just one example of private pupils being refused access to NHS services unearthed by The Mail on Sunday. The mother of the eight-year-old blamed Labour's war on private schools for emboldening NHS managers to deny her child help with his crippling joint condition. 'If you discriminate against children because of the school they went to, where does it end?,' she asked. Her son was referred to a paediatrician at Kingston Hospital in south-west London after she noticed he was 'struggling to hold the pen well enough to write properly', along with other mobility issues. At the hospital appointment she was asked to fill in a form which asked: 'Where does your child go to school?' And days later, she received a text message saying the child had been 'declined' the crucial next appointment with occupational health therapists. She then discovered that the specialist unit had written a letter to her GP saying: 'We are unable to see this child as we do not provide a service to school age children who attend an independent schools [sic]. We are only commissioned to provide a service to the mainstream schools.' The boy's older brother – who has the same condition, hypermobility syndrome – had been treated without issue several years earlier. Their mother, who wishes to remain anonymous while her son's case is 'in limbo', said: 'I have never been refused treatment for my children – until now. There is clearly a two-tier system at play. 'I have complained bitterly and asked who created these eligibility criteria and where it says in the NHS constitution that it's OK to discriminate against independent schoolchildren.' The mother of an autistic girl in Somerset told this newspaper her daughter was denied access to NHS mental health services, and was told: 'If you can afford the school fees, you should pay privately. If you had kept your child at the local authority primary school, she would have been supported.' It is understood that in Norfolk a child was refused a much-needed standing frame by the NHS because he went to private school. And last month we revealed how young cancer patients from private schools had to pay £115 an hour for tutoring in an Edinburgh hospital's wards, while it is provided free to state school pupils by the city council. Shadow schools minister Neil O'Brien said last night that the cases 'seem like incredibly unfair discrimination'. Citing Chancellor Rachel Reeves' decision to slap VAT on school fees, he said: 'Labour are already piling extra taxes on independent school parents. For their children to then be denied vital NHS services, which parents already paid for through their taxes, seems completely unfair. How can it be right that children with disabilities are denied services by the NHS because they attend a certain school?' Shadow equalities minister Saqib Bhatti said: 'This is shocking. No child should be penalised based on what school they go to. 'Ultimately, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson's vindictive attack on independent schools has legitimised this kind of pernicious discrimination and triggered a class war against our children. 'Now it falls to the Health Secretary to urgently review NHS policies to ensure nobody is denied access to healthcare, no matter what their background. 'We must not allow this quasi-Marxist class war to take root in our public institutions and certainly not in our NHS.' Shadow paymaster general Richard Holden added: 'The effect of front-rank Labour politicians targeting their vile class war on children who attend independent schools is brought into sharp relief by actions like this – where kids who need help are denied local NHS services. 'This culture of hate that Labour stoke out of perverse class envy has profound consequences for those in both state and independent schools but it'll always be the most vulnerable who suffer the most.' And Tory MP Greg Stafford, a member of the Commons' health and social care committee, said: 'Denying NHS treatment to a child because of the school they attend is morally indefensible and completely at odds with the founding principles of the health service. Care should be based on clinical need, not a postcode or a parent's school choice. This decision must be reversed – and fast!' The Mail on Sunday understands that other NHS trusts have also refused occupational therapy treatment to children because they attend independent schools. The eight-year-old, who attends a prep school in Kew, was denied an appointment with Richmond children's occupational therapy service that would have been the 'most important stage' of his assessment. It would have pinpointed the severity of symptoms – which include painful and easily dislocated joints and even problems with internal organs – and determined his future care. At its most debilitating, hypermobility syndrome can be classed as a disability, and experts say a specialist assessment is vital for children with the condition to prevent more serious issues. Physiotherapist Deepa Subramaniyan, a specialist in hypermobility at Adelaide Children's Physio clinic in London said long-term effects 'can include such severe mobility issues that a child can end up in a wheelchair. 'It's precisely for this reason that they need specialist assessment to determine how they should be treated. The earlier therapy starts, the better it will be in the long run.' When the mother received the notice that her son would not be seen by therapists at the unit – based at Ham Clinic and part of Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust – she said: 'I knew straight away something wasn't right because we have used this service before. 'At the hospital I was asked "Where does your child go to school?" I've never been asked that before. It was never relevant so why is it relevant now? The only thing that has changed is a new government. It is Orwellian.' The woman, who runs a small business with her husband, says the denial of an appointment was part of an 'anti-private school zeitgeist'. Branding her son's treatment as 'shocking and blatant discrimination', she added: 'Labour's dislike of independent schools is filtering down into the NHS and that is very damaging. 'The NHS has always been such a beacon of treatment for all. If you discriminate against children because of the school they went to, where does it end? 'In cases like my son's, they are effectively discriminating against children who are disabled and against some of the most vulnerable members of society. This is going to affect a lot of children if it is a new NHS protocol. Many people will not want to send their children to independent schools if it means foregoing NHS treatment.' Such an exodus would follow the record 11,000 pupils who have left the sector since Labour introduced VAT on fees in January. The woman added: 'I genuinely despair at what is happening. It's the demolition of the British private school system It feels like an ideological battle is going on.' The website of her local NHS Trust says children's occupational therapy services are offered to 'all school aged children who are residents in the Richmond or Kingston boroughs and attend a state-maintained Richmond school.' A spokesman declined to address specific claims that private pupils had been discriminated against but 'apologised if the wording in our correspondence caused upset. We are in the process of revising it to ensure greater clarity.' He added: 'Occupational therapy services are available to all school-age children who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) either through the NHS or the local authority. For children without an EHCP, advice may be available through existing NHS services provided in state school.'
Sky News
07-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Politics latest: PM told to ensure Trump loses any fight with Paddington Bear
Not the PMQs performance Badenoch needed after local elections battering Not for the first time, Sir Keir Starmer went into this PMQs with the potential for plenty of dangerous incoming fire. And not for the first time, he emerged from the chamber relatively unscathed, while also not exactly knocking the ball out of the park. You sensed the government was expecting barbs from the opposition front bench about the India trade deal. Keir Starmer praised the agreement - unprompted - at the beginning of the bout. But that didn't materialise, with Kemi Badenoch choosing to focus on winter fuel and net zero instead. As previously noted, that felt like an odd decision. Watch: An important point about UK-India trade deal If there had been a question from Reform, it seems highly likely they would have contrasted the tax exemption for Indian workers with other tax hikes in the UK. Ed Davey's question about Donald Trump picking a fight with Bond, Bridget Jones and Paddington likely led to groans around Westminster, but the Lib Dem leader thinks he's on to a winner by pitching to what the party calls "quiet patriots" unsettled by the US president. All in all, that session won't really shift the political dial. But with many Tory MPs looking for a barnstorming intervention from their leader following last week's election results, that wasn't the performance Badenoch needed to turn in either.
