Markus Andrews

More stories

  • 138 Shares169 Views

    in UK Politics

    Robert Jenrick signals Tory-Reform pact with promise to ‘unite the right’

    Robert Jenrick has vowed to “unite the right” ahead of the next general election, signalling an electoral pact between the Conservatives and Reform UK. The senior Tory, seen as a leadership contender waiting to replace Kemi Badenoch, said “one way or another” he is determined to form a coalition between the parties. Speaking to a group of students in March, he said his worry is that Reform UK “becomes a permanent or semi-permanent fixture on the British political scene”. Robert Jenrick is seen as a leadership contender waiting for Kemi Badenoch to fall More

  • 150 Shares159 Views

    in UK Politics

    Badenoch accuses Starmer of ‘not having any balls’ over Supreme Court ruling

    Kemi Badenoch accused Sir Keir Starmer of “not having any balls” regarding his reaction to the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of a woman.Last week five judges ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer to a biological woman and biological sex, in a decision that could have wide-ranging ramifications for trans women’s rights to use services and spaces reserved for women.Asked if the PM still believed that a transgender woman was a woman, his official spokesman said: “No, the Supreme Court judgment has made clear that when looking at the Equality Act, a woman is a biological woman. That is set out clearly by the court judgment.”The Conservative leader labelled the prime minister a “weather vane who twists in the wind” on Wednesday (23 April) following Sir Keir’s U-turn on his views. More

  • 138 Shares119 Views

    in UK Politics

    Keir Starmer refuses to apologise to Rosie Duffield over transphobia row

    Sir Keir Starmer has refused to apologise to MP Rosie Duffield over historic disagreements on trans issues, instead accusing Kemi Badenoch of using the topic as a “political football”. Ms Duffield, who now sits as an independent after quitting the Labour Party, has been accused of transphobia for her push to protect single-sex spaces and has previously claimed the prime minister has “a problem with women”. At Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), the Tory leader and the prime minister took swipes at each other over last week’s Supreme Court judgement on biological sex, with Mrs Badenoch accusing Sir Keir of “hounding [Ms Duffield] out of the Labour Party”. The prime minister declined to apologise to Rosie Duffield More

  • 138 Shares169 Views

    in UK Politics

    Starmer issues call to ‘lower temperature’ on Supreme Court ruling debate

    Sir Keir Starmer has made a call to “lower the temperature” on debates over the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of a woman.It comes after the prime minister’s spokesperson, when asked if Sir Keir still believed that a transgender woman was a woman, said: “No, the Supreme Court judgment has made clear that when looking at the Equality Act, a woman is a biological woman. That is set out clearly by the court judgment.”Responding to Kemi Badenoch, who questioned the prime minister on his U-turn on his previous statement that trans women are women, the Labour leader responded: “This is the time now to lower the temperature, to move forward and to conduct this debate with the care and compassion that it deserves.” More

  • 200 Shares199 Views

    in UK Politics

    Rachel Reeves is besieged on all sides and needs a dramatic intervention to save UK economy

    When Rachel Reeves turns up at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today she already knows that she needs a near miracle to turn things around.The dire predictions by the IMF itself ahead of the summit of finance ministers in Washington DC saw the UK set to have the highest inflation of advanced economies at 3.1 per cent while growth was slashed by 0.5 per cent to 1.1 per cent.For a woman whose mantra during and after the election was “growth! growth! growth!” the news could not be worse for the chancellor.And while the IMF’s revisions are a result of Donald Trump’s planned tariffs, the reality is that Ms Reeves was already struggling and under siege from competing demands from all sides.The chancellor now needs to land a number of apparently contradictory achievements to turn the UK economy around and save her political career and reputation.Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (James Manning/PA) More

  • 225 Shares99 Views

    in UK Politics

    Starmer should be held ‘personally responsible’ if trans women are harassed in male toilets, Labour NEC member says

    Sir Keir Starmer should be held “personally responsible” if trans women are assaulted after he said they should use men’s bathrooms, a member of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) has said. The prime minister is either going to “put trans people in dangerous situations where they are vulnerable or force them out of society”, Jess Barnard told The Independent. “Both of which are an appalling state for us to be in,” she added. Jess Barnard condemned Sir Keir Starmer’s comments More

  • 138 Shares119 Views

    in UK Politics

    Keir Starmer urges public to reclaim English flag from Southport rioters

    Sir Keir Starmer has urged the public to reclaim the English flag, sharing his worries about the far-right claiming ownership of it during a Downing Street reception held to mark St George’s Day.“I do understand the fight over the flag… but that’s why we’ve got to reclaim it. It belongs to all of us,” the prime minister said.On Tuesday night (22 April), Sir Keir pointed to the riots following the Southport stabbings, which were fuelled by online misinformation and which the PM has previously blamed the far-right for.Sir Keir said he had seen “people throwing bricks at the very same police officers I was shaking hands with” when he visited the scene of the stabbings, adding: “And that’s why the battle for our flag is really important because that is what happened and that was only last year.” More

  • 150 Shares199 Views

    in UK Politics

    UK borrowing nearly £15bn above official forecast as pressure grows on Reeves

    Borrowing by the UK government rose by more than expected in the latest financial year, new official figures show. Public sector net borrowing rose to £151.9 billion in the year to the end of March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.The figure will come as a blow for chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is visiting Washington this week for major Trump trade deal talks. It comes just a day after the UK’s economic growth forecast was downgraded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).The new borrowing figure is £14.6 billion higher than the £137.3 billion that was forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility. The yearly figure was also £20.7 billion more than the same period a year earlier.It also marks the third-highest level of borrowing in any financial year since records began in 1947, the ONS said. It comes only behind the Covid pandemic in the year to 2021, and the 2010 financial year following the global crisis.The new figures also show that borrowing rose to £16.4 billion last month, marking the third-highest March borrowing since monthly records began.Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (James Manning/PA) More