Markus Andrews

Keir Starmer has revealed to friends that the “Unite the Kingdom” march in London was the moment he realised he needed to publicly fight back against Reform UK and the growing anti-immigration rhetoric in Britain. The prime minister is understood to have expressed his shock at the size of the event, which took place earlier this month, after seeing “that many people follow a far-right figure like Tommy Robinson”.The march in Whitehall and the surrounding streets, which amplified racism and anti-Muslim conspiracy theories, was estimated by police to have attracted around 150,000 people.Far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, told his followers in a video posted to X that “the spark has started, the revolution is on”, while tech billionaire Elon Musk told the rally that “massive uncontrolled migration” was contributing to the “destruction of Britain”. Tommy Robinson with fellow far right activist Katie Hopkins on the march More

Rachel Reeves has taken aim at Nigel Farage during her Labour Party conference speech, labelling Reform UK as the “single greatest threat to our way of life”.Speaking in Liverpool on Monday (29 September), the chancellor said the party is “not on the side of the working people” and accused them of being “willing to tear communities and families apart”.She said voters will have a choice at the next election between “a Labour government introducing the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights in decades, or a Reform party which has opposed those rights every single step of the way”.Accusing Mr Farage of “being in bed with Putin”, she added: “There is only one party that was founded working people and committed to defending their interests… The party of working people is the Labour Party.” More

Rachel Reeves has warned of “harder” choices to come ahead of Labour’s Autumn Budget as she made her main stage address at the party’s conference in Liverpool.Further tax rises are now widely expected at the crunch fiscal event, as the chancellor looks to counteract the country’s ailing economic performance.Government borrowing in August was the highest in five years, official figures revealed. While tax receipts had increased following Labour’s first Autumn Budget, the rises were offset by higher spending on public services, benefits and interest on debt, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.Economists have predicted the chancellor may need to find as much as £40bn.Speaking on Monday, Ms Reeves doubled down on Labour’s commitment not to raise taxes for “working people” – meaning no rise to the headline rate of income tax, national insurance or VAT.As with last year’s event, this means the Treasury will need to consider more roundabout ways to raise vital revenue while also trying to bolster Labour’s dropping popularity.Speaking to delegates, Ms Reeves said: “In the months ahead, we will face further tests, with the choices to come made all the harder by harsh global headwinds and the long-term damage done to our economy, which is becoming ever clearer.“Our first year in power was about fixing the foundations. Our second must be about building a renewed economy for a renewed Britain.”Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves on the campaign trail in Southport last June More

Police have arrested 66 people on suspicion of supporting Palestine Action during a protest outside the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.Around 100 people gathered in the city centre at around 2.30pm on Sunday holding signs which read: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action,” organisers Defend Our Juries said. Merseyside Police said two people were later de-arrested. The 64 people who were arrested on suspicion of the terrorism offence were aged between 21 and 83 years old. They were taken into police custody and have now been released on bail. Palestine Action was proscribed as a “terror organisation” in July after the group claimed responsibility for the damage to two Voyager planes at RAF Brize Norton.A protester is carried away by police at a Palestine Action demonstration in Liverpool More

Sir Keir Starmer was grilled at the start of the Labour conference over allegations that he previously avoided an inheritance tax bill.The prime minister denied putting a seven-acre field he bought behind his parents’ property into a trust, which would have allowed him not to pay inheritance tax.He said he bought the land in 1996 to use as a donkey sanctuary, so his mother and father could care for the animals.Sir Keir gave the land to his parents through a structure which meant when they died, the field’s value was excluded from their estate, The Sunday Times reported over the weekend.Keir Starmer was asked about the field on the BBC’s ‘Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg’ programme More

Rachel Reeves has compared Andy Burnham to Liz Truss in a stunning attack on her Labour colleague as tensions mount at the party’s conference.Amid mounting speculation that he is plotting a leadership bid against Sir Keir Starmer, the chancellor lashed out at the Greater Manchester mayor’s economic approach.Mr Burnham “risks going the way of Liz Truss”, she said, after he said Britain has “got to get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets”.“If he’s saying… anybody that says you can just borrow more, I do think that risks going the way of Liz Truss,” Ms Reeves said. The comparison is a sign of how far relations have deteriorated between Sir Keir’s backers and Mr Burnham. Ms Truss was the target of many of Labour’s attacks during last year’s general election campaign. Speaking to LBC, Ms Reeves added: “Already £1 in every 10 the government spends is on financing the debt that was racked up by the previous Conservative government.“There’s nothing progressive, nothing Labour about that.Andy Burnham said Britain should be less ‘in hock’ to the bond markets More

Moldova’s pro-Western ruling party has taken a decisive lead in a pivotal parliamentary election, widely seen as a choice between closer ties with the European Union or a return to Moscow’s orbit, amid allegations of Russian interference.This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors. More

Labour is taking the fight to Trumpian critics of diversity and equality, with the tech secretary vowing to “smash the glass ceilings” holding women and people of colour in the tech industry back. With Reform UK threatening to sack diversity officers in councils across the country, Liz Kendall is taking the fight to Nigel Farage and ramping up the government’s efforts to boost representation. On current trends, it would take 283 years for women to make up an equal share of the tech workforce, according to the BCS Chartered Institute for IT. Meanwhile 92 per cent of start-up investment from wealthy individuals went to all-white teams, according to the British Business Bank Investing in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurs. Liz Kendall is taking the fight to Reform and backing a diversity scheme for women in tech More