Markus Andrews

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    Handing NHS staff police powers to detain mental health patients would have dangerous consequences, health bodies warn

    Lawmakers have been issued a stark warning over plans to extend police powers to NHS staff allowing them to detain mental health patients, with a group of major health organisations expressing “grave concerns” over the proposed changes. The Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, the Royal College of Nursing and Association of Directors of Adult Social Services are among those saying proposed changes to the Mental Health Bill will cause “significant harm with dangerous consequences.”In March, the government suffered several defeats in the Lords as peers debated ways to modernise mental health legislation.Conservative shadow health minister Lord Kamall proposed a change to the Mental Health Bill so that nurses, doctors and other staff could carry out detentions of patients without the need for police officers to attend incidents.It comes after the NHS unveiled plans to open more mental health crisis centres across England in a bid to keep those patients out of crowded A&Es More

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    U-turns on controversial policies won’t win back lost voters, Starmer warned

    Sir Keir Starmer has been warned that announcing U-turns on controversial policies may not be enough to turn around his dwindling approval ratings or win back lost voters.Polling experts say last week’s climbdown on winter fuel payment cuts – as well as a potential reversal on the Tories’ two-child benefit cap – run the risk of making him look “insecure” and could trigger yet more talk of a leadership challenge. The warning comes as the prime minister scrambles to win over voters who have turned their back on Labour since the party’s historic general election victory 10 months ago. The PM is also facing a rebellion from his own MPs over controversial welfare cuts and a growing unease over the direction of the party. Polling guru Sir John Curtice warned that any policy reversals – even if deemed popular by MPs and the public – may not be enough to assuage concerns over his leadership, adding that “doubts have crept in” for Labour MPs over whether Sir Keir is the right person to lead the party to victory in 2029. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is facing questions over his leadership More

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    Leopard-hunting holiday packages being sold for up to £116,000 while UK ban on trophy imports stalls

    Holidays to shoot endangered leopards are being sold online for up to £116,000, The Independent can reveal – while a long-promised UK ban on trophy hunt imports remains stalled.Big-game tour companies are openly promoting online holiday packages or auctions to win the rights to kill the animals in Africa, whose numbers are in decline across the continent.Some companies, which have dozens of hunting trips on sale, offer “extras” to wealthy hunters, including the chance to shoot elephants, lions and cheetahs.Leopard populations are falling and nobody can be sure how many are left, but it is still legal to hunt them More

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    Angela Rayner blasts leadership rumours: I don’t want to be leader of the Labour Party

    Angela Rayner has shut down growing rumours that she is seeking to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the leadership of the Labour Party, saying she doesn’t want to lead the party. Sir Keir’s deputy categorically ruled out holding the position at any point in the future, despite a growing belief within Labour that she would be the most likely successor as the prime minister battles plummeting approval ratings following brutal results at the local elections. It comes after The Independent revealed that a large number of MPs from the so-called “soft left” of the party are organising to try to force a change of direction, with allies of Ms Rayner urging her to organise a leadership contest.Angela Rayner has ruled out becoming leader of the Labour Party More

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    Deputy PM Angela Rayner: ‘I don’t want to be leader of the Labour Party’

    Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has quashed rumours that she is vying to become leader of the Labour Party, saying she has “no desire” to take on the role.It follows speculation about a potential leadership challenge after the leak of a memo outlining apparent tax rise plans, alongside media briefings suggesting she could be demoted.In an interview with Trevor Phillips on Sunday (25 May), the deputy leader said she is “honoured” to hold her current role and is not interested in becoming leader. Asked whether she could rule out ever becoming leader, she replied: “Never.”Rayner also indicated that an inquiry is “underway” into how the memo addressed to Chancellor Rachel Reeves was leaked. More

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    Inside Labour plot to oust Keir Starmer as PM is given 12 months to turn things around

    On Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer took everyone by surprise when he suddenly announced a U-turn on Labour’s controversial winter fuel payment cuts. The response to what appeared to be a planted question from a loyal backbencher during Prime Minister’s Questions certainly wrong-footed Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and meant that Labour MPs left the chamber with smiles on their faces.But the shock move came as Sir Keir was having to act to shore up power with MPs, senior party figures and trade unionists who have been openly plotting to remove him.After a turbulent 10 months, the prime minister’s migration announcement earlier this month, where he laid out plans to clamp down on the number of people coming into the UK, was seen as a “watershed moment” for the party – not least because it had echoes of the late right-wing Tory MP Enoch Powell’s infamous “Rivers of Blood” speech.Now, a large number of MPs from the so-called “soft left” of the party are organising to try to force a change of direction, with allies of deputy prime minister Angela Rayner urging her to organise a leadership contest. Keir Starmer signals a partial U-turn on restricting winter fuel payments earlier this week More

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    Nigel Farage to back scrapping child benefit cap and restoring winter fuel payment

    Reform UK leader Nigel Farage will commit to restoring the winter fuel payments to all pensioners and scrapping the two-child benefit cap, according to reports.Farage is expected to appeal to more left-wing voters in a speech next week, according to the Sunday Telegraph.The newspaper said the Reform leader would call prime minister Sir Keir Starmer “one of the most unpatriotic prime ministers in our history and this past week has been evidence of that”, in reference to Reform’s success in recent local elections.The political party is riding high in the opinion polls after its victories in town halls and the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, according to YouGov.The latest opinion polling revealed Reform UK is the most popular party among voters at 29 per cent, followed by Labour on 22 per cent and Liberal Democrats at 17 per cent. The Conservatives are in fourth place at 16 per cent.The Clacton MP spent last week on holiday while the House of Commons was sitting. While MPs have left Westminster for recess, he is expected to return to the political arena and say: “The prime minister is out of touch with working people, he doesn’t understand what they want and how they feel about the big issues facing Britain.“It’s going to be these very same working people that will vote Reform at the next election and kick Labour out of government.”A source told the newspaper: “We’re against the two-child cap and we’d go further on winter fuel by bringing the payment back for everyone.“That’s already outflanking Labour.”This comes as Sir Keir has signalled a desire to restore the winter fuel payment to more pensioners in Prime Minister’s Questions.The payment was previously made to all pensioners, but Labour reduced it to only those receiving pension credit in one of its early acts in government.it is understood that the Goverment’s action plan to tackle child poverty – a document likely to contain proposals to scrap the two-child benefit cap – has been delayed until the autumn. The plan is likely to be aligned with the budget so it can be fully costed.New costings released recently by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) show another 109 more children are pulled into poverty by the policy every day.The number affected will continue to increase until 2035 – when the first children born under the turn 18.The charity says that scrapping the cap would be the most cost-effective way to lift kids out of poverty. More