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    Boris Johnson’s memoir flops as sales slump despite ‘£2m advance’

    Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreSales of Boris Johnson’s political memoir are understood to have slumped well below expectations, with the much-advertised release now on track to be overtaken by a cookbook.Despite an apparent £2m advance on the 784-page account of his time in Downing Street, Unleashed only managed to sell 42,528 copies in its opening week, far fewer than his publishers, HarperCollins, had likely predicted.The former prime minister suffered a 62 per cent reduction in his sales lead this week, narrowly managing to cling onto the number one spot, selling just 133 more copies than Tim Spector’s The Food for Life Cookbook.Mr Johnson’s sales figures fall far short of predecessors Margaret Thatcher, who sold an estimated 120,000 copies upon the release of her 1993 memoir, and Tony Blair, who sold 92,000 copies in the first week of his.Despite the barrage of press attention, the book’s lacklustre reception has reportedly left shops with “piles and piles” of copies, and sales figures are likely to continue to plummet.Despite a sizeable £2m advance on the 784-page account of events, Johnson only managed to sell 42,528 stories in its opening week, far less than his publishers HarperCollins predicted he would sell More

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    Drinking water shortage could hit UK homes in 15 years, minister warns

    Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseThe UK risks suffering a shortage of drinking water by the mid-2030s, a Labour cabinet minister has warned. Environment secretary Steve Reed said without investment in the country’s creaking infrastructure, the system could run into crisis. His warning came as it emerged that water companies want to raise bills by 84 per cent by 2030. Mr Reed described the proposed price hikes as “eye-watering” – but said the issue was not one for ministers.He told LBC Radio: “We’re all facing a shortage of water within a decade and a half if we don’t act now.”Water companies want to raise bills by 84 per cent by 2030 More

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    Angela Rayner issues defiant response to Trump’s Labour election interference claim

    Angela Rayner issued a defiant response after Donald Trump’s campaign accused the Labour Party of interfering in the US election.Responding to the claim on Wednesday (23 October), the deputy prime minister said political staff campaigning in the US ahead of the upcoming presidential election is something that happens within all parties.Ms Rayner’s response came after the leader of the Scottish National Party, Stephen Flynn, asked her to join him in applauding the “brave Labour staff members who travelled across the Atlantic to campaign against Trump”.She said: “People in their own time often go and campaign, and that’s what we’ve seen.“It happens in all political parties, people go and campaign and they do what they want to do with their own time, with their own money.” More

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    Video: Angela Rayner and Oliver Dowden joke in last ‘battle of the gingers’

    Deputy prime ministerAngela Rayner joked she would miss her Conservative counterpart Sir Oliver Dowden in their final “battle of the gingers”.The two took centre stage at Prime Minister’s Questions today (23 October) because of Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa.In recognition of their final despatch box exchanges, Ms Rayner joked: “I will miss our exchanges, the battle of the gingers, the late nights voting.”Shadow deputy prime minister Sir Oliver earlier asked Ms Rayner to define “working people” after Labour’s election manifesto said the party would not increase taxes on them. More

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    Oliver Dowden asks Angela Rayner for her definition of working people in PMQs clash

    Oliver Dowden asked Angela Rayner for her definition of working people as they clashed during Prime Minister’s Question’s on Wednesday (23 October).Responding to his question, the deputy prime minister smiled and said: “First of all, let me start by welcoming (Sir Oliver) to his new place. Today’s our first exchange since he pushed for a July general election.”She added: “And the definition of working people are people that the Tory Party have failed for the last 14 years.” More

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    Labour peer at centre of Starmer donations scandal found to have breached Lords rules

    Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseLabour peer Waheed Alli has been found to have committed four breaches of Lords rules over his declarations in the register of interests.The prominent donor, who gave thousands of pounds worth of clothes and gifts to Sir Keir Starmer and his wife, has apologised after being instructed to by the Lords commissioner for standards.Lord Alli faced an investigation over his alleged failure to register his interests as a director of charity The Charlie Parsons Foundation and the company Silvergate BP Bidco, of which he owns more than half.Lords standards commissioner Martin Jelley also investigated Lord Alli’s late registration of his interest as an unpaid director of another company, MAC (BVI).“While I consider each individual breach of the Code to be minor, I have found there to be four breaches in total, and have therefore recommended that Lord Alli write a letter of apology to the chair of the conduct committee, Baroness Manningham-Buller,” a report by Mr Jelley said.Lord Alli became embroiled in the freebie scandal which engulfed Sir Keir Starmer’s government More

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    Watch live: Angela Rayner faces PMQs as Trump accuses Labour of US election interference

    Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseWatch live as Angela Rayner steps in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions today (Wednesday 23 October).PMQs comes as Donald Trump’s campaign accused Sir Keir’s Labour Party of interfering in the US presidential election.Filing a complaint with the US Federal Election Commission (FEC) which accuses Labour of illegal foreign campaign donations, the campaign’s co-manager Susie Wiles claimed: “The far-left Labour Party has inspired Kamala’s dangerously liberal policies and rhetoric.“In recent weeks, they have recruited and sent party members to campaign for Kamala in critical battleground states, attempting to influence our election.”The claims follow reports of senior Labour officials meeting with Kamala Harris’ campaign, and Labour Party staffers volunteering on the ground for her campaign.Asked if it was a mistake for senior staffers to have met with the Harris campaign, Sir Keir insisted any members of his party were in the US on an entirely voluntary basis. More