UK Politics

Digital ID ‘mandatory’ if you want to work in the UK, says StarmerSir Keir Starmer has said the next election will be an “open fight” between Labour and Reform UK following figures which show an easy route for Nigel Farage into Downing Street.Speaking at a panel at the Global Progress Action Summit, the Prime Minister said: “We’re going to face a very different election next time to any of the elections we fought in the United Kingdom for a very, very long time.“That’s why… I want this to be out as an open fight between Labour and Reform, and I’ll be majoring on this in my conference speech next week.”He added that his party was “battling with repairing the damage that was done under the last government which was huge” and “rebuilding in a way which embraces and takes on the battle for the soul of the country”.It follows a new YouGov poll which suggests Reform would increase its MPs from just five to 311, making it the largest party in a hung parliament and just 15 seats short of the 326 needed for an outright majority.Sir Keir unveiled a new digital ID held on people’s phones, an attempt to tackle illegal migration which will be free of charge and mandatory within the next four years. “You will not be able to work in the UK if you do not have digital ID,” Sir Keir said.Rachel Reeves says if Labour can’t say kids are living better lives at the end of its time in office ‘it’s probably time for someone else to take over’The chancellor said that if Labour was unable to say that children from ordinary backgrounds are living richer lives at the end of its time in office “it’s probably time for someone else to take over”.She told the Global Progress Action summit: “In the end, what matters is at the end of our time in office – however long we’re in our jobs – at the end of it, can we say that kids from ordinary backgrounds are living richer and more fulfilled lives than we came into office?”If you can say yes, you’ve done a good job, and if no, it’s probably about time for someone else to take over.”Rachel Reeves at the Global Progress Action summit More

Moldova’s electoral commission on Friday barred a pro-Russian party from participating in this weekend’s tense parliamentary election, which is beleaguered by widespread claims of Russian interference.The outcome of Sunday’s high-stakes vote could determine whether Moldova, a Soviet republic until 1991 and a candidate for European Union membership since 2022, can continue on a path toward the EU or will be brought back under Russia’s orbit. The Heart of Moldova party was one of four parties in the Russia-friendly Patriotic Electoral Bloc, or BEP, which is viewed as one of the main opponents of the ruling pro-Western Party of Action and Solidarity, in Sunday’s election.The Central Electoral Commission’s action was based on a ruling a day earlier by the Chisinau Court of Appeal, which restricted the party’s activities for 12 months. The justice ministry requested the restrictions following searches earlier this month on Heart of Moldova party members that led to allegations of voter bribery, illegal party financing and money laundering.The electoral commission said in a statement that all candidates proposed by Heart of Moldova will be removed from the bloc’s list of candidates, and gave the bloc 24 hours to adjust its list to meet the representation thresholds required by electoral law. The Party of Action and Solidarity has held a strong parliamentary majority since 2021, but risks losing it in the upcoming race, in which it faces several Russia-friendly opponents but no viable pro-European partners.The BEP says it wants “friendship with Russia, “permanent neutrality” and a “state that serves the people, not officials.”Irina Vlah, leader of the Heart of Moldova, condemned “the abusive decision” and called it a “political spectacle, concocted a long time ago” by the ruling party. She made a similar statement condemning the court ruling the previous day.“We have made numerous calls pointing out the crimes that were being committed against us, but there has been no reaction, no change in attitude, which once again confirms that in recent weeks a scenario has been implemented against us,” read a statement on her Facebook page. On Thursday, Vlah was banned from entering Latvia, Estonia and Poland, which accused her of “helping the Russian Federation interfere in the preparations for the parliamentary elections.”The electoral commission’s decision is likely to inflame tensions in an already polarized country where authorities have warned that Russia is spending hundreds of millions of euros to sway the outcome of Sunday’s vote via an alleged vote-buying operation and plans to incite riots around the election.Moscow has repeatedly denied meddling in Moldova. In a statement Thursday, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed allegations of Russian interference in Moldova’s elections as “anti-Russian” and “unsubstantiated.” More

Nigel Farage is on track to become Britain’s next prime minister, with a major new poll showing the party is close to having enough support to form a majority government if an election were held today. The seat-by-seat YouGov poll, the second such poll since the election, indicates the party has extended its lead over Labour, significantly increasing Mr Farage’s chances of entering Downing Street in 2029. It suggests Reform would increase its MPs from just five to 311, making it the largest party in a hung parliament and just 15 seats short of the 326 needed for an outright majority. In June, the last time YouGov conducted a seat-by-seat poll, it put Reform on track to have 271 MPs. The multi-level regression and post-stratification poll (MRP) showed Labour would lose 267 of the seats it won in 2024, putting the party on just 144 MPs. This is down from the 178 MPs YouGov predicted they would win in their last MRP poll. There would also be a significant number of cabinet casualties, with ministers Bridget Phillipson, Ed Miliband, Lisa Nandy, John Healey, Jonathan Reynolds, Emma Reynolds, Pat McFadden, Wes Streeting and Yvette Cooper all at risk of losing their seats. Writing in The Times in the wake of the polling, pollster Sir John Curtice issued a stark warning, saying Labour MPs have “every reason to fear being swept away in a tsunami of unpopularity that would be every bit as damaging as that which engulfed the Conservatives last year”. But Conservative peer and pollster Lord Hayward told The Independent the YouGov polling should be treated with “extreme caution”, warning against looking at polls “this far out from a general election”.”If you go back, Boris Johnson swept the local elections in 2021 and he wasn’t even prime minister a year later. So treat with caution – extreme caution.”But he said there is no denying that Reform are in a strong position, saying their success is “visibly causing problems to both the legacy parties, Conservative and Labour”. “If you look at the opinion polls, not just MRP polls, but political opinion polls in general, there’s no question Reform had a good recess in September. Immigration, which is their issue, has become the number one issue. “It’s very rare in any Western democracy for the economy not to be the number one issue, but immigration is the main issue… So there’s no question that Reform are strong. “It is visibly causing problems to both the legacy parties, Conservative and Labour, but Labour in government.”The poll shows that 231 Labour seats would be lost to Reform, 26 would be lost to the SNP, and the remaining 10 would be split between the other parties.The Tories would also face a disaster scenario, being left with just 45 MPs, the poll showed – putting them behind Reform UK, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, which the poll put at 78 MPs. This is a marginal improvement from the 72 seats they won at the general election. Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage is ‘interested in the politics of grievance’, the prime minister said More

Reform UK’s former leader in Wales has pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to eight bribery charges while an elected member of the European parliament.The charges stated that Nathan Gill, as an elected member of the European parliament for the constituency of Wales in the UK, “agreed to receive financial advantage, namely money”, which constituted “the improper performance” as the holder of an elected office.At his last court appearance, it was alleged that the 52-year-old made statements in the European parliament and in opinion pieces to news outlets, such as 112 Ukraine, which were “supportive of a particular narrative” that would “benefit Russia regarding events in Ukraine”.The Anglesey man was said to have been tasked by former political pundit Oleg Voloshyn on at least eight occasions to make specific statements in return for money.At the earlier hearing, the court heard the bribery offences took place between 6 December 2018 and 18 July 2019.Gill denied one charge of conspiracy to commit bribery during the hearing at the Old Bailey on Friday.Nathan Gill, then a Brexit Party MEP candidate for Wales, with Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage in 2019 More

The Electoral Commission has dismissed a request by the Conservatives to reopen an investigation into undeclared donations to Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and Labour Together, saying they found “no evidence of any other potential offences”.The organisation, where Mr McSweeney was director before coming to work for Sir Keir, was fined by the elections watchdog over its handling of £740,000 donations in 2021.But the Tories had claimed a leaked email from a lawyer to Mr McSweeney had sought to mislead the Electoral Commission.Morgan McSweeney was director of Labour Together (Jonathan Brady/PA) More

Lord Menzies Campbell, former leader of the Liberal Democrats, has died at the age of 84, the party said.His family said he died peacefully at the Kyn Hurlingham care facility in London after a period of respite care, adding that one of his final days was spent watching the Lib Dem party conference. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey described Lord Campbell – known as Ming – as a “dedicated public servant, a tireless champion for Fife, St Andrews and the UK, and a true Liberal giant.” Lord Campbell was a ‘true Liberal giant’, Sir Ed Davey said More

Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to introduce digital ID does not mean everyone will have to carry it with them, with a government minister insisting it will be “entirely their choice” whether people use it. Under the proposal, individuals will not be asked to produce it, other than when they are proving a right to work in the UK.The plan, which would require a law change to implement, comes amid mounting pressure on ministers to take more drastic action to tackle migration as boat crossings reach a record high and the asylum backlog is still above 75,000 – pressure exacerbated by the success of Reform UK in the polls.The plan comes amid mounting pressure on ministers to take more drastic action to tackle migration More