UK Politics

The sole Reform UK member of the Welsh Parliament, Laura Anne Jones, is facing a two-week suspension from the Senedd’s debating chamber following a recommendation from its standards committee. The proposed ban stems from a racial slur she used in a WhatsApp message exchange.Ms Jones, who defected from the Conservatives earlier this year, made the offensive remark about Chinese people in a group during a discussion about the Chinese-owned app TikTok in August 2023. She wrote: “No ***** spies for me.”While Ms Jones has previously issued an apology for the comment, the Senedd standards committee concluded that her actions “fell far below the standards expected” of a member of the Senedd. Members of the Senedd are expected to formally approve the 14-day suspension next week.Jones defected from the Conservatives earlier this year More

Wes Streeting has called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack those responsible for “self-defeating” rumours about a Labour leadership challenge in an extraordinary attack on Downing Street.The health secretary demanded change at the top of No 10 following reports that unnamed aides had accused him of plotting to oust Sir Keir.Mr Streeting denied the reports, and he turned the tables on his unnamed No 10 critics, accusing them of “picking on him” and delivering an incendiary public denunciation of Sir Keir’s Downing Street.Mr Streeting said it showed that deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell, an earlier reported victim of hostile Downing Street briefings, had been right to criticise the “culture” in No 10.He categorically denied that he was plotting to oust Sir Keir, comparing suggestions he would do so to conspiracy theories.Streeting, pictured in London on Wednesday morning, laughed off suggestions that he is behind a plot to oust Starmer as leader More

One of Britain’s richest men, who donated £1m to Brexit campaigns, says he’s considering moving permanently to Australia after delivering a damning assessment of a UK “in chaos”.Lord Edmiston was ranked 187th on the Sunday Times Rich list this year with an estimated wealth of £855m, after making his fortune through his IM Group empire, which started by importing cars and later expanded into property and finance.In 2011 he was made a Conservative life peer before he retired from the House of Lords four years later to focus on his evangelical charity, Christian Vision, where his donations make him one of the UK’s biggest philanthropic donors. The devout Christian has also donated £1m to pro-Brexit campaigns, including £850,000 to Vote Leave through his company before the 2016 EU referendum. But with his son, Andrew, taking a bigger hand in running the West Midlands-based business, Lord Edmiston told The Independent he is spending more time out of the UK, having semi-retired to Portugal in 2016 and built a property in Australia.Now, he has revealed that he and his wife Lady Edmiston are considering going a step further by applying for permanent residency in Australia. He put it down to family reasons and a warmer climate, but also fired off criticism of the NHS and the country’s tax system. Lord Edmiston’s company IM Group donated £850,000 to Vote Leave, which had Boris Johnson as one of its figureheads More

A panicked Downing Street briefing about Keir Starmer’s plans to fight off any attempts to oust him has fuelled speculation about who could replace him as leader. The clock has been ticking for some time now on a prime minister who has seen terrible polling ratings get progressively worse in his 16 months in power.Sir Keir was being given until the crucial elections next May – and potential calamities in Scotland, Wales and London – before MPs would consider a move against him, but if the Budget in a fortnight’s time lands badly then his demise could come sooner.Sir Keir Starmer’s senior political aides are said to have warned against attempts to oust him (Jack Taylor/PA) More