Indy TV

Rishi Sunak was scolded by the House of Commons speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, for asking questions of Sir Keir Starmer during PMQs on Wednesday 25 October.After Mr Sunak asked Sir Keir to explain why he “stood in the way” of Tory plans to “unlock 100,000 new homes”, the speaker halted proceedings.“Just to say, it’s Prime Minister’s Questions, not opposition questions,” Mr Hoyle said.After Mr Sunak appeared to sarcastically nod after the reminder, the speaker then added: “I’m sorry, prime minister. It is Prime Minister’s Questions, I don’t need you nodding against my decision.” More

Sir Keir Starmer welcomed parliament’s newest MPs to a Labour Party crowd at Westminster Hall on Tuesday 23 October, after the party inflicted a double by-election defeat on Rishi Sunak last week.The prime minister saw two healthy Conservative majorities disappear in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire in results that Labour leader Sir Keir said “made history”.Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) and Alistair Strathern (Mid Bedfordshire) were cheered by their new colleagues during the celebratory gathering.Both contests were triggered by the high-profile departures of their previous MPs. More

Kate Garraway clashed with Mark Harper over the reallocation of HS2 funding after the northern leg of the scheme from Birmingham to Manchester was scrapped.The government has said that £150m of redirected HS2 funding will be used to improve bus services across the North and Midlands next year.“25 million more bus miles this will lead to apparently, 175 million lost in the last five years… so actually you’re 150 million miles down… what are the correct numbers?” the host said.Rishi Sunak, who announced the northern leg had been scrapped weeks after The Independent revealed he held secret talks, has said the reallocation will “[keep] fares down.” More

Rishi Sunak told reporters that sending humanitarian aid to Gaza is his “immediate priority” as he prepared to leave Cairo following meetings with Egyptian and Palestinian leaders on Friday, 20 October.The prime minister held talks with president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.Downing Street said Mr Sunak expressed his “deep condolences” for the loss of civilian lives in Gaza, including in the blast at the Al Ahli hospital earlier this week. Speaking to Sky News, Mr Sunak said: “We all share a vision of a future where Palestinian people can live with dignity, freedom, and security.” More

Labour’s double by-election victory is the “second coming of Blairism,” The Independent’s chief political commentator John Rentoul has said.Huge Tory majorities were overturned in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire, the latter of which was the biggest in British by-election history.“These are the sort of results Tony Blair got as leader of the opposition,” Mr Rentoul told TalkTV on Friday, 20 October.“It suggests that Labour is heading for that kind of swing in a general election… We’re not talking about an absolutely huge Labour majority… but it’s certainly looking pretty good for them.” More

Rishi Sunak has said he is “proud” to stand with Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel’s “darkest hour”.The British prime minister delivered a statement alongside his Israeli counterpart at a press conference in Jerusalem on Thursday 19 October, making the trip to “express solidarity” over the Hamas attacks earlier this month.“I am proud to stand here with you in Israel’s darkest hour. As your friend, we will stand with you in solidarity, we will stand with your people,” Mr Sunak told Mr Netanyahu.“We also want you to win,” he added, as the pair shook hands. More

Sir Keir Starmer called for Hamas to release British hostages immediately as he spoke at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, 18 October.Around 200 people are believed to have been taken hostage by terrorists after an attack on Israel on 7 October.Rishi Sunak told Parliament that at least 10 Britons are missing.Britons Noam Sagi, 53, and Sharon Lifschitz, 52, have said their elderly parents were among the hostages.Sir Keir told Parliament: “If Hamas had a single concern for human life, for the safety of the Palestinian people, then they would never have taken these hostages.” More

MPs paid tribute to victims of the Israel-Hamas conflict by holding a minute’s silence in parliament on Monday, 16 October.In a speech in the House of Commons, Rishi Sunak said that at least six Britons were killed in Hamas’s “pogrom” in Israel and a further 10 are missing.The prime minister added that the UK must “support absolutely Israel’s right to defend itself” and called for the immediate release of the around 200 hostages taken by the militant group.Mr Sunak also said that Palestinian people are “victims of Hamas too” as he announced an extra £10 million of aid funding. More