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Sir Keir Starmer has said the government’s response to flooding is not “good enough” and vowed Labour would take pre-emptive action earlier in the year to get ahead of the problem.“What that means: earlier in the year in the autumn, having a taskforce that brings together local authorities, emergency response, local people, to ensure that the prevention work is done,” Sir Keir said, speaking on a visit to the East Midlands.Sleet and snow showers have been forecast for parts of the country on Monday 8 January, as some regions are still trying to grapple with flooding following intense rainfall. More

Rishi Sunak denied that he had significant doubts about the Government’s Rwanda bill after leaked No 10 documents revealed his uncertainty.He appeared on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg on BBC One on Sunday, 7 January.When asked to admit the doubts by Mrs Kuenssberg, he said: “No. I haven’t seen these documents so I can’t comment on them specifically but I discussed it with the prime minister and ultimately funded the plans and the scheme.The documents revealed the Prime Minister’s doubts back in 2022, where he questioned whether it would actually stop boats crossing, and if it was value for money. More

The Liberal Democrats have demanded that Rishi Sunak launch a general election for May rather than “clinging on to power”.Mr Sunak has the power to hold the vote as late as January 2025, but Sir Ed Davey has urged him to call one much earlier.“I think people are fed up of waiting for a general election. They want change and it really shouldn’t be in the power of the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, to call that,” the Lib Dem leader said.“He’s clinging on to power, desperate for something to turn up. That’s not right.” More

Shaun Bailey said Carol Vorderman “can’t be both” a serious political commentator and have “pictures of her bums and her boobs” on her Instagram during an appearance on GB News on Thursday, 28 December.”I would have some sympathy for that if she conducted herself like a grown-up… On one hand… she’s a serious political commentator, and then if you look at her Instagram it’s all pictures of her bums and her boobs… She can’t be both,” Lord Bailey said.Ms Vorderman called the Conservative peer a “misogynist” as she reposted a clip of the comments on X/Twitter. Lord Bailey said:  “I used a clumsy form of words to describe Carol Vorderman’s Instagram posts. The point I was trying to make is Carol lives in a world of glitz and celebrity, as her Instagram portrays, but simultaneously demonises and bullies those who hold different political views to her own.” More

Liz Truss’s long-awaited resignation honours list has been branded “rewards for failure” by Labour MP Jonathan Ashworth.The Electoral Reform Society has also called for urgent reform to the “rotten and out of control” peerage system and criticised the list which proposes a new peer for every day-and-a-half Ms Truss was in office.The list which includes Tory donors and special advisers was fraught with controversy before being published, with calls for Rishi Sunak to block the handout of honours given the short-lived nature of Ms Truss’s premiership.The former prime minister resigned last October after the fallout from her disastrous mini-budget, becoming the country’s shortest-serving prime minister after just 49 days in office. More

Tory MP Dame Caroline Dinenage has suggested it is time to “move on” from James Cleverly’s spiking joke.The home secretary has faced calls to quit after last week joking about putting a date rape drug in his wife’s drink – hours after the Home Office announced plans to crack down on spiking.However, no action will be taken against him as prime minister Rishi Sunak “considers the matter closed”.“It was a very ill-judged comment, but James has owned that comment and apologised,” Dame Caroline told Sky News on Friday 29 December.“So let’s move on,” she added, calling it a “silly remark”. More

The UK is “desperate for an election”, Emily Thornberry has claimed.Speaking to Sky News on Thursday 28 December, the shadow attorney general added that Jeremy Hunt’s spring Budget date of 6 March “seems to confirm” that voters will be heading to the polls in May.“It is the worst kept secret in parliament isn’t it, that we are likely to be heading for a May election,” Ms Thornberry said.“The country is desperate for an election, we really have to get rid of this lot and we want to have an opportunity to do so, that’s what people tell me.” More

James Cleverly should be “thoroughly ashamed of himself” over his date rape joke, Emily Thornberry has said.No action will be taken against the home secretary, as prime minister Rishi Sunak “considers the matter closed”.Mr Cleverly has faced calls to quit after last week joking about putting a date rape drug in his wife’s drink – hours after the Home Office announced plans to crack down on spiking.“That is not funny. It is a really nasty and frightening joke and he should be thoroughly ashamed of himself,” Ms Thornberry told Good Morning Britain on Thursday 28 December. More