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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

Sir Keir Starmer called for a “two-state solution” to the Israel-Hamas conflict during a speech in parliament on Monday, 16 October.The Labour leader appealed for a “Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel” as MPs returned to the Commons following party conferences.”We cannot let Hamas brutality be a catalyst for conflict in the wider region. Engagement between Israel and Arab nations must be strengthened not abandoned,” Sir Keir added.Rishi Sunak “affirmed that the UK continues to support a two-state solution” during a meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of Palestinian National Authority, Downing Street said. More

As we near the end of party conference season, chief political commentator John Rentoul answers your questions on what the Labour and Conservative party conferences revealed to us.With a general election scheduled for some time next year, can Labour’s Keir Starmer maintain his lead over Rishi Sunak’s Tories? And could Sunak’s war against imaginary recycling bins be an election winner?Watch more episodes of You Ask The Questions now on Independent TV – across desktop, mobile and connected TV devices. More

Rishi Sunak served breakfast alongside crew aboard a Royal Navy frigate in Sweden on Friday morning (13 October).He became the first prime minister in decades to stay overnight on a Royal Navy vessel, as he travelled to Europe for a security summit.Mr Sunak got a taste of Navy life on the HMS Diamond, waking up early to dish out food to sailors in the morning.He was heard offering up tomatoes and hash browns to the ship’s company and also joked that he slept in the “premium cabin” on Thursday night.The prime minister is in Sweden for the Joint Expeditionary Summit. More

This is the moment a protestor storms the stage and throws glitter all over Keir Starmer during his Labour conference speech.The man rushed on stage at the beginning of the address.He shouts: “We demand a people’s house, we are in crisis – politics needs an update. We are in crisis.”After being interrupted by a heckler, Mr Starmer opened his speech at Labour Party conference by saying: “If he thinks that bothers me he doesn’t know me.“Protest not power, that is why we changed our party conference.” More