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    ‘I hate failure’: Angela Rayner remains defiant over Labour’s new homes target

    Angela Rayner insisted “I hate failure” as she remained defiant over Labour’s new homes target.The deputy prime minister said she is determined to meet her 1.5 million new homes target, but wouldn’t guarantee it, when she appeared on Sky News with Trevor Phillips on Sunday (8 December).The housebuilding commitment was one of the six “milestones” Sir Keir Starmer set out in a wide-ranging speech on Thursday (5 December), against which the public can measure the Government’s performance.Ms Rayner said the Government was “tackling the housing crisis we inherited head-on with bold action” as it worked towards building 1.5 million homes over five years. More

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    Watch moment Syrian rebels shoot down statue of former President Assad

    This is the moment Syrian rebels shoot down the statue of former President Hafez al-Assad.It comes as the Syrian government of Hafez’s son Bashar has fallen, bringing a stunning end to his family’s 50-year reign following a lightning offensive by Islamist rebels.Social media footage shows protesters bringing down the statue of the president’s late father in a main square in a suburb a few miles from the centre of the capital on Saturday (7 December).A plane carrying Assad left Damascus on Sunday morning as rebel fighters entered the capital, and two officials told Reuters he had fled the country. More

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    Trump says world gone crazy as he meets Macron ahead of Notre Dame Cathedral re-opening

    Donald Trump said the world has gone “crazy” as he met with French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the historic re-opening of the Notre Dame Cathedral.The President-elect arrived in France on Saturday (7 December) to meet with Mr Macron ahead of the Cathedral’s grand reopening.Mr Trump praised the “great relationship” between the US and France and said: “It’s a great honour to be here and we’ve had a good time together and a lot of really great success working together. “It seems like the world has gone crazy right now and we will be talking about that.” More

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    Boris Johnson creates bizarre celebrity Christmas ‘naughty and nice’ list – with some surprising additions

    Former prime minister Boris Johnson has created a bizarre celebrity Christmas ‘naughty and nice’ list – with some surprising additions.Sat eating a mince pie, Mr Johnson ponders over who to include on his list, as part of a promotional video released for his book, Unleashed.Celebrity names mentioned include Michael Gove, Jeremy Clarkson, Laura Kuenssberg, and Leonardo DiCaprio.Referencing the latter, Mr Johnson states: “A great Hollywood champion for tackling climate change. On the other hand, he did spend a long time on the bog during the cop summit.” More

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    Nigel Farage brands Alastair Campbell ‘worst loser in history’ in Brexit clash

    Nigel Farage described Alastair Campbell as the “worst loser in history” while the pair clashed over the impact of Brexit on Thursday’s (5 December) episode of Question Time.The former director of communications for Tony Blair explained that he was disappointed that Keir Starmer did not mention Brexit when setting out his government’s “plan for change” in a speech, which the Reform UK leader reacted to by declaring: “Oh dear.”Mr Farage and Mr Campbell then called each other the “worst loser” and “worst winner” respectively as they disagreed on how leaving the European Union has affected the United Kingdom. More

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    Priceless audience reaction to asylum comment on BBC Question Time

    A BBC Question Time audience member was visibly shocked when a viewer beside her said she did not believe in asylum.In Thursday’s (5 December) episode of the political panel show, a woman claimed the UK had “taken more than our fair share” and said she felt sorry for “little towns and villages” where asylum seekers had been housed.As she made her views clear, the audience member to her right raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes in astonishment.Laughter broke out in the studio as the woman continued: “I think there’s far too much made of this that they’re fleeing wars.” More

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    Starmer jokes he could be next James Bond as he mocks Badenoch over working at McDonald’s

    Sir Keir Starmer joked he could be the next James Bond as he mocked Tory leader Kemi Badenoch over her previous comments about working at McDonald’s.The prime minister made the joke as he delivered a major speech on Labour’s key plans for change, in a conference held at Pinewood Studios on Thursday (5 December).Sir Keir said: “It’s really great to be at the iconic Pinewood Studios.“Kemi Badenoch thinks if you do a couple of shifts in McDonald’s, then you can become working class, so by that logic, if I keep coming back here, I could be the next James Bond.” More

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    Tory MP Chris Philp sports black eye during live TV interview

    Conservative MP Chris Philp sported a black eye during a live interview on breakfast television today (5 December).The shadow home secretary was quizzed on how he suffered his injury by Sky News presenter Kay Burley.Mr Philp explained: “I was playing football in Croydon and got punched in the face by a member of my own team, but it was an accident“I was trying to clear a ball from the goal-line and the goalkeeper went for it and his attempt to punch the ball away landed a punch in my eye.” More