Indy TV

There were several empty seats at the Conservative Party’s conference on Monday, 6 October, as Sir Mel Stride laid out the opposition’s economic plans if they win the next election.The shadow chancellor pledged that the Tories will abolish business rates for high street shops and pubs.Vowing to “get business rates down”, Sir Mel said: “I can announce that as a direct result of getting public spending under control, a future Conservative government will completely abolish business rates for shops and pubs on our high street.” More

Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice accused Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer of urging the far left to “take up arms and go for the enemy.” In reality, footage from the prime minister’s Labour conference speech shows he did not say this.Mr Tice told Sky News: “He’s essentially given license to the far-left, the likes of the masked thugs ANTIFA, to essentially come at us, come at Nigel Farage.”He literally used the words arms, take up arms and go for the enemy.”The Independent has approached Reform UK for comment. More

Shabana Mahmood has said that people are “justified in asking for more from their government” after David Lammy was heckled at a Manchester terror attack vigil.Appearing on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the home secretary said that she “absolutely understands the strength of feeling” that members of the Jewish community are experiencing in the wake of the attack, which saw Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, killed.Kuenssberg said that young Jewish children told her how they are now experiencing incidents of antisemitism “daily”, which Mahmood described as “devastating to hear”.“I fully accept that people are grieving and want more from their government.” She added: “They are justified in asking for more when they feel that they and their children are going to have to live smaller Jewish lives here in the country that is their home. It is their land too.” More

Deputy prime minister David Lammy has backpeddled on claims that Nigel Farage “flirted with Hitler Youth.” The statement appeared to reference allegations that emerged in 2013 that Mr Farage sang Nazi songs as a schoolboy. Mr Farage denied the allegations at the time. Lammy’s comments came after being asked by the BBC if Farage was “a racist” on Tuesday evening (30 September). “I will leave it for the public to come to their own judgments about someone who once flirted with the Hitler Youth when he was younger,” he said. Shortly after, Lammy appeared on BBC News saying, “ he has denied it, and so I accept that he has denied it, and I would like to clarify that position.” More

Sir Keir Starmer has backed Donald Trump’s “intiative to bring peace to the Middle East” during a Labour party conference speech.Speaking in Liverpool on Tuesday (30 September), the prime minister said he “strongly supports efforts to end the fighting, release every hostage and urgently scale up aid” into Gaza.“All sides must now come together to bring this initiative into reality, because we must restart the hope of a two-state solution, a safe and secure Israel alongside the long-promised Palestinian state, a state that this country now recognises,” he said, resulting in applause from the crowd.The plan, which was announced on Monday (29 September) with Benjamin Netanyahu, includes an end to fighting, the return of Israeli hostages, and the formation of an international “Board of Peace” to help run Gaza, which would include Tony Blair. More

Rachel Reeves has taken aim at Nigel Farage during her Labour Party conference speech, labelling Reform UK as the “single greatest threat to our way of life”.Speaking in Liverpool on Monday (29 September), the chancellor said the party is “not on the side of the working people” and accused them of being “willing to tear communities and families apart”.She said voters will have a choice at the next election between “a Labour government introducing the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights in decades, or a Reform party which has opposed those rights every single step of the way”.Accusing Mr Farage of “being in bed with Putin”, she added: “There is only one party that was founded working people and committed to defending their interests… The party of working people is the Labour Party.” More

Andy Burnham has revealed his key focus for Labour amid mounting speculation that the Manchester mayor could challenge Sir Keir Starmer for party leadership.Appearing on BBC News on Thursday (25 September), said that his main goal is to support the government in building a plan to beat Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. In an interview with The Telegraph on Wednesday, Mr Burnham said MPs have been privately urging him to challenge Sir Keir to become prime minister.Discussing this further, Mr Burnham said: “It’s not a matter for me. This is ultimately a matter for the party in Westminster to decide”, saying that his role is to “support the party in whatever way I can”. More

Nigel Farage has said Republicans “have to get used to things being said that they don’t like” after late-night talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel was suspended last week having made comments about the death of MAGA commentator Charlie Kirk.Responding to a caller on Nick Ferrari’s LBC programme on Wednesday (September 24), the Reform UK leader expressed how the political party supporters “need to be careful, otherwise they’re going to be guilty of the very thing they accused the other side of.”Jimmy Kimmel returned to his show on Tuesday night, assuring his audience that it was “never [his] intention to make light of the murder of a young man.” More