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Sir Keir Starmer accused the Tories of thinking “working people don’t need culture” as he pledged a raft of measures aimed at boosting access to the arts, including a crackdown on ticket touting.However, the Labour leader warned the party would be unable to “turn on the taps straight away” if it wins power as he faced questions about whether the plans would be backed by new funding.In a speech at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in central London, Sir Keir said the “war on culture” would end with a Labour government. More

Holly Valance has revealed she is backing Reform UK in the next general election after her surprise appearance at a Tory event last month.The former Neighbours stalwart and ex-pop star attended at Liz Truss’s Popular Conservatism group launch, backing Jacob Rees-Mogg to be the next prime minister and blasting left-wing political ideas as “c**p”.Valance, 40, told GB News she voted Conservative in the 2019 General Election but is now in favour of Richard Tice’s party which recently welcomed MP Lee Anderson after he defected from the Tories.”I support anybody that sort of sticks to what they believe in and isn’t a turncoat,” she said. More

Rishi Sunak on Thursday (14 March) reiterated that Frank Hester’s apology over alleged comments made about MP Diane Abbott should be accepted when challenged over whether the Conservatives will return the donor’s money.“What he said was wrong and racist. I made that clear,” the prime minister said, when asked whether the cash will be handed back if it has not been spent during a visit to Gloucestershire Rugby Club.“It’s right that he’s apologised for that. And where remorse is shown, I think that should be accepted.”Pressed again on returning the money, Mr Sunak added: “When someone has expressed genuine remorse or contrition for what they’ve done, which he has, it’s the right thing to do to accept that.” More

Michael Gove refused repeatedly when asked if a Tory donor’s alleged comments calling for an MP to be “shot” would be deemed extremist under the government’s new task force.Businessman Frank Hester is alleged to have said that Diane Abbott, Britain’s first black female MP, made him “want to hate all black women” and that she “should be shot”, in comments the Prime Minister described as “racist” after initially refusing to do so.Appearing on BBC Breakfast on Thursday (14 March), presenter Naga Munchetty asked Mr Gove repeatedly if the alleged comments would be deemed extremist. More

Diane Abbott stood up 46 times during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, 13 March, but was ultimately denied the chance to speak after reporting a Tory donor to the police.The MP filed a complaint with the Metropolitan Police’s parliamentary liaison and investigations team after Frank Hester, who donated £10m to the Conservatives in 2023, was alleged to have said she “should be shot”.Mr Hester admitted making “rude” comments about Ms Abbott but said they had “nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”. More

Activists have erected hundreds of cemetery “headstones” made from insulation boards outside parliament to warn a failure to tackle cold homes is costing thousands of lives.Greenpeace estimates more than 70,000 excess winter deaths in the UK were linked to living in cold, damp housing conditions in the decade since the coalition government slashed support for home insulation measures.In a protest at what it described as the “needless and shocking” deaths from living in cold homes, the green group installed headstones in Victoria Tower Gardens and an eight-metre-long funeral wreath reading “cold homes cost lives”. More

Sir Keir Starmer took a swipe at Rishi Sunak in PMQs today (13 March), saying he cannot trick people into believing in the “completely unfunded £46bn” Labour said plans to abolish national insurance contributions would cost.The opposition leader continued by saying that “shaking the Tory magic money tree” will not bring the promise into existence.Punctuating his jab at the government’s new plan to cut taxes in the spring Budget introduced last week, Sir Keir asked the prime minister how the money will be found: “So it’s either cutting pensions or the NHS, or he will have to raise other taxes or borrowing. Which is it prime minister?” More

Rishi Sunak said he would not return a £15,000 donation from Frank Hester that funded a helicopter trip as a row over the Tory donor’s alleged comments about Diane Abbott continued.At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (13 March), the prime minister said: “No… I am pleased [Mr Hester] is supporting a party that represents one of the most diverse governments in this country’s history.”Mr Hester, who donated £10m to the Tories last year, allegedly made comments about the MP including that she made him “want to hate all Black women”.A statement from Mr Hester’s firm said he “accepts that he was rude about Diane Abbott… but his criticism had nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin.” More