Indy TV

An LBC caller has suggested he would be “put off” voting for Sir Keir Starmer because he is “vegetarian, but not a vegan”.Vegan caller Simon told presenter Iain Dale that he is typically a Labour voter, but isn’t convinced about the opposition leader’s “character”.“What puts me off Labour a little bit is the fact that Starmer is a vegetarian but not a vegan,” he said.“It says something to me about his character, that kind of sitting on the fence thing. I don’t know why he just doesn’t go the whole way and become vegan.” More

Sir Keir Starmer needs to “shed a few pounds” before the general election, Labour grandee Peter Mandelson has said.Lord Mandelson, one of the architects of New Labour, said Sir Keir needed to lose weight to appeal to voters.In an interview with Times Radio on Tuesday (5 March), Lord Mandelson said: “My problem with Rishi Sunak’s fashion is that he wears these skinny suits and narrow ties and they diminish him“Just to be even-handed about it, by the same token, Keir Starmer needs to shed a few pounds.” More

Martin Lewis warned that children struggle to recognise the difference between real money and money spent on applications on mobile devices and tablets.The financial expert told MPs at the Commons Education Committee on Tuesday (5 March) he hears from parents whose children have spent money on purchases inside games.”In the old days when you had cash and you had money in a game, the money in the game wasn’t real and the cash was real. Now the two things are very similar,” Mr Lewis said.During the same committee hearing, schools minister Damian Hinds pulled faces behind Mr Lewis as he criticised the government’s “political failing” in financial education. More

David Cameron has marked 100 days as foreign secretary by featuring in a video social media users described as “embarrassing.”Footage shows Lord Cameron walking in front of a camera saying: “My team set me the challenge to see if I could say all the things that I think we’ve done in the last hundred days”, before referencing “36 different visits to 26 different countries” and aid for Ukraine and Gaza.Lord Cameron’s video had a mixed reaction after it was posted on X/Twitter.Some told him to “keep up the good work”, while others described the footage as “cringey.” More

Schools minister Damian Hinds pulled faces behind Martin Lewis as the MoneySavingExpert founder criticised the government’s “political failing” in financial education at a parliament committee on Tuesday, 5 March.The financial expert told MPs at the Commons Education Committee he donated money to provide a financial education textbook for schools because “the state would not”.As Mr Lewis said “I could have put bias into this textbook. We need proper textbooks, digital resources. We need teachers to be trained, and we need ongoing teacher training,” Mr Hinds appeared to scowl.Mr Lewis has campaigned for financial education to be on the national curriculum. More

A Conservative MP has suggested Joe Biden “needs to read the room” and retire.Speaking on Super Tuesday (5 March), Tim Loughton said the US needs to “be led by a strong, credible, moderate president” and that neither Biden nor Donald Trump “fit that bill”.A re-match between the pair in the US presidential election this November is looking increasingly likely.“Joe Biden, who I’m sure is a decent chap, frankly he needs to read the room,” Mr Loughton told BBC Politics Live.“It’s time to go home to the cocoa and slippers.” More

A top Tory minister has suggested George Galloway’s Rochdale by-election win is “not a good thing for the country”.Greg Hands also described the Workers Party leader as an “opportunist who sows the seeds of division”.“He doesn’t stay popular, he lost his seat in Bethnal Green and Bow, and he lost his seat in Bradford in the following election. He’s somebody who never delivers for his constituents,” Mr Hands told Good Morning Britain on Tuesday 5 March.Mr Galloway was sworn in as the new Rochdale MP in the House of Commons on Monday, following his by-election win. More

Speculation continues to mount as the chancellor prepares to deliver what is likely to be the last Budget before the general election on Wednesday 6 March.Most of that speculation has so far focused on tax cuts, although both Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak have been less keen to talk up the prospect of further tax reductions after official forecasts were reported to have reduced the amount of “headroom” available to meet their fiscal rules.The main question has been whether Mr Hunt will cut income tax or repeat the national insurance cut he introduced in last year’s autumn statement, with either offering a pre-election giveaway to voters. More