More stories

  • in

    Kemi Badenoch says she no longer considers herself Nigerian

    Kemi Badenoch has said she no longer identifies as Nigerian and has not renewed her Nigerian passport since the early 2000s.Speaking to Gyles Brandreth’s Rosebud podcast, the Conservative leader, who was born in London and raised in Lagos and the United States, said: “I’m Nigerian through ancestry, by birth, despite not being born there because of my parents, but by identity I’m not really.”Ms Badenoch explained she felt “home is where my now family is”.The Tory politician was born in Wimbledon in 1980 before her parents took her home to Nigeria.She was one of the last people to receive birthright citizenship because she was born in the UK before these rules were abolished by Margaret Thatcher the following year. More

  • in

    Awkward moment Trump leaves Starmer squirming over ‘family farm tax’

    Watch as Donald Trump explains how the US ended inheritance tax on farmers whilst sitting next to a silent Sir Keir Starmer on Monday (27 July).During a press conference held as part of the US president’s four-day trip to Scotland, the pair were questioned on how important farmers are to a country.While Mr Trump did not comment on the UK’s ‘tractor tax’ plans, which will make farms valued at £1m or more liable for 20 per cent inheritance tax, he stated that the US had ended its federal levy on farmers.“There’s no estate tax on farmers, so when a parent leaves their farm, because a lot of these farms, they don’t make a lot of money, but it’s a way of life and they love that way of life.” More

  • in

    Keir Starmer jumps in to defend Sadiq Khan from Donald Trump’s ‘nasty’ accusation

    Donald Trump hit out at London’s mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, describing him as a “nasty person” before Sir Keir Starmer jumped in to defend his friend.During a press conference in Scotland on Monday (28 July), the US president said when asked if he would be visiting the capital during his state visit later this year: “I’m not a fan of your mayor. I think he’s done a terrible job, the Mayor of London… a nasty person.”Jumping to the Labour mayor’s defence, the prime minister intervened to say: “He’s a friend of mine, actually.”Mr Trump added that he would “certainly visit London.” More

  • in

    Jeremy Corbyn ‘getting 500 people a minute’ wanting to join his new political party

    Jeremy Corbyn said he is “getting 500 people a minute” wanting to join his new political party.The former Labour leader launched a new outfit with Zarah Sultana that does not yet have a name, on Thursday (24 July), calling for a “mass redistribution of wealth and power”.Asked what the new name of his party would be, Mr Corbyn said: “We’re going to decide when we’ve had all the responses, and so far the response rate has been massive.“They’ve been coming in at 500 a minute wanting to support and join the new party.”He also said that he and Coventry South MP Ms Sultana are “working very well together”. More

  • in

    Stephen Flynn jokes he’ll be ‘washing hair’ when Donald Trump visits Scotland

    Stephen Flynn joked he will be washing his hair when Donald Trump visits the UK.The Scottish National Party’s (SNP) Westminster leader, who is bald, told Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that he will find “any excuse possible” to avoid meeting the US president on his trip to Scotland.While insisting it was “absolutely right” that First Minister John Swinney meets Mr Trump, Mr Flynn quipped that he’d be “looking after his own toddlers” while the Republican is in the country. More

  • in

    Stephen Flynn jokes he’ll be ‘washing hair’ when Donald Trump visits UK

    Stephen Flynn joked he will be washing his hair when Donald Trump is in the UK for his state visit in September.The Scottish National Party’s (SNP) Westminster leader, who is bald, told Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that he will find “any excuse possible” to avoid meeting the US president on his visit to Scotland.While insisting it was “absolutely right” that First Minister John Swinney meets Mr Trump, Mr Flynn quipped that he’d be “looking after his own toddlers” while the Republican is in the country. More

  • in

    Richard Tice claims he’s seen people carrying ‘bags and bags’ of postal votes to a polling station

    Richard Tice claimed he has seen “people carry bag loads of postal votes to a polling station on election day” during a House of Commons urgent question on Labour’s strategy for elections on Thursday (17 July).Describing Reform UK’s opposition against giving 16 and 17-year-olds the vote at the next general election, the party’s deputy leader said they have “grave concerns about the risks to security and the risks of impersonation of postal voting.”Responding, democracy minister Rushanara Ali reassured Mr Tice: “Personating another voter is a deliberate act of fraud. It completely undermines our democracy and is a serious criminal offence that will continue to be prosecuted. If he has examples, he should report them to the police.” More

  • in

    Starmer hits back at ‘rattled’ accusation over Labour MP suspensions

    Sir Keir Starmer rejected comparisons to Sir Tony Blair when grilled over the suspension of Labour MPs due to their opposition of welfare cuts.Sky News’ Beth Rigby recalled how 47 MPs voted against the former Labour prime minister’s welfare plans in 1997, but none had the whip removed.It comes after the party suspended Brian Leishman, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Chris Hinchcliff, and Rachael Maskell on Wednesday after they led a backbench rebellion over planned welfare cuts.When asked why he was “so rattled” by the rebellion, the PM replied: “I’m determined that we will change this country for the better for millions of working people, and I’m not going to be deflected from that.”Everyone was elected as a Labour MP on the manifesto of change, and everybody needs to deliver as a Labour government.” More