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    Watch: Ed Davey challenges Keir Starmer to FIFA match in bizarre TikTok video

    Sir Ed Davey challenged Sir Keir Starmer to a “1v1” FIFA match in a bizarre TikTok dancing video filmed outside the Houses of Parliament.The Liberal Democrats leader posted a series of videos asking the prime minister to face him.The first clip was captioned that it would be for charity.In a third video, Sir Ed danced next to images of Mr Bean and Shrek.It received mixed reactions on social media, with one viewer commenting: “Currently in one of the darkest economic and social periods of British history and this is what politicians are doing.”The Independent has reached out to the Liberal Democrats for comment. More

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    Employment minister squirms when confronted with Starmer’s comments on benefits fraudsters

    An employment minister squirmed live on television as she was confronted with Sir Keir Starmer’s comments on benefits fraudsters.In an article for the Mail on Sunday, the prime minister wrote that the public would see the government “get to grips with the bulging benefits bill blighting our society” and pledged to “crack down hard on anyone who tries to game the system, to tackle fraud so we can take cash straight from the banks of fraudsters.”When questioned if she considers people who sign themselves off work to be criminals, Alison McGovern asked if the question was quoted from Sir Keir and did not say whether she considers this to be criminal activity. More

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    Keir Starmer issues defiant response to petition calling for general election

    Sir Keir Starmer has dismissed an online petition calling for an immediate general election.Appearing on ITV’s This Morning on Monday (25 November), the prime minister brushed off questions about his popularity.“I remind myself that very many people didn’t vote Labour in the last election,” he told hosts Cat Deeley and Andi Peters.“That isn’t how our system works. What I focus on is the decisions that I have to make every day.”Questions have been raised on the legitimacy of the petition’s signatures. More

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    ‘No deal is better than a bad deal’: Cop29 deadlocked over climate fund

    Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreHopes of a trillion-dollar climate finance fund appear to be slipping out of reach after a draft text at the Cop29 climate summit proposed a deal worth only a fifth of that.The interim agreement – released late on Friday, hours before the summit’s scheduled end – sets a $250bn (£199bn) annual target for the “new collective quantified goal” (NCQG), the sum developed nations must hand over to support mitigation in developing countries. The compromise sum was dismissed as an insult to the world’s most vulnerable populations as talks extended into the night at the summit in Baku, Azerbaijan.“We started Cop29 with alarm that the outcome of the US presidential elections would deter global climate action … apparently, the halls of Cop29 are already flooded with many Trumps,” said Gerry Arances, executive director of Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development. His country, the Philippines, has suffered six typhoons recently and the proposed sum won’t even be enough to support the victims of those disasters, he said. Developed nations are “gambling with the lives of people in developing nations and small states”, Mr Arances said.A key demand from developing countries has been to make climate finance accessible, which means more money as grants and not private finance or loans. But the amount proposed in the current draft does not stress this. Experts say without mentioning how much amount will be delivered as grants, the treaty leaves vulnerable countries at the mercy of loans. “Not only is $250bn far too low a target for climate finance to developing nations, but core aid funding should be coming only from public sources,” Tom Mitchell, executive director of the International Institute for Environment and Development, said.“Private investors should be topping up the contributions from national governments and multilateral banks, not being drafted in to distract from political miserliness.Campaigners highlighted that the $250bn figure totals a mere 8 per cent of the $2.97 trillion in profits made by the world’s biggest companies in the last financial year. “We cannot be expected to agree to a text which shows such contempt for our vulnerable people,” the Alliance of Small Island States said in a statement. In a statement the Azerbaijani presidency says the new climate finance text is the result of a consultation that stretched into the early hours of the morning – and offers a “balanced and streamlined” way forward.Many campaigners say it’s better to go back without a deal than $250bn in climate finance. “We find ourselves in a far worse position than we were before the NCQG process began,” said Lidy Nacpil from the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development. “I strongly echo the call for our developing country governments to reject this text.”The negotiations will now be running overnight, but a likely outcome may still be a figure of less than one trillion dollars.“To land a meaningful outcome here, wealthy nations must step up with a bold offer to the global South. Our eyes are now on the European Union and UK in particular to step up their game,” Andreas Seiber, associate director of policy and campaigns at 350.org told The Independent. “Cop29 cannot close on a deal this weak,” he warned. More

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    Starmer denies UK at war after Ukraine fires British Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory

    Sir Keir Starmer has said that the UK is “not at war” and suggested there had been “irresponsible rhetoric” from Russia.Ukraine has fired British long-range Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory for the first time, The Independent understands, the latest sign of a change in stance from Western countries on involvement in the conflict.Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol as part of a local radio round on Friday, 22 November, Sir Keir Starmer was asked “are we at war” in relation to the conflict in Ukraine.“No, we’re not at war, but Ukraine certainly is, because Ukraine has been invaded by Russia, and that war has now been going on for just over 1,000 days,” Sir Keir responded.After Russia threatened to use weapons against nations that allow their own weapons to be used inside Russia, the PM said: “There’s irresponsible rhetoric.” More

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    BBC caller confronts Keir Starmer over winter fuel payment cuts: ‘Elderly people will die’

    Sir Keir Starmer was confronted by a BBC radio listener who warned him that “elderly people are going to die” following cuts to winter fuel allowance.BBC Radio Lincolnshire caller Maxine asked the prime minister how he was “going to live” and urged him to back down on the announcement.Sean Dunderdale told the PM the listener had been wearing extra layers and couldn’t put the heating on this week.Sir Keir pointed the caller, who was not entitled to pension credit, in the direction of the warm homes discount which is available to those who receive the guarantee credit of pension credit or are on a low income and have high energy costs. More

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    Elon Musk’s father claims England has ‘gone back 400 years to Tudor times’ as he calls for Starmer to resign

    Elon Musk’s father has accused England of “going back 400 years to the Tudor times” as he called for Sir Keir Starmer to resign.Errol Musk also criticsed Labour cabinet members for previous comments about President-elect Donald Trump.Appearing on Andrew Marr’s LBC show on Wednesday (20 November), Mr Musk said: “England has gone back to theTudor times, you’ve gone back 400 years with this government.”When asked about his thoughts on Sir Keir, Mr Musk added: “He needs to reign before four years, he needs to resign in the next three months.” More

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    Gordon Brown opens up on John Prescott’s final few months in his battle against Alzheimer’s

    Former prime minister Gordon Brown has paid tribute to Lord John Prescott as he opened up about his final few months, saying he never lost his “warmth and friendliness”.The former UK deputy prime minister died “peacefully” surrounded by relatives at his care home after a battle with Alzheimer’s, his family said in a statement on Thursday (21 November).Speaking on BBC Radio 4 Today, Mr Brown said: “I’ve talked to John over these last few months when he had declining health.“What was amazing was how he dealt with his Alzheimer’s, he always knew who you were but just wasn’t sure what to say.Mr Brown added: “It was his warmth, he was was always praising people. I think he even made up with Peter Mandelson in the last few months.” More