UK

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House CorrespondentWes Streeting has said NHS waiting lists need to fall by millions before the next general election.The health secretary vowed to return the health service to its “constitutional standards” by the end of Labour’s first term in office, allowing A&E patients to be seen within four hours and ensuring those referred for cancer treatments are treated within 62 days.Pressed over when NHS waiting lists would fall back below pre-pandemic levels, Mr Streeting said he would “certainly like to see them come down faster”.“We’ve committed to return the NHS by the end of this parliament to the constitutional standards we expect,” he told Sky News. It would mean waiting lists falling by millions before the latest date for a general election to be held in 2029.Asked how that could be achieved, Mr Streeting said: “To get to constitutional standards, NHS waiting lists will need to be millions lower by the end of this parliament.”Health secretary Wes Streeting said waiting lists need to fall by millions More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House CorrespondentLabour will use its upcoming annual conference to condemn the legacy of 14 years of Conservative rule.Senior figures including chancellor Rachel Reeves are expected to criticise the Tory party’s record on managing the country over its time in power.It is understood that Labour’s “inheritance” will be one of the big themes of the event, being held in Liverpool at the end of this month.The four-day event comes just weeks before Ms Reeves delivers the first ever Budget from a female chancellor.Sir Keir Starmer has already warned the country will be hit with a “very painful Budget”, as his new Labour administration tries to “fix the rot” left by the Tories.Rachel Reeves is expected to highlight the legacy left by the Conservative government at the Labour conference More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House CorrespondentSir Keir Starmer has insisted the US backed Britain’s decision to suspend some arms sales to Israel, after reports the move had angered Britain’s closest ally.The prime minister said Washington “understands the decision we have taken” and was told about the move in advance.He was quizzed about Britain’s decision to suspend around 30 of its 350 arms export licences to Israel after a review found there is a “clear risk” that they could be used to breach international humanitarian law.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer insisted there was no rift with the US over arms exports to Israel More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House CorrespondentSir Keir Starmer has said that he will “have to be unpopular” to restore the public finances from the dire inheritance left by the Conservatives.Accusing his predecessors of “running away from difficult decisions”, the prime minister said Labour can only deliver change if he makes “tough choices” now.Sir Keir is facing a rebellion from backbenchers this week in a vote on his decision to withdraw the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners. As many as 30 Labour MPs have signalled that they will vote against the measure or abstain, setting up the second major rebellion of his time as prime minister.He refused to say whether Labour MPs who vote against the government will lose the whip, claiming it is a “matter for the chief whip”. But seven Labour MPs were suspended for months after voting against the government on a motion to scrap the two-child benefit cap imposed by the Conservatives.The move to means test the winter fuel payment, worth up to £300, will affect around 10 million pensioners, with warnings some could end up in hospital as a result of the change.In his first sit-down interview since taking over as prime minister, Sir Keir told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “I am absolutely convinced we will only deliver that change, I am absolutely determined we will, if we do the difficult things now.The Prime Minister will also criticise reforms made to the NHS by previous Conservative governments (PA) More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House CorrespondentTory leadership hopeful James Cleverly has revealed that he hopes to be the Ronald Reagan of his party and encourage people to vote for them “with a spring in their step”.While many of his rivals aspire to be “the new Margaret Thatcher”, who led the party to three election victories and transformed the UK in a decade in power in the 1980s, Mr Cleverly said he was looking for a more “optimistic” role model.The shadow home secretary was answering 12 questions for a video to help Tory members get to know him better and was asked which politician he would want to model himself on.Ronald Reagan is Mr Cleverly’s chief inspiration although he admired Thatcher too More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House CorrespondentThe question “do Tory MPs fix leadership votes with dirty tricks?” is usually on a par with “is the Pope a Catholic?” or “do bears s*** in the woods?”. It is obvious and it happens every time even if it takes place in secret.So it is of no surprise to anybody that allegations are already being expressed that vote fixing took place in the first round of the current Tory leadership competition.The suspicions surround former work and pensions secretary Mel Stride who, while seen as a decent chap, is not seen as a serious candidate to replace Rishi Sunak.Somehow, he managed to get enough Tory MPs to put him on the original ballot and then he got 16 votes, one more than Priti Patel in the first round – meaning the former home secretary was the one who was eliminated. This was achieved even though Mr Stride has not even had an official leadership campaign launch yet.Mr Stride now has one of the other early favourites in his sights, former security minister Tom Tugendhat, who only managed to get one more vote, with 17 in the first round.Robert Jenrick speaking at a Conservative Party leadership campaign event (PA) More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House CorrespondentSir Keir Starmer has accused the Conservatives of breaking the NHS in a way that is “unforgivable” as the government prepares to publish a damning report on the state of the health service.The prime minister said the Tories began draining money from the NHS after coming to power in 2010 and pursued a series of “hopelessly misconceived” reforms.With a “warts and all” review by former health minister and surgeon Ara Darzi set to report on Thursday, Sir Keir said it will show the NHS has been left in an “awful position” by the last government.In his first major TV interview since becoming prime minister, he told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg:“Everybody watching this who has used the NHS, or whose relatives have, know that it’s broken, they know that it’s broken, that is unforgivable, the state of our NHS.”Keir Starmer accused the last government of leaving the NHS in an ‘unforgivable’ state More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseAs your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power.Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November electionAndrew FeinbergWhite House CorrespondentDiane Abbott has claimed former Labour leader Neil Kinnock viewed his black MPs as “an embarrassment”.Ms Abbott, who is the longest serving black member of Parliament, was elected alongside three other black Labour MPs in 1987.In her book, A Woman Like Me, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington is deeply critical of Lord Kinnock’s leadership, accusing him of “dismissing the concerns of Black people”.Recalling her experience after being elected, Ms Abbott said she and her fellow black Labour MPs felt they were “not allowed to bask in the glory of our achievement” as both the party leadership and officials “did not see it as a triumph and noticeably did not celebrate it as such”.She added: “Kinnock thought of his Black MPs as an embarrassment. We were the embodiment of the ‘loony left’, and this was precisely the image he was trying to get away from.”Diane Abbott has claimed former Labour leader Neil Kinnock viewed his black MPs as “an embarrassment” More