Tributes paid to ‘courageous, fearless, principled’ Labour MP Ann Clwyd

She represented her Cynon Valley constituency in South Wales for 35 years, eventually becoming the oldest woman to sit in the House of Commons

Labour leaders past and present have led the tributes to the long-standing former MP Ann Clwyd after it was announced that she had died at the age of 86.

Clwyd represented her Cynon Valley constituency in South Wales for 35 years, eventually becoming the oldest woman to sit in the House of Commons before she stood down at the 2019 election. Clwyd was first elected in a byelection in 1984 and had already served as an MEP for Mid and West Wales for five years in the European parliament.

Continue reading...

Dropping green pledges would be ‘political suicide’, Sunak and Starmer warned

Science and business leaders say lurch away from climate agenda after byelections would be deeply unpopular with voters and damage UK’s reputation

Britain’s leaders have been warned against a “politically suicidal” lurch away from their green pledges as concerns grow that both major parties may dilute their plans to combat the climate crisis in the wake of a shock byelection result.

Senior figures from business, the scientific community and across the political divide warned that any watering down of climate policies would be deeply unpopular with voters, set back the international fight to reach net zero and damage Britain’s green reputation.

Continue reading...

Post-Brexit fall in English ownership of European second homes, figures show

Government survey finds that fewer than 30% of holiday homes are on continent – compared with 40% a decade ago

They used to go wild for villas by the Med and ski chalets in the Alps; now they are forking out for views of the Channel and hilly walks in Shropshire.

According to figures released this week by the English Housing Survey, the proportion of English owners of second homes who have properties in Europe has fallen again, with 60% of holiday homes located in the UK rather than outside it.

Continue reading...

Yes, the Tories kept Uxbridge. But the general election will be a referendum on Sunak, not Ulez

With a local dispute swaying voters, the result in Boris Johnson’s old seat did not accurately reflect the national mood

• Read more: Starmer under pressure after Uxbridge as Tories tackle mission impossible

One out of three ain’t bad? A surprise win in Boris Johnson’s former seat of Uxbridge gave Conservatives something to cheer on Friday morning as Rishi Sunak narrowly avoided being the first prime minister since Harold Wilson to suffer three byelection defeats on the same day. But with a local dispute swaying Uxbridge voters, the contests in Selby and Somerton may provide a clearer indication of the national mood. The picture they paint is bleak: two heavy defeats for the government to different opponents at opposite ends of England.

In the week when Labour leader Keir Starmer took to the stage for the first time with his predecessor Tony Blair, Labour achieved a byelection breakthrough in North Yorkshire worthy of Blair’s mid-1990s prime. Selby and Ainsty’s 20,000-vote Conservative majority is the largest ever overturned by Labour in a byelection, and the swing to Labour was the second largest recorded. Labour comfortably outperformed its current polling with a swing which would decimate the Conservative benches if replicated in a general election. This was the performance of an opposition on its way back into government.

Continue reading...

‘Silly sod’: Starmer laughs off minister’s Inbetweeners jibe at new MP

Johnny Mercer had mocked 25-year-old Keir Mather’s lack of real-world experience after he won the Selby and Ainsty byelection

Sir Keir Starmer has called the government minister Johnny Mercer a “silly sod” who will “soon be history” in politics after he compared Labour’s new 25-year-old MP to a character from the teen sitcom The Inbetweeners.

The minister for veterans’ affairs said Keir Mather had been “dropped into” the Selby and Ainsty constituency and was an “identikit Labour politician”. Earlier he had said: “[Parliament] mustn’t become a repeat of The Inbetweeners.”

Continue reading...

Tory election victory hopes hit by shattering byelection defeats

Starmer hails results as ‘cry for change’ as Sunak’s party loses Selby and Ainsty and Somerton and Frome, but clings on in Uxbridge

Rishi Sunak’s chances of guiding the Conservatives to victory at the next general election looked increasingly slim on Friday after his party suffered two shattering byelection defeats.

Labour gained its second biggest swing from the Tories since 1945, overturning a 20,000-vote Tory majority in Selby and Ainsty, with the Liberal Democrats also toppling the Conservatives in the previously safe West Country seat of Somerton and Frome.

Continue reading...

Rishi, Keir and Ed triumphant as all three parties win byelection day | John Crace

All the leaders concluded that things had panned out just as they had hoped, if not better

And the winner is … Absolutely everyone. It was the morning after the night before and – slowly, slowly – the leaders of all political parties began to emerge from their bunkers to face the media. And what a tale they had to tell. They had had time to reflect on the results of the three byelections and – amazingly – had all concluded that things had panned out just as they had hoped. Better even. Everyone was on course to win the next general election in 2024 and everyone else was facing an electoral wipeout.

Rishi Sunak was first to show his face in a cafe. “This is an historic day for the Conservatives,” he said. “And also for me. By holding – where am I? This part of London all looks the same to me – Oh, yes, Uxbridge and South Ruislip, I have avoided becoming the first prime minister since Harold Wilson to lose three byelections on the same night. So by only losing two safe seats, I have shown I am on course to win a general election.

Continue reading...

Byelection results: Labour in historic Selby win, Conservatives retain Uxbridge, Lib Dems sweep Somerton and Frome

Byelection results come in for the constituencies of Somerton and Frome, Uxbridge and South Ruislip, and Selby and Ainsty

Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine said her party was “quietly confident” about victory in Somerton and Frome.

The party is tipped for victory in the byelection and Jardine told BBC Newsnight that success would be “huge”.

Continue reading...

UK byelection results: Labour routs Tories in Selby and Ainsty but falls short in Uxbridge

Keir Mather, 25, is Selby’s next MP, as Labour narrowly fails to take Boris Johnson’s old seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip and Liberal Democrats romp to victory in Somerton and Frome

The Labour party has won its biggest ever byelection victory by overturning a 20,000-vote Conservative majority in Selby and Ainsty, sending a 25-year-old to parliament.

But Keir Starmer’s party failed to win Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Boris Johnson’s old constituency. The Conservatives held on to the outer London seat with a majority of 495, the only bit of good news in an otherwise miserable night for Rishi Sunak.

Continue reading...

Battle over two-child benefit cap looms at Labour policy event

Keir Starmer will face discontent from unions and MPs at the National Policy Forum in Nottingham

Keir Starmer faces battles over the two-child benefit cap and other flashpoints at a key Labour policy gathering this weekend where trade union delegates will cite new evidence of the mounting cost of living crisis facing their members.

Discontent at all levels of the party over his resistance to pledging to scrap the cap if Labour wins power forms the backdrop to potentially stormy negotiations behind closed doors at the National Policy Forum (NPF).

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak criticises EU for calling Falkland Islands ‘Islas Malvinas’

Prime minister says choice of words ‘regrettable’ as Brussels insists it has not changed its stance on disputed islands

Rishi Sunak has criticised the EU for its “regrettable choice of words” after it appeared to endorse the name that Argentina uses for the Falklands.

Downing Street was reacting after EU leaders attending a summit in Brussels supported an Argentinian-backed declaration that used the name Islas Malvinas alongside Falkland Islands.

Continue reading...

Voters head to polls in three byelections seen as test of Rishi Sunak’s premiership – UK politics live

Voters are picking new MPs in the constituencies of Somerton and Frome, Uxbridge and South Ruislip, and Selby and Ainsty

A senior Conservative MP has apologised and deleted a video in which he praised the Taliban and credited them with improving safety in Afghanistan.

Tobias Ellwood said he was “sorry for my poor communication” after his actions outraged fellow Tory MPs and military veterans, and an attempt was launched to challenge his role as chair of the Commons defence select committee.

The last couple of days have probably been the most miserable as a member of parliament. I got it wrong.

It’s not just our members, we’d like him to show that he supports the trade unions, that he supports working people who are struggling, and we think some of the stuff that we’re hearing is a dilution of traditional Labour positions and even the positions that he himself adopted when he was elected as leader.

So the stuff about the two-child cap is not really good enough; it’s taking the side of the Conservatives, it’s taking the side of austerity.

I’m hoping that we’ll get a new deal for workers, the repeal of many of these anti-trade union laws that restrict our rights and our freedoms and that he shows that in terms of funding public services like education, health, care for our elders and addressing the housing crisis that we’ve got in this country that he can do something positive in favour of working people.

If he does that then more people will support him, if he doesn’t then some people might conclude... they may as well have the Tories because there’s not much difference between them.

Continue reading...

Nigel Farage praises ‘swift’ intervention by ministers over closed Coutts account

Ex-Ukip leader welcomes prospect of law to stop bank account closures due to customers’ political views

Nigel Farage has praised a “swift” intervention by ministers after reports that new laws could be drawn up to stop banks closing customers’ accounts because they disagree with their political views.

The former Ukip leader said MPs were “beginning to realise that this system is coming for them as well” after his bank accounts were closed by Coutts, he says because his views “did not align with” its values.

Continue reading...

Tory MP Tobias Ellwood apologises for video praising Taliban

MP ‘sorry for poor communication’ after he credited group with improving safety in Afghanistan

A senior Conservative MP has apologised and deleted a video in which he praised the Taliban and credited them with improving safety in Afghanistan.

Tobias Ellwood said he was “sorry for my poor communication” after his actions outraged fellow Tory MPs and military veterans, and an attempt was launched to challenge his role as chair of the Commons defence select committee.

Continue reading...

Byelection polls open with Rishi Sunak forecasting ‘tough’ fight to save seats

Opposition parties hope to overturn government majorities in three constituencies vacated by Tory MPs amid controversy

Polls have opened in three parliamentary seats where byelections are being held, with Rishi Sunak braced for an electoral test of his premiership.

The Conservative-held constituencies are being targeted by Labour and the Liberal Democrats, who hope to overturn large majorities and send Tory MPs off into the summer recess nervous about their own political futures come the general election.

Continue reading...

‘Even hanging on to one would be a win’: Tories brace for byelection results

Votes in the three very different seats could indicate general election swings and prompt cabinet reshuffle

The Conservatives are braced for painful byelection results in a vote on Thursday that could become a damning verdict on Rishi Sunak’s ability to win a broad enough coalition of voters at the next election to retain his party’s majority.

The party could lose all three of the constituencies that are up for grabs – which each have significantly different demographics that the Tories would need to win – with the prospect of hanging on to just one being touted by senior ministers as a victory.

Continue reading...

Siân Berry to be Green candidate for Caroline Lucas’s Brighton seat

Green members select the party’s former co-leader to stand in Brighton Pavilion at next election

The Green party has selected Siân Berry as its candidate to stand in Brighton Pavilion to replace Caroline Lucas MP.

Berry, Emily O’Brien and Dan Rue were vying to be the Green’s candidate in the Sussex constituency which Lucas, the former leader of the party, has represented in parliament since 2010.

Continue reading...

James Cleverly makes public appeal to keep job as foreign secretary

Departure from normal ministerial practice adds to speculation of an imminent reshuffle by Rishi Sunak

James Cleverly has issued an unusual public appeal to Rishi Sunak to keep his job as foreign secretary in the next reshuffle, as speculation mounts that the prime minister could change his frontbench team in the coming days.

The foreign secretary told the Aspen Security Forum on Wednesday he would have to be dragged out of his job “with nail marks down the parquet flooring”, after speculation he could be moved to the defence brief to replace Ben Wallace.

Continue reading...

Sunak, Braverman and City regulator wade into Farage banking row

FCA chief says banks cannot ‘discriminate’ against political views, but chair argues it’s up to Coutts ‘who they do business with’

The City regulator has said it has contacted the owner of Coutts bank amid a growing row over its decision to close Nigel Farage’s accounts, but told MPs that while lenders cannot discriminate against customers, it is ultimately up to firms to decide who to do business with.

It came as the prime minister, the home secretary and the City minister waded in to the growing debate over the rights of lenders to shut or refuse accounts based on concerns over customers’ political views.

Continue reading...

UK must label Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as terror group, says thinktank

Report from rightwing thinktank calls for tougher sanctions on Iran as October expiry of UN sanctions looms

The October expiry of UN sanctions limiting Iran’s missile programme must become a hard deadline for the UK to adopt a tougher policy that includes proscription of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a rightwing thinktank has warned.

The report from the Henry Jackson Society (HJS) is the second from a right-of-centre thinktank in two days demanding tougher action on Iran, and suggests that the UK ministers’ preferred strategy of introducing an Iran-specific sanctions regime that could lead to sanctions for activities outside Iran has fallen flat with Tory hawks.

Continue reading...