Category Archives: Zack Polanski

Foreign Office starts planning evacuation of thousands of Britons in Middle East

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About 200,000 nationals thought to be in the region as tensions rise after US-Israeli attacks on Iranian regime

The Foreign Office is drawing up plans to evacuate tens of thousands of British citizens if war in the Middle East escalates, with many travellers currently stranded in Dubai.

Keir Starmer said on Sunday that about 200,000 British people are in the region, on holiday or otherwise travelling across the Gulf. He urged everyone in areas targeted by Iranian strikes to register with the Foreign Office to receive advice, with about 94,000 doing that so far.

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Rachel Reeves promises to ‘grip the cost of living’ in autumn budget

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Chancellor admits economy ‘feels stuck’ for many as she signals intention to freeze income tax thresholds

Rachel Reeves has promised to “grip the cost of living” in the budget as she prepares to scrap the two-child welfare limit and freeze rail fares, while putting forward a multibillion-pound tax-raising package.

The chancellor is preparing to give her second budget on Wednesday after weeks of uncertainty about the scale of the tax rises she will need to impose to plug a financial hole of about £20bn.

Freezing income tax thresholds for an extra two years to 2030, bringing more people into higher tax bands as wages rise.

Making salary sacrifice schemes less generous, including those for pension contributions.

Bringing in higher tax on the most expensive properties, including a surcharge on the highest-value houses.

A pay-per-mile scheme on electric cars to help fill the tax gap from petrol duty as more people opt for green vehicles.

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Green party reaches 100,000 members for first time after Polanski becomes leader

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Green party in England and Wales has had near-50% rise in membership since Zack Polanski took over last month

The Greens in England and Wales have more than 100,000 members for the first time, the party has announced, a near-50% rise since Zack Polanski took over as leader last month.

It puts them on a potential course to overtake the Conservatives and comes little more than a week after the Greens announced they had moved past the Liberal Democrats in membership numbers, getting to 83,500.

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Tory plan to abolish stamp duty ‘will benefit London and the wealthiest the most’ – as it happened

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Voting in the Labour deputy leadership election opens today. Lucy Powell, the former Commons leader, is seen as the favourite and, as Jessica Elgot reports, Powell told supporters yesterday that, if she is elected, she will use the post to argue for changes in the way the government is operating. “We can’t sugarcoat the fact that things aren’t going well,” she said.

Powell is no longer a government minister and, if she is elected deputy leader, she will do the job from the backbenches. In an interview on Newsnight last night, Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary standing against Powell, said a Powell victory would be “destabilising” for the party. She said:

[Electing Powell] risks destabilising the party … we best achieve what we need to do together when we have those fierce conversations, including disagreements, behind closed doors.

Members need to understand that there’s a potential challenge around all of that – that if you’re not inside when the big decisions are being made, you’re not at that table, you’re not in those conversations.

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‘Not words that I would have used’: Stride distances himself from Jenrick’s ‘no white faces’ comments – UK politics live

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Shadow chancellor distances himself from words after Robert Jenrick accused of racism in comments he made about Handsworth

Asked about the Jenrick story, Badenoch again suggests Guardian reporting is reliable.

Q: Jenrick was making a distinction between white faces and brown faces.

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Labour are ‘handmaidens’ to Reform UK’s ‘dangerous’ politics, Polanski to tell Green conference – UK politics live

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New leader to make case for immigration, more investment in public services and a wealth tax as Green party membership hits record high

In an interview on the Today programme, Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, was asked at length about anti-Israel comments by the co-deputy leader, Mothin Ali, and other Green members. Polanski said some of the comments referenced were “totally unacceptable”, but he also said it was important to understand the context, and he said Ali deserved credit for apologising.

Justin Webb, the presenter, said that after 7 October Ali described Israelis as colonialists and defended the right of indigenous people to fight back. Ali apologised. But Ali had also targeted a Leeds-based rabbi who went to Israel after 7 October to serve as a reservist in the IDF, Webb said. He asked if Ali was the right person to be deputy leader of a political party.

Well, I want to be clear that I’m a Jewish person, and I feel this genocide incredibly deeply.

As a Muslim man, I can only imagine what it feels like to know that every single day in Palestine the equivalent of a classroom of children are dying.

It doesn’t excuse it, but I think it’s contextual. This rabbi went off to fight for the IDF … I absolutely defend [Ali’s] right to be annoyed and upset about what is happening.

I think there is a context to this. I think if someone goes to fight with an army who’s committing a genocide, that there are consequences.

Now I don’t stand by what Mothin said, and neither does he. But ultimately, I do think we need to have a context on this.

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Donald Trump joins royals for state banquet at Windsor as thousands protest against US president’s visit – UK politics live

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Politicians, dignitaries and high-profile tech entrepreneurs attend feast

Lucy Powell has hit out at the “sexist” framing of her deputy Labour leadership campaign, with people claiming she and her rival, Bridget Phillipson, are standing as “proxies” for two men, Aletha Adu reports.

Most of Donald Trump’s policies horrify progressives and leftwingers in Britain, including Labour party members and supporters, but Keir Starmer has said almost nothing critical about the Trump administration because he has taken a view that maintaining good relations with the White House is in the national interest.

I understand the UK government’s position of being pragmatic on the international stage and wanting to maintain a good relationship with the leader of the most powerful country in the world. Faced with a revanchist Russia, Europe’s security feels less certain now than at any time since the second world war. And the threat of even higher US tariffs is ever present.

But it’s also important to ensure our special relationship includes being open and honest with each other. At times, this means being a critical friend and speaking truth to power – and being clear that we reject the politics of fear and division. Showing President Trump why he must back Ukraine, not Putin. Making the case for taking the climate emergency seriously. Urging the president to stop the tariff wars that are tearing global trade apart. And putting pressure on him to do much more to end Israel’s horrific onslaught on Gaza, as only he has the power to bring Israel’s brazen and repeated violations of international law to an end.

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No 10 says Starmer found Mandelson’s emails to Epstein ‘reprehensible’ – UK politics live

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Despite being repeatedly asked, No 10 declines to say the PM was ‘misled’ by Mandelson

Stephen Doughty, a Foreign Office minister, is responding to the UQ about Peter Mandelson.

He starts by making the point that it is the anniversary of the “despicable” 9/11 terrorism attacks.

Keir Starmer must sack Peter Mandelson without further delay - and come clean about what he knew when, and whether he sanctioned blocking the publication of damaging material.

UK government documents shouldn’t be hidden from the public just because they are damaging to the Labour party - and by backing Peter Mandelson to the hilt, the prime minister’s own reputation is now on the line.

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