James Saunders
Guest Reporter
Elon Musk has broken his silence on a possible donation to Reform UK in the wake of Nick Candy's seven-figure splurge on the party this morning.
Nigel Farage had declared that "Reform UK is building a winning team to change British politics forever," and Musk laid down the gauntlet in reply.
The X and Tesla owner asked: "When is the first electoral opportunity?" - to which Farage replied: "The first step is the English County Council elections on May 1, 2025. Britain needs Reform."
After that, and alongside a slew of upcoming council by-elections, one opportunity could lie with another high-profile recent defection to Reform: Former Conservative Minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns.
When Jenkyns joined the party as its 100,000th member just days ago - after fleeing the "sinking ship" of the Tories - Farage announced that she would be representing Reform UK in the race to become the new Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire next May.
It remains unclear whether Musk will validate rumours of a donation to Reform - but Candy told GB News this afternoon that Reform UK would "love" him to donate.
FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY...
Elon Musk has been described as "very supportive of what Reform is trying to do", the leader of the populist party has declared.
However, Nigel Farage said that no discussions of donations from the tech mogul had taken place "at this stage".
"Elon Musk is very supportive of what Reform is trying to do, supportive of me personally. And we've got good connections with him, and Nick's got good connections with him as well," he told Sky News.
Newly appointed Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy has pledged a "seven-figure" sum to the party after he defected from the Tories last night.
Earlier today, Reform UK announced yet another Tory defection, as former Conservative MP Aidan Burley joined Farage's team.
Reform UK has announced its latest Tory defector in the wake of Nick Candy's move to the populist party last night.
Writing on social media, Nigel Farage announced that ex-Conservative MP Aidan Burley had joined Reform at the party's Christmas lunch.
"Death by a thousand defections," Farage jabbed.
It comes after Lee Anderson hailed the arrival of former Tory mega-donor Candy to the party as a statement of "serious intent" earlier today.
"This is huge news and will send political shockwaves throughout Westminster," Anderson said. "The political tsunami continues!"
One of the pro-Gaza independent MPs has spoken out against banning first-cousin marriages in the Commons today.
Speaking out against Richard Holden's proposed Bill, Iqbal Mohamed said that intermarriage "helps build family bonds" and is seen as "very positive" by "ordinary people".
"Ordinary people see family intermarriage overall as something that is very positive, something that help builds family bonds and helps put families on a secure financial foothold," Mohamed said.
Meanwhile, Holden maintains that such marriages are linked to higher rates of birth defects and can "reinforce negative structures and control women".
It has also emerged that Downing Street has no position on the matter - which Holden labelled "simply unbelievable".
Nick Candy has told GB News that Reform UK would "love" Elon Musk to donate to the party following his unveiling as treasurer.
Speaking to Christopher Hope alongside Nigel Farage on Tuesday afternoon, Candy told The People's Channel: "If he wants to donate, we'd love him to donate," having refused to answer questions in Westminster just minutes prior.
Musk has so far thrown out reports he will donate £80million to Reform UK - when asked by ITV whether he'd be splashing the cash, he replied: "Er, no."
GB News understands that more than £3million has already been pledged to Reform UK as of Tuesday morning.
New Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy has vowed to hand a "seven-figure" sum to the on-the-rise party after defecting from the Conservatives.
Candy, 51, whose wife Holly Valance flirted with standing for Reform UK in the 2024 General Election, was named as Nigel Farage's latest coup from the Conservatives just days after Tim Montgomerie and Dame Andrea Jenkyns were welcomed to the populist party's fold.
Speaking to GB News' Political Editor Christopher Hope in Westminster today, the ex-Tory mega-donor pledged to give his new party seven figures of funding - but when Chopper pushed him and Nigel Farage on whether Elon Musk would be donating too, the pair refused to be drawn.
An internal complaint has been filed against Health Secretary Wes Streeting over his series of jokes at his Cabinet colleagues' expense at an awards ceremony last week.
Speaking to attendees at The Spectator's Parliamentarian Awards in Westminster last Tuesday, the Health Secretary poked fun at Ed Miliband, Angela Rayner, Pat McFadden and Louise Haigh - and has now faced complaints accusing him of "bullying", "defamation/libel", and "uncomradely behaviour".
The complaint argues that Streeting's remarks fall foul of Labour's bullying and harassment policy, which covers "derogatory remarks, jokes, insults, offensive language, gossip and slander".
A recap of Streeting's remarks...
On disgraced ex-Transport Secretary Louise Haigh:
"After a spate of phone thefts in Westminster, police warn vigilance [as a photo of Haigh flashes up behind him].
"For the record, I actually love Louise. She is a good friend. I genuinely want to see her back in the Government soon. And I'm going to phone her tomorrow on one of her numbers."
On Angela Rayner and Pat McFadden:
"We've got a good Labour showing here, too. The Deputy Prime Minister is here. Good to see you, Pat. Thanks for coming."
On Kemi Badenoch - and Ed Miliband:
"It's good to see [Kemi Badenoch] repeating all the same mistakes we made in opposition - trashing her party's own record, protests over power, talking to the members not the voters.
"Kemi, If you carry on like this, you'll be Energy Secretary in 10 years' time."
Robert Jenrick has warned that any Labour sign-off on a proposed Chinese "super-embassy" in the heart of London "will serve as a monument to national enfeeblement" under Sir Keir Starmer's party.
Deputy PM and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner is poised to have the final say on the deal in just months - despite local authority Tower Hamlets Council unanimously rejecting China's planning application on the site on Monday.
Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China founder Luke de Pulford said that approving the building "will be a clear sign that [Chinese President] Xi gets what he wants" - sparking uproar from Jenrick.
The Shadow Justice Secretary said: "If Rayner approves the new Chinese Embassy (massive spy hub) under pressure from Xi Jinping it will serve as a monument to national enfeeblement under Labour."
Jenrick had previously labelled Labour "weak" after Starmer admitted to having "called in" China's application in a G20 meeting last month.
While Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Kearns said approving the embassy would be a "desperate attempt to appease" China.
Germany will specifically outlaw the smuggling of migrants to Britain as part of a new cooperation deal between the two countries as part of a major crackdown on the crisis.
Until now, people-smuggling to a non-EU country from Germany hadn't been illegal - but after some "nifty" negotiations, Europe's largest economy has finally cracked down on the crisis.
Under the deal, German authorities will be given greater powers to intercept and break up the small boat supply chain - with the country's interior minister Nancy Faeser declaring the time had come to "counter this unscrupulous business" even further.
She said: "Many of these crimes are planned in Germany. Together, we are now countering this unscrupulous business with even more resolve.
"This includes maintaining a high investigative pressure, exchanging information between our security authorities as best as possible, and persistently investigating financial flows to identify the criminals operating behind the scenes."
While her counterpart Yvette Cooper laid into how "for too long, organised criminal gangs have been exploiting vulnerable people, undermining border security in the UK and across Europe while putting thousands of lives at risk. We are clear that this cannot go on".
The deal comes at a crucial time for both countries' migration systems - with both Britain and Germany suspending decisions on asylum claims from Syria in the wake of Bashar Al-Assad's ousting, and the total number of migrants to have crossed the English Channel approaching 34,000 this year alone.
This is the second strengthening in ties with Europe in as many days after Rachel Reeves addressed EU finance ministers yesterday, the first such speech by a British Chancellor since 2020.
A parody song ripping into Labour's controversial Winter Fuel Payment cuts has topped the iTunes download charts after grabbing headlines yesterday.
"Freezing This Christmas," a play on Mud's "Lonely This Christmas", first appeared on YouTube and streaming platforms just a week ago - and as December 25 inches closer, the song is surging.
The single, by "Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers", takes a series of piercing jabs at Labour's top brass - referring to the PM as "Two-tier Keir" and Rachel Reeves as a "fraud" in the wake of a "deception" row over her CV.
Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers are looking to crowd-fund thousands of pounds for charity Age UK - the band's JustGiving page says that "not a single person in the UK in 2024 should die because of the cold".
British jihadists could return to the UK after the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, leading figures from both Labour and Reform UK have warned.
Concerns are mounting that British jihadists imprisoned in northern Syria could be freed if jails and camps are shut down in the wake of the dictator's ousting, The Telegraph reports - and Home Office Minister Angela Eagle has vowed that intelligence services are "keeping a very, very close eye" on the situation.
"Any potential return of jihadists is a matter of great concern, which is why we'll be keeping a very, very close eye on how this situation develops in the coming days and weeks," Eagle told Times Radio.
Meanwhile, Reform's Rupert Lowe said: "Jihadists have been entering our country illegally from a number of countries, not just Syria.
"We need to treat illegal migrants with the same intense suspicion, regardless of where they have supposedly come from.
"I don't trust any of them, nor should the Home Office."
In what would be the biggest political shakeup in two generations, a party other than Labour might be about to win a majority in Wales: Reform UK.
Reform has been steadily gaining popularity in Wales, with poll after poll putting Nigel Farage's party in second place ahead of the Tories.
Last week a UK-wide survey by pollsters at Find Out Now put Labour third with just 23 per cent of the vote - and as a result, the party could become the largest in the Senedd.
But how many seats could Reform take?
SIGN UP TO GBN MEMBERSHIP AND READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Sir Keir Starmer has reached 17 overseas trips in just five months as Prime Minister as he visited Cyprus today.
On his way back from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Starmer met with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in the first such meeting for 53 years.
The PM said: "Please take it as a statement of my intent that our already strong relationship, the partnership between our countries - strong historically, strong because of the ties that we've had people-to-people for many, many years and common interests - can be taken to an even stronger level between us."
Starmer will visit the two British RAF bases on Cyprus, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, before returning to the UK.
His next trip is slated to fall on February 3, when he visits Belgium for an EU security summit.
Britain and Germany's deal to make the latter outlaw smuggling migrants to the UK is one of Labour's "smartest moves", Alan Mendoza, the executive director of the Henry Jackson Society security think tank has said.
Reacting to this morning's news, Mendoza said: "One of our UK Government’s smartest moves has been to create a new culture of bilateral partnerships with Germany.
"Yvette Cooper's deal on migration smuggling is particularly noteworthy as we appear to have convinced Germany to change its own laws to make this illegal.
"That's a particularly nifty piece of negotiation from the Home Secretary."
Welcome back to GB News' Politics LIVE blog.
We'll be updating this page throughout the day with live politics updates as they come in.
Find Out More...
Nigel Farage had declared that "Reform UK is building a winning team to change British politics forever," and Musk laid down the gauntlet in reply.
The X and Tesla owner asked: "When is the first electoral opportunity?" - to which Farage replied: "The first step is the English County Council elections on May 1, 2025. Britain needs Reform."
After that, and alongside a slew of upcoming council by-elections, one opportunity could lie with another high-profile recent defection to Reform: Former Conservative Minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns.
When Jenkyns joined the party as its 100,000th member just days ago - after fleeing the "sinking ship" of the Tories - Farage announced that she would be representing Reform UK in the race to become the new Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire next May.
It remains unclear whether Musk will validate rumours of a donation to Reform - but Candy told GB News this afternoon that Reform UK would "love" him to donate.
FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY...
Musk 'very supportive' of Reform UK, declares Farage
Elon Musk has been described as "very supportive of what Reform is trying to do", the leader of the populist party has declared.
However, Nigel Farage said that no discussions of donations from the tech mogul had taken place "at this stage".
"Elon Musk is very supportive of what Reform is trying to do, supportive of me personally. And we've got good connections with him, and Nick's got good connections with him as well," he told Sky News.
Newly appointed Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy has pledged a "seven-figure" sum to the party after he defected from the Tories last night.
Earlier today, Reform UK announced yet another Tory defection, as former Conservative MP Aidan Burley joined Farage's team.
'Death by a thousand defections!' Reform UK announces ANOTHER new member after Lee Anderson hails 'political tsunami'
Reform UK has announced its latest Tory defector in the wake of Nick Candy's move to the populist party last night.
Writing on social media, Nigel Farage announced that ex-Conservative MP Aidan Burley had joined Reform at the party's Christmas lunch.
"Death by a thousand defections," Farage jabbed.
It comes after Lee Anderson hailed the arrival of former Tory mega-donor Candy to the party as a statement of "serious intent" earlier today.
"This is huge news and will send political shockwaves throughout Westminster," Anderson said. "The political tsunami continues!"
Family intermarriage is POSITIVE says pro-Gaza independent as he speaks out against banning first-cousin marriages
One of the pro-Gaza independent MPs has spoken out against banning first-cousin marriages in the Commons today.
Speaking out against Richard Holden's proposed Bill, Iqbal Mohamed said that intermarriage "helps build family bonds" and is seen as "very positive" by "ordinary people".
"Ordinary people see family intermarriage overall as something that is very positive, something that help builds family bonds and helps put families on a secure financial foothold," Mohamed said.
Meanwhile, Holden maintains that such marriages are linked to higher rates of birth defects and can "reinforce negative structures and control women".
It has also emerged that Downing Street has no position on the matter - which Holden labelled "simply unbelievable".
'If he wants to donate, we'd love him to donate!' Now Nick Candy speaks out on Musk
Nick Candy has told GB News that Reform UK would "love" Elon Musk to donate to the party following his unveiling as treasurer.
Speaking to Christopher Hope alongside Nigel Farage on Tuesday afternoon, Candy told The People's Channel: "If he wants to donate, we'd love him to donate," having refused to answer questions in Westminster just minutes prior.
Musk has so far thrown out reports he will donate £80million to Reform UK - when asked by ITV whether he'd be splashing the cash, he replied: "Er, no."
GB News understands that more than £3million has already been pledged to Reform UK as of Tuesday morning.
Candy pledges 'seven-figure' sum to Reform UK - but new party treasurer stays coy on Musk links
New Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy has vowed to hand a "seven-figure" sum to the on-the-rise party after defecting from the Conservatives.
Candy, 51, whose wife Holly Valance flirted with standing for Reform UK in the 2024 General Election, was named as Nigel Farage's latest coup from the Conservatives just days after Tim Montgomerie and Dame Andrea Jenkyns were welcomed to the populist party's fold.
Speaking to GB News' Political Editor Christopher Hope in Westminster today, the ex-Tory mega-donor pledged to give his new party seven figures of funding - but when Chopper pushed him and Nigel Farage on whether Elon Musk would be donating too, the pair refused to be drawn.
Streeting slapped with 'uncomradely' bullying complaint over awards speech jokes
An internal complaint has been filed against Health Secretary Wes Streeting over his series of jokes at his Cabinet colleagues' expense at an awards ceremony last week.
Speaking to attendees at The Spectator's Parliamentarian Awards in Westminster last Tuesday, the Health Secretary poked fun at Ed Miliband, Angela Rayner, Pat McFadden and Louise Haigh - and has now faced complaints accusing him of "bullying", "defamation/libel", and "uncomradely behaviour".
The complaint argues that Streeting's remarks fall foul of Labour's bullying and harassment policy, which covers "derogatory remarks, jokes, insults, offensive language, gossip and slander".
A recap of Streeting's remarks...
On disgraced ex-Transport Secretary Louise Haigh:
"After a spate of phone thefts in Westminster, police warn vigilance [as a photo of Haigh flashes up behind him].
"For the record, I actually love Louise. She is a good friend. I genuinely want to see her back in the Government soon. And I'm going to phone her tomorrow on one of her numbers."
On Angela Rayner and Pat McFadden:
"We've got a good Labour showing here, too. The Deputy Prime Minister is here. Good to see you, Pat. Thanks for coming."
On Kemi Badenoch - and Ed Miliband:
"It's good to see [Kemi Badenoch] repeating all the same mistakes we made in opposition - trashing her party's own record, protests over power, talking to the members not the voters.
"Kemi, If you carry on like this, you'll be Energy Secretary in 10 years' time."
Jenrick sounds the alarm over Chinese 'super-embassy' over fears Rayner could green-light 'massive spy hub' despite council veto
Robert Jenrick has warned that any Labour sign-off on a proposed Chinese "super-embassy" in the heart of London "will serve as a monument to national enfeeblement" under Sir Keir Starmer's party.
Deputy PM and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner is poised to have the final say on the deal in just months - despite local authority Tower Hamlets Council unanimously rejecting China's planning application on the site on Monday.
Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China founder Luke de Pulford said that approving the building "will be a clear sign that [Chinese President] Xi gets what he wants" - sparking uproar from Jenrick.
The Shadow Justice Secretary said: "If Rayner approves the new Chinese Embassy (massive spy hub) under pressure from Xi Jinping it will serve as a monument to national enfeeblement under Labour."
Jenrick had previously labelled Labour "weak" after Starmer admitted to having "called in" China's application in a G20 meeting last month.
While Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Kearns said approving the embassy would be a "desperate attempt to appease" China.
Germany to finally make it ILLEGAL to to smuggle migrants to Britain as channel crossings hit 33,000
Germany will specifically outlaw the smuggling of migrants to Britain as part of a new cooperation deal between the two countries as part of a major crackdown on the crisis.
Until now, people-smuggling to a non-EU country from Germany hadn't been illegal - but after some "nifty" negotiations, Europe's largest economy has finally cracked down on the crisis.
Under the deal, German authorities will be given greater powers to intercept and break up the small boat supply chain - with the country's interior minister Nancy Faeser declaring the time had come to "counter this unscrupulous business" even further.
She said: "Many of these crimes are planned in Germany. Together, we are now countering this unscrupulous business with even more resolve.
"This includes maintaining a high investigative pressure, exchanging information between our security authorities as best as possible, and persistently investigating financial flows to identify the criminals operating behind the scenes."
While her counterpart Yvette Cooper laid into how "for too long, organised criminal gangs have been exploiting vulnerable people, undermining border security in the UK and across Europe while putting thousands of lives at risk. We are clear that this cannot go on".
The deal comes at a crucial time for both countries' migration systems - with both Britain and Germany suspending decisions on asylum claims from Syria in the wake of Bashar Al-Assad's ousting, and the total number of migrants to have crossed the English Channel approaching 34,000 this year alone.
This is the second strengthening in ties with Europe in as many days after Rachel Reeves addressed EU finance ministers yesterday, the first such speech by a British Chancellor since 2020.
'Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers' TOP iTunes chart as parody song downloads surge
A parody song ripping into Labour's controversial Winter Fuel Payment cuts has topped the iTunes download charts after grabbing headlines yesterday.
"Freezing This Christmas," a play on Mud's "Lonely This Christmas", first appeared on YouTube and streaming platforms just a week ago - and as December 25 inches closer, the song is surging.
The single, by "Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers", takes a series of piercing jabs at Labour's top brass - referring to the PM as "Two-tier Keir" and Rachel Reeves as a "fraud" in the wake of a "deception" row over her CV.
Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers are looking to crowd-fund thousands of pounds for charity Age UK - the band's JustGiving page says that "not a single person in the UK in 2024 should die because of the cold".
Labour and Reform UK issue dire 'jihadist' warnings amid Syria chaos - 'I don't trust them!'
British jihadists could return to the UK after the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, leading figures from both Labour and Reform UK have warned.
Concerns are mounting that British jihadists imprisoned in northern Syria could be freed if jails and camps are shut down in the wake of the dictator's ousting, The Telegraph reports - and Home Office Minister Angela Eagle has vowed that intelligence services are "keeping a very, very close eye" on the situation.
"Any potential return of jihadists is a matter of great concern, which is why we'll be keeping a very, very close eye on how this situation develops in the coming days and weeks," Eagle told Times Radio.
Meanwhile, Reform's Rupert Lowe said: "Jihadists have been entering our country illegally from a number of countries, not just Syria.
"We need to treat illegal migrants with the same intense suspicion, regardless of where they have supposedly come from.
"I don't trust any of them, nor should the Home Office."
Labour tipped to LOSE heartland after 114-year dominance as map shows shock Reform victory
In what would be the biggest political shakeup in two generations, a party other than Labour might be about to win a majority in Wales: Reform UK.
Reform has been steadily gaining popularity in Wales, with poll after poll putting Nigel Farage's party in second place ahead of the Tories.
Last week a UK-wide survey by pollsters at Find Out Now put Labour third with just 23 per cent of the vote - and as a result, the party could become the largest in the Senedd.
But how many seats could Reform take?
SIGN UP TO GBN MEMBERSHIP AND READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Starmer embarks on SEVENTEENTH overseas trip since General Election
Sir Keir Starmer has reached 17 overseas trips in just five months as Prime Minister as he visited Cyprus today.
On his way back from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Starmer met with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in the first such meeting for 53 years.
The PM said: "Please take it as a statement of my intent that our already strong relationship, the partnership between our countries - strong historically, strong because of the ties that we've had people-to-people for many, many years and common interests - can be taken to an even stronger level between us."
Starmer will visit the two British RAF bases on Cyprus, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, before returning to the UK.
His next trip is slated to fall on February 3, when he visits Belgium for an EU security summit.
Cooper's 'nifty' Germany deal one of Labour's 'smartest moves', think tank chief says
Britain and Germany's deal to make the latter outlaw smuggling migrants to the UK is one of Labour's "smartest moves", Alan Mendoza, the executive director of the Henry Jackson Society security think tank has said.
Reacting to this morning's news, Mendoza said: "One of our UK Government’s smartest moves has been to create a new culture of bilateral partnerships with Germany.
"Yvette Cooper's deal on migration smuggling is particularly noteworthy as we appear to have convinced Germany to change its own laws to make this illegal.
"That's a particularly nifty piece of negotiation from the Home Secretary."
Politics LIVE
Welcome back to GB News' Politics LIVE blog.
We'll be updating this page throughout the day with live politics updates as they come in.
Find Out More...