James Saunders
Guest Reporter
The BBC has been urged to play a parody song criticising Sir Keir Starmer's Winter Fuel Payment cuts as it climbs the charts in search of a Christmas number one.
"Freezing This Christmas," a play on Mud's "Lonely This Christmas", brutally mocks the Starmer Government's removal of the crucial benefit from millions of pensioners this winter.
It was created by Chris Middleton, a 33-year-old freelance writer and marketer, with the help of Dean Ager, a 51-year-old Rat Pack tribute singer - who go under the name "Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers".
But the pair have warned that the BBC is refusing to play their song even as it surges in popularity.
Tory MP Greg Smith said it was "an absurdity that the BBC, who like to present themselves as being allegedly impartial, should not play a song that is selling so well - and could even be number one".
While Middleton told The Telegraph: "If the rules of your chart are that you play the number one every week, and you choose not to play it, that is bias."
Ager also told the newspaper: "I've not heard it one time - I get being impartial, but surely that contradicts freedom of speech.
"If it's not being played, it's raising less money, and this message shouldn't be blocked."
A BBC spokesman said the decisions on what its stations play are "always made with the relevant audiences and context in mind".
FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY...
Political commentator Paula London has made a striking claim that Nigel Farage and Elon Musk could "save the West" following their historic meeting at Mar-a-Lago.
The bold statement comes after Reform UK leader Farage and party treasurer Nick Candy met with the tech billionaire for an hour-long discussion at Donald Trump's Florida resort on Monday.
Speaking to GB News, Paula London said: "Well, I don't think it's money. Obviously, it's a huge issue in politics, but it's the power of Twitter.
"So many people now decide who they want to vote for because of Twitter. It's not just about politicians being on TV, obviously he has the platform, he's put his neck on the line.
"That's why I'm very proud of him. Those three guys could save the West."
The meeting, described by Farage as "great" and "historic", took place at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Farage and Candy said they had "learned a great deal about the Trump ground game" during their discussions with Musk.
The Reform UK leader indicated there would be "ongoing discussions on other areas" following the encounter.
READ FULL STORY HERE
Kemi Badenoch has laid into Sir Keir Starmer's boasting about Britain's economic growth - despite the economy having shrunk by 0.1 per cent in the last month on record.
Starmer had put growth front and centre in his "milestones" for the UK, and at PMQs, he claimed Labour was "driving up productivity, prosperity and living standards".
But the Leader of the Opposition skewered him in the Commons as she pointed out that the economy was shrinking.
"What world is he living in?" Badenoch jabbed.
Britain's "downtrodden" police are ready to "snap" under the combined weight of rising crime and woke policies, according to an ex-officer who quit the Force after years of frustration at a lack of crime-fighting.
Fenya Heraldsen-Nodder blamed the justice system's "naivety" for the increasing sense of lawlessness on Britain's streets, despite record numbers of officers in post.
Most Britons report feeling that crime is on the rise, with theft is up to a level unseen since 2014.
"It's so frustrating," Heraldsen-Nodder told Robert Jenrick in an exclusive report with GB News, investigating the scandal of Britain's prolific offenders.
WATCH THE FIRST EPISODE OF 'COMMON SENSE WITH ROBERT JENRICK' HERE
Nigel Farage has warned of "very deep disquiet" in the incoming Trump administration over the future of the military base on Diego Garcia.
The Reform UK leader warned the Commons of the precedent set by Hong Kong - where China has wielded its influence after the 1997 handover from the UK.
But Farage also renewed calls for a referendum of "eligible Chagossians" to decide the archipelago's future.
"If we respect the sovereignty of Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands based on what the people want, can we have a referendum of all the eligible Chagossians and let them decide?" he asked.
Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty then laid into Farage - lambasting how he "continues to speculate and doesn't know the detail".
"I'm confident that he'd have his concerns allayed when he sees the contents of this deal," Doughty added.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel has accused David Lammy of "legging it" from the Commons ahead of her urgent question on the Chagos Islands negotiations.
"I've just seen the Foreign Secretary leg it from the House", Patel prodded, later accusing Lammy of "abandoning the House" and calling the surrender a "monumental failure of statecraft".
She then probed Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty on whether Britain would be able to extend the lease on the UK-US base on Diego Garcia, as well as whether there would be appropriate safeguards on foreign powers gaining a foothold in Mauritius.
Doughty answered yes to both.
He also claimed the 99-year deal on the base was "not damaging security, but protecting it" and defended Labour's failure to say how much it cost, saying it was not standard practice for other UK or US bases around the world.
Reacting to the PM's much-hailed "relations reset" with the EU, Kemi Badenoch has warned that "he is about to give away our hard-won Brexit freedoms".
"The truth is they are punching the British people in the face," she said. "He will pretend that this is about the past. But we all know these are his choices - bad choices.
"If he is looking for a New Year's resolution, why doesn't he start with telling the truth?"
Starmer replied by listing off Labour's anti-Tory attack lines on a "£22billion black hole", adding: "They should hang their heads in shame."
Kemi Badenoch has warned that British pensioners will suffer "and may even die" thanks to Labour's Winter Fuel Payment cuts.
Facing down Sir Keir Starmer and taking pot-shots at Rachel Reeves, she said: "The tragic reality this Christmas is pensioners will suffer and may even die as a result of this cruel policy.
"Did the Chancellor consider the impact on councils and on the NHS or does she just not know what she is doing?"
Starmer replied: "The Household Support Fund was set out in the Budget, she knows that. We are pushing up pension credit."
Sir Keir Starmer has admitted that "discussions" are underway on free movement with the EU - just hours after a damning report warned his plans to slash net migration might not be enough.
The Prime Minister, pressed on the EU's demands that under-30s should be able to live and work in Britain, told The Sun that the UK was "entering into discussions" on the matter - but warned he was maintaining some strict "red lines" on total free movement.
"I've been clear from the get go that freedom of movement is a red line for us, and no plans in relation to free movement on any level, but we're entering into discussions," he said.
Starmer also talked up his "relations reset" once again - but promised his cosying-up to Europe would not form a Brexit reversal.
"I've been really clear about that, whichever way people voted in 2016, we are not going back in," he said.
But the PM also refused to rule out bending to the EU's rules - saying: "There is going to be a process [in talks next year].
"We're only at the beginning of that process, and I do want a better deal... but we do have clear red lines," he added.
Kemi Badenoch has kicked off PMQs by laying into Labour's Winter Fuel Payment cuts - as well as attacking Starmer for "playing politics with the Waspi women".
The Tory leader probed the PM on how many pensioners had applied for pension credit since Rachel Reeves' decision to cut the winter fuel allowance.
Sir Keir Starmer said the "number one job of this Government was to put the public finances back in order after the last government lost control", and claimed Labour's drive to stabilise public finances meant it could fully commit to the pensions triple lock.
Diane Abbott has labelled Labour's decision not to pay compensation to Waspi women a "betrayal" - the second of the party's MPs to do so in just minutes.
Writing on social media, the Hackney North & Stoke Newington MP said: "Promising one thing in opposition and doing the opposite in Government is a betrayal."
Today's lineup for PMQs has been revealed - the following 15 MPs will be tabling questions to Sir Keir Starmer from midday:
Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel is set to butt heads with Cabinet counterpart David Lammy over the status of the Chagos Islands negotiations through an urgent question in the Commons today.
Patel has tabled her line of attack - she's set "to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on the negotiations between HM Government and the Government of Mauritius over the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory".
It comes after Nigel Farage also tabled an urgent question on the transfer of sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius back on November 13 - which led to an intense row over the incoming Trump administration's role in the surrender.
Labour's decision not to pay compensation to Waspi women has been met with rebellion from within, with the party's own MPs calling on their top brass to reconsider.
Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash has told Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall to admit the Waspi decision is "wrong", accusing her of "flying in the face" of the Ombudsman's recommendations, Labour's own statements of support, and "public expectations of justice".
"There are thousands of women who were counting on us to do the right thing after more than a decade of waiting," he said. "This decision has failed them."
He added: "I would urge you in the strongest terms to reconsider your decision in the interests of justice for women denied a fair settlement."
Shadow Defence and Foreign Secretaries James Cartlidge and Priti Patel have written to the Prime Minister demanding he reconsider the "unacceptable" surrender of the Chagos Islands.
Yesterday, it emerged that Mauritius's new PM Navinchandra Ramgoolam demanded more "benefits" from the deal - but now, the Shadow Cabinet pair have lambasted Labour for refusing to publish details of which "safeguards" would be in place to prevent countries like China "establishing themselves" in the territory.
They also warned Labour not to rush the deal through Parliament before Donald Trump takes office with speculation lingering over the President-elect moving to veto the giveaway. The military base on Diego Garcia is jointly run by Britain and the US.
READ THEIR LETTER TO LABOUR HERE
Elon Musk is in "ongoing negotiations" about making a possible mega-donation to Reform UK, Nigel Farage has revealed.
Farage and party treasurer Nick Candy travelled to Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago base on Monday, where they met both the X owner and Vice President-elect JD Vance.
The historic meeting added fuel to the fire that Musk was weighing up a splurge of nearly £80million on Reform, which would octuple the largest donation in British political history - £10million to the Conservative Party in 2023.
Musk has so far denied reports of a splurge that large - while Farage has instead talked up tactics, hailing Trump's electoral strategy as Reform casts its eye over upcoming elections.
Writing in The Telegraph, Farage said: "I have come home with copious notes of how they increased the turnout, voter registration and so much more, and all of this I intend to implement as part of the professionalisation of our party.
"It is also heartening to listen to Elon speak about UK politics with such deep care. He regards the mother country of the English-speaking world as being in very deep trouble.
"Inevitably, following such intense media speculation, the issue of money was discussed and there will be ongoing negotiations on that score."
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith has tried to coax Elon Musk away from Reform UK amid reports that the Tesla and X owner is in "ongoing negotiations" about a possible donation to the party.
In a direct appeal to Musk on GB News, Griffith said: "He is concerned about things like freedom of speech. He's concerned about what he's called the 'woke mind virus'. Actually, those are things that the Conservative Party has been fighting for.
"It's been Kemi Badenoch in Government who was fighting about transgender rights for children... It was actually myself and people like Toby Young who are fighting against cancel culture in banking.
"If anybody's interested in fighting for those really important - some say existential - challenges of democracy today, I would urge Elon and others to look at the Conservative Party."
Labour has been forced to defend its refusal to pay out Waspi women once again following yesterday's reveal the group would not be receiving compensation.
Rushanara Ali told the BBC: "The fact is that we have got a huge, huge job to do in terms of making sure that the conditions that pensioners live in in our country are improved and that's why our focus is on protecting the triple lock, which will unlock £30billion in this Parliament, supporting pensioners... and that includes those who are women born in the 1950s.
"We are absolutely committed to tackling the public service crisis in the NHS, making sure we've got more policing in our streets, which is about security and safety for pensioners and support for the NHS, they need those services."
In another party-line swipe at the Tories, she added: "So this Government has inherited a devastating set of issues... We are responding to those challenges."
Kemi Badenoch has joined a pile-on into Labour's Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill after a blistering take-down by the Shadow Education Secretary.
Neil O'Brien had laid into the Bill with a series of bullet-point barbs on social media, which read:
"Labour schools plan:
"Back to the failed model of civil servants trying to run everything from Whitehall."
Badenoch added: "This is how Labour destroys institutions. They create a nice label for terrible ideas with catastrophic consequences. It takes decades to unpick the mess."
Inflation in the UK has risen to its highest level in six months in another blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the Labour Government's record on the economy.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal the consumer price index (CPI) rate jumped to 2.6 per cent for the 12 months to October 2024.
According to the ONS, inflation jumped by 0.1 per cent on monthly basis and CPI rose by 0.1 per cent - compared with a 0.2 per cent drop in November 2023.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Sir Keir Starmer has cast down his "Two-Tier Keir" moniker and several others in a fresh interview on his final overseas trip of 2024.
Speaking to The Sun in Estonia, Starmer cast down his various nicknames, damning opinion polling, and unfairly-applied justice as he pleaded for more time to be judged on his Government.
In what the newspaper branded a "rare flash of emotion", Starmer said he had "had a lot worse over the years" - and defended Britain's police forces in the wake of the summer's unrest.
"They had been subjected to the most awful scenes," he said.
"They had to deal with parents rushing back to the scene and, within hours of me shaking their hands, they were back on the front line because thugs were throwing things at them.
"The very same officers. And what was being said on the front line... 'Two tier policing'.
"I'm going to stand with frontline police officers doing their best to keep order on our streets, and I'll stand with them every single time."
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...
"Freezing This Christmas," a play on Mud's "Lonely This Christmas", brutally mocks the Starmer Government's removal of the crucial benefit from millions of pensioners this winter.
It was created by Chris Middleton, a 33-year-old freelance writer and marketer, with the help of Dean Ager, a 51-year-old Rat Pack tribute singer - who go under the name "Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers".
But the pair have warned that the BBC is refusing to play their song even as it surges in popularity.
Tory MP Greg Smith said it was "an absurdity that the BBC, who like to present themselves as being allegedly impartial, should not play a song that is selling so well - and could even be number one".
While Middleton told The Telegraph: "If the rules of your chart are that you play the number one every week, and you choose not to play it, that is bias."
Ager also told the newspaper: "I've not heard it one time - I get being impartial, but surely that contradicts freedom of speech.
"If it's not being played, it's raising less money, and this message shouldn't be blocked."
A BBC spokesman said the decisions on what its stations play are "always made with the relevant audiences and context in mind".
FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY...
'Nigel Farage and Elon Musk will save the West,' Paula London makes bold prediction about Reform UK
Political commentator Paula London has made a striking claim that Nigel Farage and Elon Musk could "save the West" following their historic meeting at Mar-a-Lago.
The bold statement comes after Reform UK leader Farage and party treasurer Nick Candy met with the tech billionaire for an hour-long discussion at Donald Trump's Florida resort on Monday.
Speaking to GB News, Paula London said: "Well, I don't think it's money. Obviously, it's a huge issue in politics, but it's the power of Twitter.
"So many people now decide who they want to vote for because of Twitter. It's not just about politicians being on TV, obviously he has the platform, he's put his neck on the line.
"That's why I'm very proud of him. Those three guys could save the West."
The meeting, described by Farage as "great" and "historic", took place at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Farage and Candy said they had "learned a great deal about the Trump ground game" during their discussions with Musk.
The Reform UK leader indicated there would be "ongoing discussions on other areas" following the encounter.
READ FULL STORY HERE
Earlier at PMQs: 'What world is he living in?!' Kemi Badenoch takes aim at Starmer's boasting on UK growth - 'The economy is SHRINKING!'
Kemi Badenoch has laid into Sir Keir Starmer's boasting about Britain's economic growth - despite the economy having shrunk by 0.1 per cent in the last month on record.
Starmer had put growth front and centre in his "milestones" for the UK, and at PMQs, he claimed Labour was "driving up productivity, prosperity and living standards".
But the Leader of the Opposition skewered him in the Commons as she pointed out that the economy was shrinking.
"What world is he living in?" Badenoch jabbed.
Britons 'PETRIFIED' to leave home as career criminals take over streets - Robert Jenrick's deep dive on soft touch police
Britain's "downtrodden" police are ready to "snap" under the combined weight of rising crime and woke policies, according to an ex-officer who quit the Force after years of frustration at a lack of crime-fighting.
Fenya Heraldsen-Nodder blamed the justice system's "naivety" for the increasing sense of lawlessness on Britain's streets, despite record numbers of officers in post.
Most Britons report feeling that crime is on the rise, with theft is up to a level unseen since 2014.
"It's so frustrating," Heraldsen-Nodder told Robert Jenrick in an exclusive report with GB News, investigating the scandal of Britain's prolific offenders.
WATCH THE FIRST EPISODE OF 'COMMON SENSE WITH ROBERT JENRICK' HERE
Farage warns of 'very deep disquiet' in Trump camp as he renews call for Chagos referendum
Nigel Farage has warned of "very deep disquiet" in the incoming Trump administration over the future of the military base on Diego Garcia.
The Reform UK leader warned the Commons of the precedent set by Hong Kong - where China has wielded its influence after the 1997 handover from the UK.
But Farage also renewed calls for a referendum of "eligible Chagossians" to decide the archipelago's future.
"If we respect the sovereignty of Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands based on what the people want, can we have a referendum of all the eligible Chagossians and let them decide?" he asked.
Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty then laid into Farage - lambasting how he "continues to speculate and doesn't know the detail".
"I'm confident that he'd have his concerns allayed when he sees the contents of this deal," Doughty added.
Lammy accused of 'legging it from the House' as Patel grills 'monumental failure of statecraft' in Chagos surrender
Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel has accused David Lammy of "legging it" from the Commons ahead of her urgent question on the Chagos Islands negotiations.
"I've just seen the Foreign Secretary leg it from the House", Patel prodded, later accusing Lammy of "abandoning the House" and calling the surrender a "monumental failure of statecraft".
She then probed Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty on whether Britain would be able to extend the lease on the UK-US base on Diego Garcia, as well as whether there would be appropriate safeguards on foreign powers gaining a foothold in Mauritius.
Doughty answered yes to both.
He also claimed the 99-year deal on the base was "not damaging security, but protecting it" and defended Labour's failure to say how much it cost, saying it was not standard practice for other UK or US bases around the world.
Starmer's 'relations reset' in the firing line as PM accused of 'giving away our Brexit freedoms'
Reacting to the PM's much-hailed "relations reset" with the EU, Kemi Badenoch has warned that "he is about to give away our hard-won Brexit freedoms".
"The truth is they are punching the British people in the face," she said. "He will pretend that this is about the past. But we all know these are his choices - bad choices.
"If he is looking for a New Year's resolution, why doesn't he start with telling the truth?"
Starmer replied by listing off Labour's anti-Tory attack lines on a "£22billion black hole", adding: "They should hang their heads in shame."
Badenoch: 'Pensioners will suffer and die as a result of Winter Fuel Payment cuts'
Kemi Badenoch has warned that British pensioners will suffer "and may even die" thanks to Labour's Winter Fuel Payment cuts.
Facing down Sir Keir Starmer and taking pot-shots at Rachel Reeves, she said: "The tragic reality this Christmas is pensioners will suffer and may even die as a result of this cruel policy.
"Did the Chancellor consider the impact on councils and on the NHS or does she just not know what she is doing?"
Starmer replied: "The Household Support Fund was set out in the Budget, she knows that. We are pushing up pension credit."
Starmer admits 'discussions' underway on EU free movement just hours after damning migration report
Sir Keir Starmer has admitted that "discussions" are underway on free movement with the EU - just hours after a damning report warned his plans to slash net migration might not be enough.
The Prime Minister, pressed on the EU's demands that under-30s should be able to live and work in Britain, told The Sun that the UK was "entering into discussions" on the matter - but warned he was maintaining some strict "red lines" on total free movement.
"I've been clear from the get go that freedom of movement is a red line for us, and no plans in relation to free movement on any level, but we're entering into discussions," he said.
Starmer also talked up his "relations reset" once again - but promised his cosying-up to Europe would not form a Brexit reversal.
"I've been really clear about that, whichever way people voted in 2016, we are not going back in," he said.
But the PM also refused to rule out bending to the EU's rules - saying: "There is going to be a process [in talks next year].
"We're only at the beginning of that process, and I do want a better deal... but we do have clear red lines," he added.
Badenoch blasts Starmer over Winter Fuel Payment cuts
Kemi Badenoch has kicked off PMQs by laying into Labour's Winter Fuel Payment cuts - as well as attacking Starmer for "playing politics with the Waspi women".
The Tory leader probed the PM on how many pensioners had applied for pension credit since Rachel Reeves' decision to cut the winter fuel allowance.
Sir Keir Starmer said the "number one job of this Government was to put the public finances back in order after the last government lost control", and claimed Labour's drive to stabilise public finances meant it could fully commit to the pensions triple lock.
'BETRAYAL!' Diane Abbott turns up the heat on Labour in-fighting on Waspi women
Diane Abbott has labelled Labour's decision not to pay compensation to Waspi women a "betrayal" - the second of the party's MPs to do so in just minutes.
Writing on social media, the Hackney North & Stoke Newington MP said: "Promising one thing in opposition and doing the opposite in Government is a betrayal."
PMQs just minutes away - here's who's asking the questions at midday
Today's lineup for PMQs has been revealed - the following 15 MPs will be tabling questions to Sir Keir Starmer from midday:
- Chris Hinchliff (Labour)
- Blake Stephenson (Conservative)
- Rebecca Smith (Conservative)
- Amanda Martin (Labour)
- Kirith Entwistle (Labour)
- John Lamont Conservative)
- John Grady (Labour)
- Jack Rankin (Conservative)
- Ian Byrne (Labour)
- Dave Doogan (SNP)
- Jodie Gosling (Labour)
- Jo White (Labour)
- Peter Prinsley (Labour)
- Debbie Abrahams (Labour)
- Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat)
Priti Patel to take Lammy to task over Chagos in urgent question in the Commons
Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel is set to butt heads with Cabinet counterpart David Lammy over the status of the Chagos Islands negotiations through an urgent question in the Commons today.
Patel has tabled her line of attack - she's set "to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on the negotiations between HM Government and the Government of Mauritius over the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory".
It comes after Nigel Farage also tabled an urgent question on the transfer of sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius back on November 13 - which led to an intense row over the incoming Trump administration's role in the surrender.
Labour's Waspi snub met with REBELLION from within as MPs call on Kendall to reconsider urgently
Labour's decision not to pay compensation to Waspi women has been met with rebellion from within, with the party's own MPs calling on their top brass to reconsider.
Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash has told Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall to admit the Waspi decision is "wrong", accusing her of "flying in the face" of the Ombudsman's recommendations, Labour's own statements of support, and "public expectations of justice".
"There are thousands of women who were counting on us to do the right thing after more than a decade of waiting," he said. "This decision has failed them."
He added: "I would urge you in the strongest terms to reconsider your decision in the interests of justice for women denied a fair settlement."
Top Tories urge Starmer to reconsider 'unacceptable' Chagos surrender after Mauritian PM's demands
Shadow Defence and Foreign Secretaries James Cartlidge and Priti Patel have written to the Prime Minister demanding he reconsider the "unacceptable" surrender of the Chagos Islands.
Yesterday, it emerged that Mauritius's new PM Navinchandra Ramgoolam demanded more "benefits" from the deal - but now, the Shadow Cabinet pair have lambasted Labour for refusing to publish details of which "safeguards" would be in place to prevent countries like China "establishing themselves" in the territory.
They also warned Labour not to rush the deal through Parliament before Donald Trump takes office with speculation lingering over the President-elect moving to veto the giveaway. The military base on Diego Garcia is jointly run by Britain and the US.
READ THEIR LETTER TO LABOUR HERE
From earlier: Musk enters 'ongoing negotiations' with Farage as X boss poised to back Reform with 'biggest donation in British political history'
Elon Musk is in "ongoing negotiations" about making a possible mega-donation to Reform UK, Nigel Farage has revealed.
Farage and party treasurer Nick Candy travelled to Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago base on Monday, where they met both the X owner and Vice President-elect JD Vance.
The historic meeting added fuel to the fire that Musk was weighing up a splurge of nearly £80million on Reform, which would octuple the largest donation in British political history - £10million to the Conservative Party in 2023.
Musk has so far denied reports of a splurge that large - while Farage has instead talked up tactics, hailing Trump's electoral strategy as Reform casts its eye over upcoming elections.
Writing in The Telegraph, Farage said: "I have come home with copious notes of how they increased the turnout, voter registration and so much more, and all of this I intend to implement as part of the professionalisation of our party.
"It is also heartening to listen to Elon speak about UK politics with such deep care. He regards the mother country of the English-speaking world as being in very deep trouble.
"Inevitably, following such intense media speculation, the issue of money was discussed and there will be ongoing negotiations on that score."
Shadow Business Secretary attempts to coax Musk from Reform UK - 'I would urge Elon to look at the Conservative Party!'
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith has tried to coax Elon Musk away from Reform UK amid reports that the Tesla and X owner is in "ongoing negotiations" about a possible donation to the party.
In a direct appeal to Musk on GB News, Griffith said: "He is concerned about things like freedom of speech. He's concerned about what he's called the 'woke mind virus'. Actually, those are things that the Conservative Party has been fighting for.
"It's been Kemi Badenoch in Government who was fighting about transgender rights for children... It was actually myself and people like Toby Young who are fighting against cancel culture in banking.
"If anybody's interested in fighting for those really important - some say existential - challenges of democracy today, I would urge Elon and others to look at the Conservative Party."
Labour defends Waspi women snub AGAIN
Labour has been forced to defend its refusal to pay out Waspi women once again following yesterday's reveal the group would not be receiving compensation.
Rushanara Ali told the BBC: "The fact is that we have got a huge, huge job to do in terms of making sure that the conditions that pensioners live in in our country are improved and that's why our focus is on protecting the triple lock, which will unlock £30billion in this Parliament, supporting pensioners... and that includes those who are women born in the 1950s.
"We are absolutely committed to tackling the public service crisis in the NHS, making sure we've got more policing in our streets, which is about security and safety for pensioners and support for the NHS, they need those services."
In another party-line swipe at the Tories, she added: "So this Government has inherited a devastating set of issues... We are responding to those challenges."
Badenoch skewers Labour over 'catastrophic' schools Bill
Kemi Badenoch has joined a pile-on into Labour's Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill after a blistering take-down by the Shadow Education Secretary.
Neil O'Brien had laid into the Bill with a series of bullet-point barbs on social media, which read:
"Labour schools plan:
- Remove freedom to pay good teachers more
- Remove freedom over non-teaching staff
- Remove freedom over curriculum
- Remove freedom over admissions
- Remove freedom over Qualified Teacher Status
"Back to the failed model of civil servants trying to run everything from Whitehall."
Badenoch added: "This is how Labour destroys institutions. They create a nice label for terrible ideas with catastrophic consequences. It takes decades to unpick the mess."
Inflation disaster as CPI rate increases to 2.6% in blow to Labour's economic agenda
Inflation in the UK has risen to its highest level in six months in another blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the Labour Government's record on the economy.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal the consumer price index (CPI) rate jumped to 2.6 per cent for the 12 months to October 2024.
According to the ONS, inflation jumped by 0.1 per cent on monthly basis and CPI rose by 0.1 per cent - compared with a 0.2 per cent drop in November 2023.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Starmer casts down 'Two-Tier Keir' moniker in 'rare flash of emotion'
Sir Keir Starmer has cast down his "Two-Tier Keir" moniker and several others in a fresh interview on his final overseas trip of 2024.
Speaking to The Sun in Estonia, Starmer cast down his various nicknames, damning opinion polling, and unfairly-applied justice as he pleaded for more time to be judged on his Government.
In what the newspaper branded a "rare flash of emotion", Starmer said he had "had a lot worse over the years" - and defended Britain's police forces in the wake of the summer's unrest.
"They had been subjected to the most awful scenes," he said.
"They had to deal with parents rushing back to the scene and, within hours of me shaking their hands, they were back on the front line because thugs were throwing things at them.
"The very same officers. And what was being said on the front line... 'Two tier policing'.
"I'm going to stand with frontline police officers doing their best to keep order on our streets, and I'll stand with them every single time."
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.
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