Sir Keir Starmer has been blasted by a Labour grandee just hours after the Prime Minister delivered his reset address to party members.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar took aim at Sir Keir earlier today, admitting voters had been left disappointed following the Prime Minister’s first 18 months in power.
“I know that across Scotland people are angry, frustrated and impatient with the pace of change at Westminster,” Mr Sarwar said.
“I do believe that no Labour Government at Westminster, however well intentioned, principled or capable, could have undone the damage of two decades in just two years.
“The UK Labour Government has many meaningful achievements which they need to shout louder about, but it is also fair to say that they haven’t got everything right.
“And there are many challenges they still must confront. I get it. I don’t just see it. I feel it across Scotland. I know the Prime Minister and the UK Labour Government are not popular with the public right now.
“So, I am not running to be Scotland’s First Minister in denial of that truth. I am running to be Scotland’s First Minister in defiance of it.”
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EXCLUSIVE: First migrant boat of the year arrives in UK
GB News can exclusively reveal that the first small boat of 2026 has made it to UK with dozens of illegal migrants on board after crossing the Channel in sub-zero temperatures.
It comes hours after several other attempted crossings had to be abandoned because of the weather conditions, with multiple migrants treated in French hospitals for hypothermia.
Venezuela attacks show PM is ‘on the outside looking in’, says Kemi Badenoch
Kemi Badenoch said the events in Venezuela show that Sir Keir is ‘not respected abroad or at home’
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PA
Kemi Badenoch said the US attacks on Venezuela show Sir Keir Starmer is “on the outside looking in”.
The Conservative leader wrote to X: “The events in Venezuela have shown that the Prime Minister is on the outside looking in, not respected abroad or at home.
“I will be in Parliament later today to ask what Starmer’s foreign policy strategy is in light of the US’s actions. He should be telling us himself.”
Date of Rachel Reeves’s spring statement confirmed
Rachel Reeves has confirmed the date of her spring statement.
The Chancellor told MPs the statement, detailing the Government’s response to an updated economic and fiscal forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), will be on Tuesday, March 3.
In a written statement published on Parliament’s website on Monday, the Chancellor wrote: “I have asked the OBR to prepare an economic and fiscal forecast for publication on March 3 2026.
“This forecast, in addition to the forecast that was published in November 2025, will fulfil the obligation required by the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011 for the OBR to produce at least two forecasts in a financial year.
“As set out at the Budget, the spring forecast will not make an assessment of the Government’s performance against the fiscal mandate and will provide an interim update on the economy and public finances.
“The Government intends to respond to this with a statement to Parliament.
“This is in line with my commitment to deliver one major fiscal event a year at the Budget. This approach gives families and businesses the stability and certainty they need, and, in turn, to support the government’s growth mission.”
Nigel Farage’s right-hand man emerges as public’s pick for Chancellor in bombshell poll
Zia Yusuf has emerged as the public’s favourite
| GB NEWS
Nigel Farage’s right-hand man has emerged as one of the public’s top picks for Chancellor after a bombshell poll put him ahead of rivals Rachel Reeves and Sir Mel Stride.
Zia Yusuf, a former Tory member who spectacularly joined Reform UK ahead of the 2024 General Election, received a net score of four per cent in a survey of 2,000 voters.
Merlin Strategy asked respondents whether they thought a series of political figures would do a good or bad job running the economy.
Mr Yusuf received the backing of 27 per cent, with just 23 per cent saying the 39-year-old would do a bad job.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
Conservative backbencher challenges Labour over asylum hotel closure
A Conservative MP has said putting asylum seekers in new council housing would be an “insult” to people waiting on housing lists.
Broxbourne MP Lewis Cocking said: “This is my ninth question about the asylum hotel in my constituency and I am still waiting for a clear answer.
“The Prime Minister said yesterday we would see evidence of hotels being closed soon. But plans to move asylum seekers into new council housing would solve nothing and would be an insult to millions on the waiting list.”
Home Office Minister Alex Norris reiterated Labour’s pledge to close asylum hotels, adding the “vast majority” had opened under the previous Conservative government.
WATCH: Keir Starmer says the future of Greenland is ‘for nobody else’ in Donald Trump swipe
Lee Anderson calls on Labour to ‘detain and deport’ over council house plans
Reform UK MP Lee Anderson has called on Labour to “detain and deport” as he issued a scathing response to the Government’s asylum seeker plans
He said: “I’ve written to the Home Secretary following the announcement of the new Government scheme that will fund local councils to build new properties and refurbish derelict properties to make room for asylum seekers by leasing these new council houses back to the Home Office.
“This is outrageous. How many times have I said that British people must be prioritised for British housing.
“Instead, thanks to Labour, we will have new council houses being built exclusively for asylum seekers, and the British taxpayers who are stuck in the housing waiting list are being forced to pay for it.
“It is yet again another kick in the teeth to the British people who are being treated as second class citizens. Here’s a better solution to the asylum seeker housing problem: detain and deport.”
WATCH: Clare Muldoon and Matthew Torbitt tear into Labour’s plan to seize migrant phones
Rachel Reeves is so unpopular that Britons believe Jeremy Corbyn would make a better Chancellor
Britons believe Jeremy Corbyn would make a better Chancellor than Rachel Reeves, a damning new poll has revealed.
In a crushing blow to Britain’s first female Chancellor, just 27 per cent of voters said Ms Reeves was doing a good job, compared to 51 per cent who believe she is doing poorly.
Mr Corbyn, who pledged an eyewatering £83billion tax raid as Labour leader in 2019, was handed a net score of minus 13 per cent.
Despite more than half of Britons being unable to name the Shadow Chancellor, Sir Mel Stride managed to secure a positive rating of just three per cent.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
WATCH: John Swinney launches SNP’s Holyrood election campaign
Keir Starmer says Venezuela must undergo ‘peaceful transition’
Venezuela must undergo a “peaceful transition to democracy” as quickly as possible, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
Speaking to reporters, the Prime Minister said: “What’s happened here in Venezuela is obviously really important. We have long championed a peaceful transition to democracy, because the president was illegitimate.”
Sir Keir also said international law needed to be the “anchor” for the future of Venezuela after the US removed president Maduro at the weekend. He added that the US will “want to justify” its actions in international law.
But the PM would not be drawn on whether he believed the US had breached international law when asked directly.
He told reporters: “International law is really important. It’s the framework, and it’s for the US to set out its justifications for the actions that it’s taken.
“But it is a complicated situation. It remains a complicated situation. The most important thing is stability and that peaceful transition to democracy.”
John Swinney admits he is ‘anxious’ to reach deal to end resident doctor strikes in Scotland
John Swinney issued a warning ahead of the talks with resident doctors
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GETTY
A strike by resident doctors next week would see NHS care in Scotland “disrupted”, John Swinney has warned, with the First Minister saying he is “anxious” to reach a deal to end the dispute.
The SNP leader stressed he “obviously” wants to avoid industrial action, but he also told doctors preparing for industrial action: “I can’t put offers on the table that the Government can’t afford.”
The First Minister spoke out on the issue ahead of talks between Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray and the British Medical Association (BMA) on Monday.
Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, in BMA Scotland voted last month for strike action, with walkouts now scheduled to start from 7am on Tuesday, January 13, lasting until 7am on Saturday, January 17.
Faced with the prospect of industrial action Mr Swinney told BBC Radio Scotland he was “anxious to find a solution” to the pay dispute.
Keir Starmer insists Britain will ‘turn a corner’ in 2026
Sir Keir Starmer insisted Britain will turn a corner in 2026, as he made his first visit of the year to meet members of the public.
On a visit to a Berkshire community centre, the Prime Minister said: “It’s really good to be able to come here and speak to you.
“I’m acutely aware that there are a lot of things going on in the world at the moment, particularly you will see some things this weekend.
“But I always remind myself that for you and millions of people across this country, what matters more than anything is the cost of living, is actually being able to pay bills, making sure that ends meet at the end of the month, and that we’re driving down all those things that cause people a lot of anxiety when they feel they can’t pay the bills.”
Concluding his remarks, Sir Keir said: “2026 is the year that we’re going to be turning a corner where, when we say we want national renewal of the country, and we do, it becomes a reality, and people begin to feel the difference in their pockets, in the ability to pay the bill.
“That’s why we say we are turning a corner into 2026.”
WATCH: Mike Tapp grilled by Ben and Ellie on Labour’s latest move to tackle illegal migration
Labour minister insists asylum hotels ‘are closing’ as he defends Government’s migration policy
Migration Minister Mike Tapp
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GB NEWS
Migration Minister Mike Tapp has insisted asylum hotels “are closing” as he laid out plans to move migrants to military bases.
When asked when asylum hotels would close, Mr Tapp told GB News: “What I’ll say at this point, [the number of asylum hotels] has halved from the peak of 400 to just under 200.
“We’ve got lots of effort going in from the Home Office to move people out of hotels into military style bases. Hotels will close, and I can give you that absolute certainty and more is to come on that.
When pressed by host Ben Leo about where they would be going, Mr Tapp said: “We’re working at opening military bases and accommodation, it’s still humane but it is basic and not as attractive.”
Labour minister says new package is ‘bringing counter terror powers forward’
Mike Tapp has defended today’s migration package, saying it aims to “bring counter terror powers forward.”
The Labour Minister for Migration told GB News: “Over last 18 months we have been making a lot of changes
“Anyone travelling into the UK on a small boat illegally means they can have their devices seized and that helps with the intelligence picture.
“This is bringing counter terror powers forward. This means we can go after more of the vile smugglers to reduce those small boat crossings.
“We’re not claiming this is a silver bullet but lets not let perfect get in the way of the good…there’s a lot going on here, it’s a big package and I am confident over time it will have the impact that we hope it will.”
Andy Burnham is Labour’s ‘best shot’ at keeping Nigel Farage out of Downing Street, says top pollster
Sir John Curtice has suggested Andy Burnham is Labour’s “best shot” at preventing a Reform UK government, but warned the Manchester Mayor’s route back to Westminster is “very difficult.”
The top pollster told The Independent: “Andy Burnham is probably still the best possibility, but there are many barriers in his way.
“If you look at his popularity, both within and outside the Labour Party, his popularity is clearly more extensive than any of the other candidates.”
State pension triple lock blamed for ‘growing tax burden on young people’ as Labour told to axe payment hikes
The state pension triple lock has been blamed for contributing to the “growing tax burden on young people,” with the Labour Government being called to implement reform to the payment uprate mechanism.
Under the triple lock, state pension payment rates rise every year in line with either the rate of consumer price index (CPI) inflation, average wage growth, or 2.5 per cent, whichever is highest.
Thanks to the policy, the full, new state pension will rise by £574.60 in April this year, which means recipients of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefit will claim £12,547.60.
Last year, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast the triple lock would cost the taxpayer three times more than initially projected by 2030, with the total bill set to reach £15.5billion by the end of the decade.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
WATCH: Matt Vickers scolds Labour for ‘tinkering around the edges’ on illegal migration
Yvette Cooper to lay out UK response to Venezuela later today
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will lay out the Government’s response to the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in the House of Commons later today.
Migration Minister Mike Tapp told Sky News: “We will see later today, well, an application has gone into the Speaker, for a statement from the Foreign Secretary later today, so there may well be more detail on that.”
The UN Security Council, of which the UK is a permanent member, is set to meet later to discuss the operation in Venezuela.
Mr Tapp did not disclose whether Britain plans to abstain on any vote during the meeting.
Senior Tory accuses Labour of ‘tinkering round the edges’ over migration plans
Matt Vickers appearing on GB News this morning
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GB NEWS
Shadow Minister for Illegal Immigration Matthew Vickers has accused Labour of “tinkering round the edges” amid plans to seize migrants’ mobile phones and SIM cards.
The Deputy Conservative Chairman told GB News: “The reality is there was already powers in legislation to do this.
“This is all tinkering round the edges, the only way to solve this illegal migration crisis is to remove people who are here illegally.
“That’s how you solve this, everyone at home knows this it’s the common sense approach and we know it works, we tested it as we had our agreement with Albania.”
WATCH: Former Scotland Yard Detective Peter Bleksley launches scathing rant against Labour
Border Force to seize mobile phones from small-boat migrants in bid to smash people-smuggling gangs
From today, Border Force, immigration officials and police have new powers to seize migrants’ mobile phones and SIM cards without making an arrest, as part of a crackdown on people-smuggling gangs.
The powers, which came into force on Monday under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act passed in December, allow officers to seize and examine electronic devices where there are reasonable grounds to suspect they hold intelligence useful in prosecuting smugglers.
Phones belonging to migrants arriving by small boat will be seized immediately on arrival at the Manston processing centre in Kent.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
Kemi Badenoch dubs plan to scrap Legacy Act ‘national disgrace’
Kemi Badenoch has described the plan to scrap Legacy Act a “national disgrace” for leaving open former British soldiers to prosecution.
Labour has put forward plans that include a commission to investigate Troubles-related killings, scrapping plans which granted legal immunity to British troops who served during the period.
Critics said they fear vexatious legal claims could be filled against ex-soldiers.
Writing in The Telegraph, the Conservative Leader said: “Labour’s bill sends a catastrophic message to those currently serving: one day the state might abandon you.
“There can be no easier way to undermine morale, damage recruitment and retention, and corrode trust between soldiers and government.”
WATCH: Former Labour Adviser Matthew Torbit discusses reports that suggest Keir Starmer is plotting a softer Brexit in order to ward off a potential leadership contest
Reform UK on course for three-figure Commons majority while Labour brace for General Election disaster in bombshell mega poll
Reform UK is set for a three-figure majority in the House of Commons, while Labour are set for a huge slump, a bombshell poll has revealed.
It’s been a year of continued growth for Nigel Farage and Reform this year, demonstrated at local level where they made a net gain of 94 seats – the most of any party by a significant distance.
But now, on a national level, More in Common’s January MRP projects a Reform UK majority if a General Election were held today.
The organisation suggests, based on polling of more than 16,000 Britons, Reform would take 381 seats.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
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