KemiKaze’s ‘relaunch’ speech reveals a Tory leader already out of ideas | John Crace

Seeing is not always believing. Fair to say that Kemi Badenoch’s time as leader of the Tory party has not got off to the best of starts. Hopeless at prime minister’s questions and seemingly already out of ideas, many in the party are already looking around for possible successors. Even Robert Jenrick. Things really are that desperate

UK politics: Kemi Badenoch describes Rachel Reeves as a ‘woman problem’ for Keir Starmer – as it happened

Here is the quote from Kemi Badenoch’s Q&A with journalists where she referred to Rachel Reeves as being a “woman problem” for the PM.Asked, jokingly, if she would back Keir Starmer if he sacked Reeves (see 2.07pm), Badenoch replied:If he does the right thing with Rachel Reeves, I will also support him in that, but his ‘woman problem’ is not my concern.Asked later why she referred to Reeves being a woman in this context (see 2.15pm), Badenoch replied:Well, when [Reeves] stood up in her budget, she wanted everyone to know that she was the first female chancellor

Only grant Trump a UK state visit if he agrees to Ukraine summit, say Lib Dems

Britain should offer Donald Trump a state visit only on the condition he agrees to a sit-down summit with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as part of an openly transactional US-UK relationship with the returning president, Ed Davey has said.In a speech in which the Liberal Democrat leader also called for the UK to seek a new customs union with the EU to help insulate itself from the potential impacts of Trump’s second presidency, Davey said that while the US leader could not be trusted, he could also very much not be ignored.“The reality is, unfortunately, very clear. The incoming Trump administration is a threat to peace and prosperity for the UK, across Europe and around the world,” Davey said. “For the next four years, the UK cannot depend on the presence of the United States to be a reliable partner on security, defence or the economy

Suspended Labour MP Mike Amesbury pleads guilty to assault

The MP for Runcorn and Helsby, Mike Amesbury, has pleaded guilty to assault.Appearing at Chester magistrates court, Amesbury, who was suspended by the Labour party after an investigation, admitted the single charge of section 39 assault in relation to an incident after a night out in his constituency.Police interviewed Amesbury, 55, after footage of the incident, which took place on Main Street in Frodsham, Cheshire, in the early hours of 26 October last year, was published by MailOnline.The video, taken from a CCTV camera, shows Amesbury hitting his victim, 45-year-old Paul Fellows, in the face, knocking him to the ground.He is also seen standing over the man, hitting him several more times on the head and shouting: “You won’t threaten me again, will you?”Amesbury said in a statement at the time that he had reported himself to police

Labour staff balloted on pay freeze as election win hits party finances

Labour party staff are being balloted on whether to accept a pay freeze this year, the Guardian has learned.Unite and GMB members who work for the party have until Friday to vote on whether to accept the proposed pay freeze.Labour’s coffers have been depleted by the loss of Short money, the constitutional payment given to opposition parties, now that the party is in government. It received £7.5m in Short money in 2023, according to its accounts