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Priest insulted by Andrew Gwynne in WhatsApp group calls for him to resign

A serving Anglican priest has called for Andrew Gwynne to resign after new WhatsApp messages emerged in which the member of parliament suggested she should be “burned on a bonfire”.She described the chat involving two Labour MPs, as well as several other Labour party members, as “reminiscent of playground bullying and name-calling”.The vicar is mentioned more than 100 times in the chat, with the group, which also includes several sitting councillors from two local authorities, making repeated jibes about her weight.“Imagine [her] in a bike,” one says.“Haven’t you seen her pootling round Reddish

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We need a debate on defence spending as Nato unravels, putting Europe at risk | Letters

With current and past leaders of the armed services joining the Americans in calling for ever greater percentages of national income to be devoted to defence, some hardheaded thinking is going to be needed (Starmer will go in ‘bin of history’ if he fails to raise defence budget, says ex-army chief, 15 February).Unless defence spending contributes to growth, we could have the absurd situation of increasing the proportion of GDP spent on defence without any material increase in the actual amount available; 2.5% of substantial growth is better than 3% of an economy flatlining.We must also surely want a national debate on the kind of defence spending we want – matching a very different threat to that experienced in the 20th century and requiring not necessarily more personnel, but greater creativity and skill in combating the threat of the future.Above all, however, we should have a national debate about what other key services are going to be denied investment as a consequence of the ever-increasing demand to combat a real or perceived threat from the Russian federation

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Lisa Nandy announces £270m fund for England’s ‘crumbling’ cultural infrastructure

Culture has been “erased” from communities and curriculums, according to the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy who vowed to make the arts more accessible by announcing new funding for England’s “crumbling” cultural infrastructure.The £270m fund will support attractions “in urgent need of financial support to keep them up and running, helping to carry out vital infrastructure work and improve long-term financial resilience”, according to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).Nandy said: “For too many young people in this country, culture hasn’t just been erased from the curriculum, it’s been erased from our communities as well.“The Arts Everywhere Fund is designed specifically to address that, to make sure that communities who value their heritage and the contribution that they’ve made to this country can still continue to open those institutions to communities and tell that story as part of our national story.”The money includes £120m, which will be available to 17 leading institutions such as the British Museum, National Gallery and National Museums Liverpool, which all get money directly from the DCMS

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Chief whip’s diaries reveal rescue of Tory MP from KGB agent in London brothel

They say that to govern is to choose, but for one former chief whip it meant rescuing a Conservative MP from a suspected KGB agent in a London brothel.The story of said MP is one of many colourful anecdotes in Simon Hart’s political diaries, which have become the talk of Westminster this week.Hart, who served as Rishi Sunak’s chief whip for nearly two years, offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes of his government — including the sexual misadventures of members of the whips’ office.He also lifts the lid on Sunak’s troubled premiership, including the tensions between ministers and how whips grappled with a series of misconduct allegations involving Tory MPs.On 24 November 2022, Hart recalls getting a phone call at 2

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US culture war show comes to London – and strikes a chord with European populists

On stage in a corner of east London, the US folk singer Oliver Anthony got a rapturous reception this week for a rendition of his smash hit Rich Men North of Richmond, a tune about inequality and the political elite’s disregard for the working class.Rather than performing in one of London’s dozens of music venues, however, Anthony – who has claimed his song doesn’t take any particular partisan side – was playing to an elite gathering: the well-heeled conservative activists, donors and politicians from the US, the UK and around the world who descended on the now yearly Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (Arc).Part political conference, part evangelical rally and compared by some present – not without irony – to the Davos World Economic Forum, the conference has emerged as an increasingly influential gathering of libertarian and populist forces, promoting climate scepticism and social conservatism.And what it brought this year in particular, after the election of Donald Trump in the US, was clear.Days after JD Vance’s ideological savaging of European ideals at the Munich Security Conference, where he alleged Europe’s greatest threat came “from within” and accused it – without irony – of illiberalism and anti-democratic tendencies, Arc 2025 celebrated a new kind of American export: ideological finger-wagging

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Not-for-profit appears to own Reform UK despite Farage’s ‘democratisation’ pledge

Nigel Farage has declared he has handed over Reform UK to its 200,000 members, but the party now appears to be owned by a not-for-profit company controlled by its leader and chair.Farage announced last year that he would “democratise” the party after receiving criticism for it being a private company majority controlled by the leader, not a members’ association like other parties.The company that owns Reform now appears to be owned by a new not-for-profit company, Reform 2025, which so far has just two members and two directors: Farage and Zia Yusuf.It was previously owned by a limited company majority controlled by Farage but with stakes also held by Yusuf, Richard Tice, the deputy leader, and Mehrtash A’zami, the party secretary.It is understood this is the permanent new structure of Reform and that Farage and Yusuf are guarantors for the company, and would be replaced if new people took on those roles