The Farage effect: why Keir Starmer is styling Labour as the ‘disruptors’

It only takes a quick look at today’s poll by Opinium for the Observer to see why a big tactical rethink (some in the Labour party call it a panic) is under way in Downing Street.In the space of a couple of weeks, the Labour high-command has morphed from being a risk-averse, technocratic operation which said and did very little that was interesting in order to win power – and did little more in the first six months after taking it – into something else entirely.Suddenly, in the dark of mid-February, Keir Starmer’s Labour government is self-styling its people as “disruptors” and “insurgents”. On Friday, Starmer told his cabinet ministers they had to be the “disrupters if you don’t want to be disrupted”. He meant disrupted by Reform UK

Show strength and offer a win: experts’ tips for Starmer on dealing with Trump

It was just a few mangled sentences spoken in the darkness on an airport tarmac. But Donald Trump’s comments this week – his most significant yet regarding the UK – were enough to give heart to people in Downing Street and the Foreign Office.“UK is out of line. But I’m sure that one, I think that one, can be worked out,” Trump said to reporters travelling with him at the Joint Base Andrews air force facility in Maryland. “Prime Minister Starmer has been very nice

‘Embrace the pause’: vocal coaches on the tips they give politicians

What makes a politician an effective public speaker? We may not immediately know the answer, but we know it when we (don’t) see it. Monotone pitch, strangulated vowels or swivel-eyed certainty – these are the people telling us that difficult days lie ahead, or that only their party can deliver a better future. It would be nice if they seemed a bit more normal while they did it.The good news is, they can get better at it – just ask Keir Starmer. This week it was confirmed that the prime minister worked with a vocal coach, Leonie Mellinger, for five years before entering Downing Street to soften his buttoned-up barrister’s monotone

Some people on sickness and disability benefits ‘taking the mickey’, says Liz Kendall – as it happened

Good morning. Keir Starmer is chairing an extended meeting of cabinet today. There will be a normal cabinet meeting, and then a political cabinet, where ministers will discuss the many challenges facing the government in a party political context. They won’t be in Downing Street, and it has been described by some people as an away days, but it is not one of those away days that involves a spa hotel in the countryside. They will be somewhere in Whitehall apparently, but being out of Downing Street should provide a change of scene

Protesters to rally in London before China ‘super-embassy’ decision

More than 1,000 protesters are due to object to China’s proposed new “super-embassy” in London on Saturday before a crunch decision by the government.A demonstration against the embassy, which has become a huge diplomatic issue between the UK and China, is being held at Royal Mint Court, a historic site near the Tower of London.China proposes to turn 20,000 sq metres (2 hectares) of land at Royal Mint Court into the largest embassy in Europe. China bought the site in 2018, but Tower Hamlets council refused planning permission in 2022 citing a range of concerns, including the impact of large protests at the site. The Conservative government declined to intervene

Planners recommended against nuclear plant in 2019 citing fears for Welsh language

Planning inspectors recommended against a Hitachi-built nuclear power plant in Anglesey on the basis that it could dilute the island’s Welsh language and culture, it has emerged.Hitachi scrapped plans to build a £20bn nuclear power plant at Wylfa in 2020 over cost concerns after failing to reach a funding agreement with UK ministers.Keir Starmer’s government has vowed to make it easier to build major infrastructure projects by reforming the planning system and stopping campaigners from launching “excessive” legal challenges.The prime minister unveiled plans for a historic expansion in nuclear power this week, vowing to “push past nimbyism” and make sites across the country available for new power stations.Nuclear industry figures believe that the fate of Hitachi’s proposed plant at Wylfa demonstrates the problems with the UK’s planning system