City’s influence over Westminster: £17.5m spent political parties and MPs since 2020 June 7, 2022 The influence of the City over Westminster has come into sharp focus this week, after a report £17.5m was spend by big banks on MPs and political parties since 2020. Almost 50 MPs received an average of £49,000 from the City – despite 26 of them registering not a single hour of work in return. [...]
MP Claudia Webbe loses appeal against harassment conviction May 26, 2022 Independent MP Claudia Webbe has lost her appeal against a conviction for harassment. The Leicester East politician was slapped with a 10-week suspended jail sentence and 200 hours of community service, in September 2020. She was found guilty of harassing a woman, Michelle Merritt, who was having a relationship with her partner at the time, [...]
Anger after partygate champagne donated by Tory chair and signed by PM is auctioned for charity May 13, 2022 The Conservative Party chair has come in for criticism after donating a bottle of ‘partygate’ champagne signed by prime minister Boris Johnson to a charity auction. . TV food critic and journalist Jay Rayner flagged it up on Twitter, sharing an image of the item and saying the party didn’t take partygate claims “seriously”. This [...]
Sir Keir Starmer: If I am fined over Beergate – I WILL resign May 9, 2022 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has committed to resigning if Durham police find him guilty of breaching lockdown rules last year. In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, the former head of public prosecutions said: “I’ve always followed the rules” since the start of lockdown. He said everyone “found the rules frustrating at times”, and that [...]
Beergate: Durham police investigating Keir Starmer over alleged lockdown breaches after ‘receipt of significant new information’ May 6, 2022 Keir Starmer is being investigated by Durham Police over the so-called ‘beergate’ lockdown breach in April last year. Durham Constabulary issued a statement on Friday saying it is looking into the alleged rule-breaking after the “receipt of significant new information”. The force previously said they did not think he had broken rules over a gathering [...]
Local election bloodbath: Furious Tories turn on Boris Johnson as Labour’s victory train rolls into Westminster, Wandsworth and Barnet May 6, 2022 The Conservative Party has lost all major London authorities to Labour and suffered setbacks across England as Boris Johnson faces a backlash from local Tory leaders. Labour has taken control of Westminster City Council in London for the first time since its creation in 1964. The Conservative Party has also lost control in Wandsworth, considered [...]
D-Day for Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer as polls are now open: All you need to know about the 2022 local elections May 5, 2022 Millions of Brits around the country will go to the polls todayfor the 2022 local elections. Voters will be choosing local representatives in England, Scotland and Wales and there will also be an election for the Northern Ireland Assembly. Polling stations have just opened and close at 10pm. When will the results be announced? After [...]
Labour backs suspension of MP Liam Byrne from Commons over bullying complaints April 28, 2022 Labour has backed the suspension of one of its MPs from the Commons over bullying complaints, following an investigation by a Parliamentary committee Liam Byrne could face two days out of parliament following a probe by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. The panel upheld a complaint against the MP by a former member of his [...]
Basic Instinct sexism row: Daily Mail hits back with old Angela Rayner comments and rebuffs Commons Speaker April 27, 2022 The Daily Mail published comments made by Labour’s Angela Rayner in a light-hearted political podcast in January in which she discussed comparisons between her attire and behaviour in the Commons and a scene in the movie Basic Instinct featuring Sharon Stone. On comedian Matt Forde’s The Political Party, Ms Rayner said she was “mortified” by [...]
Tory MP criticised after saying conviction of colleague for sexual assault on teenager was a ‘dreadful miscarriage of justice’ April 12, 2022 The Conservatives have reacted furiously after a former government minister branded the conviction of an MP for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy, a “dreadful miscarriage of justice”. Crispin Blunt MP caused outrage with a statement saying he was “utterly appalled and distraught” by the conviction by jury of his “friend and colleague” Imran Khan. Khan, [...]