As the Trump state visit kicks off, Starmer has hit his lowest ever favourability rating, scoring a net -50 points according to YouGov’s latest poll. Is it any surprise…
Reeves is just ahead of Starmer, with a net popularity rating of -49, while Rayner comes in third-least popular with -40. Farage has a net -31 rating and Kemi scores -35. Who knows what Starmer’s rating will look like in ‘Phase 3’….
Along with a royal carriage procession…
As not a single return has been made under Labour’s much-vaunted “one in, one out” deal, the government can’t even say how many staff in the Home Office are actually working on deportation flights. When pressed in a written question, Home Office minister Alex Norris admitted:
“It is not possible to disaggregate staffing figures to isolate those solely focused on deportation flights and obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems owned by multiple teams. The Home Office does not hold any central record of the requested information.”
In a separate written answer on what proportion of staff are dedicated to enforcing deportation orders, the response was similarly blunt: the department does not hold that data. Co-conspirators will recall Labour’s manifesto pledge to “set up a new Returns and Enforcement Unit comprising 1,000 extra Home Office staff” – a promise that has gone rather quiet. Is it any wonder flights haven’t taken off…
Former Labour councillor Oliver Steadman has been charged with one count of blackmail and with a communications offence in relation to the Westminster ‘honeytrap’ scandal. The Crown Prosecution Service announced the charges against the 28-year old this morning…
Head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime Division Malcolm McHaffie said:
“We have decided to prosecute Oliver Steadman with blackmail and five communications offences in relation to a total of five victims working within politics and Westminster.
“This follows an investigation by the Metropolitan Police Service which looked into messages that included alleged unsolicited indecent images sent to a number of people within parliamentary political circles between October 2023 and April 2024 using Whatsapp.
“Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring this case to court and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings. Oliver Steadman will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 3 November 2025 for a first hearing.”
Steadman was elected as an Islington councillor in May 2024, only to resign two months later. His X account also suddenly went private. At the time, both Labour and Islington Council refused to comment…
A (now ex) Labour councillor has defected to Reform, claiming his former party is “lost” and “mired in scandal“. Mason Humberstone, who is Stevenage’s youngest councillor, posted a statement on X this morning…
“I’ve battled with this decision for some time. But deep down, I know it’s the right call. It isn’t ordinary, hardworking people in Stevenage and across our country who’ve left Labour – Labour has left us.
The party I joined is lost, without vision, mired in scandal, and too often speaking for a metropolitan elite rather than the people they’re meant to serve.
When policies harm the British people and weaken our democracy, I cannot in good conscience support them.
As Stevenage’s youngest councillor, I entered politics to serve with integrity and respect. Today, I know I join a party that will put the British people and our great nation first. I feel proud to be part of this team and ready to get to work.”
Reform won five of the six Stevenage seats on Hertfordshire County Council back in May. Worth bearing in mind…
Labour Deputy Leader hopeful Lucy Powell has come out swinging against Starmer, saying that “unforced errors” have meant Labour has given “sense that we’re not on the side of ordinary people.” Still bitter about being sacked…
Powell said on BBC’s Political Thinking podcast:
“Some of the mistakes that we’ve made, or some of the unforced errors, have given a sense that we’re not on the side of ordinary people. I think part of what’s gone wrong is that people have lost sense of what those values are and whose side we are governing.”
She added that Labour needs to be “clearer” about “working towards” scrapping the two-child benefit cap. Powell leads among Labour members on 47%, compared to Number 10’s favourite Bridget Phillipson on 30%, according to a Survation poll. Would be yet another serious headache for Starmer if she wins the race…
Red Wall Labour backbencher Jonathan Brash told GB News that Starmer should resign:
“I’m completely fed up about it, and I think it’s got to the point now where I genuinely think that, as far as the Prime Minister is concerned, it’s not a case of if, it’s when.”
