Labour now projected to win more than 400 seats in new blow for Sunak
43 minutes ago
The Tories are on course for their worst result at a general election since John Major’s 1997 defeat, as a new poll has Labour sweeping into power with more than 400 seats.
The latest YouGov polling found Labour would win 403 seats from across the UK, leading to a 154-seat majority in the House of Commons.
The Conservatives would win just 155 seats, down from the 365 seats they won at the 2019 general election.
The analysis, which uses the multi-level regression and poststratification (MRP) method of polling, found that prominent Tory figures including Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg would be on course to lose their seats.
According to the pollsters, Rishi Sunak is heading for a worse result than John Major’s 1997 defeat, when the then-Tory leader won a total of 165 seats.
Santander UK, Britain’s fifth-biggest high street bank, is cancelling its membership of a key lending standards body because of the duplication of regulatory standards to which the industry is required to adhere.
Sky News has learnt that the Spanish-owned bank served notice last week of its intention to quit the Lending Standards Board, citing the establishment of the City watchdog's Consumer Duty and the imminent implementation of new fraud reimbursement rules overseen by the Payment Systems Regulator.
In its letter to the LSB, Santander UK said the new regulatory frameworks would "supersede the existing voluntary industry standards that are set out in the current LSB codes".
"This inevitably leads to duplicative regulation and can create confusion among staff and customers about which standards apply."
The bank added that withdrawing from the LSB would "mean more certainty and confidence over the regulatory landscape. Reducing duplicated effort, thereby enabling us to concentrate resources on other important customer and regulatory priorities".
King Charles comes face to face with new banknotes
5 hours ago
King Charles came face to face with his own face on the new banknotes which will go into circulation in June.
At Buckingham Palace, the King was presented with the first of the new £5, £10, £20 and £50 banknotes which will show his portrait.
It follows the tradition of the monarch receiving the first issues of new banknotes.
The existing banknotes, from the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, will continue to be used alongside the new notes.
King Charles has not been taking part in big public engagements since his cancer diagnosis, but has continued his participation in private events, such as this meeting where he was shown the banknotes by Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England.
Winnersh Film Studios enters administration after 2023 strikes
13 hours ago
Film studios that have been a popular location for Hollywood blockbusters have gone into administration.
Winnersh Film Studios cited "cashflow problems" linked to the 2023 writers and actors strikes in the US as the culprit for its financial woes.
Consultancy firm Interpath Advisory has been appointed as administrator of Winnersh Film Studios Limited and its parent company Stage Fifty.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was partly filmed at the studios.
Interpath said the companies would "continue to run as normal" for now, with lenders saying they were "committed" to keeping the Berkshire-based studios running.
William Wragg resigns Tory whip after Westminster sexting scandal
1 hour ago
Senior MP William Wragg has resigned the Conservative whip after he admitted giving politicians’ phone numbers to a suspected scammer.
The party’s whips office said he was “voluntarily relinquishing the Conservative whip” after he had already stepped back from his roles as vice-chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee and chairman of the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.
The Hazel Grove MP had previously announced his intention to leave Parliament at the next election and will now sit as an Independent.
Mr Wragg admitted last week that he had given colleagues’ phone numbers to someone on a dating app amid fears that intimate images of himself would be leaked after he was targeted in a parliamentary sexting scam.
Scotland Yard has said it is investigating reports of the so-called “honey trap” scam after it was suggested that at least 12 men in political circles received unsolicited messages, raising security concerns.
Keir Starmer: Labour commitment to nuclear weapons unshakeable
1 hour ago
Sir Keir Starmer has said his commitment to the UK's nuclear weapons is "unshakeable" and "absolute".
Writing in the Daily Mail, he described the creation of the NHS and an independent British nuclear programme as "towering achievements" of the Labour government elected in 1945.
The Labour leader has also said he wants to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP "as soon as resources allow".
The government plans to spend 2.3% of GDP on defence this year.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has also said he wants the figure to rise to 2.5% "as soon as economic conditions allow," but neither party has set out a timeline for this to happen.
Angela Rayner says she will 'step down' if she is found to have committed a crime
Friday 12 April 2024 18:53, UK
Angela Rayner has said she will "do the right thing and step down" if she is found to have committed a crime in the police investigation into her former living arrangements.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed earlier today that it was re-examining claims the deputy Labour leader may have broken electoral law over information she gave about her living situation a decade ago.
GMP made the decision after Tory MP James Daly informed the force of claims made by neighbours that allegedly contradicted the Labour deputy leader's statement that her property on Vicarage Road, Stockport, was her main residence and not her husband's - as some have claimed.
According to electoral law, it is an offence to knowingly provide false information in a voter registration application form.
Ms Rayner has repeatedly said that her house on Vicarage Road was her main address and not Lowndes Lane, the home owned by her then-husband Mark Rayner.
Political ads could be heading to UK TV screens due to legal loophole
Sun 14 Apr 2024 11.30 BST
Some viewers are already irritated by the adverts interrupting shows on the ITV catchup service. But they could soon yearn for the halcyon days of shampoo or insurance commercials after being presented with the faces of Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer.
ITV is considering taking paid ads from political parties for the first time during the upcoming general election thanks to a loophole in broadcasting law.
The broadcaster told the Guardian it was considering whether to allow political parties to buy space on its ITVX streaming platform. This could leave viewers having Love Island or Saturday Night Takeaway broken up by a lecture on the economy.
Ever since commercial television began in 1954, British political parties have been banned by law from buying television adverts. The idea was that this improved the quality of public debate and stopped wealthy political parties buying their way into voters’ homes – ensuring the UK has avoided the political attack ads that are prevalent during American elections.
But the ban – last updated in 2003 – only applies to traditional television channels and not to streaming television delivered over the internet. With audiences increasingly switching off traditional broadcast channels, the UK’s big political parties are preparing to take advantage of the loophole and pay millions of pounds to insert themselves into living rooms.
Plans to stop young people born since 2009 ever smoking are to be debated and voted on later.
Rishi Sunak's bill aims to create the UK's first smoke-free generation in a major public health intervention.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill would ensure anyone turning 15 from this year would be banned from buying cigarettes, and also aims to make vapes less appealing to children.
A number of Tory MPs have told the BBC they won't back the bill.
Conservative MPs will get a free vote on it so they won't be ordered to vote with the government, but the bill is likely to pass as it has Labour support.
UK set to grow less than expected this year as IMF revises forecasts down
Tuesday 16 April 2024 14:10, UK
The UK economy is going to grow less than expected this year - with the International Monetary Fund warning the country will remain the second worst performer in the G7.
Newly revised forecasts indicate the UK's gross domestic product will expand by just 0.5% in 2024 - a slight downgrade from previous estimates in January - compared with global growth of 3.2%.
However, UK GDP is tipped to increase by 1.5% in 2025 - making it the third-best performer among G7 nations - as households recover following a prolonged cost of living crisis.
According to the IMF, inflation in the British economy will remain at about 2.5% for the rest of this year but fall towards the Bank of England's target of 2% next year.
When looked at per head - with output split across the UK's population - GDP flatlines, with no growth at all for 2024 and 1.1% in 2025.
