“Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has arrived in Israel where he is expected to press for humanitarian aid to be delivered to Gaza as soon as possible. His visit comes right after President Biden’s as world leaders step up efforts to prevent the conflict with Hamas spilling into the wider region. Mr Sunak is due to meet Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday before visiting other regional capitals. He will offer his condolences for the civilians killed so far during the war. There had been reports earlier this week that Mr Sunak was planning his first trip to Israel, but he would not confirm his travel arrangements until Wednesday evening. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will meet leaders in Egypt, Turkey and Qatar in the coming days to seek support for a peaceful resolution in Israel and Gaza.” – BBC News
“Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has won private backing from President Biden to press ahead with a ground invasion of Gaza, according to accounts of closed-door meetings between the two men. On a visit to Israel, Biden told Netanyahu he remained “fully in support” of Israel’s plans to launch an incursion in order to “eradicate Hamas”, despite continuing outrage at Tuesday night’s explosion at a hospital in Gaza which killed hundreds of civilians. The hospital explosion led to protests across the Middle East and heightened threats of a broader conflagration should Israel step up its war on Gaza. The US has now backed accounts by the Israel defence forces (IDF), which blamed the blast on a rocket fired by Hamas’s ally in Gaza, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group.” – The Times
“The King has asked Britain to draw from its “deep wells” of shared values during a speech at Mansion House. The address, which was delivered to the lord mayor of London and the City of London Corporation on Wednesday, discussed the many symbolic “wells” shared within British society including “civility and tolerance”, the space “to think and speak freely” and a “duty of care … for others in sickness or misfortune”. Among these “wells”, Charles emphasised the importance of maintaining a sense of humour, saying: “Our ability to laugh at ourselves is one of our great national characteristics. Just as well, you may say, given some of the vicissitudes I have faced with frustratingly failing fountain pens this past year!” – The Times
“Keir Starmer has written to Labour councillors expressing his sympathy for innocent Palestinian and Israeli people amid warnings that dozens could resign over the party’s stance on the conflict. Several councillors have resigned since last week, and at least 20 more are braced to quit the party over the leadership’s “unwillingness to show value to the humanity of Palestinian lives”, the Guardian understands. The Labour leader prompted fury after he said Israel had “the right” to withhold water and power from Palestinians, on the final day of the party conference last week. In the same interview Starmer told LBC “obviously everything should be done within international law”. – The Guardian
“The Conservatives hope voters have forgotten the scandals of Chris Pincher and Nadine Dorries as they go to the polls today in two by-elections. As the Tories face tests in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire, Greg Hands, the party chairman, told The Times: “Governments don’t win by-elections.” Hands suggested voters might have forgotten the scandals that prompted the by-elections and were focusing on the candidates when they cast their vote. But he admitted neither poll was held against “the greatest backdrop”. Pincher resigned as MP for Tamworth after the parliamentary standards committee found he groped two men in the Carlton Club in London. In Mid Bedfordshire, Dorries stood down two months after she was denied a peerage.” – The Times
“Rishi Sunak will press ahead with plans to ban conversion therapy, including for transgender people, after a backlash from Conservative MPs and warnings that ministers could quit. The prime minister will include a draft bill in the King’s Speech which will ban attempts to change someone’s sexuality and gender identity in England and Wales. It will make doing so a criminal offence. Sunak had been considering dropping the bill amid claims of “unintended consequences” for teachers, parents and therapists helping children who are struggling with their gender identity. Some Tory MPs have warned that they could effectively be criminalised. However, Simon Hart, the chief whip, warned that the government could face a revolt if it failed to go ahead with the ban.” – The Times
“Sir Keir Starmer has won the backing of one of the world’s most influential financiers, who said Labour now offered a “measurement of hope” in political leadership. Larry Fink, the chairman and CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, told the Wall Street Journal that Starmer had shown “real strength” in bringing Labour back to the centre ground of British politics after Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. He suggested that Labour’s transformation under Starmer could be a sign that the pendulum of global politics had swung back to the centre ground after the populism of Brexit, Corbyn and Donald Trump.” – The Times
“A “hostile” anti-vaccines campaigner has been found guilty of stalking Sir Gavin Williamson, the former education secretary, in Whitehall. Simon Parry was alleged to have “persistently followed” Williamson, the Conservative MP for South Staffordshire, on May 24 and June 14. The Tory MP told the City of London magistrates’ court that he felt “incredibly threatened” by Parry, 45, of no fixed abode. Parry attended court with Piers Corbyn, 76, the anti-vaccines campaigner and brother of Jeremy, the former Labour leader. Parry was convicted of one charge of stalking. A charge of impersonating a police officer was dropped.” – The Times
“David Cameron is facing criticism for promoting a Chinese-funded port city in Sri Lanka amid concerns that it will give Beijing a significant foothold in the Indo-Pacific. Politico revealed that the former prime minister flew to the Middle East in late September to speak at two investment events for Port City Colombo, having visited the site in person this year. The city is a major part of President Xi’s Belt and Road initiative, China’s global infrastructure strategy, and has been billed as the Chinese-funded rival to Singapore. Dilum Amunugama, Sri Lanka’s investment minister, told Politico that he believed Cameron was enlisted at the request of the Chinese company involved in the development. Cameron spoke at two events, one in Abu Dhabi with an audience of 100, and one in Dubai with an audience of 300.” – The Times
“The Conservatives and Labour both lack a serious plan to rescue family doctors from an “existential crisis”, the head of Britain’s GPs warns. The Royal College of GPs will tomorrow accuse both major parties of relying on arbitrary waiting targets without any means of making them happen, as it demands billions of pounds be clawed back from hospitals and pumped into local surgeries. At the college’s annual conference, GPs leaders will call for a “black alert” system that would allow surgeries to turn away less urgent patients when they are overwhelmed.” – The Times