“Keir Starmer was plunged deeper into crisis today after a disastrous by-election saw Labour routed by the Greens in one of its safest seats – and pushed into third place behind Reform. No10 is facing a fresh onslaught from the PM’s critics and massive pressure to lurch further Left following the worst possible result in Gorton & Denton. The Greens had never won a Parliamentary by-election – or a seat in the North – but Hannah Spencer romped home with a 4,400 majority. Jubilant leader Zack Polanski said it showed his party is on track to get 100 MPs at the general election. Despite flooding the area with ministers and 1,000 activists, Labour did not even have the consolation of second place with its candidate trailing in behind Reform’s Matt Goodwin. Nigel Farage complained of ‘cheating’ and Muslim ‘sectarianism’ after reports of so-called ‘family voting’ from independent observers – an illegal practice where people are escorted to polling booths. Downing Street is hoping Sir Keir can front up the catastrophic outcome by appearing in front of cameras later. Allies insisted he will survive at least until local elections in May, because rebels ‘don’t have anyone’ in a position to challenge. But there are already furious recriminations going on, after the premier blocked popular Manchester mayor Andy Burnham from being the candidate amid fears he would be a leadership rival in the Commons. Backbencher Karl Turner said it was the ‘worst result we could have expected’, insisting Mr Burnham would have won and calling for a more ‘socialist’ Labour. Brian Leishman said Sir Keir should ‘do the right thing… and go’.” – Daily Mail
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> Today:
“The lobbying company founded by Lord Mandelson discovered during an internal investigation that a “significant” tranche of his business emails was missing. Global Counsel conducted an internal audit of Mandelson’s company emails after the government agreed this month to release tens of thousands of messages relating to his time as the British ambassador to the US. The company was concerned about what would be published about its own business interests under the mass disclosure, and conducted the audit as part of a due diligence process. The investigation was still going on when the company went into administration last week but an initial report said that significant numbers of emails were missing from Mandelson’s account. The company does not know how the emails came to be missing. The emails that have been kept include a series of exchanges with senior officials and ministers in government, relating directly to Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador. They are said to include messages to David Lammy, then the foreign secretary, and Morgan McSweeney, then Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff. The overall cache of emails, which dates back nearly a decade, includes 1.4 million messages. Mandelson did not respond to requests for comment but it is known that he stopped being able to access his Global Counsel email address in February 2025, when he formally took up his role as ambassador.” – The Times
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“The assisted dying bill is on the verge of collapse, forcing campaigners to hatch a plot to revive it. The Terminally Ill Adults Bill is stalled in the House of Lords and widely expected not to become law. Dame Esther Rantzen, a high-profile supporter of the plan, accused the Lords on Thursday of “blatant sabotage” to try to collapse the bill. Now The Telegraph can reveal that, if the law collapses before the summer, around 50 pro-assisted-dying MPs will attempt to force it into law by all putting their names forward for private member’s bills… Putting forward dozens of private member’s bills on the same topic will increase the chances that one on assisted dying will be chosen in the ballot and MPs will be forced to debate it again. If they succeed and a bill on assisted dying is passed identical to the one that went through the Commons last year, MPs will be able to use the Parliament Act to circumvent the House of Lords and ensure it becomes law. In a historic vote last year, MPs voted to allow terminally ill adults with less than six months to live to seek medical assistance to end their lives. Legalising assisted dying in England and Wales has been one of the most controversial issues of this Parliament, with emotive debates from MPs on both sides in the House of Commons. The legislation has since become stuck in the House of Lords, after peers tabled more than a thousand amendments to the bill. There are just six weeks left to pass the legislation and mounting anger among MPs who voted to legalise assisted dying.” – Daily Telegraph
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