Keir Starmer faces criticism as Labour stands by Rochdale by-election candidate after Gaza remarks - latest

Britain’s security minister has refused to condemn Donald Trump after the former president said he would let Russia “do whatever the hell they want” to countries that are “delinquent”.

At a rally in South Carolina on Saturday, Mr Trump recounted telling the president of one Nato country that he would “encourage” Russia to do as it wishes to members who failed to meet the alliance’s defence spending targets.

Asked about the Republican frontrunner’s comments, Tom Tugendhat said: “You’re asking me to comment on the campaigning words of a democracy.

“I’m always really cautious about entering into that for the very simple reason that my job is to keep the British people safe.”

He added: “We all have a responsibility to make sure that we deter our enemies and protect our friends.”

Security minister Tom Tugendhat appeared to confirm he has not been out campaigning in Kingswood in the run-up to the by-election.

Asked whether he had visited the South Gloucestershire constituency, he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I’ve been campaigning across the country.”

Pressed on whether he had campaigned in Kingswood, he said: “Kingswood is a long way away.”

It was put to him that this may “tell us something”, to which he replied: “It tells you that I’ve been speaking at different events across the country. I’ve been supporting people in different areas.”

Labour’s candidate for the upcoming Rochdale by-election has sparked anger after reportedly saying Israel had been warned about the 7 October attack and allowed it to happen.

The Labour Party has since issued a statement on behalf of Mr Azhar Ali after the Mail on Sunday published his comments, which were taken from a recording before the Lancashire Labour party.

Mr Ali apologised for the claims, stating: “I apologise unreservedly to the Jewish community for my comments which were deeply offensive, ignorant, and false.”

Read the full article here from Zoe Grunewald:

Official figures on Thursday will show whether the UK slipped into recession.

Mr Sunak promised to grow the economy, but if the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) gross domestic product data for the final three months of last year shows a contraction, it means the UK was in a recession after two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

ONS inflation statistics for January could show a small uptick, in what would be a blow to his goal of curbing price rises.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott told the Sunday Times: “There will be bumps in the road and on Wednesday we can expect inflation to slightly increase when data for January is published.”

Rishi Sunak’s proposed Rwanda asylum law is “fundamentally incompatible” with the UK’s human rights obligations and would flout international law, MPs and peers have warned.

Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights said the government’s Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill “risks untold damage” to the UK’s hard-won reputation as a proponent of human rights internationally.

The controversial draft legislation and a treaty with Rwanda are intended to prevent further legal challenges to the stalled deportation scheme after a Supreme Court ruling against the plan.

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Over the past weeks, Rishi Sunak has faced mounting pressure from his party. Warnings have been sounded from within and outside of his party about the Conservatives’ electoral prospects. Rival factions have launched a concerted effort to push the prime minister towards a rightward shift, while the Labour Party holds a strong 20-point lead.

But while opinion polls and Conservative naval-gazing provide insights, they remain speculative until tested. Over the next few weeks, a handful of by-elections will provide a more substantial understanding of how each of the parties are faring in the electorate’s estimations.

By-elections are complex, and their outcomes are often influenced by a myriad of local factors. But the results are still likely to pile pressure on the two main parties as they become testing grounds for the popularity of their policies and leaders.

Zoe Grunewald writes:

The Prime Minister insisted the economy “has turned a corner” despite the prospect that a technical recession could be announced by the end of the week.

Speaking to reporters in Harrogate, Rishi Sunak acknowledged that recent years had been “undoubtedly difficult”, but added: “At the start of this year I really believe the economy has turned a corner and we are heading in the right direction.

“You can see inflation has come down from 11% to 4%, mortgage rates are starting to come down, wages have been rising consistently now.”

Mr Sunak added that the cut in national insurance at the start of the year “shows that the plan is working”, but declined to say whether entering a technical recession would affect the possibility of further tax cuts.

Labour will beat the Tories in the most 100 rural constituencies in England, according to a shock new poll.

The poll found Conservative support had fallen by 25 points since the 2019 election, with just 34 per cent of voters in the 100 most rural constituencies in England saying they would vote for the party.

The Conservatives currently hold 96 of the 100 most rural seats, but now face losing more than half to Labour and the Lib Dems, including those of senior Tories Jacob Rees-Mogg, Jeremy Hunt, Thérèse Coffey, Andrea Leadsom, Mel Stride, Mark Harper and Liam Fox.

Read the full article from Zoe Grunewald and Christopher McKeon here:

It is “no great secret” that the Government is going through a “really challenging time”, Tom Tugendhat has said.

The security minister insisted that government is about taking “difficult decisions” and making “sure we’re delivering”, when asked about speculation over the prospect of a recession.

Mr Tugendhat told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “The reality is this is a really challenging time for the Government. There’s no great secret in that. But what is also true is that there’s an awful lot that we’ve got to do to make sure we’re looking after the British people.

“The whole point about government is to take difficult decisions and to make sure we’re delivering, and that’s why the priorities the Prime Minister set out, including bringing down inflation and supporting growth, are so important.”

Labour’s Rochdale by-election candidate, Azhar Ali, fell for an antisemitic “online conspiracy theory” but is not an antisemite, a shadow minister has said.

Nick Thomas-Symonds told LBC that Mr Ali’s remarks about Israel’s knowledge of October 7 was a “totally unacceptable online conspiracy theory”.,

He said: “The conspiracy theory is one of a range of antisemitic conspiracy theories, nobody is shying away from that. He is saying – and I take this at entirely at face value – that he fell for an online conspiracy theory.”

He added that the Rochdale candidate is not antisemitic and still has Labour’s support: “I don’t believe he is antisemitic and that’s why we continue to support him.

“He is someone that very respected colleagues have known over decades… point to his record of standing up against antisemitism, therefore it is out of character.”