A day out with Labour MP Zarah Sultana reveals how she constantly has to think about her safety
Zarah Sultana starts every event she attends the same way.
She has to log the date, location and time into a little mechanical device at each destination so security teams know where she is.
That way, if any danger were to occur, her colleagues and the parliamentary authorities can send support as quickly as possible.
She’s the Labour MP for Coventry South and the youngest Muslim MP ever elected in this country and believes this is partly the reason why this year – according to parliament’s own records – she’s the most at-risk MP online.
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Since the 7 October attacks by Hamas on Israel, there has been a noticeable uptick in the hatred and abuse she receives online and she says, ever since she has started talking about Palestinian rights, the abuse has come thick and fast.
Often when talking about abuse, out of politeness, we risk sanitising the words that people direct towards her. So I cautiously ask her whether she would mind being open about what life is like for her on an average day.
She candidly whips out her phone and rattles off some of the types of abuse she has to deal with.
“‘You should be deported b***h,” the first one reads.
“Go home to Pakistan,” another abuser writes.
Ms Sultana speaks into a device to let security teams know where she is
The last one before I stop her is the most shocking – it simply says: “Send that b***h to Palestine they are low on targets.”
I ask her why then she’s on social media at all. She insists it’s a crucial part of the job and it’s the most effective way to communicate with constituents as a young MP.
I’m accompanying her over 24 hours to see how these threats have impacted her, but in the process I’m amazed at how many security decisions she’s constantly making. She avoids public transport when she can, she’s thinking of any exits of every building she walks into in case of threats, and she is never alone on visits.
Out door-knocking with her and her team I casually mention that this is perhaps the most exposing part of being an MP.
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The Labour MP has acknowledged there is a risk when it comes to door-knocking
It involves knocking on strangers’ doors to ask for their vote. She accepts it’s part of the job but acknowledges the risks and says there have been times where she’s not been completely sure she was on solid ground in terms of her safety.
But she doesn’t want to let that get in the way of being an MP.
MP safety is a live issue and members’ duties have become more risky for members under threat.
Two MPs who were killed in their constituencies cast a long shadow.
Ms Sultana speaks at a refugee wellbeing centre in her constituency
Jo Cox was brutally murdered in 2016 and Sir David Amess was fatally stabbed five years later.
The risks are very real to sitting members of the House of Commons and for some MPs they see that risk as too high.
Mike Freer, a Conservative MP whose office was targeted in an arson attack on Christmas Eve last year, said he would be standing down at the next election, citing safety concerns as the reason.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak railed against “extremist forces trying to tear us apart” during a Downing Street address to the nation just over a week ago.
Parliamentary authorities say that safety is fundamental to democracy and offer a range of security measures for members.
More at risk MPs are entitled to more offerings and the security minister has said private cars have been given to some female MPs significantly at risk.
Ms Sultana is now upping her security – something needed even more as she starts campaigning to keep her seat in Coventry South.
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Row over how many farms will be affected by inheritance tax policy – as PM doubles down ahead of farmers protest
Sir Keir Starmer has insisted the “vast majority of farmers” will not be affected by changes to Inheritance Tax (IHT) ahead of a protest outside parliament on Tuesday.
It follows Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing a 20% inheritance tax that will apply to farms worth more than £1m from April 2026, where they were previously exempt.
But the prime minister looked to quell fears as he resisted calls to change course.
Speaking from the G20 summit in Brazil, he said: “If you take a typical case of a couple wanting to pass a family farm down to one of their children, which would be a very typical example, with all of the thresholds in place, that’s £3m before any inheritance tax is paid.”
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The comments come as thousands of farmers, including celebrity farmer Jeremy Clarkson, are due to descend on Whitehall on Tuesday to protest the change.
And 1,800 more will take part in a “mass lobby” where members of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) will meet their MPs in parliament to urge them to ask Ms Reeves to reconsider the policy.
Speaking to broadcasters, Sir Keir insisted the government is supportive of farmers, pointing to a £5bn investment announced for them in the budget.
He said: “I’m confident that the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected at all by that aspect of the budget.
“They will be affected by the £5bn that we’re putting into farming. And I’m very happy to work with farmers on that.”
Sir Keir’s spokesman made a similar argument earlier on Monday, saying the government expects 73% of farms to not be affected by the change.
Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs Secretary Steve Reed said only about 500 out of the UK’s 209,000 farms would be affected, according to Treasury calculations.
However, that number has been questioned by several farming groups and the Conservatives.
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The NFU said the real number is about two-thirds, with its president Tom Bradshaw calling the government’s figures “misleading” and accusing it of not understanding the sector.
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) said the policy could affect 70,000 farms.
Conservative shadow farming minister Robbie Moore accused the government last week of “regurgitating” figures that represent “past claimants of agricultural property relief, not combined with business property relief” because he said the Treasury does not have that data.
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Agricultural property relief (APR) currently provides farmers 100% relief from paying inheritance tax on agricultural land or pasture used for rearing livestock or fish, and can include woodland and buildings, such as farmhouses, if they are necessary for that land to function.
Farmers can also claim business property relief (BPR), providing 50% or 100% relief on assets used by a trading business, which for farmers could include land, buildings, plant or machinery used by the business, farm shops and holiday cottages.
APR and BPR can often apply to the same asset, especially farmed land, but APR should be the priority, however BPR can be claimed in addition if APR does not cover the full value (e.g. if the land has development value above its agricultural value).
APR and BPR can apply to farmland, which the Conservatives say has been overlooked by the Treasury in compiling its impact figures. File pic: iStock
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Mr Moore said the Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Treasury have disagreed on how many farms will be impacted “by as much as 40%” due to the lack of data on farmers using BPR.
Lib Dem MP Tim Farron said last week1,400 farmers in Cumbria, where he is an MP, will be affected and will not be able to afford to pay the tax as many are on less than the minimum wage despite being asset rich.
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Cabinet split over assisted dying as Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson latest to reveal she will vote against bill
A split is emerging in the cabinet, with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson revealing she will join several of her colleagues and vote against the bill to legalise assisted dying.
Ms Phillipson told Sky News she will vote against the proposed legislation at the end of this month, which would give terminally ill people with six months to live the option to end their lives.
She voted against assisted dying in 2015 and said: “I haven’t changed my mind.
“I continue to think about this deeply. But my position hasn’t changed since 2015.”
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MPs will be given a free vote on the bill, so they will not be told how to vote by their party.
The topic has seen a split in the cabinet – however, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has yet to reveal how he will vote on 29 November.
Ms Phillipson joins some other big names who have publicly said they are voting against the bill
These include Deputy PM Angela Rayner, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
Border security minister Angela Eagle is also voting against the bill.
Senior cabinet members voting in favour of assisted dying include Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Science Secretary Peter Kyle, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh and Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens.
The split over the issue is said to be causing friction within government, with Sir Keir rebuking the health secretary for repeatedly saying he is against the bill and for ordering officials to review the costs of implementing any changes in the law.
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Health Secretary Wes Streeting has called for a cost report into assisted dying. Pic: PA
Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates has been told Morgan McSweeney, the PM’s chief of staff, is concerned about the politics of the bill passing.
He is understood to be worried the issue will dominate the agenda next year and, while he is not taking a view on the bill, he can see it taking over the national conversation and distracting from core government priorities like the economy and borders.
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Details of the bill were published last week and include people wanting to end their life having to self-administer the medicine.
It would only be allowed for terminally ill people who have been given six months to live.
Two independent doctors would have to confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge would have to give their approval before it could go ahead.
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