Carol Vorderman calls for apology from Sir Keir Starmer over winter fuel cut

Published

3 weeks ago

September 11, 2024

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Presenter and author Carol Vorderman has called on the prime minister to apologise over cutting winter fuel payments for pensioners.

The controversial policy was approved by parliament today, despite a number of Labour MPs abstaining from the vote, with ministers saying “tough decisions” were needed to fix the public finances.

But it was widely criticised by opposition MPs and campaigners, who warned the move would leave millions of pensioners worrying over how to make ends meet.

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Speaking to Sky News’ Politics Hub show with Sophy Ridge, Vorderman said Labour’s decision to pursue the cut was “astonishing”.

Asked by Sophy what Sir Keir Starmer should now do, she said: “I think he should apologise. I absolutely do.”

The broadcaster, famed for her stint on Channel 4 gameshow Countdown, has become more vocal about her politics in recent years, and in the run-up to July’s general election gave her backing to a tactical voting website designed to “stop the Tories”.

She said: “I was following intently the build-up to the election and we had just under two million postcodes typed in [to the website]… we know it had an influence.

“And millions of people loaned their vote to Labour in the belief that finally this gross inequality that has grown over the last 14 years would be diminished somewhat.

“And then this [cutting the winter fuel allowance] is the first thing.”

Vorderman said she understood why ministers would want to take the payment – worth up to £300 – from wealthy pensioners who got the money regardless of their income.

“I’ll be one of those in two years time”, she added. ” So I wouldn’t need the winter fuel allowance payment.

“But to go from 12 million to less than two million pensioners receiving it is just way too low.

“And I’m shocked by it, because they could raise that money in so many other ways.”

Asked by Sophy if she believed the government had “duped” the public ahead of them getting into power, she said: “I do, I really do. And I am shocked because, even extracting the fact that many pensioners will be suffering because of it… it is unbelievable that this new Labour government the first thing they do is that?

“It is not, I don’t believe, what they were voted in to do, it is quite astonishing really.”

When this was put to Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones, he told Sophy: “We had a mandate [at the election] to get a grip of the public finances, and what we didn’t know in opposition – what the public didn’t know – was that the Conservatives had hidden the facts that there was £22bn of bills coming this year they’d put no money aside for.

“That’s the running of our health service, our GP services, our schools, our police. It is our responsibility, because we are trusted on the economy, with people’s money, to be able to find the money to pay those bills, to keep our public services running to order.

“That’s about resetting the budget so that at the Labour Budget on 30 October, we can start to invest in fixing the foundations and then start to deliver on our manifesto to rebuild Britain.”

The full interview will air on Sky News’ Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge tonight at 7pm.

UK

Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield quits Labour – criticising Sir Keir Starmer in resignation letter

Published

14 hours ago

September 28, 2024

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Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield quits Labour - criticising Sir Keir Starmer in resignation letter

Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party.

The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts.

She told Sir Keir Starmer the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you seem determined to stick to”, despite their unpopularity with the electorate and MPs.

In her letter she accused the prime minister and his top team of “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice” which are “off the scale”.

“I’m so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party,” she said.

Sir Keir has faced backlash after a Sky News report revealed he had received substantially more freebies than any other MP since becoming Labour leader.

Since December 2019, the prime minister received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.

Ms Duffield, who has previously clashed with the prime minister on gender issues, attacked the government for pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies as she resigned the Labour whip.

She criticised the decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test the winter fuel payment, and accused the prime minister of “hypocrisy” over his acceptance of free gifts from donors.

“Since the change of government in July, the revelations of hypocrisy have been staggering and increasingly outrageous,” she said.

“I cannot put into words how angry I and my colleagues are at your total lack of understanding about how you have made us all appear.”

Ms Duffield also mentioned the recent “treatment of Diane Abbott”, who said she thought she had been barred from standing by Labour ahead of the general election, before Sir Keir said she would be allowed to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat for the party.

Her relationship with the Labour leadership has long been strained and her decision to quit the party comes after seven other Labour MPs were suspended for rebelling by voting for a motion calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.

“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp – this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister,” she said.

Ms Duffield said she will continue to represent her constituents as an independent MP, “guided by my core Labour values”.

UK

King Charles hails ‘uniquely special’ Scotland as it marks Holyrood milestone – before being hugged by woman

Published

14 hours ago

September 28, 2024

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King Charles hails 'uniquely special' Scotland as it marks Holyrood milestone - before being hugged by woman

The King has paid tribute to Scotland as a “uniquely special place” for the Royal Family as he marked the 25th anniversary of the Scottish parliament.

At the ceremony to commemorate a quarter of a century since parliament opened at Holyrood, the King said: “Speaking from a personal perspective, Scotland has always had a uniquely special place in the hearts of my family and myself.

“My beloved grandmother was proudly Scottish, my late mother especially treasured the time spent at Balmoral, and it was there in the most beloved of places, where she chose to spend her final days.”

He said we are all “united by our love of Scotland”, paying tribute to its “natural beauty”, “strength of character”, “diversity of its people”, “passions and frequently deeply held beliefs”.

“From the central belt to the north Highlands, across the islands in Ayrshire, in the Borders, the cities, towns and villages, all the coastal communities, who I wonder, could not fail to be moved by this complex Caledonian kaleidoscope?,” he asked as presiding officer Alison Johnstone and the Queen sat beside him.

After he gave the speech, the King was hugged by a member of the public – who said she did so “because of him being unwell”.

The 75-year-old was diagnosed with cancer in February but has since returned to public duties.

Yvonne Macmillan, 59, from East Renfrewshire, attended the anniversary ceremony with her husband Russell who is registered blind and chosen as a “local hero” for work in their area.

“I asked him if he was feeling better and if I could give him a hug. I actually said to him: ‘Can I hug you?’,” she said.

“As I hugged him I said, ‘God bless you’, so it was like God giving him a hug.”

While Sir Tony Blair’s Labour government legislated for Scottish devolution in 1997 – parliament officially opened at Holyrood on 1 July 1999.

The King has made six visits to the parliament since 1999 – while his mother Queen Elizabeth II made 10 visits during her lifetime.

Scottish First Minister John Swinney is one of a number of MSPs who have been at Holyrood since the start of devolution.

He said in his own speech in Edinburgh on Saturday that the parliament has “placed itself at the very heart of the nation”, describing it as a “vessel of enlightenment, invention and creativity”.

The SNP’s Christine Grahame is another MSP who has been there since the start.

“Free tuition, free prescriptions, game-changing policies to tackle child poverty, the ban on smoking, the baby box, ScotRail back in public ownership – none of this would have been possible without the Scottish parliament and the strength of our commitment to self-determination,” she said on Saturday.

The King said the devolved parliament has the ability to “touch and to improve the lives of so many individuals”.

But he added that “there remains much more to be done” for Scotland, the rest of the UK, particularly with regards to climate change.

“Let this moment therefore be the beginning of the next chapter,” he told those assembled.

“The achievement of the past and the commitment shown in the present give us the soundest basis for confidence in the future.”

UK

Phone thief caught red-handed hours after snatching device from woman’s hand in Croydon

Published

14 hours ago

September 28, 2024

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Phone thief caught red-handed hours after snatching device from woman's hand in Croydon

A moped riding phone thief was caught red-handed after police tracked the device down hours after he snatched it from a woman’s hand.

CCTV footage released by police showed a masked moped rider mount the pavement in Croydon, south London, to swipe a phone from a woman’s hand on 6 March, while another victim had theirs stolen while they waited for a bus an hour later.

Amari Scott, 20, looked surprised when confronted by officers inside a shop, where he was found with two mobile phones.

“We’ve just had a moped rob a mobile phone off the pavement and the phone is pinging in this location,” one of the officers told him in body-worn camera footage before Scott was handcuffed and led away.

Police also recovered a stolen motorbike and Scott, from Sutton, south London, was later jailed for four years.

Two teenagers who committed four robberies in the space of just half an hour were also arrested as part of a crackdown in Croydon.

Aged 16 and 17, the teens were issued with referral orders after pleading guilty to charges of robbery, attempted robbery and attempted grievous bodily harm.

They were behind a spree of eight robberies across Croydon and nearby Bromley, including four within 30 minutes on the morning of 5 August.

Their crimes, which included the knife point robbery of a rough sleeper outside Croydon library, were caught on CCTV.

One of the teenagers tried to discard a knife before she was arrested after a foot chase, telling officers: “The knife wasn’t mine”.

The other ran away, leaving a knife and his bag, but was lying in bed at home when he was arrested shortly after.

The Metropolitan Police said officers are intensifying efforts to tackle robbery and theft, encouraging victims to report incidents as they happen to increase the chances of catching the criminals.

Chief Inspector James Weston said: “We understand the impact that robbery has on victims – it is invasive and frightening.

“That’s why our teams are working so hard to deter and catch offenders to reassure our local community.

“Thanks to the hard work of officers, our partners and community grassroots organisations, we are stepping up our efforts and tackling the issues that matter most to the people of Croydon.”