Politics LIVE: Keir Starmer prepares Britain for direct MILITARY attack by Russia as ministers fear UK is unprepared and poorly defended
Labour is preparing for a direct military attack from Russia following concerns Britain is not ready for war. A request has been made to update a set of contingency plans that would put the UK on a war footing after threats of attack by the Kremlin.The Telegraph reports ministers are concerned British armed forces would not be able to cope against Russia and its allies, both on the battlefield and at home. A classified "homeland defence plan", which has not been updated since 2005, will lay down a strategy for the immediate response to any attack on Britain. Some of the moves reportedly include bunkers to protect the Cabinet and the Royal family, public service broadcasts and the stockpiling of resources. It comes as British troops reportedly are set to be moved on the ground to defend Ukraine, with Kremlin officials repeatedly making threats to the UK with a direct attack over its support for Ukraine. Sergei Shoigu, the ex-defence minister, said that Russia will not tolerate foreign boots on the ground in Ukraine.A Government spokesman told The Telegraph: "The UK has robust plans in place for a range of potential emergencies that have been developed and tested over many years."FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY…
RECAP: Labour rethinking controversial winter fuel payment cuts
Labour is rethinking its controversial winter fuel cuts amid Reform's roaring success at the polls last week.MPs have even started to fear that the party's stance on the payments could cost them the next election, The Guardian has claimed.Discussions reportedly had started since before last week's local elections which saw Labour losing ground to Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Sir Keir Starmer's top team is now searching for ways to calm simmering tensions as Labour MPs increasingly sound the alarm over the controversial move made shortly after the Labour leader was handed the keys to No10.It is claimed plans could include raising the £11,500 threshold when pensioners are no longer able to collect the payment, although a full U-turn is not expected.READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Nigel Farage's turquoise tidal wave boosted his 'People's Army' by 10,000 - but when will Reform overtake Labour?
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage during a visit to The Big Club in Newton Aycliffe, County DurhamPANigel Farage's Local Elections victory coincided with a 10,000-strong membership boost which could bring Reform UK a step closer to overtaking Labour, new GB News analysis has revealed.Reform UK now counts just over 230,000 Britons in its growing grassroots club, just 79,000 behind Labour's 309,000 signed-up support base.The figure is now around 100,000 more than Kemi Badenoch's grassroots Tory backers, a milestone that resulted in a Boxing Day bust-up last Christmas.READ THE FULL EXCLUSIVE ANALYSIS HERE.
Streeting tells GB News Labour is moving GPs 'in the right direction'
Wes Streeting said that new funding to upgrade one in six of England’s GP surgery buildings will "start moving general practice in the right direction."Speaking on GB News this morning, he said: "One of the messages we heard loud and clear from GPs is that the state of their buildings isn’t good enough. Often, the constraining factor isn’t just money, it’s also about where they’ve got the consultation rooms."What we’re announcing today is the funding just over £100 million to upgrade 1,000 GP practices across England, roughly one in six, and it means with the extra space created, we could deliver up to eight million extra GP appointments a year."So if you are one of those people that will be on the phone at eight o’clock this morning after the bank holiday, kind of screaming down the phone trying to get through with frustration – all of these things we are doing (will) start moving general practice in the right direction."I can’t solve all of the problems in general practice in one year, but whether it’s recruiting more GPs or upgrading their practices, this is how we fix the front door to the NHS so that people can get a GP appointment when they need one."
Wes Streeting speaks to GB News about Labour's response to the local election results
Health Secretary Wes Streeting spoke to GB News this morning about Labour's response to the local election resultsStreeting said he wanted to "reassure viewers" over their results last week, where the party had major losses to Reform UK. He said: "Voters have sent us a very loud and clear message."
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