Politics LIVE: Mauritius accuses Britain of 'playing politics' over delay to Chagos handover

Lawmakers in Mauritius have accused Britain of "playing politics" after a delay to Sir Keir Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal.

An amendment was submitted by Tory peer Lord Martin Callanan to make the Government consult the Chagossians before going ahead.

Now, Mauritius has hit back suggesting the amendment "puts a stop to legislative debate" as ministers were forced to pause legislation to fully ratify the deal.

Mauritian Attorney General Gavin Glover who is leading talks for Port Louis, said: "A handful of people are playing a completely political game."

A Mauritian delegation, led by Mr Glover, was expected to travel to London on Nov 17 to finalise the deal, paving the way for the return of sovereignty after six decades of British control.

This delay to the proceedings means the visit could potentially be postponed.

The deal has been slammed by the Conservatives and Reform UK, who have described it as a "surrender" agreement.

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WATCH: Mark White delivers verdict as sex offender rearrested 6 days after accidental release

Labour to build thousands of social houses to tackle rise of Reform

Labour is set to build thousands of social homes in "Red Wall" areas as it looks to fight off the threat from Reform.

The Government will give regional mayors in heartlands such as Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and the North East a "record investment" of £7bn to build new social housing.

Stark warning for Rachel Reeves as 'hugely unpopular' Budget reforms could hurt retirement savings

Analysts are giving Chancellor Rachel Reeves a stark warning and telling her to avoid four major reforms to the pension system which could hurt savers in the Autumn Budget on November 26, 2025.

Speculation is rife in the weeks leading up to the fiscal statement with the Treasury understood to be considering income tax hikes, a cut to National Insurance and other changes to balance the books.

PensionBee has voiced alarm over potential pension reforms in the forthcoming Autumn Budget, cautioning that speculated changes could undermine retirement savings efforts across the UK.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

WATCH: Steve Reed tells Ellie Costello 'do NOT interrupt me' during heated grilling on mistakenly freed prisoners

Housing Secretary Steve Reed came under fire during a tense GB News interview with presenters Stephen Dixon and Ellie Costello over mistaken prisoner releases.

The row came as it emerged earlier this week that two inmates were accidentally freed from HMP Wandsworth in London within the space of a week, although one criminal has now handed himself in.

Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian sex offender, is still being hunted by police, but William 'Billy' Smith has returned to his cell after a four-day manhunt.

Conservative council leader quits to join Reform in bombshell defection

The leader of the Conservatives in Stoke-on-Trent has quit Kemi Badenoch's party to join Reform UK in a bombshell defection.

Daniel Jellyman has been on Stoke-on-Trent City Council since 2015 and represents the Hanford, Newstead and Trentham ward.

Mr Jellyman said: "It’s the right moment to join a party that puts family, community, and country first, priorities too often forgotten by successive Labour and Conservative governments.

"Our country is clearly struggling. As a councillor for over a decade, I’ve fought to deliver real, transformative change for our city, but time and again I've been hampered by a system in which crucial decisions are made by unelected, out-of-touch bureaucrats.

"Neither the Conservative nor the Labour Party has the mettle to deliver the radical change we need to restore pride in our city and our country.

"Both are held back by outdated thinking and an arrogance that assumes only they should govern, and that only their decades-old ideas can solve today’s problems.

"A new approach is needed to fix our city and our country, and I believe only Reform UK offers that."

Councillor Jellyman joins Luke Shenton, who represents the Birches Head and Northwood ward, as the second Reform councillor in Stoke-on-Trent.

A Reform UK spokesman said: "We’re delighted to have Daniel on board. We welcome anyone who shares our vision for integrity, accountability, and meaningful change to join us."

Boris Johnson demands Tim Davie either 'explain or resign'

Boris Johnson has demanded the BBC director-general Tim Davie to "explain or resign" as the bias scandal rumbles on.

The former Prime Minister told The Telegraph: "The BBC has been caught red-handed in multiple acts of Left-wing bias. They have grotesquely doctored a speech by President Trump. They have taken the words of Hamas as gospel.

"They have suppressed debate about the trans issue.

"Anyone who owns a TV is compelled to fund this organisation. Tim Davie must either explain or resign."

Steve Reed defends David Lammy - 'The Justice Secretary has done the right thing'

Steve Reed has mounted a defence of Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, saying the Justice Secretary has 'done the right thing'.

The Housing Secretary told GB News: "The Justice Secretary, in my view, has done the right thing.

"You can't as Justice Secretary comment on an individual case if you don't have all the facts to hand."

New poll has Labour plunging to fourth as Reform and Greens surge

A damning new opinion poll has Labour slumping into fourth behind Reform UK, the Green Party and the Conservatives.

The poll from FindOutNow has Nigel Farage's party on 33 per cent, with Zack Polanski's Greens on 18 per cent and the Tories on 16 per cent.

Labour falls a point behind on 15 per cent while the Liberal Democrats are on 11 per cent.

While Reform UK would win 386 seats under the scenario, the Greens would win 55 seats in cities and university towns.

This includes former Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry’s seat of Islington South and Finsbury and former transport secretary Louise Haigh’s Sheffield Heeley constituency.

WATCH: Britons hit out at Rachel Reeves as she plots car tax: 'Haven't we paid enough?'

Claire Coutinho slams 'shameful' David Lammy - 'There is no sympathy from me!'

Claire Coutinho has slammed David Lammy's performance at PMQs yesterday, saying she has no sympathy for the Justice Secretary.

The Shadow Energy Secretary told GB News: "If the personell isn't working you have got to change it. There is no sympathy from me.

"The most shameful part for me is he didn't come back to the house after PMQs yesterday."

"He left it to a junior minister to answer for it yesterday morning on the media. That to me was pretty shameful."

Arabic poster urging Labour voters to switch to Greens to block Reform spotted in London

A poster calling for Arabic speakers to vote for the Green Party to stop Nigel Farage winning the next General Election has been spotted at a London bus stop.

GB News has seen a photo of the poster, which was accompanied by an English version, on Edgware Road earlier today.

The poster, which was not accompanied with any labelling to suggest it had been sanctioned by the Green Party, urged residents in the Queen's Park & Maida Vale constituency to tactically block Nigel Farage's march to power.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Ed Davey calls for return of face-to-face Pip assessments 

Sir Ed Davey has demanded the reinstating of face-to-face Pip assessments to prevent a "massive explosion" of people claiming the benefit who "probably may not need it."

The Liberal Democrat leader told the BBC that telephone assessments have allowed people to be "schooled" on how to respond to questions in a way that secures the benefit.

He added: "Now surely that’s wrong and that is a way you could save money."

Lucy Powell demands 'budget of fairness' as she lays down gauntlet to Rachel Reeves

Labour's Deputy Leader Lucy Powell has called for a "budget of fairness" as she warned the Government cannot raise income tax, national insurance or VAT.

Ms Powell, the MP for Manchester Central, said it was "really important we stand by the promises we were elected on and do what we said we would do."

She told the BBC: "Trust in politics is a key part of that because if we’re to take the country with us then they’ve got to trust us and that’s really important too.

"We should be following through on our manifesto, of course. There’s no question about that.”

Rachel Reeves appears to confirm plans to hike income tax in chilling letter to OBR

Rachel Reeves is said to have now told the OBR she plans to raise income tax.

Last night, it was revealed the Chancellor had formally told the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that hiking the levy would be among the "major measures" announced on November 26.

After poring over Ms Reeves's letter, the OBR will inform the Treasury of its impact assessment of the measure on Monday - the penultimate round of forecasts before the Budget.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Zia Yusuf: 'More MPs will lose their seats at next election than ever before - and I'll love it'

More MPs will "lose their seats in a single general election than at any point in British history", Reform UK's Zia Yusuf has vowed.

Mr Yusuf, the head of policy at the party, told today's Chopper's Political Podcast of Reform's ambition to cut public spending - but admitted it would not halve the size of the state after five years.

He also issued a forecast for the scale of the upheaval Reform is internally planning for at the next General Election, expected in 2029.

The Reform UK bigwig spoke to this week's Chopper's Political Podcast, which you can watch in full here.

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