Politics LIVE: Zack Polanski open to teaming up with Labour to keep Nigel Farage out of No10

Zack Polanski is willing to team up with Labour to stop Nigel Farage being elected as Prime Minister, it is understood.

Green officials told The i Paper that their party leader's primary objective is keeping Reform UK out of No10.

They suggested Mr Polanski is willing to work with other parties, including Labour, to achieve his aim - but only if Sir Keir Starmer is replaced as leader.

Associates say the Green leader said "I couldn't live with myself" should Mr Farage win the next General Election without having exhausted every avenue to thwart Reform's ambitions.

Mr Polanski yesterday said Labour’s unpopularity meant he was more concerned about stopping voters choosing Reform than peeling them away from Sir Keir's party after welcoming the defection of five London councillors to his party.

He told a press conference in Wembley: “I think they are broken, and I think we’re ready to bury them.

“I think the real challenge really is, how do we make sure people don’t pick up on the politics of hate and division that Reform are offering.”

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Rishi Sunak says he would make 'same choices again' in setting up Covid-19 loan scheme criticised over fraud risks 

Rishi Sunak has said he would make the exact same choices again in setting up a Covid-19 business loan scheme which has since been criticised for the fraud risks it presented.

The former prime minister defended how the Bounce Back Loan Scheme was rolled out, telling the UK Covid-19 Inquiry: “I would make the same choice again in the same situation, I would do the same thing again.

"But at the time, I could tell you certainly nobody was waving their hands saying ‘no, no slow it down, more checks, more form-filling’.”

The ex-Chancellor earlier said the Government was “eyes wide open about” the risk of fraud, “and made the judgment that the risks were outweighed by the need”.

He added: “Over time, we built in more protections. So if this happens in the future those protections will be there, but at the moment we launched this it was not as if we were sat there and just forgot to do something, that two weeks, four weeks, six weeks later we scratched our head and said we wish we had done that.

“That was just not the case. It was a straightforward choice – we can launch this thing now and get going with it so the money gets to businesses, or we can wait, and I think that is the misunderstanding of this.

“Waiting, sure you could have lowered the ultimate fraud levels by waiting and building some of these checks, but you have to then be confident that you were going to accept the loss of business that would result from that.”

Richard Tice announces launch of 'Send working group' chaired by Dame Andrea Jenkyns

Richard Tice has announced the launch of a "Send working group" as part of Reform's plans to overhaul the "broken" special educational needs system.

The deputy party leader told a Reform press conference: "What we have folks is a system that is completely broken.

"The Send system is broken in Britain and Reform are determined to fix it and that is why I am announcing today that we are setting up a Send working group to be chaired by Dame Andrea Jenkyns who has considerable professional and personal experience in this sector.

"There will be a number of members of this working group - Reform councillors, Natalia Oliver from Lincolnshire, Beverley Fordham from Kent, along with experts who are currently working in the profession and for reasons I hope will be obvious therefore must remain anonymous.

"The plan for this working group is they will be working through all of 2026 but to produce its first interim report in the first quarter of next year."

Richard Tice apologises for 'offending' people when delivering speech about special educational needs and says system is 'broken' at 'every single level' 

Reform deputy leader Richard Tice is delivering a press conference about the party's plans for Send (special educational needs and disabilities).

He began his speech by apologising to people he had "offended" at a previous press conference.

"The first word I want to say is: 'sorry'. Four weeks ago when I gave a press conference I offended a number of people when I talked about Send," he said.

"We never stop learning in life and what that told us is that everybody is unhappy, frustrated, angry, furious about what is going on within the Send system.

"Parents feel that they are battling - they are fighting a system that doesn't work for their children and we have to talk about difficult issues, challenging issues in a way that sometimes is uncomfortable."

The Boston and Skegness MP added: "At every single level the Send system is broken and we at Reform are determined to be at the heart of reforming it and improving it."

BBC TV licence fee faces overhaul as funding change considered as part of major review 

The television licence fee could be reformed as part of the renewal process of the BBC's royal charger, the Government has confirmed.

This morning, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) provided insight into the future of the levy, which is currently charged at £174.50 for a colour TV and £58.50 for black and white televisions.

The announcement coincides with President Donald Trump filing a $10billion lawsuit against the public broadcaster over Panorama's coverage of comments he made on January 6, 2021.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

WATCH: Care minister hits out at 'irresponsible' resident doctor strikes and claims those staging walk out are 'not living in the real world'

Unemployment figures show 'scale of challenge' Labour inherited, says work and pensions secretary 

The Work and Pensions Secretary said figures showing the unemployment rate at its highest level for nearly five years reflect the “scale of the challenge” Labour inherited.

Pat McFadden said: “There are over 350,000 more people in work this year and the rate of inactivity is at its joint lowest in over five years, but today’s figures underline the scale of the challenge we’ve inherited.

“That is why we are investing £1.5billion to deliver 50,000 apprenticeships and 350,000 new workplace opportunities for young people – giving them real experience and a foot in the door.

“To go further and tackle the deep-rooted issues of our labour market, Alan Milburn is also leading an investigation into the whole issue of young people inactivity and work.”

WATCH: Resident doctor strikes 'grossly irresponsible', says shadow chancellor

Tories blame Labour's 'growth-killing politics' for rising unemployment 

The Conservatives have blamed Labour’s “growth-killing policies” for rising unemployment figures.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said: “Losing your job is hard at the best of times, but in the run up to Christmas it’s particularly cruel.

“But thanks to Labour’s growth-killing policies, that’s the sad reality for many people this Christmas.”

She pointed to the hike on employer national insurance contributions and the measures included in the Employment Rights Bill.

Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said Labour were “pursuing a suite of anti-business policies that is sending employers to the wall”.

Unemployment rates increase AGAIN to 5.1 per cent as Rachel Reeves struggles with 'strain in the UK economy'

Unemployment in the UK increased to 5.1 per cent in the three months to October 2025, up from five per cent in September, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.

While these figures come before Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her Budget on November 26, they come as another blow to the Treasury as the Labour Government attempts to bolster the economy.

Today's ONS unemployment rate figures for October are the highest since the first quarter of 2021, and if the Covid-19 pandemic era is not taking into account, the highest since 2016.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

WATCH: Reform deputy leader Richard Tice slams 'hopeless' Rachel Reeves after unemployment figures rise again

Ed Davey urges PM to 'stand up for BBC' after Donald Trump files $10billion law suit 

Sir Ed Davey has urged the Prime Minister to stand up for the BBC in the face of an “outrageous legal threat” from the US President.

Donald Trump has filed a $10billion (£7.48billion) lawsuit against the broadcaster over the edit of a Panorama programme featuring his January 6 speech.

Sir Ed said: “Keir Starmer needs to stand up for the BBC against Trump’s outrageous legal threat and protect licence fee-payers from being hit in the pocket.

“The Trump administration has clearly set out they want to interfere in our democracy, which includes undermining our national broadcaster.

“The Prime Minister needs to make clear this is unacceptable.”

Dale Vince 'should apologise' for comments made after Bondi Beach attack, says minister 

Labour mega donor Dale Vince should apologise for comments made about the Bondi Beach terror attack, a minister has said.

The Tories call on Labour to "return all donations" made by the green energy tycoon after he drew links between the Australian massacre and Israel's actions in Gaza.

He wrote to X: "Commenting on the shootings in Australia today Netanyahu [Israel's Prime Minister] said - Antisemitism spreads when leaders stay silent.

"Nothing to do with Isreal committing Genocide in Palestine then. Netanyahu wants antisemitism to be a thing, it validates him - he acts to make it so."

Care minister Stephen Kinnock told Times Radio: "Dale Vince should apologise for that. It is completely wrong to somehow imply that the Jewish people should be blamed collectively for the actions of the Israeli government."

Asked if Labour would stop accepting donations from the donor, Mr Kinnock added: "First of all, let’s ensure that Dale Vince does come forward and apologise for those remarks, and we will then review the position and take it from there."

Mr Vince posted again on Monday to say his words “were not intended to excuse or legitimise terrorism, or any form of racism” and were "aimed at the intervention of Netanyahu who in my opinion overlooks the impacts of his own terrorism".