Jeremy Corbyn says ‘discussions are ongoing’ after Zarah Sultana claimed she would ‘co-lead new party’ with him – UK politics live | Politics
Corbyn says ‘discussions are ongoing’ after Sultana said she would ‘co-lead new party’ with him
Jeremy Corbyn has said that “discussions are ongoing” after former Labour MP Zarah Sultana said that she would “co-lead the founding of a new party” with the ex-Labour leader.
In a post on social media, the Independent MP and former Labour leader said: “Real change is coming.
“One year on from the election, this Labour Government has refused to deliver the change people expected and deserved. Poverty, inequality and war are not inevitable. Our country needs to change direction, now.
“Congratulations to Zarah Sultana on her principled decision to leave the Labour Party. I am delighted that she will help us build a real alternative.
“The democratic foundations of a new kind of political party will soon take shape. Discussions are ongoing – and I am excited to work alongside all communities to fight for the future people deserve.
“Together, we can create something that is desperately missing from our broken political system: hope.”
Key events
Seán Clarke
It is a year since Labour’s landslide victory on 4 July 2024, with Keir Starmer promising “to end the politics of performance and return to politics as public service … it is now time for us to deliver”.
After a rollercoaster week in which the prime minister suffered a large Commons rebellion and caused bond markets to spike when he appeared not to back the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, we consider his government’s record in Westminster, Whitehall and across the country…
Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron will host a meeting of the coalition of the willing when the French president visits Britain next week.
The prime minister and France’s leader will dial into a meeting with allies on Thursday, as Macron makes his first state visit to the UK, it is understood.
Britain and France have led efforts to establish the coalition, a peacekeeping force aimed at policing any future ceasefire deal in Ukraine, and deterring further threats by Russia, PA reported.
The effectiveness of the coalition has been called into question, as only London and Paris have so far indicated they would provide frontline soldiers towards it.
The peacekeeping mission would also be predicated on American air support, something which US president Donald Trump has been unwilling to openly say he would provide.
Amelia Gentleman
Rachel Reeves’s tears this week triggered a fall in the pound and attracted widespread derision from political columnists, mostly male. “What is wrong with Rachel Reeves?” the Telegraph asked. In an article headlined “The meaning of the chancellor’s tears”, a New Statesman columnist told readers that Reeves’s authority was “beginning to melt away”. The Daily Mail spoke disdainfully of her “waterworks”.
But in the longer term the chancellor’s display of distress may prove to have an unexpectedly positive legacy, helpfully normalising a still hugely stigmatised phenomenon – women’s tears in the workplace.
Until now, tearful outbursts at work have mostly been mired in shame, the source of acute embarrassment. This week’s live broadcast of the chancellor’s silent tears could help shift the taboo, highlighting a little-discussed truth: sometimes women cry at work, and it’s no big deal.
Reeves reflected on her own tears with a shrug a day later. “People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday. Today’s a new day and I’m just cracking on with the job,” she said on Thursday. She declined to explain what had prompted her distress, describing it simply as a personal issue and refusing to go into details. Within 24 hours the markets had bounced back with the assurances of the prime minister, Keir Starmer, that she would remain in her job for the long term.
Clearly it is far from ideal to be filmed in tears during the week’s most-watched exchanges in the House of Commons, but ministerial jobs are immensely tough. Some of Reeves’s male predecessors have exhibited the strain of their roles in more extreme ways – while attracting less attention, because their behaviour is classed as routine and acceptable machismo.
Downing Street would not guarantee that the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats would fall next year, but said the figure “must” come down, reports the PA news agency.
A No 10 spokesperson said:
We’re clear that number’s too high, they must come down. That’s our goal and we are pulling every lever to achieve it.
We have never shied away from the fact that dismantling a multibillion-pound international criminal enterprise that has been allowed to develop for almost a decade largely unchecked is challenging.
There is no single solution but the government is taking serious measures in order to drive those numbers down through the borders bill providing counterterror-style powers, with that international cooperation that we have set out many times.
Downing Street says new French tactics to tackle small boat crossings are ‘significant moment’
Downing Street has welcomed new French tactics to tackle small boat crossings, saying it is a “significant moment”.
A No 10 spokesperson said:
What we saw this morning was a significant moment.
We welcome action from French law enforcement to take action in shallow waters, and what you have seen in recent weeks is a toughening of their approach.
We are seeing new tactics being used to disrupt these boats before they begin their journey and, together with every other lever that the government is pulling, we think this can have a major impact on shutting down the tactics these gangs use.
Earlier, Yvette Cooper welcomed reports that French police had intervened in French waters to stop a small boat setting off across the Channel.
Responding to a report from the BBC’s Today programme that officers had slashed at a boat with a knife while it was in shallow waters off the French coast, the home secretary said:
That is a different strategy, and that is welcome that it’s taking action in the shallow waters, but we want broader action.
Downing Street also said on Friday that Keir Starmer’s efforts to “reset” relations with Europe have helped bring about a change in French tactics in the Channel.
The No 10 spokesperson said:
No government has been able to get this level of cooperation with the French.
That is important. We are looking to see France change its maritime tactics, and that is down to the prime minister’s efforts to reset our relationships across Europe.
This is down to a serious government recognising this is a complex problem, a serious challenge, and pulling all levers in order to take action on this.
Liberal Democrat MP Danny Chambers’ private member’s bill has passed through the House of Commons today, with the government backing the bill.
Chambers, who is also a veterinary surgeon, said the animal welfare (import of dogs, cats and ferrets) bill will help improve the UK’s “biosecurity”.
He told the Commons:
As a vet, I’ve seen the devastating consequences of puppy smuggling. It’s unimaginably cruel to separate puppies and kittens from their mothers at a very young age, and then bring them across borders in substandard conditions where they’re then sold for maximum profit by unscrupulous traders who prioritise profit over welfare.
Turning to “biosecurity”, he added that:
There are a lot of diseases that we do not see in the UK that can affect humans as well … one of those is rabies, another’s brucella canis.
Chambers said:
The bill will close the loopholes in our pet travel rules, which are currently exploited. It does this by reducing the number of animals permitted per non-commercial movement from five per person to five per vehicle, including vehicles on board a train or a ferry, and three per person for foot or air passengers.
Careful consideration has been given to setting these limits, balancing the need to disrupt illegal trade with minimising impact on genuine pet owners. To underpin this, only an owner, not an authorised person, will be permitted to sign and declare that the movement of a dog or cat is non-commercial.
Crucially, the bill places a duty on the government to use these regulation-making powers to first deliver three key measures – a ban on the import of puppies and kittens under six months old, a ban on the import of heavily pregnant dogs and cats that are more than 42 days pregnant, and a ban on the import of dogs and cats who’ve been mutilated.
The bill will now move to the House of Lords for final approval with government backing.
Lib Dems take seat from Reform in Durham county council byelection
Aneesa Ahmed
Liberal Democrat candidate Terry Rooney won the Benfieldside ward byelection on Thursday to unseat Reform UK’s Andrew Kilburn – who was elected during the county-wide elections on 1 May but stepped down after it was discovered he already worked for the council.
This meant Kilburn was found to be ineligible for office, as employees are disqualified from standing as councillors at the same time under national law. He resigned after just nine days.
The Lib Dems won with a total of 824 votes, as Reform slipped to third in the byelection, getting 747 votes, behind Labour, who got 800.
Benfieldside by-election result: Earley, Kevin (Lab) 800, Harrison, Stephen (Ref) 747, Lowes, David (Con) 76, Robinson, Stephen (Ind) 459, Rooney, Terry (Lib Dem) 824, Simpson, Richard Edwin (Green) 40. #LE2025 pic.twitter.com/e4OgoolQtk
— Durham County Council (@DurhamCouncil) July 3, 2025
Rooney will now join the 14 other Lib Dem representatives on Durham county council, taking their total to 15.
After the win, Rooney told the Northern Echo:
I’m humbled to serve the community where I live and where I grew up.
This result confirms that it is only the Liberal Democrats who can beat the Reform Party across County Durham, as both the official opposition group and the strongest electoral force challenging the Reform Party’s broken promises.
The byelection caused by the Reform error cost the taxpayer £23,000, according to Rooney – who said he has campaigned for the Reform’s “millionaire backers” to pay for the taxpayer money “wasted on this byelection due to their own incompetence nominating an ineligible candidate”.
Councillor Amanda Hopgood, Lib Dem leader of the opposition in County Durham, and chair of the party’s Reform Watch board said:
The Liberal Democrats are holding Reform to account, fighting to protect local services and stop Nigel Farage doing to our communities what his idol Donald Trump is doing to America.
We will continue to stand up to Reform and take on their divisive politics, here in County Durham and across the country.
Denis Campbell
Wes Streeting has staked the future of the NHS on a digital overhaul in which a beefed-up NHS app and new hospital league tables are intended to give patients unprecedented control over their care.
A dramatic expansion of the role of the NHS app will result in fewer staff than expected by 2035, with Streeting banking on digital efficiencies to reduce the number of frontline workers, a move described as a “large bet” by health experts.
The digital tool will enable patients to self-refer when they need help, book appointments with clinicians, receive advice from an AI GP or see their medical records.
“The NHS app will become a doctor in your pocket, bringing our health service into the 21st century,” the health secretary said as he launched the government’s much-trailed 10-year health plan.
Highlighting that those who use private healthcare already get instant advice, remote consultations with a doctor and choice over their appointments, he promised that “our reforms will bring those services to every patient, regardless of their ability to pay”.
The plan is intended to transform the NHS in England into a more patient-focused service that keeps people healthier and out of hospital by providing care faster, digitally and close to their homes.
However, while experts welcomed the plan’s ambitions, they warned that staff shortages, the NHS’s fragile finances and failure to set out how delivery of its many goals would be achieved raised serious doubts over how soon changes would be implemented.
Aletha Adu
Labour’s first year back in power has been marked by high stakes and harsh realities.
Despite ambitious promises, the party has struggled to maintain the support of voters – reflected in low poll numbers and a near defeat on its big welfare legislation.
For new MPs the challenge has been to push urgent reforms while navigating Westminster’s unforgiving terrain.
Seven rising Labour voices speak about the year that has tested them all:
Technology secretary demands overhaul of UK’s leading AI institute
Dan Milmo
The technology secretary has demanded an overhaul of the UK’s leading artificial intelligence institute in a wide-ranging letter that calls for a switch in focus to defence and national security, as well as leadership changes.
Peter Kyle said it was clear further action was needed to ensure the government-backed Alan Turing Institute met its full potential.
In a letter to ATI’s chair, seen by the Guardian, Kyle said the institute should be changed to prioritise defence, national security and “sovereign capabilities” – a reference to nation states being able to control their own AI technology.
The call for new priorities implies a downgrading of ATI’s focus on health and the environment, which are two of three core subjects for the institute, alongside defence and security, under its “Turing 2.0” strategy.
“Moving forward, defence and national security projects should form a core of ATI’s activities, and relationships with the UK’s security, defence, and intelligence communities should be strengthened accordingly,” Kyle wrote.
Making clear that the Turing 2.0 strategy did not meet government requirements, Kyle indicated that he expected leadership changes at ATI.
“To realise this vision, it is imperative that the ATI’s leadership reflects the institute’s reformed focus,” he wrote. “While we acknowledge the success of the current leadership in delivering reform at the institute during a difficult period, careful consideration should be given to the importance of an executive team who possesses a relevant background and sector knowledge to lead this transition.”
ATI is chaired by Doug Gurr, the former head of Amazon’s UK operations and interim chair of the UK’s competition watchdog.
In the third in the Rise of the right series, the Guardian hears how Reform UK is targeting voters over green policies – which business says are bringing new jobs to the area.
You can read the full piece by senior economics correspondent Richard Partington here:
A hearing to decide whether the move to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation should be temporarily blocked has begun in London, reports the PA news agency.
Huda Ammori, the co-founder of Palestine Action, is asking the high court to temporarily block the government from proscribing it under the Terrorism Act 2000, pending a potential legal challenge against the decision to ban the direct action group.
The ban, to become law over the weekend after being approved by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords earlier this week, would make membership and support for the direct action group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
It comes after an estimated £7m worth of damage was caused to two Voyager planes at RAF Brize Norton on 20 June, in an action claimed by Palestine Action.
The Home Office is opposing both the bid to delay the ban from becoming law, and the potential attempt to launch a legal challenge against the decision.
The hearing before Mr Justice Chamberlain at the Royal Courts of Justice is expected to conclude later on Friday.
Housing minister vows to crack down on property management ‘wild west’
Kiran Stacey
The housing minister has promised to crack down on unfair service charges and what he called the “wild west” of property managing agents as he launched the next stage of the government’s reforms of the leasehold system.
Matthew Pennycook told the Guardian he wanted to stop a number of unfair practices undertaken by some companies, including overcharging and imposing large, unexpected repair fees.
He was speaking as the government launched a consultation into measures such as making property managers provide more transparent information on their fees and forcing them to qualify as professional practitioners for the first time.
The consultation is the latest step towards what the government promises will be an eventual end to the “feudal” leasehold system, which applies to 5m homes in England.
Pennycook said:
Managing agents play a key role in multiple-occupancy buildings, and will play an even bigger role in the future, but it is a bit of a wild west at the minute.
Speaking about the new qualification system, he said:
It is very easy to set yourself up as a managing agent. A group of us could do it just by renting an office on top of a newsagent in the high street … we know there are really bad practices out there.
Talking about the changes to service charges, he added:
We are setting out plans to protect millions of leaseholders across the country from opaque and unfair service charges and other fees which they incur.
Leaseholders are suffering and they need urgent relief – that’s why we are doing what we are.
