Author: admin

STORY

Liberal Democrat MP Charlie Maynard has resigned from the party’s frontbench and is reported to be seeking the replacement of Sir Ed Davey as leader. The Witney MP left his position as a Treasury spokesman on Friday and has reportedly asked parliamentary colleagues to support a vote of no confidence in Sir Ed.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said that the vast majority of the party’s MPs continued to support Sir Ed and were furious about the distraction. The resignation follows the departure of Alison Bennett from her frontbench position as spokeswoman for care and carers earlier in the week, although her decision is not understood to have been connected to the leadership dispute.

Under Liberal Democrat rules, a leadership contest can be triggered if a majority of the party’s MPs support a vote of no confidence. Sir Ed has led the party since 2020 and oversaw its strongest general election performance in 2024, but critics have questioned whether it has built sufficient political momentum since then. The party has also faced internal disagreement over issues including Sir Ed’s continued support for the state pension triple lock.

STORY

Zack Polanski has said that he would not have voted for the Green Party motion declaring Zionism to be a form of racism in the form approved by members. The party leader described the motion as imperfect and said that, although he agreed with parts of its substance, he opposed its support for establishing a single Palestinian state across historic Palestine. He said he would instead have backed an amended version which did not attempt to determine the future political settlement of the region.

Polanski did not attend the debate or vote at the Green Party conference because he had returned to London to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. He defended that decision by saying voters expected him to be present in the constituency dealing with local issues. Polanski also sought to reassure Jewish members following the vote, saying that no-one would be excluded from the party because of their faith, religion or involvement with a communal organisation.

Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas, who voted against the motion, accused Polanski of failing to show leadership and said that he should have attended the debate. Four of the party’s five MPs also opposed the policy, which has led to resignations and criticism from Jewish organisations. Polanski has rejected suggestions that he has lost control of the party and confirmed that he intends to remain leader following his defeat in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.

STORY

The previously unnamed grave of a Cornish soldier killed during the Second World War has been identified as that of Private Sidney Allen, 81 years after his death. A rededication service organised by the Ministry of Defence’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre was held at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Reichswald Forest War Cemetery in Germany, where a new headstone bearing his name was unveiled.

Private Allen grew up in Saltash and worked at HM Dockyard alongside his father before enlisting in the Army in February 1944. He arrived in France six months later and joined the 7th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, taking part in the Allied advance through Normandy, the liberation of Brussels, Operation Market Garden and subsequent fighting in the Netherlands and Germany. He was killed aged 19 during heavy fighting near Cleve and the Reichswald on 15 February 1945 and was officially recorded as missing.

Research submitted by a member of the public established that Private Allen had originally been buried at Materborn alongside other soldiers killed during the same action. He was the only member of the battalion lost during the engagement who remained listed as missing, allowing investigators to identify the grave. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has replaced the previously unnamed headstone and will maintain his grave in perpetuity.

STORY

Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas has accused Zack Polanski of failing to show leadership during the party’s controversial debate on Zionism. Lucas told BBC Newsnight that Polanski, who left the Green Party conference early to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, “should have been there and he should have voted.” She described the motion as dangerous, divisive and fundamentally flawed.

The motion declared Zionism to be a form of racism and supported the creation of a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine, including present-day Israel. Lucas voted against it, as did four of the Green Party’s five MPs, but it was approved by party members and became official policy. The decision has caused substantial internal division, led to resignations and attracted criticism from the European Green Party and Jewish organisations.

Asked whether Polanski should resign as leader, Lucas declined to support him directly and said his position should be judged over the coming days and weeks. Polanski subsequently rejected the criticism, defended the Green Party as a democratic grassroots organisation and said he intended to remain leader despite losing the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. He said the party’s membership had risen to around 220,000 and argued that members were entitled to hold different opinions.

STORY

Labour has retained Holborn and St Pancras after Sagal Abdi-Wali defeated Green Party leader Zack Polanski in the parliamentary by-election. Abdi-Wali received 12,292 votes, representing 45.17 per cent of those cast, while Polanski finished second with 8,928 votes and 32.81 per cent. The result gave Labour a majority of 3,364.

The contest was triggered by the resignation of former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and had been regarded as an important electoral test for both Labour and the Greens. The Green Party’s vote share rose substantially from the 10.44 per cent it secured at the 2024 General Election, although independent candidate Andrew Feinstein had received a further 18.94 per cent at that contest and did not stand in the by-election. Labour’s share fell by 3.75 percentage points, while turnout declined to 38.76 per cent.

The result came shortly after the Green Party conference backed a controversial motion describing Zionism as racism, which prompted internal criticism and several resignations from the party. Polanski said after the count that he intended to remain as Green Party leader and argued that the result demonstrated the party’s growing ability to challenge Labour. Abdi-Wali described her election as a victory for diversity and said she wanted to address housing, homelessness and inequality in the constituency.

Full result

Sagal Abdi-Wali – Labour Party – 12,292 – 45.17 per cent

Zack Polanski – Green Party – 8,928 – 32.81 per cent

Ewan Cameron – Conservative Party – 1,922 – 7.06 per cent

Peter Newman – Reform UK – 1,612 – 5.92 per cent

Patrick Stillman – Liberal Democrats – 924 – 3.40 per cent

Tyler Kurtis Johnson – Restore Britain – 692 – 2.54 per cent

George Galloway – Workers Party – 314 – 1.15 per cent

Briony Anne Lonbay Kapoor – Rejoin EU – 236 – 0.87 per cent

Barmy Brunch – Official Monster Raving Loony Party – 87 – 0.32 per cent

Helen Spiby-Vann – Christian Peoples Alliance – 63 – 0.23 per cent

Clare Fischer – Climate Party – 51 – 0.19 per cent

Ben Walker – UKIP – 51 – 0.19 per cent

Ketankumar Pipaliya – UK Voice Safer and Stronger UK – 23 – 0.08 per cent

Jonathan Silberman – Communist League – 9 – 0.03 per cent

Tom Darwood – No party description – 7 – 0.03 per cent

Labour majority – 3,364

Turnout – 38.76 per cent

Rejected ballots – 108

STORY

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has won a High Court challenge over search warrants obtained by Thames Valley Police as part of an investigation into alleged misconduct in public office. Mr Justice Hilliard ruled that the warrants were unlawful after the force accepted that they had been obtained under the wrong provision of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

The warrants were issued by the Recorder of London on 18 February 2026 and used during searches of Mountbatten-Windsor’s residence on the Sandringham estate and his former home at Royal Lodge. Police seized documents and electronic devices after arresting him the following day on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The investigation concerns allegations that he shared sensitive information with Jeffrey Epstein while serving as the United Kingdom’s trade envoy. No charges have been announced and the investigation remains ongoing.

The court heard that the applications anticipated finding legally privileged and special procedure material, meaning that the warrants could not lawfully have been issued under section 8 of the Act and should instead have followed the procedure under section 9. The warrants have now been quashed, but the judge stressed that this did not invalidate the wider investigation. Thames Valley Police has applied to retain the seized property on the basis that it could have been lawfully obtained under a different provision, with that application expected to be heard next year. Mountbatten-Windsor is opposing it.

STORY

A previously unidentified British soldier buried in the Netherlands has been named as Sheffield-born Lance Corporal Ronald Smirthwaite. His grave at Jonkerbos War Cemetery has been rededicated in his name, 81 years after he was killed during the final months of the Second World War.

Smirthwaite joined the Army in May 1944 and initially served in the General Service Corps as a blacksmith’s striker. Military records show that he was reported missing and presumed killed following fierce fighting on 22 February 1945. Investigators later established that he had been captured alive but seriously wounded and did not survive an attempted escape. His body was recovered and buried before later being reinterred as an unknown soldier.

The identification followed research examined by the Ministry of Defence and the National Army Museum after evidence was submitted by an officer in the Royal Netherlands Army and a member of the public. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has replaced the unidentified headstone with one bearing Smirthwaite’s name, while his previous commemoration had been on the Groesbeek Memorial for service personnel with no known grave.

STORY

Kemi Badenoch has used her closing speech to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham to promise that a future Conservative Government would exempt family homes from inheritance tax. Couples would also be able to leave an additional £1 million tax free, with Badenoch claiming that the changes would more than halve the number of families paying the tax.

The Conservative leader stopped short of promising the immediate abolition of inheritance tax, arguing that resources were also needed for the proposed Britannia Shield air defence system, 50,000 additional prison places and reducing the deficit. She said the Conservatives had identified more than £70 billion of Government savings and would use half of any savings to improve the public finances.

Badenoch also reiterated plans to reduce employer National Insurance for younger workers, reform welfare, lower student loan interest and expand drilling in the North Sea. She attacked Labour’s economic record, ruled out an electoral agreement with Reform UK and said reopening the Brexit debate would be a “terrible idea”, presenting the Conservatives as a distinct alternative to both parties.