DAN HODGES: Angela Rayner is set to be our next Prime Minister. The Labour civil war is underway and this is the truth about her extraordinary power-play - and why she's more than happy to throw Keir Starmer under the bus

It's already become the Westminster 'Whodunnit?' of the year. Who was behind the leaking of the explosive 'Angegate' memo that has exposed the fracturing unity of the Cabinet, and blown a gaping hole in Rachel Reeves 's faltering economic strategy?
The malign missive – splashed all over the front pages of today's newspapers – represents the most overt challenge yet to the Chancellor's dwindling authority.

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The Herald Scotland

15 minutes ago

• The Herald Scotland

Mairi McAllan must end 'political choice of homelessness'

More than 16,000 households live in temporary accommodation, including 10,000 children, with another 5,000 children thought to be homeless. Gordon MacRae, assistant director of Shelter Scotland, accused Scottish ministers of 'maintaining' homelessness by managing the decline in the housing sector. He said the Housing Bill, currently being considered in Holyrood, fails to 'stop anyone becoming homeless'. In a scathing assessment, he said: "We have nothing on the table right now that will reduce the probability of homelessness occurring over the next 12 months. "This is a political choice. We have a programme for managing homelessness and managing decline in the housing sector." He added: 'The seriousness and the energy and relentlessness to drive change, I'm afraid it's not there. 'I don't think it's an unfair challenge to say that the Scottish Government's comfort zone is managing the problem not ending the problem and that is what we hope for with Mairi McAllan.' Read more: He said Ms McAllan must reduce homelessness and increase the number of council and social homes by the end of the parliamentary year. 'This is the opportunity that is available to her but it requires political choice to do things differently and up until now ll of the working groups, all of the meetings – and there has been many of them since the declaration – have really focused on doing better with what we have. 'We need to accept that there is not enough homes, there's not enough good quality services to stop the continued growth in homelessness. 'We also need to accept that if homelessness increases, then the harm increases. More people will die, more people will be on the streets, more children's life opportunities will be reduced because of the experience of homelessness.' Last month, it was revealed that every council except Edinburgh will receive less money for social housing this year compared to four years ago. Scotland declared an official housing emergency in May 2024, following in the footsteps of a dozen councils, including Glasgow and Edinburgh. Ms McAllan's predecessor Paul McLennan informed the First Minister he did not wish to continue in government following a brief period of ill health. Since taking office, Ms McAllan said she will "advocate for the greatest possible funding" for her new portfolio. In response, Ms McAllan said: 'Having a safe, warm and affordable place to call home is critical to a life of dignity and opportunity. Therefore providing this and tackling the housing emergency head on will be my top priority. "It will be essential in ensuring everyone in Scotland, and in particular our children, have the opportunity to thrive and I am focussed on delivering that real change. 'A major key to tackling the housing emergency is delivering affordable homes - and fast. We have a good track record in this, but we must now step up our efforts. "To that end, we will invest £768 million this financial year in the affordable housing programme, including £40m targeted towards acquisitions to support the local authorities to tackle the most sustained homelessness and temporary accommodation pressures. 'I am also focussed on preventing homelessness in the first place. Local authorities will be provided with £15 billion this financial year for a range of services, including in homelessness services. "There is also an additional £4 million invested in the Ending Homelessness Together budget for 2025-26 to help local authorities, frontline services and relevant partners prepare for the new measures in the Housing Bill - measures which will help to prevent homelessness before it occurs. 'I am squarely focussed on the task in hand, am open minded about how to approach matters and look forward to working with Shelter Scotland and others in this vital task.' Ms McAllan faced criticism last week after she was unable to say how many people in Scotland were on a social housing waiting list. She told STV News: 'It's not that I don't know it, I don't have the figure with me today.'

Daily Record

an hour ago

• Daily Record

Banning strangling in porn will help tackle violence against women, says Scots MP

EXCLUSIVE: Joani Reid said online videos are "influencing real-world behaviour" and hailed the UK Government's decision as "a step in the right direction." Banning strangling in pornography will help tackle violence against women, a Scots MP has said. Joani Reid said online videos are "influencing real-world behaviour" and hailed the UK Government's decision as "a step in the right direction." ‌ Last week the Labour Government announced it would outlaw "the depiction of strangulation in pornography" as part of its Crime and Policing Bill. ‌ East Kilbride and Strathaven MP Reid said the ban would "stop the normalisation of violence through pornography." violence against women should never be entertainment. "We now have clear evidence that violent and degrading pornography is influencing real-world behaviour. "Non-fatal strangulation is a serious and dangerous offence yet, until now, online platforms have been free to promote and profit from its depiction as a form of sexual gratification. That's indefensible. "This isn't about being prudish or anti-sex. It's about protecting women and girls from harm and stopping the normalisation of violence through pornography. For too long online platforms have operated without scrutiny, spreading extreme content with no accountability. "If we are serious about tackling violence against women we can't ignore the role the online world plays in shaping attitudes and behaviour. The decision is a big step in the right direction but there's much more to do.' ‌ It is already a criminal offence to possess porn depicting life-threatening acts, such as graphic strangulation. But the Government will tighten up the law to now criminalise the depiction of strangulation completely. A ban had been campaigned for by group of Labour MPs who had backed an amendment to the Crime and Policing bill. These included seven Scots MPs: Reid, Katrina Murray, Tracy Gilbert, Patricia Ferguson, Johanna Baxter, Kirsteen Sullivan and Richard Baker. ‌ The UK Government announcement follows the Independent Porn Review, which was conducted by Tory peer Gabby Bertin. The review found that pornography has effectively established strangulation during sex as a 'sexual norm'. ‌ It also found that pornography has helped cause a belief that strangling a partner during sex is 'safe' because it is believed to be non-fatal. This is despite overwhelming evidence that is is believed there is no safe way to strangle a person. UK Minister for Victims and tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Alex Davies-Jones said: "Depicting strangulation during sex is not only dangerous, but also degrading, with real life consequences for women. "Cracking down on the appalling rise of strangulation pornography will protect women and send a clear signal to men and boys that misogyny will not be tolerated." This pledge by the Labour Government is part of its vow to halve violence against women and girls during its time in office.

Times

2 hours ago

• Times

Times letters: Britain and the tinderbox in the Middle East

Write to letters@ Sir, Sir Keir Starmer has called on Iran to 'return to the negotiating table' after the US bombed its nuclear sites. But treating Iran as a legitimate negotiating partner while it refuses to recognise Israel's right to exist only reinforces Tehran's rejectionist stance. History provides a clear road map: recognition leads to peace. Of the 164 countries that now recognise Israel, none are engaged in active warfare with it. Egypt's recognition in 1979 ended decades of conflict. Jordan's recognition in 1994 transformed enemies into sometime partners. The Abraham Accords demonstrated that recognition can unlock prosperity and co-operation even without resolving every regional grievance. Regional issues need and deserve resolution but they cannot be resolved in an environment where a significant power actively works towards the destruction of Israel. Negotiations remain preferable to conflict, but Israel needs to be involved in these talks as a recognised sovereign state. Without recognition and meaningful bilateral negotiations between Israel and Iran, the present situation will continue as a zero-sum game, which Israel simply cannot afford to lose. Tony Morcowitz Brighton and Hove Sir, When Sir Keir Starmer announced the Chagos Islands giveaway, he said that surrendering sovereignty was necessary because the UK had to be seen to uphold international law. Now he has gone on to publish statements in support of the US bombing of Iran. He is publicly supporting a flagrant breach of international law forbidding unprovoked attacks on other nations and, indeed, is speaking in defiance of advice from his attorney-general warning that any attack on Iran could be illegal. The government asserted that the international-law principles embodied by the Chagos deal would earn Britain respect in the 'global south', but in light of the UK's support for Israeli-American actions against Iran, all that the rest of the world will now observe is that Britain's commitment to international law is equivocal and inconsistent. Robert Frazer Salford Sir, International events emphasise the paucity of the UK's air defences, in particular the capability to counter attacks by ballistic missiles. Should the situation deteriorate to the extent that we are threatened, this will be critical, with Britain's best anti-missile defence platforms being six Type 45 destroyers, one of which is deployed with HMS Queen Elizabeth. Other Type 45s may or may not be available, with a number in refit, but ship-based systems are insufficient to defend the entire nation. Recent announcements on defence, from the strategic defence review through to promises to raise spending by a few percentage points in future, will do nothing to repair our non-existent integrated air defence. The government needs to act now and procure anti-ballistic systems. Group Captain Michael Norris St Austell, Cornwall Sir, In the raid on RAF Brize Norton (news, Jun 21), one of the engines on the Voyager aircraft was so badly damaged by the red paint sprayed on it by Palestine Action activists that it is said that the tanker is out of action and a new engine will cost £25 million. Surely this is nonsense: our planes are so vulnerable than an enemy would only have to drop paint over them to make them useless in war time? Brian RJ Simpson Gosport, Hants Sir, My father, Michael Beetham, was station commander of RAF Khormaksar in Aden, Yemen, in the mid-1960s, during a period of heightened tensions. As a small boy, I watched as he set off in the evenings to drive around the perimeter fence in his Land Rover. Sometimes he took me with him. He would stop and talk to personnel and inspect fences. He went on to be the longest-serving Chief of the Air Staff since Lord Trenchard, founder of the RAF. I wonder who carries out such checks these days at bases like Brize Norton? Alex Beetham Woodditton, Cambs Sir, There are many reasons why the House of Lords may not survive in its present form. Hubris is certainly one. For unnamed peers to tell The Times that they will use 'black arts' to 'kill off' the assisted dying bill and employ 'every means possible' to prevent it becoming law is hubris of the highest order (news, Jun 21). The Lords can and should seek to improve the bill through its scrutiny. That is indeed its role. But to seek fundamentally to thwart the will of the elected Commons is not. It is not just the future of the bill that will be at stake in this regard. So too will the future of an unelected second chamber. Sir Leigh Lewis Watford Sir, In just three days the concept of laws being based on Judeo-Christian principles has been removed by the House of Commons. Aborting a full-term unborn child will no longer be a criminal offence and assisting someone to kill themselves was approved. MPs have replaced a morality based on respect for life by a culture of death. Neither these changes were in the Labour Party manifesto and the House of Lords should therefore not feel constrained in refusing to endorse them. Nicholas Bennett Minister of health for Wales, 1990-92; Bromley, Kent Sir, I am horrified by the moral ambiguity demonstrated by the government. After endless debate, the third reading of the assisted dying bill has narrowly been passed, a compassionate piece of legislation that will give terminally ill people more control over their lives. By contrast, after only two hours' debate the government has amended abortion regulations to allow women to have a termination at any stage of their pregnancy, without fear of prosecution. The 24-week limit for legal abortion was set to protect viable foetuses. This amendment sanctions the murder of babies capable of leading independent lives. I hope there is sufficient wisdom among the members of the House of Lords to persuade the Commons to rethink the unethical decision they have made. Frances MacDonald Stratford-upon-Avon Sir, The reports that HS2 may now cost £100 billion came in the same week that Nice concluded the known benefits of the new Alzheimer's drugs lecanemab and donanemab do not justify the expense of funding them through the public healthcare system (news, Jun 19; letter, Jun 21). Given that the government is likely to have to make stark choices in its next budget, the choice of either cutting 30 minutes off journey times between London to Birmingham or extending the meaningful lives of thousands of people each year could not be starker. If Rachel Reeves's repeated statements that her decisions reflect the choice of the people are true, then let's ask them directly which they'd rather have. Dr Barry Johnson Sheffield Sir, Settle to Carlisle is now seen as one of the world's greatest railway journeys. However, the line started out in difficulty and there are some interesting comparisons to be made with HS2. The estimate to build the line was £2 million, but the challenges of building a route through the Pennines resulted in the cost and time to completion doubling. The line opened to freight traffic 150 years ago (passengers a year later). The final cost was about £500 million in today's money, and it took five years to build. Admittedly it is only 72 miles long (compared with 120 miles for HS2) and the hundreds of boys employed were paid half a crown (12.5p) per day. The railway today is a magnificent reminder of the vision of the Midland Railway Company, which sponsored it, and the tenacity and ingenuity of those who overcame the challenges of a hostile environment to build it. I wonder if in 150 years HS2 will be as popular — assuming of course that it is completed. Dr Bryan Gray Hunsonby, Cumbria Sir, It is nothing short of insanity that elite rugby union players are about to embark on a tour to Australia with the British & Irish Lions after another very lengthy domestic season, when there is clear evidence showing a dose-response relationship between head impacts and neurodegenerative disease. The longer and more intensely one plays contact or collision sports, the higher the risk of brain damage. The Lions tour — a gruelling and commercially driven tournament — is being promoted as a pinnacle of achievement. Where is the duty of care to players? Where are the safeguards and transparent risk disclosures? Rugby cannot continue to ignore the realities of repeated brain trauma in pursuit of nostalgia and profit. It must start putting welfare above spectacle. Alix Popham Ret'd professional rugby union player; Welsh international, 33 caps; Newport Sir, You report that the late Queen did indeed carry cash, for betting on the races (news, Jun 21). As a young journalist at The Sun in the Eighties I was sent to report on the Derby. The press box was next to the royal box and we all saw Her Majesty dash down to the front to watch a winner triumph. I was designated to ask her: 'Ma'am, did you have a bet on the winning horse?' I leaned over from the box to be faced by the back of Prince Philip, who was chatting to the Queen. My first attempt was ignored and feeling embarrassed and slightly annoyed I tried again. Philip drifted off and so I repeated the question. 'Did I what?' she replied frostily. Red-faced and sweating I stumbled through it again, when she graced me with a beautiful smile and said: 'Oh no, my dear, I never bet!' The next year a barrier was erected between the two boxes so that she would not be approached again. Muriel Freeman (née Burden) South Shields Sir, Car horns don't need to be loud to be effective (letters, Jun 17-21). When I was living in Bath in the early 1970s I drove an MGB, which I had bought from a friend. He had fitted a trio of strident air horns, but I discovered that if I pressed the button very gently the horns would emit a gasping or panting sound. Being very immature at the time I occasionally made this happen while waiting as a pretty girl crossed the road. This sometimes produced an amused response, but not always. One of the recipients of this attention, a particularly pretty girl, subsequently recognised me when we met at a party and she ticked me off for my uncouth behaviour, which I never repeated. In October we will have been married for 50 years. Richard Le Masurier Milford-on-Sea, Hants Sir, My husband was lucky enough to get ten birthday cards from me last year (letters, 18, 19 & 21). After forgetting to buy one for him I simply added 'and Wendy' to the cards he had received from other people. Wendy Rayner Huddersfield Sir, Dominic Sandbrook's article on class and how to define a gentleman (comment, Jun 21) reminded me of an events notice I saw when stationed in the British Army of the Rhine with the King's Own Scottish Borderers in the mid-60s. Those invited to a Minden Day dance were: 'Officers and their Ladies, NCOs and their Wives, and Other Ranks and their Women-Folk.' Bill Wells Wisbech, Cambs Sir, I've always felt rather proud of the fact that the Yiddish word 'mensch' means much the same as 'gentleman' but without any class implications — or gender implications either; a woman can be a mensch too. Or not, as the case may be. Margaret Lesser Bowdon, Greater Manchester Sir, Mark Twain, as is so often the case, hit the nail on the head. A gentleman, he said, is someone who knows how to play the banjo and doesn't. Dr David Bogod Nottingham Write to letters@