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Home of Lords proceedings disrupted by protesters
Proceedings within the Home of Lords have been disrupted by protesters, this morning. ITV Information has the clip. Campaigners within the gallery began shouting “Lords out, folks in”, and dropping leaflets into the chamber.
Home of Lords interrupted by protestors shouting ‘Lords out, folks in’
Enterprise needed to be paused as protesters calling for the abolition of the unelected chamber began chanting and throwing leaflets pic.twitter.com/44uDPrLs71
— ITVPolitics (@ITVNewsPolitics) March 20, 2025
Key occasions
Protesters name for Lords to get replaced by Home of the Folks, with members chosen by lot
There are infinite proposals for Home of Lords reform floating round Westminster (which is one cause why nothing a lot ever appears to occur). At present Assemble, the grassroots democracy group which organised the six-person demonstration that disrupted proceedings within the Lords at this time, has put ahead a easy thought for a substitute chamber. It says the Lords must be changed with a Home of the Folks, with members chosen by lot.
In a press release on at this time’s protest, it says:
At present’s motion has been taken in assist of the abolition of the Home of Lords in favour of a Home of the Folks – a brand new establishment the place any grownup within the UK could also be chosen to serve, like a jury, to set the political agenda and stability the Home of Commons. This motion mirrors one undertaken by Suffragettes on October twenty eighth 1908, the place they took direct motion by raining handbills onto the Home of Commons, demanding suffrage for girls within the UK …
A public-led establishment like a Home of the Folks will produce fairer, more practical, and extra democratic outcomes than the present parliamentary system, which isn’t match for objective. The latest election noticed the bottom turnout and vote depend for twenty years, but produced a main minister with the strongest majority. Polls present that the majority British individuals are in favour of changing the Home of Lords, with a everlasting rolling residents’ meeting because the favorite various.
Assemble is one among varied organistions inviting folks to volunteer to be chosen by lottery to take part in a Home of the Folks this summer time that might work up plans for constitutional change.
Christina Jenkins, 31, a care employee from Cwmbran and one of many individuals who took half in at this time’s protest, stated in a press release on Assemble’s web site:
We’d like a Folks’s Home, not a home of rich elites. Lords: surrender your seat! How can we an actual democracy after we’re solely given the prospect to vote as soon as each 5 years? Even then, so many individuals don’t vote as a result of their voices nonetheless go unheard.”
Whether or not it’s the spiralling price of residing disaster, insecure housing, wars or the local weather disaster, you don’t need to look far to see the signs of a damaged political system. We have to hand the ability again to the folks with participatory politics like residents’ assemblies if we stand any probability of addressing the true points dealing with Britain.
PA Media has filed extra on the protesters who disrupted continuing within the Home of Lords earlier. PA says:
The protesters stated they had been appearing on behalf of Assemble, an organisation that campaigns for the Home of Lords to be abolished and changed by a residents’ meeting.
Residents’ assemblies are chosen by sortition, which implies members of the general public are picked at random through a lottery.
Supporters of this mechanism argue it means a extra consultant pattern of the inhabitants are in a position to come collectively and debate necessary points.
As they had been escorted out, the protesters sang a music encouraging folks to “take again the Commons” and “increase a glass to Thomas Paine”.
Thomas Paine is an English-born American founding father who was a powerful advocate for democracy, rejecting monarchy and aristocracy.
One lady shouted within the chamber that they had been protesting just like the Suffragettes, who had been identified to show within the Homes of Parliament for the reason for votes for girls.
The QR code on their leaflets results in an invitation to enter the lottery for a so-called Home of the Folks, which says it is going to “debut as a parallel Parliament” in July 2025.
Pete Lowe introduced yesterday that he was resigning as chief of the Labour group on Dudley council over the incapacity cuts. In a press release, he stated that he was leaving the social gathering after 41 years as a result of “I can’t be true to my rules and condemn the Tory cuts to essentially the most susceptible and never condemn the federal government.”
Labour to scrutinise college smartphone bans as strain grows over affect on youngsters
Bridget Phillipson is to start an in-depth scrutiny of smartphone bans in faculties in England as strain grows from MPs to behave on the impact of social media on youngsters, Jessica Elgot and Rachel Keenan report.
Reform UK defends asking department officers to signal non-disclosure agreements
Reform UK asks it department officers, like chairs, secretaries and treasurers, to signal non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), Genevieve Holl-Allen reveals in a narrative for the Every day Telegraph.
She says on the final election parliamentary candidates had been additionally requested to signal NDAs. And she or he says some council candidates have been requested to signal NDAs forward of the Could elections, though the social gathering has indicated that occurred by mistake and it says council candidates aren’t topic to gagging orders.
In her story, Holl-Allen reviews:
The follow is uncommon – neither the Conservatives, Labour nor the Liberal Democrats use NDAs for department officers or candidates …
In a replica of the NDA, seen by The Telegraph, department members are prohibited from divulging personal details about the “actions, communication and electoral features” of the social gathering.
The doc phrases are drawn up so extensively that they might depart people open to authorized assault for divulging data resembling what goes on at personal conferences or particulars of the social gathering management.
The NDA stated it coated all confidential data referring to “all actions, communication, and electoral features with the intention of utilizing it primarily for the broad objective of our political, campaigning and fundraising actions”.
In a press release to the social gathering, Reform UK defended the coverage. A spokesperson stated:
Reform UK are dedicated to the best requirements of knowledge safety. Like all skilled organisation, we anticipate these answerable for managing massive quantities of member and candidate private data to maintain it safe.
Lammy tells MPs it is ‘troublesome to see’ how Israel’s denial of help to Gaza appropriate with worldwide regulation
David Lammy, the international secretary, has instructed MPs that it’s “troublesome to see” how Israel’s denial of humanitarian help to civilians in Gaza “could be appropriate with worldwide humanitarian regulation”.
However he was by some opposition MPs as he stopped in need of repeating his earlier remarks that there had been a “breach of worldwide regulation” by Israel.
Talking within the Commons, Lammy stated the resumption of Israeli navy motion in Gaza had resulted in an “appalling lack of life”. He stated:
On the evening of March 18, Israel launched air strikes throughout Gaza. Various Hamas figures had been reportedly killed, nevertheless it’s been reported that over 400 Palestinians had been killed in missile strikes and artillery barrages. The vast majority of them had been girls and youngsters.
This seems to have been the deadliest single day for Palestinians because the conflict started. That is an appalling lack of life, and we mourn the lack of each civilian.
Lammy confirmed a British nationwide was amongst these wounded after a UN compound was hit on Wednesday. He stated the UK was urgently calling for return to a ceasefire.
Hamas has been resisting requires the discharge of additional hostages in return for an extended truce.
Israeli forces didn’t start to withdraw from the Philadelphi Hall as agreed and on March 2 the Israeli authorities introduced it was blocking all additional help deliveries till Hamas agreed to its phrases.
For weeks now, provides of primary items and electrical energy have been blocked, leaving over half 1,000,000 civilians as soon as once more minimize off from clear ingesting water and sparking a 200% surge within the value of some primary foodstuffs; a boon to these criminals who use violence to manage provides.
As I instructed the home on Monday, that is appalling and unacceptable. In the end, after all, these are issues for the courts, not governments, to find out, nevertheless it’s troublesome to see how denying humanitarian help to a civilian inhabitants could be appropriate with worldwide humanitarian regulation.
Although it’s necessary to say I might have been a bit clearer within the Home on Monday, our place stays that Israel’s actions in Gaza are a transparent threat of breaching worldwide humanitarian regulation.
Lords protesters defend disrupting proceedings, saying friends are undemocratic and ‘image of every thing that is outdated’
Girl Twycross, a tradition minister, was making a press release in regards to the celebrations to commemorate the eightieth anniversary of the top of the second world conflict when a small group of protesters beginning shouting from the gallery. The proceedings had been suspended for about 5 minutes whereas the gallery was cleared.
As PA Media reviews, one of many protesters, Lucy Porter, 50, a major college trainer from Leeds, stated was “campaigning for a home of the folks”. On the Lords, she stated:
It’s an emblem of every thing that’s outdated. We don’t have a functioning democracy on this nation.
The leaflets thrown by the group had written on them: “By no means thoughts the Lords right here’s the Home of Folks.” On the opposite aspect it acknowledged: “Aristocrats and oligarchs: Out. Posties, mums, nurses and neighbours: In. Change the Home of Lords to avoid wasting the UK.”
One protester, who wished to be identified solely as Christina, stated:
We did this motion on behalf of Assemble and the ask is that, as an alternative of a Home of Lords, which is a home of unelected rich elites, we’ve a home of the folks.
So, we’ve residents’ assemblies the place folks can take part in actual democracy, as an alternative of getting every thing handed to them from up excessive.
One other lady, who additionally referred to herself as Christina, stated:
If folks enter into assemblies and a home of the folks through sortition, that’s actual illustration the place folks get a say on actual points that matter to them, which aren’t getting processed by the federal government or parliament.
The associated fee-of-living disaster, the housing disaster, the local weather disaster, it’s a multitude, and we’d like folks with actual illustration to begin making a distinction and having a say.
Home of Lords proceedings disrupted by protesters
Proceedings within the Home of Lords have been disrupted by protesters, this morning. ITV Information has the clip. Campaigners within the gallery began shouting “Lords out, folks in”, and dropping leaflets into the chamber.
Home of Lords interrupted by protestors shouting ‘Lords out, folks in’
Enterprise needed to be paused as protesters calling for the abolition of the unelected chamber began chanting and throwing leaflets pic.twitter.com/44uDPrLs71
— ITVPolitics (@ITVNewsPolitics) March 20, 2025
Badenoch says native elections can be ‘extraordinarily troublesome’ for Tories
On the Conservative social gathering’s native elections marketing campaign launch in Beaconsfield, Kemi Badenoch echoed her social gathering co-chair Nigel Huddleston in stressing it was more likely to be onerous for her social gathering to keep away from huge losses. (See 9.45am). Listed below are a number of the key traces.
This 12 months can be … the primary time because the normal election – the best defeat in our social gathering’s historical past – that we battle these seats. Should you map that normal election results of 2024 on to this coming Could, then we don’t win the councils we received in 2021, we lose virtually each single one.
She stated that thought the social gathering would most likely “do a bit higher than that”, the elections would however be “extraordinarily troublesome”.
We’re the one credible selection: Lib Dems will wreck your public providers, Reform has no expertise working something, Greens will run councils into the bottom and Labour will spend, tax and waste your cash, identical to they at all times do.
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She restated her assault on “showbusiness” politicians. Echoing the argument she made in a Telegraph interview earlier this week (see 11.49am), she stated:
This isn’t showbusiness. This isn’t a sport. That is about folks’s lives. This isn’t for us. It’s for all these folks on the market who want credible politicians. That’s what we’re providing.
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Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow housing secretary, instructed the occasion that the Tories have been doing comparatively effectively in native council byelections. He stated:
Because the normal election, we’ve received twice as many seats by way of web positive aspects in comparison with another social gathering. We all know we are able to do that.
Hollinrake might have been referring to those figures from the Lib Dem activist and elections skilled Mark Pack, exhibiting the Tories on a web achieve of twenty-two seats, double the online achieve of 12 seats achieved by Reform UK.
Farage responds to Badenoch in spat over whether or not or not it is good for politicians to be on actuality TV
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK chief, has defended politicians who get entangled in leisure TV.
In an article for the Every day Telegraph, he hit again at Kemi Badenoch, who used an interview with the paper earlier this week to dismiss Farage as only a actuality TV phenomenon.
Badenoch, whose social gathering has been overtaken by Farage’s in most up-to-date opinion polls, stated:
Having enchantment doesn’t imply that folks need you working their lives. That’s one of many issues that we have to ensure that we remind folks.
This isn’t I’m A Celeb or Strictly Come Dancing. You don’t vote for the individual that you’re having fun with watching after which change off when the present’s over.
You’ve bought to reside with that particular person in your life, in your loved ones’s life, at work and so forth. That’s what elections are about. It’s not nearly watching a present and switching it off. We’ve bought to maneuver away from politics as showbusiness.
In response, Farage admitted participating in actuality TV exhibits like I’m a Celeb however argued that being well-known was a constructive factor for a politician, not a destructive factor. He went on:
Anyway, it’s not as if I’m the primary politician to have been outstanding within the media. Ronald Reagan mixed his early political actions with a movie and TV profession for 20 years, till the Sixties. When he introduced within the Nineteen Seventies that he wished to turn out to be the US President, all people stated he was a B-Film actor who stood no probability. As of late, American conservatives look again on this two-term chief with a slight sense of awe by way of his achievements.
And what about Donald Trump? He was a well known New York property developer from the Nineteen Seventies onwards nevertheless it was his huge success with the truth to indicate The Apprentice from 2004 that put him ready the place he might win the nomination for the Republican Occasion.
He ended his article with recommendation for the Tory chief:
Kemi Badenoch has an issue. Most members of the general public haven’t any opinion of her. Even fewer know what she stands for. I’ve an thought for her. She might seem on a actuality TV present herself. A spell within the I’m a Celeb… jungle could be good. I’ll gladly give her some suggestions if she desires to enroll in the following sequence.
Disabled folks’s entry to move in UK a ‘nationwide embarrassment’, MPs say
Disabled folks’s entry to move has been known as a “nationwide embarrassment” by MPs on a parliamentary committee, who stated a brand new enforcement regime was wanted to uphold their proper to journey. Gwyn Topham has the story.
Jesse Norman, the shadow chief of the Commons, paid tribute to his father, Sir Torquil Norman, who has simply died, throughout enterprise questions within the chamber this morning. Torquil Norman’s toy firm created the Polly Pocket model.
His son instructed MPs:
Virtually precisely 24 hours in the past, my father Torquil Norman died on the age of 91. He was a rare man who flew Seafires and Sea Furies throughout his nationwide service within the Fleet Air Arm.
He created Polly Pocket, a toy which introduced unbelievable pleasure to tens of millions of younger folks across the Home and around the globe.
And he rebuilt the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm in London, not simply as an unimaginable performing arts centre however as a inventive centre for younger folks and for them to seek out their manner from no matter backgrounds into jobs.
One particular person has died attempting to cross the Channel in an overloaded boat, after one other particular person died earlier trying the identical journey, in keeping with the French authorities, Diane Taylor reviews.
Tories affirm their coverage evaluate to have a look at council tax as figures present common payments in England up £109
The common Band D council tax invoice in England will rise by £109, or 5%, in 2025-26 in keeping with authorities figures launched this morning. The common Band D whole invoice can be £2,280, up from £2,171.
In an interview on the At present programme this morning, Nigel Huddleston, the Tory co-chair, stated his social gathering’s coverage evaluate would think about various approaches. He stated:
We’re going to be utilizing our time in opposition very correctly and Kemi [Badenoch] laid out earlier this week the coverage renewal work and coverage renewal programme that we are going to be doing, which can have a look at each single space of presidency – and clearly council tax is an space of main concern as a result of it is a vital a part of folks’s annual expenditure.
Barrow-in-Furness is a “blueprint” for a way rising defence spending can increase prosperity throughout the UK, Keir Starmer has stated forward of a go to to the city on the coronary heart of Britain’s submarine-building business. PA Media says:
Keir Starmer will lay the keel for the following era of Britain’s nuclear deterrent submarines when he visits the Cumbrian city at this time, as he argues his plans to spice up defence spending will assist fulfil his mission to develop the economic system.
Simply days in the past, Starmer secretly joined a crew of submariners as they returned residence to their households for the primary time in months, making him the primary prime minister to affix a so-called “day zero” since 2013.
King Charles is in the meantime as a consequence of confer the Port of Barrow with the title “Royal”, to recognise the city’s contribution in the direction of nationwide safety as a hub of submarine constructing.
In February, the prime minister introduced the federal government will improve defence spending to 2.5% of the UK’s financial output by 2027, one thing which ministers assume will assist drive financial development and create jobs throughout the UK.
The prime minister stated: “Once I say that our Plan for Change is delivering safety for working folks and renewal for our nation, there isn’t a higher blueprint than Barrow.
“Defence spending right here is supporting extremely expert jobs, driving alternatives for younger folks and delivering world class capabilities to maintain us all secure, nevertheless it’s additionally crucially placing cash within the pockets of hardworking folks.”
SNP claims cuts deliberate by Rachel Reeves in spring assertion means Labour lied to Scots about no return to austerity
In at this time’s Guardian splash Kiran Stacey, Pippa Crerar and Jessica Elgot reveal that Rachel Reeves will announce the largest spending cuts since austerity at subsequent week’s spring assertion.
That is notably troublesome for Labour in Scotland, the place their fundamental opponents, the SNP, are fiercely anti-austerity and Labour MSPs are break up over whether or not to defend the financial insurance policies of the UK authorities or criticise them.
Commenting on the Guardian’s story, Dave Doogan, the SNP’s economic system spokersperson at Westminster, stated:
Folks in Scotland won’t ever forgive the Labour social gathering for imposing a brand new period of devastating austerity cuts on public providers and family incomes.
It’s clear the Labour social gathering lied to voters throughout the election. They promised no return to austerity cuts however they’re slicing billions of kilos from very important providers.
UK knowledge recording of organic intercourse inflicting potential dangers, report finds
Official UK knowledge recording folks’s organic intercourse and their gender id is commonly unclear or conflated, a government-commissioned report has discovered, inflicting confusion and potential dangers, for instance in healthcare and safeguarding. Peter Walker has the story.
Tory co-chair braces social gathering for large losses as Kemi Badenoch launches native elections marketing campaign
Good morning. For Keir Starmer, it’s a navy day. This morning Downing Avenue has launched video footage and photos of Starmer assembly the crew of a nuclear-armed submarine earlier this week because it returned to Faslane in Scotland. Later this morning he’s in Barrow, the place he’s going to “lay the keel to the primary boat of the following era nuclear armed submarines, knowns because the Dreadnought class”, No 10 says. He’s additionally saying that “the king has agreed to confer the ‘Royal’ title to the Port of Barrow in recognition of the city’s distinctive and important contribution to nationwide safety as residence of nuclear submarine constructing within the UK”. And this afternoon, within the south of England, he’s going to attend a gathering of navy chiefs and planners from the 30-odd nations which are a part of the “coalition of the keen” providing to assist shield Ukraine within the occasion of a ceasefire.
I’ll cowl a few of that right here, however Jakub Krupa will lead the Ukraine-focused protection on his Europe reside weblog.
For Kemi Badenoch, a unique sort of battle planning is on the agenda. She is launching the Conservative social gathering’s native election marketing campaign at an occasion in Buckinghamshire.
It’s going to be a low-key launch, we’re instructed. Yesterday CCHQ officers had been doing their greatest to influence foyer journalists that it might not be definitely worth the effort attending. And the in a single day phrases launched from Badenoch are story-free. Badenoch says:
The Conservatives are the one social gathering that stands up for households, for rural communities, and for native companies. Labour pander to the unions, the Lib Dems waste your taxes, and Reform haven’t any expertise working something.
The Conservatives can be your voice in your local people, delivering worth for cash, decrease taxes and higher providers – so vote Conservative on 1 Could.
However Nigel Huddleston, the Conservative social gathering co-chair, gave a clue as to what’s actually occurring in an interview on Sky Information this morning. It’s not uncommon for events to downplay expectations forward of native elections, however Huddlestone went overboard, implying that the social gathering is anticipating critical losses. He stated:
That is us having an election after dropping the final election final 12 months, [defending the] high-water mark of the 2021 native elections, the place we bought an unimaginable 65% of all seats. That’s about 30% increased than we usually get in native elections. That is following on from the vaccines roll-out. We received the Hartlepool byelection on the identical day. So 2021 was a extremely high-water mark, and that’s what we’re dealing with in opposition to now.
Now, we’re combating for each single vote in each single seat, however it is going to be troublesome.
Are the Tories proper to be frightened? In all probability. Earlier this month Electoral Calculus printed some MRP polling for the native elections and the outcomes recommend the Conservatives are on track to lose tons of of seats.
Electoral Calculus says:
Our prediction is that the Conservatives will lose a considerable amount of assist and councillors to the Reform UK social gathering. The Liberal Democrats are additionally anticipated to make some positive aspects, whereas Labour may lose floor a bit. The Inexperienced social gathering and impartial candidates are tougher to foretell precisely, so their predictions are topic to a higher quantity of uncertainty.
What may assist the Conservatives is the truth that in a number of the council areas the place elections must be going down, voting is being delayed for at the least a 12 months due to the native authorities reorganisations. The anticipated election ends in the desk above are projected figures together with locations the place voting is going on in Could, and locations the place voting is delayed. As this desk exhibits, after they separated the outcomes, Electoral Calculus discovered that Reform UK had been on track to do even higher within the locations the place polling shouldn’t be taking place this 12 months.
After all, that is solely a ballot. They don’t seem to be at all times correct. However politicians research them very intently, and CCHQ may have seen figures like this. They clarify why Badenoch isn’t any making a fuss of her native elections marketing campaign launch, and why Huddleston is getting ready his social gathering for large losses.
Right here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Steve Reed, atmosphere secretary, takes questions within the Commons.
9.30am: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Native Authorities publishes council tax figures for England for 2025-26.
10.30am: Lucy Powell, the chief of the Commons, makes a press release to MPs on subsequent week’s enterprise.
10.40am: Kemi Badenoch launches the Conservatives’ native election marketing campaign at an occasion in Buckinghamshire.
Morning: Keir Starmer is in Barrow to put the keel for the primary of the next-generation Dreadnought nuclear-armed submarines which are being constructed.
11.30am: Downing Avenue holds a foyer briefing.
About 11.30am: David Lammy, the international secretary, makes a press release to MPs about Gaza.
Midday: John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, takes questions at Holyrood.
12.30pm: Darren Jones, chief secretary to the Treasury, provides a speech on the Institute for Authorities.
2.30pm: Lammy provides at speech on the British Chambers of Commerce convention.
Afternoon: Starmer attends a navy planning assembly for nations from the “coalition of the keen” providing to assist shield Ukraine within the occasion of a ceasefire.
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