Politics
Sitting All Day Working From Home Can Cause This Painful Condition
You may want to stand up and do a few stretches while reading this.
Research has already established that prolonged sitting is really harmful to our health. It’s linked to conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.
But what if it’s also the reason for your back pain or that pesky knee pain that pops up every time you try to jog?
While there are multiple causes of back and knee pain, sitting all day at a desk job may be a major factor, too. Here’s what to know:
Sitting all day can cause tight hip flexors
“A lot depends on how you sit, but essentially, prolonged sitting puts your iliopsoas, which is your primary hip flexor, into a shortened position,” said Dr. Michael Fredericson, a professor of sports medicine and the director of Stanford Lifestyle Medicine in California.
Your hip flexors are a group of muscles that allow you to raise your knee. You also use these muscles when you step up and bend forward.
“So if you’re staying in that position for seven, eight hours a day, then it becomes chronically tight into that position, and you get what we call passive muscle stiffness,” Fredericson said.
This isn’t only a problem for people who sit all day; it’s also common among runners and cyclists, said Brian Kracyla, a physical therapist and owner of Cloudline Physical Therapy in Philadelphia.
According to Melanie McNeal, physical and occupational therapy manager at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, men are often affected.
“Most everyone has tight hip flexors, because we’re a society that does a lot of sitting, so it is a huge issue,” McNeal said. However, it tends to be even more prevalent in men “because males tend to be tighter than females on the whole”.
Luis Alvarez via Getty Images
Tight hip flexors can cause knee and back pain
Why does it matter if you have tight hip flexors? Well, it turns out this issue could be causing pain and mobility problems that you probably aren’t even connecting to tight hips.
One problem people with tight hips may experience is knee pain, McNeal said, “because if your hip flexor is tight … it compresses your kneecap, your patella, and that can cause knee pain, especially with activity like jogging or running or fast walking.”
If you have tight hip flexors, your stride length will be shorter when walking and running, Kracyla said. This contributes to the shuffling gait that’s often seen in older adults.
Having tight hip flexors can also lead to posture issues and back pain.
“You’re going to have a pelvic tilt in the front, which is going to increase the curve of your spine in the back,” Kracyla said, “and often that will manifest itself on our end with lumbar extension compensation, so you could feel more low-back stiffness with activity due to your tight hip flexors.”
“That’s why a lot of times when you stretch the hip flexors, people’s back pain feels better,” Fredericson said.
If you can’t avoid sitting all day, there is a better way to sit
A lot of people have desk jobs and long commutes that require them to sit for many hours of the day, and there is no way around that reality. While sitting all day long isn’t ideal for your hip mobility (and many other systems in your body), there’s a way to adjust.
The problem with sitting all day is the slouching and slumping that most of us do when we’re on our computers, tablets or phones, Fredericson said, “instead of actively using your core and postural muscles to keep your pelvis in a more neutral position.”
“When you’re slouched all day, those hip flexors are in this chronically shortened position, but if you look at people who maintain better posture, their pelvis is not … going into a posterior pelvic tilt. It’s staying in a more neutral position,” Fredericson added. This way, you’re engaging your muscles and participating in more “active sitting.”
Beyond maintaining good posture while sitting, it’s important to stand and move around for at least five minutes every half hour, according to Fredericson. This can look like going on a walk, heading downstairs for a snack, stretching or switching to your walking pad for a low-stakes call.
“Not only is that going to be good for your hip flexors and your flexibility, but it’s just good for your whole metabolic system,” Fredericson said. “We know the people who do that, their blood pressure is lower. They have less cardiovascular risk factors.”
Exercise can also help, but going to the gym after sitting for eight hours a day, five days a week, isn’t going to counteract your inactivity.
“You might get this false belief that you’re still staying in great shape because you go to that gym, but then you still sit all day — but it doesn’t really work like that,” Fredericson said.
This doesn’t mean your exercise regimen isn’t helpful. For optimal body function, you should practice good sitting posture, get up for movement breaks and follow an exercise regimen. Movement, in general, helps with everything.
“The more active we can be, the fewer problems we have,” McNeal said.
Treating tight hip flexors comes down to a multi-pronged approach, Kracyla added, including stretching, mobility work and strength training. According to the Hospital for Special Surgery, helpful stretches for tight hip flexors include the half-kneeling stretch and the 90/90 stretch. Child’s pose and low-lunge stretch can be beneficial, too.
It’s not enough to hold a stretch for 15 seconds and move on, though. McNeal said you should aim to hold each stretch for 30 seconds and repeat it three times.
If you notice pain or difficulty with movement or stretching, it’s worth talking to a doctor to see if you could benefit from additional support from a physical therapist.
“There is some nuance to it,” Kracyla said, before adding that it often requires a clinical eye to prescribe treatment.
Priti Patel Priti Patel has left her post as shadow foreign secretary as Kemi Badenoch launches a reshuffle amid speculation Andy Burnham could call an early election.
In a surprise move, the former home secretary announced on X that she would be taking on an “international role” for the Conservatives to strengthen its links with other centre-riight parties around the world.
She will be replaced as shadow foreign secretary by Tom Tugendhat in a Tory frontbanch shake-up which could take place as early as today.
Her announcement came just a day after James Cleverly announced he was quitting as the Tories’ shadow housing secretary to run to be London mayor.
Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, is also standing down to go on maternity leave, while shadow solicitor general Helen Grant will also leave the Tory frontbench.
Patel, who is the MP for Witham, said: “I’m pleased to continue supporting Kemi and the Conservative Party in a new role strengthening our relationships with fellow conservatives and centre-right parties around the world.
“At a time of profound global uncertainty, when our values and freedoms are under threat, conservatives must work more closely together.”
She said it had been “an honour” to lead the party’s foreign affairs team, citing challenges to the Labour government’s Chagos Islands deal and calls for stronger action to protect the UK from threats posed by China, Iran and Russia.
Badenoch will hope her reshuffle – which comes just a year after her last frontbench shake-up – helps to revive her party’s fortunes.
Although her own personal approval ratings have improved, the Conservatives still trail behind Labour and Reform UK in the opinion polls.
Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.
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I’ve often wondered what my usual comfort watches – The Thick of It, Ugly Betty, Blackadder, Derry Girls, Peep Show – say about me (aside from the fact that I had most of them on DVD as a teen).
I mean, they’re not all soothing, are they? A screaming Malcolm Tucker isn’t exactly what springs to mind when you picture a relaxing rewatch.
But according to the “social surrogacy” theory, the shows we come back to time and time again might offer a type of comfort that isn’t as straightforward as gentle voiceovers or calming scenes.
According to research published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, the one-sided relationships we form with the people in our beloved episodes can “provide the experience of belonging”.
What is “social surrogacy”?
The hypothesis suggests that when people aren’t getting their social needs met in real life for whatever reason, they might turn to music, books, and TV shows to “belong”.
In this paper, the researchers ran four studies to support that theory in the case of television series.
The first one showed that people were likelier to turn to their favourite shows when they felt lonely, and that starting yet another binge-watch of their beloved programmes lessened that feeling of isolation.
The second study suggested that people might talk more, and in greater detail, about their favourite TV shows when they feel left out or rejected.
Study three, meanwhile, demonstrated that thinking about series we adore “buffers against drops in self-esteem and mood and against increases in feelings of rejection commonly elicited by threats to close relationships”.
And lastly, the final experiment revealed that keeping our comfort watch in mind might make people less likely to think about being lonely or feel lonely.
Notably, watching TV in general didn’t seem to give people these results. Only the shows they already had a relationship with seemed to offer these effects.
This, the researchers concluded, might mean “seemingly asocial human technologies, such as television, can actually serve a social function”.
Wait – does that mean there’s something wrong with rewatching your favourite shows?
Not at all. The study authors checked for levels of self-esteem, the need to belong, and attachment style among participants (previous research had hinted that these factors might make someone more likely to seek “social surrogates”).
They found that these qualities didn’t seem to make a difference in the effect familiar TV had on belonging at all in their studies, though – “the results of these analyses suggest that social surrogacy does not appear limited to just one gender or to ‘insecure’ or ‘maladjusted’ individuals”.
The research also reads, “Television programming, particularly reliably-followed favourite programs, allows viewers the opportunity, week after week (or even day after day), to regularly immerse themselves in a narrative about a recognisable ’social’ world in which familiar people, situations, landscapes, and events become intimate and comfortable”.
That cosy feeling of belonging can bring us back to our faves, over and over.
For too long, the debate about children’s mental health has focused almost exclusively on access to services. Expanding CAMHS provision, reducing waiting lists and supporting schools are all essential. But if we are serious about reversing the deterioration in young people’s mental wellbeing, we must also look more closely at prevention, including the factors that may be driving the problem in the first place.
One factor may be hiding in plain sight: the food our children eat. A major recent review published in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health (April 2026) looked at evidence from more than 2.5 million children and adolescents worldwide. It found a consistent link between unhealthy diets and poorer mental health outcomes. Young people consuming more ultra-processed and ‘junk’ foods were more likely to experience sleep problems, anxiety, depression, stress and ADHD-related symptoms (1).
Researchers increasingly believe there are good reasons why unhealthy foods affect mental health. Diet affects inflammation, metabolic health and the gut-brain axis, all of which are increasingly recognised as important influences on mental wellbeing. Childhood and adolescence are also critical periods of brain development, making young people especially vulnerable to poor nutrition.
Research from the French EDEN birth cohort found that low maternal adherence to a healthy diet during pregnancy was associated with an 87 per cent higher likelihood of children following a moderately high anxiety and depression symptom trajectory between the ages of three and eight. This should encourage policymakers to give nutrition a much more prominent place in prevention policy.
The debate around unhealthy food has traditionally focused on obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Those concerns remain vitally important. But if poor diets are also contributing to poor sleep, greater psychological distress and a higher risk of mental health difficulties, then the benefits of improving children’s diets may be much greater than we previously understood. BANT applauds the Chefs in Schools for their efforts to improve school food.
No single policy will solve the children’s mental health crisis. But diet is one of the few risk factors that governments can influence at scale. A Nutrient Profiling Model which is fit for purpose should therefore be viewed as part of a wider prevention strategy.
Of course, family circumstances, poverty, housing, education, social media and access to support all play important roles. But if we are serious about improving children’s mental health, we cannot afford to ignore what is on their plate. Mental wellbeing does not start in the clinic. It starts much earlier — at home, at school, and around the dinner table.
References
- Ulm C, Hill F, Mills SD, Chelius C, Hecht EM. Association between unhealthy food consumption and mental health outcomes in children and adolescents: an umbrella review. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2026 Apr 2;20(1):70. doi: 10.1186/s13034-026-01079-4. PMID: 41928295; PMCID: PMC13169651.
Keir Starmer is resigning as the MP for Holborn and St Pancras less than two months after he left Downing Street.
The former prime minister told his local newspaper, the Camden New Journal, on the day MPs returned to Westminster following their summer recess.
Starmer was kicked out of office just before the break in July amid widespread dissatisfaction with his leadership from the Labour backbenchers.
Andy Burnham, previously Greater Manchester mayor, quickly secured a seat in the Commons and ran uncontested to replace the ex-PM.
Starmer said: “It has been a huge honour and privilege to represent the best constituency in the country and to have taken over from Frank Dobson, who was such a great constituency MP and a member of the last Labour government.
“I will now focus on other things and that will be international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast-changing world.
“I will also continue, as I have done for a long time now with others, work on combating violence against women and girls; that is an issue that matters to me hugely.
“It’s work I started before I became an MP and it’s work I’m keen to continue after I’m an MP. So international affairs on the one hand, and continuing my work on violence against women and girls on the other.”
His remarks come after widespread speculation about his future plans.
When delivering his final speech on Downing Street in mid-July, Starmer said it was the “end of my political journey” and insisted he was “proud of everything I have achieved”.
However, he did tell the BBC that he intended to stay on as an MP until the next general election.
Speaking to his local newspaper more recently, the Labour MP said he was now ready to “pass the baton to a successor”.
Starmer said he has told his local Labour constituency party staff of his intention to leave the London seat.
The party will now start a selection process to find a candidate for the subsequent by-election – a significant test for the new Burnham government.
Starmer said he would not be endorsing any potential successor but would support whoever is selected by Labour.
His decision to withdraw from domestic politics comes after his biographer, Tom Baldwin, revealed Starmer had been advised not to return to his former home in Kentish Town, north London.
The property – which Starmer lived in before getting the keys to NO.10 – was firebombed in May 2025.
Two men were jailed in June following a trial at the Old Bailey over arson attacks on property connected to Starmer.
The jury heard Roman Lavrynovych and Stanislav Carpiuc had been recruited by an anonymous Russian-speaking figure called “El Money” on the messaging service Telegram.
Speaking in the House of Commons at the time, the then PM said it was “an attack on all of us, on democracy and the values that we stand for”.
Starmer and his family divided their time between Downing Street and the country grace-and-favour residence Chequers when he was prime minister.
The ex-PM also fuelled further questions about his future by telling the newspaper: “I think once you’ve been prime minister, it’s important to answer the question: what are you going to do next? Having decided I’m going to concentrate on international affairs, I think it’s right to step down [as MP].”
Kevin Hollinrake, Tory party chair, said: “Whilst we have disagreed with almost all of Sir Keir Starmer’s decisions, I wish him and his family well for the future.
“It is fitting that his final act as a Member of Parliament is yet another u-turn having pledged to stay on.
“The decision to stand down will mean a costly by-election for taxpayers at a time when Andy Burnham are John Healey are plotting tax rises on hardworking families across the country. “
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates or follow HuffPost UK on X at @HuffPostUK or on Facebook.
The SNP really really don’t want to have another independence referendum, but if somebody somehow FORCES them into one, they DEFINITELY don’t want to have it in circumstances where they’d be starting the campaign with a 16-point lead.
(We must conclude from all this, incidentally, that John Swinney LOVES the Tories, because he had no problem accepting an indyref from a right-wing party in 2012.)
If Scotland leaves the UK, who might be the Prime Minister of the remains of it is none of his business, and certainly shouldn’t be a dealbreaker in achieving independence.
If there’s anyone left in the SNP with a shred of integrity (and if there is they must be very deep undercover indeed), Swinney ought to be challenged for the leadership at next month’s conference and replaced with someone – the Lord alone knows who – who’s actually willing to pursue the party’s supposed primary goal, because Swinney has now dismissed every possible route to it out of hand.
(Even though he loves Reform winning seats the rest of the time.)
We know Andy Burnham won’t give him a referendum and we now know he won’t accept one from Nigel Farage, so it would appear that the whole idea is off the table until at least 2034 (by which point the SNP will have about 17 members left on their current trajectory).
That’s a lot of time for a lot of grifters to slurp up a lot of gravy, but the rest of us are in for a depressing decade.
Politics
Politics Home Article | More Tory Councils To Challenge Government Over London Funding Cuts
(Alamy)
2 min read
Exclusive: Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea are set to follow Wandsworth in formally appealing cuts to local government following revelations over mammoth council tax rises.
It comes after PoliticsHome revealed that Wandsworth Council was planning on raising council tax by 160 per cent.
Last week, PoliticsHome also revealed that the Conservatives were planning to use the Sustainable Communities Act to submit a formal appeal to ministers asking them to reconsider reforms to local government funding.
On Wednesday, Conservative council leaders in Wandsworth met with Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake and former shadow local government secretary James Cleverly to discuss how they would escalate their response to the new local government funding settlement.
Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea were also at the meeting last week, as they considered launching their own appeals to the government, as well as Lib-Dem-controlled Richmond.
PoliticsHome understands that the Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea councils have now decided to move ahead with these appeals, with all three appeals submitted separately.
Westminster, which like Wandsworth was permitted to raise council tax above five per cent without a referendum for the next two years to raise more revenue, recently warned that it would have to raise council tax by up to 200 per cent to keep spending at current levels.
Under the Sustainable Communities Act, councils can appeal to government over decisions affecting them, following a public consultation. If this appeal is rejected, then the Local Government Association could make its own recommendations to the government on behalf of the council.
Wandsworth, which the Conservatives won from Labour in May, currently has one of the lowest tax rates in the country. But it is projecting a 40 per cent reduction in cuts to its grant funding following the government’s rebalancing of council funding across the country.
The government has said its reforms to local government funding prioritise parts of the country with higher deprivation so that the system is “truly based on need”.
However, the changes will mean less funding for some local authorities in London, with MPs and councillors in the capital warning that the plans will exacerbate cost pressures.
Wandsworth Council previously warned that council tax would have to increase by up to 230 per cent without cuts.
The Wandsworth tax rise is expected to be implemented in April 2027 if it goes ahead, with the rate then being frozen for the rest of the term, PoliticsHome understands.
All eyes are on Zack Polanski after former prime minister Keir Starmer announced he was resigning as a London MP.
The Green Party leader – who is currently a London Assembly member – has repeatedly insisted he would only run to be an MP if a seat in the capital became available.
A Green Party spokesperson then failed to rule out the possibility of Polanski campaigning to replace Starmer in his Holborn and St Pancras constituency on Tuesday, after the ex-PM’s resignation.
They told HuffPost UK: “Zack has always made it clear he would like to be a London MP.
“London has been his home for over 20 years.”
Starmer’s former seat, in north-west London, has only voted in Labour MPs since the constituency was created in 1983.
But there could be signs that enthusiasm for Labour in the area are waning.
Starmer secured a very comfortable majority of 27,763 in 2019 only for it to fall to 11,572 in the 2024 general election.
The Greens came in fourth place in the seat back in 2019 with 2,746 votes.
However, their vote share increased to 4,030 in 2024 and they came in third place behind Labour and an independent candidate.
That suggests there might be a growing appetite for the left-wing party.
Polanski reportedly resides in Hackney, in east London.
However, he has previously refused to run against one of Hackney’s two MPs, telling HuffPost UK he would not to challenge Labour left-winger Diane Abbott in any future by-election.
He said: “I think Diane Abbott’s wonderful, and I’d be highly unlikely to run against her.”
Polanski also declined to stand in any of other three by-elections – Gorton and Denton, Makerfield or Clacton – held in England this year.
The London Assembly member was elected as the Green leader a year ago.
He oversaw a huge boom in popularity for the party, with their membership tripling during his first six months in the post.
However a series of social media missteps, including Polanski’s critiques of the police reaction to the Golders Green attack and his repost of a guillotine t-shirt referencing Nigel Farage, saw the party decline in the opinion polls.
Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.
Keir Starmer said he wants to build on work in international affairs and tackling violence against women and girls (Alamy)
2 min read
Keir Starmer is standing down as Labour MP for Holborn and St Pancras, after having resigned as prime minister in June.
Starmer told his local newspaper, Camden New Journal, that he felt it was the “right time” to leave the House of Commons and is planning to take up work in international affairs. The former PM has been MP for Holborn and St Pancras since the 2015 general election.
The North London MP stood down as prime minister in July to make way for Andy Burnham to succeed him as party leader and PM, after two years in office.
“It has been a huge honour and privilege to represent the best constituency in the country and to have taken over from Frank Dobson, who was such a great constituency MP and a member of the last Labour government,” Starmer said.
“I will now focus on other things and that will be international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast-changing world.
“I will also continue, as I have done for a long time now with others, work on combating violence against women and girls; that is an issue that matters to me hugely. It’s work I started before I became an MP and it’s work I’m keen to continue after I’m an MP. So international affairs on the one hand, and continuing my work on violence against women and girls on the other.”
The Labour Party will now begin a selection process to find a by-election candidate for the seat.
Zack Polanski’s Green Party is expected to campaign hard in the constituency after making significant electoral gains in London in recent months.
A spokesperson for the Greens hinted that Polanski, a London Assembly Member, could put himself forward to be the party’s candidate. “Zack has always made it clear he would like to be a London MP. London has been his home for over 20 years,” they said.
Keir Starmer has announced that he will stand down as an MP.
The news of Starmer choosing to leave parliament was first revealed in a report by the CamdenNewJournal. The former prime minister told his local newspaper that he had decided to step down to focus on “international affairs” and that it was the “right time” to leave frontline politics.
Starmer confirmed his decision in a statement on social media.
In the statement, Starmer said he had spent the summer reflecting on his future and that he had decided to “hand the baton over to a successor”.
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He stated: “It’s been an honour and privilege to represent the best constituency in the country since taking over from the great Frank Dobson 11 years ago.
“But it is now time to step aside and focus on other issues: international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast changing world. I will also continue working with others as I have done over many decades to tackle violence against women and girls. “
He added: “I want to thank my [Constituency Labour Party] team who have always stood firmly by me, and given me the support I needed as I stood for leader of the Labour Party and then as I took my party from political, moral and financial ruin to an historic landslide election win in 2024 and two years as prime minister when we stabilised the economy, rebuilt our public services, invested record amounts in our defence and security, began lifting hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty and transformed Britain’s reputation with international partners…
“There will now be a process to appoint my successor ahead of a by-election. Whoever is lucky enough to become the Labour candidate here will have my full support and backing and I will continue to give my full support to the prime minister and this Labour government.”
Starmer has served as the MP for Holborn and St Pancras since the 2015 general election.
In the 2024 general election for Holborn and St Pancras, Starmer received 18,884 votes, representing 48.9% of the vote share. Independent candidate Andrew Feinstein came second with 7,312 votes (18.9%), while the Green Party candidate, David Stansell, secured 4,030 votes (10.4%). Starmer was duly elected with a majority of 11,572.
Starmer was elected as leader of the Labour Party and leader of the opposition in April 2020. Prior to entering politics, Starmer had a distinguished legal career as a human rights barrister and served as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) from 2008 to 2013. Starmer was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to law and criminal justice.
Starmer entered office as prime minister following the 2024 general election, which resulted in a spectacular landslide victory for the Labour Party and brought 14 years of Conservative government to a definitive end. Labour secured 411 seats and a commanding House of Commons majority of 174.
Starmer’s resignation as prime minister in June 2026 followed a period of immense political pressure precipitated by the May 2026 local elections and simultaneous elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru. The results of the elections, which were confirmed from 8 to 9 May, sparked an intense political crisis as Labour MPs lined up to call on Starmer to step down/set out a timetable for his departure. In total, over 90 MPs called for Starmer to resign as prime minister.
Matters came to a head on 14 May 2026 when Wes Streeting resigned as secretary of state for health and social care and Josh Simons, a former minister, announced his intention to stand down from parliament. Simons’ resignation was designed to create a vacancy that Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, could exploit to return to parliament.
On 22 June 2026, Starmer announced his resignation as prime minister and Labour leader outside 10 Downing Street, becoming the sixth person to leave the office in 10 years.
Speaking on the steps of Downing Street, Starmer said that he had inherited a Labour Party that was “politically, financially and morally bankrupt” upon his election as leader in 2020. He described entering office as prime minister following the 2024 general election as “the proudest moment of my life.”
In an emotional peroration, reminiscent of Theresa May’s resignation as prime minister, Starmer said it had been an honour to serve the “country I love”. His voice cracked as he paid tribute to his wife, Victoria, and his sons.
Starmer stated: “When I leave the biggest job in the country, I shall spend more time on the most important job. Being the best husband I can to my fantastic wife, Vic, who has been a rock by my side, through good times and bad. And being the best dad I can to my beautiful children, who are my pride and my joy.”
Responding to Starmer’s decision to stand down as an MP, Kevin Hollinrake, the chair of the Conservative Party, said: “Whilst we have disagreed with almost all of Sir Keir Starmer’s decisions, I wish him and his family well for the future.
“It is fitting that his final act as a member of parliament is yet another u-turn having pledged to stay on.
“The decision to stand down will mean a costly by-election for taxpayers at a time when Andy Burnham are John Healey are plotting tax rises on hardworking families across the country.
“The Conservatives look forward to giving the people of Holborn and St Pancras a chance to vote for a stronger economy and a stronger country in the weeks ahead.”
Downing Street has hit back at Donald Trump after he suggested America could withdraw its support for Britain over the Falkland Islands.
The US president said he was “reviewing” his position on the British Overseas Territory.
Argentina claims the Falklands, which it calls the Malvinas, belongs to them.
That is despite the fact that a referendum in 2013, 99.8% of those living there said they wanted to remain British.
At the recent World Cup, Argentina’s players sparked controversy after unfurling a banner saying “Las Malvinas Son Argentinas” (the Malvinas are Argentine) after they beat England 2-1 in the semi-final.
America’s official position is that it is neutral on the islands’ sovereignty, which in practice means it supports the status quo.
However, it has been reported that the Trump administration could instead support Argentina’s claim because the president does not believe the UK is spending enough money on defence.
Asked on Monday whether he was reviewing the US’s position, Trump said: “I always review positions, and that’s one of them.”
Responding to Trump’s comments, prime minister Andy Burnham’s official spokesman said: “In the summer we set out our position very clearly and that hasn’t changed
“The Falkland islanders are British, with the right to determine their own future.
“They have expressed their wish to remain a British Overseas Territory and our commitment to them is unwavering.”
The comments put the PM on a collision course with the president as the pair prepare to meet at the United Nations general assembly in New York later this month.
The pair have spoken once on the phone, with Trump describing Burnham as “terrific”.
However, the PM has refused to say he trusts the president, and insisted he will be willing to challenge him if it is in the UK’s national interest.
He said: “I can’t at any point say that I won’t take a different opinion from him, that I will need to voice a different opinion that is right for Britain, and I will do that.”
Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.
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