Angela Rayner, February 2026 (Alamy)

4 min read25 min

Addressing a reception held by Labour soft left group Mainstream on Tuesday evening, Rayner said voters had been given the impression that Labour has “represented the establishment, not working people” and that “at worst, we became it”.

“The very survival of the Labour Party is at stake,” she warned a packed pub basement in Westminster.

“As a party and movement, we cannot hide. We cannot just go through the motions in the face of decline,” Rayner said.

“There is no safe ground for us, and we’re running out of time. The change that people so desperately wanted to see needs to be seen. It needs to be felt.”

The influential backbencher, widely seen as a potential successor to Keir Starmer, started her speech by telling the crowd: “I have a lot to say. I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment.” 

She also joked that she was “really pleased” the reception was being held in a pub that Labour MPs were allowed to enter – “we’ve been banned from a few”, she said.

Rayner went on specifically to criticise Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s plan to extend the automatic qualifying period for awarding Indefinite Leave to Remain from five to 10 years retroactively.

The change would “pull the rug” from migrants who have already arrived in the UK, and represent “not just bad policy but a breach of trust”, she said.

“We cannot talk about earning a settlement if we keep moving the goalposts,” she added. “It’s un-British.”

No primary legislation is required to implement the changes being proposed by the government, which means there is no automatic Commons vote on the proposals and no obvious crunch point for a rebellion.

If there are enough rebel MPs, however, there is a possibility they could organise to force a vote, though they acknowledge that this would be difficult.

Tony Vaughan MP, from the 2024 intake, led more than 100 Labour colleagues in signing a private letter to the government urging it to rethink the tightening of immigration rules.

PoliticsHome understands that he is holding a strategy meeting today for Labour MPs concerned about the plans for earned settled status and refugees.

Vaughan also spoke at the Mainstream reception, telling attendees that Mahmood’s reforms were not informed by Labour values of community, solidarity, internationalism and social justice.

“The idea that mere financial contribution is the beginning and end of what we think qualifies somebody to belong in this society is totally wrong,” he said.

“We have to ensure that as a political movement, in every policy debate, we fight not just to win the argument but ultimately to define the terms and the boundaries of the debate before the argument even starts.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, another figure on the party’s soft left who is touted as a possible successor to Starmer despite not being an MP, today told the BBC that Labour “would always do well to listen to what Angela has got to say”.

Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister, denied in response to Rayner’s comment that the plans for immigration reform were “un-British”.

He told Times Radio: “I don’t think that the changes Shabana Mahmood has announced are un-British. I think what they are doing is trying to strike fairness and a balance between, in the first instance, control of our borders and also people who are here still, of course, having the opportunity then to gain a settled status, but also being fair to everybody.”

The Home Secretary doubled down on the reforms in a speech last week, warning Labour MPs that the current asylum system is “eroding trust” with voters, and arguing that restoring order at the borders is necessary, “not a betrayal” of Labour values. 

“Hard-working people across this country engage in the daily struggle to make ends meet.

“They see a state that they pay taxes towards, yet it is unable to stop the flow of dinghies across the channel. They see a state that is paying billions towards hotels. It doesn’t look fair because it’s not fair, and it erodes their trust in government,” she said.

One attendee of the Mainstream event last night said Rayner was “here for nominations”, referring to the 81 MP nominations any leadership challenger or candidate would have to secure. 

Another warned PoliticsHome against interpreting Mainstream’s invitation to Rayner as a leadership endorsement by the organisation, which is also seen as close to Burnham.

Rayner resigned from cabinet in September after being found to have breached the ministerial code over unpaid stamp duty.

There is a feeling among Labour MPs that it will be very difficult for her to stand as a leadership candidate as long as the HMRC investigation into her tax affairs is ongoing.

Image by: RayArt Graphics / Alamy

3 min read7 min

The campaign for a child cruelty register has revealed something important about how Parliament really works: meaningful legal change does not depend solely on who sits on the government benches. Opposition MPs can identify gaps in the law, build coalitions across parties, and ultimately shift government policy. Despite the way Westminster is often portrayed, cross-party collaboration remains one of the most effective engines of legislative progress.

The gap in the law came to light through the work of my constituent, Paula Hudgell. Few realised that individuals convicted of the most serious offences against children can effectively disappear once their sentences end. After release, there is no long-term mechanism to track them, no requirement to notify authorities of their whereabouts, and no system to ensure that the risks they pose remain visible.

Paula’s determination is rooted in the appalling abuse suffered by her adopted son, Tony. At just 41 days old, he was subjected to such extreme violence by his birth parents that both of his legs later had to be amputated. They were sentenced to 10 years at Maidstone Crown Court but released after serving eight. Their supervision will end when their licence expires, even though the risk they pose may not.

Experience shows that offenders can relocate, change identities and disengage from services to avoid scrutiny. Without a statutory framework for monitoring, authorities are left without the tools they need to assess risk or intervene early.

A child cruelty register, modelled on the Sex Offenders Register, would help to close this loophole. It would introduce mandatory notification requirements, make breaches a criminal offence and allow police and probation services to manage and monitor high-risk individuals over the long term. It would give families and communities confidence that serious offenders cannot simply vanish.

Experience shows that offenders can relocate, change identities and disengage from services to avoid scrutiny

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The campaign has demonstrated how Parliament can function at its best. Before Christmas, Conservative MPs tabled an amendment to the Sentencing Bill to create such a register. Labour MPs voted against it at that stage, but that was not the end of the story. The same amendment was later tabled to the Crime and Policing Bill in the House of Lords, and discussions continued across party lines.

Through our sustained engagement with Home Office ministers, justice ministers, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy and, crucially, through constructive dialogue with colleagues cross-party in both Houses, the government has now accepted the principle of our proposal and tabled its own amendment to introduce a child cruelty register. This is a clear example of how opposition-led initiatives can shape government legislation when the case is strong and the collaboration is genuine.

There is still work to do. I remain concerned that the list of offences proposed by the government does not capture all serious violent child cruelty cases, and I will continue to press for a more comprehensive register. But a fundamental shift has been secured: Parliament has recognised that the risk posed by the most serious offenders does not end at the prison gates, and neither should oversight.

This change in the law will help ensure that those who pose an ongoing danger to children remain visible to the authorities. Tony’s experience should never be repeated. Protecting the most vulnerable is a responsibility shared across Parliament, and this campaign shows that, despite public scepticism, cross-party co-operation remains not only possible but essential to achieving it.

Helen Grant is Conservative MP for Maidstone and Malling, and shadow solicitor general

Rumours about a Spice Girls reunion have been rampant since the minute they finished their string of concerts as a four-piece back in 2019, with various reports over the years about whether or not we could expect to see the iconic girl group back together.

In recent history, it was heavily rumoured that the band had a number of plans to mark the 30th anniversary of their debut single Wannabe, which reached number one on both sides of the Atlantic back in 1996.

However, The Sun has reported that the band “failed to reach an agreement” and therefore these plans have all been ditched.

“We are communicating all the time, we want to do something,” she continued. “Who knows when? But I still feel very optimistic – and I keep my fingers crossed – that you will see the Spice Girls together at some point in the future.”

Back in 2024, an unconfirmed report in the Daily Mail claimed that a fall-out between Mel B and Geri Horner had “thwarted” plans for a 30th anniversary celebration that would have included live shows and an official Netflix documentary.

She last performed with the Spice Girls way back in 2012, at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics.

Visiting McCain growers across the country, I have the privilege of seeing the hard work that British farmers dedicate to feeding the nation. But, in recent years, they’ve faced a series of headwinds that have made this more difficult. Families who have farmed for generations are navigating the challenges of climate change, rising input costs, and the downstream impact of geopolitical conflict.

As the largest purchaser of British potatoes, working with 250 farmers across the country and buying around 20 per cent of the total market, McCain is committed to supporting the long-term sustainability of UK agriculture. We are proud to stand alongside British farmers as they produce quality food in this increasingly complex landscape.

While there is no silver bullet, Demos’ Growing Strong report demonstrates clear opportunities to reduce farmers’ exposure to these headwinds. The solution here is clear: we must transition from viewing sustainable farming purely as an environmental concern to recognising it as a cornerstone of national food security.

Sustainable farming also has the power to strengthen our economic security. Demos’ research shows that upscaling sustainable farming could drive £31.6bn in increased farm profitability filtering through the economy by 2050 and £56.3bn from enhanced natural capital across the UK by 2035. Crucially, with global adoption, it could lead to an average seven per cent reduction in annual food bills for consumers.

To bring change, we need industry to partner with policymakers. For its part, McCain is committed to implementing regenerative practices across 100 per cent of our global potato acreage by 2030 and just launched the McCain Farm of the Future UK to drive innovation that can unlock improved farming outcomes. However, to drive a widespread move from concept to reality, Demos concluded that the government must act in three key areas.

First, we must establish national farming baselines. The government should develop a standardised baseline for carbon, soil, water, and biodiversity outcomes. This would give farmers a clearer understanding of their asset base, enabling better business planning and risk management, while unlocking new market opportunities in carbon and nature markets. This data, aggregated by a trusted independent body, should be updated regularly and integrated into the Land Use Framework.

Second, we must bridge the skills gap. We urge the government to commission Skills England to review the practical demands of sustainable farming, from land management to data use. This review will ensure that investment in technology is matched by investment in people, creating a confident workforce to share knowledge via regional networks.

Finally, we must embed an understanding of sustainable farming impacts. The government should undertake a comprehensive analysis of how these practices benefit long-term profitability and share the findings through accessible training. Spreading this information will help address the perception gap, where many farmers underestimate the financial benefits of the transition.

While the challenges are significant, forthcoming government strategies such as the 25-year Farming Roadmap and the Land Use Framework have the potential to drive a sustainable farming future. The opportunity to build a resilient, profitable farming sector has never been greater.

To read the Growing Strong report, click here.

Charlotte Cadden is a former police officer, women’s rights campaigner and was Conservative candidate in the recent Gorton and Denton by-election.

“I’ve been a Police Officer for 30yrs, I know how to solve crime and anti-social behaviour” on repeat!

This was my mantra for three and a half weeks in February, after I was selected to be the Conservative candidate, for one of the most talked about by-elections, in the recently formed constituency of Gorton and Denton, in Greater Manchester.

The election was triggered by the resignation of Andrew Gwynne, who had been suspended by Labour for sending offensive Whatsapp messages – hoping an elderly resident concerned about bin collections would soon be dead. There were alleged sexist and racist messages within the legendary “Trigger Me Timbers” group. Several Labour Councillors were also suspended.

So, was the time ripe for voters to consider a representative from a different party, as their Member of Parliament? As it turned out, yes.

I had been a Conservative party member for several years. My own ward Councillor had been David Greenhalgh, who sadly passed away in office in 2021. David had fought hard to be elected in 2019 and became the first Conservative leader of Bolton Council in over 40yrs. He was an inspirational, warm and engaging politician and whenever I met him, he would ask me when I was retiring, so I could stand as a local Councillor and support the team locally.

As a Police Officer in Greater Manchester Police, I was a DCI and the Deputy Director of Intelligence. I also held the role of Force Operation Bridger lead. Bridger covers how the Police keep MPs safe when they are away from Parliament. After the horrific murder of Sir David Amess MP in 2021, the Metropolitan Police Service advertised for a national Bridger lead, to design and implement the changes that Parliament required, to further improve the safety and security of MPs.

I got the job, and it was the most challenging and rewarding role I performed as a Police Officer.

As soon as I retired, I hit the ground running, politically speaking, as I had promised David I would. Police Officers can be members of political parties, but they are not allowed to be politically active. I therefore tracked down my local Councillor Les Webb, and offered him my support. I volunteered to take on a couple of new roles within the party, Deputy Chair Political at a ward level and Deputy Chair Membership & Fundraising, at the Constituency level. Soon after, I started the application process to be considered as a candidate for MP, in advance of the next General Election.

The opportunity to stand as a candidate, however, came a lot sooner than expected. At the end of January 2026, I received an email asking if I wanted to apply to be a candidate in the Gorton & Denton by-election. After a challenging application process, I was selected by the members at Denton Conservative Club, to represent them. I met some incredible people that day, many of whom gave me great advice and practical support during the campaign.

The following day, I received an invite to attend CCHQ to discuss campaign messaging and to meet Kemi Badenoch and Chairman Kevin Hollinrake. This was an incredibly special day. Worth getting the 5am train from Piccadilly to Euston!

When I started on the campaign trail, it felt like getting on a speeding train. I was offered daily opportunities to do interviews on the ground with the BBC, ITV, Channel 4,Tameside Reporter, UnHerd, Jeremy Kyle, Rod Little, Matthew Syed the list was endless! And then there were the hustings!

It’s fair to say that the hustings were pretty stressful and I knew I needed some advice from a professional! My incredible Campaign Manager Matthew Littler, put me in touch with Laura Evans who, in the space of an afternoon, transformed my communication style and gave me some practical tips to manage challenging interviews, and get my key points across. A grilling by Laura and husband Nathan, is all the preparation you need for the most hostile of hustings!

There was a warm reception waiting for Conservative Party canvassers on most of the doorsteps of G&D. This diverse area of Greater Manchester featured in daily national news bulletins, as residents were subjected to near constant door-knocking by teams supporting the 11 candidates in the by-election.

Many residents said they had never met a Conservative candidate in the wild before, but they were willing to listen and happy to tell us what mattered to them most.

Many expressed respect for Kemi and looked forward to PMQs each week, to watch her force the deeply unpopular Labour Government into yet another u-turn. There was no love lost for Labour on those streets. This had been a safe Labour seat for generations but all that was about to change.

Suspended Labour Councillors, a sacked Labour MP, an area laid waste by the Labour Mayor (streets plagued by crime & anti-social behaviour, one train a week from Denton station) and an incompetent Labour Government, mired in scandal after scandal. It seemed likely that Labour was going to lose one of its safest ever seats. The battle was seen to be, therefore, by commentators and constituents alike, between the London TV presenter for Reform, and the ‘working class’ plumber from Hale, for the Greens.

So how did the Conservatives fare on the campaign trail?

I was humbled and will be eternally grateful for all the practical support I received from party members, supporters, Councillors and MPs from across the UK, who came to help knock on doors and campaign with me. The dedication of these people, corralled by Dan and Matthew on a daily basis, twice a day, come rain (lots of) or shine (infrequent) was incredible!

Members of the Shadow Cabinet came up to support the campaign.

Stuart Andrew and Matt Vickers were a real boost to morale and great on the doorstep! The highlight for me personally was when Claire Countinho came to meet me at the statue of Emmeline Pankhurst, just outside the constituency. Kemi and Claire have always understood how important sex-based rights are to women, children and many LGB people. The fact that we met to talk about womens’ rights before we went to campaign in G&D was a big deal. Claire is always in the detail. “You do know which party Emmeline stood for as a candidate in 1927?” she asked. “I do,” I replied!

I would like to thank everyone who supported me before, during and after the campaign, with particular thanks to the following incredible people and groups; Tess White MSP, CWO, CfW, Dawn Cobb, LGBT Cons, Andrea Bartlett, Rosie Duffield (Ind) & Baroness Anne Jenkin.

Would I do it all again, knowing what I know now?

Most definitely!

Back to plan A for me, applying to be a candidate in the local elections in May. See you all back on the campaign trail!

The ironies just keep piling up.

The day after I reveal that a big majority of Tory members are in favour of the Conservative ban on social media for under 16s, I want to talk about social media for adults – at least those that pretend they are.

I’ve been criticised before – water off my back – for robustly confronting views expressed on ConservativeHome from those who choose to comment below our articles. Just a word of advice to our Reform visitors; being anti ‘bans’ is good solid libertarian stuff but the fact is you are in favour of bans on: under 16s having sex, buying tobacco, or alcohol and wearing headscarves – it is a sign you are in favour of bans – just ones that you like.

I don’t say these are bad ideas, just pointing to the problem. You may want to debate these issues but at least be consistent.

Anyway,  I went ‘viral’ this week. Not like some do, but a Tweet/X post I made got a lot of attention. Supported by the many not ‘the few”.

I, like many, including the Guardian’s editor Kath Viner, were less than comfortable with a piece by Jonathan Liew a man with quite the reputation, who tried to explain that being vile to Gail’s bakery is actually ok.

Now, I’ll be honest, I was merely hoping to point out to people that our columnist Georgia Gilholy had argued the best response to attacks on a chain of bakeries is to go out of one’s way to buy and eat their products as a good way to say ‘NO’ to keffiyeh wearing millennials whose lives are seemingly defined by Gaza.

But such was the response to Jonathan Liew’s article – which I’m not going to link to because it can be found, but doesn’t deserve the oxygen of more publicity – that I’m glad instead of my last viral ‘tweet’ about a jasmine arbour I’d created – my counter did at least get nearly a thousand likes.

Why do I care?

Not for myself I promise. I’ve been a TV presenter so the idea I need exposure is a bit weak to say the least, but because I hate the idea that this thinly veiled argument that it is ok to harass people in the UK “because  Israel, and Genocide” but couch it in a form of “but just support your independent cafés” – especially if the owner is Palestinian – is being normalised.

I loathed Greta Thunberg’s narcissists’ yachting holiday because it was never going to land, was all about them, and because I personally have done more to ensure actual aid gets to Palestinians than they have in their lifetimes. Not a point they can debate.

Here’s the problem.

Even some of the Guardian’s own people seem to think this was a crass article. The left are volubly defending it saying that Gail’s bakery chain are part of wider commercial interests that are investing in Israeli weapons and …here it comes ‘genocide’

The egregious Zara Sultana, she of the ‘Jeremy Corbyn beat you’ Your Party team argued that Greggs was better than Gail’s. How galling for her to find their parent company has the same very, very, very tenuous connections to investments in Israel, she blamed on Gail’s.

But let us leave all of this aside, even the fact that nobody with the actual, genuine, authority to do so – and politicians should never be allowed to –  has declared the war in Gaza ‘a genocide’, what bothers me is thinly veiled attacks on British Jews are becoming normalised – and some people, who should know better, seem fine with this.

I don’t want MPs who are the Member of Parliament for Gaza South. I do not believe the long standing Israel/Palestine conflict – with extreme complexities that it has – is resolved by sixth formers protesting people who serve lattes in the UK.

I went to Israel on the 11^th of October 2023 and what I saw will stay with me forever. I don’t blindly support Binyamin Netanyahu, his government or those Israeli’s for whom the only good Palestinian is a dead Palestinian. Predominantly those who suffered the atrocities on the 7th of October were those Jews most committed to living side by side in peace!

I have been shocked by the deaths of women and children in a genocidal war. The ‘genocide’ advocated by Hamas who – don’t take my word for it – say so themselves that the only good jew is a dead jew.

Yes, I know.

Apparently, those who’ve long been accused of antisemitism tell us they can’t be racists because they have a history of being anti racist. That they are only anti- Zionist, and simply ‘dislike’ anyone ‘complicit in the genocide’ they themselves determined. Silence on the Uighurs, the Rohingya, the thousands of Muslims slaughtered by ISIS, Boko Haram or sympathy for the Ukrainians – because apparently ‘they are fascists’

It was an article about a bakery.

But what it said, by ever being published, is that today, arguing the rights and wrongs of the Middle East’s problems, especially if those  rights are Palestinian and the wrongs anybody with the remotest connection to a being jewish, is apparently both virtuous and acceptable in a mainstream newspaper and our wider public discourse.

No.

We are at risk, if we haven’t already fallen to a  normalised form of debate on this that would have appalled us twenty years ago.

It’s not ok, and I’m glad the Conservatives have not given it credence.

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Helping your child navigate something as big and complex as emotional wellbeing can feel pretty daunting, if you ask me.

But there are ways to support your child to understand and manage their feelings that can be “fun and even enlightening”, according to Hayley Standen, a social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) advisor, who’s teamed up with Learning Resources to create a Kids’ Wellbeing Toolkit.

Emotional literacy is the ability to recognise, name and talk about feelings – children learn this over time, and it’s pretty important for everything from self-awareness and empathy to maintaining healthy relationships.

You can start building emotional literacy by helping children learn the words for different feelings. “Naming emotions makes them easier to understand and manage,” explains Standen.

Some practical ways to build emotional literacy include:

On that latter point, here are 10 toys and books which can help kickstart some all-important conversations about how your child feels.