Labour MP and cabinet minister Jess Phillips has resigned, joining growing calls for the PM Keir Starmer to step down as leader. This latest resignation, however, hardly comes as a shock when we remember how Phillips proudly admitted:

The day that … you are hurting us more than you are helping us, I won’t knife you in the back, I’ll knife you in the front.’

As a result, this serves as a reminder of two things: long-quiet MPs are more than willing to turn on their leaders despite their own inaction and complicity, and it further highlights the absence of any “good guys” in Starmer’s cabinet.

Therefore, British people should think carefully over who they are prepared to accept as leader of this Zionist-captured, genocide-complicit government.

BREAKING: MP Jess Phillips has RESIGNED as minister – amidst growing calls for Keir Starmer to step down.

Phillips infamously told reporters in 2015 she was willing to 'stab Corbyn in the front' – not the back.'

There are no 'good guys' in Starmer's cabinet. pic.twitter.com/5535VAJdIu

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) May 12, 2026

Jess Phillips: when complicity no longer pays, she ‘remembers’ her voice

It is quite something to watch a bunch of MPs, and cabinet ministers, turn on their leader quite so prolifically – especially when they have all seemed perfectly content with the direction of travel under Keir Starmer. It feels especially jarring when we remember that this issue concerns less Starmer’s “personality” and more the fact that British people do not consent to what this Labour government has delivered.

Nevertheless, these MPs would surely wish you to take them on their word now – rather than look to their own abysmal behaviour and performance. One such MP is Phillips, who has equally let down the British public, and women and girls more generally.

This refers to the lack of significant change following her now-previous responsibility for the safeguarding of women and girls. Phillips did little to address this huge issue, given the level of violence women and girls are forced to navigate in an increasingly unsafe and abusive society.

But we are more than happy to keep reminding people of their toxicity, as they so desperately clamber to distance themselves from the increasingly embattled PM. To be clear, Starmer standing down is a welcome sight – however, the British public must not be naive to believe that anything but the figurehead at the top would actually change.

On the other hand, they might not even secure a leadership change – and might subsequently just lose their jobs. Quite ironic, really, when they’ve happily played along to stay in the corridors of power:

Starmer can have 20% of Labour MPs turn on him but unless the said 20% solidify around a contender they cannot trigger a leadership contest.

As such, Starmer can lose maybe 30% of his MPs' confidence & retain power.

There are 405. Reportedly he has lost 85, 21%. 30% is 120ish. pic.twitter.com/HDsjHO5e8V

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— Will Coleshill (@WillColeshill) May 12, 2026

Jess Phillips: Nodding dog

After all, Phillips acted as Starmer’s lapdog last year while other MPs faced suspension after taking a principled stand against Labour’s off-manifesto austerity policies. Starmer has either threatened, intimidated or suspended any MPs who have dared to disagree with him publicly – with the apparent full support of his cabinet.

We wrote at the time:

Apparently, Labour MPs are supposed to behave like those nodding dogs that people have in cars, mindlessly voting through cuts that would bring hundreds of thousands of disabled people into poverty. And Jess Phillips MP seems to be looking for a promotion from nodding dog to chief lapdog with her defence of the suspensions.

She said:

“We were elected as a team under a banner and under a manifesto. And we have to seek to work together. And if you are acting in a manner that is to undermine the ability of the government to deliver those things, I don’t know what you expect. To govern, you can’t have 650 people all shooting off in different ways. And the country wouldn’t thank us for that either”

As well as presenting herself as yes-man-in-chief, Phillips’ comment is backwards. There was no mention of cuts to disabled people’s benefits in the Labour manifesto. In fact, Labour pledged to support disabled people and consult them on changes. But then Reeves announced huge cuts to disabled people’s support in her spring statement. On top of that, there were only two references to welfare in Labour’s manifesto and no mention of benefits.

This ‘blast to the past’ likely underscores Phillips real motives for finally standing up to the big boss man – she is a careerist, after all.

• 90 MPs have now publicly withdrawn support for Keir Starmer

• 55 MPs have now publicly declared support for Keir Starmer

Both expected to pass 100 today. pic.twitter.com/9T6aaYEYOK

— Tory Fibs (@ToryFibs) May 12, 2026

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MPs revolt – to save their own skin

This revolt from Labour MPs – currently at 90 and counting – is not a sign that Labour MPs suddenly located their spines, and principles, to speak up. Instead, it’s more akin to rats leaving a sinking ship, as they each seek to distance themselves from Keir Starmer after the pretty impressive losses at the recent local elections.

People will clearly try to present Labour MPs as if they are different from Starmer, despite many of them acting in much the same way when it suited their own pockets and careers, showing they are all largely a chip off the same corrupted block.

As a result, the public must stay alert to prevent further hoodwinking of the British electorate, who this grossly incompetent and increasingly cruel party has already let down enough.

Featured image via the Canary

By Maddison Wheeldon

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Following their resounding electoral defeat, lame-duck PM Keir Starmer and his hangers on, are again resorting to desperate measures.

Hanger-on Starmer

Almost 100 Labour MPs — and counting — signed a letter demanding Starmer’s immediate departure. A counter-letter supposedly signed by 100 MPs asking him to stay then suddenly appeared.

Even if a third of his party supported the prime minister, that would be damaging enough. But even that figure has been thrown into doubt, with three MPs named as signatories now saying they didn’t sign the letter.

Two of them spoke to Times journalist Aubrey Allegretti with the news:

A *second* Labour MP has been in touch to say they also didn’t agree to sign this loyalists’ statement. Make of that what you will.https://t.co/alRqv6HaJh

— Aubrey Allegretti (@breeallegretti) May 12, 2026

Not in my name

Then there was the MP for Ealing Central and Acton, Rupa Huq, who announced over social media that she hadn’t signed either letter:

Surprised to see my name on this list when I haven’t either signed any letter supporting the PM or called for the PM to go??

Not very courteous of colleagues to put names down without their approval https://t.co/2TofoVdfKb

— Rupa Huq MP (@RupaHuq) May 12, 2026

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So the ‘letter of support’ supposedly asking Starmer to stay in power is at least partially made up. The smart money’s on mostly made up.

Starmer’s position is at best untenable. The fact he’s still clinging on and claims not to get it yet is just another sign how unfit he is for the job.

Featured image via the Labour Party

By Skwawkbox

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Prince Turki Al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia has written a damning opinion piece in the newswire Arab News, which not only calls the current upheaval in West Asia the “US-Israeli war on Iran”, but also says that Israel plans to be the only actor left standing in the West Asia region by its destabilizing tactics.

#OPINION: Had the Israeli plan to ignite war between #SaudiArabia and #Iran succeeded, the region would have been plunged into ruin and destruction, writes Prince Turki Al-Faisal https://t.co/Mnq6MgWnLT

— Arab News (@arabnews) May 9, 2026

The former head of Saudi intelligence wrote:

Had the Israeli plan to ignite war between us and Iran succeeded, the region would have been plunged into ruin and destruction. Thousands of our sons and daughters would have been lost in a battle in which we had no stake. Israel would have succeeded in imposing its will on the region and remained the only actor in our surroundings.

The opinion piece lays bare the tensions in normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia – a deal long sought by the Americans – as the relationship dithers or falls apart amid the current conflict.

Prince Turki is remarkably conciliatory toward Iran, calling it ‘a neighbor’ even as he condemns it, while balancing that with a quiet warning of Saudi military capability. He says:

When Iran and others tried to drag the Kingdom into the furnace of destruction, our leadership chose to endure the pains caused by a neighbor in order to protect the lives and property of its citizens. Had the Kingdom wanted, and it is capable of doing so, to respond in kind to Iran by destroying Iranian facilities and interests, the outcome could have been the destruction of Saudi oil facilities and desalination plants along the Arabian Gulf coast, and even deep inside the Kingdom.

In the view of Israel’s Ynetglobal, the quiet UAE-Israel alliance is “gaining importance” during the war on Iran.

The Canary also pointed out that the recent UAE developments, including the US dollar swap request, exit from OPEC, and expulsion of 15,000 Pakistani Shias, can be read as interlocking signs of the Gulf state’s increased subservience to the US. Pro-Trump think tanks have even called it the “Israelification” of the UAE.

Saudis resisting the American push for normalisation with Israel

September 2026 will mark six years since the Abraham Accords were signed between Israel and four Arab states (Morocco, the UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan). Due to internal instability, Sudan has not ratified the Accords.

Saudi Arabia has resisted joining the Accords – and the implied normalisation with Israel – despite push from both the Biden and Trump administrations.

Even earlier this year, Prince Turki consistently pushed against normalization with Israel. In Arab News, he made clear that the crown prince – Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud – believes a Palestinian state must be established before any diplomatic ties with Israel can occur.

He accused Netanyahu of adopting a “reprehensible” strategy to break apart Arab nations by exploiting minority groups in Syria, recognizing breakaway states like Somaliland, and encouraging separatists like Aidrous Al-Zubaidi in Yemen, all while committing genocide against the Palestinians.

A week before Turki’s January op-ed, Al Jazeera reported that Al-Zubaidi fled to the UAE via Somaliland with the help of UAE officers, turning off the plane’s identification systems mid-flight, leading Saudi Arabia to declare him a fugitive and exposing the unprecedented rift between the former Gulf allies.

According to Giorgio Cafiero, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman are moving in the opposite direction, resisting normalization, viewing Israel as a growing threat to regional security and stability, and not wanting to see an Israeli footprint form on the Arabian Peninsula

Cafiero, the CEO of Gulf State Analytics, said in an interview with BTNews recently:

There is a growing view in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and many other Arab countries that Israel is a growing threat to the security and stability of the region.

He sees the UAE as being on a different page than countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman, which are  “uncomfortable” with the idea of turning to Israel as a security partner to protect Arab countries from Iran.

By Nandita Lal

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Charles III will speak to Parliament on Wednesday (Alamy)

3 min read59 min

The State Opening of Parliament is at once about tradition and change. On Wednesday His Majesty The King will wear symbols of kingly authority that have been passed down the generations, to deliver a speech announcing everything the government wants to do to transform the country.

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You don’t have to be a student of history to find that a profoundly moving spectacle.

This year’s State Opening will be the 27th I’ve seen since entering the Commons in 1997, but it’s by far one of the most important. Events at home and abroad mean that the world feels more insecure than it has for decades. Basic expectations, like decent housing and safe streets, seem out of reach for too many. Meanwhile the crisis in the Middle East is just the latest in a series of global shocks that have come thick and fast since 2008.

This presents the government with a choice. We could sit around bemoaning our fate, pursue the sticking plaster politics of the past, and avoid making difficult decisions. Or we could seize the moment, fix the underlying problems people face, and put the country in a stronger position for decades to come.  

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Almost by definition, long term problems will take time to solve. But it’s the difficult work we need to undertake if we’re to truly transform the country. And over the past two years we’ve wasted no time getting to work, passing more than fifty pieces of legislation that are beginning to be felt in the real world.  

When you take the morning train, you’re increasingly likely to be traveling on a service owned and operated by you and your fellow passengers. When you arrive at work, you now have full employment rights from your first day in the job. When you return home, you’re turning the key in the knowledge that your landlord can no longer evict you without fault.

When you turn on the kettle, it’s increasingly likely to be powered by renewable energy rather than the rollercoaster of fossil fuels. When you fall asleep at night, police officers and others are keeping you safe with new powers to crack down on anti-social behaviour and protect our borders.

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On Wednesday we will continue all this work with a renewed sense of purpose. While I can’t disclose the content of the King’s Speech, you should expect action to deliver the security people need. That means breaking down barriers to growth, tackling extremism on our streets from hostile states, and introducing root and branch reform to public services like the NHS.

Amid the wonderful traditions and pageantry of the day, this King’s Speech is a blueprint for change that doesn’t just weather the current storm, but builds a more secure country for all.  

Sir Alan Campbell is the Leader of the House of Commons 

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Glenn Gibbons, the newly elected hard-right Reform UK councillor, has become the sixth to be suspended. This follows outcry over his violent remarks about Nigerians who he said the state should:

melt them all down and fill in the pot holes!!

Drawing stark parallels to the dehumanising rhetoric seen in Nazi Germany, Farage has attracted a bunch of abusive and morally bankrupt councillors to his billionaire-profiting party.

Sunderland councillor suspended from Reform UK after allegedly posting racist commentshttps://t.co/6FM87NlKuq

— Reform Party UK Exposed (@reformexposed) May 12, 2026

The fact the suspension was not immediate is notable. The fact that Gibbons was allowed to stand in the first place exposes Reform UK’s tolerance for racial abuse.

Would it be a stretch to say that Farage and his functionaries believe there is some merit to Gibbon’s disgusting suggestion?

Reform UK have still not suspended him:

Reform councillor called for Nigerians to be ‘melted’

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Newly-elected Sunderland politician suggested they be used as ballast in the city’s potholeshttps://t.co/f4JFpFS5t6

— Reform Party UK Exposed (@reformexposed) May 11, 2026

We saw this was coming

These suspensions prove what said all along. The worst racists and domestic abusers have banded together. They have filled the ranks of a billionaire-funded party, against the backdrop of rising voter disengagement in England.

Gibbons’ suspension today was inevitable but should not have taken this long. Nevertheless, the public shaming and ousting of Gibbons and other Reform-ers is a move to be celebrated. We just hope the public at large wake up to the threat Farage and his party pose.

And needless to say, potholes, after all, are the direct result of poor public infrastructure, while tax-avoiding, greedy billionaires like Richard Tice, get of light … legal tax management they say.

Our own Willem Moore wrote a couple of days ago:

The exchange between Kuenssberg and Tice played out as follows:

Laura Kuenssberg: I want to ask you about your party. One of your new Sunderland councillors – so a man who was elected to represent Reform – suggested melting Nigerians to fill potholes. Is that person, who’s expressed those views, somebody you are happy to see represent Reform?

Richard Tice: Laura, this weekend we are celebrating our incredible successes.

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We’re not sure we’d consider the local elections an ‘incredible success’ if we’d managed to get Gibbins elected.

Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice is facing a mounting backlash after he failed to condemn one of the party’s new councillors who said Nigerans should be melted down to fill potholes”.

Tice was asked repeatedly in a series of interviews to disown the remarks by Glenn… pic.twitter.com/xeRVceyxz1

— The Daily Britain (@dailybritainonx) May 10, 2026

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Some resigned to save face

Unlike Gibbons, others Reform councillors jumped before being pushed. One case in point as we reported yesterday is Stuart Prior who:

resigned from his post after less than a week in office. Prior gained notoriety after campaign group Hope Not Hate exposed his history of deeply racist social media posts.

As a very brief recap of his abhorrent comments, Prior:

• called white people the “master race” and stated that they have “larger brains”.
• celebrated the rape of two Sikh women in 2025, posting the comment “good, reap it”.
• described a video of a Palestinian man searching through rubble for his child as “hilarious”.
• responded “No one cares. Die” to a post about people using plastic bags instead of nappies in Gaza.
• said “Muslims are dirt”.
• claimed “There cannot be a genocide against Muslims. It’s only ever self defence against those rats”.
• stated that Black people like to ‘play the victim’ and complain about the slave trade.

Nevertheless, this was a pretty predictable outcome when electing a Reform councillor. Since 2025, 1 in 10 Reform councillors have either defected, been sacked or chosen to leave the party themselves.

No smoke without fire, after all

Featured image via the Canary

By Maddison Wheeldon

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Eurovision organisers have addressed recent reports in the press suggesting that Israel could leave the competition in the near future to compete in an upcoming version specifically for countries in Asia.

Current Eurovision rules state that any country whose national broadcaster is part of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) can compete in the annual song contest, which is why Israel has been part of it since 1973, despite not being in Europe.

Back in March, the EBU announced it was putting together the Eurovision Song Contest Asia, which is due to take place in Thailand towards the end of 2026.

Following the announcement, the Israeli outlet Ynet claimed on Monday that discussions had recently taken place at the EBU about Israel being removed from its currently-held place in the competition moving forward, so that it can take part in Eurovision Asia instead.

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The article cited “two sources” who claimed that after the idea was “raised and discussed”, it was met with “partial opposition” from countries who’ve already agreed to take part in Eurovision Asia.

HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/EPA/Shutterstock

An EBU spokesperson said: “Discussions are ongoing with other broadcasters on joining the inaugural event in November.

“No broadcaster that takes part in the Eurovision Song Contest will be taking part in Eurovision Song Contest Asia.

“The event, like the Eurovision Song Contest, will be inclusive and celebrate being United by Music. Decisions on participation are taken by the organisers.”

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Countries currently confirmed to be competing in Eurovision Asia in November are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

Last year, the rival competition Intervision was revived by Russia, which has been excluded from Eurovision since 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine, with 22 competing nations from around the world taking part, including China, Cuba, Egypt, Qatar, South Africa and the eventual winners, Vietnam.

Although controversy around Israel’s presence at Eurovision is nothing new, the competition has faced renewed scrutiny in recent years due to the country’s continued involvement.

Back in December, discussions took place among EBU members about whether Israel should be allowed to remain as part of Eurovision, with five nations withdrawing from this year’s contest after it was decided that Israel would be invited back in 2026.

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Israeli representative Noam Bettan will perform in the first of the contest’s semi-finals in Basel, Austria on Tuesday night.

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