Farage Calls for General Election After Resignation of PM Starmer
Farage Calls for General Election ‘At Soonest Possible Date’ After Resignation of Prime Minister Stamer
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called for a general election in the wake of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation on Monday morning, arguing that any replacement will lack a mandate to govern the British people.
The political churn continues at pace in London, with Prime Minister Starmer on Monday becoming the sixth leader to be forced to resign over the past decade as pressure mounted from within his left-wing Labour Party to stand down in the wake of a disastrous performance in May’s local elections, in which Farage’s poll-topping Reform UK demonstrated the ability to capture councils long considered safe Labour heartlands.
While Starmer announced his resignation, he also laid out plans to remain in office for the rest of the summer, giving his government time to get their legacy ducks in a row and allowing for a Labour leadership contest to be waged. Recently elected MP Andy Burnham — who stepped down from his post as Manchester Mayor to run for Parliament with the express purpose of deposing Starmer — was quick on Monday morning to confirm his intention to stand for leader and, hence, Prime Minister.
Burnham, who previously failed twice to become Labour leader, appears set for a coronation, with widely speculated chief rival, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, saying on Monday that he intends to support the new Makerfield MP for leader. However, it is possible that other candidates may yet throw their hat in the ring before the July leadership contest is held.
Although the former Manchester Mayor will not be constitutionally bound to hold a fresh election — with his mandate technically coming from the support of members of the House of Commons — it remains to be seen if he will be able to regain the popular legitimacy that quickly faded away from the Labour Party after being given power in what largely amounted to a protest vote against the Conservatives in 2024.
Calls for a general election came quickly from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who demanded that the UK public be consulted “at the soonest possible date”.
“The British public have made their voices clear in May this year and last: Britain is broken and they want a radical reforming government that will fundamentally fix our country. But instead, Westminster wants to crown Andy Burnham off the back of a single by-election,” Mr Farage wrote.
The Brexit boss said that the constant turnover of prime ministers — some of whose political scalps he took personal credit for taking — has become “farcical” and “reminiscent of post-war Italy.”
“Is that the sort of politics Labour voters wanted to see repeated when they took a chance on a different party in 2024? No. They wanted to see the Tories thrown out of power, in the same way Makerfield voters only wanted to see the back of Keir Starmer. Removing a failing leader, only to replace him with another one – without a public vote or even an open discussion – is not a fair deal for the British people,” Farage commented.
The Reform chief accused the Labour government of having lost its claim to a governing mandate by diverging from the 2024 manifesto upon which the party was given power by the public, listing tax hikes, failures to “smash the gangs” smuggling migrants across the English Channel, pushing for Digital IDs, the death tax on farmers, the attempts to hand over the Chagos Islands as examples of moves made by Starmer that were not in the manifesto.
Perhaps even more critically, Mr Farage noted that very little is known about the man set to become the seventh prime minister over the past ten years, saying that while he has spent his whole life in politics, little is actually known about where Burnham truly stands on the issues.
“Where was Andy Burnham? The man who now presumes to be our Prime Minister based on less than 25,000 votes. The man who has spent his entire life in politics, and yet who we seem to know so little about,” Farage said. “That, of course, is by design. When Burnham wasn’t promising Makerfield residents that a vote for him was the quickest way to remove the Prime Minister, he was pretending to anyone who would pay attention that he was really someone else.”
“Suddenly, he wasn’t the Andy Burnham who had served in Gordon Brown’s government (and voted for the war in Iraq), or who had lost a leadership campaign to Jeremy Corbyn. He wasn’t the Andy Burnham who campaigned for migrants to have access to public money through our benefits system, or the Burnham who thought biological men should be allowed to go into women’s toilets,” he quipped.
The constant flip-flopping from Burnham over his career demonstrated a “contempt for the British people”, Mr Farage said, claiming that for “men like Burnham, democracy is only a means to an end, to be discarded as soon as it is inconvenient for his personal ambitions.”
The Reform boss was not alone in suggesting that an election be held, with even Labour minister Mike Tapp MP saying that the law should be changed to ensure that “if a change of leader is forced by its own Party then a General Election must be called” to prevent the “constant churn” in Westminster.
Follow Kurt Zindulka on X: Follow @KurtZindulka or e-mail to: [email protected]Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price subsidising their life by livestreaming
Venezuela Fury and her husband Noah Price look to be making their own way in the world by raking it in from their lucrative social media accounts.
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury, 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year.
Since getting married and moving in together the couple have been earning thousands of pounds a month, livestreaming their life as newlyweds in their static caravan in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
And fans can't get enough of their regular life updates on TikTok and Kick, which have proved to be very profitable for the pair.
They look to be supporting themselves after Noah denied that he was given £5million by Venezuela's family as a wedding gift.
Despite his wife's huge family wealth, an estimated combined £160 million, Noah recently told his Kick followers that he 'pays for everything' for the couple.
Making light of the claims about Venezuela's millionaire financial status, Noah said: 'I actually pay for everything unfortunately. You'd expect the millionaire to pay for it wouldn't you.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price are earning thousands livestreaming their caravan life - after her new groom insisted he pays all the bills and denied he had £5m handout from her dad
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury , 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year
Venezuela then asked their fans: 'Do you think I am a millionaire?'
Noah joked: 'She isn't a secret millionaire guys', before she broke into song and sang: 'But I live like a millionaire!'
But it seems according to estimated calculations from their social media work, Noah and Venezuela can more than afford to support themselves.
Noah has been livestreaming on platforms such as Kick and TikTok, where viewers can send paid gifts or donations.
He was previously encouraging viewers to send gifts on his honeymoon during livestreams, suggesting this is one revenue stream.
Both Noah and Venezuela have built substantial followings on Instagram and TikTok. They can potentially earn money through sponsored posts, brand collaborations, affiliate links and creator payouts.
Kick allows its creators to take home 95 per cent of the £4.99 subscription cost that fans pay.
Streamers keep 100 per cent of direct tips and donations, minus minor standard payment processing fees.
It is unclear how many subscribers Noah currently has because this information is hidden, but he does have 7,200 followers which is publicly viewable.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million
In one video on their honeymoon, Noah asked his followers if they'd give them some more gifts now that they were married.
In a TikTok live viewed by 20,000 he said: 'Keep liking our videos people, keep sending gifts.'
After saying thank you to several of his followers he joked they should stick around on the livestream and 'watch Venezuela punch me in the mouth'.
The other half of the honeymooning couple said: 'I am, honestly!'
Noah previously confirmed that the pair don't share their finances after they were asked whether they have a shared bank account.
'She earns her money, I earn mine,' said Noah, as Venezuela joked: 'Yeah, what you gonna do about it.'
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'.
Meanwhile Venezuela is being eyed up by executives for a fly on the wall TV series.
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'
Boasting 1.3 million TikTok followers, Venezuela is already entertaining fans with her honest musings and candid moments, from cooking to kitting out her and Noah's static caravan home.
And following the success of the Netflix series At Home With The Furys, it is no wonder bosses are wanting to draw on the Fury popularity.
A TV insider said: 'The couple are not A-list celebrities but everyone has become obsessed with their love story.
'People are genuinely intrigued by them. Whether it’s the fact they have married so young, Venezuela’s famous family or their gypsy lifestyle, they have the ‘X factor'.
'Several TV executives think a proper fly-on-the-wall series following their lives as newlyweds in the gypsy community would be fascinating,' they told The Sun.
It is thought Netflix would be likely to produce the series due to their already established relationship with the Furys.
Venezuela's representatives told The Daily Mail: 'We have many offers on the table regarding Venezuela which we are discussing.'
