EXC: Members of the Shadow Cabinet say Kemi Badenoch should abandon the Tory commitment to the triple lock. 💫”It’s unaffordable in the long term, of course we should keep our options open,” a member of the Shadow Cabinet told The i Paper. “I see why Kemi’s doing it, but I don’t think we should commit to it so far away from an election.” 💫Another member of the Shadow Cabinet warned the Tory policy commitment is unlikely to last until 2029, when the election is due, “unless a miracle happens and the public finances pick up. We’ve still got to find the money for defence.” 💫 But the timing of an election is exactly why Badenoch is sticking to her guns. Even though Andy Burnham and his No 10 team have spent most of the last month hosing down the idea of going to the country before 2029, the Tory leader and her key allies think the Prime Minister could call an election as soon as next May.  💫 The Conservatives are so concerned about an early election that Badenoch has instructed Tory MP Neil O’Brien to draft the party’s next manifesto. 💫According to an aide, Badenoch’s commitment to the triple lock is because she is “very hot on the idea of contribution”. “It’s the idea that if you’ve paid in, then you have made a contribution and you shouldn’t be penalised for that and that is where we start when it comes to pensions,” the aide added. 💫 As the Tories gather in Birmingham instead of calling this a normal, workaday conference, the party is dubbing it a grandiose “festival of ideas”. 💫Last year, organisers held Badenoch’s keynote speech in a smaller side room to avoid embarrassing photographs of empty chairs, but this year she will deliver it in the city’s International Convention Centre’s 2,200-seater Symphony Hall. 💫This will be the first time a leader’s speech has been held there since former prime minister Theresa May memorably walked out to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” in 2018. 💫Read the whole piece here: inews.co.uk/news/politics/ad…

🔴WHAT "HOPE": Labour❓ 'How can you have hope when you see Lucy Powell, Stephen Kinnock, Bridget Phillipson, Shabana Mahmood, Wes Streeting, Heidi Alexander, Lisa Nandy, Jess Phillips, Jonathan Reynolds, Chris Bryant et al dominated proceedings at the @UKLabour Conference? Most of these individuals were heavily involved with the Labour Together syndicate that did everything it could to destroy Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership from the inside of the Labour Party. Does Andy Burnham think we’ve forgotten all that or that it’s water under the bridge? The individuals above represent all that is rotten about the right wing of the Parliamentary Labour Party. They don’t represent ‘Hope,’ they never have. They represent an insidious soul-destroying pessimism.' @mjdaly57 x.com/mjdaly57/status/210536…

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood says tonight: "The fact both suspects arrived by small boat several years ago is a reminder of the importance of our relentless work to tackle illegal migration into this country. While numbers are down, I know there is more we must do. "It would be inappropriate to comment further on this case. But I can say that we will be unrelenting in our efforts to protect our Jewish communities, root out antisemitism in this country, and maintain our border security"

Anyone else Remember when Farage said Rupert was just 1 angry man on Twitter/x

“I'm brown. I’m a Muslim. But I’m as English as a Yorkshire cup of tea.” Mothin Ali on belonging, diversity and building a country confident enough to live with difference.

The origins of PA courses in the U.K. The programme was made up as they went along.