. 50 party, the conservative party. ncrete action, some steps you'd like, the conservative party to take when to deal with this issue comprehensively. deal with this issue comrehensivel. , , , deal with this issue comrehensivel. ,, i, , comprehensively. this is very simple ste - comprehensively. this is very simple ste the comprehensively. this is very simple step the party _ comprehensively. this is very simple step the party could _ comprehensively. this is very simple step the party could take _ comprehensively. this is very simple step the party could take there - comprehensively. this is very simple step the party could take there is - step the party could take there is now an agreed parliamentary definition of islamic phobia put forward by an all party parliamentary group made up of conservatives, labour members, liberal democrats, snp commits been adopted by every single political party in this country, including the conservative party in scotland and the only party that fails to adopt it is the conservative party

the conservative party over the years has carried i political parties. rried out some inquiries into issues surrounding islamophobia, other kinds of discrimination and i guess it hasn't found the need to carry out any massive action in the way perhaps the labour party had done over anti—semitism. where do you think this leaves the leadership of the prime minister, and what should they be doing around this issue in they be doing around this issue in the conservative party? the conservative _ the conservative party? the conservative party, - the conservative party? tue: conservative party, after the conservative party? tte: conservative party, after many the conservative party? tt2 conservative party, after many years of being pressurised by myself and others, decided to have an inquiry, the inquiry was a whitewash. it didn't take full evidence. it didn't follow the evidence from complainants. and when it published its findings it did not have the support of muslim conservatives or the british muslim communities. so, the british muslim communities. so, the

let's get more now on lee anderson — the former deputy chairman of the conservative party. to apologise for islamaphobic comments he made about the mayor of london, sadiq khan. let's speak to sajjad karim, the first british muslim member of the european parliament. thank you so much forjoining us here on bbc news. i know you have spoken about islamophobe yelp within the conservative party, what is your reaction to the unfolding controversy around mr anderson's comments and his suspension? weill. comments and his suspension? well, aood comments and his suspension? well, good evening- _ comments and his suspension? well, good evening- i _ comments and his suspension? well, good evening. i was _ comments and his suspension? well, good evening. i was actually - comments and his suspension? -ii good evening. i was actually quite pleased to see that the whips did finally intervene and carry out a suspension because lee anderson refused to apologise for his comments. now, what will be very interesting to see is what action the conservative party take internally. bearing in mind th

the labour party gaining ground? twa conservatives labour party gaining ground? is going to the labour party and half of it to reform uk but basically the labour party, the vote went up by about half of the decline in the conservative vote and reform uk more or less took up more of the slack and that's more or less the position in this constituency so we must be careful about reading the floor but the truth is the evidence is consistent that yes, it is notjust voters going from tory and labour which is what sir keir starmer would like us to believe. it is also the conservatives going to reform but that in itself makes life easier for egypt so far as picking up seats are concerned and we should particularly acknowledge the performance of labour in wellingborough, maybe hat by local circumstances, one of the best performances by the british labour party post—war. iusi’hat best performances by the british labour party post-war. what can be deduced by — labour party post-war. what can be deduced by turner, _ labour party post-war. what can be deduced by turner, 3896 _

that the conservative party that the conservative party that the conservative party is now at it will not be sufficient for labour to pick up sufficient for labour to pick up wellingborough, and it is a swing of up by a number of points, very credible but much less in that 21 point drop in the conservative vote. so to that extent at least, this by—election is a rejection of the conservatives by the electorate, eight clear and sharper message than the enthusiasm for labour. it labour will be happy, this is more than enough of a swing and if it were to be reflected in a general election, for labour to get the overall majority. but it reflects the difficulties the conservative party finds themselves, with reform uk for themselves, with reform uk for the first time putting in the performance and a by—election we would expect them to get given their performance in the national opinion polls.- national opinion polls. let's reca - national opinion polls. let's recap on — national opinion polls. let's recap on the _ national opinion polls. let's recap on the result, - national opinion

party and labour party— london, the conservative party and labour party needs _ london, the conservativeriends. it does not- that is safe orjewish friends and muslim friends. it does not feell muslim friends. it does not feel like that — muslim friends. it does not feel like that hie _ muslim friends. it does not feel like that. ~ . muslim friends. it does not feel like that. ~ , ., like that. we must leave it there. thank you — like that. we must leave it there. thank you for— like that. we must leave it there. thank you for bringing _ like that. we must leave it there. thank you for bringing your- thank you for bringing your interesting thoughts and conversation to our debate this morning. a huge thanks to you for watching. in a week when we have seen our politics descend into farce, and rhetoric get ramped up, calls for calm so often seem to fall on deaf ears. our politicians are grappling with significant and sensitive issues. but perhaps a shadow fight for the future shape of the tory party is also under way. yet there is so much that matters way beyond that in this election year. i

there's no denying that these are not great results for the conservative party. een a massive switch from the conservatives to labour or anybody else. what we've seen is a huge number of people who had voted conservative in 2019 staying at home. and if you look at the, you know, both results, i think particularly in kingswood actually, you know, fewer... significantly fewer people voted labour this time than they did at the last general election. so this is very much i think people are, you know, holding their votes at home rather than going out to make a positive decision either way. but there were some who turned out who voted conservative or have voted conservative before. and analysis of the data suggests that for every there were switches to labour from the conservatives, but there are also switches to reform uk as well. and reform has said its ambition is to block conservative victories in the general election. do you think that with one of these by—elections where reform was standing, that they have a point, they have a chance of doing that and fulfilling t

to the conservative party, the donor to the conservative partyjust party, the donor to the conservativeiduals who speak out in the party, it has a structural problem. that does not mean every single person, it means there are structural issues which these types of things happen again and again. you will recall only a couple of years ago how when there were hundreds of cases of islamophobia, we, for example, submitted to the party demonstrating how widespread this was in the party, but no action was taken. and there is polling which shows that there is polling which shows that the majority of conservative party members actually have any negative or negative views about muslims, significantly higher than against other faiths. significantly higher than against otherfaiths. so we have significantly higher than against other faiths. so we have these issues, we see this manifesting in statements and publicity from a senior members of the party, and we have one example of action being taken, althoughjust were not apologising, rather than from the issue itself. but the ramifications are huge. j

earlier the conservative party. earlier the conservative party. result for the conservatives _ constituencies. not a great result for the conservatives overnight. l for the conservatives overnight. overnight losing these two by—elections. but i think we have to look at the context of them as well, one of them in kingswood, and mp stood down. it is only less than a year until the general election. and in wellingborough we saw a recall petition, and mp forced to stand down as well. not an ideal context at all to have these by—elections and both of those local context as well. i think the big thing i have noticed is in addition to what we see in the results themselves, but also the turnout figures being so substantially down in both of their by—elections, about half of what we saw in the last general election. which of these statements don't you agree with? our chief political correspondent said it is a calamitous result for the conservative party. a political analystjohn curtis said the conservatives are in deep, deep electoral trouble. a government

the conservative party is 190 years old. on't he? >> well, what will what will be left for him to join? they are they destroyed themselves. they're imploding . are they? is they're imploding. are they? is it the five different, you know, sections , you know, all fighting sections, you know, all fighting each other , all loathing each each other, all loathing each other, all trying to undermine. so where is the cohesive party? there is no party. it is. it is a rag bag of people who are on the make for themselves . the make for themselves. >> indeed. but if you were one in farage, what would what would you be thinking at this point? because what you have the chance with conservative after the with the conservative after the next reinvent the next election is to reinvent the thing existing brand thing with an existing brand reform uk, still unproven and not really established, reform uk will get nowhere. >> now i'm a child of the 80s. when the sdp started and you'll remember the sdp okay. and it it started with a huge burst of e

do you think this is good news for the conservative party?— the conservative party?the conservative party? well, in some ways it — the conservative party? well, in some ways it does _ the conservative party? well, in some ways it does allow - the conservative party? well, in some ways it does allow them i the conservative party? well, in| some ways it does allow them to carry on with the narrative that they have also been developing such as that is keir starmer exact flip—flop but i'm not so sure that it's always the case that u—turns are a bad thing. the government has done enough of them labour would argue. and that's often the case that most people don't pay a great deal of attention to politics and simply think that it's a realistic decision on the part of whoever is doing the ut earnings, given changed circumstances and this was a promise made back in september 2021 when you could argue the economic circumstances and public finances were quite different and perhaps labour's mistake was to put a figure on their plans quite so early, a long time before a general e

applause helen harrison, the conservative party candidate, 7408 votes. plause ankit love jknpp jay mala postmortem, 18 votes. applause gen kitchen, labour party, 13,844 votes. cheering alex merola, britain first, 477 votes. will norris, green party, 1020 votes. applause andre pyne—bailey, independent, 172 votes. marion turner—hawes 1115 votes. cheering kevin watts, independent, 533 votes. the number of ballot papers rejected was as follows. for want of an official mark, none. voting for more candidates than the voter was entitled to, 14. writing or mark by which the voter could not be identified, none. being unmarked or wholly void, 61. rejected in part, none. the total number of ballot papers that was rejected was 75. vacant seats, one. electorate, 79,376. ballot papers issues, 30,231. turnout, 38.1%. and i do hereby declare that gen kitchen of the labour party is duly elected. studio: so labour have won the wellingborough by—election, and we will now hear the winning candidate, gen kitchen, for labour, give a speech. i invite the winning — labour, give

what's unfolded in the conservative party, the absolute poison that's been allowed to seep into theirnd a prime minister that's seemingly unwilling to even acknowledge the term islamophobia, let alone stand up to senior politicians in his party dragging our politics into their sewer. rishi sunak, shame on you! against a backdrop of demonstrations, the prime minister today warned against polarisation in politics. his critics say, though, he needs to get his own house in order, and openly challenge statements made by his own representatives. let's speak to shabna begum, interim ceo of the runnymede trust, a british race equality and civil rights think tank. thanks forjoining us on the programme. does the conservative party have a problem with islamophobia? yes, i'm afraid the events of the last few days confirm what we have known for many years that the conservative party does indeed have a problem with islamophobia, not just about the outrageous remarks made by sadiq khan, and suella braverman talking about islamists taking over britain and robert jenrick earlier in the week in parliam

if you add together the conservative and the reform party _ the conservative and the reform party voteabour vote. labour didn't get over 50%. _ labour vote. labour didn't get over 50%, and bear labour vote. labour didn't get over50%, and bear in mind labour vote. labour didn't get over 50%, and bear in mind this was— over 50%, and bear in mind this was the— over 50%, and bear in mind this was the seat labour held throughout its period of government from 1997 to 2010. if it is _ government from 1997 to 2010. if it is not — government from 1997 to 2010. if it is not winning and winning _ if it is not winning and winning strongly here in a by—election, then its prospects for the — by—election, then its prospects for the general election aren't that good. for the general election aren't that good-— that good. this is clearly a aood that good. this is clearly a good result, _ that good. this is clearly a good result, though, - that good. this is clearly a good result, though, for. good result, though, for labour, and what you make of the reform vote? they have come in third ahead of the gre

the conservative party is 190 years old. won't he? >> well, what will what will be left for him to join? they are they destroyed themselves. they're imploding . are they? is they're imploding. are they? is it the five different, you know, sections , you know, all fighting sections, you know, all fighting each other , all loathing each each other, all loathing each other, all trying to undermine. so where is the cohesive party? there is no party. it is. it is a rag bag of people who are on the make for themselves . the make for themselves. >> indeed. but if you were one in farage, what would what would you be thinking at this point? because what you have the chance with conservative after the with the conservative after the next reinvent the next election is to reinvent the thing existing brand thing with an existing brand reform uk, still unproven and not really established, reform uk will get nowhere. >> now i'm a child of the 80s. when the sdp started and you'll remember the sdp okay. and it it started with a huge burst of

and the conservative party and the conservative party and the conservative party have refusedmophobia in itself is a definable form of discrimination and that is what is preventing him from actually stating this out from what it actually is but the prime minister himself quite rightfully acknowledges that in the current circumstances in the country there is a need to ensure that all that can be done to calm the situation is done in one of the first things that ought to happen is that they should be recognised as a form of discrimination that is within the definition of islamophobia, when the accepted definition of islamophobia, so should not act as just a leader of the conservative party, but provide real leadership of the issue. fits real leadership of the issue. as directly called in and out, it's interesting because you describe the last time the conservative party had a look at this, and inquiry a few years ago, as a whitewash, and in terms of what we've heard from the party today the prime minister said they don't have a problem with islamophobia, do you think the conserva

conservative party, for sure. ho will be watching developments very closely, the sitting closely, is the sitting conservative member of parliament, davies , the parliament, philip davies, the conservative shipley . of conservative mp for shipley. of course, lots and lots of course, now lots and lots of talk about by—election defeats since 2019, but is there is there any hope? phil that the tories can hold on tonight . tories can hold on tonight. >> i wouldn't have thought so, tom. i think it'd be an absolute miracle if they did. i think i think that ship sailed quite a long time ago , to be perfectly long time ago, to be perfectly honest, and why do you think thatis? >> what is it most about these seats? we've spoken before about the local factors here, a general antipathy attitude from many constituents. or is it that do you think national issues that will be coming to the fore here? >> oh, well , look, by elections, >> oh, well, look, by elections, all sorts of things, uh, come to the fore in by elections. but lo

you can see the division in the conservative party— see the division in the conservative party with —on movement you've mentioned. and two, parties who flip—flop don't win elections and thai's— who flip—flop don't win elections and that's what we saw from labour. looking _ and that's what we saw from labour. looking at _ and that's what we saw from labour. looking at the polls, this is a lot worse _ looking at the polls, this is a lot worse for— looking at the polls, this is a lot worse for one down the other. someone _ worse for one down the other. someone has to win the election and looking _ someone has to win the election and looking at— someone has to win the election and looking at the elections is pretty clear_ looking at the elections is pretty clear at— looking at the elections is pretty clear at this stage. you looking at the elections is pretty clear at this stage.— looking at the elections is pretty clear at this stage. you still have to have a big _ clear at this stage. you still have to have a big idea _ clear at this stage. you still have to have a big idea often - clea

party. a former chair of the conservative _ his party. m forum, thank you forjoining us on bbc news. you can get more on that story and the rest of the news on the bbc news website. stay with us on bbc news. it was a cold and frosty start, mr and fog postures but we will see dry and fog postures but we will see dry and sunny weather. more cloud further south and a few showers, wintry and nature over the high ground. most of the showers fade away, sky is clear, light wind, turning cold and frosty right across the uk. some dense mist and fog patches developing across northern england, the midlands and eastern england, the midlands and eastern england, where they will be stubborn to clear through the morning. part two of the weekend, this area low pressure towards the south—west. then spreading to france through the day. southern britain which will see wet and windy weather because of the low pressure, and on the cold aside. the blue colours that indicating, another cold, frosty start. fog patches which could take awhile to clear across the m

because this particular row in the conservative party batley in the conservative party but lee anderson of which nick watt was a witness plus, i will argue. so we will hear in our next section with nick the truth about went on with that tweet. newscast from the bbc. ok, so we were talking yesterday about the fiasco on wednesday night and lisa nandy, speaking for the labour party, she said explicitly in terms given a specific guarantee that no labour mp, no labourstaff, it was interesting that she went that far, had anything to do with any threats that might be made to lindsay hoyle that led him to choose to allow a vote on labour's plan that avoided embarrassing them with a rebellion, allowed keir starmer to win the politics of the day over the snp. but, nick, that is not what you reported, so he was turning up your pages in the notebook, or was lisa nandy telling a different story? i know lisa nandy very well. it is a bit difficult to work for the guardian newspaper for 18 years and not know lots of people in the labour party very well. this is your career you talking about — lisa nand

what's unfolded in the conservative party, the absolute poison that's been allowed to seep into their and a prime minister that's seemingly unwilling to even acknowledge the term islamophobia, let alone stand up to senior politicians in his party dragging our politics into their sewer. rishi sunak, shame on you! against a backdrop of demonstrations, the prime minister today warned against polarisation in politics. his critics say, though, he needs to get his own house in order, and openly challenge statements made by his own representatives. naveed asghar is the deputy chair of the conservative muslim forum — the only muslim group directly affiliated to the conservative party. he told us what the group thought of lee anderson's comments. we as a party do not accept these comments and we are against anybody with the party or any mps elected from different parties to come out with comments which can be seen to be misaligned with the british muslim population. some in your party have called mr anderson's comments islamophobic. would you say they are? you can call them that, anti—muslim h

— than the conservative party and would you have won? ld you have won? i think a lot of conservative stayed at home. - would you have won? i think a lot of conservative stayed at home. you i would you have won? i think a lot of| conservative stayed at home. you do not know _ conservative stayed at home. you do not know whether reform voters may have stayed — not know whether reform voters may have stayed at home. i do not think it is quite _ have stayed at home. i do not think it is quite as — have stayed at home. i do not think it is quite as simple as that. also, it is quite as simple as that. also, it is quite as simple as that. also, it is a _ it is quite as simple as that. also, it is a hit— it is quite as simple as that. also, it is a bit arrogant to say voters would — it is a bit arrogant to say voters would just _ it is a bit arrogant to say voters would just have shifted over, but it shows _ would just have shifted over, but it shows where we need to be focusing our appeat — shows where we need to be focusing our a- eal. ~ ., sho

i thought it was interesting, optimistic but not necessarily particularly confident, the conservative partymusic that we've been hearing from the national party as well, them reintegrating that message that it's often hard for governor in parties to win by elections. they were coming out with that ten o'clock this evening frankly even before the votes had been cast in the selection, but there is not a huge amount of confidence among the sick conservative party i think i'm hearing things with. the mp, whoever it is, they gets voted in tonight, won't actually be on that seat for very long because it's actually been abolished under the boundary changes, isn't it? and there's a certain high profile tory mp who will be keeping quite an eye on the seat. there certainly is. _ quite an eye on the seat. there certainly is, the _ quite an eye on the seat. there certainly is, the people - certainly is, the people might�*ve heard of a certain jacob rees—mogg, his constituency our neighbours here, and when kingswood get split up into a number of constituencies during the laundry changes in the general e

yes, i think the| conservative party has been, and perhaps rightly so, accused of having a blind spotmophobia in the party. in the same way the labour party has been accused of having a blind spot when it comes to anti—semitism. this incident with lee anderson, it followed a day after suella braverman, writing in the telegraph, saying the extremists are in charge of britain. and in 2021 eyrewas a big review conducted by a professor —— there was. he found the problem of islamophobia was pervasive, and in the conservative party, and he's found that last year, having looked into his recommendations, the party has been very slow to take them on board and to create processes where they would be able to identify where islamophobia was taking place. i do think there is a problem in the party, and i do think not enough is being done at the moment to get a grapple on where it starts and ends, and how to tackle it.— to the war in ukraine. president zelensky has said 31,000 ukrainian troops have been killed so far during the war with russia. the first time in many months that figure had been rev

— sitting outside the conservative party for— sitting outside the conservative party for the goingions of pounds to the economy of the uk, 4 million _ of pounds to the economy of the uk, 4 million muslims in the uk, of which _ 4 million muslims in the uk, of which 2 — 4 million muslims in the uk, of which 2 million are of a voting age. there _ which 2 million are of a voting age. there are _ which 2 million are of a voting age. there are about 30 constituents with a strong _ there are about 30 constituents with a strong muslim vote. we need to ensure _ a strong muslim vote. we need to ensure the — a strong muslim vote. we need to ensure the next generation of british— ensure the next generation of british pakistanis and british muslims want to be involved in politics. — muslims want to be involved in politics, and i think how this is playing — politics, and i think how this is playing out at the moment is not giving _ playing out at the moment is not giving them faith in that. we want to be _ giving them faith in that. we want to be a _ giving them faith in that. we want to be a in

he was deputy chairman of the conservative party, a prominent spokesperson for the party, until quiteto get him to withdraw the remarks and apologise and he refused to do so. so for that he is suspended. we don't know how long that suspension will last. if he does not apologise it could last until the next election and he would not be eligible to stand as a conservative candidate so this is potentially very serious for him. earlier, i spoke to former conservative chairwoman baroness sayeeda warsi — the first muslim to serve as a cabinet minister. it may surprise you for me to say that i wasn't surprised when i saw these comments from lee anderson. he has a long and chequered history of making racist comments, indeed from even before he became a conservative member of parliament and consistently since then, there has been controversy around comments that he has made, and the party have been aware of that. lee anderson should have had his whip withdrawn many, many months ago. as should other colleagues. the prime minister needs to decide whether the issue of anti—muslim racism is as ser

ithink for a conservative party leadership campaign. today hearing the conservative muslim association call this out for what he was. here the security musings are —— minister in a dispatch log using very clear language and saying anti—muslim hatred is not ok. the prime minister needs to be as clear as that. brendan cox, thank you. in the last few hours, the final barrier to sweden becoming a member of nato has been lifted. it happened when hungary's parliament gave its approval — after months of foot dragging. hungary was the last of 31 nato members to ratify sweden's application, which was prompted by russia's full—scale invasion of ukraine. here's the reaction from hungarian mps as the result of the vote was announced. applause here's the reaction of swedish citizens in the capital stockholm — after the result of the vote was announced. it's a big change. sweden has not been in an alliance, military alliance, for so many years. well, i can't remember when. so, this is a big change but it is also a big change with the war in europe. pr

the conservatives suspend mp lee anderson from the party. he refused to apologise for saying london's mayor is controlled by islamists. these comments from a senior conservative, are islamophobic, anti—muslim and racist. on the second anniversary of russia's invasion of ukraine — president zelensky insists his country will win — but urgently needs more weapons. hello, welcome to the programme. i'm catherine byaruhanga. the body of russian opposition leader, alexei navalny, has been handed over to his mother. spokesperson for the politician kira yarmysh, confirmed the news on social media site x formerly know as twitter. she further wrote the funeral is still pending. they the funeral is still pending. said they were not sure could they said they were not sure if they could give him the funeral they say he deserves. the country's most vocal kremlin critic was found dead in a siberian prison — 9 days ago. according to russian accounts, the 47—year—old took a short walk, said he felt unwell, then collapsed and never regained consciousness. his m

— scenario of does the conservative party do — scenario of does the conservative party do tradlyoes the conservative party do badly or is _ scenario of does the conservative party do badly or is it _ scenario of does the conservative party do badly or is it fighting - scenario of does the conservative party do badly or is it fighting for| party do badly or is it fighting for its survival, _ party do badly or is it fighting for its survival, reform _ party do badly or is it fighting for its survival, reform could - party do badly or is it fighting for its survival, reform could be - its survival, reform could be fundamental— its survival, reform could be fundamental to _ its survival, reform could be fundamental to that. - its survival, reform could be fundamental to that. we - its survival, reform could be fundamental to that. its survival, reform could be fundamentalto that. ~ , , fundamental to that. we saw members in the brexit party _ fundamental to that. we saw members in the brexit party agreeing _ fundamental to that. we saw members in the brexit party agreeing not - funda

if you add together the conservative and the reform party — conservative and the reform party vote, itour held _ in mind this was a seat labour held throughout its period of government from 1997 to 2010. if it is _ government from 1997 to 2010. if it is not — government from 1997 to 2010. if it is not winning strongly here — if it is not winning strongly here in— if it is not winning strongly here in a _ if it is not winning strongly here in a by—election, then its prospects _ here in a by—election, then its prospects for the general election are not good. but this is clearly a _ election are not good. but this is clearly a good _ election are not good. but this is clearly a good result - election are not good. but this is clearly a good result for- is clearly a good result for labour, and what you make of the chipmunk one vote. they have come in third ahead of the greens and the liberal democrats. what does that play for the conservative party. it is how we persuade those who voted — is how we persuade those who voted for — is how we persuade those who voted for it in 2019 to vote for

that is not exactly a comforting precedent for the conservative party. ese results like the results in the series of elections in the second half of last year point to a labour party on course for a very big election win in the general election which is due within the next 12 months. >> it is difficult to understand exactly what is going so within the conservative party right now. to your mind, what is the calculus for the prime minister to hold off the general elections at this point? what are they trying to achieve? is there anyone within the party who thinks they could narrow the gap with labour? >> i think there will always be people who think the gap can be narrowed. hope springs eternal in politics. in the parliament of 2005 to 2010, they managed to narrow the polls before losing that election. in this stage in the election cycle, conservatives were making up ground which means they were taking edge off the defeat. so far in the last few months, we have seen no evidence whatsoever of any rehe covery f the conservatives and rishi sunak. if you are lo

conservatives. we have the rise and inexorable rise of the leader of reform party, snapping at the heels of the conservatives—mogg has said, there is a lot of common ground between our parties, but if the conservatives move too far in that direction, what about people on the other wing of the party? we are getting reactions from you, you can get in touch. we read all the texts. a really bad night for rishi sunak, a good night for keir starmer, but how much enthusiasm is there for him? is it a vote against the tories, is it a vote against the tories, is it a vote for labour? the analysts are putting all those question marks into play, so get into touch and see what you have to say. let's see what paul and wellingborough has to say, and john in kingswood. paul, good morning to you. what is the message of the by—election? that is our overarching question this morning. i think it is obvious, the conservatives have just thrown... labour have not won, the conservatives have done this way. that happened weeks ago, when they chose helen to be the candidate. she is a very credible candidate in her own right, but she

no, it is not about abandoning _ conservative party? e party? no, it is not about abandoning party politics. | conservative party? no, it is not i about abandoning party politics. it is making sure everyone has a warm and safe and decent home in the society. and safe and decent home in the socie . ., ., , , ., ,, ., society. you are speaking to the sunday times — society. you are speaking to the sunday times and _ society. you are speaking to the sunday times and try _ society. you are speaking to the sunday times and try to - society. you are speaking to the sunday times and try to turn - society. you are speaking to the | sunday times and try to turn this into an issue of seeing our democracy is injeopardy into an issue of seeing our democracy is in jeopardy if we do not do this. you have also pointed the finger of blame at the opposition. you have been in charge for 14 years, some people might think it is shameless to point the finger at others for this. trio. think it is shameless to point the finger at others for this.- finger at ot

party. we aren't alone in it. the conservatives elections, and we've done fantastic work. we have british muslim mps in position, british muslims in the house of lords, through the work done over the past few decades. i hope this will carry on going forward. efforts are ongoing to try and secure a temporary truce in gaza president zelensky has said 31,000 ukrainian troops have been killed so far during the two years of war with russia. it's the first time in many months that figure has been revealed. he said tens of thousands of civilians in the russian occupied territories had also died. speaking at a news conference to mark saturday's second anniversary of russia's invasion, mr zelensky said he couldn't reveal the number of people injured because that information would help russia, but the loss was very painful. he was hopeful of a peace summit in the spring and was �*sure�* the us congress would pass its aid package for ukraine. translation: we cannot lose. what it will mean if ukraine loses, it means there will be no us, no us

the conservative party of course say _ vote. the conservative party of course say that _ vote.ng l course say that the governing party will struggle in it by—election party will struggle in it by-election_ by-election booing , off by-election booing . off at! _ by-election booing , off at! honestly i by-election booing - , off at! honestly though, by-election booing _ , off at! honestly though, with every excuse _ , off at! honestly though, with every excuse under _ , off at! honestly though, with every excuse under the - , off at! honestly though, with every excuse under the sun. i every excuse under the sun. rishi sunak is made an awful lot of— rishi sunak is made an awful lot of pledges that he's broken every— lot of pledges that he's broken every single one. the worst of all is _ every single one. the worst of all is there _ every single one. the worst of all is there are people in this country— all is there are people in this country who are poor then when he came — country who are poor then when he came to _ country who are poor then when he came to downing street, and th

when boris johnson was prime minister, actually, when borisjohnson was prime minister, the conservative partyn into accusations of islamophobia within the party, that came up with various recommendations but didn't say they had a problem, the labour party argued that investigation didn't go far enough, wasn't serious enough, didn't investigate the problem enough but the conservative party say it was an independent and they followed the recommendations that they got, but look, i think that is the direction that irish vicious is desperate for this not to go into, he wants to say this not to go into, he wants to say this is an isolated question round lee anderson, it is worth noting though, that lee anderson's claims about islamists controlling sadiq khan, while not supported publicly by any conservative mps do seem to feed into a broader sort of theme of conversation over the past week, among conservative mps, which is concerns is about islamist extremism forces the house of commons to change some procedure, that gets into debate we had last week why sir lindsay hoyle made an extraordinary proc

actually, when borisjohnson was prime minister, the conservative party commissioned an independent investigationions but didn't say that they had an institutional problem. the labour party always argued that that investigation didn't go far enough, wasn't serious enough, didn't investigate the problem enough. but the conservative party say, well, it was independent and they followed the recommendations that they got. but look, i think that is the direction that rishi sunak is desperate for this not to go into. he wants to say that this is an isolated question around lee anderson and specific comments about sadiq khan. it's worth noting, though, that lee anderson's claims about islamists controlling sadiq khan, while not supported publicly, at least by any conservative mps, do seem to feed into a broader sort of theme of conversation over the past week among conservative mps, which is concerns about islamist extremism forcing the house of commons to change its procedures. that gets into the debate we had last week about why sir lindsay hoyle, who's the speaker of the house of commons who presides

no deals with the conservative party. the conservative party has failed . s you're in the wrong party. we join reform uk, not that this is an invitation to any tory mps if they wish to join reform uk, they can get in line with everyone else. >> superb. ben obe, thank you very much for joining >> superb. ben obe, thank you very much forjoining us. a rousing speech and well done on your turnout last night. good stuff. you. and please stuff. thank you. and please become on show. become a regular on the show. and back on gb news and now you're back on gb news how's it feel? >> wonder, said, >> yeah, it's wonder, as i said, it's like back it's like coming back to a family, if i may say that stuff. >> okay. you much, >> okay. thank you very much, ben now police are ben habib. now police are investigating threats investigating violent threats against castle cafe against an edinburgh castle cafe . hey, of all things, because scottish nationalists say its name . is offensive to scots. you name. is offensive to scots. you couldn't make it up. they're getting angry abo

and up conservative party and set up their conservative party, their own conservative party, a small c conservative party but i've given up on that every conservative mp who sits in the conservative party is part of the problems that have been created for the united kingdom . we sit on the precipice kingdom. we sit on the precipice of economic disaster social, cultural , political and indeed cultural, political and indeed constitutional disaster. as a result of this conservative government. anyone sitting on the conservative benches is part of that problem. and if they wish to join reform uk, we would need to have a proper discussion with them about why it is they didn't leave conservative didn't leave the conservative party their party earlier, what their genuine beliefs are ideologically and whether or not those beliefs sit with those of reform uk . reform uk. >> okay thank you ben. thank you. leave it there. i appreciate that. we've now got peter bleksley in the studio. peter's former scotland yard detective, and we're talking about this report into policing, uh, protests an

rishi sunak took to the telegraph, a newspaper read by a lot of conservative party members, activists say, stick with me, stick with my plan, and he's calling for the conservative family, as he calls it, to come together and back his plan. it is clearly a message directly to conservative party members, but also to his own mps in a week when they have been having a pretty tricky time. it seems like a bit of a rallying cry to say, support me, don't think about anything else, you know, stick with me and my plan. and this comes off the back of the by—election defeats to labour, and reform uk came third in both votes. yes, so, labour one both by—elections, but reform uk are a party that the conservatives are worried about. they are the former brexit party, their honorary president is nigel farage. they came third in both of these by—elections — and it's the first example, really, we have seen of this party taking support from the conservatives, something many conservatives had been worried about. well, at this electoral test, these two electoral tests, the party it reform uk did just that.

what's unfolded in the conservative party, the absolute poison that's been allowed to seep into theiral debate, and a prime minister that's seemingly unwilling to even acknowledge the term islamophobia, let alone stand up to senior politicians in his party dragging our politics into the sewer. rishi sunak, shame on you. against a backdrop of demonstrations, the prime minister today warned against polarisation in politics. his critics say, though, he needs to get his own house in order and openly challenged statements made by some of his own representatives. let's speak to naveed asghar, deputy chair of the conservative muslim forum. the only muslim group affiliated to the conservative party. thank you forjoining us on the programme. can i ask you, do you think your party has a problem with islamophobia? i do not think the wider party has a problem. without individuals who are misguided and coming out with comments like this over the weekend. we as a party do not accept these comments and we are against anybody with the party or any mps elected from different parties to come out with c

here in the uk, the conservative party is finding itself under anti—muslim and racist". derson was suspended from the party after saying london's mayor was controlled by "islamists". the suspension was not for the comments but for refusing to apologise. the party's leadership was drawn further into the argument on sunday — the deputy prime minister refusing to say whether he thought the comments were islamophobic. our political correspondent georgia roberts reports. lee anderson, seen this morning, was not long ago the deputy chairman of the conservative party, but he has now been suspended for refusing to apologise for these comments. i don't actually believe that these islamists have got control of our country, but what i do believe is they've got control of khan and they've got control of london. speaking this morning, the deputy prime minister said the mp didn't intend to be islamophobic, but acknowledged the comments could have been read that way, which is why he was asked to apologise. i don't believe that lee anderson was intending to be islamophobic, but nonethele

church she said... —— writing to the conservative party chair...are continuing strikes across the gaza strip, with heavy urban combat in the southern city of khan younis. gaza's health ministry says more than 90 people were killed through the night and the total number is nearing 30,000. in the israeli city of tel aviv, police used water cannon for the first time to disperse anti—government protesters demanding the release of the hostages held in gaza by hamas. paul adams reports. tel aviv last night. israel's deep divisions on raw display. these streets are used to protests, but they are bigger now, angry. for the first time since october, the police resorting to tougher measures. the loathing for israel's prime minister and his hardline cabinet goes back more than a year, but it's spurred on by the war in gaza and the fear that their government is more interested in defeating hamas than freeing hostages. we cannot keep on doing the military solutions because they are not working. it is becoming worse. a lot of people are dead on both sides. we ar

but reform uk are a party that the conservatives are worried about. the former brexit party, their honorary president is nigel farage and they came third in both of these by—elections. and it's the first example really that we've seen of this party taking support from the conservatives, something that many conservatives had been worried about. well, at this electoral test, these two electoral tests, the party of reform uk did just that. we heard a little earlier from the deputy leader of reform uk. this is what he's had to say. kingswood is a particularly telling by—election because it was a seat in which we didn't expect to do well. it was it's quite a sort of liberal democratty area and we were expecting rupert lowe who stood not to do as well as he did, but to get 10% from a standing start in kingswood really tells you the small—c conservative vote in this country is extremely disillusioned with the conservative party. and of course in wellingborough i did slightly better than rupert and i got 13% of the vote. the entire swing of the conservative vo

. _ rishi sunak has denied accusations of islamophobia within the conservative party. y party chairman about the mayor of london. lee anderson claimed sadiq khan was "under the control of islamists". the prime minister told the bbc the comments were unacceptable and wrong, but insisted the conservatives did not have a problem with islamophobia. a little early in the day, mr anderson was fired a few questions while he was arriving outside parliament. have a listen to this exchange. reporter: ~ �* ,., exchange. reporter: ~ �* , reporter: mr anderson. do you accept our reporter: mr anderson. do you accept your comments _ reporter: mr anderson. do you accept your comments that _ reporter: mr anderson. do you accept your comments that have _ reporter: mr anderson. do you accept your comments that have been - reporter: mr anderson. do you accept your comments that have been called i your comments that have been called racist _ your comments that have been called racist from _ your comments that have been called racist from your— your comments that have been called racist from

the conservative party is not a racist party.sometimes it might be, um, you kno received the information and sometimes it might be, um, you kno received ate information and sometimes it might be, um, you kno received at a nformation and sometimes it might be, um, you knoreceived at a highnation and sometimes it might be, um, you knoreceived at a high end,1 they've received at a high end, uh, something that might have happened them personally, happened to them personally, etc. but whole, the etc. um, but on the whole, the conservative party a conservative party is a fantastic british fantastic home for british muslims. values align muslims. their values align exactly with british muslims. there's no party that there's no other party here that those align with. we like those values align with. we like to own own we like to to own our own home. we like to be educated. we like to be entrepreneurial. we be entrepreneurial. we like to be business and, you business orientated. and, you know, like be safe. um, we know, we like to be safe

so rishi sunak took to the telegraph, which is a newspaper that is read by a lot of conservative partyn a week when, you know, they've been having a pretty tricky time. it seems like a bit of a kind of rallying cry to say, "support me, don't think about anything else. you know, stick with me and my plan." and charlotte, this comes off the back of the by—election defeats to labour and reform uk came third in both votes. yes, so labour won both by—elections, but reform uk are a party that the conservatives are worried about. they're the former brexit party, their honorary president is nigel farage and they came third in both of these by—elections. and it's the first example really that we've seen of this party taking support from the conservatives, something that many conservatives had been worried about. well, at this electoral test, these two electoral tests, the party of reform uk did just that. we heard a little earlier from the deputy leader of reform uk. this is what he's had to say. kingswood is a particularly telling by—election because it was a seat in which we didn't expect to

a reminder of our other breaking news in the last hour, the former deputy conservative party chairman suspended from the party. that of course after the comments that he made about the mayor of london, sadiq khan. he had refused to apologise for suggesting that islamists had gain control of the mayor of london, sadiq khan. he made those comments during a discussion on gb news about pro—palestinian marches. he said the mayor had given away the capital city to his mates, but he has now been suspended by the parliamentary party for refusing to apologise about those comments. the mayor had called the remarks islamophobic. he said the deafening silence of the prime minister and his cabinet amounted to condoning racism, we now have the news that lee anderson has been suspended from the parliamentary conservative party. that basically means that he will not sit as a conservative mp in the house of commons. he can still sit as an mp, but it has to be as an independent. of course, he was as i said the former deputy chairman of the conservative party. well known for some controversial views of