News about Richard Holden

They feel the authoritarian ban could turn venues into potential battlegrounds if some customers object to those who decide to break the new law and smoke. MPs predict the 'crazy' restriction on lighting up could even threaten public safety due to crowded areas outside football stadiums and nightclubs becoming potential tinderboxes. Sir Keir Starmer continues to face a mounting backlash after he confirmed plans to extend the smoking ban to beer gardens, sports grounds and other outdoor venues on Thursday. The PM has argued the decision was taken to reduce the burden on the NHS caused by smoking-related illnesses, which cost 80,000 lives a year. But alarmed industry experts have now issued fresh warnings that it could encourage street violence and place bar staff in danger if they are forced to ask boozed-up customers to stub out their addictive cigarettes.

William Wragg became embroiled in a sinister ordeal a few months ago after giving his colleagues' phone numbers to a suspected scammer he met on the dating app Grindr. The former MP for Hazel Grove in Greater Manchester  stood down from his role after admitting to exchanging explicit pictures with a person calling themselves 'Charlie', who later used the images to blackmail him. In his first interview since the stepping down, Wragg told The Sunday Times that the scandal caused his mental health to spiral and decided to check himself into a hospital after experiencing suicidal thoughts.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers wants you to believe that rising inflation isn't his fault. The only problem with such spin is that it's utterly false.

Rishi Sunak (left), who is staying on until a replacement is chosen, acted as shellshocked MPs try to come to terms with the scale of their defeat. Party chairman Richard Holden (bottom right) has quit in recognition of his role in the carnage, while Lord Cameron (top right) has also stepped down as shadow foreign secretary . Richard Fuller - former economic secretary to the Treasury - has taken Mr Holden's place while Andrew Mitchell will shadow the foreign affairs brief. Jeremy Hunt and James Cleverly are staying in their roles as shadow chancellor and home secretary respectively. Mr Sunak himself was not quoted speaking about the overhaul, unveiled in a press release from CCHQ, as infighting gathers pace between Conservative factions on how to respond to Labour's landslide and the threat from Reform.

Jewish groups and politicians from all sides reacted with horror after a clip of Arnold Saunders being harangued and branded a 'snake' over the war in Gaza was widely shared on social media. Now Greater Manchester Police have launched an investigation into the appalling scene outside Bilal Mosque in Prestwich to establish whether a crime was committed. Mr Saunders, who is trying to win the Bury South seat, had been invited to the hustings on June 21 when a worshipper began hounding him.

Arnold Saunders, who is trying to win the Bury South seat, was on a visit to the Bilal Mosque in Prestwich when a worshipper began hounding him on his position on the war in Gaza. Throughout the clip, which has been widely spread on social media, the man aggressively approaches the rabbi telling him to condemn Israel 's attacks in Gaza following the October 7 attacks carried out by Hamas. 'Condemn the IDF, condemn the killing of children, of women, of old people, of livestock,' the man shouts.

The Tories are demanding an investigation over 'gravely concerning' allegations of Russian interference in the general election campaign, it has been revealed. Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, has responded to claims that five co-ordinated Facebook pages have been spouting Kremlin talking points. Some have posted in support of Nigel Farage 's Reform UK party, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Commenting on the investigation, Mr Dowden told the Sunday Times: 'These revelations reveal the real risk our democracy faces in this uncertain world. 'Malign foreign actors, promoting British political parties, policies and views that fit their agenda is just another example of the challenges in the increasingly volatile cyberspace of the 21st century and is gravely concerning to see during an election campaign.' The newspaper also reported that Conservative chairman Richard Holden has written to Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, and Sir Tim Barrow, the national security adviser, asking for the claims to be investigated.

Labour will seize 65 'true blue' constituencies on July 4, according to startling projections which lay bare how the Tories face being wiped out. MailOnline analysis of historic election results shows 130 seats which went Conservative MP in 2019 have either never swayed allegiance in the past 50 years or since they were created. Of these, 65 are forecast to end up in Sir Keir Starmer 's hands after the election.

It is like Rorke's Drift out here,' says one Tory candidate in what should be a safe seat in the Home Counties. The candidate is defending a majority of close to 25,000 votes: in any other election , even 1997, it would be a banker seat for Tory HQ.

Rishi Sunak 's misery deepened tonight as a trio of mega-polls found the Tories on track for their worst ever result - and he could lose his ultra-safe seat. Huge projections by YouGov, Savanta and More in Common - conducted using the so-called MRP technique - gave an unremittingly bleak picture of the PM's prospects. YouGov suggested that the Tories face being reduced to just 108 seats, which would be the worst performance in their 200-year history. According to their MRP, Reform could get five constituencies - including the Clacton seat being contested by party leader Nigel Farage - having previously been projected by the firm to get none. It also found a slew of current Cabinet ministers would be ousted - including Jeremy Hunt , Grant Shapps , Penny Mordaunt , Mel Stride , Mark Harper , Richard Holden, and Alex Chalk. However, an equivalent Savanta poll was even worse - suggesting the Conservatives would be reduced to just 53 seats and Mr Sunak himself would lose his Richmond & Northallerton constituency. Their study projected an enormous 382-seat majority for Labour , with Sir Keir Starmer 's party winning a staggering 516 constituencies on July 4. In a sign of the difficulty in making such projections, Reform was not seen as securing any seats in the Savanta MRP.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey committed to rejoining the single market, which would result in the return of free movement, as one of four steps towards the 'longer-term objective' of EU membership. A Lib Dem spokesman said: 'Everyone knows the Liberal Democrats want to fix our broken relationship with Europe. As Ed said recently, it will take time before the Single Market is an option, it's not on the table at this election.' The proposal was among a host of radical plans - including cannabis shops on high streets, gender self-ID and a 500 per cent increase of council tax on second homes - in the 116-page manifesto. To tackle criminal gangs and super-strength cannabis, the Lib Dems said they would introduce 'a legal, regulated market' for the class B drug with sales restricted to over-18s from licensed retailers.

A Tory adviser stepped in to halt a toe-curling interview with party chairman Richard Holden after he refused to answer questions about his seat selection row. In an astonishing TV interview, Mr Holden repeatedly dodged questions about how he landed a plum Conservative constituency. He was until recently the MP for North West Durham and once claimed he was 'bloody loyal to the North East'. But Mr Holden has been at the centre of a furious row within Conservative ranks after being 'parachuted' into the Basildon and Billericay seat in Essex last week. He will now fight the general election on 4 July as the Tory candidate in a constituency around 300 miles away from his previous seat. In an interview with broadcasters yesterday, Mr Holden ignored questions about his candidacy row and instead attacked Labour's schools policy.

Conservatives in Basildon said they might challenge the decision to gift the seat to Richard Holden, who was MP for North West Durham before the election was called. He was the sole candidate presented on what was expected to be a shortlist of three names for Basildon constituency candidates, according to local Tory members. The former MP would replace John Baron, who announced he would stand down as an MP in October last year. Basildon and Billericay is regarded as a safe Conservative seat, with Mr Baron having won a majority of 20,412 over his nearest Labour opponent in 2010.

Jess Phillips asked the PM, Chief Whip Simon Hart and Tory Chairman Richard Holden why he remained on the Government payroll. She revealed that the alleged victim at the centre of the case was considering taking the complaint to the police. The minister - who the Mail has chosen not to name - is accused of inappropriately touching the woman who is half his age in December last year. The case is believed to be under investigation by the Independent Complaints and Grievances Service, which is likely to file a report later this year.

The Labour veteran broke cover today as Sir Keir Starmer's party struggles to contain a row over whether she has been blocked from standing as a candidate at the July 4 general election. Mr Starmer is facing a mounting backlash over the treatment of Ms Abbott, who has been MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987. Ms Abbott was suspended from Labour's parliamentary party for more than a year, amid an investigation into her comments about Jewish people in a letter to the Observer newspaper in April last year. However, it has emerged that the race row probe ended months ago. Ms Abbott had the Labour whip restored yesterday, but initially appeared to confirm this morning that she had been banned from standing.

Legal action has been threatened against the Conservatives for allegedly 'blocking' pro-Boris Johnson candidates from standing in the general election. A number of key figures involved in the 'Bring Back Boris' campaign have failed to be selected as prospective Tory parliamentary candidates, according to figures on the Right. They have written to Tory chairman Richard Holden to warn that they are considering applying for a legal injunction to pause the selection process. They said they would seek an injunction 'for as long as it takes' to resolve the issues around selection.

University tuition fees could be raised under a Labour government, despite the party previously pledging to scrap them altogether. Shadow education spokesman Bridget Phillipson (pictured, right) acknowledged that raising fees from their current level of £9,250 a year was 'really unpalatable' but refused to rule out hikes. Sir Keir Starmer (left) yesterday confirmed his previous vow to axe university tuition fees had been dropped. The pledge was one of ten made during his campaign for the Labour leadership in 2020, most of which have either been abandoned or watered down. The Labour leader said it was a promise that he had 'believed in' at the time, but said the 'huge damage to the economy' caused by the Government had made it impossible to deliver.

While the total number of seats across the UK will stay fixed at 650, only 55 of those in England remain completely unchanged. Under the plans made by the Boundary Commission, the size and territory of dozens of the long-established electoral areas are being changed while some are being abolished completely. Many are being reshaped so that each is home to roughly the same number of voters - between 69,724 and 77,062 - apart from a handful of islands.

Hospitals would be expected to pool staff and share waiting lists as part of a Labour drive to deliver an extra 40,000 NHS appointments a week, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting revealed. Under the plans, hospitals will run evening and weekend surgeries, with staff and resources pooled across a region. But the Tories repeated their claim that Labour will have to raise taxes to fill a £38.5 billion hole in their spending commitments.

DAILY MAIL COMMENT: In his counter-cultural opus Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, American journalist Hunter S Thompson observed: 'When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.'

Richard Holden (left) accused Labour of exploiting the Middle East conflict to win votes, and attacked candidates at last week's elections who campaigned for Palestine instead of for residents. He said four Green Party councillors were facing anti-Semitism allegations, and the Labour Party was 'pandering to this new sectarianism' in order to win elections in areas with large Muslim populations. His forthright comments in an article for the Daily Mail come as Rishi Sunak (right) summons university vice-chancellors to Downing Street today to tell them to protect Jewish students from harassment, while pro-Palestinian protests spread from the streets of London to at least 11 campuses. In other developments: Labour restored the party whip to MP Kate Osamor (bottom inset), who was suspended for declaring on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day that Israel's bombing of Gaza was 'genocide'; Mr Sunak condemned London Mayor Sadiq Khan (top inset) for saying there was 'equivalence' between Hamas's terrorist attack and Israel's military response.

The shadow chancellor told an audience in the City of London that she wanted workers to pay less tax but that she would only act 'when resources allow'. Because of rampant inflation over the past couple of years wages have risen but the tax band thresholds have remained where they are, meaning more and more people are paying more without an increase in the rates themselves. Tory Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has also rejected calls to change the rate boundaries. An analysis today suggests the country's tax burden is set to rise to an 80-year high of 37.1 per cent by 2028.

Earlier today, the Prime Minister suffered the indignity of seeing of seeing a Labour mayor win in his own constituency as the party hemorrhaged councils and seats. The Conservatives lost Gloucester, which they had previously held for 20 years, and Dorset to the Liberal Democrats . Lord Ben Houchen's re-election on Teesside was a crumb of comfort as the party lost more than half of its councillors up for re-election across England, just months away from a general election. Labour's David Skaith became the inaugural elected mayor of York and North Yorkshire this afternoon, a new position that covers the Prime Minister's Richmond constituency. It was one of the final blows in a day of reverses for the ruling party, including in many areas the Tories need to win to have any chance in the general election later this year. All eyes now turn to mayoral contests in London and the West Midlands, the results of which will be declared on Saturday.

A group representing a fifth of the Australian population is being blamed for the inflation crisis. 'They are the ones who benefit when interest rates go up. It is fair to say many older people win when interest rates rise and younger people tend to lose,' Grattan Institute economist Brendan Coates said of baby boomers (left and right). So is the criticism fair?