News about Richard Parker

Senior Conservatives are drawing up a secret plan to parachute Andy Street into the House of Commons by giving him a plum safe seat. Party figures and Tory grandees held talks last week about making the former West Midlands mayor the Conservative candidate for Solihull. Some see Mr Street, an ally of Boris Johnson, as a key part of shaping the future of the Conservative party beyond an expected election defeat. Mr Street lost the West Midlands mayoralty to Labour's Richard Parker by 1,508 votes in a bruising set of local election results for Rishi Sunak.

The former shadow domestic violence minister admitted that a concerted campaign by a pro-Palestinian independent could defeat her in her Birmingham Yardley constituency. Ms Phillips, who quit the Labour frontbench in November over the party's refusal to back a total ceasefire in Gaza, spoke on ITV 's Peston days after the local elections , which included choosing a new mayor in the West Midlands. It saw Labour's Richard Parker pip Tory Andy Street, but independent Akhmed Yakoob, who ran a pro-Palestinian campaign, came third after taking 69,621 votes, almost 12 per cent of those cast.

Richard Parker (pictured) said he was already in discussions over the move - which is not current party policy - but critics said his role has nothing to do with foreign affairs. The businessman narrowly beat Tory incumbent Andy Street in last Thursday's election, having lost almost 70,000 votes to a pro-Palestine candidate. On Monday, his first proper day in the job, he faced a backlash for posting on social media about the planned offensive in Rafah before he set out his ideas for Birmingham. Then yesterday he was asked about his fears of what Israel might do. 'I am incredibly concerned, and I made a very clear statement that they mustn't go into Rafah,' he told LBC radio.

The Prime Minister is now planning on carrying out an autumn election, rather than in July, following widespread Tory defeat at local elections up and down the country. The Conservatives lost 397 council seats and only won one of the 11 mayoralties, with West Midlands mayor Andrew Street, who had distanced himself from the PM, narrowly losing to his Labour opponent Richard Parker.

Labour claimed a shock victory in the West Midlands mayoral elections, beating the popular Tory mayor - in a move a jubilant Kier Starmer hailed as a 'phenomenal result'. Richard Parker beat Mr Street by 1,508 votes to become Mayor in an extremely close contest. It means Mr Street will be denied his third term, in a major blow for Rishi Sunak after a disastrous local elections run. And now Tory rebels are lining up to stick the knife into the Prime Minister as they warned that the 'gamechanging' defeat meant Mr Sunak could now face a fresh bid to oust him - although other MPs reiterated their view it was too late.

Richard Parker appeared to be all smiles with party members and supporters in Birmingham, where the result was set to be formally announced. It means Mr Street will be denied his third term, in a major blow for Rishi Sunak after a disasterous local elections . Mr Parker posed for photographs while smiling with supporters close to the podium where the winner will be announced, but then declined to smile when asked to pose for the media, saying he was 'nervously waiting' for the result. Former West Midlands mayoral candidate and MP for Birmingham's Hodge Hill, Liam Byrne, posted a picture on social media of himself and Mr Parker smiling with their arms raised in an apparent celebration.

Andy Street has been defeated by Labour rival Richard Parker after an extraordinary struggle that saw a series of recounts. After hours of wrangling, Mr Street was finally edged out by 1,508 votes - from a three-million strong electorate - with his opponent posting pictures of his celebrations. The failure of the former John Lewis boss to secure a third term is a huge setback for the PM, and leaves him with almost nothing to cling to from a nightmare set of local elections . Rebels immediately warned that the 'gamechanging' result meant Mr Sunak could now face a fresh bid to oust him - although other MPs reiterated their view it was too late. The premier had been desperate for Mr Street to join Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen in the winner's circle, demonstrating that the party can still win big contests.

Richard Parker has been accused by local Tories of breaching electoral law over the 'home address' he gave in his nomination form. The 60-year-old businessman said he lives in a flat in Birmingham city centre but his opponents say he has only just started renting it out, while neighbours told the Mail they had never seen him there. His main property is said to be the house he and his wife have owned since 2005 in a Worcestershire village, outside the region he wants to run.

YouGov found Ben Houchen seven points ahead as he tries to win a third term in Tees Valley. Meanwhile, Andy Street has a slender advantage over Labour rival Richard Parker as he bids to stay in office in the West Midlands. The positive signs could mean the PM has some good news to trumpet from what is predicted to be an otherwise grim night for the Conservatives. Experts believe that the party is on track to lose upwards of 400 council seats, while Sadiq Khan is ahead in the London mayor battle - although Tory Susan Hall seems to be narrowing the gap.

Rachel Reeves was last night at the centre of a cronyism row after taking donations and a free holiday from a businessman later selected as a Labour candidate. The Shadow Chancellor accepted a total of £10,000 from Richard Parker in the year before he launched his surprise bid to stand for her party in a crucial mayoral election. She told parliamentary authorities that the cash, which followed a £2,000 donation before the 2019 general election, was to support her office. Ms Reeves enjoyed a week-long stay in Mr Parker's second home in Cornwall last summer, just months after he was chosen to be Labour's candidate for West Midlands mayor.

A survey by Redfield & Wilton Strategies found the Tory incumbent is on 37 per cent support, while Labour rival Richard Parker has 43 per cent. However, that was significantly smaller gap than the firm detected a fortnight ago, when Mr Street was 14 points behind. Conservatives are desperately hoping that the mayoral contests might prove a bright spot in what could be an otherwise dire election for the party next Thursday. There are fears that hundreds of councillors will lose their seats, while Mr Street and Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen are struggling to cling on.

Andy Street, who has held the post since 2017, is trailing his Labour rival Richard Parker by 14 points, according to Redfield & Wilton Strategies research. The figures will raise anxiety about the prospects of a nightmare for the Conservatives on May 2. There are fears that the party will also lose the mayoralty in Tees Valley, while Sadiq Khan is on track to be re-elected in London and a swathe of councillors could be ousted. A bad night could set the stage for a fresh coup bid against Rishi Sunak, with rebels preparing for a final bid to change leader before the looming general election.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS: The Leeks have played a major role in Welsh history and culture for centuries. St David advised King Cadwaladr that his Welsh troops should wear a leek to distinguish themselves from Saxon invaders, according to one rather fanciful legend. Much more convincing is the tale of how Welsh archers fought their way across leek fields during the Battle of Crécy in 1346, led by Edward the Black Prince, who was leading the French army in the French victory. The later Tudor kings inherited a tradition of Welsh people sporting leeks in their caps and hats, particularly on March 1st.

The Harvard lawyers argued that the charges of plagiarism against Claudine Gay, the university's president, were false at the end of October, long before the investigation was launched. In late October, Tom Clare, the maker of the Virginia-based law firm Clare Locke, who specializes in 'defending clients against high-profile public relations offences in print, broadcast, and online media,' replied to queries regarding Gay's work. 'The excerpts provided do not support a finding of plagiarism,' and she draws a fatally flawed interpretation of what 'plagiarism' is and is not in academic journals and settings.' Clare made no mention of an investigation that was launched by Harvard, and the institution's existence was not revealed until December 12, when the university announced that she had been cleared and that two amendments to her published work would be made. On Friday, a number of current Harvard scholars expressed skepticism about Gay's behavior. Students would not be allowed to get away with the behavior Gay people displayed, according to them. 'There are few things that are more repellent than a top official getting a pass for something they chastize underlings for doing,' said Richard Parker, a Harvard Law School professor.' The allegations, according to The Boston Globe, was 'irregular' and 'opaque,' marking a departure from a traditional plagiarism investigation. 'The comparison,' he said, shows contempt for our students and faculty, as well as Harvard itself.'

Roger David Cheney, 66, (pictured left) burst into the homes of two girls aged eight and ten in NSW's Mid-North Coast's Port Macquarie region on two separate occasions in 1993. He took them out of their beds and carried them outside, then sexually assaulted them in the grass. Daily Mail Australia has learned he has been jailed for allegedly peeping into windows in Sydney's east, just two years after being controversially released from jail. (right)

The FTSE 100 telecoms behemoth has signed a £5 million deal with Altitude Angel, a Reading aviation company that specializes in integrated traffic control, which is the technology that allows drones to fly safely over long distances without a pilot. Project Skyway, which aims to develop a 165-mile drone network throughout airspace above Reading, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Coventry, and Rugby, is based at altitude.

On an isolated road outside the West Australian town of Kondinin, 279 kilometers east of Perth early Christmas Day and just 10 kilometers away from home, Jake Day, 28, and Cindy Braddock, 25, died when their Land Rover Discovery rolled over on an isolated road. Synthia, 5, Bevan, 2, and Charlez 1, the three young children's parents, were killed in the crash but they were left for 55 hours until the wreckage was discovered about midday on December 27. The children were treated for cuts, bruises, and dehydration before being airlifted to Perth Children's Hospital, where they spent five days before being released with the all-clear to leave.

Cindy Braddock, 25, and Jake Day, 28, were killed after their Land Rover Discovery (bottom right) careened off the rural Corrigin-Kondinin Road in Western Australia's wheatbelt and flipped early Sunday morning (inset). The Christmas Day tragedy, which took them ten kilometers from their destination, left three children, five, two, and one (top right), in the mangled wreckage until they were discovered 55 hours later. When the couple pulled into the Dunnings service station at Northam at 1.11 a.m. on Christmas Day, Nathan O'Donnell was one of the few people to see them alive.

Cindy Braddock, 25, (left) and Jake Day, 28, (right) died after their Land Rover Discovery (left) careened off the rugged Corrigin-Kondinin Road, Western Australia's wheatbelt, and flipped in the middle of the night. The Christmas Day tragedy, which took them ten kilometers from the family's house, left three children, aged five, two, and one dead in the car's mangled wreck until they were discovered 55 hours later after a desperate search. The five-year-old baby girl is now being praised for helping her two young brothers, while a family friend has speculated at what caused the tragic accident.

Since being left homeless for more than two days in the midst of a horrific car accident that killed both the children's parents, a five-year-old girl was hailed as a hero for saving the lives of her two baby brothers. Cindy Braddock, 25, and Jake Day, 28, were able to flipped in the early hours of Sunday morning as their Land Rover Discovery careened off the remote Corrigin-Kondinin Road in Western Australia's wheatbelt. Young children were trapped in the vehicle's mangled wreck, which, despite frantic search efforts, wasn't discovered until 55 hours later.