Sunak"s approval rating against Starmer as best PM at record low after conferences, poll suggests YouGov has released polling today that implies Rishi Sunak has failed to gain any electoral benefit from party conference season. The survey results, published by the Times, suggest that on the question of who would be the best PM, Sunak has his lowest rating against Keir Starmer since he took office. The poll also suggests Labour has had a two-point boost from conference week, with the party on 47%, and the Conservatives on 24%. As Oliver Wright reports in his Times story, the polling suggests voters are more likely to think Starmer has a plan for the country than Sunak, and more likely to see Labour as the party that would bring change. This is significant because Sunak’s main argument in his conference speech was that he, not Starmer, was the person best qualified to bring change. Wright says: Asked whether they thought Starmer had a clear plan for the country, 28 per cent of voters said that he did — up six points on last week. This compared with 19 per cent who said that Sunak had a clear plan, down two points. On the question of whether a Labour government would make a significant change, 47 per cent agreed that it would, compared with 37 per cent who said it would not. Only 25 per cent said that Sunak’s plans would represent a change — down five points in a week. Labour may be concerned by one finding from the survey, which found that one of its main conference policy announcements, changing planning rules to make it easier for more homes to be built, even if that involves ignoring local opposition, does not have majority support. As Wright reports, the polling results depend on how the question is framed, but more than 40% of people do not seem to be in favour. Forty per cent backed Labour’s plan to loosen planning laws to build new towns, and 43 per cent were opposed. Forty-seven per cent backed building more homes in their own areas, against 42 per cent who were opposed. But the poll also found that Labour’s plan to cut hospital waiting lists by paying staff to work more overtime was popular, with 81% in favour and only 12% against. Afternoon summary YouGov has released polling today that implies Rishi Sunak has failed to gain any electoral benefit from party conference season. (See 12.21pm.) Scotland Yard has recorded a “massive increase” in the number of suspected antisemitic offences in the capital compared with this time last year, as two more Jewish faith schools in north London close over security concerns. Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, has said he fears a “disproportionate” response by Israel to the attacks by Hamas could lead to “inexplicable” suffering in Gaza. (See 2.25pm.) He spoke out as two councillors in Oxford resigned from Labour today in protest at Keir Starmer defending the seige tactics used by Israel in Gaza. (See 3.32pm.) Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, has said the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people” is unacceptable and that Israel should lift its block on Gaza being able to access water, food, medicine and electricity. My heart breaks for Humza’s family & all of those fearing for their safety in Gaza & Israel. We must condemn Hamas, but that can’t mean the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. International law must be upheld with free flow of electricity, water, food & medicine. Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has warned that the government will need to take “difficult decisions” in next month’s autumn statement after a sharp worsening of the public finances over the past six months. The protester who threw glitter over Keir Starmer at the start of his Labour conference speech this week in Liverpool has said he is sorry for his actions. Almost 40% of people do not have a view as to whether the government has or has not been too supportive of Israel, polling from YouGov suggests. Among those people who do have a view, slightly more (22%) think the government should be more critical than think it should be more supportive (16%). Covid inquiry reveals cabinet secretary said government looked like "tragic joke" and suggested Carrie Johnson in charge Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, described the government as looking like “a terrible, tragic joke” during the pandemic and suggested that Boris Johnson’s wife, Carrie, was the person really in charge, according to private WhatsApp messages revealed at the Covid inquiry today. The comments were made in a WhatsApp group comprising Case, Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s senior policy adviser, and Lee Cain, the director of communications, in an exchange from October 2020. At the time Boris Johnson was resisting pressure from government scientists, and some advisers and ministers, to order a second lockdown. Case, Cummings and Cain were all frustrated by his dithering – and by the influence of his wife. As Ruby Lott-Lavinga reports for Open Democracy, at one point, when asked what they were talking about, Case said: “Whatever Carrie cares about”. He later told his two colleagues: I was always told that [Dominic Cummings] was the secret PM. How wrong they are. I look forward to telling select cttee tomorrow – ‘oh, fuck no, don’t worry about Dom, the real person in charge is Carrie’. And, making a wider point, he told them: This gov’t doesn’t have the credibility needed to be imposing stuff within only days of deciding not too [sic]. We look like a terrible, tragic joke. If we were going hard, that decision was needed weeks ago. I cannot cope with this. Humza Yousaf says he aims to revitalise reeling SNP at party conference Humza Yousaf will attempt to “draw a line” under the SNP’s independence policy at this weekend’s party conference after a failure to address concerns over the cost of living crisis was blamed for its defeat in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West byelection, Libby Brooks and Severin Carrell report. Two councillors resign from Labour in protest at Starmer defending Israel"s seige tactics in Gaza Two Oxford city councillors have resigned their Labour party membership over the Keir Starmer’s stance on Israel’s response to the Hamas attacks last weekend. In a joint statement posted on X, Shaista Aziz and Amar Latif say they were “deeply disappointed and alarmed” to hear the Labour leader appear to condone Israel’s decision to place Gaza under seige, cutting off water and power supplies, in apparent breach of international law. Statement of resignation from the Labour Party from Cllr Shaista Aziz, Cllr Amar Latif, Oxford City Council. We stand in solidarity with the people of Israel and Palestine and call for and end to violence and the humanitarian crisis. The councillors may be referring to answers Starmer gave in an LBC interview on Wednesday, although he has made a similar case in other interviews – saying Israel should abide by international law, but refusing to criticse a move widely seen as illegal. Yesterday, Lubaba Khalid said she had resigned her post as the BAME offfcer on the executive committee for Young Labour, an official party organisation, over the same issue. She said: As a Palestinian, with direct family in Gaza, I am absolutely appalled by the comments made to LBC by the leader of the Labour party and my local MP, Keir Starmer, who said that Israel “has the right” to withhold water and electricity. Collective punishment is a crime under international law. Where is humanity?’: Humza Yousaf’s mother-in-law sends tearful video from Gaza The mother-in-law of Scotland’s first minister who is trapped in Gaza has asked where humanity is, as she describes conditions in the Palestinian enclave under Israeli bombardment. Kevin Rawlinson has the story here. Sadiq Khan says he fears "disproportionate" response by Israel could lead to "inexplicable" suffering in Gaza Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has said he fears a “disproportionate” response by Israel to the attacks by Hamas could lead to “inexplicable” suffering in Gaza. Government ministers have supported Israel almost unconditionally, downplaying international concerns about its call for 1.1m people to evacuate Gaza City and not urging “restraint”. Keir Starmer and his shadow ministers have adopted a similar stance. But Khan said he was worried the Israeli response might be disproportionate. Speaking during a visit to Medical Aid For Palestinians (MAP), a charity based in Islington, he said: I’ve spoken to Londoners who lost family members in Gaza, and Londoners who’ve lost family as a consequence of the Hamas terrorist attack last weekend, so we’re feeling the pain here. But we are worried about the response of the Israeli government being disproportionate [and] leading to the sort of suffering which is inexplicable. We’re talking about human suffering on a scale which this charity, who has worked in that area for decades, hasn’t seen. He said he was particularly concerned about the threat to Palestinian children. No child has joined Hamas to my knowledge. Those people who are in hospital aren’t members of Hamas. Of course, Israel must go after Hamas but what’s happening in Gaza is suffering on a scale which this charity has never seen. Khan said the British government should be calling for restraint. Referring to Israel telling civilians to evacuate Gaza City before a likely invasion, he said: I’m hoping the Israeli government will reconsider, understanding the pressure internationally, when you hear what the United Nations are saying, what the World Health Organization are saying, and when you listen to those people on the ground. We should use our good relationship with the Israeli government to remind them of the importance of responding proportionately, allowing food, water and medicine to reach the people of Gaza, and explain the unreasonableness of expecting over 1m people, a population the size of Birmingham, to leave their homes and go south. Speaking to people here, there’s no way for them to go south. Keir Starmer and Sue Gray met Labour mayors to clear the air, say sources Keir Starmer has cleared the air with some of his party’s most high-profile mayors after a crunch meeting in London facilitated by his new chief of staff, Sue Gray, Kiran Stacey reports. Sunak says UK to step up deployment of troops to northern Europe, partly in response to Russian threat to pipelines Rishi Sunak has announced that the UK will increase its deployment of troops to northern Europe next year, partly in response to the threat posed by Russia to critical infrastructure, such as pipelines. He made the announcement in Sweden at the meeting of Joint Expeditionary Force leaders, where, according to No 10, the leaders discussed “how they can address Russia’s sabotaging behaviour in the region, both through stronger defence collaboration and increasing industrial cooperation”. Only last week damage was detected to two pipelines linking Estonia and Finland, No 10 said. In a news release about the deployment, Downing Street said: More than 20,000 British troops will be deployed to [northern Europe] next year, which is vital for the protection of critical national infrastructure, as the exploitation of hybrid activities and strategic competition in the area accelerates. It said the deployment would involve soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen and women, as well as “eight Royal Navy ships, 25 fast jets and an aviation taskforce of Apache, Chinook and Wildcat helicopters. They will take part in large-scale, multi-country exercises, as well as carrying out air policing and cold weather training.” In a statement, Sunak said: As the international order continues to be challenged by desperate dictators, rogue states, and terrorist organisations – like Hamas - we must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our international friends and partners to defend our values, security and prosperity. Northern Europe is vital to our national security, which is why it’s more important than ever that we work with our Joint Expeditionary Force neighbours to protect our backyard and deter damaging hybrid threats. Met police say antisemitic incidents in London up sixfold on same period last year London’s Metropolitan police say they have recorded a sixfold increase in suspected antisemitic offences compared with this time last year. From 30 September to 13 October this year, 75 antisemitic offences occurred, police say, while in the same period last year 12 were recorded. Antisemitic incidents reported to police, which may include non-crimes, increased sevenfold year to year, from 14 in the same period last year, to 105. London tends to be the centre for protest and demonstrations in the United Kingdom. The Met deputy assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor said police had asked the attorney general, the government’s top law officer, and the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorises criminal prosecutions in England and Wales, for greater clarity about what may constitute an offence. He said displays of Palestinian flags were not an automatic offence, with context being key. “A lot of it depends on the circumstances,” Taylor said. Jewish groups point out that after the massacre in Israel last weekend, displaying a Palestinian flag in central London may be fine, but doing the same in Jewish area may be an act meant to offend, intimidate and show support for the murder of civilians in Israel. Taylor reiterated that support for the massacre by Hamas, or for the group, would be an offence and that the group was banned under terrorism laws and so displaying its flag or chanting support for it would be a criminal offence. Rallies and protests are planned this weekend in the British capital including one starting at midday in central London. Taylor said there was “no specific intelligence” of threats to Jewish schools in London, some of which have decided to close. Taylor said police were investigating claims that posters put up around Camden, north London, appealing for information about those still missing after last weekend’s massacre were torn down. Other incidents include verbal abuse and the alleged playing of German military music, which was meant to intimidate Jewish people. Sadiq Khan says Islamophobic and antisemitic incidents up 300% since Israel-Hamas war started While Rishi Sunak has been talking about the rise in antisemitic incidents in Britain in recent days (see 1.12pm), Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, has also highlighted the rise in Islamophobic incidents. He posted these messages on X last night. Since the weekend, both @TellMamaUK and @CST_UK have reported over 300% increases in the reporting of Islamophobic and antisemitic incidents. I will always stand with Jewish and Muslim Londoners against those who espouse hate and division in our city. Those found to be committing these acts will face the full force of the law. Sunak says there has been "disgusting rise in antisemitic incidents" in recent days In his pooled TV clip this morning Rishi Sunak also said there has been a “disgusting rise in antisemitic incidents” over the last few days. He said: Yesterday I chaired a meeting of police chiefs in Downing Street, together with the Community Security Trust, to specifically make sure that everybody in our Jewish communities can feel safe. There’s been a quite frankly disgusting rise in antisemitic incidents over the past few days. That’s not right. We have provided extra funding to the Community Security Trust to make sure that Jewish institutions – whether that’s synagogue or schools – have all the protection they need and the police have all the support that they need to ensure that our streets are safe for people from all communities. Because we will absolutely not tolerate people inciting hatred, or violence or racist activity. Intimidating or threatening behaviour will not be tolerated. It will be met with the full force of the law. Asked if waving Palestinian flags or saying “free Palestine” in public could constitute a crime, Sunak replied: There’s very clear guidance for the police about the measures that they can take, but inciting violence, racial hatred, is illegal. People who are acting in an abusive or threatening manner, causing distress, are breaking the law. The police have the power and the tools that they need to ensure they can stop that from happening and you will see that in full force in the coming days to make sure anyone who breaks the law meets the full force of that law. Yesterday the Metropolitan police issued a letter making it clear that they did not equate showing support for the Palestinian people with showing support for Hamas, and that waving a Palestinian flag did not by itself constitute a criminal offence. According to PA Media, at the meeting Sunak chaired yesterday ministers and senior police officers discussed concerns over policing a pro-Palestine protest planned for the weekend in central London. The Met police anticipate more than 10,000 people attending.