EXCLUSIVE Showing his true colours? What Union Jack dress row family REALLY think of stepfather who thrust girl into spotlight and triggered political storm
Year Seven pupil Courtney Wright was prevented by Bilton School in Rugby in Warwickshire from wearing the flag dress and the resulting row dominated the national media conversation and was even discussed in Parliament.
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The Independent
21 minutes ago
- The Independent
Jeremy Corbyn more popular among younger voters than Keir Starmer, new poll shows
Jeremy Corbyn is far more popular among young voters than Sir Keir Starmer, new polling has indicated, suggesting that Labour's decision to extend the vote to 16 and 17 year olds could backfire. While both leaders remain deeply unpopular among the public, there is a surge in support for Sir Keir 's predecessor among those aged 18-24, a new poll has shown. The survey comes just days after Mr Corbyn launched his own political party alongside former left-wing Labour MP Zarah Sultana. While Sir Keir's approval ratings are poor across all age groups, new polling conducted by YouGov on the day Mr Corbyn announced his new party showed that the left-wing politician has a rating of plus 18 among 18-24 year-olds. By contrast, Sir Keir has an approval rating of minus 30 among the same group. But among voters overall, the two leaders have a near identical approval rating, with Sir Keir on minus 40 and Mr Corbyn on minus 39. Earlier this month, the government announced it will give the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds, expanding the electorate by 1.6m people at the next election. While there have been accusations from the right that the move was an attempt to shore up its own support, the YouGov polling for The Times suggests the move could serve to split the electorate even further if the results are reflected among 16 and 17 year olds. It comes amid growing concern over the direction of Sir Keir's government from voters on both the left and the right, with the prime minister's approval rating hitting an all time low earlier this month. Sir Keir's support among the public reached new depths of minus 43 after the £5bn welfare U-turn, according to new polling. The survey, first reported by The Sunday Times, also found that just a year after coming to power, seven in 10 voters think Sir Keir's government is at least as chaotic as the Tories' previous term. That includes one in three voters, who believe it is more so. Seeking to capitalise on the discontent with the Labour government, Mr Corbyn promised a 'new kind of political party' when he launched the as yet unnamed project with Ms Sultana on Thursday, claiming that more than 200,000 people have signed up. But dismissing the movement, technology secretary Peter Kyle said that the Islington North MP 'doesn't think about governing, he thinks about posturing'. Asked about the move, Mr Kyle reflected on what he called the 'chaos and instability' of Mr Corbyn's leadership. Speaking on Times Radio, Mr Kyle said: 'He's not a serious politician. He doesn't think about governing, he thinks about posturing. And we see that writ large at the moment, because all the posturing, of course, just puts him at odds with his own supporters, which is why you've got George Galloway saying he won't join it.' When Mr Corbyn and Ms Sultana announced their new party, a Labour source said: "The electorate has twice given its verdict on a Jeremy Corbyn led party." The polling, conducted by YouGov for The Times, spoke to 2,013 adults between July 24 and 25.
The Sun
22 minutes ago
- The Sun
I was kicked out of Wetherspoons for wearing Union Jack dress – staff's four cruel words mean I'll never go back
A WOMAN who was wearing a Union Jack dress and was refused entry to a Wetherspoon's pub has said she'll never go back. Wearing her patriotic dress, Tanya Ostolski, 54, was told "you're not coming in" despite being a regular for nearly 30 years. 3 3 Tanya was trying to visit The Picture House in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, when she was barred entry. The events followed an anti-illegal immigration protest that took place 50 metres away from the pub in Nottingham town centre on Friday July 25 which Tanya attended. After marching in the protest, Tanya made her way to the local Wetherspoons but was denied entry due to her dress, despite putting away the flag she was carrying, she says. The decision caused anger amongst some protesters who clashed with bouncers on Friday evening as they were also denied entry, they said. A spokesperson for Wetherspoons has confirmed the pub asked customers with flags and placards not to enter so as not to "increase tension". Tanya said: "I'm disgusted, I won't be going back there. "I go in there all the time and I wasn't causing any trouble. "The whole day was a peaceful protest, I'm a grandma and I've never caused any bother. "I just can't believe this was all over a flag - it was really upsetting, I didn't do anything wrong." According to Tanya, she was first refused entry because she was carrying a St George's cross flag but after putting it away she was still refused entry. She claims witnesses defended her at the time, calling the bouncers actions "unfair" as she wasn't "causing any trouble". Tanya added that she had the flag tied around her waist and was asked to put the flag away and that she couldn't come in. "But I had flags all over my dress and then I was told I can't come in at all - I was really confused, it's just a flag," Tanya said. "I asked for a valid reason and they just kept saying you're not coming in. "I'm not aggressive and didn't want to cause trouble, so I just walked away. "I've heard I won't be welcome back or I might be barred." The protest was sparked after Reform MP Lee Anderson made an unfounded claim that a local man charged with rape was an asylum seeker. Anderson made the claims on X, despite being advised against it by Nottinghamshire Police as it could interfere with the justice proceedings. The claim regards a man who was arrested after reportedly raping a woman at Sutton Lawn. An estimated 300 people attended the earlier protest, with around a dozen counter protesters from Stand Up To Racism also present. Protests began at around 4.30pm and had ended by around 7pm. Anger was directed towards Sir Keir Starmer, with people chanting "stop the boats". At one point in the evening, police guarded the entrance to the Wetherspoon pub after protesters like Tanya complained about being turned away. JD Wetherspoons has a "no flag" policy which was prohibits the pubs from hanging the England flag. The move caused backlash from pubgoers during the 2018 football World Cup. But during the men's Euro 2024, the popular chain overturned it's policy and allowed the pubs to hang the England flag during the summer tournament. Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon commented in response to the incident in Sutton-in-Ashfield. He said: "Pub managers have a duty under the licensing laws, and as a matter of common sense, to judge every situation on its particular circumstances. "In this case, the pub manager felt that it was important not to increase tensions. "Therefore, on this occasion the manager asked customers not to enter with flags or any placards." 3
BBC News
22 minutes ago
- BBC News
Somerset to take 'critical actions' to reduce planning backlog
Council officers have been forced to take "critical actions" to try and speed up their planning Council said the growing backlog of applications meant the workload of its staff remains the 28 July, the council will put into place a number of measures for three months, including reducing staff attendance at meetings, asking the public not to chase applications and only accepting limited Conservative opposition group at the council said the planning system had been "neglected" since the creation of the unitary authority in 2023. There are around 1,600 outstanding cases to clear according to the council, with some waiting months to get a decision on their council blames recruitment difficulties and IT issues on the long wait leader of the opposition Conservative group on Somerset Council, Councillor Diogo Rodrigues, said the system is at "breaking point", calling the new measures an "emergency shut down".He claimed applications which have been in the system for a long time will not be prioritised, in favour of new ones which can be progressed quickly."We're concerned as democratically-elected councillors that we're being pushed back and decisions are being made by officers, day in, day out, and we're not given the opportunity to have our say," he Democrat Councillor Mike Rigby, who is the portfolio holder for planning at the council, called comments by Mr Rodrigues "silly", adding planning applications will be handled in the usual said: "We need to focus on the work itself, rather than providing constant updates."I fully understand why applicants want to know where their application is but our officers are spending far too much time providing those updates rather than actually making decisions."
