- Broken fingers could sideline Yankees' Rizzo as playoffs start
- Monaco celebrate centenary with late win to join PSG top of Ligue 1
- New Jersey gets final as FIFA unveil Club World Cup venues
- Rovanpera outpaces Evans in the fog for Chile lead
- Camara snatches late win as Monaco move level with PSG in Ligue 1
- Flick takes 'blame' as Osasuna halt Barca's perfect start
- UK lawmaker quits Labour Party over PM's 'hypocrisy'
- Osasuna dismantle Barca's perfect Liga start
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Israel kills Hezbollah chief in Beirut strike
- Kane limps off as frustrated Bayern held by Leverkusen
- Springboks wore Pumas down with 'slow poison', says Erasmus
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- Ukraine says 10 killed in Russian strikes on hospital
- Bayern boss Kompany hopeful Kane will bounce back for Villa clash
- Kane injured as Bayern and Leverkusen draw in Bundesliga
- US grabs 8-6 lead after Saturday four-balls at Presidents Cup
- Liverpool go top of Premier League after Man City held by Newcastle
- Salah sinks Wolves as Liverpool go top
- Revived Vlahovic shoots Juve top with double at fan-less Genoa
- Arteta happy with Arsenal's cool heads in late Leicester win
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
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- Hundreds rally in France in defence of abortion rights
- Seven-try South Africa crush Argentina to become champions
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- Russia's Lavrov warns Europe against 'suicidal escapade' in fiery speech
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- Man City held without Rodri as Palmer's four-goal haul fires Chelsea
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- Leipzig's young stars on song in big win over Augsburg
- Etzebeth becomes most-capped Springbok to thunderous applause
- Kopecky dedicates road race world title to deceased junior
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- Israel kills Hezbollah chief in Beirut air strike
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UK lawmaker quits Labour Party over PM's 'hypocrisy'
The new government of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reeled from its first resignation Saturday, as lawmaker Rosie Duffield quit the Labour Party, accusing him of "hypocrisy" over his acceptance of free gifts.
In a blistering resignation letter, Duffield denounced Starmer for pursuing "cruel and unnecessary" policies.
"The sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice are off the scale," she wrote, after it emerged earlier this month that Starmer had accepted more than £100,000 in gifts and hospitality while cutting an annual £300 winter heating payment to some 10 million pensioners.
"I am so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party.”
Duffield said the "hypocrisy" of a leader enjoying expensive free clothing and outings while asking others to tighten their belts was "staggering".
She also attacked the prime minister's decision to maintain a cap on a benefit aimed at supporting families with children.
"Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp –- this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour Prime Minister,” she wrote.
Duffield said that she would in the future sit as an independent MP "guided by my core Labour values".
The row over the free gifts from rich donors had already cast a shadow over the party's first conference since they returned to government.
Labour ousted the Conservatives in a landslide election win in July after 14 years in opposition.
But instead of toasting their victory at the conference earlier this week, ministers found themselves on the backfoot and facing anger from the normally supportive unions.
- Financial 'black hole' -
All of the gifts accepted by Starmer had been declared and none fall foul of parliamentary rules.
But records show that Starmer accepted more than £100,000 ($132,000) in gifts and hospitality since December 2019, more than any other lawmaker.
It also emerged that Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner accepted the loan of a New York apartment for a holiday and that Chancellor Rachel Reeves accepted around £7,500 worth of clothing.
Reeves and the Labour party have defended the abolition of the £300 payment to many pensioners to help them heat their homes, citing a need to fill a "£22 billion black hole" they say was left by the Conservatives.
Attacking Starmer's "managerial and technocratic approach" in her letter, first reported in The Sunday Times, Duffield also reproached Starmer for poor politics.
His "lack of basic... political instincts" had "come crashing down on us as a party after we worked so hard, promised so much, and waited a long 14 years to be mandated by the British public".
Starmer lost a symbolic vote at the conference demanding that he reverse the contentious policy.
The vote was non-binding but its outcome was nonetheless embarrassing for the premier.
It highlighted the strength of feeling among activists and union backers.
Delegates narrowly backed a union motion calling for the cut to be reversed.
"I do not understand how our new Labour Government can cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners and leave the super rich untouched," said the Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham.
F.Müller--BTB