Zarah Sultana sets sights on replacing Labour and gaining power
The MP Zarah Sultana has said she hopes her new political party will ultimately replace Labour as she revealed she was committed to winning power.Sultana left the Labour party in July to form the new group, operating under the temporary name Your Party.Asked by Nick Robinson on his BBC podcast Political Thinking if she aimed with her new party to replace Labour, she said: “That’s the vision.We are the party of the left, and we have to build.And we’re starting from very humble beginnings.
But this isn’t a three-, four-year project.This is a 10-20-30-40-year project.”She agreed the new party was not just one of protest.“I’m in politics because of a desire to change people’s lives for the better and that means winning state power,” she said.“That means actually running government.
That means nationalising.That means building council homes, that means providing people with the good, secure jobs that they deserve.“All of those things mean winning power, and that’s what I’m committed to, but that will take building a party, organising, knocking on millions of doors, and articulating our politics.”Your Party has suffered a turbulent start, hit by rows over leadership, funds and its name, which will be permanently settled at a conference next month.Most recently, it emerged this week that the party was preparing legal action against a group of its own founders after a final deadline to hand over at least £800,000 in donations passed without payment.
In September, relations between Sultana and the party’s fellow founder, Jeremy Corbyn, hit a low with Sultana threatening to hire defamation lawyers after a row over the launch of a paid membership system.The pair later said they had reconciled and likened themselves to the notoriously volatile Gallagher brothers.Robinson asked Sultana if she thought Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, which is polling ahead of Labour, is a fascist.“Well, I think the way that him and his colleagues have behaved in parliament, where they are voting against trade union rights, where they are committed to peddle racism to attack our rights, I do think he has all the features of a fascist politician, and I think it’s important that we stop a fascist Reform government,” she said.“He’s a danger,” she added.
In response, a Reform UK spokesperson told the podcast Sultana “should go back to school or buy herself a dictionary”.
‘Great blend’: Borthwick praises England’s character after beating Australia
Steve Borthwick praised his team’s resilience and composure as England secured their eighth Test win in a row, beating Australia 25-7 in a soggy contest. England bossed the match, scoring four tries to one, and dominated the skies as both teams reverted to a kicking battle.Even though Borthwick lamented a lack of accuracy in the wide channels, citing numerous line-breaks that were left unconverted, he was pleased with the control his players maintained. “There was a period where the game was tight in very difficult conditions against an Australian side that are tough and really well drilled,” he said.“But as I watched our team, I thought they were really composed, really composed and knew what to do next
Suaalii’s struggles sum up an Australia side searching for fluency | Daniel Gallan
When even Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is beaten in the air you know that things aren’t going well. It was here, last autumn, that the rugby league convert made his Wallabies debut and immediately established himself as one of the code’s hottest prospects. He left Twickenham with a highlights reel stacked with NBA-style tip-ons and athletic leaps, having played a leading role in a remarkable smash-and-grab triumph.But in the 20th minute of a stodgy show that felt like watching the Wallabies during the bad old days under Eddie Jones, Australia’s rising star failed to get off the ground. Perhaps Suaalii hadn’t noticed that Tom Roebuck was hot in pursuit of Alex Mitchell’s box kick
Kangaroos made to sweat before class tells and wounded England kiss Ashes goodbye | John Davidson
Fans arrived at Everton’s resplendent Hill Dickson Stadium to the sound of Black Eyed Peas’ 2009 hit I Gotta Feeling, the lyrics “I’ve got a feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night” reverberating around Liverpool’s docks. And boy was it for the Kangaroos, but only just.The green and gold won their 14th Ashes series in a row, the first since 2003, with a solid second-half response that decided the second Test in their favour. But a display for the ages from Australia – a routine or one-sided victory most expected – it was not. England played with fire, matching the Kangaroos and frustrating them at every stage in an eye-catching first half
Unflappable George Ford the safe option for England, Borthwick and brigadier | Andy Bull
The brigadier has been a Twickenham fixture for as long anyone can remember. He has a regular spot in the seats behind the press box. He has one of those voices that makes you duck your head every time he shouts out, it carries clean across the ground and sounds as if he is drowning in gravel.After 25 years of coming here I have no idea if he is a brigadier, mind, or has a rank, or whether it is even the same person in every Test or just any one of a number of interchangeable Twickenham men from the home counties. On Saturday he began by shouting: “Bloody hit him” as Immanuel Feyi-Waboso went haring downfield after George’s Ford’s first kick from hand
Iga Swiatek serves warning to rivals by crushing Madison Keys at WTA Finals
The second edition of the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia began with the familiar sight of Iga Swiatek brutally laying waste another of the best players in the world. The six-time grand slam champion demolished Madison Keys 6-1, 6-2 in their first match of the group stage.Swiatek had been struggling in recent tournaments, fatigue seemingly setting in at the end of a draining 10-month season. However, the Pole had three weeks to regroup after her 6-1, 6-2 loss to Jasmine Paolini in the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open. She looked fresh and locked in from the beginning, affirming her status as one of the favourites alongside Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 1, by serving extremely well and putting Keys under relentless pressure off both wings with her weight of shot and defence while offering few mistakes
England 25-7 Australia: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – as it happened
Thank you for joining me for this match. It was as scrappy and tight but England managed to stretch away towards the end with a bomb squad bench. You can catch up with all of the action in the report below. We will be covering Ireland’s match against New Zealand live later today so make sure you tune into that but for now, have a good evening.England’s Henry Pollock told TNT Sports: “Credit to the boys, the back field were incredible today… I was lucky enough the ball bounced in my area, I thought I wasn’t going to get over
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