‘It could be a shoe or a stick’: Sajid Javid on being beaten by his father, petty crime – and turning his life around

As a young teenager, Javid and his brother were caught stealing from slot machines, arrested and held in a cell. His future hung in the balance. How did he get from there to the top of UK politics?In 2019, when Sajid Javid was home secretary, he spoke about growing up on “the most dangerous street in Britain” and said how easy it would have been to fall into a life of crime. Fortunately, he said, he managed to avoid trouble. But it turns out that Javid was being a little economical with the truth

Burnham will try again for Westminster return but declines offer of seat in 2027

Andy Burnham has not given up hopes of returning to Westminster and will try again, allies say, but would need to be convinced that Keir Starmer would not try to block him again before running.The Greater Manchester mayor’s hopes of an imminent return to parliament appeared remote, however, as No 10 sources suggested that relations between the two men were at a low ebb and played down chances of a rapprochement.As the leadership tried to defuse the anger, Starmer himself defended the decision to prevent Burnham running in the Gorton and Denton byelection next month, a move that triggered a backlash against the prime minister from sections of his own party.Starmer is understood to have offered to support Burnham running for another seat in the north-west of England in 2027, nearer the end of his mayoralty, by which time the voting system would have changed in Labour’s favour and the party would be able to line up a strong replacement.However, the proposal was not accepted and the prime minister’s allies have since suggested that Burnham’s publicly angry response to being blocked may mean that even a tentative deal will not come to pass

Tories criticised over claim Braverman defected to Reform after ‘mental health’ issues

The Conservatives are facing a backlash after claiming that Suella Braverman defected to Reform UK after “mental health” issues, as the former home secretary finally joined Nigel Farage’s party after months of denials.Braverman, who was sacked from the cabinet by both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, became the third sitting Conservative MP to defect in little over a week. She immediately went on the attack against her former party.At a press conference after her defection, Braverman said she had felt “politically homeless” for the last two years and that too many Tory promises to the country – including on Brexit and immigration – “lie in tatters”.Her critics immediately pointed out that as Brexit minister, home secretary and attorney general under the Tories she had played a major role in the success, or otherwise, of those policy areas

Greens launch major push for Gorton and Denton after Burnham blocked

The Greens are set to stage an all-out fight to win the upcoming Gorton and Denton byelection, with officials in the party arguing they have a real chance of victory after Andy Burnham was barred from applying to be the Labour candidate.The Greens came third in the seat in the general election, nearly 14,000 votes behind Andrew Gwynne, the sitting MP who stepped down last week. But they plan to flood the constituency with activists in the hope of persuading locals they are the party more likely to defeat Reform UK.While it is up to the local Greens to decide a candidate, it is expected that they could field Hannah Spencer, leader of the Green group on Trafford council, who stood against Burnham in the 2024 Greater Manchester mayoral election.Defeat to the Greens, or a sufficiently high Green vote to allow a Reform win, would be a major blow to Keir Starmer, as well as significant embarrassment after he moved to ensure Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, could not stand

Tories withdraw ‘mental health’ briefing about Suella Braverman after former Tory home secretary joins Reform – UK politics live

Suella Braverman has defected to Reform UK, the third sitting Conservative MP to join Nigel Farage’s party in little more than a week.Keir Starmer has defended Labour’s decision to block Andy Burnham from standing for parliament, a move which has triggered a major backlash against the prime minister from sections of his own party.Reform UK would slash what it calls “highly dubious” environmental protection measures to help fund a £2bn cut to income tax in Scotland if it won May’s Holyrood elections, the party has said.Jenny Chapman, the development minister, has is drawing up plans to scrap the UK’s aid watchdog, prompting concerns that the government is attempting to escape scrutiny while implementing “brutal” cuts.For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog

Tories say mental health claim about Suella Braverman was ‘sent out in error’

The Conservatives have withdrawn a claim that Suella Braverman’s defection to Reform UK on Monday was connected to her mental health after criticism from across the political spectrum.Earlier, in an official statement it now says was “sent out in error”, the party said: “It was always a matter of when, not if, Suella would defect. The Conservatives did all we could to look after Suella’s mental health, but she was clearly very unhappy.”The statement was shared with journalists by a Conservative party spokesperson and swiftly condemned by MPs, peers and mental health charities for its brutality and indiscretion, as well as for trivialising and weaponising mental health struggles.Speaking to GB News after the statement was released, Nigel Evans, a former Conservative MP, said it was an “absolute disgrace” and “completely underhand”