NEW: Folkestone & Hythe MP Tony Vaughan has co-ordinated a letter from 100 Labour MPs to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood expressing concerns about her asylum reforms.
"We can change our immigration system for the better without forgetting who we are as Labour."
NEW: Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says the government's U-turn over delaying elections in Sussex is "a victory for democracy in this country".
NEW: Local elections "should never have been cancelled in the first place", says Lib Dem MP Jess Brown-Fuller.
Chichester MP tells ITV News Meridian that the U-turn "shows the Government does not have a strategic vision for this country".
NEW: Labour MP Peter Lamb calls on Sir Keir Starmer to do the “responsible thing” and set out a “timetable for departure in May”.
The Crawley MP tells ITV News Meridian this would allow the party to “get on with electing a new leader”.
Could the Mandelson scandal spell the end of Keir Starmer’s premiership?
We debate that, plus Suella Braverman’s defection, assisted dying bill stalemate in the Lords and celebrating food and drink from the South.
ITV's The Last Word is available now on YouTube 👇
youtu.be/VAwDDfzRJb8?...
NEW: Chair of the National Maternity Investigation tells ITV News Meridian she "remains committed" to publishing her final report in the Spring.
Baroness Amos admits meeting the deadline will "take a lot of hard work" as she calls for more women to share their experiences.
EXCL: South East Water's under-fire CEO is refusing to attend Tunbridge Wells Borough Council's scrutiny meeting on Monday.
In a letter seen by ITV News Meridian, David Hinton argues it's “happening too soon” for him to be able to give the committee “the answers they understandably want”.
BREAK: The Government cancels East and West Sussex County Council elections – for a second year in a row. Polls originally due in 2025, now won’t happen until 2027 at the earliest.
If you missed January's The Last Word on ITV1, you can get your fix of regional political discussion anytime on ITVX and YouTube!
We discuss government U-turns, cancelling local elections and South East Water failures.
📺 www.itv.com/watch/news/t...
💻 www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2B-...
NEW: Lib Dem MP Layla Moran says South East Water "seems to have done the extraordinary thing of making Thames Water look good".
The Oxford West & Abingdon MP says water firms should be run as "public benefit companies".
📺 'The Last Word' tonight on ITV1, ITVX & YouTube
NEW: Poole Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan tells me the party’s leadership sees backbenchers like him as a "nuisance not an asset".
His advice for the PM: "Listen to backbench MPs more".
📺 'The Last Word' tonight on ITV1, ITVX & YouTube
NEW: Conservative MP Kit Malthouse tells me Robert Jenrick's sacking "doesn't come as any surprise" and that Kemi Badenoch has been "decisive".
"You need an ideological coherence within a political party."
📺 'The Last Word' tonight on ITV1, ITVX & YouTube
NEW: South East Water CEO David Hinton tells Parliament his phone call to Tunbridge Wells MP during December’s outage “wasn’t his finest moment”.
Mike Martin alleges to EFRA Committee Mr Hinton asked him “how he could sleep at night after politicising the issue”.
EXCL: Sir Keir Starmer tells me the SEND system “isn’t working” and commits to “bringing forward reforms in the new year”.
The PM also reveals to ITV News Meridian that the issue of supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities is raised with him more than any other.
Pre-Budget speculation, Downing Street briefing wars, and whether climate change is being crowded out... lots to discuss tonight!
The Last Word panel:
🟠 Charlie Maynard MP
🔵 Mims Davies MP
🔴 Jim Dickson MP
On ITV1 in the Meridian region at 10.50pm 📺
Asked if he would one day like to be Lib Dem party leader, Josh Babarinde told me: "That’s not where my head’s at. My job is to be the president of our party… working with members across the country."
Full ITV News Meridian interview 👇
www.itv.com/news/meridia...
Newly-elected Lib Dem president @joshbabarinde.bsky.social tells me he'll be "the last line of defence against Reform".
The Eastbourne MP plans to "campaign hard" to offer "solutions of hope and optimism that bring our communities together rather than tear them apart".
The DWP say they're "deeply thankful for Mr Houghton’s dedication to this country".
Spokesperson adds: "Eligibility for Personal Independence Payment is dependent on being present in the UK for a specified period of time".
Full ITV News Meridian report 👇
www.itv.com/news/meridia... (3/3)
Eastleigh MP @lizjarvis.bsky.social has raised her constituent's case in Parliament and is calling on the Government to "rethink" how Personal Independence Payment rules apply to veterans.
The Lib Dem tells me she thinks Mark Houghton MBE has been "treated so badly".
(2/3)
Exclusive: The family of British Army veteran Mark Houghton MBE say he feels "deserted by the state" after being denied disability benefits following a "catastrophic" E-scooter crash in Dubai.
Mark's son, Lawrence, says they're fighting "tooth and nail" for support.
🧵 (1/3)
EXCLUSIVE: Plans to introduce so-called “mega councils” in the South will cost an initial £12 million over two years, figures obtained by ITV News Meridian reveal.
▫️Surrey: £6.4m
▫️Essex: £2.8m
▫️Hampshire: £1.03m
▫️Sussex: £920,000
▫️Oxfordshire: £736,000
▫️Kent: £440,000
www.itv.com/news/meridia...
NEW: The Prime Minister refuses to commit to holding delayed local elections in 2026. Sir Keir Starmer would only tell me he “wants them to go ahead” next year in Essex, Sussex and Hampshire.
It’s the last day of Parliament before MPs head off on their summer recess.
It’s also my first anniversary as ITV News Meridian’s political correspondent.
What a year. I feel my ability to multitask has improved. And my coffee intake. Here’s to Year 2! ☕️
Are cuts to disability and sickness benefits justified? And is the government ploughing enough money into the military? Lots to debate on The Last Word:
🔴 Anneliese Dodds, Oxford East MP
🔵 Dame Penny Mordaunt
🟠 James MacCleary, Lewes MP
📺 10.45pm tonight: ITV1 Meridian
NEW: Labour MP Peter Lamb describes the Air India plane crash as “absolutely tragic news” and says he is “there to try to help” any constituents affected. The MP's Crawley constituency includes Gatwick Airport, where the flight was headed.
The new Reform UK leader of Kent County Council defends the removal of Ukraine’s flag from the council chamber.
Cllr Linden Kemkaran tells me: “I don’t think most Ukrainians will have noticed the flag was there in the first place”.
Polling stations are open until 10pm tonight 🗳️
– Kent County Council
– Oxfordshire County Council
– Wiltshire Council
– Buckinghamshire Council
Full #localelections coverage on ITV Meridian tomorrow 📺
Could the Conservatives lose control of Kent County Council next week?
“Anything is possible”, Kemi Badenoch tells me on a visit to Sevenoaks. The party leader says “the public are still angry” with the Tories ahead of polling day on 1st May.
#localelections
"Did you go back to bed?"
Heathrow CEO, Thomas Woldbye, refuses to tell me whether he went to sleep after first being told of the substation fire, which led to the total shutdown of Europe's busiest airport.
“If I lose my PIP, I won’t be able to afford to live”
Poppy May, from Crawley, tells me why she travelled to Downing Street to protest against planned cuts to benefits, including Personal Independence Payments.
#SpringStatement
