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Kate Proctor

Kate Proctor

Political Editor of PoliticsHome and The House magazine.

Just 19 Per Cent of Brits Plan On Taking A Summer Holiday Abroad, Poll Reveals
Coronavirus
By Kate Proctor
Just 19 Per Cent of Brits Plan On Taking A Summer Holiday Abroad, Poll Reveals
Difficulties for the beleaguered international travel industry look set to continue after it was revealed that just 19 per cent of Brits plan on taking a holiday abroad this summer.
Former Labour MP Breached Sexual Misconduct Policy, Report Finds
Political parties
By Kate Proctor
Former Labour MP Breached Sexual Misconduct Policy, Report Finds
Former Labour MP Mike Hill got into the bed of a former parliamentary worker while she was asleep and attempted to touch her sexually without her consent, a new report has detailed today.
Sadiq Khan Begins Regional Tour As He Says Keir Starmer Shouldn't Be Nervous Of Popular Labour Politicians
Communities
By Kate Proctor
Sadiq Khan Begins Regional Tour As He Says Keir Starmer Shouldn't Be Nervous Of Popular Labour Politicians
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said Labour must not panic about the poor election results in May and Keir Starmer shouldn’t be “nervous” about the popularity of other politicians.
Exclusive: Labour Calls For Door-To-Door Vaccines In Covid-19 Hot Spots
Coronavirus
By Kate Proctor
Exclusive: Labour Calls For Door-To-Door Vaccines In Covid-19 Hot Spots
Exclusive: Door-to-door vaccines in parts of the country where take-up is low and cases are rising should be considered by the government, Labour has said today.
Robert Buckland interview: the impossible prisons dilemma
Coronavirus
By Kate Proctor
Robert Buckland interview: the impossible prisons dilemma
Justice secretary Robert Buckland defends his handling of the Covid pandemic in prisons, explains Nightingale courts are here to stay and has an open mind when it comes to bringing youth custody provision back under state control. Kate Proctor reports.
Pressure Is Piling On Unite To Investigate Howard Beckett Over Priti Patel Tweet
Home affairs
By Kate Proctor
Pressure Is Piling On Unite To Investigate Howard Beckett Over Priti Patel Tweet
The UK’s largest trade union Unite is in turmoil today as pressure grows on the organisation to investigate assistant general secretary Howard Beckett over his Tweet that the Home Secretary should be deported.
TikTok Claims Russia Not Given 'Special' Treatment Despite Deleting Protest Posts After Kremlin Request
Foreign affairs
By Kate Proctor
TikTok Claims Russia Not Given "Special" Treatment Despite Deleting Protest Posts After Kremlin Request
TikTok claims it did not give Russia “special” treatment after it agreed to a request from the Russian government demanding it delete posts of street protests supporting Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
Fashion Forward: Can The Industry Get Greener?
Environment
By Kate Proctor
Fashion Forward: Can The Industry Get Greener?
The fashion industry is responsible for 10 per cent of the planet’s carbon emissions. Yet there’s a glimmer of hope the industry is about to get a lot greener. If not by chance, then by design.
From Being 'Sacked' To Bagging Three Jobs in 24 Hours – Angela Rayner’s Rise
Political parties
By Kate Proctor
From Being "Sacked" To Bagging Three Jobs in 24 Hours – Angela Rayner’s Rise
Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner emerged from her "sacking" as party chair with a significantly enlarged portfolio of new jobs, in a spectacular power move that revealed a sizeable chink in Keir Starmer's armour.
Labour Front Bench Are In The Dark Over Their Jobs As Shadow Cabinet Reshuffle Hinges on Angela Rayner
Political parties
By Kate Proctor
Labour Front Bench Are In The Dark Over Their Jobs As Shadow Cabinet Reshuffle Hinges on Angela Rayner
Shadow cabinet ministers are on tenterhooks as they await personal phonecalls from leader Keir Starmer on how he intends to reform his team in a post-election reshuffle.
Labour's Sadiq Khan Has Been Re-Elected As Mayor Of London
Political parties
By Kate Proctor
Labour's Sadiq Khan Has Been Re-Elected As Mayor Of London
Sadiq Khan has been re-elected for the second time as Mayor of London, after a closer than expected race against Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey.
Keir Starmer Removes Angela Rayner From Party Chair Role Amid Labour Reshuffle Rumours
Political parties
By Kate Proctor
Keir Starmer Removes Angela Rayner From Party Chair Role Amid Labour Reshuffle Rumours
Labour's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, has been removed from her role as party chair this evening over the party's thumping at the elections, just 24 hours after leader Keir Starmer said he would take responsibility for the result.
Conservative Andy Street Is Re-Elected As West Midlands Mayor After A Tight Race
Political parties
By Kate Proctor
Conservative Andy Street Is Re-Elected As West Midlands Mayor After A Tight Race
Conservative Andy Street has been re-elected as West Midlands mayor for a second term, though without the significant Tory surge seen on Teesside.
How Mark Drakeford’s Welsh Labour Party Pulled Off A Spectacular Win
Coronavirus
By Kate Proctor
How Mark Drakeford’s Welsh Labour Party Pulled Off A Spectacular Win
Welsh Labour leader Mark Drakeford’s cautious and caring manner, his "firebreak" and Christmas lockdowns and a Facebook and grassroots ground-war was behind his party’s historic win.
Starmer Dodges Reshuffle Questions As He Admits Labour Has 'Lost Trust' With Voters
Political parties
By Kate Proctor
Starmer Dodges Reshuffle Questions As He Admits Labour Has "Lost Trust" With Voters
Labour's Keir Starmer avoided questions over whether he would reshuffle his frontbench three times in a terse interview over his party's election performance.
Labour Left Calls On Leadership To Urgently Change Direction After Devastating Hartlepool By-Election Defeat
Political parties
By Kate Proctor
Labour Left Calls On Leadership To Urgently Change Direction After Devastating Hartlepool By-Election Defeat
Keir Starmer needs to rapidly change direction to win back voters, according to those on Labour's left-wing, as they begin dissecting the catastrophic loss in the Hartlepool by-election and losses on English councils.
Labour Could Lose To A Near-Invisible Tory Candidate In Hartlepool. What Does It Mean For Keir Starmer’s leadership?
Political parties
By Kate Proctor
Labour Could Lose To A Near-Invisible Tory Candidate In Hartlepool. What Does It Mean For Keir Starmer’s leadership?
They are polling far ahead of Labour and may have a historic win on Thursday, but the Tories’ approach to the Hartlepool by-election has so far been to field a candidate who has lurked in the background of her own campaign.
Blue-green-red: are the Conservatives stealing the environmental agenda?
Environment
By Kate Proctor
Blue-green-red: are the Conservatives stealing the environmental agenda?
Tory Vegans, radical carbon reduction targets, the hosting of COP26… the Conservatives are having a ball when it comes to the green agenda. Is it flimsy politicking, or genuine sentiment? And where does this leave Labour and the Greens, who occupied this space for so long?
Labour Says 2019 Voter Anger Has “Dissipated” In Hartlepool And Insist They Are “Back In The Game”
Political parties
By Kate Proctor
Labour Says 2019 Voter Anger Has “Dissipated” In Hartlepool And Insist They Are “Back In The Game”
Labour figures have admitted the battle to keep Hartlepool red in Thursday’s by-election is on a knife edge as a damming poll shows the Conservatives way out in front.
Tories Claim Keir Starmer Should Be 'Bullish' About Making Labour Gains Ahead Of Local Elections
Political parties
By Kate Proctor
Tories Claim Keir Starmer Should Be "Bullish" About Making Labour Gains Ahead Of Local Elections
The Tories are claiming Keir Starmer should be far more “bullish” about Labour winning seats in next week’s local elections, as both sides continue to spectacularly play down their chances of gaining anything on May 6.
Green Ker-Pow: The Rebecca Pow interview
Environment
By Kate Proctor
Green Ker-Pow: The Rebecca Pow interview
Forget Brexit: The Environment Bill is the biggest piece of legislation to go through Parliament in decades. Kate Proctor meets Rebecca Pow, the lively environmentalist steering the ship.
Exclusive: 10p Plastic Bag Charge To Be Rolled Out In All Shops From May 21
Environment
By Kate Proctor
Exclusive: 10p Plastic Bag Charge To Be Rolled Out In All Shops From May 21
Shoppers will be charged 10p for a plastic bag in all retail settings from May 21, no matter the size of the shop.
Tory Party Chair Says CCHQ Is Transparent In Declaring Donations Amid Downing Street Flat Row
Political parties
By Kate Proctor
Tory Party Chair Says CCHQ Is Transparent In Declaring Donations Amid Downing Street Flat Row
Tory party co-chair Amanda Milling has claimed the party’s HQ behaves transparently in reporting its donations when challenged over who initially paid for the Downing Street flat refurbishment.
Civil Service Union Hits Out Over Senior Whitehall Staff Being Dragged Into Downing Street Flat Scandal
Coronavirus
By Kate Proctor
Civil Service Union Hits Out Over Senior Whitehall Staff Being Dragged Into Downing Street Flat Scandal
Exclusive: The head of the civil service union has criticised Boris Johnson for drawing Cabinet Secretary Simon Case into the fiasco around the financing of his Downing Street flat refurbishment by asking him to spend time investigating it.
Civil Servants Were Working On Downing Street Refurbishment Trust Plans During Covid Pandemic
Coronavirus
By Kate Proctor
Civil Servants Were Working On Downing Street Refurbishment Trust Plans During Covid Pandemic
Serious questions have been raised by opposition parties over the Prime Minister’s priorities after it emerged work to set up a trust to pay for the redecoration of the No.11 flat has been going on within the civil service since last Spring – when the coronavirus pandemic hit.
Senior Civil Servants Admit They Have No Idea What Businessman Lex Greensill Was Doing In Downing Street
Political parties
By Kate Proctor
Senior Civil Servants Admit They Have No Idea What Businessman Lex Greensill Was Doing In Downing Street
The country's most senior civil servant Simon Case said he is alarmed Australian businessman Lex Greensill had a Downing Street pass but no official job contract, and it is unknown what he was doing there.
Dominic Cummings Has Denied Leaking Stories About Government In An Explosive Blog
Political parties
By Kate Proctor
Dominic Cummings Has Denied Leaking Stories About Government In An Explosive Blog
Former No10 advisor Dominic Cummings has blasted Boris Johnson in a furious blog post in which he has denied leaking stories about government.
Polling Shows Half of Brits Want Government Action On Football Ahead Of Its Review Into The Game
Home affairs
By Kate Proctor
Polling Shows Half of Brits Want Government Action On Football Ahead Of Its Review Into The Game
Exclusive: Polling carried out for PoliticsHome suggests half of Brits think ministers should intervene to regulate the finance and governance of football clubs and almost as many want clubs to be majority fan-owned as they are in Germany.
Top Tory Calls For Inquiry Into Security Of Prime Minister's Phone After Dyson Text Leak
Coronavirus
By Kate Proctor
Top Tory Calls For Inquiry Into Security Of Prime Minister's Phone After Dyson Text Leak
Former Tory party leader Iain Duncan Smith has demanded an urgent inquiry into the security around the Prime Minister's mobile phone after text messages between Boris Johnson and industrialist Sir James Dyson discussing Covid ventilators were leaked.
Critics Brand £2.6m Downing Street TV Studio 'Waste Of Money' After Daily US-Style Press Briefings Axed
Political parties
By Kate Proctor
Critics Brand £2.6m Downing Street TV Studio "Waste Of Money" After Daily US-Style Press Briefings Axed
The TaxPayers' Alliance is demanding ministers urgently explain why public money went on a £2.6 million Downing Street TV studio, only for proposed US-style televised press briefings to be axed.
Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer Quits Government Claiming It Has 'Abandoned' NI Soldiers
Defence
By Kate Proctor
Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer Quits Government Claiming It Has "Abandoned" NI Soldiers
Veterans' minister and ex-army captain Johnny Mercer has left the government this evening with a stinging resignation letter claiming the government had let down soldiers who served in the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Race Report Commissioners Were Sent Death Threats Amid Wide Criticism Of Findings
Culture
By Kate Proctor
Race Report Commissioners Were Sent Death Threats Amid Wide Criticism Of Findings
Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch said commissioners of the government's race disparity report were sent death threats and that those who argue for a "different approach" had been abused.
Exclusive: Boris Johnson And World Leaders Plan To Fly Into COP26 On 'Green Fuel' Planes
Coronavirus
By Kate Proctor
Exclusive: Boris Johnson And World Leaders Plan To Fly Into COP26 On "Green Fuel" Planes
Boris Johnson and other global leaders will be flown into the COP26 climate change conference on “green” flights as part of plans to make the event as carbon neutral as possible.
Labour Would Back Emergency Laws To Block Football European Super League
Culture
By Kate Proctor
Labour Would Back Emergency Laws To Block Football European Super League
Labour has said it will back Boris Johnson if he brings forward emergency laws to stop six English clubs breaking away to form a proposed European Super League.
Government Backs Decision Not To Offer AstraZeneca Vaccines To Under 30s Over Possible Blood Clot Link
Coronavirus
By Kate Proctor
Government Backs Decision Not To Offer AstraZeneca Vaccines To Under 30s Over Possible Blood Clot Link
Downing Street has given its backing to a decision by the UK's medicines regulator to stop the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine being given to the under 30s over its connection to very rare cases of blood clots.
This Is Everything You Need To Know About Next Month's Local Elections
Political parties
By Kate Proctor
This Is Everything You Need To Know About Next Month's Local Elections
Both the Tories and Labour are playing down expectations for the English elections in May, while battles are going on for the London mayoralty, and the Scottish and Welsh governments. A parliamentary by-election thrown into the mix in Hartlepool on the same day makes the Spring elections a significant test of country's political temperature.