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Geri Scott

@geraldinescott.co.uk
24K followers 426 following 246 posts

Assistant political editor at The Times.

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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 17/08/2026
Excl: Inside the Green Party group chats that discussed ‘killing Zionists’ www.thetimes.com/article/3b54...
thetimes.com
Inside the Green Party group chats that discussed ‘killing Zionists’
WhatsApp messages show talk of wiping Israel off the map, support for the Iranian regime and claims that anti-Jewish hostility is understandable
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 27/05/2026
Excl: Keir Starmer under pressure from ministers to rethink North Sea drilling www.thetimes.com/article/cc56...
thetimes.com
Keir Starmer under pressure from ministers to rethink North Sea drilling
Sir Tony Blair’s claim that Labour should rip up Ed Miliband’s green targets has found favour with some members of the cabinet
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 26/05/2026
New: Sir Tony Blair has warned that Labour risks consigning Britain to “relegation from the Premier League of nations” and cautioned the party against a leftward shift in the race to succeed Sir Keir Starmer. www.thetimes.com/article/0808...
thetimes.com
Tony Blair wades into Labour’s battle to replace Keir Starmer
The former prime minister warns against lurch to the left or party infighting without a clear economic plan
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 25/05/2026
Excl: Left-wing Labour candidate ‘could stand against Andy Burnham’ www.thetimes.com/article/bed4...
thetimes.com
Left-wing Labour candidate ‘could stand against Andy Burnham’
MPs on the left of the party are unhappy the Greater Manchester mayor is dropping progressive ideas on immigration, fiscal rules and rejoining the EU
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 21/05/2026
Single-sex spaces must be based on biological sex, guidance rules www.thetimes.com/article/7c1c...
thetimes.com
Single-sex spaces must be based on biological sex, guidance rules
The government has approved statutory guidance allowing gyms, hospitals and leisure centres to legally restrict services based on a person’s birth sex
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 21/05/2026
Oh and that November story still stands - both the originally submitted and now published guidance contain this line...
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 21/05/2026
Govt sources are still expecting legal challenges to the code but say any changes from the original submission were not designed to water down the guidance, but to ensure it could withstand legal scrutiny and work in practice.
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 21/05/2026
Then you have the new stuff we've learned from the impact assessments and accompanying documents published today too, including...
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 21/05/2026
So... The Times obtained a version of the original EHRC guidance submitted to the govt last year (that story from Nov here: thetimes.com/uk/politics/...) and it's interesting to compare and contrast with the final version published today, although I'm sure I've missed some...
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 04/05/2026
Excl: Angela Rayner held private talks with Al Carns, the armed forces minister, to shore up her credentials on defence policy before a Labour leadership race. www.thetimes.com/article/36c3...
thetimes.com
Angela Rayner ‘shoring up defence policy for Labour leadership run’
The former deputy prime minister is said to have spoken regularly with Al Carns, the armed forces minister, about how to improve the UK’s military readiness
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 29/04/2026
Excl: Angela Rayner’s allies are urging her to move against Starmer the moment local election results land - warning any delay hands Wes Streeting time to lock up MPs. www.thetimes.com/article/a9d3...
thetimes.com
Angela Rayner weighs leadership challenge after local elections
Allies of the former deputy prime minister are urging her to ‘take advantage’ of the unprecedented losses predicted for Sir Keir Starmer next month
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 20/04/2026
EXCL: Angela Rayner will use a speech this week to call for “bolder action” from Sir Keir Starmer’s government, echoing a challenge from Labour MPs who have warned the prime minister’s “caution & incrementalism” is paving the way for a populist takeover of Britain. www.thetimes.com/article/4c74...
thetimes.com
Keir Starmer’s caution ‘paves way for populist takeover’, say Labour MPs
Groups representing 200 Labour MPs say the country is moving in the wrong direction, while Angela Rayner calls for a bolder approach from the government
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 14/04/2026
Excl: Angela Rayner will back the government on controversial reforms to special educational needs as the former deputy prime minister seeks to put on a united front with Sir Keir Starmer before the local elections. www.thetimes.com/article/ee41...
thetimes.com
Angela Rayner joins united Labour front on divisive Send reforms
The appearance by the former deputy prime minister was seen as an olive branch to Sir Keir Starmer, who is facing dire results in local elections
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 14/04/2026
Excl: AI apps such as Grok will be banned if they can be used to “nudify” women online, as part of a package of concessions designed to quell the anger of female Labour MPs www.thetimes.com/article/ccb6...
thetimes.com
Elon Musk’s Grok and other apps face ‘nudifying’ ban
The government has widened a crackdown on deepfake AI images in a bill that will also formally make misogyny a hate crime
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 14/04/2026
Excl: Ministers have rejected calls for a new legal power that would allow the government to ban groups such as Palestine Action without designating them as terrorist organisations www.thetimes.com/article/fa4b...
thetimes.com
Ministers reject calls for Palestine Action ban without terror label
Labour MPs have been told to vote down a Lords amendment, backed by Jewish groups, that would create a category of extreme criminal protest group
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 07/04/2026
Excl: Angela Rayner will show her strengths as a “political street fighter” before any challenge to Sir Keir Starmer, allies have said, as she spends the next month campaigning around the country in the run-up to the local elections. www.thetimes.com/article/70eb...
thetimes.com
‘Street fighter’ Angela Rayner launches UK tour before elections
The former Labour deputy leader is expected to go on a campaigning blitz. She could have the backing of 80 MPs if she decides to take on Keir Starmer
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 07/04/2026
Excl: Dame Antonia Romeo has tightened her grip on No 10 and Whitehall as she became the first cabinet secretary in a decade to publish her personal objectives. www.thetimes.com/article/fa65...
thetimes.com
Antonia Romeo to set out civil service aims and rewrite code
The cabinet secretary, who took on the role on February, will set out her vision as Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘principal policy adviser’
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 07/04/2026
Breaking: Ministers have BANNED Kanye West from travelling to the UK. He applied yesterday for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) but the government has blocked his permission to travel on the grounds that his presence in the UK would not be conducive to the public good.
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 06/04/2026
Freeze on income tax thresholds ‘will wipe out energy bill cut’ www.thetimes.com/article/9531...
thetimes.com
Freeze on income tax thresholds ‘will wipe out energy bill cut’
New tax year changes 2026: hundreds of thousands of taxpayers will be dragged into higher bands, especially in London and the southeast
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 06/04/2026
Excl: A London council has been accused of “marginalising the Jewish community” after it quietly signed a twinning agreement with a Palestinian city whose officials have been accused of praising terrorists and celebrating the October 7 attacks on Israel. www.thetimes.com/article/e82d...
thetimes.com
London council under fire for Palestinian twinning deal
Brent council has been accused of ‘marginalising the Jewish community’ by signing a deal with the West Bank city of Nablus after the October 7 attacks
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 06/04/2026
Excl: Small businesses face a £181 million hit from plans that require them to allow paid trade union recruitment meetings in the workplace. www.thetimes.com/article/67f1...
thetimes.com
Mandatory trade union meetings could lose small businesses £181m
Labour’s latest tranche of workers’ reforms come into force on Monday but their financial implications could put enterprises at risk
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 04/03/2026
Trigger warning: lame, emotional and overdone. I don’t really do humble, but I do do grateful. All because of my nanny, my mum, and every woman who refused to believe where you start is where you have to end up. #WiW100
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 03/03/2026
NEW: Britain will impose visa bans on four countries after ministers concluded that student and work visas were being systematically exploited to gain entry to the asylum system. www.thetimes.com/article/b1e2...
thetimes.com
Mahmood bans visas for Afghans to halt asylum system exploitation
Students from Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan will also be refused entry as ministers say the system is being used as a backdoor to claim asylum in Britain
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 03/03/2026
Plus: Laws to proscribe the IRGC won’t be fast-tracked despite Iran conflict. My colleague @mattdathan.bsky.social reported in January that legislation would likely come this year, but even that appears to have slipped to “when parliamentary time allows”.
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 03/03/2026
Excl: Ban London march linked to Iranian regime, MPs demand www.thetimes.com/article/c238...
thetimes.com
Ban London march linked to Iranian regime, MPs demand
Al Quds demonstrators have previously waved Hezbollah flags and called for the destruction of Israel
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 02/03/2026
Ministers to ban violent and degrading pornography online www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
thetimes.com
Ministers to ban violent and degrading pornography online
The ban will include content depicting acts such as rape and incest, bringing websites in line with pornographic videos sold in shops
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 02/03/2026
Excl: Ministers will ban online pornography which depicts violent and degrading acts such as rape and incest, The Times understands. Websites will be held to the same standard as pornographic videos sold in sex shops, and will be forced to remove illegal, harmful or abusive content.
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 22/02/2026
Excl: @Keir_Starmer writes how his late brother’s struggle “just to be seen, to count” inspired Send overhaul. The PM says his brother Nick, who died the Christmas before last, “belonged in mainstream society … these children also belong in mainstream schooling.” www.thetimes.com/article/0d3c...
thetimes.com
I will make sure no child with special needs is left behind
I want this country to see and value the contribution every single person can make, starting with an education system grounded in those values
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 22/02/2026
Excl: Bosses could be forced by law to let employees work from home www.thetimes.com/article/e255...
thetimes.com
Bosses could be forced by law to let employees work from home
Proposed government reforms would force employers to prove work-from-home requests are ‘unreasonable’ or face tribunal orders to reconsider
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 01/02/2026
Islamophobia definition ‘could stifle free speech’ www.thetimes.com/article/2315...
thetimes.com
Islamophobia definition ‘could stifle free speech’
Campaigners have told ministers the wording is open to misuse
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 18/01/2026
Excl: Ministers ‘rely on secret note to approve Chinese mega-embassy’ www.thetimes.com/article/ff4c...
thetimes.com
Ministers ‘rely on secret note to approve Chinese mega-embassy’
Campaigners query whether message from eight years ago on diplomatic status for Royal Mint Court site showed government had always intended to approve proposals
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 11/01/2026
Excl: Britain is facing “post-modern total warfare” as intimidation of politicians intensifies before the next general election, while hostile states, Islamist groups and activist movements are accused of exploiting weaknesses in the country’s democratic system. www.thetimes.com/article/358d...
thetimes.com
Politicians warn of ‘total warfare’ as election intimidation intensifies
Cross-party group to investigate threats and abuse as hostile states and extremists exploit democracy and more parliamentarians need police protection
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 08/01/2026
Single-sex spaces guidance delayed as Phillipson waits for costings www.thetimes.com/article/6d5e...
thetimes.com
Single-sex spaces guidance delayed as Phillipson waits for costings
Legal limbo for public bodies to continue as minister demands to know what it will cost businesses
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 22/12/2025
Excl: Taxpayers to be kept in dark over cost of public sector union duties www.thetimes.com/article/d4ae...
thetimes.com
Taxpayers to be kept in dark over cost of public sector union duties
New employment law means public will not be told how much money is being spent so that union officials can have paid time off work
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 22/12/2025
Excl: Doctors’ strike left abused women in danger, says government adviser www.thetimes.com/article/48b7...
thetimes.com
Doctors’ strike left abused women in danger, says government adviser
Domestic abuse victims could visit A&E 15 times before getting help, Jess Asato also said, adding there needed to be a cultural shift in the NHS
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 22/12/2025
Boiling live lobsters to be banned under animal rights reforms www.thetimes.com/article/c994...
thetimes.com
Boiling live lobsters to be banned under animal rights reforms
Downing Street has published its welfare strategy, which sets out a series of new farming and food standards and banning trail hunting
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 21/11/2025
Excl: Prosecutors will attempt to overturn the acquittal of a man who was convicted for burning the Quran, reigniting fears Britain could introduce “blasphemy laws by the back door”. www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/art...
thetimes.com
CPS appeals against acquittal of man convicted of burning Quran
Campaigners fear ‘blasphemy laws by the back door’ as prosecutors query the decision to overturn Hamit Coskun’s conviction
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 21/11/2025
Excl: Bosses who indulge in “banter” or turn a blind eye to staff doing the same could be guilty of harassment under sweeping new equalities guidance. buff.ly/IhdQBT2
thetimes.com
Bosses could end up in court for turning a blind eye to banter
New EHRC guidance warns managers they could be liable for jokes and jibes they ignore — even if they meant no harm
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 20/11/2025
Bridget Phillipson to ‘take her time’ to publish trans guidance www.thetimes.com/article/03bb...
thetimes.com
Bridget Phillipson to ‘take her time’ to publish trans guidance
The women and equalities minister is under mounting pressure to release a long-awaited code on single-sex spaces
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 19/11/2025
The government says the guidance is complex. Suspicions then came it was because of Bridget Phillipson’s run for deputy leadership. Now the guidance could ignite another internal party row - here’s how we got here… www.thetimes.com/article/b14b...
thetimes.com
Law is clear, Labour isn’t: trans guidance delay reignites party row
A report on implementing the Supreme Court ruling on biological sex is unpublished after three months and some are pointing the finger at Bridget Phillipson
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 19/11/2025
Guidance went to the govt three months ago, the public still haven’t seen it, we have and here’s what’s in it 👇🏻 www.thetimes.com/article/86dc...
thetimes.com
What is the new gender guidance on single-sex spaces and sport?
We look at several elements of the equality watchdog’s code, which advises organisations on how to interpret the Supreme Court ruling on the Equality Act
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 19/11/2025
Excl: Trans people can be questioned over their bio sex & ultimately banned from single-sex spaces based on how they look, guidance submitted to ministers says. The Times has been leaked the final EHRC guidance submitted to the govt almost three months ago. www.thetimes.com/article/82ee...
thetimes.com
Trans people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on how they look
The Times has seen the equalities watchdog’s final guidance, which Whitehall figures fear Bridget Phillipson is delaying to avoid a political backlash
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 12/11/2025
New: If the goal had been to puncture Wes Streeting’s growing appeal, the last 24hrs has done exactly the opposite. My read on the (actual lack of) organising to topple Starmer, and what those in Labour think now 👇🏻 www.thetimes.com/article/1cd8...
thetimes.com
Streeting’s ambition is obvious and No 10 has played into his hands
The health secretary insisted he was ‘not organising’ a leadership campaign — but ministers and MPs believe Starmer’s response exposed his weakness
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 12/11/2025
Excl: Tory frontbencher apologises after police called to guest’s drunken Parliament bar row www.thetimes.com/article/3bd9...
thetimes.com
Tory MP apologises after police called to guest’s drunken bar row
Andrew Rosindell’s guest allegedly became aggressive towards House of Commons staff at the Strangers’ Bar
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 11/11/2025
One million more people claim benefits without need to look for job www.thetimes.com/article/46aa...
thetimes.com
One million more people claim benefits without need to look for job
Number of universal credit claimants reaches record high of 8.3 million — almost half of whom are not required to seek work
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 10/11/2025
Excl: Angela Rayner could be ‘kingmaker’ in picking next Labour leader www.thetimes.com/article/27c2...
thetimes.com
Angela Rayner could be ‘kingmaker’ in picking next Labour leader
A challenge to Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership could come after the local elections in May — or even after the budget this month, sources say
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 06/11/2025
David Lammy has been accused by Cabinet ministers of “cowardice” and incompetence over his handling of the accidental release of a second convicted sex offender, with some saying his Commons response showed poor judgement. www.thetimes.com/article/a734...
thetimes.com
‘Cowardly’ Lammy accused of ‘rank incompetence’ over prisoner debacle
Cabinet ministers have criticised the justice secretary’s political judgment in his handling of the accidental release of a second convicted sex offender, but the PM has defended him
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 05/11/2025
EXCL: A north London Islamic education centre has been banned from hosting Scouts amid fears it was a front to expose children to Iran-linked extremism. The Scouts suspended meetings after being alerted by The Times. www.thetimes.com/article/e794...
thetimes.com
Islamic centre banned from hosting Scout group over extremism fears
Investigation finds Al-Ikhlas Education Centre in north London could be exposing British children to organisations that support the Iranian regime
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 04/11/2025
Excl w/ @georgiamay.bsky.social: Sheffield Hallam, accused of dropping slave labour research after pressure from China, ignored repeated calls to report foreign interference. www.thetimes.com/article/34e7...
thetimes.com
University dismissed plea to contact government over China pressure
Emails seen by The Times appear to debunk Sheffield Hallam’s claims it raised interference over an academic’s research into forced labour
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Geri Scott @geraldinescott.co.uk · 03/11/2025
Excl: Reform councils to raise tax for 2m households despite pledging cuts www.thetimes.com/article/0296...
thetimes.com
Reform councils to raise tax for 2m households despite pledging cuts
Six local authorities run by Nigel Farage’s party have revealed plans to increase council tax bills by a total of £127m
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