Gary Gibbon

City of Westminster

Editor at Channel 4 News

News and gossip from the corridors of power in Westminster and beyond from the @Channel4News Political Editor.

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Articles

Starmer vows to ‘significantly’ reduce migration figures

3 days ago | channel4.com | Gary Gibbon

The Prime Minister is promising a significant fall in immigration in the next four years, but refusing to put a number on it. Blaming the Tories for running an ‘open borders experiment’ he announced new plans to cut the numbers coming in on visas. Nigel Farage accused Labour of being panicked by Reform’s success. While on the left, he was accused of ramping-up anti-immigrant rhetoric, with echoes of Enoch Powell.
UK and US reach ‘historic’ deal to reduce Trump tariffs

1 week ago | channel4.com | Gary Gibbon

Sir Keir Starmer was hailing what he called a “fantastic, historic day” as Donald Trump announced details of a new trade deal between the US and the UK. The 25% tariff on British steel and aluminium is gone altogether, and duties on car exports have been slashed to 10%. Both countries will allow more imports of beef, but the government insists food standards will not be changing.
UK and India sign ‘landmark’ trade deal

1 week ago | channel4.com | Gary Gibbon

After last week’s local elections, MPs – including Reform UK’s new MP for Runcorn – were back in Westminster. While Nigel Farage and his team were in celebratory mood, both Conservative and Labour MPs have been gloomily wondering how they can win back the trust of the electorate. Sir Keir Starmer hoped to cheer up his backbenchers with the news that the government has signed a trade deal with India.
Is Reform UK an existential threat for the Conservatives?

1 week ago | channel4.com | Gary Gibbon

A Reform rout, a council massacre, a redrawing of the political landscape. Call it what you like. Yesterday’s local elections in England were a triumph for Reform UK, a disaster for the Tories and a massive emergency warning to Labour. It confirmed the general election trend that two-party politics is over. Nigel Farage even went so far as to call it “the beginning of the end of the Conservative party”, claiming Reform is now the main opposition party and will win the next election.
Starmer downplays Labour row over climate change policy

2 weeks ago | channel4.com | Gary Gibbon

Sir Keir Starmer has downplayed a row inside the Labour party over climate change policy – insisting that he and the former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair are “absolutely aligned”. That’s despite Sir Tony publishing a report stating that the strategy of limiting fossil fuel consumption is “doomed to fail.” Other party leaders weighed into the argument on the final day of campaigning before England’s local elections.
Starmer reacts to Trump tariffs by relaxing rules for UK car makers

1 month ago | channel4.com | Gary Gibbon

Sir Keir Starmer has responded to the economic turmoil by reducing the pressure on car makers to hit zero emissions targets. They will now be allowed to make hybrid cars for another ten years instead of being forced to make a rapid switch to purely electric vehicles. In a speech to workers at the Jaguar Land Rover plant in the West Midlands, the Prime Minister said he would rebuild the country’s industrial strength “in defiance of a volatile world”.
Trump tariffs risk global trade war as markets fall

1 month ago | channel4.com | Gary Gibbon

Trust in President Trump. That’s the message from the White House as markets tumbled around the world and the dollar slid to a six month low. Mr Trump took to his own Truth Social platform to respond – declaring “the prognosis is that the patient will be far stronger, bigger, better and more resilient than ever before”. But everywhere else, reactions have ranged from the shocked to the furious – while the UK has drawn up a 400-page list of American goods which could face retaliatory tariffs here
Keir Starmer braces for US-UK tariff fall out

1 month ago | channel4.com | Gary Gibbon

Sir Keir Starmer told MPs he was “preparing for all eventualities” but what impact could Trump’s tariffs have on the British economy?
Trump tariffs: how will US plans reshape the global economy?

1 month ago | channel4.com | Gary Gibbon

Donald Trump says he’s already decided the tariffs he will impose on countries that export goods to America, including the United Kingdom. He’ll announce the details Wednesday. According to the White House, a few world leaders have been in touch hoping to negotiate. But many of them will now be deciding how hard they need to retaliate and what effect a trade war would have on the world economy.
Chancellor announces more cuts as OBR lowers growth forecast

1 month ago | channel4.com | Gary Gibbon

The world is changing, said Rachel Reeves – though the fact it is Donald Trump who is forcing a rise in defence spending and provoking a global trade war was left unsaid. The Spring Statement revealed this year’s growth forecast is 1% instead of 2% – meaning the Chancellor had to work hard to avoid breaking her own fiscal rules on borrowing. That explained the cuts to welfare, targeted mainly at disability benefits, which are almost as painful to Labour MPs as they are to those affected.