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Voters in northern England cast ballots Thursday in a local poll seen as a key test of the ruling Labour party's ability to fend off growing support for the hard right and leftists, as the country's traditional two-party system splinters.Defeat for the government in the parliamentary by-election would add to the woes facing unpopular UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who endures frequent mutterings about how much longer he can stay in office.Labour has dominated the Manchester constituency of Gorton and Denton for decades and won almost 51% of the vote there at the July 2024 general election that swept Starmer to power.But less than two years later, it is locked in a three-way fight for the seat with the anti-immigration Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, and the Greens, led by left-winger Zack Polanski.The lead-up to polling day has been fraught, with party leaders hurling insults at each other and activists accusing each other of misinformation and breaking campaign laws, highlighting the high stakes."I voted Reform because of immigration — I'm sick of it," retired nurse Elaine Simpson told AFP outside a polling station in Denton, a majority white working-class part of the constituency.The 78-year-old noted she no longer trusted Britain's more establishment parties, adding: "You wouldn't be able to print what I think of Keir Starmer."In nearby Levenshulme, home to more student and Muslim voters, the Greens appeared ascendant."The Green Party is offering hope to the wider society, marginalised people, and I think they're the choice for working people," writer Matt Alton, 31, told AFP after casting his ballot."Of people that I know around my age, I don't know anyone who's said that they're not voting Green."But local Labour councillor Basat Sheikh was confident his party could retain the seat."Our message has been clear from day one that it is about unity and not division," the 45-year-old said, as pouring rain did little to encourage voter turnout, which is typically lacklustre at such contests.Labour won the seat by more than 13,000 votes in 2024.The battle suggests British people appear increasingly willing to look towards insurgent parties to tackle long-standing, hot-button issues like the high cost of living and irregular immigration at the next general election, expected in 2029."It illustrates how the two main parties are losing so much support at the minute," University of Manchester politics lecturer Louise Thompson told AFP, referring to Labour and the main opposition Conservatives. "It could be a real sign that they are in a lot of danger."The vote was triggered by the resignation of former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne on health grounds.Matt Goodwin, a 44-year-old political scientist, is bidding to become Reform's ninth MP in the UK's 650-seat parliament.Standing for the Greens is Hannah Spencer, a 34-year-old plumber and trainee plasterer, who is hoping her party's pro-Palestinian stance will appeal to the constituency's 28% Muslim population.Local councillor Angeliki Stogia was chosen as Labour's candidate after the party's ruling body blocked the candidacy of popular Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.Burnham's bid to try to become an MP was widely seen as a precursor for a potential leadership challenge from the left against Starmer, who hails from the party's centre right.Starmer faced down calls to resign earlier this month amid a row over his appointment of Peter Mandelson, an associate of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain's ambassador to Washington.The prime minister has also taken flak for countless policy reversals and polls suggest he is the most unpopular British prime minister since surveys began.A win would help quieten the noise around his future before he faces a bigger moment of peril in May with elections in Scotland, Wales and London that pollsters predict will be painful for Labour. 

As Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Britain's landmark decision to recognise the State of Palestine on Sunday, the small team in the Palestinian mission to the UK erupted in cheers of joy."This is a historic moment," beamed Palestinian envoy to the UK Husam Zomlot, watching the televised announcement at the mission in west London.Canada and Australia took the same step in a coordinated decision marking a pivotal shift in Western foreign policy, with Israel under increasing international pressure over its deadly war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip."This is a South Africa moment for Palestine," the head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK told AFP in the building, which will soon be designated as Palestine's embassy in Britain.He was referring to the end of South Africa's white apartheid government in the 1990s, which came after growing international pressure and isolation.Recognition was an "act of assurances to the Palestinian people that they hope for a better future and ... peace is possible".Zomlot was born in a refugee camp in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip. "As a small boy from Rafah, this is all I was raised to know," he said, gesturing towards the television screen which flashed with breaking news headlines about the recognition of Palestinian statehood."Well done, that's a great moment," said Zomlot, embracing and congratulating his team, as AFP journalists in the room witnessed Starmer's announcement after a tense day of anticipation for the mission."It's been decades," joked one staff member, who wished to remain anonymous.The UK government had said in July it would recognise Palestinian statehood in September ahead of the annual UN General Assembly unless Israel took "substantive" steps, including reaching a ceasefire in Gaza."Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine," Starmer said in a video message posted around 2 pm local time (1300 GMT).While the recognition, which will be echoed by France, Belgium and other countries at the United Nations next week, is a largely symbolic move, Zomlot said he hoped it would be "actual, practical, actionable.""Recognition is not the destination. Recognition is merely the beginning, the first foundational step towards ... making sure that Britain takes its historic responsibility towards the Palestinian people," said the envoy.The UK's Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy told the UN in July it was "with the hand of history on our shoulders" that London planned to recognise Palestinian statehood, given Britain's pivotal role in creating the State of Israel through the 1917 Balfour Declaration.The decision is "not only about Palestine", said Zomlot. "It's also about Britain. It's about correcting historic injustice."The team will hold a ceremony to mark the announcement on Monday. A carefully folded Palestinian flag, which will be raised outside the building, sits patiently at the reception of the mission waiting to be unfurled.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer Friday hailed the "vital role" played by Qatar in winning the release of a British couple held by Taliban authorities in Afghanistan.He welcomed the release of Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife, Barbie, 76, who had been arrested in February, saying: "This long-awaited news will come as a huge relief to them and their family.""I want to pay tribute to the vital role played by Qatar," including His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, "in securing their freedom", Starmer added in a statement.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, along with King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi held a video call with President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer, and Prime Minister of Canada Dr Mark Carney.The call discussed regional and international developments, particularly the treacherous Israeli attack, in addition to a number of topics of common interest.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned the recent Israeli strikes on Doha, warning that such actions risk further escalating tensions in the region.In a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Starmer stated:" I condemn Israel's strikes on Doha, which violate Qatar's sovereignty and risk further escalation across the region".He emphasized the urgent need for de-escalation, adding:" The priority must be an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and a huge surge in aid into Gaza. This is the only solution towards long-lasting peace".