Working and its delivering for them, and i think can see them, and i think we can see that on inflation and on that it is on inflation and on taxes. Weve also then got to show them that the labour party doesnt have plan and will be doesnt have a plan and will be a big risk. For example, we know the party wants to spend the labour party wants to spend £28 billion green plan. £28 billion on their green plan. Theyve hidden the price tag now, but they dont know how to pay now, but they dont know how to pay for it. That would mean taxes going up. But shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth told gb news the governments priorities are all wrong. Rishi sunak hes not acting in the national interest. Its reckless, its irresponsible, he should name the day of a general election and stabilise matters. Election and stabilise matters. At the moment, hes more preoccupied with his own leadership and saving his own skin than governing in the national interest. And i think after 14 years, this is a pretty discredited government. He needs to name the day. I mean , but if to name the day. I mean, but if he doesnt name the date soon, we could have a leadership election soon. Speaking at liberal well, speaking at the liberal democrats spring conference today, leader sir ed davey accused Prime Minister of accused the Prime Minister of giving up. Who knows, maybe despite what he says, rishi will call the election tomorrow or next week. I certainly hope so. The country i certainly hope so. The country cant wait a moment longer to see the back of this terrible government. Government. The ministry of defence says grant shapps was forced to abandon a trip to southern ukraine last week for security reasons. British intelligence reasons. British intelligence warned of a credible missile threat from russia , saying the threat from russia, saying the kremlin had got wind of his visit, according to the sunday times, mr shapps was due to travel to odesa a day after a missile hit the city, while the ukrainian president and the greek Prime Minister were visiting. Were visiting. Five people were killed explosions , killed in the explosions, according to ukrainian authorities. Meanwhile, the authorities. Meanwhile, the latvian Prime Minister has told the sunday telegraph that britain should consider conscription as and a total defence model to deter russian aggression. Latvia reintroduced aggression. Latvia reintroduced the model last year with all able bodied men required to complete 11 months of military service. However, in january, service. However, in january, the uk armed forces minister, james heappey, said any talk of the uk introducing conscription to the army of nato goes to war with russia was nonsense. That with russia was nonsense. That as the russian president is tightening his grip on power in a russian election, despite thousands of opponents staging a noon protest at polling stations, the widow of russian Opposition LeaderAlexei Navalny was among those protesting , was among those protesting, including outside the Russian Embassy in berlin, about 74 protesters have been arrested in russian cities on the final day of voting. Today, the election comes just over two years since russias invasion of ukraine. Work on the m25 in surrey is on schedule to reopen for monday. Rush hour. National highway says Good Progress is being made after the unprecedented closure. Motorists reported miles of tailbacks yesterday on the approach to the five mile closure between junctions ten and 11. A volcano in iceland has erupted for a fourth time in just three months. Previous eruptions destroyed roads and forced towns to evacuate fountains of molten rock soared into the night sky from fissures into the night sky from fissures in the ground. Authorities had in the ground. Authorities had warned for weeks that an eruption was imminent. Just eruption was imminent. Just south of icelands capital, reykjavik , and steve harley, reykjavik, and steve harley, best known as the front man of british rock band Cockney Rebel, has died at the age of 73. Come up and see me to make me smile. The band enjoyed success in 1975 with the number one hit make me smile. Steve harley had still smile. Steve harley had still been touring until recently , but been touring until recently, but had to cancel dates to have treatment for cancer. His daughter greta says he died peacefully with his family by his side. For peacefully with his family by his side. For the peacefully with his family by his side. For the latest his side. For the latest stories, you can sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen or go to gb news. Com slash alerts. Now back to. Nana. To. Nana. Thank you. Tatiana. Im nana akua. This is gb news on tv, onune akua. This is gb news on tv, online and on Digital Radio. Im nana akua. Okay. This is getting beyond ridiculous. Trans women, which as we know are biological males, are apparently now going to be included as women in a push to get more female chief executives into the ftse 100 by it next year. Now, the campaign, called 25 by 25, is an initiative headed by chief executive tara camlin jones, Whose Mission is to get 25 female chief executives running Blue Chip Companies by 2025. And its backed by Major Companies including unilever, natwest and bp. You couldnt make this up, bp. You couldnt make this up, tara said. Anyone who identifies as a woman is a woman , though as a woman is a woman, though she stressed that 25 by 25 were not an authority on the subject, she said our focus is on succession and talent planning, using gender broadly as an indicator to suggest anything else would be very misleading or misleading. That is misleading. Whats the point. 7 seriously, if anyone can say that theyre a woman, then why bother with this at all. 7 it woman, then why bother with this at all . It just makes a mockery of the whole thing. The figures will simply be nonsense. This will simply be nonsense. This will simply be nonsense. This will obviously skew the information defeats the information and defeats the object of the goal itself. And also, will the trans woman have also, will the trans woman have a salary of a man or a woman . As we know, there are still major gender pay gap inequalities and it will be a complete misrepresentation of women and on boards of pay and average salaries will the trans woman accept a pay cut . Of course not. Theyll simply have the benefits of a male. But take but take up the space of a female. Its absurd. Only last month, tory mps accused the Financial Services watchdog, the fca, of putting womens rights at risk by encouraging banks to collect staff data based on self identified gender rather than biological sex. Of course, it was met with resistance from some 40 mps and peers who wrote to the chancellor to argue that the fca was taking an activist approach to its diversity policies. But this approach to its diversity policies. But this is everywhere. This morning i read about a school, a health nurse who claimed that not all people who claimed that not all people who have babies might call themselves a she or a woman or a mum. Really . What do they call themselves . She was walking themselves . She was walking through school. She was. She said that walking through a school in a skirt and letting your hair grow, when actually people previously knew you as a boy, well, thats incredibly brave. Thats what she said. But i think an element of i think theres an element of attention im attention seeking, if im totally worry is totally honest. But the worry is it a path of it could lead to a path of medical transition where most people through puberty are people going through puberty are struggling gender struggling with their gender identity in any case, now, the podcast this lady said this podcast that this lady said this on is aimed at School Nurses and a series is run by the Digital Health foundation. Ive got to say, thank god for the likes of liz truss and katy kemi badenoch, who fighting to badenoch, who are fighting to protect biological women from this truss has this madness. Liz truss has tabled a bill which would have banned puberty blockers, protected single sex spaces and prevented helping protected single sex spaces and p|child ed helping protected single sex spaces and p|child to helping protected single sex spaces and p|child to change helping protected single sex spaces and p|child to change a helping protected single sex spaces and p|child to change a gender. Ping a child to change a gender. Biology trumps ideology and its time to take a stand. A man can never be a woman and a woman can never be a woman and a woman can never be a woman and a woman can never be man. Right. So before never be a man. Right. So before we get stuck into the debates over the next hour, let me introduce you to my clashes. Joining me today, director of climate media and coalition, donna mccarthy. And also reform donna mccarthy. And also reform uk deputy ben habib. Uk deputy leader ben habib. Theyll be going head to head in just a moment. Coming up, could a change of leaders stop the tories suffering a wipe out at the election . Conservative mps are plotting to are reportedly plotting to replace rishi sunak with Penny Mordaunt. If theyre successful, she be the fourth leader. She would be the fourth leader. Or is it the fifth . I dont know, the fourth. In the fifth or the fourth or the fifth . The fourth five and lib fourth in five years and the lib dems that theyre the only dems say that theyre the only party so dems say that theyre the only pa|davey so dems say that theyre the only pa|davey spoke so dems say that theyre the only pa|davey spoke at so dems say that theyre the only pa|davey spoke at the so dems say that theyre the only pa|davey spoke at the spring ed davey spoke at the spring conference this morning, calling for change, for transformational change, whatever urging whatever that means. And urging the Prime Minister to call an election. Now do you agree . Then a key nato ally has said that britain should consider bringing back conscription into the military to deter russian aggression and the golden chippy in greenwich has been asked to remove their mural depicting the union flag being held by a fish. More on that later in the show. A flag held by a fish , a fish a flag held by a fish, a fish flag. Well, thats coming up in the next hour. Tell me what you think on everything were discussing. Email gb views gb news. Or tweet me at. Gb news. Com or tweet me at. Gb news. Com or tweet me at. Gb news. Right. Im joined now by my classes director of climate media coalition, michael mccarthy, and also former reform uk deputy leader ben habib. Right. So im going to start with you, ben habib. Good to see you again. Good to see you. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. What do you make of a lot of this, this trans stuff that is going down in in particular the ftse 100, looking to actually label 25 the top 25 women but include men in that. So the, the fca, the financial conduct authoritys promotion of trans ideology is alongside the promotion of lots of minority rights and it and its embedded in our regulatory and Legal Framework now through the environmental, social and governance obligations that companies, institutions, education establishment, the armed forces, our police forces, every single entity in this country is required to promote this sort of ideology through diversity , equality and diversity, equality and inclusion, which is the social aspect of environmental social governance, which you know, as i say, is part of our regulatory framework. So this is not some kind of social fad thats just grown up over the last few years, this has been put into place through government regulations and legislation. And for liz truss legislation. And for liz truss to want new legislation to ban the opera. As admirable as her aim is, does stop, you know, transformational, operations taking place. Actually, what we needin taking place. Actually, what we need in this country is the repealing of lots of legislation thats gone into place already to create this environment. To create this environment. Right. And of course, what you want in the ftse 100 boardrooms are the best directors fulfilled those jobs so that we have the most efficient, most Profitable Companies in the United Kingdom. So we have prosperity across the board. And similarly with the armed forces, you want the best jet fighter pilots, the best, navigators, the best. You know, gun shooters. And what weve got gun shooters. And what weve got to step away from is the promotion of people based on their physical characteristics or their own self identification at the cost of them doing their jobs properly. Were in jobs properly. Were in a country at the moment which is facing economic disaster, National Debt at a post world war two, high taxation at a post world war two, high spending out of control by the government. And what are we focusing on this kind of nonsense. We havent got time for this, have we . We havent be focusing on the best and the most brilliant minds. Should thats what we should be doing. Things we need. But the things that we need. But the fact the do you think fact that the what do you think of the that theyre almost of the fact that theyre almost trying mask fact that trying to mask the fact that somebody man, and to somebody is not a man, and to put in list the top 25 put them in a list of the top 25 to achieve a goal . I know, i mean, i mean, its daft as brushes, mean, i mean, its daft as bru its;, undermine of common its the undermine of common sense society. Man sense in society. A man self identifies as a woman and therefore gets a job on the bafis therefore gets a job on the basis that hes coming from a minority interest group. The 7 77 t thing is just 1 thing is just absurd. Whole thing is just absurd. Well, lets see what donald has to say. Well, lets see what donald has to say. Danica well, lets see what donald has to say. Danica mccarthy. Has to say. Danica mccarthy. Now, i wouldnt whole now, i wouldnt say the whole thing i think you thing is absurd. I think you have remember where came have to remember where this came from. I was just chatting to ben before we came on. I grew up in ireland in the in the 60s and 70s. I was a gay person. I was a gay person. Saint patricks happy Saint Patricks day. Happy Saint Patricks day. Wheres your green . Im not wearing green. Wheres your green . Im not weiyou green. Wheres your green . Im not weiyou and an. Wheres your green . Im not weiyou and i]. Wheres your green . Im not weiyou and i grew up in you and i grew up in a society that was a life imprisonment with hard labour. If youre having sex with your partner. Your partner. And also, i had some friends personally murdered in gay gay bashing careers. So for me, we, we struggled hard to, to get freedom and to get fairness and to actually my friends were being fired because they were gay. So bens quite right. We should be getting the best people the best jobs. But people for the best jobs. But because our inherited because of our inherited discrimination, and discrimination, often women and gay people and trans people are excluded from the best jobs because the Old Boys Club excluded them and it excluded the talent. What we need is a happy medium where we actually allow the talent from everybody in. But dont dont promote people but dont dont promote people just because they have to come from a protected background. But but what do you make of the top 25 in the ftse women in the top 25 in the ftse women in the ftse 100 companies, including men. So people who are trans women, but they are males. I mean, this is what im talking about because as you said, you have youve pointed towards the fact that, yes , there seems to fact that, yes, there seems to be an Old Boys Club and its only the men that seem to get in but isnt this just simply extending some form of extension of club will of the Old Boys Club which will actually women out . Actually push women out . Wouldnt want to i certainly wouldnt want to see excluding see the definition excluding women the percentage. Women from from the percentage. That would i think that would be a disaster. Why not three, disaster. Why not have three, three, three, three groups of people looking at . Is people that were looking at . Is there trans people there any trans people in leadership roles . Women leadership roles . Are there men . The other are there men . But the other point i do agree with ben on is that the amount media that the amount of media bandwidth occupied by this tiny issue affecting a tiny group of people when there are huge issues in the world. I think ben talks about economy. I talk about about climate. I talk about about climate. This week, scientists said, weve had every month for the last year, had the hottest last year, weve had the hottest temperature ever. The oceans are beginning to get so hot. Dont start us on this because so therefore the issues that we should be concentrating are the big ones like ben talks about , i talk about the environment. And i think this trans issue is tiny. I mean, it is it is tiny. I just say i dont think its tiny. And i think its interesting that two men would be saying that. I mean, no, no, hold on, hold on, hold on. Im not saying its interesting you its interesting that you think its tiny, but actually it isnt because women. I think because we are women. I think actually, the world, i actually, as 51 of the world, i think women and that affects think are women and that affects all of us, around 1 are trans. Okay but hold on, hold on. But im talking about biological biological reality , not one that biological reality, not one that youve decided you are. And thats fine. Im saying that thats fine. Im not saying that thats fine. Im not saying that that doesnt exist, but my that issue doesnt exist, but my point that called it point is this that you called it a small issue and it isnt. And for women, big issue for women, its a big issue because if the top of the top because if at the top of the top 25 companies, which are supposed to be women, youre to be finding women, youre allowed to include men, just like in any sport that will then suddenly include men, that it pushes well, i said pushes out women. Well, i said i actually agre