'You NEED to!' Now Angela Rayner demands Keir Starmer imposes internet restrictions on millions of Britons

Angela Rayner has told Sir Keir Starmer to push ahead with plans to impose internet restrictions on millions of Britons.

The Prime Minister has been urged to "just make a decision" on enforcing an Australia-style social media ban by his former deputy, who insisted it is "so clear that that’s what you need to do”.

The move would block Britain's roughly 13 million under-16s from accessing social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.

Ms Rayner's intervention comes amid the Government's consultation on how to protect children online.

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Due to finish on Tuesday, it has has considered a blanket social media ban for under-16s, limits on addictive features, and mobile phone bans in schools.

The proposals have caused division within Labour - as preliminary data coming from Australia appears to suggest their crackdown may not have been as successful as initially believed.

At least 60 per cent of young Aussies have reported to not be complying with the ban or have figured out ways to bypass it, five studies have found.

Both Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting - the Prime Minister's leadership rivals - have both walked back on their support for a blanket ban for young Britons, and have both backed tougher regulations instead.

Ms Rayner's plea to the Prime Minister came as she appeared on The Rest Is Politics podcast, hosted by ex-Tory minister Rory Stewart and Tony Blair's former spin doctor, Alistair Campbell.

Mr Campbell told the former Labour deputy leader: “I don’t understand why the Government isn’t just doing it in relation to stopping social media till you’re 16.

“I think the country’s kind of decided on this, and yet we’ve just got this bloody, seemingly never-ending process going on.”

Ms Rayner replied: “I think again that just makes people feel ‘just make a decision and do it’, like that sense of the low hanging political fruit.

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“Why you can not just make a decision that when it seems so clear that that’s what you need to do?"

She added: "It’s this active state that is exactly what we need to be."

Labour has already introduced legislation that will allow ministers to introduce any changes to social media use for young Britons without having to pass the measures through the Commons.

Although Sir Keir has insisted he will keep an "open mind" about enforcing a blanket ban, he has insisted that "things will not stay as they are".

The Prime Minister said he did not believe the younger generation would "forgive" the Government if it "didn’t act now".

And the move has seen minimal resistance - with the Tories demanding Labour goes even faster with its crackdown.

Despite major concerns over a slippery slope to a nanny state, leader Kemi Badenoch hailed how her party had been championing restrictions on internet usage for months.

"This is not about censorship or banning technology," she said. "It is about common sense. We should be protecting children while preserving freedom for adults. Sensible regulation for under-16s is both necessary and long overdue."

On Thursday, MPs threw their support behind a ban, claiming “addictive design” apps are exposing young people to serious harms.

Alongside a blanket ban, the Commons Education Committee called for restrictions on features including infinite scrolling, disappearing messages and algorithm driven content designed to keep youngsters online for longer.

It comes just days after Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that Brussels is looking to enforce a social media ban of its own, which would impact more than 65 million young Europeans.

Although legislation could come as soon as this summer, the bloc is waiting for a panel of "experts" on online child safety to finish deliberations before moving to impose restriction.

She told a conference in Copenhagen: “We are witnessing the lightning speed at which technology is advancing - and how it penetrates every corner of childhood and adolescence.

“Childhood and early adolescence are formative years, and I believe we should give our children more time to become resilient in this vulnerable phase.”

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