Chief secretary to PM rules out leadership bid as he says he has received reassurances from BurnhamGood morning. There are very few upsides for Keir Starmer for his current situation, but one of them is that soon he will no longer have to worry about taking PMQs. In his memoir, Tony Blair described PMQs as “the most nerve-racking, discombobulating, nail-biting, bowel-moving, terror-inspiring, courage draining experience in my prime ministerial life, without question”. Today’s could be Starmer’s third last. Including today, there are four Wednesdays between now and Friday 17 July, when Andy Burnham is due to become PMQs, but one of them coincides with the Nato summit, and Starmer should be away for that.While we will hear from Starmer at PMQs, interest in what he has to say may be limited. Power is like water on a surface with a slope; it very quickly heads in one direction and, despite only being sworn in as an MP on Monday afternoon, Andy Burnham is already the most powerful figure in Westminster, and most of the political class is focused on what sort of administration he might lead. There have been three developments overnight.It has emerged that Burnham will appoint James Purnell, who served in cabinet with him under Gordon Brown, as his chief of staff. Here is our story, by Kiran Stacey and Jessica Elgot.Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the PM, has announced that he will not stand as a leadership candidate against Burnham. He had been refusing to rule this out, and some Starmer loyalists were urging him to run. Ben Quinn has the story. Continue reading...
Former Starmer loyalist Nick Thomas-Symonds suggests battle over leadership would not be in ‘best interests of the country’Ed Miliband is to say that the UK must stick to net zero targets to deliver jobs and growth, as speculation surrounds the energy secretary’s role under a new prime minister, Fiona Harvey reports.It is the 10th anniversary of the vote to leave the EU. There will be some coverage of related events here, but Jakub Krupa will be covering this in more detail on his Europe live blog. Continue reading...
It’s still unclear whether there will be a leadership contest or an uncontested handover of powerStarmer expected to announce exit plan to clear way for Burnham to become PM‘A shift has taken place’: Starmer faces the music after weekend of reflectionGood morning. Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of the referendum to leave the EU, which means that Wednesday is the 10th anniversary of the day David Cameron announced he was resigning as PM. After Cameron was forced out by the result of his own referendum, another three Tory PMs were forced out by their own MPs (Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss) and another was forced out by the electorate (Rishi Sunak). Keir Starmer has been PM for less than two years, but he is about to become the sixth PM forced out within a decade, being replaced almost certainly by Andy Burnham.In the past the British used to joke about Italy being a country where prime ministers kept changing all the time. These days Italy looks like a beacon of stability, and Britain has become the place never that far from another bout of political turmoil. Continue reading...
Sunday newspapers report that the prime minister is close to announcing when he’ll stand down and set out a timetable for departureGood morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics. The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, is expected to resign on Monday and is preparing to set out a timetable for an orderly departure from No 10, according to the Observer.The paper reports that Starmer, who has insisted he would fight any leadership challenge, now recognises his position is untenable after talking with cabinet ministers, party donors and trade union leaders over the last couple of days. Continue reading...
Ministers say PM faces being forced out by party if he does not act, with one calling his departure inevitableCabinet loyalists tell Starmer he has the weekend to set out timetable for exit‘Within 10 mins, he’d nicked it’: illustrator on his ubiquitous image of BurnhamKeir Starmer faces pressure from cabinet ministers and MPs to avoid a bruising leadership battle and instead set a timetable to hand power to Andy Burnham, who won a resounding majority in the Makerfield byelection.The prime minister pledged to fight to keep his job, but ministers loyal to Starmer have urged him to set out plans to step down over the weekend.Starmer called members of the cabinet on Friday afternoon to set out his determination to fight on. The transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, is said by sources to be among those who expressed concerns in a call on Friday.At least two ministers, Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood, have previously suggested to Starmer that he should set out a timetable for his departure. Continue reading...
Labour’s Greater Manchester mayor hopes a win over Reform UK will help force the prime minister to step asideGood evening, and welcome to the Guardian’s Makerfield byelection live blog. The polls have just closed and we may have to wait until around dawn (quite early in the summer, of course) until we get a result. But, as the votes are counted, it should become clear well before then who is going to win. Andy Burnham, the Labour former cabinet minister, current mayor of Greater Manchester, and potential future prime minister, is widely expected to be the new MP, but at this point no one knows for sure.Here is our latest story about what has been happening today, and what may unfold in the hours to come.At the time of going to print, Op Makerfield is not a totally done deal. Two of Burnham’s top team parrot the same line: ‘It’s closer than you think.’ But those advising the Manchester mayor think the scale of any win will determine the speed of events. ‘If he wins by low single digits, Keir Starmer digs in and says: “You can’t come for me until after the Manchester mayoral election on 30 July,” and it’s bloody trench warfare,’ one says. ‘If it’s a comfortable, single-digits win, the soft left will try to take power through a conversation, but they will probably discover that power has to be taken by force. If Andy gets more than Reform plus Restore combined, start the clock. There will be an avalanche.’ Continue reading...
Andy Burnham hopes a successful byelection will mean he can encourage Keir Starmer to step aside as prime ministerReform UK’s candidate Robert Kenyon has visited St Aidan’s Parish Centre in Wigan, accompanied by party leader Nigel Farage, to cast his vote in today’s byelection.Kenyon was pictured wearing a replica England shirt (looks like Italia 90 to me, most closely associated with Gazza blubbing at the end of a hard-fought contest…), following last night’s World Cup win for Thomas Tuchel’s men. Continue reading...
Former health secretary Wes Streeting also threatened to launch a leadership contest if the prime minister did not set out a timetable to step downGood morning. Keir Starmer is still in France for the G7 summit but – as Margaret Thatcher discovered on a trip to Paris in November 1990 – acting as a statesman on the world stage does not protect a PM from a leadership challenge at home and, on that front, there has been a small development overnight; Starmer is now being told explicitly he will face a leadership challenge next week if he does not agree a timetable to stand down after the Makerfield byelection tomorrow.This has always been implicit, but last night Wes Streeting, the former health secretary who wants to launch a leadership bid, said it out loud.We can’t go on with this uncertainty. I think we will inevitably end up in a contest.I’ve given you my answer.Well, I’m sure I’ll talk to Andy after the weekend, of course I will. I’ve spoken to him many times in recent weeks. And when I came into politics in 2015, it was Andy Burnham’s team that I joined, and we worked very well together.He’s a huge asset, he’s been a fantastic mayor in Manchester and if he comes back into parliament – I hope he wins in the byelection – he’ll be a fantastic asset for our party and for the country. Continue reading...
Nearly one in six pieces of news shared in local Facebook groups during the campaign is false, Social Market Foundation report findsGood morning. Andy Burnham seems to be on course to win the Makerfield byelection on Thursday. But, if he does win, it will be despite a huge increase in the amount of hostile, fake news about him circulating on local Facebook groups. This has been documented in a report out today by the Social Market Foundation thinktank that has important implications not just for Makerfield, but for how politics functions today in a social media environment awash with lies.In its report, the SMF says:Nearly 1 in 6 pieces of news shared in local Facebook groups during the campaign is false, with misinformation heavily targeting Labour and its candidate Andy Burnham, a new study has found.The Social Market Foundation analysed over 1,800 posts across four local Facebook groups – representing different towns and settlements within the constituency with 66,000 members across them in total – and found that the share of news posts classified as misinformation jumped from 4% before the by-election was called to 16% during the campaign, a four-fold increase. Continue reading...
Prime minister expected to unveil ‘Australia plus’ ban for under-16s on apps such as TikTok, Instagram and SnapchatGood morning. In Downing Street officials reportedly refuse to talk about Keir Starmer wanting to establish a legacy. But it is hard for the rest of us to avoid the word, particularly on a morning when he has summoned reporters to Downing Street for an 8am press conference on his plans for a social media ban. In lobby terms, this counts as unconscionably early. The announcement could easily wait. But Starmer is heading to France for the G7 summit later, that will keep him busy until Wednesday night, and on Thursday it’s the Makerfield byelection. This is an annoucement that Starmer is determined to make before then because Andy Burnham seems on course to become an MP in the early hours of Friday and at that point UK politics may start to change drastically – and Starmer’s window for legacy making may swiftly close.Last summer the UK government showed little interest in following the Australian government when it announced its social media ban for under-16s. Within months the view in government was changing, and by early 2026 Starmer said there would definitely be some sort of crackdown. But he suggested he was still undecided between a full social media ban for under-16s, and alternative measures to crackdown on the worst features of these apps.It’s shameful that it’s taken the prime minister’s job to be on the line for the government to finally u-turn and ban social media for under 16s.Three times Labour voted against a ban, failing to stand up to Big Tech and protect children from the extreme content they are exposed to every day. Continue reading...
Prime minister says British armed forces intercepted a Russian shadow fleet vessel in the early hours of Sunday morningIn an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Dan Jarvis said he had a “big responsibility” towards soldiers who risk their lives for the country.Jarvis, himself a former soldier, said he was still working through the detail of the defence investment plan, which will lay out how much military equipment and infrastructure will be paid for over the next decade. The new defence secretary told the Sunday Telegraph:The defence of our nation is a shared endeavour… I have a big responsibility in that regard now, but so do all of those people who expose themselves to risk tonight, tomorrow, next week, and we owe them a debt of gratitude.I have a responsibility now to them to make sure that they get what they need, and people should be very clear about my determination to fulfil those duties, to make sure that they do (get) precisely what they need. Continue reading...
Both John Healey and Al Cairns resigned from their ministerial positions on Thursday over the government’s defence investment planGood morning. This time yesterday Keir Starmer’s leadership was already in peril, with many in his party assuming that he will be replaced by Andy Burnham at some point later this year, but there was a consensus that, on defence and international security, his record was impressive. John Healey’s surprise resignation as defence secretary blew that apart. Later, after 8pm last night, Al Carns, the armed forces minister, also resigned over the defence investment plan.Here is our main story, by Pippa Crerar and Dan Sabbagh. Continue reading...
‘If you are targeting people on the basis of the colour of their skin how else can you describe them?’ said Hilary BennFull report: Police use water cannon against rioters in Northern IrelandGavin Robinson MP, DUP leader, has said borders into the UK need “protecting” more. Speaking on BBC’s Good Morning Ulster, he also said that he believed that there was “less” violence last night than on Monday.Of the violence, he said: “You cannot raise your concerns about damage to British values and then behave in such an unBritish way, Continue reading...
30-year-old man to appear in court today charged with attempted murder, with Keir Starmer expected to face questions on the disorder during PMQsGood morning. Soon after becoming PM in 2024, Keir Starmer had to deal with a period of rioting in England, prompted by the Southport murders and mostly targeted at asylum seekers. Last night, in Northern Ireland, there were similar race riots, triggered by a knife attack involving a Sudanese suspect. Here is our overnight story about the rioting.And this is what Claire Hanna, the SDLP leader and MP for Belfast South and Mid Down, said about the attacks on Newsnight last night.What you’re seeing is a race-based pogrom. We are seeing men going door to door asking to get the foreigners out based exclusively on the colour of their skin. It’s not based on what they’re contributing to society, what their status here is and it’s terrifying for people in Belfast who want this sort of politics to be far beyond them.If people are exploiting the common travel agreement in this way, that’s not acceptable. That’s not what it’s there for.It’s been in existence for over 100 years and it’s absolutely right that people can travel between the island and Northern Ireland freely. Continue reading...
Technology secretary says legal requirement that protects women, older people and others from workplace discrimination is ‘really important’Good morning. For the last week or so much of the media has been dominated by a debate triggered by the murder of Henry Nowak, and claims that video footage of the police handcuffing him as he was dying showed that the police cared more about an accusation of racism than they did about a stabbing. The judge who presided over the trial of Nowak’s killer did not accept this allegation at all – in fact, he defended the police officers involved – but the lack of any evidence to back up this theory has not stopped it being spouted widely, by rightwing politicians and by media organisations that support them.This morning, Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, is giving a speech in part responding to this debate. Reform UK and Restore Britain have been more forceful than the Tories in claiming (despite all the evidence suggesting the opposite) that the police in the UK are biased against white people. But the Tories have leant into this too, and in her interview on the Today programme this morning Badenoch presented her version of this claim. She said:The public sector equality duty is having the worst impact, I believe, when it comes to the police.The Henry Nowak murder has shocked the entire country.What [Badenoch is] saying is she wants to repeal a duty which stops pregnant women being sacked, women on maternity leave being sacked, which prevents discrimination against disabled people, which prevents discrimination on age grounds. You know, people thinking, ‘Oh, you’re too old for this job, despite all of your experience’.That’s not common-sense middle ground. It’s turning the clock back to the past. Continue reading...
Prime minister to give speech on the government’s technology policy this morning Good morning. Two weeks today, it seems more likely than not that Andy Burnham will be taking his seat as the new MP for Makerfield. A byelection win is not certain, but the campaign is definitely going his way. Keir Starmer has been saying he won’t just stand aside and let Burnham replace him as Labour leader, but these briefings are being received with a hefty dose of scepticism.The unnamed minister quoted in today’s Times splash gives a more realistic guide to what is happening. They say:Keir has entered his legacy era. The conversations are now all, ‘What is announceable in time before Makerfield?’No one doubts the huge potential of tech to change lives. But we have to decide who that change is for. This government’s choice is clear: the tech revolution must work for everyone, not just a privileged few.We’re backing British businesses to lead the way, driving growth and investment that turns into more jobs and stronger communities. And we’re using tech to bring opportunity to every corner of the country – helping people into work, tackling inequalities, boosting skills and building a fairer future.The tool will provide a 24/7 resource for people, offering guidance on topics such as career development, job searching and applications. The trial will last for around three months, to gather data and feedback on how people are using the service so that it can be adapted and improved as necessary. Continue reading...
The local police force wanted to address what it described as online ‘disinformation’ during active court proceedings against Vickrum Digwa, a report saidOn Friday evening, the US vice-president, JD Vance, blamed Henry Nowak’s murder on the “mass invasion of migrants” and said the “only response” was “righteous anger”, prompting a rebuke from Downing Street which hit out at “people trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division”.The UK justice secretary and deputy prime minister, David Lammy, revealed to Sky News’ Trevor Phillips that he spoke to Vance yesterday following his intervention. Lammy, who is rumoured to be good friends with the vice-president, said:I spoke to the vice president yesterday, and I wanted to emphasise a number of things.The first is that our democratic process is working well. This young man has been convicted. There is an investigation into the police by the Independent Police (Conduct)Authority. Continue reading...
Downing Street responded after Andy Burnham publicly admitted that he would consider launching a bid to become Labour leader‘I wouldn’t flinch’: Burnham on social care, markets, Brexit – and the prospect of a general electionHello and welcome to our UK politics blog.David Lammy has come out in support of the prime minister, saying Keir Starmer would fight in a leadership contest after Andy Burnham said he would join one if elected an MP. Continue reading...
Politicians on the right have politicised Novak’s death and suggested there is a ‘two-tier’ policing system that victimises white peopleGood morning. The most interesting event of the day may well turn out to be one taking place late tonight, when Andy Burnham, the Labour candidate for Makerfield and potential next PM, takes part in a BBC byelection Question Times special. Yesterday Burnham said that at some point today he would give a more considered response to the Henry Nowak murder, and the issues it has raised about policing and race equality. It is not clear yet whether we will get that response on QT, or before.But this morning the government seems to be firming up its opposition to those claiming that what happened to Nowak was evidence of “two-tier justice”. Reform UK is the main party using this phrase, but some Tories have made the same argument. Yesterday Keir Starmer said he did not accept that Britain has two-tier policing. This morning Lucy Rigby, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has been doing an interview round, and she told Sky News this allegation was a “slur” on the police. Asked about the claim, she said:Fundamentally, I think that is a slur on the thousands of police officers that go out to work every day, putting themselves in harm’s way to serve the public, to try and prevent crime, and to keep us all safe.The suggestion that we have two-tier policing, which suggests at its heart that the police are on a sort of systemic basis pushing the interests of one group above another – I genuinely think is a slur on all those police officers that are serving this country day and night, seven days a week. Continue reading...
Sarah Jones appeals for calm after rioting over the death of Nowak, who was handcuffed while dying from stab woundGood morning. Keir Starmer spoke for many people yesterday when he said that he felt “sick” watching the video of Henry Nowak being handcuffed as he lay dying, while a police officer who had been told Nowak had committed a racist assault ignored Nowak saying he had been stabbed. Starmer’s was a good faith response to the tragedy, which saw Nowak’s killer jailed for life on Monday.But there have been plenty of bad faith responses to the murder too, which culminated in rioting in Southampton last night. Here is our overnight story about yesterday’s events. Continue reading...
Senate estimates told it was a ‘joint idea’ to rework the nuclear submarine deal. Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s preference was always to receive secondhand nuclear powered submarines under the Aukus deal, defence officials have revealed, prompting the Coalition to question if the original arrangement was “imposed” on the Albanese government.The defence secretary, Meghan Quinn, was grilled at Senate estimates on Tuesday night about the announcement that Australia would buy three used Virginia-class submarines from the US rather than a combination of new and old vessels.Australia’s position is that we would have always … had a preference for three in-service (submarines).They imposed a new submarine on us and said you must take a new submarine even if you want three in-service?This is a joint exercise over many decades, working collaboratively with an alliance partner to deliver a capability which is significant and is very important for Australia’s national defence. So there are many reasons why three in-service (submarines) would be simpler, lower-cost through the training of staff, the sustainment arrangements, the maintenance requirements, and all of those considerations. Continue reading...
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart says it ‘beggars belief’ there were not more exchanges between Mandelson and the PMGood morning. Keir Starmer is chairing cabinet today as Labour MPs mull over the coverage of the Peter Mandelson files. In terms of revelations relating to Mandelson himself, the impact is probably not as bad as many MPs feared; Politico quotes one official as saying the mood last night was at the “top end” of expectations. Here is our main story about the data release, by Henry Dyer and Pippa Crear.There will be more coverage today.There’s a lot of stuff that’s missing. Anybody who’s looked at these 1,500 pages will see acres and acres of white space, these constellations of asterisks, huge amounts of redactions.Now, some of that is fine because it’s national security issues, our relationship with the Americans.It beggars belief that there were so few exchanges between Mandelson and the prime minister. There’s almost nothing in the record.So either this stuff is being deliberately withheld or it’s been deleted. Continue reading...
Sources predict ‘toe-curling’ revelations as more than 1,000 pages of documents relating to his appointment as US ambassador to be publishedMandelson files show no mitigation of security concernsGood morning. Many people despair at the quality of governance in Britain at the moment, but in one respect we are living through a golden age; if you are interested in contemporary history, and learning about what actually happens at the heart of government, then you can now – sometimes – access the sort of information never available before.Today the government is publishing a mass of information – apparently running to three volumes, and more than 1,000 pages – containing the private messages Peter Mandelson exchanged with government ministers and officials when he was ambassador to the US, and before his appointment. Last month a minister compared this to the evidence released as part of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war. But the Chilcot inquiry took place in the era before WhatsApp, and it was publishing secret memos – intended for circulation within Whitehall. WhatsApp messages are a lot more personal; reading them is like being able to eavesdrop on a private conversation. Mandelson is a man with spiky, controversial views, who loves gossip and plotting, and whose private views don’t always accord with what he has said in public. It should be fascinating.I think the level of transparency is going to be unprecedented. The volume of information that’s going to be put out is unprecedented.It’s right we do that. We have been very clear that the appointment of Mandelson was wrong. Continue reading...
Torsten Bell says Labour manifesto ‘did not set out the timeline’ for changes to living wage after scale of youth unemployment crisis revealed in Milburn reportGood morning. Last night Alan Milburn suggested that he would like the government to drop its commitment to pay all people over the age of 18 the national living wage. The former Labour health secretary was speaking after he published a major report on the rise in the number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet) and he implied that when the final report is published in the autumn, with policy recommendations, it will propose changes to the national living wage/minimum wage system to encourage more firms to hire young people. A change to the “discriminatory age bands” policy seems to be quite high up his list of demands.For the record, this is what Labour said in its manifesto.Labour will also make sure the minimum wage is a genuine living wage. We will change the remit of the independent Low Pay Commission so for the first time it accounts for the cost of living. Labour will also remove the discriminatory age bands, so all adults are entitled to the same minimum wage, delivering a pay rise to hundreds of thousands of workers across the UK.The manifesto sets out that the we should move the rates together over time. It doesn’t set a timeline on that because that’s the important role of the Low Pay Commission.No, that’s not what it says in our manifesto, Justin. But it’s an understandable mistake. It’s a long document.The manifesto commits us to equalising the rates. We’re absolutely committed to doing that. I’ve been a big proponent of the minimum wage over the last 25 years …We’re going to do it in a way that relies on the Low Pay Commission to provide independent advice on how that can happen, and in general how increases in the minimum wage happen but in a way that doesn’t affect employment levels.I’ve already said the answer is yes, we’re committed to our manifesto that we stood on and we will deliver it. But that manifesto did not set out the timeline. Continue reading...
Government-commissioned report on young people not in employment, education or training to be published by review chair Milburn todayGood morning. For the second day in a row, the Westminster news is dominated by the thoughts of a leading Labour figure from the Tony Blair. But this time it’s an intervention commissioned, and welcomed, by Keir Starmer’s government. Alan Milburn, who has health secretary under Tony Blair, once seen as a future PM, and later chair of the Social Mobility Commisson, was asked last year to lead a review into why the number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neets) is rising. Today he is publishing his first “diagnostic” report, focusing on the causes of the problem. A second report, focusing on policy recommendations, is due in the autumn.As Richard Partington reports, Milburn says Britain risks a 25% rise in the number of Neets, to 1.25 million by the early 2030s, without urgent government action to avoid a “lost generation”.Well, certainly every employer that we spoke to raised these issues as real concerns, the minimum wage. No employer really wants to be paying poverty wages to young people, that’s not what you come across.But there is, particularly in low-margin sectors of the economy, like retail and hospitality, there is no doubt that these changes have had an impact. So that is something the government really needs to think about. If the priority is to create young people’s jobs, then it’s got to create the right conditions for employers to do so.Yes, I am … Every employer that I talk to, they will say the same thing. There’s no doubt that the changes that were made a couple of years ago have had an impact on employers. Continue reading...
Tony Blair has accused Starmer, Burnham and Streeting of putting Labour’s future at risk amid leadership speculationGood morning. Labour is in the midst of ‘phoney war’ leadership contest. The formal bit has not started yet, but Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting are already actively engaged, Angela Rayner is taking an interest, and Keir Starmer is defending his legacy with renewed vigour. The last thing anyone expected was for Tony Blair to join in.But he has, sort of, with a 5,700-word essay, published last night on his thinktank’s website, setting out where the former PM thinks his part is going wrong (on most things, it seems) and what he thinks it should do next. Blair, of course, won’t be a candidate in the leadership contest, but ideas matter in politics and this essay is chock-full of them. Continue reading...
Former health secretary says he unsuccessfully argued for tougher action when in cabinetGood morning. The government has been consulting on whether to follow Australia and impose a ban on social media for under-16s, or whether to opt for other restrictions, and the consultation ends at 11.59pm tonight. Keir Starmer is expected to announce the government’s response soon afterwards. He has already said that there will be action of some sort. Last year ministers were sceptical about following the Australian example, but this is an issue where opinion – both in government, and in society more broadly – has been shifting very quickly.This morning Wes Streeting, the former health secretary who is running what is in effect a leadership campaign, has intervened. As the Guardian reports, he has said that a social media ban for under-16s “must be the start, not the end” and he has compared the sector to the tobacco industry.Streeting restated his claim that social media is like the tobacco industry and suggested that, just as tobacco bosses did in the mid-20th century, social media executives have been suppressing evidence about the full extent of the harm caused by their products. He said:What we’ve seen from Big Tech is behaviour akin to Big Tobacco … We know from whistleblowers that in the tech industry, among those who are responsible for designing technology, including social media platforms, that are changing every aspect of our lives, they know that the product they’re designing is addictive, they know that it is harmful, and the business model is orientated towards getting kids while they’re young, addicting them with the design features that are designed for addiction, to grab your attention and keep you on their platform for as long as possible.He said there was a “growing body of evidence” about the ways in which social media is harmful.And then we see the consequences beginning to emerge through the growing body of evidence about the impact of this technology on childhood, whether that is sleep, concentration, learning, health, wellbeing, including mental health.The harms are evident.He claimed governmments around the world had been “asleep at the wheel” on this issue. “Frankly, legislators, regulators, have been asleep at the wheel on this,” he said.He suggested that Keir Starmer had been “behind the curve” on this issue. While he was not overly criticial of the PM on this issue, suggesting that governments around the world have been slow to confront social media companies on this issue, he made it clear that he thought the Starmer government could have acted more quickly. He said that he was speaking out now because he was “liberated from the obligations of collective responsibility”. He said the arguments he was making in public today were the ones he was making privately in government, “in a number of cabinet committees and meetings”, and that he “pushed as hard as I could”. He said the government was now moving to a “better position”, but he suggested Starmer could have acted more quickly.To be fair to Liz Kendall, the science and technology secretary, she came into office [in September last year], she’s gripped this, she’s chosen to run a rapid consultation with the principle of how to implement restrictions, rather than whether. That’s all positive. And I trust Liz Kendall to act quickly following the closure of the consultation today.And we must, because, as I say, we’re behind the curve. Continue reading...
Andy Burnham expected to address supporters in the morning as he officially launches campaign to be Labour candidate for MakerfieldGood morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics.Andy Burnham is set to officially launch his campaign as the Labour candidate in the Makerfield byelection this morning, as he seeks a return to parliament after nine years. Continue reading...
Treasury’s Lucy Rigby says Rachel Reeves introduced measures in her first budget as Streeting calls for capital gains rates to be aligned with income taxGood morning. It’s a big day for Rachel Reeves, the chancellor. In a Commons statement, she is announcing a series of measures to help people with the cost of living. She wants people to enjoy a “Great British summer”, she says. Reeves’s plan for what makes for a good summer is not quite the same as Samantha Niblett’s; the chancellor is talking about free bus travel for children, as Heather Stewart, Peter Walker and Sarah Butler report in their preview.Reeves is speaking after 11.30am.We already tax wealth in this country. The chancellor introduced a host of measures in her first budget, and then further measures in the last budget as well, that try and make sure that tax is as progressive and fair as possible. Continue reading...
The former health secretary will give resignation speech after prime minister’s questions Good morning. PMQs is back, and there are at least two obvious issues for Kemi Badenoch to raise when she faces Keir Starmer.What Tories calls Starmer’s “Soviet-style” plan to curb supermarket pricesThis is more nuts than a squirrel convention!I warned Rachel Reeves prices would go up if she raised taxes and drowned employers in red tape. She didn’t listen and now she’s proposing Soviet style measures!After 18 months of “standing up to Putin” the Labour govt quietly issued a licence allowing imports of Russian oil refined in third countries.Yesterday Labour MPs voted AGAINST UK oil and gas licences.We are talking about our allies in Ukraine who have been fighting a war bravely against Russia for years and years with our support.They have looked to Britain as one of their most important allies, and they don’t understand, given that we promised that we would stop this loophole in October, and we still haven’t done it. In fact, it seems to have got worse. People feel very let down.There was a G7 announcement on the 19 May which said that they, the G7, had an unwavering commitment to put pressure on Russia including sanctions on the energy sector and actions against entities in third countries that materially support Russia’s war effort but we’re still saying that we’re going to take sanctioned oil but so long as it goes to Turkey first and then it’s refined, we will use it. Continue reading...