Watchdog reprimands Tories over £800bn post-Brexit trade deals claim

Figure includes agreements rolled over from before leaving EU, and description of ‘new trade’ is misleading says UKSA chief

The official statistics watchdog has reprimanded the Conservatives for claiming the UK had secured £800bn in “new free trade deals” since leaving the EU, saying the figure includes deals rolled over from before Brexit.

The UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) said it had written to the Tories about the infographic, shared last month by Michael Gove among others, also warning that the party should provide sources for such figures in the future.

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Keir Starmer says Labour’s decentralisation plans will address concerns that led to people backing Brexit – UK politics live

Labour leader says, though he argued for remain, he could not argue against leave voters calling for more control over their lives

Starmer is now taking questions.

Q: [Beth Rigby from Sky] When people are struggling with the cost of living, you are talking about constitutional issues. This might look to people as if you are out of touch. Are you talking to Westminster about stuff that won’t happen. What in this will improve people’s lives from day one of a Labour government?

When you come to the next election, it may be that the Scottish National party will have a one-line manifesto and want a one-issue general election.

But we have done a huge amount of research on Scottish public opinion and people want a better health service immediately, people want living standards improved immediately, people want jobs for young people immediately, people want better housing immediately and people of course want change in the way that we are suggesting immediately.

People up and down this country are crying out for a new approach. During the Brexit referendum I argued for remain. But I couldn’t disagree with the basic case that many leave voters made to me.

They wanted democratic control over their lives so they could provide opportunities for the next generation, build communities they felt proud of, and public services they could rely on.

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New HMRC data raises UK hopes of end to Northern Ireland Brexit trade checks

Analysis of database tailored to EU needs shows 85% of GB exports stay in the region’s factories and shops

UK hopes that controversial Brexit checks on goods crossing the Irish sea can be eliminated have risen after early analysis of government data showed that at least 85% of goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain stay in factories or shops in the region.

The research comes from a new HM Revenue and Customs database, the EU Access system, that tracked the movement of 1m goods crossing the Irish Sea in 2021.

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Hundreds of Indonesian fruit pickers in UK seek diplomatic help

Exclusive: More than 200 people have approached Indonesian embassy since July to report difficulties faced

More than 200 Indonesian fruit pickers have sought diplomatic help since July after facing difficulties working in Britain this season, the nation’s embassy has revealed.

The Guardian has spoken to a pair of workers sent to a farm in Scotland that supplies berries to M&S, Waitrose, Tesco and Lidl. They claim pickers were sent back to the caravan if they could not work fast enough and left with large debts to repay.

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‘Not decided yet’: David Miliband hints at political comeback

Former Labour foreign secretary does not rule out return to UK politics before next election and urges greater EU cooperation

The former foreign secretary David Miliband has fuelled speculation that he is preparing a political comeback in Britain after he said nothing had yet been decided on his return and delivered a set piece foreign policy speech urging the UK to make greater cooperation with the EU.

Miliband lost the Labour leadership to his brother Ed in 2010 and resigned from the shadow cabinet. He stood down as an MP and moved to New York in late 2013 with his family to act as the chief executive of the International Rescue Committee.

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Most UK businesses think ‘Brexit freedoms’ not a priority, survey finds

Study by British Chambers of Commerce reveals flagship bill to purge EU laws is low priority for firms

Most UK businesses have no interest in or understanding of the government’s flagship “Brexit freedoms” plan to scrap EU regulations, according to a survey of bosses.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said almost three-quarters of company directors were either unaware of the government plans or did not know the details. Across all business areas, about half in the survey of almost 1,000 firms said deregulation was either a low priority or not a priority at all.

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Brexit has worsened shortage of NHS doctors, analysis shows

Exclusive: More than 4,000 European medics have chosen not to work in NHS since Britain left EU, data reveals

Brexit has worsened the UK’s acute shortage of doctors in key areas of care and led to more than 4,000 European doctors choosing not to work in the NHS, research reveals.

The disclosure comes as growing numbers of medics quit in disillusionment at their relentlessly busy working lives in the increasingly overstretched health service. Official figures show the NHS in England alone has vacancies for 10,582 physicians.

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Keir Starmer rules out return of free movement between Britain and EU

Labour leader says it will be a ‘red line’ if party takes power, despite backing the policy three years ago

Keir Starmer has ruled out bringing back free movement of people between Britain and the EU, saying it would be a “red line” for Labour if it gets into power – despite supporting the policy just three years ago.

The Labour leader said free movement “won’t come back” if he becomes prime minister as Brexit has already happened and “ripping up” the deal would lead to years more wrangling with Brussels.

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EasyJet looks to over-45s in cabin crew recruitment drive

Airline launches campaign targeting ‘empty nesters’ or people looking for challenge later in life

The airline easyJet has launched a recruitment drive urging people over the age of 45 to join its cabin crews, as firms devise new strategies for hiring staff in the UK amid a shortage of workers.

The airline said it has seen a 27% increase in crew aged 45 and over in the past four years, including a 30% increase in over-60s in the past year.

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UK plans for ‘sunsetting’ EU laws post-Brexit ‘not fit for purpose’

Independent assessor deeply critical of proposals to discard up to 4,000 pieces of EU-derived legislation

The plans for discarding EU-derived laws following Brexit have been called “not fit for purpose” by the government’s own independent assessor.

Under new legislation that was the brainchild of the former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, thousands of laws copied from the EU to Britain’s statute book will be “sunsetted” by the end of next year if they are not each signed off by ministers to be kept.

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Sunak tries to pacify Brexiters but keeps door open to closer EU ties

Prime minister stresses ‘enormous benefits and opportunities’ of Brexit before business leaders

Rishi Sunak has laid down a red line for any new attempts to improve post-Brexit trade with the EU and managed to quell a rebellion among furious Tories – but kept open the possibility of closer ties with Brussels.

The prime minister dismissed suggestions the UK could pursue a Swiss-style relationship with the bloc, while a senior business leader called the row a “sideshow” and No 10 sources pointed the finger of blame at the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt.

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Immigration is still the nettle preventing Tory detente with business

Rishi Sunak’s visit to CBI conference found old allies keen to mend fences, but impeded by hard politics of immigration

Amid the steady grey Birmingham drizzle, Britain’s leading business lobby group tried to walk a careful path on immigration.

Members of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), present in greater numbers than in recent years at its annual conference, have been clamouring for more flexibility on hiring foreign workers, as a tight labour market wreaks havoc on their businesses and drives up wages.

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No 10 seeks to quell hardline Brexiters’ fears over reports of Swiss-style EU deal

Minister rubbishes reports of ‘Chequers’-style plan, as businesses expected to call for more ‘practical’ immigration rules

Rishi Sunak is facing a new row on two fronts over Brexit, as he sought to quell a backlash from hardline Eurosceptics given suggestions the UK could seek a Swiss-style deal with Brussels, while businesses are expected to call for a more “practical” immigration stance.

Ahead of the prime minister’s address to business leaders in Birmingham on Monday morning, Downing Street tried to dampen down speculation that a deal similar to Theresa May’s “Chequers” plan could be adopted, claiming it was “categorically untrue”.

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Brexit: who wants a Swiss-style EU deal and what would it look like?

As reports suggest some in government want closer ties with Brussels, we look as what these might mean

Brexit is slowly but surely creeping back on to the agenda as the blame game intensifies over Britain’s poor growth and looming recession.

Discussion of the effects of the UK leaving the EU were quickly drowned out in the weeks after 31 January 2020 as the Covid pandemic took hold. Since then, much of MPs’ economic focus has been on the fallout from lockdowns, global supply chain issues and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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How the autumn statement brought back the ‘squeezed middle’

IFS and Resolution Foundation say Jeremy Hunt’s policies will shock middle England, with higher taxes here to stay


Traditionally elections in Britain are decided by swing voters in a relatively small number of seats. Parties go to considerable lengths to tailor their policies to the perceived demands of those getting by on average incomes. Pollsters have even coined names for the archetypal electors that need to be wooed: Basildon man and Worcester woman.

So it will be of some concern to government strategists that the post-autumn statement analysis by thinktanks focused heavily on how the measures announced by Jeremy Hunt had an effect on those not particularly poor but not especially rich either. Both the Resolution Foundation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies highlighted the return of the “squeezed middle”.

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Autumn statement 2022 live: OBR says living standards to fall 7% as Hunt confirms millions to pay more taxes

Fiscal watchdog’s figures show eight years of growth wiped out; chancellor announces higher taxes and some cost of living support

In the Commons Rishi Sunak is making a statement about the G20 summit. These statements are normally routine, and just summarise what was said or decided at the meeting. They don’t normally include fresh announcements.

Sunak started by talking about the missile incident in Poland. He said Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles on the day that he “confronted the Russian foreign minister across the G20 summit table”. He said the blame for the missile landing in Poland lay with Russia. Ukraine could not be blamed for defending itself, he said.

During the bombardment of Ukraine on Tuesday an explosion took place in eastern Poland. The investigation into this incident is ongoing and it has our full support.

As we’ve heard the Polish and American presidents say, it is possible the explosion was caused by Ukrainian munition which was deployed in self-defence.

In just a few moments the chancellor will build on these international foundations when he sets out the autumn statement, putting our economy back on to a positive trajectory and restoring our fiscal sustainability.

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Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement promises ‘big bang’ deregulation

Chancellor hopes to emulate Thatcher’s chancellor Nigel Lawson with bonfire of red tape, but move had its critics

Jeremy Hunt doled out the bad news in an autumn statement laden with tax rises and spending cuts, but he sought to buoy the fairly muted Tory benches behind him with a few nods to Thatcherism.

It was not the “iron lady” herself he channelled, but rather her second chancellor, Nigel Lawson, and his famed “big bang” deregulation drive that unshackled the financial markets and let business boom in the City.

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Flagship post-Brexit Australia trade deal ‘not actually very good’, MPs hear

Former minister George Eustice tells Commons senior civil servant in charge of negotiations should be replaced

The UK’s flagship post-Brexit trade deal with Australia is “not actually a very good deal”, former environment secretary George Eustice has said.

In highly critical comments, Eustice called for the resignation of Crawford Falconer, the interim permanent secretary for the Department for International Trade, telling the Commons Falconer “resented” people who understood technical trade issues better than him.

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UK gave away ‘too much for too little’ in free trade deal with Australia, says former minister, blaming Truss – as it happened

George Eustice says the free trade deal with Australia – hailed by Boris Johnson as one of the big gains from Brexit – was poor. This live blog is now closed

James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, was criticised last month for saying that gay football fans visiting Qatar for the Word Cup should “be respectful”, and make allowance for the country’s intolerance of homosexuality.

In an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Cleverly defended his comments, saying that the Foreign Office always advises people to obey local laws when they are travelling. He told the programme:

My focus is to make sure that British visitors, particularly LGBTQ+ visitors to Qatar going to enjoy the World Cup, are safe and that they enjoy their tournament. So my advice was purely about ensuring that they have a safe and secure time at the World Cup.

We always say that you have to respect the laws of your host nation. That is a universal element of British travel advice.

I’ve spoken at length with the Qatari authorities on this and it’s worth bearing in mind that men and women don’t typically hold hands in Qatar, and other conservative Muslim countries like Qatar, so my strong advice is to look at the UK government’s travel advice.

This deal is just the same as previous deals - spending money and resources on intercepting and obstructing people crossing the Channel, while doing nothing to address their need for safe access to an asylum system.

The inevitable result will be more dangerous journeys and more profits led by ruthless smuggling gangs and other serious criminals exploiting the refusal of the UK and French government to take and share responsibility.

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CBI urges Jeremy Hunt to relax immigration rules to ease UK staff shortages

Lobby group says failure to tackle workforce shortages would be highly damaging for the economy

Britain’s foremost business lobby group has urged Jeremy Hunt to use this week’s autumn statement to shake up immigration rules to support companies struggling with chronic staff shortages and a looming recession.

The head of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said urgent action was required from the chancellor on Thursday to bolster the economy, including “tough political choices” to allow more overseas workers in Britain as employers struggle with a desperate lack of staff.

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