Chancellor says wages are growing faster than prices but acknowledges many are still struggling with the cost of living
A government minister has reiterated the call for the Unite union to accept a deal and end the bin strike in Birmingham.
Speaking on GB News this morning, Lillian Greenwood, parliamentary under-secretary of state for the future of roads, said residents were facing “a completely unacceptable situation”
Continue reading...Former City minister denies allegations she received land illegally from her aunt, the ousted PM Sheikh Hasina
The former City minister Tulip Siddiq has said an arrest warrant issued against her in Bangladesh over allegations she illegally received a plot of land from her aunt, the country’s ousted former prime minister, is a “politically motivated smear campaign”.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, the Hampstead and Highgate MP said: “No one from the Bangladeshi authorities has contacted me. The entire time they’ve done trial by media. My lawyers proactively wrote to the Bangladeshi authorities, they never responded.
Continue reading...Net zero and clean energy can actually help save the steel industry, experts point out
Ed Miliband and the UK’s net zero target are being falsely blamed for the UK’s steel crisis, experts have said.
On Saturday, parliament passed a law containing emergency powers to gain control of the last remaining maker of mass-produced virgin steel in England, based in Scunthrope, after its Chinese owner, Jingye, declined government support to keep the plant running over the next few weeks.
Continue reading...Former City minister accused of illegally receiving plot of land from her aunt, ousted PM Sheikh Hasina
An arrest warrant for the former City minister Tulip Siddiq has been issued in Bangladesh with a new allegation accusing her of illegally receiving a plot of land from her aunt, the ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Bangladeshi media reported the warrant was issued by a judge for 53 people connected to Hasina, including Siddiq. There is no formal extradition treaty between the UK and Bangladesh.
Continue reading...Emily Thornberry calls for UK to join France, as Emmanuel Macron says June UN conference must be decisive moment
The Foreign Office is under pressure from Labour MPs to recognise a Palestinian state if Emmanuel Macron, the French president, presses ahead with plans to recognise Palestine at an international conference set for June.
France is co-chairing the conference at the UN in New York alongside Saudi Arabia, and Macron has said the conference must be a decisive moment.
Continue reading...Call to prioritise reset with Europe comes after top adviser to Trump downplays prospect of US tariffs being reduced
Ministers should focus on rebuilding bridges with the EU, Labour politicians have said, after a senior adviser to Donald Trump downplayed the prospect of a breakthrough with the US.
MPs said the government should “prioritise our trading relationship with the EU” and “get a sugar rush of growth” instead of banking on the prospect of preferential treatment from Washington.
Continue reading...Chancellor says government ‘will remain pragmatic and cool-headed’ while seeking US trade deal
The care minister has defended the government’s cautious response to developments in global trade after the sweeping imposition of tariffs by the US administration in Washington.
Stephen Kinnock said “If we were to just jump in one direction or the other every time there’s a new development, we would be jumping around all over the place. I don’t think that that’s going to be in the interest of our economy or of our national security or of our business community.”
Continue reading...This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here
During her BBC Breakfast interview Kemi Badenoch claimed that the government has dropped the plans for five local inquiries into grooming gang, or child rape scandals, that were announced in January. As she was trying to fend of the questions about Adolescence, she said:
One of the things that I’m more bothered by is the fact that just yesterday, we had Labour telling us that they’re not going to be investigating the rape gang scandal, something which had happened all across the country. That’s real. That’s happening right now. We’re not talking about that.
I am absolutely astonished that Labour has dropped what it said it would do in January. And, as I said to Keir Starmer at prime minister’s questions, if he did not have a full national inquiry, people will start to think that there is a cover-up.
They are clearly uncomfortable with having inquiries that are looking into this issue.
As a rule I believe in mess ups rather than conspiracy.
But if true that Labour have shelved even the most limited public enquiries into grooming gangs, it does suggest that powerful Labour politicians have something to hide.
We are developing a new best practice framework to support local authorities that want to undertake victim-centred local inquiries or related work, drawing on the lessons from local independent inquiries such as those in Telford, Rotherham and Greater Manchester. We will publish the details next month.
Alongside that, we will set out the process through which local authorities can access the £5m national fund to support locally-led work on grooming gangs. Following feedback from local authorities, the fund will adopt a flexible approach to support both full independent local inquiries and more bespoke work, including local victims’ panels or locally led audits of the handling of historical cases.
There’s a huge information about this. This is completely wrong. We’re actually increasing, not reducing, the action being taken on this.
Child sexual exploitation, grooming gangs – these are some of the most vile crimes, things like rape or exploitation, coercion. We’re increasing the action against that.
I think that those are all important issues, and those were issues that I’ve been talking about for a long time.
But in the same way that I don’t need to watch Casualty to know what’s going on in the NHS, I don’t need to watch a specific Netflix drama to understand what’s going on. It’s a fictional series. It is not a documentary.
I’m saying very clearly that my job is not to watch lots of TV. My job is to get out there and make sure that I’m talking about the issues that are happening in the country right now.
Badenoch in the right. Stop basing public policy on telly
Continue reading...Former PM says it is also the moment for the UK to go even further in renewing ties with the EU
Gordon Brown has called for an “economic coalition of the willing” to respond to Donald Trump’s tariffs with coordinated economic policies, including a reduction of interest rates.
The former prime minister also said it was a moment for the UK to go even further in renewing ties with the EU, suggesting it should mean “collaboration that is even more extensive than removing post-Brexit trade barriers”.
Continue reading...The PM doubled down on his insistence the government won’t change its fiscal rules, describing them as ‘ironclad’ and ‘non-negotiable’
One person probably more enthusiastic than most about the prospect of Universal opening a theme park in the UK is the Lib Dem leader Ed Davey. He is a great fan of outdoor activity-related photocalls, and he’s been at it again today, and the Gloucester Ski and Snowboarding Centre in Matson, Gloucestershire.
Almost 40 MPs and peers have signed a letter organised by Jeremy Corbyn calling for an independent inquiry into the government’s role in the war in Gaza.
Many people believe the government has taken decisions that have implicated officials in the gravest breaches of international law.
These charges will not go away until there is a comprehensive, public, independent inquiry with the legal power to establish the truth.
Last month, I wrote to the Prime Minister calling for an independent inquiry into the UK’s involvement in Israel’s assault on Gaza.
Today, more than 30 MPs have supported that call.
Continue reading...Home Office issues guidance hours before legal challenge on behalf of asylum seekers who were left in limbo
Thousands of people left in limbo since plans to deport them to Rwanda were axed will now have their asylum claims processed in the UK, Labour has confirmed.
More than 5,000 asylum seekers were on an initial list drawn up by the previous government to be sent to Rwanda under a deal between the two countries.
Continue reading...Chancellor also says fiscal rules will not be changed, saying ‘we saw what happened when the previous government lost control of the public finances’
Half of Britons (51%) think the government should impose retaliatory tariffs on imports from the US, according to polling by More in Common, a campaign group. Last week, just before the Trump tariffs were announced, YouGov published figures suggesting 71% of Britons would favour retaliatory tariffs against the US.
Yesterday YouGov also released polling suggesting that only around a third of voters think Keir Starmer and the government played a significant role in ensuring the US tariffs imposed on the UK are relatively low.
Continue reading...Ministers and more than 70 MPs attended photo call with Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed whose travel ban was called unacceptable
Cabinet ministers and more than 70 parliamentarians staged a show of solidarity with two MPs who were detained and barred from entry to Israel in what was the first time British MPs had been banned from the country.
The health secretary, Wes Streeting, and the chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, joined the photocall in Westminster Hall on Monday with the MPs, along with Hamish Falconer and housing minister Rushanara Ali. It was organised by the Rochdale MP Paul Waugh.
Continue reading...Prime minister says ‘no one is pretending tariffs are good news’ during speech on car industry
In his Times article Keir Starmer describes the Trump tariffs as “the beginning of a new era”. He has been saying this at least since last Thursday, when he spoke about the tariffs at a Q&A with journalists at Labour’s local elections campaign launch. The speech this afternoon is being described as the PM’s most considered response so far to the global economic turmoil generated by the tariffs, but we have already heard quite a lot from Starmer on this topic already, in a Sunday Telegraph article yesterday and in No 10 briefings on the calls he had with world leaders about the situation over the weekend.
Is there a coherent strategy? On the basis of what he has said so far, there are at least five elements in the mix at the moment.
John Ryan is a local hero and we are truly humbled that he has publicly endorsed Reform UK ahead of May’s elections in Doncaster.
Continue reading...Transport secretary says overhaul in response to Trump tariffs supports car firms and climate goals
Labour’s changes to electric vehicle (EV) rules in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs will have a negligible impact on emissions, the transport secretary has said.
Keir Starmer has confirmed plans to boost manufacturers, including reinstating the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.
Continue reading...Carmakers will be given more flexibility over targets on transitioning to electric vehicles
Keir Starmer has said the government will step in to support key British industries, as business grapples with the economic turmoil unleashed by Donald Trump’s global tariffs.
As the government attempts to counter the impact of the White House hitting the UK with a 10% base levy on exports to the US, the prime minister will promise to help shelter vulnerable sectors and will implement key parts of the industrial strategy months early.
Continue reading...Her introduction to politics began as the child of the chair of Birmingham Labour party and as justice secretary she’s made tough decisions from day one
Shabana Mahmood’s potential as a future cabinet minister was first noticed by the former deputy Labour leader Tom Watson in the 90s over tea and samosas at her family’s end-of-terrace Birmingham home.
Watson, a seasoned fixer, had become a close friend of her father, Mahmood Ahmed, the chair of Birmingham Labour party. When political problems arose, Watson and fellow Labour party organisers would be guided through to comfy sofas in the family sitting room.
Continue reading...Her introduction to politics began as the child of the chair of Birmingham Labour party and as justice secretary she’s made tough decisions from day one
Shabana Mahmood’s potential as a future cabinet minister was first noticed by the former deputy Labour leader Tom Watson in the 90s over tea and samosas at her family’s end-of-terrace Birmingham home.
Watson, a seasoned fixer, had become a close friend of her father, Mahmood Ahmed, the chair of Birmingham Labour party. When political problems arose, Watson and fellow Labour party organisers would be guided through to comfy sofas in the family sitting room.
Continue reading...David Lammy says it is ‘unacceptable’ that the parliamentary delegation had been detained and deported
The UK’s foreign secretary has criticised Israeli authorities for denying two Labour MPs entry into the country and deporting them.
Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed were rejected because they were suspected of plans to “document the activities of security forces and spread anti-Israel hatred”, according to a statement from the Israeli immigration ministry cited by Sky News and Politics UK.
Yang, who represents Earley and Woodley in Berkshire, and Mohamed, the MP for Sheffield Central, both flew into Ben Gurion airport from Luton with their aides, according to reports.
The foreign secretary, David Lammy, said in a statement on Saturday: “It is unacceptable, counterproductive, and deeply concerning that two British MPs on a parliamentary delegation to Israel have been detained and refused entry by the Israeli authorities.
“I have made clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is no way to treat British parliamentarians, and we have been in contact with both MPs tonight to offer our support.
“The UK government’s focus remains securing a return to the ceasefire and negotiations to stop the bloodshed, free the hostages and end the conflict in Gaza.”
Since renewed military operations last month ended a short-lived truce in its war with Hamas, Israel has pushed to seize territory in the Gaza Strip in what it said was a strategy to force militants to free hostages still in captivity.
Continue reading...Party suspends North East Somerset MP after he is taken into custody following police raid on his constituency home
Labour have suspended Dan Norris, the MP for North East Somerset and Hanham, after he was arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences.
Norris, a former Labour minister who defeated Jacob Rees-Mogg as MP at last year’s general election, was taken into custody after police raided his constituency home on Friday.
Continue reading...