Category Archives: Keir Starmer

Tech giants told UK online safety laws ‘not up for negotiation’

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Senior cabinet minister promises not to dilute new measures despite Zuckerberg’s attacks on countries ‘censoring’ content

Britain’s new laws to boost safety and tackle hate speech online are “not up for negotiation”, a senior government minister has warned, after Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg vowed to join Donald Trump to pressure countries they regard as “censoring” content.

In an interview with the Observer, Peter Kyle, the technology secretary, said that the recent laws designed to make online platforms safer for children and vulnerable people would never be diluted to help the government woo big tech companies to the UK in its defining pursuit for economic growth.

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Starmer’s top aide made low-key Brussels trip as No 10’s EU reset efforts continue

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Morgan McSweeney met EU counterparts before Christmas as Downing Street poised to hire new foreign adviser

Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, made a below-the-radar trip to Brussels last month, as No 10 prepares to appoint its own foreign affairs adviser to help bolster the Downing Street policy operation.

As the UK’s attempts at a “reset” with the EU continue behind closed doors, No 10’s most senior aide made the trip to meet counterparts in Brussels before Christmas.

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Home Office says record number of refused asylum seekers deported since July

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Labour’s description of 16,400 ‘immigration offenders and foreign criminals’ angers campaigners

Keir Starmer has boasted of deporting a record number of refused asylum seekers and overseas criminals since scrapping the Rwanda scheme, using language that has dismayed human rights campaigners.

The Home Office said on Thursday it had returned more than 16,400 “immigration offenders and foreign criminals” since the election in July, the highest six-month total since 2018.

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Rachel Reeves heads to China to build bridges, but a new golden era of relations is impossible

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Seeking business partners post-Brexit is sound policy, but even in these darker geopolitical times the UK will ultimately side with the US

Rachel Reeves will fly with a delegation of City grandees to China this week as Labour seeks closer economic links with Beijing as part of its quest for growth.

With the outlook increasingly rocky at home after a run of soft economic data, the chancellor is sorely in need of a positive story to tell.

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Tory and Reform MPs accused of ‘weaponising trauma’ of grooming victims, as Farage calls for inquiry into Pakistani men – UK politics live

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Prime minister told Commons any new inquiry into child abuse would delay progress however spokesperson says he has not ruled one out

Reform UK has also tabled a reasoned amendment to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill motion tonight. It says:

That this house declines to give a second reading to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill because the secretary of state for the Home Department has not launched a UK-wide public inquiry into grooming gangs and has not committed to updating Members of this House every quarter on the progress of the inquiry.

The Conservatives are using the victims of this scandal as a political football.

The Conservatives alongside Reform, goaded along by Elon Musk will be voting for a motion which will not secure a national inquiry for victims of child sexual abuse, but instead it would kill these crucial child protection measures completely.

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Home Office may reclassify ketamine in response to record levels of use

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Illegal use in UK seems to reflect growth of unregulated market in US, where its high-profile users include Elon Musk

Ketamine, the anaesthetic taken by Elon Musk to control his moods, could be reclassified as a class A drug by the Home Office after illegal use reached record levels last year.

Currently controlled as a class B substance, ministers are seeking “expert advice” on reclassification after an estimated 299,000 people reported use of the drug last year.

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Cash incentives for GPs under Labour’s radical plan to cut NHS waiting lists

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Doctors will be given £20 each time they consult with a specialist to see if there is an alternative to hospital visits

GPs will be offered financial incentives to discuss with specialists whether patients can be treated outside hospital, under radical plans to cut NHS waiting lists.

Doctors will be given £20 each time they consult a specialist either by phone or email under the so-called advice and guidance (A&G) scheme, to see if there is an alternative to hospital visits and treatment.

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Starmer’s team hope policy blitz will prove that Labour can deliver change

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Those close to PM worry voters are running out of patience and want reforms to directly help public

Keir Starmer has at last managed a family holiday, but by next week the Madeira sun may already feel a distant memory as he embarks on a policy blitz that could be crucial in deciding his government’s fortunes over this parliament.

A speech on Monday detailing what No 10 is billing as a “radical” approach to cut NHS waiting lists is expected to be followed by an announcement on crime, as the prime minister faces pressure to make changes that directly and rapidly benefit voters, rather than just promising they are on the way.

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Keir Starmer to announce radical NHS changes to cut waiting times

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Exclusive: Patients in England to get direct referrals for tests without seeing consultant, but critics say plan is ‘deluded’

Keir Starmer will attempt to reset his premiership next week by setting out a series of radical NHS changes aimed at reducing waiting times for millions of patients in England.

The shake-up comes after a torrid first six months in government and amid mounting frustration among patients. More than 6 million are waiting for care.

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Musk accused of ‘politicising’ rape of young girls in UK to attack Starmer

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Ex-health worker who exposed paedophile ring says billionaire’s triggering of row ignores plight of survivors

Elon Musk has “politicised” the rape of young girls in the UK in an attempt to attack Keir Starmer, a former health worker who exposed a major paedophile ring has told the Guardian.

Sara Rowbotham, who gathered evidence that led to the imprisonment of nine men in Rochdale, said the tech billionaire had launched a “political swipe” at the prime minister that overlooked the plight of abuse survivors.

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Wes Streeting defends pace of plans for adult social care reform – UK politics live

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Health secretary says initial reports from commission led by Louise Casey will come next year

As well as being asked about plans for adult social care and a new national care service, Wes Streeting was questioned this morning on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme about progress on assisted dying legislation in England and Wales.

As health secretary, Streeting intervened before November’s vote, suggesting that legalising assisted dying in the two countries would have resource implications for the NHS, and might lead to healthcare cuts.

The bill committee will work through those policy issues before the bill comes back to the Commons as a whole for further amendment, and then a final vote on a third reading before it goes to the Lords.

So whatever my misgivings, I’ve said all the way through this that I’ve respected parliament, that this isn’t the government’s responsibility, the government is neutral. That is for the Commons and the Lords to decide.

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Keir Starmer vows to rebuild Britain as Labour did after second world war

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PM says in his new year message that 2025 will be a year of rebuilding, comparing the task to that Attlee faced in 1945

Keir Starmer has promised to rebuild Britain as Labour did after the second world war as he enters a pivotal year for his premiership.

The prime minister said in his prerecorded new year message that 2025 would be a year of rebuilding, with his government looking to turn the corner after a turbulent first six months in power.

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Sadiq Khan, Stephen Fry and Emily Thornberry make new year honours list

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Mayor of London ‘truly humbled’ to be made a knight as authors, actors and sporting stars receive honours

Sadiq Khan and Stephen Fry received knighthoods along with the former England manager Gareth Southgate while Emily Thornberry became a dame in the first new year honours list since Labour’s general election win.

The mayor of London, who secured a record third term in City Hall this May, said he was “truly humbled” by the honour. Fry, who first made his name as one half of a double act with Hugh Laurie in the late 1980s, said he had felt “startled and enchanted” on receiving the news.

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Trump versus trade: the global economic outlook for 2025 in five charts

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Unpredictable change will sweep through America, while old problems, from war to inflation, are likely to afflict other countries

The global economy is entering the new year with rising geopolitical tensions looming over its prospects, as the world’s leading central banks attempt to cut interest rates after the worst inflation shock in decades.

Donald Trump’s second term in the White House is expected to dominate the economic agenda. Global trade tensions are on the horizon as the president-elect threatens to impose sweeping tariffs on US imports.

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Keir Starmer pays tribute to brother who died on Boxing Day

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Nick Starmer, 60, who had cancer, ‘met all the challenges life threw at him with courage and good humour’, says PM

Keir Starmer has paid tribute to his brother Nick, who had cancer and died on Boxing Day aged 60.

Starmer said in a statement: “My brother Nick was a wonderful man. He met all the challenges life threw at him with courage and good humour. We will miss him very much.

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Keir Starmer pays tribute to brother who died on Boxing Day

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Nick Starmer, 60, who had cancer, ‘met all the challenges life threw at him with courage and good humour’, says PM

Keir Starmer has paid tribute to his brother Nick, who had cancer and died on Boxing Day aged 60.

Starmer said in a statement: “My brother Nick was a wonderful man. He met all the challenges life threw at him with courage and good humour. We will miss him very much.

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Starmer accuses Whitehall of being comfortable with failure in landmark speech

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Prime minister sets out milestones for delivery but faces claims of watering down targets and ignoring immigration

Keir Starmer accused Whitehall of becoming comfortable with failure as he challenged civil servants to hit a series of policy targets and deliver on 150 “major infrastructure projects”.

Ushering in the “next phase” for the five-month-old Labour government, the prime minister urged “a profound cultural shift away from a declinist mentality” and a relentless focus on getting things done.

Higher real household disposable income and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita by the end of this parliament, as part of a long-term aim to make the UK the fastest-growing G7 economy.

Building 1.5m homes in England and fast-tracking planning decisions on at least 150 major economic infrastructure projects.

Putting the UK “on track” to achieve at least 95% clean power by 2030.

Meeting the NHS standard of 92% of patients in England waiting no longer than 18 weeks for elective care.

Getting a record 75% of five-year-olds ready to learn when they start school.

A named police officer for every beat, and 13,000 extra neighbourhood police officers for England and Wales.

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Keir Starmer says new ‘milestones’ on living standards, NHS and more are ‘almighty challenge’ – as it happened

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Prime minister makes speech intended to to show Labour government is ‘delivering change’

Starmer says there is record dissatisfaction with the NHS. The public insititutions but that they are not beyond repair.

Says this is great nation and we are rediscovering that we can do new things and we can deliver the change that they voted.

The purpose of this government is to make our public services work. It’s cause that demands the full power of government.

Starmer is up. Opening gambit is a swipe at Kemi Badenoch: the leader of the opposition thinks if you do a couple of shifts in McDonald’s you can become working-class.

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Starmer seeks to relaunch premiership with new promise to crack down on crime

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After a rocky start, PM sets out ‘next phase’ covering economic growth, NHS backlogs, energy, and a ‘bobby on every beat’

Keir Starmer will attempt to reset his premiership with a series of pledges to show he is “delivering change”, including 13,000 extra neighbourhood police and a named “bobby on every beat”.

In a speech Labour hopes will set out the “next phase” of government, the prime minister will detail half a dozen “milestone” targets covering living standards, NHS backlogs, secure energy, housebuilding and children’s readiness for school.

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MPs back PR bill in vote, a symbolic win for electoral reform campaigners – UK politics live

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MPs vote to give leave to bring in private members’ bill on PR but it will have no practical effect

Lord Robertson, the former Labour defence secretary and former Nato secretary who is leading the government’s strategic defence review, is giving evidence to the Commons defence committee. He has told MPs that the Americans are being fully consulted about the review. This is from Shashank Joshi, the Economist’s defence editor.

Listening to George Robertson & Richard Barrons, who are writing the UK’s defence review alongside Fiona Hill, giving evidence to the Commons defence committee. They’re in “constant contact” with allies, Robertson says, and have a US officer on the review team.

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