Category Archives: Keir Starmer

Local election leaflets show Tory candidates are ‘ashamed’ to be associated with Boris Johnson, Labour says – as it happened

Posted on by

Angela Rayner says Tory candidates at the local elections ‘are trying to hide from their own government’s record’. This live blog is closed – please follow this one for updates on the war in Ukraine

Savanta ComRes has published some new polling on voting intention in Scottish parliaement elections. Here are the figures for the constituency section.

And here are the figures for the list section.

Continue reading...

Scandals have left PM incapable of governing, says Starmer

Posted on by

Labour leader attacks Tory tax rises and inability to tackle the cost of living crisis

Boris Johnson has been rendered “incapable of governing” by a series of scandals and rows that have left him unable or unwilling to tackle the cost of living crisis, Keir Starmer has warned.

In a final pitch before Thursday’s local elections, the Labour leader said that voters were hearing “the dying groans of a clapped-out government” that was attempting to use “desperate attacks and deflections” to distract from inaction over rising bills and tax increases.

Continue reading...

Senior Tories pressure Johnson to act now on MP accused of watching porn

Posted on by

MPs question why direct action has not been taken, but PM says independent process is needed

Boris Johnson is under increasing pressure to take immediate disciplinary action against the Conservative MP accused of watching pornography in the House of Commons.

The chief whip issued a statement on Wednesday suggesting the matter should be referred to parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), which deals with sexual harassment and other disciplinary matters. But senior Tories questioned why he had not taken action directly against the MP, whose alleged behaviour was witnessed by two female colleagues in recent months.

Continue reading...

Keir Starmer hosts Israeli Labor party in charm offensive ahead of local elections

Posted on by

Senior shadow cabinet ministers invite Israeli politicians to observe Labour’s door-knocking drive in Barnet, north London

Keir Starmer and senior shadow cabinet ministers have launched a charm offensive while hosting officials from Israel’s Labor party, including taking them door-knocking for the local elections in Barnet, north London.

In move designed to underline the contrast with Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, Starmer and Rayner have hosted nine officials including the deputy mayor of Tel Aviv, Chen Arieli, the party’s chief executive, Nir Rosen, and senior staffers from the Israeli leader’s office.

Continue reading...

Tories should take action now against MP accused of watching pornography in chamber, says Keir Starmer – UK politics live

Posted on by

Latest updates: Labour leader says Tories ‘know who this is’ and should address it immediately

The Conservative MP Jamie Wallis has been charged with failing to stop after being involved in a car crash last year, PA Media reports. PA says:

Wallis has also been charged with failing to report a road traffic collision, driving without due care and attention and leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position.

The MP for Bridgend and first openly transgender MP was arrested on suspicion of ‘driving whilst unfit’ following the late-night collision when a car hit a lamppost in Llanblethian on 28 November. At the time, Wallis said he was ‘assisting police with their inquiries’.

So I think as a society we’ve got to take this moment to reflect on what are we doing to lower standards of behaviour, whether that’s on the tube, in front of children, in parliament or in public.

The problem doesn’t start in parliament. It actually ends up there, and it starts in wider society, and that’s where we need to start discussing and agreeing some basic moral standards.

I think this is something that does happen in many, if not all workplaces, where a small minority of men – and it is men – who are behaving in an unacceptable way.

I think that’s actually a more worrying symptom of our society and our culture. How have we got to a place in our society where watching pornography on the tube, in public, in front of children, in parliament, in the workplace has become somehow normalised for some people?

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson ‘uncomfortable’ that Mail on Sunday editor was summoned by Speaker over Rayner article – as it happened

Posted on by

No 10 says PM feels reporters must be free to report what they are told, after widely-condemned Angela Rayner article.

This live blog is closed, please follow our dedicated liveblog for updates on Russia’s war on Ukraine

In an interview with Sky News this morning Dominic Raab, the justice secretary and deputy PM, claimed that Labour’s proposed windfall tax on energy companies (its key proposal to address the cost of living crisis) would be “disastrous”. He said:

If you look at Labour’s policy, you asked about it - of a windfall tax - that would damage investment in energy supplies we need and hike bills. It’s disastrous. It’s not serious.

What this shows is they’re coming up with frankly ill-thought through policies, but we have got a plan, a concerted plan, and I think that’s what voters want to see.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson’s criticism of sexist smear against Angela Rayner inadequate, says Labour – UK politics live

Posted on by

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves says action is needed, ‘not just warm words’

The Downing Street lobby briefing has just ended. And we’ve learned that Boris Johnson has not received a fine over the party in the Downing Street garden on 20 May 2020 – or at least not yet.

There has been speculation that he will be fined for this because at the end of last week it emerged that other people who attended the event in response to an invitation from Johnson’s then principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, are being fined. The invitation told people to BYOB (bring your own bottle).

I, and others in Whitehall, have been clear that the prime minister himself had no direct involvement in decisions around Nowzad.

Continue reading...

Partygate: Keir Starmer says Labour will keep pressing Boris Johnson

Posted on by

Labour leader says cannot ‘pass over’ the fact prime minister and other officials broke the law

Keir Starmer has defended Labour’s determination to keep pressing the prime minister over parties in Downing Street during Covid lockdowns, saying even Conservative MPs were “sick of defending the indefensible”.

Challenged about whether he had focused too much on Partygate, the Labour leader insisted his party could not just “pass over” the fact that Johnson had been issued with a fixed-penalty notice (FPN), along with Rishi Sunak and scores of officials.

Continue reading...

Steve Baker says Boris Johnson ‘should be long gone’ as MPs are set to vote for inquiry into claims PM misled parliament – live

Posted on by

Latest updates: Senior Tory says PM should go after No 10 U-turn means MPs are set to vote for inquiry into the PM

In the Commons Mark Spencer, the leader of the Commons, has just announced that Tory MPs will get a free vote in the debate today.

That means the government may not have enough votes to pass it amendments. It could therefore decide not to press it to a vote.

Can I say to the leader of the house ... I greatly struggled with lockdowns, and the legacy of Covid. It has pumped so much poison into the veins of this country and the veins of this place?

Can we please try and find a way today not to have a fractious debate and a division? I believe genuinely that the prime minister is a good and decent man and he can make the case to the privileges committee directly without having this house to divide and yet more poison be pumped into public life. Please the chief work find a way of making that happen?

Continue reading...

PMQs live: Boris Johnson refuses to apologise to archbishop of Canterbury after criticising his stance on Rwanda policy – as it happened

Posted on by

Prime minister refuses to apologise for reported comments about archbishop and denies criticising BBC’s Ukraine coverage

Asked if the House of Lords Appointments Commission ever approves people for a peerage, only for a peerage not to be awarded, Bew says this has happened, but that it is very rare.

He also says that, under his chairmanship, the commission for the first time rejected a nominee who was subsequently appointed by Downing Street.

Continue reading...

No 10 goes into battle with archbishops over Rwanda asylum plan

Posted on by

Downing Street refuses to deny PM told MPs archbishops were being unfairly critical as church figures defend Justin Welby

Downing Street has gone into open battle with the Church of England over its condemnation of the Rwanda deportation scheme, with No 10 officials doubling down on Boris Johnson’s claim that archbishops were being unfairly critical.

The prime minister reportedly told Conservative MPs on Tuesday evening that senior clergy had criticised plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda more than they had condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This was not denied by No 10.

Continue reading...

Johnson’s ‘dishonest’ excuses over Partygate fine an insult to public, says Starmer – UK politics live, as it happened

Posted on by

Latest updates: the prime minister apologises for breaking Covid lockdown rules but Labour says the public ‘don’t believe a word he says’

Boris Johnson must have known parties were taking place in Downing Street in breach of lockdown rules, Emily Thornberry, the shadow attorney general, told the Today programme this morning. Asked to justify Labour claims that Johnson was lying when he told MPs that the rules had always been followed and parties had not taken place, she replied:

The sheer number of parties going on at Number 10 on a regular basis make it perfectly clear to any reasonable person, let alone the person who made the rules, that those rules were being broken and they were being broken consciously.

The fact that Dominic Raab said that when he was in charge there weren’t any parties shows that people knew there were parties going on and he made sure that, when he was in charge of Number 10, when the prime minister was in hospital, that those sorts of things stopped, I think, again makes it clear.

Whatever means we take, the difficulty we will always have is that, since the 2019 election, the Conservatives have an 80-seat majority when there is a vote.

Unless Conservative MPs can look at their consciences and vote the right way, we are not going to get the sort of result that we should get.

The Stormer vehicle launches Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles which can be used to target planes and helicopters.

Boris Johnson is expected to speak to allies including the US president, Joe Biden, today to discuss western support for Ukraine as Russian forces focused on capturing the Donbas region.

Continue reading...

Starmer calls Johnson ‘a man without shame’ as PM gives Partygate apology

Posted on by

Labour leader accuses prime minister of dishonesty, as senior Tory joins those urging him to quit

Keir Starmer called the prime minister “a man without shame” during furious exchanges in parliament as MPs prepared to vote on whether Boris Johnson should be investigated for lying about the Partygate scandal.

Addressing MPs for the first time since receiving a fixed-penalty notice for attending a party thrown for his birthday in June 2020, Boris Johnson spoke of his humility but said it had not occurred to him that the gathering was a breach of Covid rules.

Continue reading...

Can Boris Johnson survive? The prime minister is on the ropes but not yet out

Posted on by

Analysis: the Tory leader is unpopular for breaking lockdown rules but his departure may depend on options for his replacement

Timing is everything. Suspicions that Boris Johnson had broken lockdown rules nearly toppled him in January. Yet now the prime minister looks safe, even as suspicion becomes fact with the issuing of a fixed penalty notice by the police. Johnson’s strong response to the international crisis provoked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine appears to have saved him for now, though with more fines probably still to come, and Sue Gray’s final report looming, his position remains perilous.

The lockdown party scandals have turned a lot of voters against Johnson. His average net approval ratings across seven national pollsters collapsed from -9 last September to -40 in January. At rock bottom, the prime minister’s ratings were as bad as Margaret Thatcher’s during the poll tax crisis or Gordon Brown’s at the height of the financial crisis. Johnson was less popular with voters in January than Jeremy Corbyn was during the 2019 election campaign. The Johnson brand as a politician with unique popular appeal looked completely shot.

Continue reading...

UK politics: Public must be told if Carrie Johnson fined for breaking lockdown rules, says Starmer – live

Posted on by

Latest updates: the Labour leader suggests it is in the public’s interest if the prime minister’s wife is fined over Partygate

Clive Efford (Lab) is asking the questions now.

Q: You have expressed strong views in the past. Is that a problem?

I described the licence fee as regressive. I didn’t think that was an opinion, I thought that was a statement of fact, actually.

Continue reading...

UK politics: Boris Johnson grilled by MPs at liaison committee – live

Posted on by

Latest updates: the PM is facing questions at the liaison committee, which is comprised of the chairs of the Commons select committees

Betts asks Harrington how many people have actually arrived in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Harrington says it is too early to say, but he says he may be able to tell the committee at the end of the week.

Harrington said that he agreed it took too long to fill in a visa application form. He said at the weekend he spent just under under an hour filling out one out himself, and he was in a more comfortable situation than the refugees who have to fill them out. He said the government was looking at what it can do to make the forms shorter.

Continue reading...

Benefit rises will take 18 months to catch up with inflation, OBR chair tells MPs – UK politics live

Posted on by

Latest updates: warning comes as chancellor is to face Commons Treasury committee this afternoon amid criticism over his spring statement

Q: Is it right for trans women to be able to compete in women’s sports?

Starmer says that should be a matter for the sporting authorities.

I spent a lot of my working life dealing with violence against women and girls first-hand, and I know from that experience, just how important it is to fight for women and fight for equality.

We have had legislation in this country which makes it clear that in some circumstances, particularly at the moment under the law when you’ve gone through a process, you can be recognised in the gender of your choosing, that’s been the position for over a decade now ...

But I equally - I want to be really clear about this - I am an advocate of safe spaces for women.

I don’t think that discussing this issue in this way helps anyone in the long run.

What I want to see is a reform of the law as it is, but I am also an advocate of safe spaces for women and I want to have a discussion that is ... anybody who genuinely wants to find a way through this, I want to discuss that with, and I do find that too many people - in my view - retreat or hold a position of which is intolerant of others.

Of course there are circumstances and anybody who insults family members excites something quite emotional in all of us.

But, on the other hand, to go up and hit someone in that way is wrong, I’m afraid. It was the wrong thing to do.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson going ‘from dictator to dictator’ for oil, says Starmer

Posted on by

Labour leader warns about replacing dependence on Russia with reliance on Saudis, as PM prepares for Gulf visit

Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of “going cap in hand from dictator to dictator,” as the prime minister prepares to fly to Saudi Arabia to seek alternatives to Russian oil supplies.

Johnson has a personal relationship with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, and government sources suggest he could help persuade the Saudis to increase oil production. The prime minister defended the trip on Tuesday, saying he had to build a coalition of countries to help the west reduce its dependence on Vladimir Putin, likening the Russian leader to a drug dealer who had got the west hooked on his hydrocarbons.

Continue reading...

UK politics live: Boris Johnson says government will keep tightening ‘economic vice around Putin regime’

Posted on by

Latest updates: prime minister suggests further sanctions to come in future

Chelsea FC will still be allowed to play matches despite its owner, Roman Abramovich, being sanctioned, the government says. It explains:

Given the significant impact that today’s sanctions would have on Chelsea football club and the potential knock on effects of this, the government has this morning published a licence which authorises a number of football-related activities to continue at Chelsea. This includes permissions for the club to continue playing matches and other football related activity which will in turn protect the Premier League, the wider football pyramid, loyal fans and other clubs. This licence will only allow certain explicitly named actions to ensure the designated individual is not able to circumvent UK sanctions. The licence will be kept under constant review and we will work closely with the football authorities.

There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine.

Today’s sanctions are the latest step in the UK’s unwavering support for the Ukrainian people. We will be ruthless in pursuing those who enable the killing of civilians, destruction of hospitals and illegal occupation of sovereign allies.

Continue reading...

Starmer questions why Roman Abramovich is not facing UK sanctions

Posted on by

Labour calls for tougher action against Russian oligarchs at PMQs as Ukrainian ambassador watches from gallery

Keir Starmer has questioned why Roman Abramovich has not faced UK sanctions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as Boris Johnson appeared to accept a Labour offer to strengthen a new bill cracking down on illicit assets.

At a prime minister’s questions that began with the rare sight of MPs standing in unison to applaud the Ukrainian ambassador, Vadym Prystaiko, who was watching from the public gallery, Starmer repeatedly called for tougher action against Russian oligarchs.

Continue reading...