Category Archives: Keir Starmer

Sunak invites unions to talks on Monday as senior Tory calls on government to improve pay offer to nurses– UK politics live

Posted on by

PM offers no hint he will compromise on pay offers as former cabinet minister says nurses key to dealing with NHS pressures

The journalist interviewing Rishi Sunak this morning did not press Sunak on excess deaths because he needed to ask some questions about Prince Harry’s memoir. But Sunak would not go near the topic.

Asked how he felt seeing the royal family “torn apart” by these claims and revelations, Sunak replied:

As you would expect, it is not appropriate for me to comment on matters to do with the royal family.

I wouldn’t comment on matters to do with the royal family. I would just say I am enormously grateful to our armed forces for the incredible job they do in keeping us all safe. We’re all very fortunate for their service.

Continue reading...

Union fury as Rishi Sunak unveils anti-strike laws for ‘minimum service levels’

Posted on by

Legislation will allow bosses of key public services to sue unions and sack employees who refuse to work

Rishi Sunak’s new anti-strike legislation to enforce “minimum service levels” in key public sectors including the NHS and schools has drawn a furious reaction from unions as the prime minister scrambles to get a grip on industrial disputes.

The law, which the government plans to introduce in the coming weeks, will allow bosses in health, education, fire, ambulance, rail and nuclear commissioning to sue unions and sack employees if minimum levels are not met.

Continue reading...

A centrist pitch from Keir Starmer means he will need to show how he differs from Sunak

Posted on by

Labour will not ‘spend its way out of the mess’ but will a more pragmatic approach persuade the core support the party still stands for something?

Keir Starmer was looking assured, shirt sleeves rolled up and cracking jokes, as he stood in front of a giant orange robotic arm in an east London design lab to make his new year speech.

Just 24 hours earlier Rishi Sunak had given his own address on the state of the nation at the building next door, prompting the Labour leader to quip: “I won’t tell the prime minister where I’m going on holiday this year just in case I find him there as well.”

Continue reading...

Keir Starmer to promise ‘completely new way of governing’ in major speech – UK politics live

Posted on by

Latest updates: Labour leader to say he plans to move away from the ‘sticking plaster politics’ of short-term decision making

Mick Whelan, the general secretary of Aslef, which represents train drivers, told the Today programme this morning that he did not think the anti-strike legislation proposed by the government (see 8.48am) would make life harder for his union.

He suggested the law would lead to unions like his having to organise strikes across more localised units, instead of nationally.

If we’ve got to sit down in 15, 20 or 30 different undertakings and agree different levels of [minimum service], all it means is that we put more strikes on to pick up the shortfall, create greater strife, the connectivity of the railway falls apart, the logistically it’s impossible.

There have been minimum [service] levels in European countries for several years. They have never been enacted because they don’t work.

Continue reading...

Strikes, elections and Dominic Raab: Rishi Sunak’s headaches to come in 2023

Posted on by

PM has reinstated ‘boring government’ but smooth relations with backbenchers are unlikely to last

At the end of one of the most tumultuous years of politics in decades, Rishi Sunak is confident he has successfully managed to calm Tory MPs and – in the words of one senior aide – “bring back boring government”.

He has sought to kick some controversial pieces of legislation into the long grass, performed quick U-turns and managed to satiate a parliamentary party with a seemingly unquenchable thirst for regicide.

Continue reading...

UK’s problems will not ‘go away’, admits Sunak after ‘tough’ 2022

Posted on by

Prime minister’s new year message makes no mention of the chaos that has plagued the Tory party in 2022

Rishi Sunak has blamed Covid and the Ukraine war for what he acknowledged had been a “tough” 12 months, and warned in a prime ministerial new year message that the country’s problems will not disappear in 2023.

Often taking an openly party political stance, Sunak praised his government’s record and made no mention of the chaos within the Conservative party that contributed to 2022’s difficulties.

Continue reading...

The ‘indefensibles’: donors, cronies and lackeys embody case to abolish Lords

Posted on by

After Boris Johnson took political patronage to new levels by his appointments, Labour sees public mood is ripe for radical reform

What do Boris Johnson’s brother, a historian who has written favourably about him, and a defeated MP who gave him a free holiday all have in common?

All of them now grace the prestigious red benches of the House of Lords, along with 27 donors to the Conservative party.

Continue reading...

Labour targets new swing voter ‘middle-aged mortgage man’

Posted on by

Party sees identifying 50-year-old male home-owners as key to electoral success

You’ve met Mondeo Man and Worcester Woman, now meet the key swing voter Labour hopes will win them the next election: middle-aged mortgage man.

Party insiders say they are being ruthless about targeting exactly the kind of voters they believe will put them back into power, homing in on people who previously lost faith with Labour but have been personally affected by the spike in interest rates caused by Liz Truss’ “mini-budget”.

Continue reading...

PMQs live: Rishi Sunak quizzed by Keir Starmer over nurses’ strikes

Posted on by

Latest updates: prime minister faces Labour leader ahead of industrial action by nurses on Thursday

Yesterday Mark Harper, the transport secretary, claimed that public support for the rail strikes was declining. Today Ipsos has published some polling that backs up this claim, although support for the RMT has not collapsed, and public opinion is still divided. It puts support for the strikes at 30%, down from 43% in September. And opposition to the strikes is at 36%, up from 31%.

Yesterday Savanta published polling showing a similar trend. It said that net support for the rail workers on strike was +21 in October (those supporting them, minus those not supporting them), and that now it was down to +13.

Continue reading...

RCN accuse government of ‘belligerence’ as talks to avert strike action fail; Wales strikes to go ahead – as it happened

Posted on by

Royal College of Nursing says Steve Barclay refused to discuss pay at meeting on Monday; Welsh nurses to strike after last-minute talks fail. This blog is now closed

Pat Cullen, the Royal College of Nursing’s general secretary, told ITV this morning that there was no point talking to Steve Barclay, the health secretary, if he was not prepared to discuss pay. She said

What I’m saying … to the health secretary this morning, is if you don’t want to speak to me directly about nurses’ pay, we have engaged with the conciliation service Acas, they can do that through Acas, but our door is absolutely wide open and it appears at the minute that theirs is totally shut …

Fundamentally, I need to get to a table and talk to them about pay. This isn’t just me, it’s the 320,000 nurses that voted for strike action … They voted through an independent ballot that we carried out and surely to goodness you couldn’t look at one of those people this morning in the eye and say: ‘You’re not worth an extra brown penny’. In my mind they absolutely are.

I think it’s a very challenging international picture. About a third of the world’s economies are predicted to be in recession, either this year or next.

We’re no different in this country and truthfully, it is likely to get worse before it gets better, which makes it even more difficult when we have big public sector strikes going on at the moment.

Continue reading...

Right that Michelle Mone has stepped back from Lords after shocking revelations, says Rishi Sunak – UK politics live

Posted on by

The prime minister says due process needs to be followed after revelations about Baroness Mone in the Guardian

Everyone is hard up at the moment – including the Conservative party, it seems. According to Bloomberg’s Alex Wickham, the party is raising membership fees by 56%.

This morning Steve Barclay said Rishi Sunak was taking “a very strong stand in terms of the priority of getting inflation down”. (See 10.02am.) But not for Tory members, it seems.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak ‘absolutely shocked’ by Michelle Mone allegations

Posted on by

PM responds to question from Keir Starmer about Tory peer who appears to have received millions from PPE firm awarded government contracts

Rishi Sunak has said he was “shocked” to read allegations surrounding the Conservative peer Michelle Mone, after Keir Starmer used prime minister’s questions to ask him how she appeared to have received millions from the profits of a PPE company.

“How did his colleague, Baroness Mone, end up with nearly £30m of taxpayers’ money in her bank account?” the Labour leader asked, citing information revealed by the Guardian.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

‘Enough is enough’: wave of strikes led by ‘fantastic’ women, says Frances O’Grady

Posted on by

As she steps down, outgoing TUC general secretary says female workers’ jobs are undervalued

This winter’s wave of strike action will be powered by “a generation of women who are saying enough is enough” because the critical jobs they do are undervalued, the outgoing TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, has said.

As she steps down after a decade as the TUC’s first female figurehead, O’Grady said on Friday that thousands of women who worked on the frontline during the pandemic were now saying to ministers, “don’t take us for granted”.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

‘I’m a Tory, get me out of here’: MPs ponder life after parliament

Posted on by

With a deadline to declare their intentions nearing and facing likely election defeat, as many as 50 may opt not to stand

Matt Hancock has just a few days left on I’m a Celebrity before he returns from the safety of the Australian jungle back to the more poisonous environment of the Palace of Westminster.

But this week, more Conservative MPs are pondering ways to get out of there – as a deadline approaches to give notice that they intend to stand at the next election.

Continue reading...

Senior MPs grill Jeremy Hunt on autumn statement and UK economy – live

Posted on by

The chancellor is facing questions at the Commons Treasury committee

Reed says the Scotland Act gives the Scottish parliament limited powers. It cannot legislate on reserved matters. Those include fundamental matters, including the union of the UK.

If legislation related to the union, or the UK parliament, the Scottish parliament would have no power to enact it.

Continue reading...

Keir Starmer walks fine line in shifting Labour’s stance on immigration

Posted on by

Party leader is reluctant to hint he will allow thousands into UK but wants to avoid upsetting his pro-migration MPs

In his speech to a hall packed with business leaders, Keir Starmer came with the message that Labour had changed, hoping to sweep away the years of antipathy between his party under its previous leadership and growth-hungry executives.

But another change in position was clear to see: on immigration, Starmer held up the recruitment of overseas workers as a sticking plaster solution to the problem of significant worker shortages in the UK.

Continue reading...

Starmer rules out taking UK back into single market or customs union if Labour win election – UK politics live

Posted on by

Latest updates: Labour’s Keir Starmer is speaking to the CBI

Starmer says Britain is trapped in a “vicious cycle of stagnation”.

The UK has had the worst record for growth in centuries, he says. He says a new model is needed. And this should be a turning point.

They put our public finances in a perilous position, wasted the chance to transform our potential in an era of low interest rates, and created an economy with weak foundations.

But the war didn’t ban onshore wind. The war didn’t scrap home insulation. And the war didn’t stall British nuclear energy.

Continue reading...

I’ve kissed a Tory and I’m not ashamed, Keir Starmer reveals

Posted on by

Labour leader says he is not tribal, has broken the ‘never kiss a Tory rule’ and has many Conservative friends

Keir Starmer has tried to reveal a little more about himself, confessing that he has broken the “never kiss a Tory rule” and that he is not ashamed.

The Labour party leader said he was “not tribal” when it came to personal relationships and politics because he entered the political scene relatively late in life. Speaking to Times Radio, he suggested only people in the political bubble were focused on maintaining division.

Continue reading...