London mayor says he has ‘confidence we will turn it round’ as he addresses audience at Edinburgh fringe
Conservative MPs have expressed frustration at their party’s “piss-poor” messaging over hotels housing people seeking asylum.
Leaked WhatsApp messages show members are concerned that the party’s leadership is attacking Keir Starmer’s government for policies introduced by the Conservatives.
Continue reading...Former home secretary praises Keir Starmer’s success on world stage and says PM can win over sceptical UK public
Keir Starmer and his ministers must not “panic” about the threat of Nigel Farage, the former home secretary Jack Straw has said, adding that the prime minister had impressed on the world stage and should show more of that side of himself at home.
In an interview with the Guardian, he praised Starmer’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state after an ultimatum to Israel – but defended the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, saying he would also have proscribed the direct action group Palestine Action.
Continue reading...Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz and others will aim to push back against ceding of Ukraine territory in ‘peace plan’
European leaders including Britain’s Keir Starmer will join Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at a White House meeting on Monday with Donald Trump, in an extraordinary joint effort to push back on a US-backed plan that would allow Russia to take further Ukrainian territory.
As well as the UK prime minister, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, Italy’s PM, Giorgia Meloni, and the Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, will all accompany Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.
Continue reading...PM has positioned himself as someone who can get along with US president while stressing Europe’s red lines
Asked behind the scenes at June’s G7 summit if he could explain why Donald Trump seemed to like him so much, Keir Starmer admitted he did not really know. Whatever the reason, when it comes to Ukraine, the UK prime minister is once again hoping to exploit this somewhat curious relationship.
As soon as it was announced that a string of European leaders planned to join Volodymyr Zelenskyy to back the Ukrainian president in crucial talks with Trump at the White House on Monday, it was obvious Starmer would be joining them.
Continue reading...Addressing reception marking 80th anniversary of VJ Day, prime minister says he spoke to Zelenskyy about allies’ values as Trump prepares to meet Putin
Asylum seekers locked in detention centres as part of Labour’s “one in, one out” deal have said they had not heard of the scheme before arriving in the UK on small boats and were terrified of being returned to their home countries.
The prime minister, Keir Starmer, has said the plan to send one small boat arrival back to France in exchange for accepting another to live in the UK would deter the thousands from crossing the Channel.
We did not understand what was happening to us when the Home Office moved us from Manston [the former military base in Kent] where we were processed, straight to this place which is like a jail.
When we asked why they were bringing some who arrived on the same boat as me here but letting others go free, they did not answer us. They just said it was because we crossed the Channel illegally.
I am very frightened here. There are people who have committed crimes in the UK locked up with us. We have done nothing wrong apart from trying to find a safe place.
Green party (Matt Youde) – 24%
Welsh Labour (Khuram Chowdhry) – 22.7%
Plaid Cymru (Neil Roberts) – 18.7%
Reform UK (Joseph Martin) – 14.5%
Propel (Vincent Yewlett) – 9.6%
Independent (Ahmed Samater) – 4.6%
Welsh Conservative party (James Hamblin) – 4.1%
Welsh Liberal Democrats (Irfan Latif) – 1.8%
Continue reading...UK prime minister will be joined by Ukrainian president as he says Britain stands ready to ‘increase pressure’ on Russia if necessary
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has said it is a “day of celebration” for young people ahead of A-level results on Thursday.
Speaking to Times Radio, she said:
I’ll just start by saying that this is a really exciting day for young people. They’ve worked really hard. They’ve had brilliant support from their teachers and parents. It’s a day for celebration for our young people and there are lots of great routes out there.
University is one of them, but for young people who are considering other routes there are apprenticeships and plenty of other opportunities available too, and lots of advice available if you haven’t quite got what you needed, through Ucas and clearing, and also through the National Career Service.
I think it’s a matter of personal choice.
I do think it’s a good thing that more young people are studying subjects like maths. There are often great roots into careers. The same is, of course, true of subjects like languages, and that was my personal passion.
Continue reading...US president’s comment that Russian and Ukrainian leaders may have to ‘divvy’ things up likely to raise alarm
Donald Trump has said he believes Vladimir Putin is ready to make a deal on the war in Ukraine as the two leaders prepare for their summit in Alaska on Friday, but his suggestion the Russian leader and Volodymyr Zelenskyy could “divvy things up” may alarm some in Kyiv.
The US president, who left the White House on Friday at 7.30am, implied there was a 75% chance of the Alaska meeting succeeding, and that the threat of economic sanctions may have made Putin more willing to seek an end to the war. “HIGH STAKES!!!” he posted on Truth Social as his motorcade idled outside the White House shortly after sunrise in Washington.
Continue reading...Move comes as Germany warns White House against any deal hatched ‘over heads of Europeans and Ukrainians’
Europe’s leaders have raised the pressure on Donald Trump to involve Ukraine in a planned summit with Vladimir Putin, as Germany warned the White House against any deal hatched “over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians”.
Speaking before a bilateral meeting expected to take place between the US and Russian leaders on Friday in Alaska, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said he hoped and assumed that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, would also be involved.
Continue reading...David Lammy is hosting the US vice-president at Chevening, his grace-and-favour residence in Kent, where they will discuss the Middle East
The SNP is calling for the recall of parliament so that MPs can approve sanctions against Benjamin Netanyahu in the light of his decision to extend the occupation of Gaza. In a statement Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, said:
A genocide is happening before our eyes in Gaza. Words of condemnation aren’t anywhere near enough - if we have any hope of stopping this genocide strong actions are desperately needed, now.
That means Keir Starmer needs to recall Westminster and take concrete steps to sanction the Israeli government.
Those sanctions must include ending all arms sales to the Israeli military, stopping all training, logistical and military support to the IDF, directly and personally sanctioning Netanyahu and his ministers and finally and immediately recognising the state of Palestine before it is brutally wiped off the map.
If the international community fails to act - we are consciously and complicitly standing idly by - allowing Benjamin Netanyahu to plan, implement and inflict an ongoing genocide in Gaza.
UK prime minister says occupation approved by Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet will only bring more bloodshed
Keir Starmer has urged Benjamin Netanyahu to reconsider his plans to take over Gaza City and said the move would only bring more bloodshed.
The British prime minister said Israel’s decision to escalate a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians over the past 22 months while pushing the territory into famine was wrong and would do nothing to secure the release of Israeli hostages.
Continue reading...Prime minister defends government’s handling of economy but will not give assurances over not raising income tax, employee NI or VAT
Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, has urged Keir Starmer to call Donald Trump to encourage him to use his influence to block Israel’s plans for a “full occupation” of Gaza.
In a statement, Davey said:
[Israeli PM Benjamin] Netanyahu’s latest proposals for the occupation of all of Gaza are utterly horrifying.
If realised, they will only wreak yet more destruction on Gazans - while gravely endangering the lives of the hostages still held in Hamas’ captivity.
I see NIESR is talking today about a £41.2bn hole in the UK public finances
Two things are newsworthy:
Continue reading...Keir Starmer says £88m package will help tackle trend of young people becoming ‘disconnected from their communities’
Youth clubs and after-school activities in England will receive a funding injection of £88m as ministers try to get more children away from smartphones and computer screens.
The package, which Keir Starmer announced on Tuesday, is intended to give pupils access to sport, outdoor activities, art, music, debating and volunteering.
Continue reading...Freed British-Israeli accuses PM of ‘moral failure’ over move to recognise Palestine at UN unless Israel changes course
Keir Starmer has said he is listening to hostages taken by Hamas but still intends to recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel commits to a ceasefire and two-state solution.
The prime minister said he had spoken to the freed British-Israeli Emily Damari, held hostage by Hamas for 471 days, after she accused him of “moral failure” over the move to recognise Palestine as a state in September at the UN.
Continue reading...As ministers aim to ‘smash’ people-smuggling gangs, milestone passes almost a month earlier than previous record of 2022
The number of people arriving in the UK after crossing the English Channel in small boats has passed 25,000 faster this year than since records began.
As ministers aim to “smash the gangs” involved in people-smuggling, 898 people made the journey in 13 boats on Wednesday, bringing the total for 2025 so far to 25,436.
Continue reading...Government drive to support small business will include startup loans for 69,000 companies worth £4bn
Keir Starmer has warned businesses who persistently delay payments to their suppliers that it is “time to pay up” as the government prepares to impose fines and penalties on repeat offenders.
In what Labour has billed as the toughest crackdown on late payments in a generation, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, will say on Thursday that the changes will slash a cost to the economy that has escalated to £11bn a year.
Continue reading...Emily Damari was held captive by Hamas for more than 15 months and says decision ‘risks rewarding terror’
A British-Israeli woman who was held hostage by Hamas for more than 15 months has accused Keir Starmer of “moral failure” after he set the UK on course to recognise a Palestinian state.
Emily Damari, 29, who was released in January, said the prime minister was “not standing on the right side of history” and should be ashamed.
Continue reading...From Balfour declaration to Tony Blair, UK has struggled to drive meaningful progress towards peace in Middle East
The former British prime minister Harold Macmillan once said there was no problem in the Middle East because a problem had a solution. Keir Starmer is the latest incumbent in No 10 to try to prove Macmillan wrong, with a plan that has been described by Downing Street as a “pathway to peace” for Gaza and the wider region. The record of Britain’s previous interventions do not augur well.
Continue reading...The PM is to lead recognition of a Palestinian state – a good day for him, the UK and the starving people of Gaza
What a difference a week makes. Last Tuesday, Keir Starmer batted away all invitations to recognise the state of Palestine. It wasn’t happening. Keir was committed to being appalled by the situation in Gaza but not appalled enough to do anything about it.
He then received a letter from more than 250 MPs, including some cabinet ministers, later in the week begging him to recognise the state of Palestine. He still stonewalled. The time was not yet right.
Continue reading...UK also demands Hamas release all hostages, disarm, sign up to a ceasefire and accept that they will play no role in the government of Gaza. This live blog is closed
Donald Trump is speaking now at the opening of his new golf course in Aberdeenshire. He said that as president he had “stopped about five wars”.
Yesterday he was claiming to have stopped six of them, and it is not clear why he has revised the number down.
Continue reading...US president expresses frustration with Putin after meeting with UK PM amid pressure on Russia for ceasefire
Donald Trump’s timeline for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine has sped up, the president said while visiting Nato ally Great Britain on Monday.
“I’m going to make a new deadline of about 10, 10 or 12 days from today,” Trump said in response to a question while sitting with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer. “There’s no reason in waiting. There’s no reason in waiting. It’s 50 days. I want to be generous, but we just don’t see any progress being made.”
Continue reading...