Markus Andrews

Wes Streeting has revealed Keir Starmer privately asked him whether he should quit Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet team over “challenges” the party faced, including antisemitism.The comments from the shadow health secretary — a critic of Mr Corbyn’s leadership of the party — came as he defended the Labour leader for remaining in his predecessor’s top team.Sir Keir was appointed shadow Brexit secretary after Mr Corbyn overwhelmingly defeated a leadership challenge in 2016 and remained in the top team until April 2020 when he was elected as leader.Since then, Sir Keir has repeatedly clashed with the left and suspended the whip from Mr Corbyn, but has faced criticism from Tory MPs for sticking by his predecessor in the shadow cabinet.Addressing the issue, Mr Streeting, who was appearing as a guest presenter on LBC, said: “I’m not sure I’ve shared this publicly before.Recommended“I remember having a conversation with Keir once and he was the shadow Brexit secretary and [had] a very important job with all of the negotiations that were going on on the biggest issue of the day.“I remember talking to Keir about anti semitism and some of the other challenges we had, because I always saw him as one of the reasonable, fair-minded, decent people in the shadow cabinet that I could go to and talk to.“We had quite a robust conversation about these challenges and Keir said, ‘Look, do you think I should resign from the shadow cabinet, is that what you’re saying to me?’“And I said, ‘Oh no, for goodness sake, don’t do that, we absolutely need you in there, we need you to try and make a difference’, whether on Brexit or some of the other challenges the Labour party had.”While Mr Streeting described Mr Corbyn’s position in 2016 as “untenable” and did not serve in the shadow cabinet, he insisted he did not “judge” Sir Keir “harshly or badly for doing so”.Recommended“He was one of a number of people who were trying to make a difference, trying to stop the Labour Party from losing a general election, trying to stop the Labour Party lose its moral compass on issues like antisemitism,” he added.Addressing the Tory leadership contest, Mr Streeting also claimed it was a “very, very odd choice” for MPs in the party to select Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, and foreign secretary Liz Truss for the final run-off.“We’ve ended up with the final two who will surely have the hardest job distancing themselves from Boris Johnson,” he said.Referring to Ms Truss’ loyalty to the outgoing prime minister and Mr Sunak being fined over the Partygate scandal, the Labour frontbencher said: “It’s a very, very odd choice to put Sunak and Truss in the final two because there were other candidates who represented change”. More

Keir Starmer ‘really hated’ Beergate police investigationThe UK government has said that they are “disappointed” that the European Commission has launched new legal action against the UK. They said that a “legal dispute is in nobody’s interest” and “will not fix the problems facing the people and businesses of Northern Ireland.”Earlier this afternoon, the European Union launched legal action against the UK over failures to comply with the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol in a further souring of relations.The European Commission triggered four new infringement procedures on Friday. They said that it had been forced to act because the UK had failed to take part in “meaningful discussion” over the Northern Ireland protocol since February.The commission accused the UK of failing to comply with customs requirements and not imposing EU rules on VAT for e-commerce.The move will increase the heat on Liz Truss, who as foreign secretary has had oversight of the negotiations with Brussels. RecommendedShow latest update

1658501139Little justification for cutting taxes, economist saysThere is little justification for cutting taxes in the UK, a top economist has said as the two remaining Tory leadership candidates face off over the tax issue.Philip Shaw, chief economist at banking group Investec, said that it will be tempting to give people more money in their pockets as the cost of living soars.But “there is little economic justification to cut taxes right now, despite the cost-of-living crisis resulting in an obvious temptation,” he said.Press Association22 July 2022 15:451658500617‘A legal dispute is in nobody’s interest’, says UK after EU legal action over BrexitA government spokesperson has said that they are disappointed that the European Commission has launched new legal action against the UK. They said that a “legal dispute is in nobody’s interest”. A spokesperson said: ““It is disappointing that the EU has chosen to bring forward further legal action, particularly on goods leaving Northern Ireland for Great Britain which self-evidently present no risk to the EU single market,” a government spokesperson said.“A legal dispute is in nobody’s interest and will not fix the problems facing the people and businesses of Northern Ireland. The EU is left no worse off as a result of the proposals we have made in the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill”. Holly Bancroft22 July 2022 15:361658500059Both potential Tory leaders would be ‘terrible for Scotland’, Nicola Sturgeon saysBoth Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak would be “terrible for Scotland” if they became prime minister, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said. Holly Bancroft22 July 2022 15:271658499039EU move makes it harder for next PM to compromise, says Theresa May’s former adviserTheresa May’s Europe adviser, Raoul Ruperal, has said he thinks the EU Commission’s approach and timing of its new legal action against the UK is “unwise”. He argued that it would make it harder for the next Tory leader to compromise with the EU. Holly Bancroft22 July 2022 15:101658498499Interest rates will have to rise as high as 7%, says Truss economic guruInterest rates will have to rise as high as seven percent to allow for future tax cuts, an economist cited by Liz Truss has said. Professor Patrick Minford was mentioned by the foreign secretary as one of the few economists who agreed with her wide ranging tax cuts. Mr Minford has now told The Times that high interest rates were a “good thing” because they protected savings. He also said they killed off “zombie companies” who were slowing down economic growth. Mr Minford, who has been advising Ms Truss’ campaign, said: “Getting rid of a lot of regulations will upset a lot of pressure groups. But it all really starts in Whitehall and the first thing [Truss] has got to do is get Treasury into line.”However he said that, rather than arguing for tax cuts, he was wanting to not put them up.“The key to growth is not having high taxes,” he said. “We’re not talking about cutting them, we’re just talking about not putting them up to a catastrophic level.”He conceeded that interest rates will have to go up, saying: “A normal level is more like 5-7 percent and I don’t think it will be any bad thing if we got back to that level.”Holly Bancroft22 July 2022 15:011658496551Sunak to push ahead with privatisation of Channel 4Rishi Sunak has said that he will continue with the government’s commitment to privatise Channel 4 if he becomes prime minister. The move is also thought to be supported by foreign secretary Liz Truss. A Sunak campaign spokesperson told The Guardian: “Rishi will take forward Channel 4’s privatisaion. Channel 4 is a crucial part of British broadcasting and supports our brilliant creative industries, but a lot has changed since the 1980s when it was set up to provide viewers with more choice. “Privatisation will help Channel 4 to thrive in an age where they are also competing with Netflix, Amazon, Apple and many more – standing still is not an option.”Holly Bancroft22 July 2022 14:291658495520UK has already paid £120m for Rwanda dealThe UK has already paid Rwanda £120million to take migrants despite no one yet being sent to the country due to legal challenges. Rwandan officials have confirmed that it has received the entire initial payment for the deal. When asked by reporters how much money had already been paid by the UK, Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo said: “There was an initial transfer of £120 million. This has already been paid and we are already using the funds to prepare.”Rwanda remains “committed” to the partnership, she added.Holly Bancroft22 July 2022 14:121658494464Ukraine Russia expert Tim White to answer reader questions about the conflict in ‘Ask Me Anything’ eventCan Ukraine really win this war? Will Russia need to move to full mobilisation, with forced conscription? Tim White, who has been tweeting detailed updates every day since the war began, will be on hand to answer any questions readers may have, as we approach 150 days since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.As the West steps up its support for Ukraine, readers will have the chance to ask questions about all things to do with the Russia conflict during an ‘Ask Me Anything’ on today at 2pm. See below on more details to join the event: More

Former US president Donald Trump said lots of things that “proved to be true”, Tory leadership candidate Liz Truss said as she vowed to get tougher on China.The foreign secretary said she wanted the G7 group of leading democracies to be turned into an “economic Nato” that can defend itself better against Chinese influence around the world.Ms Truss – favourite to be the next prime minister as she vies with Rishi Sunak for the leadership – had set out her credentials as a hawk on China and Russia in an interview with The Atlantic.Asked if Trump had been proved right that China had “stolen America’s lunch”, Truss said: “There’s a lot of things that Trump has said that have proved to be true.”The foreign secretary then added: “There are also things he’s said that haven’t proved to be true.”Asked about the prospect of Trump running to be president again in 2024, Truss said it was “a matter for the American people who they elect as their president”.RecommendedThe leadership frontrunner also told The Atlantic that the west had been too slow to challenge China and Russia because leaders prioritised free trade.“We failed to think through all of those things, because we took freedom for granted,” she said, in a resurfaced interview with the US magazine from May.Ms Truss also criticised United Nations (UN) and World Trade Organisation (WTO) for being too open to authoritarian regimes. “This is consciously saying the UN and the WTO have not worked to challenge this behaviour,” she said.Calling for a strengthened G7 and Nato, she added: “This is why we really need to lean into these groupings, these partnerships – coalitions of the willing, if you like – to get things done.”She also criticised Germany and France for arranging the so-called Minsk agreements between Ukraine and Moscow-backed separatists after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.“We should’ve been there,” she said. “The UK is the biggest European spender in Nato. The US is the major force in Nato. Both the UK and the US should’ve been involved, and we’re not going to make that mistake again.”Ms Truss has claimed her experience as foreign secretary shows she “gets stuff done”.She has pointed to the ongoing, unresolved dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol as an example of her delivery – despite her failure to reach a deal with the EU after several months of negotiations.She vowed on Thursday to “bulldoze” through “endless government bureaucracy” if she becomes prime minister and would not “take no for an answer”.RecommendedAsked how she would confront the Treasury with her contentious plan for immediate tax cuts, the Tory leadership hopeful told reporters: “What I would do and I’ve done this as foreign secretary, I’ve done this as trade secretary, is I’ve bulldozed through the blockages.“I get stuff done, whether it’s the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, whether it’s the dozens of trade deals, whether it’s the sanctions regime on Russia … because I don’t take no for an answer and I go in and I fight for what is right.” More

Keir Starmer has said he “really hated” being subject to a recent criminal investigation by Durham during the so-called “Beergate” saga.The Labour leader said the Durham Constabulary probe into claims he breached Covid rules was a “burden” and he was “massively pleased” when he was cleared.Sir Keir and his deputy Angela Rayner had pledged to resign if they received fines in relation to a gathering in the offices of a local Labour MP in England’s north east in April 2021.However, the police found there was no case to answer. The investigation, if it had resulted in fixed-penalty notices, would have plunged the party into political turmoil just as the Tories with the resignation of Boris Johnson.Speaking to Beth Rigby Interviews on Sky News, Sir Keir said: “I really hated it, if I’m honest, being subject to a criminal investigation, when you’ve been the director of public prosecutions, I hated it.“I’m not like other people in many respects, who may say, well, it doesn’t really matter … it really meant a lot to me.”RecommendedStarmer added: “It was a burden that I was carrying. I’m trying not to show it of course. But it was, you know, it was there every day. And of course, I was massively pleased when the decision came through, completely exonerated me.”The Labour leader said he spoke to his wife before putting his “whole career on the line” by pledging to resign if he was found to have broken the rules.“Everything I’ve ever done, been a lawyer, I’ve worked in Northern Ireland, I’ve been director of public prosecutions, been an MP, leader of the Labour Party, I put all of that on the line,” he said.He said he was in the north west of the country when the police announced they had decided to launch an investigation into the matter after receiving “significant new information”.“I got the train back that afternoon and I knew in my gut, what I was going to do, Vic knew I was going to do,” he said. “And she supported me through it. But I needed to talk to her about it, [it] was such a big decision.” More

Foreign secretary Liz Truss was asked why Boris Johnson hasn’t been “kicked out yet” by children on the campaign trail in Peterborough.In the meeting at local children’s charity Little Miracles, one teenager exclaimed: “This is so awkward”.Another asked “Where’s Boris Johnson?”, and another butted in saying: “We hate him.”Ms Truss met children, parents and staff at the charity during an hour-long visit on Thursday afternoon. Recommended More

The government’s rushed negotiating strategy for getting a Brexit free trade agreement (FTA) with India risks a bad deal, a parliamentary committee has warned.The House of Lords International Agreements Committee said an “arbitrary” deadline to reach an agreement by the Hindu festival of Diwali made the approach seem “overly ambitious or unrealistic”.The Department for International Trade (DIT) said it was making “good progress” on its bid to finish talks by the deadline.Ministers are desperate to sign new free trade agreements with countries around the world to make up for the damage done to UK trade by Brexit.The Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest assessment shows that in the fourth quarter of 2021, goods imports from the EU to the UK were down 18 per cent on 2019 levels, with goods exports from the UK to the EU down the 9 per cent.RecommendedUK service exports to the EU are meanwhile down by over 30 per cent, while exports to the rest of the world around 5 and 10 per cent below 2019 levels.Yet trade policy experts are sceptical that the UK can make up for the damage done by Brexit by signing agreements abroad. One analysis by the University of Sussex Trade Policy Observatory based on government figures and published last year found that the reduction in economic benefit was likely to be 178 times bigger than the gains of the likely trade deals on the table.The Commons international trade committee has meanwhile warned that there are still questions about whether the FTAs will deliver significant economic benefits, while DIT has also been warned not to oversell its agreements, such as a recent one with Australia. In the case of India, the Lords international agreements committee warns that “India’s historically protectionist policies, different regulatory approaches and business practices, mean that overcoming barriers would require, in many areas, changes to India’s domestic legislation”. This would “likely be difficult to secure and be a lengthy process to implement”, meaning the committee “therefore questions the arbitrary Diwali deadline set for the conclusion of the negotiations, cautioning that the Government could risk giving up a good deal for a fast one by setting a time ambition over and above content”.Baroness Hayter, chair of the International Agreements Committee said: “A growing economy, as well as a growing middle class and consumer market, make India an attractive trading partner for the UK. The UK Government, however, must not accept a poor agreement simply to meet a deadline.“We have noted that the aspirations in the Negotiating Objectives are particularly challenging because some would require changes to India’s own cultural and legal approach, which are unlikely to be achieved, or would take a long time.”She said the committee still wanted the government to publish a trade policy “showing how trade links into broader foreign policy, security, defence and other domestic objectives, as well as labour, women’s and human rights, and the environment”.RecommendedA DIT spokesperson said: “We are making good progress toward our shared commitment to conclude the majority of talks on a comprehensive deal by Diwali, having already closed 12 chapters. We remain clear that we won’t sacrifice quality for speed and will only sign a deal which delivers for the UK.“India is projected to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2050 and a free trade deal could open huge opportunities for UK businesses to trade with India’s £2.2 trillion economy.” More

The £30bn tax-slashing plans of Liz Truss have been savaged by economists, who are warning they will fuel inflation and risk a return to austerity while busting Treasury rules.The Tory leadership race favourite was dragged into a damaging row about the credibility of her strategy after she argued it would tame soaring inflation – turning economic orthodoxy on its head.One economics professor told The Independent the claim was “ridiculous”, while the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies went further, also highlighting the danger for public services and spending rules.The row came as Rishi Sunak rejected bringing forward his 1p income tax cut – announced for spring 2024 – to woo Tory members away from Ms Truss, and underline his “fiscal responsibility” credentials.The IFS concluded Ms Truss’s proposals would “likely result in the current fiscal rules being broken”, requiring borrowing for day-to-day spending and leaving debt still rising at the next election.RecommendedThe think tank warned of a “deterioration in the quality” of public services if, as she has suggested, Ms Truss puts tax cuts ahead of protecting services against rising inflation in her emergency autumn budget.The damning verdict came as the foreign secretary appeared to be coasting to victory in the contest, securing a yawning 24-point lead over her rival Mr Sunak in a poll of Tory members.On the campaign trail in Peterborough, Ms Truss doubled down on her plans, rejecting the IFS warning that she would break fiscal rules and insisting her tax cuts were “affordable”.She signalled her readiness to make cuts if necessary, saying: “When I was a Treasury minister, I was in charge of public spending. I controlled public spending effectively.”Earlier, in her first major campaign interview, the foreign secretary raised eyebrows by telling BBC Radio 4: “My tax cuts will decrease inflation.”The package includes reversing the national insurance rise to fund the NHS (annual cost £13bn), scrapping the planned hike in corporation tax from 19 per cent to 25 per cent (£17bn), waiving the green levy on energy bills (cost unknown) and more help for carers to take time off work (cost unknown).Ms Truss dismissed the “consensus of the Treasury, of economists”, accusing them of “peddling a particular type of economic policy for 20 years” that “hasn’t delivered growth”.“What people in Britain desperately need now is change. We need to unleash investment in our country,” the candidate insisted, arguing that her tax cuts would boost “the supply side of the economy”.“The reason we have inflation is it’s a supply shock, combined with a slightly loose monetary policy over time,” Ms Truss said, adding of her strategy: “It’s not a gamble.”But Dr Jo Michell, associate professor of economics at UWE Bristol, told The Independent: “The tax cuts she’s proposing are more likely to be inflationary so, on balance of probability, her comments are false.“It’s certainly a gamble. Saying the plan has no risk [of increasing inflation] is ridiculous.”Frances Coppola, a financial economist and writer, warned of a strong likelihood that the plans would “backfire” and damage the economy, saying: “These tax cuts are likely to be inflationary in the short-term.”She likened the situation to Edward Heath’s “dash for growth”, blamed for runaway inflation in the 1970s, adding: “Liz Truss is using exactly the same argument – that inflation will fix itself if we get the economy growing.”Mr Sunak added his own criticism, agreeing that such tax cuts would be “inflationary”, telling LBC Radio: “If the government goes on a huge borrowing spree, that is only going to make the situation worse.”The former chancellor has admitted he is the outsider in the battle for No 10, despite winning the support of 137 Conservative MPs, a sizeable lead on the foreign secretary’s 113.As well as the tax cuts row, he is vulnerable to the anger of some Tory members that he helped trigger Boris Johnson’s departure – by resigning – while Ms Truss stood by him.And his reputation has not fully recovered from the controversy over his wife’s non-dom tax status, or the revelation he had a US green card while he was chancellor.In his interview, Mr Sunak struggled to back up his claim to the Thatcherite mantle, pointing to his freeports idea as an example of radicalism that could match hers.RecommendedHe said it would be “a priority” to make the controversial Rwanda deportations policy work, alongside appointing a new ethics adviser after the prime minister refused to fill the post.And he sought to exploit his greater popularity with the general public, claiming: “If you look at all polling evidence, it’s pretty clear that I am the best person to defeat Sir Keir Starmer.” More

The Brexit divorce bill negotiated by Boris Johnson has increased by nearly £10bn compared to the official estimate when the UK left the EU, ministers have admitted.The Treasury slipped out an “updated government estimated of the financial settlement” in a written ministerial statement on Thursday as MPs headed back to their constituencies for summer recess.The statement, from chief secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke, says the bill is now £42.5bn, which “shows an increase against the original range”.When Britain left the EU in January 2020 the Office for Budget Responsibility put the figure at £32.9bn, meaning the cost of the financial settlement has soared by nearly £10bn.Opposition parties said Boris Johnson’s “terrible deal” was costing taxpayers RecommendedIn the statement, the minister insisted that the figure should be compared to the “original range” of £35-39bn, which would make for a smaller but still substantial increase of around £4bn.But the timing of the Treasury’s statement at the start of the summer recess means MPs will be unable to hold ministers to account for the increase in the Commons, because it will not be sitting.The Treasury says the increase is “primarily due to the most recent valuation of the UK’s obligation under Article 142 for EU pensions”. The government pledged to pay its share of EU official pensions as a condition for getting a withdrawal agreement and avoiding a no-deal Brexit.The increase in these payments is related to higher inflation, which has soared to record levels in recent months.The Treasury also said in the statement that it does not plan to release further estimates of the bill, even if it increases further – and that the actual costs will be buried in departmental small print.“As all payments will be made from departmental accounts, HM Treasury do not plan to replicate or consolidate financial reporting on the TCA in future editions of the statement,” the minister said.“Nor do we intend to report annually our revised estimate of liabilities expected under the TCA, because actual costs will, in future years, appear in the departmental resource accounts.”Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrats’ foreign affairs spokesperson, said: “Boris Johnson’s terrible deal, backed by Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, is costing British taxpayers billions of pounds. This is the price of years of Conservative chaos and neglect.Recommended“Combined with the government’s botched trade agreements, they are leaving British farmers and businesses wrapped in red tape – unable to compete.“The Conservative government must come clean about how much more their bad deal will cost the country in future.” More