Watch: Ed Davey sings Sweet Caroline and Take a Chance on Me at Lib Dem conference
Sir Ed Davey sang Sweet Caroline and Abba’s Take a Chance on Me as he closed out the annual Liberal Democrat party conference.
The leader of Britain’s third-largest political party led his MPs and activists in a chorus of the 1969 Neil Diamond song at the end of his keynote speech.
It came after he promised that the Liberal Democrats will challenge Labour as well as the Tories after recording their best ever general election result in July.
As Sir Ed entered the stage to Take a Chance on Me, his vocals could be heard over the Abba track.
Sweet Caroline has become something of an anthem for his party after Sir Ed was filmed days after the general election results were announced leading a separate singalong.
His musical entrance and exit were mocked by critics of the party, who said it showed that they were not a serious group.
Nigel Huddleston, a Conservative MP and the shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, said: “I think it’s difficult to take somebody seriously if they’re not projecting statesmanlike behaviour.
“You can forgive once, but this is getting ridiculous now. He’s at risk of becoming a joke.”
James Cleverly, a hopeful in the Tory leadership race, accused Sir Ed of treating the conference like his “stag party”.
Greg Smith, the Tory MP for Buckingham, added: “Ed Davey continues to prove he’s not a serious voice. He may be the king of silly stunts, but no one in the country, especially postmasters, is impressed.”
Sir Ed was joined on stage by 60 of the 72 Lib Dem MPs for a speech in which he promised to “finish the job” and overtake the Tories – who have 121 seats – as the official opposition.
“The Conservatives showed themselves completely unfit to govern our country and the British people booted them out,” he said.
“Now they are already showing they are unfit for opposition too… [The Conservative Party] no longer merits a place at the top table of our politics.
“On July 4, we made a great start, but now let’s go further. Let’s finish the job.”
Criticising Sir Keir Starmer over Labour’s winter fuel raid, which will impact 10 million pensioners, Sir Ed insisted that the Government’s “doom and gloom” approach was also not the answer.
Singling out the traditional Labour heartlands of Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle, he added: “Never forget, our recovery has been built through your hard work. Listening to and serving local people proper community politics.
“And our future success will be built the exact same way. Not just against the Conservatives next May but across the country in the years to come.
‘A bright future’
“Including in the big cities like Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle, where we have such a proud history and such a bright future.”
The Liberal Democrats previously enjoyed brief spells of success in Sheffield. Nick Clegg, the former party leader who served as Lord Cameron’s deputy prime minister, was the MP for Sheffield Hallam before losing his seat in 2017.
Liverpool has traditionally backed Labour and is where Sir Keir’s party will hold its own annual conference, which begins on Saturday.
In a more personal section of his address to the party’s faithful, Sir Ed reflected on the challenges of caring for John, his severely disabled son.
He criticised the Government’s current lack of plans for social care reform, saying: “Carers were not mentioned in the [Labour] manifesto or the King’s Speech.
“But they were mentioned in Sir Keir Starmer’s first Prime Minister’s Questions – because I made sure they would be.”
04:06 PM BST
That’s all for today
Thanks for following today’s politics liveblog.
I will be back tomorrow morning to bring you the latest.
04:03 PM BST
Lamme backtracks on Tories’ £12 billion climate funding pledges
David Lammy has backtracked on the Conservatives’ £12 billion climate funding commitments.
The Foreign Secretary said that the Tories “causally” announced a funding target to tackle global climate change of £11.6 billion over five years until 2025-2026, but had no plan to deliver it.
In a flagship speech setting out the Government’s plans to tackle global rising temperatures, he said: “In contrast, my focus is on how we can actually deliver that promise, given the dire financial inheritance from the last government.
“Ahead of the spending review, they’re carefully reviewing our plans to do so.”
He added: “The British contribution to this target was a promise which the Tories casually made, but for which they did not have a plan.”
He later said that the figure, which was pledged in 2019, “remains our ambition”.
The UK was 40 per cent behind on its target last year, which meant that spending would have to double annually by 2026, to a total of roughly £3 billion a year, to achieve the figure.
03:47 PM BST
Tories: ‘All Lib Dems do is agree with Labour’
The Conservatives have accused the Liberal Democrats of agreeing with “everything” Labour does and not providing an opposition to Sir Keir Starmer’s Government.
Richard Fuller, the Conservative Party chairman, said that the Liberal Democrat leader’s speech showed that he “will not hold this Labour Government, his ‘pen pals’ to account.
“The Liberal Democrats are supposed to be an opposition party, but all their MPs do is agree with everything that Labour want to do.”
He added: “Only the Conservative Party will provide an effective opposition to the Labour Government.”
03:34 PM BST
Liberal Democrats to target Labour-held northern cities at the next election
Sir Ed Davey has said the Liberal Democrats want to take Labour-held northern cities at the next general election.
Closing his party’s annual conference in Brighton, the Liberal Democrat leader singled out cities including Liverpool and Sheffield which have long been heartlands for Sir Keir Starmer’s party.
Sir Ed told the conference hall: “Never forget – our recovery has been built through your hard work. listening to and serving local people proper community politics,
“And our future success will be built the exact same way. Not just against the Conservatives next May, but across the country in the years to come.
“Including in the big cities like Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle, where we have such a proud history and such a bright future.”
03:32 PM BST
Watch: Sir Ed Davey sings ABBA’s ‘Take a Chance on Me’ on conference stage
03:31 PM BST
Davey: ‘How I hope and pray to see Kamala Harris defeat Trump’
Sir Ed Davey said that he “hopes and prays” that Kamala Harris will defeat Donald Trump in the US election in November.
Both Conservative and Labour leaders have sought to take a neutral stance on the race, but the head of the Liberal Democrats made clear his preference for the White House.
He told the conference: “With the looming spectre of a second Trump presidency. How I hope and pray to see Kamala Harris defeat him this November.
“At a time of such instability and uncertainty, it is our values that must prevail.”
03:21 PM BST
Liberal Democrats will replace the Tories’ as official opposition, says Davey
Sir Ed Davey has vowed to “finish the job” and replace the Conservatives with the Liberal Democrats as Britain’s official opposition.
Speaking at the close of the party’s annual conference in Brighton, the Liberal Democrat leader pledged to continue to take support from the Tories.
The Liberal Democrats won most of their record 72 seats at the general election at the expense of the Conservatives, unseating ministers including Gillian Keegan and Alex Chalk.
“The Conservatives showed themselves completely unfit to govern our country, and the British people booted them out,” Sir Ed told activists.
“Now they are already showing they are unfit for opposition too… [The Conservative Party] no longer merits a place at the top table of our politics.
“On July 4 we made a great start, but now let’s go further. Let’s finish the job.”
03:12 PM BST
Davey hits out at Starmer for lack of focus on carers
Sir Ed Davey has criticised the Prime Minister for a lack of focus on carers during the election and in his first weeks in office.
The Liberal Democrat leader urged Sir Keir Starmer to act on the carer’s allowance repayments scandal which has seen thousands of carers having to pay vast sums.
Sir Ed told the conference: “Of course, everyone knows the Conservatives don’t care.
“But did you know, carers weren’t mentioned once in Labour’s election manifesto. And carers weren’t mentioned once in the King’s Speech either.
“But carers did feature in Keir Starmer’s first Prime Minister’s Questions because I made sure they would.”
He added: “By telling him about Andrea, a carer in my constituency, who’s been hit with a bill from the Department for Work and Pensions for more than £4,000.
“Andrea’s one of tens of thousands of carers, who were caught up in the Carer’s Allowance repayments scandal under the Conservative Government.
“I urged Keir Starmer to sort it out, and I repeat that call today.”
03:06 PM BST
Ed Davey calls for winter NHS task force to avoid annual crisis
Sir Ed Davey has urged the creation of a winter NHS task force in order to avoid the annual crisis in the health service.
Speaking at the close of the Liberal Democrat party conference in Brighton, Sir Ed, the party’s leader, urged Sir Keir Starmer to avoid repeating the Tories’ “mistakes” on the NHS.
The task force would manage a ringfenced fund of £1.5 billion over four years, building resilience in hospital wards, A&E departments and the ambulance service.
“Practically every year I can remember, governments have ended up announcing hundreds of millions of pounds of emergency funding to help the NHS through another winter crisis. To paper over the cracks,” he said.
“What if, instead of stumbling from crisis to crisis, instead of throwing more and more money at just plugging the gaps, we invested now, to make the NHS winterproof? The Government could and should make this year the last winter crisis in our NHS.
“So I urge Labour: do not make the same mistakes the Conservative Party did. Be more positive. Act now. Show the ambition and urgency this moment demands – and save our NHS now.”
02:59 PM BST
Sir Ed Davey reveals election stunt ideas abandoned over health and safety concerns
Sir Ed Davey revealed that putting his hand “up a cow’s behind” and “wing walking on a biplane” were among the proposals for stunts during the general election.
The Liberal Democrat leader, who became known for outlandish stunts on the campaign trail, told the conference that the plans were rejected only because of health and safety concerns.
“Now I’m not supposed to tell you what stunt ideas were rejected – not least because they’re still trying to persuade me to do them at the next election.
But I’ll let you into a little secret. It was only health and safety rules that stopped me putting my hand up a cow’s behind or wing walking on a biplane.
But friends, however we were campaigning – and wherever we were campaigning – we always had our clear Liberal Democrat message that showed we’d listened and we’d understood people’s concerns.”
02:57 PM BST
Davey: Liberal Democrats must ‘repay’ trust of the electorate
The Liberal Democrats must “repay” the trust given to them by the electorate during the general election, Sir Ed Davey has said.
Delivering his keynote speech at the party’s autumn conference in Brighton, his first since they won 72 MPs, he said that “the people’s trust is our mandate”.
He told the conference: “In July, millions of voters put their trust in us – many of them for the first time in their lives.
“Trusting us to stand up for them. To be their local champions. To fight for a fair deal.
“That trust – the people’s trust – is our mandate. And now we must be true to that mandate and repay that trust in full.”
02:47 PM BST
Montage of Davey’s best campaign moments shown at Lib Dem conference
A montage of the Liberal Democrats’ election campaign was shown before Sir Ed Davey’s speech, Dominic Penna reports.
It began with an excerpt from a moving video made about how the party leader cares day-to-day for John, his severely disabled son.
Sir Ed was then seen trampolining, water sliding, paddle boarding, on a roller coaster and during a makeover on ITV described by Jason Donovan as “sexy”.
The final scene of the montage was Liberal Democrat MPs partying to the sound of Sweet Caroline.
02:46 PM BST
Labour’s climate plans will mean ‘heaping costs on families in Britain’ warns Coutinho
The Government’s plans to tackle climate change will mean “heaping costs on families in Britain” and “won’t want to make other countries follow our lead”, Claire Coutinho has warned.
Responding to David Lammy’s speech, the shadow climate change secretary said: “Under the Conservatives the UK built more offshore wind than any other country bar China and became one of the first countries to come off coal.
“We’re already a global leader in tackling climate change, but heaping costs on families in Britain won’t want to make other countries follow our lead.”
She added: “Businesses, energy experts, and the unions have said that Labour’s ideological approach to energy will raise bills and send businesses abroad to countries with higher emissions. That’s worse for the British economy and worse for climate change overall.”
02:35 PM BST
Downing Street: Government is “building an ambitious partnership” with Italy
📍 Italy
Building an ambitious partnership that delivers for the British and Italian people.
Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer is in Rome to meet Prime Minister @GiorgiaMeloni of Italy. pic.twitter.com/D78yfeuoRP— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) September 16, 2024
02:19 PM BST
Sir Ed Davey to deliver major speech to party faithful in Brighton
The auditorium is now filling up in Brighton as the Liberal Democrats await Sir Ed Davey’s speech at the close of their conference, Dominic Penna reports.
Sir Ed is expected to talk at length about the NHS, unseating more Tory MPs in the future and taking the fight to Labour after a record-breaking haul of 72 Lib Dems at the election.
The annual party awards are set to take place any time now, followed by some more preamble before Sir Ed’s speech – expected to last around 40 minutes – gets underway.
The Liberal Democrat MPs have already rehearsed a routine in which they gradually fill up the stage, receiving instructions from party bosses on their part in proceedings.
The last time a major party conference took place here was in 2021, when Sir Keir Starmer was heckled by the Labour Left as he tried to push through party reforms while in opposition
02:03 PM BST
Pictured: Ed Miliband delivers speech on energy policy
01:41 PM BST
‘Disease and bankruptcy beckon’ under Labour as Britain’s worklessness crisis deepens
Sir Keir Starmer has promised to fire up Britain’s economy, writes Szu Ping Chan.
But a growing worklessness crisis due to ill health, combined with a soaring benefits bill, threatens to put the brakes on the Prime Minister’s plans before he even gets started.
A new report warns that the country is on a path to “disease and bankruptcy” as worklessness due to ill health rises to a record 4.3m this parliament.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) says lockdown created 900,000 “missing workers” at a cost of £5bn in lost tax receipts this year alone.
The think tank urges Sir Keir, who is on course to preside over an even bigger increase in the number of people neither in work nor looking for a job unless he takes action, to fix the “crisis in our benefits system”.
Read more from The Telegraph’s Economics editor here
12:56 PM BST
Net zero became a ‘battleground’ under the Tories, says Lammy
Net zero became a “battleground of the worst type of narrow-minded Westminster tactical warfare” under the Tories, the Foreign Secretary said.
David Lammy pledged that action on the climate would be “central to all that the Foreign Office does” while he is in charge.
He said: “This is critical, given the scale of the threat, but also the scale of the opportunity, the chance to achieve clean and secure energy, lower bills, and drive growth for the UK, and to preserve the natural world around us, on which all prosperity ultimately depends.
“The truth is that in the last few years, something went badly wrong. Badly wrong, in our national debate on climate change and net zero.”
He added: “Net zero became, under the Tories, a battleground. A battleground of the worst type of narrow-minded Westminster tactical warfare.”
12:42 PM BST
James Cleverly hits out at Labour’s ‘disdain for scrutiny’ in donor row
James Cleverly has accused Labour of a “disdain for scrutiny” in the row over Sir Keir Starmer accepting thousands of pounds on suits and spectacles.
The former home secretary was responding to an interview with Labour minister Dame Angela Eagle, who refused to talk about the row.
He wrote on X: “Which is worse? The hypocrisy or the disdain for scrutiny.”
Which is worse? The hypocrisy or the distain for scrutiny. https://t.co/RVLRVYmOuo
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) September 17, 2024
12:33 PM BST
Lammy announces new global alliance to accelerate shift to renewable energy
David Lammy has announced a global alliance to accelerate the shift to renewable energy in his first major speech as Foreign Secretary, Jacob Freedland reports.
Speaking to diplomats and environmental campaigners at Kew Gardens in west London, Mr Lammy drew a line in the sand between the former government - who he described as “climate dinosaurs” - and Labour’s new approach.
Mr Lammy said: “The alliance needs to focus on scaling up global investment. We must use global finance on a far larger scale so we can back ambitious plans on those moving away from fossil fuels and close the clean power gap by helping [poorer] countries transition to clean energy.”
12:29 PM BST
Pictured: Sunscreen break for Davey
12:19 PM BST
UK must use ‘all levers at our disposal’ to tackle climate crisis, says Lammy
The UK must use “all levers at our disposal” to tackle the climate crisis, David Lammy has said.
Unveiling the Government’s plans to create a new global clean power alliance, the Foreign Secretary said the problem of climate change was “more fundamental” than terrorism.
Speaking at Kew Gardens in London, he said: “Our goal is progressive, a liveable planet for all now and in the future, but we need a hardheaded, realist approach towards using all levers at our disposal, from the diplomatic to the financial.
“And I say to you now, these are not contradictions, because nothing could be more central for the UK’s national interests than delivering global progress on arresting rising temperatures.”
Mr Lammy added: “The threat may not feel as urgent as a terrorist or an imperialist autocrat, but it is more fundamental, it is systemic, it’s pervasive and accelerating towards us at pace.”
12:15 PM BST
Number of migrants crossing the Channel since Labour won the election passes 10,000
The number of migrants who have crossed the English Channel since Labour won the general election has passed 10,000, according to provisional Home Office figures.
Some 65 migrants were detected crossing the Channel on Monday, taking the cumulative number of arrivals since July 4 to 10,024.
The cumulative total for the year so far now stands at 23,598.
This is 1 per cent lower than the equivalent figure at this point last year, which was 23,940, and 21% lower than the total at this stage in 2022, which was 29,783.
Two boats arrived on Monday, which suggests an average of around 33 people per boat.
There were 29,437 arrivals across the whole of 2023, down 36% on a record 45,774 in 2022.
12:08 PM BST
Shadow Cabinet minister criticises Dame Angela Eagle over response to donations row
A shadow Cabinet minister has criticised Dame Angela Eagle over her response to questions over the donations row engulfing Sir Keir Starmer.
The Home Office minister was reminded on Times Radio (see post at 09:26) that Angela Rayner had criticised Boris Johnson for accepting gifts from donors including expensive wallpaper, to which she replied: “Okay, you’ve had your rant”.
Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow business secretary, said of the clip on X: “Do as I say, not as I do. Socialism in practice.”
11:46 AM BST
Davey hits the tennis court before major Lib Dem conference speech
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has warmed up for his conference speech this afternoon by playing tennis with fellow MPs.
Sir Ed was joined by deputy leader Daisy Cooper, Munira Wilson and Max Wilkinson at St Ann’s Tennis in Hove.
Sir Ed and Mr Wilkinson hit rallies against Ms Cooper and Ms Wilson before some coaching, after which they hit some individual shots.
Sir Ed and Mr Wilkinson then hit rallies between one another, and at one point a tennis ball went flying towards the press pack.
“You’ve got some wicked spin on your shots,” Sir Ed told new Cheltenham MP Mr Wilkinson.
11:43 AM BST
Give us ‘full pay restoration’ or we’ll strike again, junior doctors warn
Junior doctors will strike again if they are not awarded “full pay restoration” despite a 22 per cent deal, a senior BMA figure has said.
BMA members have voted to accept the offer from Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, of 22.3 per cent on average over two years.
But Dr Vivek Trivedi, the junior doctors’ committee co-chairman, said that the deal was a “compromise” and “the first step towards our goal” to have full pay restoration.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Mr Streeting has talked about our pay falling behind inflation, and has talked about a journey to fair pay, and sees that journey occurring via the independent pay review bodies awarding their regular annual uplifts, and he wants to restore confidence in that process, which doctors don’t have for a number of reasons.
“But if that process does play out the way he envisages, the way that maybe it used to in the past, and that does inspire the confidence of doctors, then of course, there’s no reason for doctors to go back into dispute over pay and strike again.
“But if that doesn’t happen, and the Government does not correct that, and does not continue our journey to full pay restoration, which is what doctors have been calling for to keep their colleagues here so that medicine can remain an attractive profession in this country, then the Government will find doctors back in dispute.”
He added: “This offer puts a doctor who was before this, earning £15 an hour only on £17 now, which of course is an improvement, and it does mark the start of that journey, but the journey’s not over.”
11:03 AM BST
Rachel Reeves beats Angela Rayner in battle for Dorneywood country pile
Rachel Reeves has been given the keys to Dorneywood after speculation that the grace-and-favour Government mansion might go to Angela Rayner instead, Alex Barton reports.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is listed as the latest occupant of the 18th-century property and is understood to have had access to the Georgian mansion since July.
The move is a break from Labour tradition, owing to the fact that John Prescott, the then deputy prime minister, was allowed access to the 21-room mansion over Gordon Brown, the former chancellor.
10:55 AM BST
Britain’s ‘vetocracy’ stops companies from investing in the UK, says Jenrick
Britain’s “vetocracy” means that companies are stopped from investing in the UK, Robert Jenrick has said.
The Tory leadership contender criticised the “byzantine planning system” and the “uncertainty of our judicial review system” for making it more difficult to build a factory in the UK than elsewhere.
Writing for Conservative Home, the former Home Office minister said: “Investors are optimistic about Britain but we turn them away. Companies spend years pleading for the right to spend their money here creating jobs, only to be declined by the vetocracy. The cost of a planning application for a project in Britain can be more than building the project overseas.”
He added: “It’s not the state’s business to tell firms how much to invest, or how to spend it. But we find ourselves in a place where we effectively tell companies they can’t invest.
“Between our byzantine planning system and the uncertainty of our judicial review system which constantly upends decisions, getting planning approval to build a data centre or factory is markedly harder in the UK than elsewhere.”
10:33 AM BST
Miliband: ‘We are sprinting towards clean power by 2030’
The UK is “sprinting towards” achieving clean power by 2030, Ed Miliband has said.
The Energy Secretary said that “the old argument that there was a trade-off between energy affordability, security and sustainability is over” and that it had been “replaced by a clean energy imperative”.
Mr Miliband is currently speaking at the Energy UK annual conference about the Government’s plans for renewable energy,
He wrote on X: “The price of renewables has fallen dramatically in recent years. It is now obvious that clean power is the right choice not just for climate, but for our energy security and affordability too.
“That is why we are sprinting towards our mission for clean power by 2030.”
He added: “Our mission for clean power, alongside the first publicly-owned national energy company for decades, will answer the clean energy imperative. For energy security, lower bills, good jobs, and climate action.”
10:22 AM BST
‘No one will be fooled by Labour tax and spend Budget’ warns Jeremy Hunt
Nobody would be “fooled” if the Government has “simply been laying the ground for a traditional Labour tax and spend Budget”, Jeremy Hunt has warned.
The former Chancellor has said that “big tax rises” would be a “betrayal” to the electorate after promising not to increase VAT, income tax and National Insurance.
Mr Hunt wrote in the Financial Times on Tuesday: “If we see nettles being grasped in welfare reform, productivity and investment then our economy has a chance to continue to grow.
“But if a summer of politics from the government has simply been laying the ground for a traditional Labour tax and spend budget, no one will be fooled.”
He added: “Labour has a political objective, which is to frame any unpopular tax rises as the fault of their predecessors. But having promised not to put up taxes beyond those specified in their manifesto over 50 times, big tax rises would be seen as a betrayal. That will no doubt dominate the political debate.”
10:02 AM BST
Poll: Have your say on junior doctor pay
09:58 AM BST
‘A decade on, Scottish independence appears more improbable than ever’
This Wednesday is the anniversary of that great day exactly 10 years ago when my fellow Scots kept their heads and said “No” to the potentially disastrous plan by Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon to break up Britain and end the 307-year-old Union with England, writes Alan Cochrane.
Those intimately involved with the battle to stop them thought that the almost 11 per cent margin in that independence referendum was a decent win.
But, with the benefit of hindsight, maybe it was a wee bit too close for comfort – or, as Wellington reportedly said as he surveyed the carnage of the Waterloo battlefield: “It was a damn close-run thing.”
However, is such a result at all likely, or might it be reversed, if there is another vote? Personally, I doubt it very much. In charge of Scotland since 2007, the SNP has shown itself to be entirely short of the necessary skills to run a devolved parliament – with a huge array of powers – so what chance does it have of running an independent country?
Alan Cochrane: How the SNP fatally wounded its own cause
09:31 AM BST
Business Secretary: Working from home can boost productivity
Flexible working is often beneficial for productivity, the Business Secretary has said.
Jonathan Reynolds criticised efforts by the previous Conservative government to get workers back into the office as he suggested working from home is here to stay.
In an interview with The Times, Mr Reynolds singled out a push by Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, one of his predecessors, to ensure workers in Whitehall were at their desks more often.
09:26 AM BST
‘Okay, you’ve had your rant’
Dame Angela Eagle took part in a tetchy interview with Times Radio in which she was repeatedly asked about Sir Keir Starmer accepting clothing from donors.
On why Sir Keir did not buy his own glasses, Dame Angela, a Home Office minister, said: “Well, why don’t you ask him?”
Told she was on for the Government, she replied: “I am but I’m afraid I’m not responsible for the decisions the Prime Minister makes.”
"Angela Rayner had an opinion when Boris Johnson was getting money from donors…now you've got someone who has a luxury glasses habit who's taking money from pensioners."
"Okay you've had your rant."
Dame @AngelaEagle avoids answering questions on the PM's new glasses. pic.twitter.com/p8QTtCqiIW— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) September 17, 2024
Asked if Sir Keir should pay for his own glasses, Dame Angela said: “I don’t have an opinion on what the Prime Minister does in these instances.”
And when reminded Angela Rayner attacked Boris Johnson over accepting gifts including wallpaper from donors, she replied: “Okay, you’ve had your rant.”
09:12 AM BST
Pictured: Angela Rayner arrives at Downing Street
09:08 AM BST
Junior doctors will expect above-inflation pay rise next year, says BMA representative
Junior doctors will expect an above-inflation pay rise next year, a British Medical Association representative has said.
Asked what junior doctors would be looking for next year, Dr Robert Laurenson told LBC: “Well, it would have to be an above-inflation pay rise.”
He added: “I think the Government’s come into position, into power, where they’ve got themselves in a pig-headed aptitude (sic), where they think that they’re making tough decisions rather than the right decision.
“The Government needs a period of time to understand the ramifications of their decisions, and that this deal, because it has no security for the future, it won’t solve the retention crisis.
“What we’re saying is that if the Government doesn’t make significant progress towards pay restoration, then we need to be in a position to hold them accountable.”
09:00 AM BST
Brexit gave me PTSD, says Lib Dem councillor
A Liberal Democrat councillor has said she has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of Brexit, Dominic Penna reports.
Antonia Harrison, who sits on Havant council in Hampshire, said she was “European to the core” and that Britain’s departure from the European Union (EU) had a “profound impact” on her.
The Liberal Democrats stood on a platform of cancelling Brexit at the 2019 general election. The party now calls for closer ties with Europe, including a return to the single market as a first step. It eventually intends to campaign to rejoin the EU.
Speaking at a fringe event for the annual Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton, Ms Harrison said: “I actually have, in my medical history, a diagnosis of PTSD over Brexit.”
08:53 AM BST
Labour minister refuses to rule out scrapping single person council tax discount
A Labour minister has refused to rule out scrapping the single person council tax discount.
Dame Angela Eagle, a Home Office minister, defended supporting removing the winter fuel allowance for millions of pensioners, which she had previously criticised the Tories for proposing in 2017.
People living alone currently receive a 25 per cent discount on their council tax in recognition that single-occupier homes use fewer council services than families and couples.
Asked about whether further support could be removed from pensioners, in the form of scrapping the single person council tax discount, she said: “I’m not in the Treasury.
“I don’t know what the situation is with the fiscal consolidation that has to happen”.
She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “The economic situation we’re in at the moment is different, and we have to make these very difficult choices. But I’ve said that the pension triple lock will remain.
“I’ve said that there’s extra help with the Household Support Fund, and we will have to ensure that we look after the interests of pensioners via the triple lock. That will mean that they get at least and sometimes above inflation increases, depending on what happens.”
08:30 AM BST
Pictured: Rachel Reeves in Westminster
08:20 AM BST
Labour minister dismisses comments threatening further strike action by junior doctors
A Labour minister has dismissed comments from BMA representatives suggesting that junior doctors could strike again as “what any trade union shop steward would say”.
In response to comments from Robert Laurenson, co-chair of the British Medical Association’s Junior Doctors Committee, that further strikes could take place once Labour’s “honeymoon period” is over, Dame Angela Eagle told LBC the Government was focused on making up for cancelled operations.
She said: “1.5 million cancelled operations at a cost of £1.7 billion because the previous government wouldn’t talk to the junior doctors appropriately.
“The comment you’ve just read out sounds like what any trade union shop steward would say. That’s fine, that’s their job, let’s see how it goes.”
She added: “He can say that all he likes but the point is what we’ve got to do now is concentrate on making up for those 1.5 million cancelled operations, see what we can do to get the NHS back on their feet.
“I expect the junior doctors and all other people represented in the health service will carry on making the cases they make to Wes Streeting for a pay uplift. They’ve certainly had the first pay uplift they’ve had in a long time under this Government.”
08:12 AM BST
UK will see if Italy’s Albania scheme ‘works’ before deciding whether to pursue it, says minister
Britain will see whether Italian plans to process asylum seekers in Albania works before deciding whether to pursue a similar policy, a Home Office minister has suggested.
Dame Angela Eagle, the border security minister, told Times Radio: “Firstly we don’t know whether it will work yet, because it hasn’t started. Much of this has been portrayed currently as if it’s already a success but the fact is that it hasn’t started.
“We will see how it works. But what we have said is that any scheme that we deal with for offshore processing or anything else has to be workable, it has to be cost effective, and it also has to be in line with international law.”
08:07 AM BST
Deputy Lib Dem leader backs assisted dying legislation
The deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats has said that she has changed her mind on assisted dying and would support legalising it.
Daisy Cooper said that her decision would be dependent on “safeguards” being in place “to protect vulnerable people” but added: “I think my instinct is to support assisted dying and dignity in dying”.
Her comments come despite Sir Ed Davey expressing concerns over assisted dying legislation as he believed it risked making the elderly feel like a “burden”.
Ms Cooper told Times Radio: “For my own part, I spoke in a debate a few years ago where I said, if there was a debate tomorrow, I don’t know how I would vote.
Since then, I think I’ve shifted my position slightly the point where I think my instinct is to support assisted dying and dignity in dying.
“But there’s a very, very big but which is that I would need to be very reassured that there were safeguards in place to protect vulnerable people.”
07:53 AM BST
Starmer: I was ‘angry’ at photos of criminals celebrating their early release
Sir Keir Starmer has said that photographs of offenders celebrating their early release from prison made him “angry”.
Some 1,700 prisoners were released early from their sentences last week in the first phase of the Government’s plan to tackle overcrowding, with some pictured celebrating and having drinks outside.
Asked about the images, the Prime Minister told reporters: “I spent five years prosecuting and putting people in prison, and being forced to release people who should be in prison makes me angry.
“But the choice was pretty simple. We’d got to the point where prisons were so full we had the choice between releasing people in the way that we’ve done it, or not being able to arrest people and put them in prison.”
He also criticised Rishi Sunak for forcing him to “be put into a position where it’s a choice because prisons are so overcrowded that it’s a release scheme the likes of which we had to go down, or a point where the police say we cannot carry out our basic functions”.
07:44 AM BST
Starmer’s meeting with Meloni does not mean endorsement of migration policy, says minister
Sir Keir Starmer’s meeting with the Italian prime minister should not be taken as an endorsement of all her migration policies, a Home Office minister has said.
Dame Angela Eagle, the border security minister, told Sky News: “Meeting with the Italians doesn’t mean we endorse absolutely everything every single Italian member of the government says or does.
“But we are meeting a G7 country and a fellow Nato member to see how we can co-operate across border to deal with some of these vile people smuggling gangs.
“That is the announcement I’m making about the £75 million extra to beef up the border security command and that means that we can send people into Europol, extra investigators, more intelligence, we can work with our partners across Europe and in other places to try and put a stop to this vile trade.”
