Early evening summary
The alleged Chinese spy with links to Prince Andrew and who made connections at the heart of the UK establishment has been named as Yang Tengbo, a businessman also known as Chris Yang. In the Commons Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, accused Keir Starmer of being “sycophantic” to the Chinese president. (See 4.04pm.) Dan Jarvis, the security minister, said at least Starmer did not take Xi Jinping to the pub, as David Cameron did.
A woman who threw a milkshake over Nigel Farage during the general election campaign has been given a 13-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months. In a post on social media, Farage said the sentence was too light.
We now live in a country where you can assault a Member of Parliament and not go to prison.
The latest example of two-tier justice.
The removal of district councils in England could leave to parish and town councillors playing a bigger role, says Prof Joanie Willett, a local government specialist at the University of Exeter. In a comment on the government’s plans, she says:
Removing borough councils raises questions about the potential for town and parish councils to take a step up in local governance, with a more important profile. This could boost democracy, if town and parish councils can be adequately supported.
And here is some more expert reaction to the English devolution white paper.
From Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive at the LGIU (Local Government Information Unit), a thinktank
The government’s devolution agenda as set out in today’s White Paper is ambitious and far reaching. At LGIU, we have for many years argued that complex problems find their best solutions locally and that power needs to be devolved from Whitehall to our regions, councils and communities. Localism is both a democratic good and a better way of getting things done.
On that basis, we welcome the white paper’s intent and direction of travel, though we believe it should also include a real commitment to fiscal devolution.
From Akash Paun, programme director for devolution at the Institute for Government thinktank
Empowering metro mayors to lead on strategic planning for their regions is sensible and could be crucial for the government’s ability to meet its growth and home-building targets – the Institute for Government has long argued that mayors are well-placed to develop and deliver regional plans for housing, transport and other infrastructure.
It is also important that the government extends devolution to the 50% of England that has so far been left out.
We welcome the publication of the white paper. But devolution is no magic bullet. To make this work, the government also needs to invest properly in institutional capacity and new accountability systems at the devolved level.
From Cllr John Merry, chair of Key Cities, a network of smallish cities, mostly Labour run
Devolution is a powerful tool for driving the local growth this country desperately needs, but its success hinges on recognising the diversity of UK cities and regions.
That’s why Key Cities supports large parts of the devolution bill, which will empower many of our local leaders. However, our members are concerned that a “one-size-fits-all” model could have a counter-intuitive effect. Our 2024 survey of our network (covering approximately 10% of the UK population), found that a quarter of city members would like to better understand how such a model would be applied in very different and unique geographic areas, and for a third it would be undesirable to go down the route of a combined authority (20% are already in a combined authority).
Minister confirms local government reorganisation could lead to some elections being postponed
Jim McMahon, the local government minister, has been make a Commons statement about the English devolution white paper. In response to a question from Harriett Baldwin (Con) about whether council elections might be cancelled next year, McMahon said that if councils came to government with a credible plan for reorganisation, then elections the year after might be postponed to allow for alternative elections to take place for the shadow authority that would replace the county and district councils (in a two-tier area). But he said there would be no “mass cancellations of elections for the sake of it”.
Election Maps UK, a social media account that provides excellent local elections coverage, points out that, if anyone thinks Labour is cancelling elections to keep Labour in power at county council level, they are wrong.
Before there's a tinfoil hat shortage, a reminder of who currently controls County Councils in England:
— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) December 16, 2024
Conservative: 19
Lib Dem: 2
Labour: 0
If this were a Government plot to 'cancel democracy', they wouldn't even be benefitting anywhere... pic.twitter.com/HQt9xutHiu
Before there’s a tinfoil hat shortage, a reminder of who currently controls County Councils in England:
Conservative: 19
Lib Dem: 2
Labour: 0
If this were a Government plot to ‘cancel democracy’, they wouldn’t even be benefitting anywhere...
FWIW there is precedent for this. Council elections in North Yorkshire, Somerset, Cumberland, and Westmorland & Furness were postponed in February 2021 - 3 months before scheduled elections - for the same reason (transition from CC to UA).
English devolution plans undemocratic, Tories and Greens claim
The Conservative party has criticised the English devolution white paper on the grounds that reorganisation will be imposed on local communities if they cannot agree. (See 2.04pm.) A Conservative party spokesperson said:
The Conservatives believe in local democracy. Under the last Government devolution was extended across England, and councils which wanted to unitarise were supported to do so.
Angela Rayner’s announcement is part of a plan by Labour to strip councils of their powers to make choices and to impose reorganisation from Westminster without local consent.
The Green party has also claimed the plans are undemocratic. This is from Adrian Ramsay, the Green party’s co-leader, echoing some of the points made by the District Councils’ Network. (See 4.58pm.)
Local democracy is in urgent need of reform but this White Paper does not deliver the real change our local councils need.
It steals power away from local people and risks making the real changes required harder to achieve, including building the homes we need, cleaning our rivers, reforming social care and greening our local economies.
We should trust local communities to make the right decisions on homes, food, energy, nature and adapting to the climate crisis.
Instead, these plans risk moving power away from local councils to huge remote super councils and regional mayors.
And the Liberal Democrats have criticised the plans for neglecting social care (a priority issue for the party). Vikki Slade, the party’s local government spokesperson, said:
Council budgets are on the brink. The previous Conservative government pushed so many local authorities to the edge of bankruptcy.
Without properly investing in social care more of the vital services that councils provide will disappear to those who desperately need them.
Services like park and leisure centres at risk from Labour's local government reorganisation, district councils claim
Organisations representing councils in England are divided over the plans in the English devolution white paper to get rid of the remaining two-tier council areas.
In areas with county councils and district councils operating alongside each other, the government wants new unitary councils, which in most cases, it says, will mean “creating councils with a population of 500,000 or more”.
This councils may therefore look more like county councils than district councils and that explains why the County Councils Network is more enthusiastic. Tim Oliver, its chair, said in a statement:
We welcome the white paper outlining that new unitary councils should have a population of 500,000 or more. We look forward to further details on the criteria and process for reorganisation, but with council finances under severe strain it is imperative that reform ensures that new unitary councils have the size and scale necessary to deliver substantial long-term savings, minimise disruption to care services and maintain strong tax bases well into the future. Any decisions on local government reorganisation by ministers must be evidence-based and ensure that county councils are not split into multiple small unitary councils that cannot fulfil the ambitions of this white paper.
But the District Councils’ Network is much more critical. Its chair, Sam Chapman-Allen, said:
District councils are close to communities, which makes us responsive, approachable, trusted and understanding of local needs. The danger is that all of this is lost in the top-down imposition of mega councils – regional, rather than local government covering many hundreds of thousands or even millions of people. Bigger isn’t intrinsically better.
While we welcome the government’s commitment to extend devolution England-wide, the imposition of mega councils with a minimum population of 500,000 is the opposite of devolution, taking powers away from local communities.
Chapman-Allen also claimed the reorganisation could put local services at risk.
Services including parks, leisure centres, street cleaning and waste collection are hugely valued by our local communities and bring about local pride and prosperity – but the danger is that new unitary councils have no option but to cut them to withstand growing social care costs.
Social care’s funding crisis must be resolved urgently but not at the expense of services such as housing and planning, which are integral to the government’s house-building goals, and work to build local economies, which contributes to the government’s aim to grow the national economy. The danger is that local work to prevent ill-health and homelessness, which saves the rest of the public sector millions of pounds, also has to be scaled back.
Oliver and Chapman-Allen are both Conservative councillors, although the CCN and the DCN are both cross-party organisations.
Updated
Tom Tugendhat, the former security minister, told MPs that when he was in office in the last government, he was told by officials that FIRS would be ready to launch at the end of this year. He said the only thing that changed was the party in power.
He also said that, if China was not in the enhanced tier, “it’s not worth having”.
Jarvis said that he had known Tugendhat a long time, and was asking him to trust him when he said officials told them the scheme was not “ready to go” when Labour took office.
Updated
Paul Waugh (Lab) said that Chris Philp should be criticising his own party for sycophancy towards China. (See 4.04pm.) He said, when he was working as a journalist before he became an MP, he was with Theresa May when she visited China. And May was praised by Chinese state media because she sidelined human rights issues, he said.
Christine Jardine from the Liberal Democrats asked Jarvis for an assurance that the government would not weaken its stance on human rights in dealings with China.
Jarvis said the government had to “weigh a number of considerations” when dealing with China, but that national security would always come first.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accuses Starmer of adopting 'sycophantic' tone with Chinese president
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said he was grateful to the government for arranging a security briefing for him on this story earlier today.
He urged the government to implement FIRS quickly.
And he called for a rethink in its China policy.
Given what we’ve learned and what we know, these very close relations that the prime minister is apparently attempting may not be wise, and the rather sycophantic tone the prime minister took with President Xi at the G20 a few weeks ago may not be very wise in light of what we now.
Jarvis said he did not agree with this assessment. Referring to what happened when David Cameron was prime minister, and he hosted President Xi during his visit to the UK, Jarvis said:
At least [Keir Starmer] least he did not take him to the pub for a pint.
Jarvis says Home Office will soon set out how 'enhanced sphere' of foreign influence scheme will be used
Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader who tabled the UQ, said that there are 40,000 people working for the Chinese United Front Work Department. They have penetrated every sector of the economy, he says.
He urged the government to put China in the enhanced sphere for FIRS (ie, to subject to to extra checks, because of the higher risk it poses). He said Tom Tugendhat, the former security minister, has said the last government was about to put China on the list in this category.
And he said the UK was buying solar panels from China made with slave labour. “Far from challenging China on human rights, it now appears we are turning a blind eye to them,” he said.
In response, Dan Jarvis, the Home Office minister, said FIRS was not ready to go live when Labour took office. He said the plans were “not sufficiently robust”.
As for whether China would be included in the enhanced sphere, he said the Home Office would be setting out its approach to using this sphere in due course.
Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, tells Jarvis that the government should have agreed to give a statement on this. It should not just be responding to an urgent question, he says.
And he tells Iain Duncan Smith that he should not have told the media in advance about his plan to table this UQ.
Security minister Dan Jarvis tells MPs foreign influence registration scheme won't be operational until summer 2025
Dan Jarvis, the security minister, is responding. He says the government is glad that the Home Office’s decision to exclude Yang Tengbo in this case was upheld by the courts.
He says the head of MI5 has said the UK is facing the most complex threat environment he has ever seen.
The National Security Act is essential, he says. He says six people have already been charged under the Act.
And, on China, he says the government’s position is to challenge where it must, compete where it has to, and cooperate where it can.
He says the details of the foreign influence registration scheme (FIRS) will be set out in the new year, and the scheme will come operational in the summer, he says.
Updated
Speaker tells MPs not to criticise Prince Andrew ahead of urgent question on alleged Chinese spy
Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, says the Commons starts court sub judice rules. It is important that MPs do not subvert what courts have to decide, he says.
He says a court has decided to lift the anonymity ruling in the case of the alleged Chinese spy.
He also says MPs are only allowed to criticise the conduct of members of the royal family when they are debating a substantive motion covering that. That is not the case this afternoon, he says.
The Commons urgent question on China will start imminently.
Badenoch says replacing most taxes with flat tax 'very attractive' in principle - but currently unaffordable
Kemi Badenoch has said that she finds the idea of introducing a flat tax “very attractive” in principle – but unaffordable at present.
She made the comment in response to a question at the event this afternoon organised for groups campaigning about the extension of inhertance tax to farms. Asked by a business owner if she would consider getting rid of most taxes and replacing them with a flat tax, a single rate of income tax for everyone, she replied:
This is an idea that I’ve heard many times. It’s very attractive, but if we’re going to get to that sort of scenario, there’s a lot of work we need to do first hand.
At the moment, we are a welfare state with a little bit of a productivity attached to it. We’ve got to turn that around.
We cannot afford flat taxes where we are now. We need to make sure we rewire our economy so that we can lighten the burden of tax and the regulation on individuals and on those businesses that are just starting out, in particular.
People see the businesses that close. They don’t see the businesses that never started in the first place.
Tory rightwingers have long been attracted by the idea of a flat tax. When Liz Truss was preparing to take over as prime minister, Jacob Rees Mogg urged her to get rid of all direct taxes and replace them with a flat rate of income tax, set at 20p in the pound. He was inspired by the version in Estonia and he claimed it would cost £41bn. Truss reportedly described this as a “great idea”, but even she drew the line at implementing it.
As well as cost, another disadvantage with flat taxes is that they do not allow scope for exemptions – like the one farmers have enjoyed from inheritance tax.
Updated
What Rayner says about 'unprecedented new powers' being given to mayors in England
In her speech this afternoon Angela Rayner, the deputy PM, said that, as well as extending the number of mayoral authorities, she would be given them “unprecedented new powers”. Here is the passage from the speech where she explained what those powers would be.
Too often, mayors hands are tied by Whitehall … So we will create a clear and transparent route for all mayoral combined authorities to receive an integrated settlement.
This means moving resources between projects that matches what the people need.
We will give mayors new powers over strategic planning and new call-in powers so that they can build the homes we need and plan for growth on a larger scale.
And we will get mayors working more closely with Homes England to unlock new homes.
The most mature areas will be able to set the strategic direction of any future affordable homes programme.
We will devolve future funding to support regeneration and housing delivery, and we will consolidate adult skills funding, introducing joint ownership of the local skills improvement plan and new routes to influence 16 to 19 provision.
And we will devote funding to support economically inactive people into work, and funding for retrofit will be included in the integrated settlements by the end of the parliament.
We will also create a statutory role for mayors in governing the rail network, with a right to request on rail devolution.
This all means easier commutes, across more joined-up transport links, new homes properly connected to local infrastructure and skills provision that matches local job opportunities.
And this is how she summed up the plans.
We have an economy that hoards potential and a politics that hoards power. So our devolution revolution will deliver the greatest transfer of power from Whitehall to our communities in a generation, empowering those communities to realise their potential.
No other government has been this ambitious about devolution, a mission that binds all departments across government, a long-term mission over generations rather than a short-term fix.
Yang Tengbo says he's not spy, he loves Britain and 'would never do anything to harm interests of UK'
Yang Tengbo has released a statement saying that to call him a spy is “entirely untrue”. He says he loves Britain and “would never do anything to harm the interests of the UK”.
Here is the statement in full.
Due to the high level of speculation and misreporting in the media and elsewhere, I have asked my legal team to disclose my identity. I have done nothing wrong or unlawful and the concerns raised by the Home Office against me are ill-founded. The widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue.
This is why I applied for a review of the Home Office decision in the first place, and why I am seeking permission to appeal the SIAC [special immigration appeals commission] decision. It is also why an order extending my anonymity up to the point of determination of the appeal process was granted.
I have been excluded from seeing most of the evidence that was used against me under a process which is widely acknowledged by SIAC practitioners as inherently unfair: decisions are made based on secret evidence and closed proceedings, which has been described as “taking blind shots at a hidden target”.
On their own fact finding, even the three judges in this case concluded that there was ‘not an abundance of evidence’ against me, their decision was ‘finely balanced’, and there could be an ‘innocent explanation’ for my activities. This has not been reported in the media.
The political climate has changed, and unfortunately, I have fallen victim to this. When relations are good, and Chinese investment is sought, I am welcome in the UK. When relations sour, an anti-China stance is taken, and I am excluded.
I am an independent self-made entrepreneur and I have always aimed to foster partnerships and build bridges between East and West. I have dedicated my professional life in the UK to building links between British and Chinese businesses. My activities have played a part in bringing hundreds of millions of pounds of investment into the UK.
I built my private life in the UK over two decades and love the country as my second home. I would never do anything to harm the interests of the UK.
Andrew Lloyd Webber lets London Palladium be used for protest meeting about inheritance tax extension
Opposition parties and farmers have taken over the London Palladium today to run a conference opposing Labour’s changes to inheritance tax which they says risks putting family farms out of business.
Andrew Lloyd Webber has lent the palatial theatre to farmers, as his land will also be subject to inheritance tax. Speaking under the sparkly Robin Hood pantomime set - the panto is taking place shortly after the conference - shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins vowed the Conservatives will reverse the tax changes if they get back into government. She said:
You are the families that work day in day out. Your children are on the farm as soon as they can squeeze a pair of wellies onto their feet. You are the families that this Christmas Day will be having your fun and enjoying Christmas Day, but you’ll also be out on the farm, feeding livestock, making sure that everything is ticking over whilst everybody else is enjoying the Christmas lunches that you and our farmers have produced. You are the families that continue working well beyond retirement age, because that’s what farming is. It’s not a job. It is a way of life. It is a vocation.
Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Tim Farron also spoke. He said:
The narrative that is put out there is that these are wealthy, wealthy people who should be paying inheritance tax like everybody else. And that’s a complete nonsense when you understand the reality of life … the typical farmer in my community is sitting on a farm that may be worth millions of pounds, and typically they will be earning significantly, significantly less than the minimum wage.
Updated
Government publishes English devolution white paper
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has now published the English devolution white paper.
Q: What evidence is there that mayors make a difference?
Rayner says she thinks that the evidence is there. She cites growth as one factor. And transport connectivity is another factor, she says. But she says mayors are frustrated because they think, with more powers, they could deliver more.
She says there is potential growth worth billions that can be unlocked.
Q: What role will transport play in your growth mission?
Rayner says transport in the north-west, around Manchester, is a nightmare. She wants Manchester to have a transport system as the one in place in London.
Q: Will all elections next May go ahead? If they don’t, people will feel a right has been taken away?
Rayner says the government is not looking at delaying local elections. It wants reform. If they get to reform quickly, that is an issue they might come to.
Q: How long will it take to bring in these strategic planning powers?
Rayner says some of this will be in the devolution bill. But some collaboration is happening already, she says.
Alleged Chinese spy who befriended Prince Andew can be named as Yang Tengbo, judge rules
The alleged Chinese spy who got close to Prince Andrew as a way to gain access to the UK establishment has been named as Yang Tengbo, a businessman also known as Chris Yang, Jessica Elgot and Peter Walker report.
Updated
Rayner is now taking questions.
Q: Mayors want powers over post-16 education. What will happen if mayors want powers you are not willing to give them?
Q: How can I explain to people what this will mean to voters?
Q: Some mayors want fiscal devolution – things like a tourism tax. You are not offering that. Could that change?
Rayner is answering all three questions together.
She says Whitehall will have to give a good reason if it is refusing requests for new powers from mayors.
On taxation, she says mayors will have more flexibility over who they use council tax receipts.
She says she has never seen a more “scary’” group than what she calls “the pride” of Labour mayors. She says they are sharing information.
She says she expects them to demand more.
UPDATE: Rayner said:
There is kind of a theme here of ‘wow, that is great, but we want more’, which is even better.
It is evolution as well as revolution and you have seen that some areas where we have got combined authorities have gone much further because they have been able to do that, and we want to push that.
This white paper and the bill that we will be putting forward will be a default for devolution, so Whitehall would have to give a good excuse as to why they wouldn’t give those areas the devolution.
We want to make sure we do that whether it is the post-16 skills or any other element.
Updated
Rayner says she wants to extend powers for mayors
Rayner says, as well as extending the number of mayoral authorities, she wants to give them more powers.
Rayner says she wants mayors running strategic authorities in England, 'to give cities and regions bigger voice'
Rayner says having the right powers in the right place (the goal of the devolution plans) can revive faith in democracy.
She praises initiatives already taken by Labour metro mayors, including Oxford Street regeneration in London, the train service in Liverpool, buses under local control in Manchester, and clean energy jobs in the East Midlands.
She says the last Labour government introduced devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
But in England devolution has been a patchwork, she says. She goes on:
Under the Conservatives, devolution has often meant creating a patchwork of individual deals benefiting some parts of the country while other parts have missed out.
Well, no more. With our Plan for Change … it’s time for a completely new way of governing, one that unites public and private sectors, at all levels of government, business, and unions and the whole of civil society.
Rayner says in future devolution “no longer be agreed by the whim of a minister in Whitehall. It will now be default in our constitution.”
Ultimately, our aim is mayoral devolution over areas of genuine strategic scale, and to create strategic authorities as a new tier of local government to give our cities and regions a bigger voice.
And, if local leaders cannot agree on a mayoral model, Whitehall will impose one, she says.
So I will legislate for a new power of ministerial directive which will allow central government to knock heads together and create strategic authorities where local leaders cannot agree.
Updated
Angela Rayner gives speech on devolution white paper for England
Angela Rayner starts by saying this is a moment that people have been waiting for for a long time – “the turning point when people and places across England finally begin to take back control over the things that matter to them”.
Tracy Brabin says, “if growth is the question, devolution is the answer”.
Angela Rayner, the deputy PM, is about to give her speech in Leeds on the devolution white paper for England. There is a live feed here.
Tracy Brabin, the West Yorkshire mayor, is introducing her.
New cabinet secretary Chris Wormald tells civil servants they will have to 'do things differently' to rewire state as PM wants
Chris Wormald has started work today as the new cabinet secretary. Announcing his appointment two weeks ago, Keir Starmer said that changing Britain would require “nothing less than the complete rewiring of the British state to deliver bold and ambitious long-term reform”.
Today, in an email to civil servants, Wormald, former permanent secretary at the Department for Health and Social Care, says they will all have to “do things differently” to deliver on this. He says this can happen, because he has seen the civil service adapt before.
He says:
As cabinet secretary, it is my role to support the prime minister and government to deliver for the country. The prime minister has been clear that he wants a rewiring of the way the government works to deliver his recently announced Plan for Change.
This will require all of us to do things differently - from working much more effectively across departments to taking advantage of the major opportunities technology provides.
Throughout my career, I have seen the civil service adapt and change to achieve incredible things for the people of the United Kingdom. I know that together we will relish the opportunities the coming years will bring.
Starmer's net approval rating lower than any other PM's after 5 months in office since late 1970s, poll says
The polling company Ipsos has published its latest monthly Political Monitor report and the figures are not encouraging for Keir Starmer. They show no prime minister has had such low net satisfaction ratings after five months in office since the firm started collecting data on this in the late 1970s.
There is one prime minister who was more unpopular – but Liz Truss did not last five months, and so she is not included in this chart.
Net satisfaction with the government as a whole is also much lower than for most of its predecessors after five months in office – although Boris Johnson’s was just as unpopular at this point, and Rishi Sunak’s even more so.
The polling also shows that no new opposition leader in the past 50 years has recorded a lower first net approval rating than Kemi Badenoch. Only one person started off this low (on net -15). But that was Margaret Thatcher, and so Badenoch may be happy with the comparision.
Commenting on the figures, Keiran Pedley, director of UK politics at Ipsos, said:
These findings reflect the difficult start Labour has had in office. Keir Starmer’s personal satisfaction ratings after 5 months are the weakest of all prime ministers measured by Ipsos going back to the late 1970s and nearly two-thirds expect the economy to worsen in the next year. However, with a large majority in parliament and the next election potentially as late as 2029, Labour still has time to turn things around.
Home Office minister to respond to urgent question about China's intelligence gathering in UK at 3.30pm
Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, has said he will allow an urgent question on China. A Home Office minister will respond to Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, who has asked for a statement “on the extent of United Front Work Department operations within the UK”.
The UQ will take place at 3.30pm.
The UFWD is the Chinese intelligence gathering unit. Isabel Hilton had a good explainer in the Observer yesterday.
Earlier, at 2pm, there will be a court hearing relating to the court order saying “H6”, the alleged Chinese spy who befriended Prince Andrew, cannot be named.
UK businesses cutting staff at fastest rate since 2021 after budget
UK businesses are cutting staff numbers at the fastest rate since the global financial crisis, according to a closely watched business survey blaming the government’s tax-raising budget. Richard Partington has the story.
Local goverment minister Jim McMahon says getting rid of two-tier council structure in England will save £2bn
There will be two government statements in the Commons this afternoon. Jim McMahon, the local government minister will give one on the devolution white paper, and Justin Madders, the business minister, will give one on the Royal Mail takeover.
One of the proposals in the white paper is to change the structure of local government in England in the 21 counties where there is two-tier local government (a county council and district councils). The government wants to replace those with unitary authorities, which is the system that has been in place in Scotland and Wales since the 1990s. Some parts of England are also served by unitary authorities.
In an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain earlier, McMahon claimed this reorganisation could save £2bn. He explained:
Where we are looking at reorganisation is to reflect the reality, which is that there are efficiencies that can be made by bringing councils together that could amount to over £2bn.
And if it’s a choice between £2bn in the running cost of an organisation or £2 billion on frontline neighbourhood services, I would say that most of the public want that investment in the frontline.
McMahon also claimed getting rid of the two-tier system would make it easier of people to understand who did what. He said:
I hear a lot from local people who live in two-tier areas where they don’t know which council to go to. You go to one council for some services, you go to another council for others.
And actually in many cases there are councillors that are dual-hatted, that will sit on both councils.
So this is about simplifying the system so that the accountability is strong, but it’s not to diminish the work that district councils and county councils have done in the past.
Updated
Under Labour the UK government has adopted a more conciliatory approach to China than under the Conservatives. Keir Starmer set this out last month when he met the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, at the G20 summit in Brazil. This is not because the Whitehall assessment of the security threat posed by China, or its human rights record, has changed; it is more to do with Labour prioritising economic growth, and wanting to minimise impediments to that.
Starmer’s comments during the press conference this morning (see 11.01am and 11.06am) imply he has not revised his view in the light of the recent “H6” alleged spy revelations.
Trump 'in listening mode' on Ukraine, and trying to learn what European leaders think, says Norwegian PM
Q: Did you talk about what a Trump presidency might mean for Ukraine?
Starmer says he and Støre have both spoken to Donald Trump. Starmer says he met Trump for dinner in New York before the US presidential election. He says allies have stood together behind Ukraine. There is a consensus that they must call out Russian aggression for what it is, and put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, Starmer says.
Støre, who has spoken to Trump by phone, says:
My perception was that the president was in a listening mode. He’s been calling many colleagues in Europe, trying to find out the thinking here, and appreciating that this is complex. I think that that’s the right point of departure.
And our message is that the sooner the Americans can define their strategy and their approach, the better, because that will bring some clarity to the approach on how this [will work out].
And that was the end of the press conference.
Starmer says announcement coming 'shortly' about delayed 'foreign influence' rules that MPs believe could constrain China
Q: [From PA Media] When will the the foreign influence registration scheme (FIRS) come into effect? Has the delay enabled this spy incident to happen? And does this mean the UK is the weakest link in the five eyes security alliance (as Iain Duncan Smith alleged this morning – see 9.46am)?
Starmer says the government has been working on the FIRS “from day one in government”. He says there will be “an update coming shortly”.
Updated
Starmer defends government's decision to engage with China
Asked again about China, Starmer says:
Our approach is the approach I’ve just set out.
It’s important to engage. Of course, we have to challenge where we must, but it’s better to engage, to challenge, than to stay aside, as it were, important to cooperate where we can on issues like climate change, which need that cooperation.
So I’m very pleased with the engagement and the progress that we’ve made.
Updated
Starmer says UK 'concerned' about challenge posed by China, but declines to comment in detail on alleged spy revelations
Q: [From a Norwegian broadcaster] We have seen the story about Prince Andrew. What conversations have you had with Buckingham Palace about this? And do you think the UK is too soft on China?
Starmer says there is a long-standing convention that the PM does not discuss conversations with Buckingham Palace. He goes on:
Of course, we are concerned about the challenge that China poses.
As you know, I had a meeting with the [Chinese] president just a few weeks ago. Our approach is one of engagement, of cooperating where we need to cooperate, particularly for example on issues like climate change, to challenge where we must and where we should, particularly on issues like human rights, and to compete when it comes to trade.
Updated
Starmer and Støre are now taking questions.
Q: Can you update us on what safeguards might be offered to Ukraine if there is a ceasefire agreement?
Støre says they both think the war should end. It could end if Russia pulls out.
There should be no negotiations without Ukraine, he says.
He says Norway and other countries have already agreed security guarantees for Ukraine.
But he says he cannot comment on how those might change in response to peace negotiations.
Starmer agrees. He says they do not know if there will be negotiations. But it important to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position.
Both countries are providing training to Ukraine’s military.
He says he does not know what negotiations might lead to, or what security guarantees might have to be put in place.
But it would be a “big mistake to take our eye off the ball”, he says.
It would be a big mistake, in my view, to take our eye off the ball and not ensure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position, which is why we’ve been doubling down on this at many of the international meetings we’ve had with our allies.
Keir Starmer and his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Støre are now speaking to journalists in Bergen about the green industrial deal they have agreed. (See 10.44am.)
Støre says some years ago carbon capture and storage would have sounded like science fiction. But it is now part of dealing with the climate crisis.
Starmer says the deal will take the relationship with Norway to a new chapter. For many decades, the UK and Norway have worked together on energy policy. And he says the defence relationship between the two countries is strong.
Starmer says green industrial deal with Norway will help make UK world leader in carbon capture
Keir Starmer has said that a green industrial partnership with Norway announced today will help the UK become a world leader in carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS).
In a statement ahead of his visit to Bergen, he said:
This green industrial partnership will allow us to seize the opportunities from a new era of clean energy, driving investment into the UK and boosting jobs both now and in the future.
It will harness the UK’s unique potential to become a world-leader in carbon capture – from the North Sea to the coastal south – reigniting industrial heartlands and delivering on our Plan for Change.
Our partnership with Norway will make the UK more energy secure, ensuring we are never again exposed to international energy price spikes and the whims of dictators like Putin.
In a briefing on the partnership deal, which is due to be signed next spring, No 10 said:
Norway is currently leading the world on CCUS, and the UK wants to join it at the forefront, having announced a £21.7bn funding commitment in October to cement Britain as one of the most advanced CCUS markets globally and pave the way for further innovation.
The UK has enough capacity to store 200 years’ worth of emissions. This makes CCUS a revolutionary method in tackling the climate crisis and helping industry to decarbonise.
The UK and Norway also hold the majority of the carbon storage potential in the North Sea, so are strategically placed to support Europe to meet its net zero ambitions and provide greater energy security.
Royal Mail takeover by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský approved
The sale of Royal Mail’s parent company to the Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský has been approved by the UK government after a review under national security laws, Jasper Jolly reports.
Government believes it's for courts to decide if alleged Chinese spy can be named, says minister
Jim McMahon, the local government minister, was doing an interview round this morning, talking about the devolution white paper. Asked if he thought H6, the alleged Chinese spy, should be named, he said it was a matter for the courts. Asked on the Today programe what the government’s view was, McMahon replied: “The government believes it’s for the courts to decide.”
Iain Duncan Smith was not the only Conservative MP who described the alleged Chinese spy “H6” as the “tip of the iceberg” on the media this morning. In an interview on BBC Breakfast Tom Tugendhat, the former security minister, said:
I’m absolutely certain that there are members of the United Front Work Department [a Chinese intelligence gathering unit] who are active right now in attempting to influence journalism, academics, politics, and the whole lot. This is really the tip of the iceberg.
And so the story I can understand why it’s been about Prince Andrew, but it’s not really about Prince Andrew. It’s about the way the Chinese Communist Party is seeking to exert influence here in the United Kingdom.
Keir Starmer has held a meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Støre. Before they met, Støre said:
This is possibly the strongest of friendship for Norway, across the North Sea.
A lot of history and common experience but now we are really strengthened by common issues right ahead of us – security, a more unstable Europe that is going to require defence co-operation and also energy and climate.
And Starmer said:
It’s really fantastic to be here today. As you rightly say between our two countries huge shared history, forged sometimes in difficult circumstances but a very, very strong history, shared thinking, shared values.
And strategically we’re very, very closely bound together of course on issues of defence and security but also on questions of energy.
Updated
MPs press for answers on alleged Chinese spy who befriended Prince Andrew
Good morning. MPs are pushing for a government statement, or an urgent question (UQ), in the Commons this afternoon that would cover the activities of “H6”, the alleged Chinese spy who befriended Prince Andrew. As Peter Walker reports, Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader and prominent China hawk who has said he is tabling a UQ, told the Today programme this morning that H6 might just be “the tip of the iceberg” in terms of Beijing’s efforts to infiltrate the UK. Here is Peter’s story.
And here is Archie Bland’s First Edition briefing on the story, including further information about who H6 is.
The media cannot name H6 because of a court order. In parliament MPs have absolute privilege, which means they can ignore a court order like this without having to worry about being prosecuted for contempt of court, and there has been speculation that an MP might use privilege to identify H6 this afternoon. But there is no free-for-all in the House of Commons, the Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, generally tries to stop MPs ignoring court orders of this kind and he has a lot of leeway to constrain debate. He also gets to decide whether a UQ is granted, and normally he works on the basis that if an MP is telling the media first that they are applying for a UQ, that is a reason for not allowing it. It is quite possible we might get to the end of the day without this coming up in the chamber at all.
But Keir Starmer won’t be able to avoid questions on this. He is in Norway, where he is due to speak to reporters later this morning, and he is bound to be asked about H6.
Starmer may also be asked about why the government is delaying implementing the foreign influence registration scheme (FIRS). This measure was part of the National Security Act 2023 but has still not been enacted. It requires people working on behalf of foreign governments in the UK to register. But it also includes an “enhanced tier”, posing tougher requirements on people working on behalf of states seen as posing more of a risk. The government cannot set the scheme up without deciding whether or not to include China in the “enhanced tier” and this decision is problematic. Security experts say China should obviously be in this category, as the H6 story illustrates. But China would view this as an insult, and categorising it alongside Russia, Iran etc might kibosh Starmer’s efforts to improve economic relations with Beijing.
The Home Office has been saying it has had to delay implementation of FIRS because the legislation was not left in a fit state. But this morning Duncan Smith told the Today programme that he did not believe that, and that the government was just making up an excuse to avoid offending China.
He also told the programme that the UK was seen by allies as the “soft underbelly” because of its reluctance to confront China.
There is nothing wrong with the foreign influence registration scheme. ‘It’s not fit for purpose’, I don’t believe a word of that, nobody with half a brain will believe a word of that. The reality is, it’s an excuse not to upset China.
We are now seen, I think, by our five eyes security partners, as the soft underbelly of that alliance and that’s a real worry.
The last Conservative government was also criticised for delaying the implementation of FIRS.
Here is the agenda for the day.
10.30am: Keir Starmer is due to hold a press conference in Norway with his Norwegian counterpart, Jonas Gahr Støre. He is in the country to launch a green industrial partnership. Later he will be travelling to Estonia.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
1.50pm: Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, gives a speech in Leeds giving details of her devolution white paper for England.
2.30pm: Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
2.40pm: Kemi Badenoch gives a speech on Labour’s economic policies at an event organised by opponents of the government’s plans to extend inheritance tax to farms.
4.30pm: David Lammy, the foreign secretary, and John Healey, the defence secretary, speak at a press conference after an Aukus summit held with their Australian counterparts.
If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X but individual Guardian journalists are there, I have still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.
I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
Updated
