Afternoon summary
David Cameron, the foreign secretary, has defended the UK’s decision not to support a UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. (See 3.53pm.) He was speaking during a hearing with the Lords European affairs committee where he also said it was “disappointing” to hear the Israeli ambassador to the UK rule out a two-state solution. (See 3.39pm.)
DfE gives more details of Sunak's plan for new Advanced British Standard qualification to replace A-levels
Rishi Sunak visited a school in Finchley this morning to launch the government’s consultation on a new post-16 qualification, the Advanced British Standard (ABS). (See 3.03pm.) The plan is for the ABA to supplant A-levels and T-levels and create more time to allow sixth formers to take maths and English qualifications.
The consultation that opened today gives more detail about Sunak’s plans, announced at Conservative party conference, and aims to inform a white paper planned for early next year.
Based on the consultation, the ABS will come in two flavours, one named “ABS vocational,” which might include work placements and a version of T-level vocational qualifications. The other is to be more academic, with a minimum of three “major” subjects similar to A-levels, and at least two “minors”, including maths and English for those not taking those within their majors.
Majors will cover at least 90% of the content currently covered by A-levels, while minors will be half the length. Sixth formers will also do a further 150 hours over two years of “enrichment” subjects. The sixth form will also be extended by about 200 teaching hours.
There will still be grades issued for individual subjects, with the possibility of a certificate at the end but with no single grade given for the ABS overall.
Ricketts has a final question.
Q: The EU has an ecosystem of different networks that are hard to access from outside. The US is an associate of the European Defence Agency. Is that worth considering?
Cameron says, even when the UK was in the EU, it was not that keen on the European Defence Agency.
He thinks there are disadvantages to being an associate, for example over intellectual property.
He says he thinks Nato is the best forum for deciding how to protect the continent. And in Nato the UK has been a leader, he says.
He says he favours a “Nato-first policy” even more now.
Back at the Lords committee, David Cameron, the foreign secretary, says it was the head of Spotify, Daniel Ek, who used the phrase about the UK being “big enough to matter, but small enough to be nimble” that Cameron quoted earlier. (See 3.15pm.) Cameron has repeated it approvingly several times.
Tory chair of Commons equalities committee says scrapping minister for disabled post 'sends entirely wrong message'
Caroline Nokes, the Conservative MP who chairs the Commons women and equalities committee, has joined opposition parties (see 2.45pm) in criticising Rishi Sunak’s not to appointed a new dedicated minister for disabled people. In a statement she said:
Scrapping this role sends entirely the wrong message when it’s clear disabled people want more influence over the strategies, action plans, and policies affecting them.
We heard just yesterday from the minister for women and equalities [Kemi Badenoch] that a minister for disabled people would be appointed and now we know she was wrong. It begs the question who exactly is going to “grip” disabilities across government (as the former minister described his role)?
[The women and equalities committee’s] December report on the national disability strategy [NDS] engagement warned the government has ‘not learnt lessons’ from the concerns raised over the development of the NDS and that its efforts to engage with disabled people are ‘perceived to be superficial’. We called on the minister for disabled people to have greater powers. Instead the government has scrapped the role entirely. This move will do nothing to stop disabled people feeling further disempowered and I would urge the PM to re-think.
Here is John Crace’s sketch. It covers Rishi Sunak getting rid of the dedicated minister for disabled people post, and his trip to Rome at the weekend.
Lord Hannay says the figures for how school trips to EU countries have reduced since Brexit are terrible.
Cameron says he does want to solve this, but on a bilateral basis, not through an EU-wide agreement.
Q: Would you consider a visa waiver system to enable musicians to tour in the EU more easily?
Cameron claims quite a lot of steps have already been taken on this already.
Cameron says the best option would be able to “pick up someone who arrives on a beach in Kent and take them back to France”.
But that is not possible, he says.
He says he favours the Rwanda policy because it would achieve the same impact.
Lord Hannay asks Cameron is he accepts that, if the UK were to leave the European convention on human rights, that might put the trade and cooperation agreement at risk. The TCA assumes the UK remains party to the ECHR.
Cameron says the supreme court judgment wasn’t really about the ECHR. It was about conditions in Rwanda, he says.
He says he is confident that the Rwanda policy can be made to work.
It is essential to tackle the problems posed by illegal migration. In the US, he says, every second item on the news is about the border with Mexico. Countries have to deal with this, he says.
Back at the Lords committee, Roger Liddle asks about the trade and cooperation agreement with the EU.
Cameron says Rishi Sunak has built good relations with the EU. That has led to positive results, like the UK rejoining Horizon, and the Windsor framework.
He says the UK should “make the most of what we’ve got”.
He does not favour trying to reopen the deal, he says.
The TCA is subject to review. The UK has things it would like to fix, and the EU probably has its own list. But it does not always help laying things out in advance, he says.
Lord Lamont asks Cameron to accept that the review of the TCA will be narrow.
Cameron says that right. The agreement talks about the “implementation” of the deal being reviewed. He goes on:
We are not suddenly going to reopen free movement … That is absolutely not what this is about.
The Cabinet Office has just published its latest register of ministers’ interests.
David Cameron is included, but we are not learning anything about his finances. The document just says his financial interests are being managed by a blind trust.
Lord Hannay asks the next question.
Q: Would it be in the UK’s interests for Ukraine to join the EU?
Cameron says the UK is not a member of the EU, so it is not a matter for the government. But the UK wants to see Ukraine achored in the Atlantic institutions. And it wants Ukraine to succeed in getting what it wants. (It wants to join.)
Cameron says he thinks UK will be able to use sanctioned Russian assets to help fund reconstruction of Ukraine
Lady Anelay (Con) goes next, and asks how the plan to use sanctioned Russian assets to help fund the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Cameron says he thinks there is a “legal route” to doing this. And there is a strong case for doing it, he says.
The argument against is that it might have a chilling effect on investments into the UK. But freezing those assets should be a disincentive too, he says.
And, as for the arguments against on principle, he says he thinks the circumstances have changed. He says the UK is in real fight with Russia.
So in principle he is in favour, he says.
He says they are trying to agree a common G7 approach.
If that is not possible, he says the Americans are supportive anyway. So he thinks there will be a way to do this, he says.
Cameron says President Trump was entitled to say that Europe needed to spend more on defence.
But he says, if you combine military spending and aid spending, Europe is doing more than the US to help Ukraine.
He says, on his recent trip to the US, he made the argument that supporting Ukraine was in America’s interests because, if Russia were to win and go on to attack a Nato country, the US would get drawn into war.
He says he thinks the argument down well.
And he says there was another argument that worked; he put it to American politicians that, by spending 10% of their defence budget on helping Ukraine, combined with Ukrainian bravery, they had managed to destroy 50% of Russia’s pre-war strength. If anyone had put that to the US before the war, they would have thought it a bargain, he says.
Cameron says he has hosted Ukrainian family in his home
Cameron says he has hosted a Ukrainian family in his home.
He says the UK is determined to make the most of the relationship with Ukraine.
Cameron says, if the UK and the EU were to fail to agree further support packages for Ukraine, that would be a “Christmas present” for Vladimir Putin.
Patrick Wintour, the Gaurdian’s diplomatic editor, says that Israeli ambassador to the UK was expressing her government’s view in her interview this week, but that David Cameron prefers to ignore this. (See 3.39pm.)
Cameron responds to Israeli ambassador to UK ruling out two state solution. Says he has read the transcript finds it disappointing and says best not to put too much weight on one interview. Ultimately Israel’s security comes through the existence of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. He says he does not know if she was acting under instructions. Ps (me)it is Israeli govt policy, something Cameron in public prefers to bury and instead focus on Hamas rejection of 2 states.
Cameron responds to Israeli ambassador to UK ruling out two state solution. Says he has read the transcript finds it disappointing and says best not to put too much weight on one interview. Ultimately Israel’s security comes through the existence of a Palestinian state alongside…
— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) December 14, 2023
Cameron says Israeli ambassador's decision to rule out two-state solution 'disappointing'
Lord Hannay, the former UK ambassador to the UN, goes next.
Q: The Israeli ambassador gave an interview ruling out the two-state solution. Do you think she was speaking under instruction from her government?
Cameron says he does not know.
It was a “disappointing” comment, he says. But he says they should not “put too much weight on one interview”.
UPDATE: Cameron said:
I don’t know is the answer. I read the transcript and it is disappointing but ultimately, true security and stability for Israel which is something I care deeply about – I believe in Israel as a homeland for Jewish people, I believe in its right to exist, to thrive, to defend itself and all the rest of it – long-term security I think requires there to be a state for Palestine as well.
So I don’t think we should put too much weight on one interview. We have to get on and think about how to help make this happen.
Updated
Cameron defends UK's decision not to vote for UN resolution demanding immediate ceasefire in Gaza
Lady Blackstone (Lab) asks about Gaza.
Cameron says he does not want the fighting to go on for any longer than necessary.
But, if there is a ceasefire, it has to be sustainable. There should not be an opportunity for Hamas to launch another 7 October-type attack.
He says the UN resolution was asking for an immediate ceasefire, and a two-state solution.
But those two things don’t go together. If Hamas is still capable of attacking Israel, there will never be a two-state solution.
He says he supports humanitarian pauses, and getting aid in and out. But the ceasefire should be sustainable.
That is why the UK did not back the UN resolution, he says.
Updated
Ricketts, a former ambassador to Paris, asks about relations with France.
Cameron says he is proud of the Lancaster House agreement he struck with France. He had a very wise national security adviser at the time, he says. (It was Ricketts.)
He says cooperating in defence areas, and nuclear areas, was a good idea, and he is glad it has been realised. There is an opportunity next year to take it further, he says.
He says he would like to do more. The UK and France have the same challenges. They both have great military capabilities, but those involve high costs too, he says.
Asked about Germany, he says the relationship is different because it does not have the same defence abilities. So he does not think a Lancaster House-type deal with Germany would be appropriate, he says.
Lord Trenchard (Con) asks about the European Political Community.
Cameron says he is in favour of this initiative. He challenges the claim that its last meeting, in Spain, was not a success. And he says it is relatively informal.
If you put all issues into a structure, every EU member has to be consulted. That can hold up decisions, he says.
Roger Liddle, who was Tony Blair’s Europe adviser, goes next.
Q: The Europeans are keen on a security partnership. Why don’t we take advantage of that? During the referendum campaign, you argued being in the EU helped the UK maximise its foreign policy clout.
Cameron says if you are in the EU, you must use its structures. But if you are out, you can focus on what you want.
He cites military training as an example of where the UK has been able to supercharge its efforts since Brexit.
“It’s a question of finding what works,” he says.
And he says, having left, it is a mistake to try to recreate the structures that were in place when the UK was a member.
Cameron compares relations with the EU to being in coalition with the Lib Dems.
He says when the coalition was set up, the civil service recommended the creation of a committee to oversee problems.
But it only met once, he says. That is because he and the Lib Dems found ad hoc way to resolve problems.
He says he thinks the same approach should work with the EU.
He says a big industralist told him the other day the UK was “big enough to matter but small enough to be nimble”.
When the EU is looking for a partner, it will be attracted to the UK because of factors like its military capacity, its diplomatic skills and its large aid budget.
Updated
Cameron is now being questioned by Norman Lamont, who was Tory chancellor in the early 1990s. Cameron worked for him as a special adviser until Lamont was sacked.
Q: What impact do you think joining the CPTPP trade deal will have on relations with the EU?
Cameron says there is not point leaving the EU if you don’t take advantage of not being in. He says he supports joining the CPTPP. He says he hopes the UK will be able to help shape it.
Lord Ricketts, who was national security adviser when Cameron became PM, is chair of the committee.
Q: How do you see relations with the EU?
Cameron says he sees relations as “postive and driving quite good results in the areas where we want to have them”.
He says he thinks the Windsor framework was the result of a “superb” negotiation.
He says he learned from bitter experience that negotiations are difficult if they are done in public. He says this one worked well because the key elements were kept secret.
He says after he stood down as PM he did not keep up his relations with European leaders. He did not want to be seen as undermining his successor, and he did not want people to think he was acting as a back channel.
David Cameron gives evidence to Lords European affairs committee
David Cameron, the foreign secretary, has just started giving evidence to the Lords European affairs committee. There is a live feed at the top of the blog.
The Department for Education has today launched a consultation on Rishi Sunak’s plan to replace A levels with a new, broader qualification – the Advanced British Standard. In a news release about the plans for England, the DfE says:
At the heart of the proposals for the Advanced British Standard are an increase in teaching time of around 200 hours over the course of the qualification, greater breadth and choice for young people and a core focus on vital maths and English.
The Advanced British Standard will mean most students choose a minimum of 5 subjects from a menu of options to give more breadth and flexibility.
These subjects will be built on A levels and T Levels, retaining their rigour and focus on building knowledge. By increasing teaching time and the breadth of what students can study, including maths and English, the Advanced British Standard will widen students’ career options and bring England in line with major economies such as France, Germany, Japan and the USA …
Plans for the Advanced British Standard were first announced by the prime minister in October. The launch of the consultation today kick starts these transformative reforms, which are expected to take around 10 years to complete.
Sunak to visit Rome at weekend to attend Italian PM's rightwing political event, No 10 confirms
Rishi Sunak will visit Rome this weekend to attend a rightwing political gathering organised by Giorgia Meloni’s party, PA Media reports. PA says:
The prime minister will meet his Italian counterpart for a discussion on illegal migration as part of the trip on Saturday, where he will be among the high-profile guests scheduled to appear at the Brothers of Italy-backed gathering
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is also expected to attend the annual Atreju event, which has been frequented by former Trump ally Steve Bannon and Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán in the past.
Downing Street confirmed Mr Sunak would meet Ms Meloni, with whom Mr Sunak has developed a strong relationship amid mutual efforts to crack down on illegal migration.
Number 10 said that the two leaders have expressed “shared perspectives” on migration, as aides said Sunak and Meloni had a close working relationship having become leaders of their countries within days of each other in October last year.
“They obviously get on, I think they came in at a similar time,” the prime minister’s press secretary said.
“But I think, most of all, they have a like mind on wanting to act on illegal immigration so have formed an effective working relationship on that, and with other countries as well.”
Updated
Labour and the SNP have joined those criticising Rishi Sunak for not appointing a dedicated minister for disabled people. (See 2.14pm.)
This is from Vicky Foxcroft, the shadow minister for disabled people.
Shocking that @RishiSunak has chosen not to appoint a new Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work.
After 13 years of Tory austerity, pandemic and cost of living crisis, disabled people feel their voices aren’t being heard and represented in Government.
This confirms it.
Shocking that @RishiSunak has chosen not to appoint a new Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work.
— Vicky Foxcroft MP 💙 (@vickyfoxcroft) December 14, 2023
After 13 years of Tory austerity, pandemic and cost of living crisis, disabled people feel their voices aren’t being heard and represented in Government.
This confirms it. https://t.co/s2JWa2eL78
And this is from the SNP MP Marion Fellows.
Whether they’ve been punished by the austerity agenda, sanctions regime, cruel work capability assessments, or through the lack of any meaningful cost of living support, disabled people are clearly no priority for this UK government. Scrapping the role of minister for disabled people shows that.
To scrap the role after thirteen years of austerity shows a blatant disregard to those who have struggled the most under this UK government, and a complete abdication of responsibility in assisting disabled people to live better lives.
Updated
Almost 400,000 penalties issued in England for pupils missing school, figures show
Almost 400,000 penalty notices were issued to parents in England last year for failing to ensure their child attends school, much higher than pre-pandemic levels, PA Media reports. PA says:
The Department for Education (DfE) statistics showed 356,181 of the 398,796 fines (89.3%) were for unauthorised holidays, as families looked to book cheaper vacations outside school term times.
That unauthorised holiday figure has more than trebled since 2016-17, when 115,652 such fines were imposed.
Just 1,000 penalties were issued for lateness in 2022-23, with the remainder being imposed for other reasons, the DfE said.
The figures for 2018-19 showed 333,338 unauthorised absence penalties were issued to parents – the last statistics collected before Covid struck – meaning the 2022-23 figure has risen by a fifth since then.
No figures were collated the following year and pandemic disruption greatly reduced the number of fines issued until this year.
The use of penalty notices by local authorities varied across England, the DfE said, with three local authorities issuing none, while four local authorities issued more than 10,000 penalty notices each.
Sunak criticised for not appointing dedicated minister for disabled after Tom Pursglove's move to legal migration minister
Charities have described the decision not to appoint a new dedicated minister for disabled people as an “appalling and retrograde move”, PA Media reports. PA says:
It is understood a member of government who already has other responsibilities will take on the brief.
The previous role-holder, Tom Pursglove, was made minister for legal migration earlier this month.
Downing Street this morning rejected a suggestion that the move to make two ministers responsible for migration but no one solely for disabilities amounted to “downgrading” the role of minister for disabled people.
Following Robert Jenrick’s resignation as immigration minister over the government’s Rwanda plan, Rishi Sunak split ministerial responsibility for legal and illegal migration.
Alongside Pursglove as minister of state for legal migration and the border, Michael Tomlinson – who was previously solicitor general – is minister of state for countering illegal migration.
Disability groups had voiced concerns over how long the minister for disabled people role might be left vacant and have reacted with outrage now that a dedicated minister will not be put in place.
With an existing minister taking on the job, a No 10 spokesperson rejected suggestions this was a “downgrading” of the role.
“We will have a minister for disabled people who will lead on that important work,” the spokesperson said.
Pressed on the fact that the minister will not be dedicated solely to disability issues, he said: “What you will continue to see is a government showing strong support for disabled people and for disabled issues.”
Disability charity Sense said the job of minister for disabled people is “a vital role in government to ensure disabled people’s interests are represented” and insisted it should not be taken on by someone who is “already juggling other responsibilities”.
Disability equality charity Scope described the change as “an appalling and retrograde move by the government”. Its director of strategy, James Taylor, added: “What kind of message does this give to Britain’s 16 million disabled people? That – in the middle of a cost of living crisis – we are now less important?”
Anastasia Berry, the policy co-chair of the Disability Benefits Consortium, said she was “appalled” by the move. She said: “Despite making up almost a quarter of the population, disabled people are yet again being treated like they don’t exist.”
Updated
This year the Guardian and Observer charity appeal is raising money for three charities that support refugees and asylum seekers. As Patrick Butler reports, we have already raised more than £350,000.
You can donate to the appeal here.
Or you could wait until Saturday, and call our telethon phoneline. Guardian journalists will be taking calls, and I’ll be there from 10am to 12pm. Do call and ask for me if you fancy a chat. The phone number will be plastered all over the website, and the paper, on Saturday morning.
Tory former Cop26 president Alok Sharma urges government to reconsider plan for annual North Sea oil and gas licences
Alok Sharma, the former Conservative cabinet minister and former Cop26 president, has urged the government to reconsider its plan to legislate to ensure new North Sea oil and gas licences are issued every year.
The plan for an offshore petroleum licensing bill was unveiled in the king’s speech, in a move that led to claims that Rishi Sunak was using the legislation to set a trap for Labour, which says it does not want new North Sea licences issued after the general election.
Speaking in the Commons, during a statement on this year’s Cop28 summit, Sharma said:
All previous agreements are literally just words on a page and they will only come to fruition if countries, all countries, followed through in terms of their domestic policies.
[The minister] talked about the torch to inspire others, let me ask him once again, would he please review once again the plan to have these annual oil and gas licences and consider whether that is consistent with international commitments that we’ve made?
And secondly, could I ask him to ask the chancellor to review urgently the tax regime which gives significant subsidies to new oil and gas projects.
This is a matter of trust – he talks about the voices of the most climate vulnerable, they will be listening, they will be watching, and they want to see action not just from the UK government but every government.
In response, Graham Stuart, the energy minister, said:
New licences simply allow us to mange the decline of a basin which is expected to fall at 7% a year, is expected to halve in a decade, and will see us growing independence on imports even with new licences, that is why we are doing it.
We are expecting £50bn in taxes from the oil and gas sector and without new licences to allow for the greening of the basin so we reduce emissions, we wouldn’t be able to ensure that each barrel of oil and production of gas comes with lower level of production emissions that we do today, and that is our mission.
Updated
Stuart Hoddinott from the Institute for Government thinktank has published more graphs illustrating today’s NHS England hospital waiting figures (see 11.16am and 12.32pm). He says, overall, the results are good for the NHS.
First, this is good news. October is the largest monthly fall since the early days of the pandemic by quite a long way
— Stuart Hoddinott (@StuartHoddinott) December 14, 2023
The only other monthly fall was in November last year, when the list declined by 27k pic.twitter.com/xt7D0VhQx6
There is a caveat to this: the elective waiting list is seasonal and this is the time of year when we'd expect to see a decline
— Stuart Hoddinott (@StuartHoddinott) December 14, 2023
October is still about 140k above where the waiting list would be if 2023 had followed pre-pandemic seasonality trends pic.twitter.com/jzOFaIpgSn
More good news: elective activity continues to improve. October 2023 saw the most non-admitted completed cases on record with 1.25m
— Stuart Hoddinott (@StuartHoddinott) December 14, 2023
There could have been even more activity in November, as strikes were put on pause pic.twitter.com/svIisU0IUO
Overall, this is a good result for the NHS. Sunak needs a lot more months like this
— Stuart Hoddinott (@StuartHoddinott) December 14, 2023
That will be made much harder by very disruptive jr doctor strikes in Dec and Jan and will also depend on the severity of the winter crisis; high UEC demand=lower elective activity
Vaughan Gething, Welsh economy minister, says he's standing to replace Drakeford as first minister
The Welsh economy minister, Vaughan Gething, has become the first Labour Senedd member to announce that he will stand to replace Mark Drakeford as the first minister of Wales.
Gething, 49, who made history as the first black minister in any of the devolved administrations, will campaign to become leader of Welsh Labour.
He paid tribute to Drakeford’s “remarkable legacy” but said the Labour party and Welsh government had a “huge task” ahead of them.
Gething said:
We can only maintain our record of winning elections and fighting for the people of Wales if we are a united, modern, diverse movement which reflects this nation’s ambitions for the future.
With a general election on the horizon, Wales has a crucial opportunity to have two Labour governments working side by side to deliver real change in our communities and repair the damage wreaked by the toxic Tory years.
The bookmaker William Hill has made Gething early favourite to take over from Drakeford with the minister for education and the Welsh language, Jeremy Miles, second.
Success for either Gething or Miles would represent a first for Welsh politics: Gething would be the first black politician to lead the country, while Miles would be its first openly gay first minister. A successful woman would be the first female first minister.
Updated
Here are some more figures from the NHS England performance figures out today. I’ve taken the copy from PA Media.
I posted the headline figure, for hospital operations, at 11.16am. There are 7.71m treatments in the queue, although that does not mean 7.71m people on a waiting list. NHS England is now publishing, alongside the headline figure, a figure for the number of individuals waiting. It’s now 6.44m. Some people are waiting for more than one procedure.
Ambulance handovers
Some 15% of ambulance handovers in England last week, or 12,797 patients, were delayed by more than an hour, PA says. This was up from 9%, or 8,239 patients, a fortnight earlier. However it was slightly lower than the 17% recorded in the equivalent week in 2022.
Around one in three (34%) patients arriving by ambulance at hospitals in England last week waited more than 30 minutes to be handed over to A&E teams, PA says. The figure is up from 25% for the week ending November 26.
A&E waiting times
Some 69.7% of patients in England were seen within four hours in A&Es last month, down from 70.2% in October, PA says. The figure hit a record low of 65.2% in December 2022. The NHS recovery plan sets a target of March 2024 for 76% of patients attending A&E to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
The number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England from a decision to admit to actually being admitted was 42,854 in November, down slightly from 44,655 in October, PA says. The figure hit a record 54,573 in December 2022.
Hospital treatment waiting times
A total of 377,618 people in England had been waiting more than 52 weeks to start routine hospital treatment at the end of October, down from 391,122 at the end of September, PA says. The government and NHS England have set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than a year by March 2025.
Some 10,506 people in England are estimated to have been waiting more than 18 months to start routine hospital treatment at the end of October, up from 10,201 at the end of September, PA says. The government and NHS England set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than 18 months by April this year, excluding exceptionally complex cases or patients who choose to wait longer.
Cancer waiting times
Some 71.1% of patients urgently referred for suspected cancer in October were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days, up from 69.7% the previous month, PA says. The target is 75%.
The proportion of patients in England waiting longer than 62 days in October from an urgent suspected cancer referral or consultant upgrade to their first definitive treatment for cancer was 63.1%, down slightly from 63.3% in September, PA says. The target is for 85% of people to be seen within that time limit.
Updated
Israeli settlers responsible for violence against Palestinians on West Bank will be banned from UK, David Cameron says
Israeli settlers responsible for violence against Palestinians on the West Bank will be banned from the UK, David Cameron, the foreign secretary, has said.
In a post on X, he said:
Extremist settlers, by targeting and killing Palestinian civilians, are undermining security and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Israel must take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.
We are banning those responsible for settler violence from entering the UK to make sure our country cannot be a home for people who commit these intimidating acts.
Extremist settlers, by targeting and killing Palestinian civilians, are undermining security and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) December 14, 2023
Israel must take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.
We are banning those responsible for…
In his pooled interview for broadcasters this morning, Rishi Sunak insisted that the UK remained committed to the two-state solution. He was asked about comments from Tzipi Hotovely, Israel’s ambassador to the UK, who told Sky News earlier this week that Israel was opposed to the Palestinians having their own state. Sunak said:
We don’t agree with that. Our longstanding position remains that the two-state solution is the right outcome here.
Sunak says he is open to considering ways Rwanda bill can be 'improved'
Rishi Sunak has said that he is open to considering ways in which his Rwanda bill can be “improved”.
With Conservative rightwingers and centrists both wanting to amend the bill, in opposite directions, when it returns to the Commons in the new year, Sunak signalled that the government would be open to accepting some changes.
On a visit to a school in Finchley, he told broadcasters:
I’ve been very consistently clear, as have all ministers, if there are ways that the legislation can be improved, to be made even more effective — with a respectable legal argument and maintaining the participation of the Rwandans in the scheme — of course we would be open to that, who wouldn’t be?
In fact, when Sunak first unveiled his bill, he implied he was not open to amendments, saying that if he were to shift “an inch” towards making the legislation stricter, the plan would be unacceptable to Rwanda.
But on Tuesday Tory rightwingers claimed Sunak had assured them he was open to amendments and they implied this was crucial in persuading them not to vote against the bill at second reading.
Labour has described the Scott Benton report as damning. In a statement, Lucy Powell, the shadow leader of the Commons, said:
This is a damning report from the cross-party standards committee, clearly concluding that Scott Benton seriously breached parliamentary rules in flaunting his position as a parliamentarian in exchange for remuneration.
This is not an isolated case, but comes off the back of a wave of Tory sleaze and scandal.
In Chris Webb Blackpool South has an opportunity to elect its first ever Blackpool born MP, they deserve an MP they can be proud of, and a fresh start.
Labour will restore standards in public life, drumming the value of service into our politics and overseeing a total crackdown on cronyism.
Updated
Hospital waiting list total for England falls very slightly but still over 7.7m, latest figures show
The waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has fallen slightly, figures out today show.
As PA Media reports, an estimated 7.71 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of October, relating to 6.44 million patients – down from a record 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients at the end of September, NHS England said.
This is from James Illman from the Health Service Journal.
NHS waiting list falls (a tiny bit – by 0.5%) but remains at 7.7 million – c. 500k more than level when PM pledged to have list falling by 2024. +ve news: 1st overall fall in list since Nov 2022. -ve: 78-week breaches up to 10,500.
BREAKING: NHS waiting list falls (a tiny bit – by 0.5%) but remains at 7.7 million – c. 500k more than level when PM pledged to have list falling by 2024. +ve news: 1st overall fall in list since Nov 2022. -ve: 78-week breaches up to 10,500. New data here: https://t.co/07WtEWw2cf pic.twitter.com/avPCmokwGx
— James Illman (@Jamesillman) December 14, 2023
And this is from Stuart Hoddinott from the Institute for Government thinktank.
New elective data out today: the total waiting list fell by 65k in October. That’s a a large fall, but still leaves the waiting list 490k higher than in Jan when Sunak promised to cut waiting lists
It’s also not unusual for the elective list to fall at this time of year
🚨New elective data out today: the total waiting list fell by 65k in October. That's a a large fall, but still leaves the waiting list 490k higher than in Jan when Sunak promised to cut waiting lists
— Stuart Hoddinott (@StuartHoddinott) December 14, 2023
It's also not unusual for the elective list to fall at this time of year
🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/8CivygowUH
The Scott Benton 35-day suspension from the Commons (which has to be confirmed in a vote by MPs – but that’s a formality, and virtually certain to go through unopposed) means that the Recall of MPs Act kicks in, and that if 10% of voters in the constituency sign a petition calling for a byelection, one will take place.
The political parties are already gearing up for a recall byelection in Wellingborough, following the suspension of Peter Bone. The petition closes on Tuesday next week, and it is expected that the 10% threshold will be met. Wellinborough voted Labour in 1997 and 2001, but at the last election Bone won a majority of 18,540 for the Conservatives.
There has only been one instance of a recall petition being opened but campaigners wanting a byelection failing to get enough signatures. That was in North Antrim in July 2018, where the DUP MP Ian Paisley was suspended for 30 days.
There have already been three recall byelections, in Peterborough, Brecon and Radnorshire, and Rutherglen and Hamilton West. Two more may be on the way. But the threat of a recall election may also be responsible for several other MPs, like Boris Johnson, deciding to stand down after a standards committee inquiry proposed suspension.
The Recall of MPs Act was passed by the coalition government, and favoured in particular by the Liberal Democrats. At the time there were complaints it was too weak. In practice, partly because there has been so much misconduct by MPs during this parliament, it has turned out to be much more consequential than expected.
The Commons library has a good briefing paper on the recall process available here.
What Scott Benton told undercover reporters that led to him facing 35-day Commons suspension
Scott Benton is being punished in relation to lobbying, but not because he directly broke the rules banning MPs from engaging in paid lobbying when he spoke to undercover reporters. The committee said that, because he indicated that he was willing to break the rules, and because he claimed over MPs had done so in the past, he damaged the reputation of the Commons.
Here are some extracts from the report setting out what Benton said, and why it was considered damaging to parliament’s reputation
On Benton being willing to break the rules himself
One of the reporters then asked Mr Benton what assistance he could offer by way of “insight and kind of getting a bit of a sense of behind the scenes, what’s going on and what’s likely to come”. Mr Benton responded:
“Probably real-time information. If I want to speak to a minister urgently, I can probably arrange that, have her call back within a day. Failing that, again it’s a voting lobbies issue. So if you were, for example, to write to her today, and you needed an urgent answer within a week and somebody hadn’t got back to her with that week period I could literally sit outside her office until she appears. Which is something only MPs can essentially do to try and get that real-time flow of information and answers back.”
All the actions listed above, if undertaken by an MP in return for payment, would be in breach of the house’s lobbying rules
On other MPs being willing to break the rules
Mr Benton spoke to the undercover reporters about the willingness of members to accept paid hospitality such as hiring a box at Cheltenham races or offering them a private dinner (“Talk about pushing at an open door. In fact you’ll have people chasing you saying colleague X, Y and Z wants to come, is there any more room. And that works very, very well”). Mr Benton immediately followed up these comments by saying, in reference to those members who had accepted hospitality, “And those specific asks you would have, they would be able to yeah take those on board and try to do something as a bit of a return.” Mr Benton also told the reporters that he was willing to “call in favours” to “bring colleagues along” to meet company representatives to “talk them through those certain asks”, and to host a dinner for that purpose at the House of Commons “where we can go through some of those particular issues as well” with “colleagues who would be more than happy to support you”. In context, the “specific asks” and “certain asks” referred to by Mr Benton must allude to the services to the company offered by Mr Benton, which as we have seen would have breached the house’s rules. There is no other plausible interpretation of Mr Benton’s comments. The implication is clear that the other members referred to had engaged in such behaviour in the past and would be willing to do so in future …
At the meeting one of the reporters continued these exchanges by asking: “If we invite someone along, is it reasonable to then expect them, we’ve given you a nice day out, we kind of expect something in return? Is that how it works?” Mr Benton responded:
“Generally. Most colleagues would do that, not everybody would. You would get some people who would say it was a lovely day and will never pick up the phone and call or send an email afterwards. But most would, especially if the ask wasn’t too onerous, which would be can you try and find out x, y and z from members of staff, file a parliamentary question, or submit this question the next time oral questions come up in the House of Commons […] Sometimes we co-sign letters on behalf of different companies as well.”
Taking Mr Benton’s comments during the meeting as a whole, we consider that the only reasonable interpretation of those comments is that Mr Benton was indicating not only that he personally was willing to take actions in breach of the rules, but that a significant number of other members of the house took a similar attitude, the implication being that they were willing to disregard, and had in the past disregarded, those rules.
Updated
Scott Benton was investigated for breaching Commons rules on the basis of comments he made to undercover reporters working for the Times who were posing as working for an investment fund looking to hire an MP able to help in relation to gambling policy.
The complaint was investigated by Daniel Greenberg, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, and here is an extract from the summary of his findings. His report has been published as an appendix in the standards committee’s report.
Grenberg said:
Having considered the evidence, my findings are:
a) Mr Benton did not attend the meeting as part of his “purely private and personal” life because the fictitious company was presented as being interested in employing Mr Benton on account of his connections to the House of Commons and its members.
b) Mr Benton made statements to the effect that:
i) he had breached the house’s rules in the past;
ii) he would be willing to breach and/or circumvent the house’s rules for the company in return for payment;
and iii) other members had previously breached and/or circumvented the house’s rules and would be willing to do so in the future in return for payment.
I have found no evidence to support a finding that Mr Benton had breached parliamentary rules outside of this meeting.
Having reached these findings, it is my opinion that Mr Benton’s conduct falls within the class of conduct that would cause significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole and its members generally, and accordingly amounts to a breach of paragraph 11 of the code.
What standards committee said about why Scott Benton deserved 'serious sanction'
Here is the conclusion from the standards committee’s report into Scott Benton.
By repeatedly indicating his willingness to disregard the house’s rules [on paid lobbying], and by giving the impression that many members of the house had in the past and will in the future engage in such misconduct, Mr Benton committed a very serious breach of paragraph 11 of the rules. His comments gave a false impression of the morality of MPs in a way which, if the public were to accept them as accurate, would be corrosive to respect for Parliament and undermine the foundations of our democracy.
A serious sanction is appropriate. We recommend that the house suspend Mr Benton from its service for a total of 35 days, with concomitant loss of salary.
Paragraph 11 of the rules in the code of conduct for MPs says:
Members shall never undertake any action which would cause significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole, or of its members generally.
Scott Benton MP faces 35-day Commons suspension over lobbying offer to undercover reporters
The Commons standards committee has just published its report into Scott Benton, the Conservative MP (now suspended from the party and sitting as an independent) investigated for telling undercover reporters he would be willing to lobby on behalf of the gambling industry.
The committtee says Benton should face a 35-day suspension for breaking parliamentary rules. That would allow campaigners to use the recall process to trigger a recall byelection in his constituency, Blackpool South, where he had a majority of just 3,690 over Labour at the last election.
Rishi Sunak denies being ‘tetchy’ as he promises Tories ‘gear change’ on tax
Good morning. Rishi Sunak has given a Christmas interview to the Spectator, the rightwing magazine widely read by Conservatives, and there are two good lines – one personal, and relatively trivial, and another not particularly surprising, but of huge relevance to the election campaign next year.
Katy Balls was interviewing Sunak and she asked him about a word that comes up increasingly frequently when journalists are trying to describe his demeanour in public, particularly when he is being challenged. Sunak insisted he was not “tetchy”; he was just “passionate”. Balls wrote:
He has been accused of being ‘tetchy’ – most recently during his diplomatic spat with the Greek Prime Minister over the Elgin Marbles. What does he think of the allegation? ‘I don’t understand that,’ he replies. He points to his leadership campaign. ‘That wasn’t an easy time for me, I was taking a lot of criticism and flak. But I just fought hard for what I believed in – every day, seven days a week for six weeks. I’m the same person now, I am fighting for the things I believe in. There’s nothing tetchy. But I am passionate. When things are not working the way I want them to work, of course I’m going to be frustrated.’
But the main point line was about taxation, and how the Conservatives will campaign in the election expected next year. We all know that Sunak intends to go into that election trying to depict the Conservatives as, unlike Labour, a tax-cutting party (even though the tax burden is on course to hit a post-war high). But there were two points that were newish.
First, he promised a “gear shift” in the Tories’ approach to taxation (which implies promising even larger tax cuts than expected – which critics would see as evidence of electoral desperation).
And, second, he was explicit about using welfare cuts to fund them.
On tax, Sunak told Balls:
I have always said I’m a Thatcherite in the truest sense. As Nigel Lawson and Margaret Thatcher said: cut inflation, cut taxes. That’s what we’ve done! We have delivered more tax cuts in one fiscal event than at any point since the 1980s.
When Balls made the obvious point about the tax burden being particularly high, Sunak replied:
That’s a really glass-half-empty way to look at it. You’ve got to differentiate. Look, why is the tax burden as high as it is? It’s because we had a once-in-a-century pandemic and we had a war in Ukraine, both of which necessitated an enormous response from the government …
The choice at the next election is between me and Keir Starmer. A Labour party that wants to borrow £28 billion a year is not going to control welfare or public spending. A Conservative party is going to do those things – and cut your taxes instead.
Balls says, as chancellor, Sunak was surprised to find that a third of all UK households are in receipt of some kind of benefit. He told her he thought more reform was needed.
Over the last decade we haven’t reformed those rules [to qualify for welfare]. Three times as many people today are being told that they don’t have to work because of ill-health than were a decade ago. I don’t believe our country has got three times sicker …
[Some changes] take time because they are very large system changes – you are dealing with a very complex system… Our priority, going forward, is to control spending and welfare so that we can cut taxes. We are in a position to be able to do all that because we have got inflation down. The economy has turned a corner and that means that there can be a gear shift in how we approach taxes.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: NHS England publishes its latest performance figures.
Morning: The Commons standards committee is expected to publish its report into allegations against the Conservative MP Scott Benton.
Morning: Rishi Sunak visits a school in north London.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
3pm: David Cameron gives evidence to the Lords European affairs committee.
If you want to contact me, do try the “send us a message” feature. You’ll see it just below the byline – on the left of the screen, if you are reading on a laptop or a desktop. This is for people who want to message me directly. I find it very useful when people message to point out errors (even typos – no mistake is too small to correct). Often 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 in the comments below the line; privately (if you leave an email address and that seems more appropriate); or in the main blog, if I think it is a topic of wide interest.
Updated
