Closing summary
Keir Starmer travelled to Edinburgh as part of his first tour of the four UK nations since taking on the role as the UK’s prime minister on Friday. Speaking after his meeting with Scotland’s first minister, John Swinney, at Bute House, Starmer said he aimed to “make good” on his campaign commitment to “reset” the relationship between the Scottish and UK governments. He will travel to Wales and Northern Ireland next. In Scotland, Starmer met with the Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, and celebrated the election of 37 Scottish Labour MPs.
Labour is seeking an unprecedented joint declaration with the EU to usher in a wide-ranging security pact covering defence, energy, the climate crisis, pandemics and even illegal migration, the foreign secretary, David Lammy, said. As part of the new government’s plan to reset its relations with the EU and bring “an end to the Brexit era”, Lammy told the Guardian that a broadly defined security deal would not undermine Labour’s commitment to remain outside the EU’s single market and customs union.
Conservatives have suggested that the former home secretary Suella Braverman is losing support as a potential party leader, as some who lost votes across southern England privately urged colleagues to resist a lurch to the right. A number of MPs now see Robert Jenrick, Priti Patel and Kemi Badenoch, all of whom have ruled out a deal with Reform leader Nigel Farage, as more viable candidates. In an interview with GB News, Braverman claimed Reform UK posed an “existential threat” to the Conservatives. She has declined to say whether or not she will be a Tory leadership candidate.
New defence secretary John Healey announced a fresh British military aid package for Ukraine as he visited the southern port city of Odesa and met with his counterpart Rustem Umerov.
Recognition of the state of Palestine as part of a Middle East peace process is an “undeniable right”, Starmer told Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in a phone call this morning.
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said that he remained committed to proportional representation, even though PR would have given Reform UK more seats that the Lib Dems at this election.
Jonathan Reynolds, the new business and trade secretary, ruled out Labour backing ID cards.
Thank you for reading and all your comments today. This blog is closing now but you can read all of our politics coverage here.
Updated
The health secretary, Wes Streeting, has announced he will meet junior doctors on Tuesday in an effort to end strike action and discuss reform.
Streeting will hold face-to-face talks with the British Medical Association (BMA) junior doctors committee for negotiations to end their long-running dispute over pay.
Medics in training across the NHS went on strike for five full days from 27 June. The walkout was the 11th by junior doctors in 20 months.
Junior doctors in England have said their pay has been cut by more than a quarter over the last 15 years and have called for a 35% increase.
Streeting has said previously he would not meet the 35%, saying that if he gave in to the demand then “any trade union worth their salt” would come back the following year with the same request.
In a statement issued on Sunday, he said:
When I said the NHS was broken, I was being honest with the public about the scale of the challenge. It will take time to fix it, so there’s no time to waste.
I am meeting with junior doctors early this week to discuss the end of strike action, and on Monday I will meet the British Dental Association to begin rescuing NHS dentistry.
I will also continue to meet with officials and NHS leaders to agree plans for providing an extra 40,000 operations, scans and appointments a week as soon as possible to cut waiting lists.
This is what we promised in opposition, so it is what we are doing in government. It will be the mission of this government to build an NHS fit for the future. I’m delighted that the prime minister will chair the mission delivery board to drive through that change, renew the NHS and build a healthier Britain.
Updated
Patrick Wintour is diplomatic editor for the Guardian
Labour is seeking an unprecedented joint declaration with the EU to usher in a wide-ranging security pact covering defence, energy, the climate crisis, pandemics and even illegal migration, the foreign secretary, David Lammy, has said.
As part of the new government’s plan to reset its relations with the EU and bring “an end to the Brexit era”, Lammy told the Guardian that a broadly defined security deal would not undermine Labour’s commitment to remain outside the EU’s single market and customs union.
Under Labour plans, the pact would see the UK work more closely with the bloc on a slew of areas related to security, ideally without the need for a legally binding deal, which could take years to agree.
Lammy has also accepted an invitation from the EU foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, to attend the September meeting of the EU foreign affairs council – something that was rejected by the previous Conservative government.
It is rare for non-EU states to attend the foreign affairs council, and Labour thinks it may be possible to go on an irregular basis if the planned security pact develops.
In an interview during his first trip to Europe as foreign secretary, Lammy said: “We said in our manifesto we wanted an ambitious security pact, and that’s because we have been speaking to Europe about this for the last few years, and I think there is an appetite, particularly following the war in Ukraine and the challenges that EU faces in relation to energy and climate, to go broader than just defence.
“So you have to obviously get into discussions with Europe and find those issues of mutual interest. My hope is that once, of course, the new European leadership is in place, we can progress this with a joint declaration of some kind. Obviously, underneath that would be buckets of work streams.”
You can read the full story here:
Scottish first minister John Swinney has been asked if he still has a democratic mandate for a referendum on independence after his party’s disastrous general election performance.
“The people of Scotland elected a Scottish parliament that exists today that’s got majority support for a referendum on independence,” he said, according to BBC News.
“I think the democratic will of the people of Scotland from that election should be respected.”
Swinney said “we made clear that we (as in himself and Keir Starmer) have different views on the constitution”.
Swinney has said Labour’s “emphatic victory” showed that Scottish voters were no longer prioritising independence, which in turn meant the party needed to reassess how it achieved constitutional change. The SNP party leader had repeatedly said an SNP victory in Scotland – which was always highly unlikely – would trigger talks on a fresh independence referendum. During the campaign, Keir Starmer, the Labour party leader, said categorically he would refuse to participate in negotiations for another independence referendum even if the SNP won a majority of seats.
Updated
Suella Braverman losing support as potential party leader, Tories say
Conservatives have suggested that the former home secretary Suella Braverman is losing support as a potential party leader, as some who lost votes across southern England privately urged colleagues to resist a lurch to the right.
A number of MPs now see Robert Jenrick, Priti Patel and Kemi Badenoch, all of whom have ruled out a deal with the hard-right Reform leader Nigel Farage, as more viable candidates.
The Conservative party board is expected to meet on Monday to begin to draw up plans for a leadership contest to replace Rishi Sunak after the Tories’ devastating general election defeat.
Some party grandees have been pushing for a longer leadership contest, but no decision will be made on the timeline until a meeting of the backbench 1922 Committee of remaining Tory MPs.
Those who have spoken to Sunak describe him as shellshocked by the election result, the Guardian has been told. He has been calling all former Conservative MPs who lost their seats over the weekend, engaging in personal conversations of sometimes more than 10 minutes.
Three potential leadership candidates appeared to discuss the postmortem in the Sunday papers and TV shows: Braverman, Jenrick, the former immigration minister, and Victoria Atkins, the former health secretary.
Strategists for a number of candidates are analysing the records of the 121 remaining MPs. “It’s not a Faragist party,” said one. “Anyone who pursues that will lose.”
You can read the full story by the Guardian’s deputy political editor, Jessica Elgot, here:
Updated
The Scottish government has released a summary of what Scottish first minister John Swinney and the UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, talked about at Bute House, the first minister’s official residence, in Edinburgh.
Following an introductory telephone call on Friday, the two leaders met in Edinburgh to emphasise their joint commitment to working collaboratively on areas of shared interest.
They discussed a range of issues and areas where both the governments can work together, including advancing the Scottish government’s core priorities of eradicating child poverty, growing the economy, prioritising net zero, and ensuring the delivery of effective public services.
Deputy first minister Kate Forbes and the new secretary of state for Scotland Ian Murray joined the first minister and prime minister for talks.
Swinney said:
I was pleased to welcome Sir Keir to Bute House so soon after his appointment as UK prime minister.
We continued our conversation about areas of shared interest. I believe there is an opportunity for collaborative working that can make a difference to people’s lives and I hope to work with Sir Keir’s new government to deliver progress for the benefit of people in Scotland.
Following our talks, I am confident we have established the foundation for a productive relationship between our two governments based on renewed respect for the devolution settlement.
Starmer has said the 37 Labour MPs elected in the general election in Scotland would “bring about the change” that people wanted. The Labour landslide there is remarkable given the fact that the party had just one MP in Scotland in 2019, Ian Murray. In contrast, the SNP’s tally fell from 48 to 9 MPs in the general election. There are 57 MPs in total in Scotland.
Starmer’s visit to Edinburgh did not go entirely as planned as pro-Palestinian protesters lined the streets outside Bute House in anticipation of his arrival.
Updated
Defence secretary announces new military aid package for Ukraine
Dan Sabbagh is the Guardian’s defence and security editor
New defence secretary John Healey announced a fresh British military aid package for Ukraine on Sunday as he visited the southern port city of Odesa and met with his counterpart Rustem Umerov (see earlier post at 17.02).
The move is designed to reassure Ukraine and demonstrate to Moscow that UK military backing remains unchanged after last week’s change of government and ahead of this week’s Nato summit, where additional military help for Kyiv will be discussed.
Healey said “the UK is united for Ukraine” and the Labour minister promised to “reinvigorate Britain’s support by stepping up supplies of vital military aid”as part of an effort to help resist Russian aggression “for as long as it takes’’.
Britain will supply a quarter of a million large, 50 calibre rounds of ammunition, 10 of its AS-90 artillery guns, which have a theoretical range of up to 25km, and 90 Brimstone ground-attack, anti-tank missiles from its own stocks.
The Ministry of Defence said that Healey had immediately asked for extra support to be provided to Ukraine which was “readily available” and meets their “needs for the battlefield” as the war continues its third year.
Umerov said, on his Telegram channel, that he “highly appreciated” Healey’s visit given it was his second working day in the job and his first trip abroad.
New defence secretary John Healey is in Odesa for Ukraine’s Navy Day pic.twitter.com/snN6aIwDxO
— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) July 7, 2024
Home office to begin recruitment of a border security commander
Home secretary Yvette Cooper has taken the first steps in establishing a new UK border security command to combat the people-smuggling gangs bringing migrants across the Channel in small boats, the PA news agency is reporting.
The home office said that recruitment of a border security commander, who will report directly to Cooper, will begin tomorrow and the new recruit – a “leader used to working in complex and challenging environments, for example at senior levels of policing, intelligence or the military” – will take up their post in the coming weeks, providing strategic direction to work across agencies.
New powers. New resources.
— Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) July 7, 2024
Border Security Command will be a step change in how we tackle organised immigration crime.
A new Commander will be recruited to lead this work. pic.twitter.com/PHgljQ7JuK
Under the home secretary’s instruction, a team is also establishing the remit, governance and strategic direction of the new command, and legislation is being prepared to introduce new counter terror-style powers and measures to tackle organised immigration crime. Cooper has also commissioned an investigation from the department and the national crime agency into the latest routes, methods and tactics used by people smuggling gangs across Europe.
“Criminal smuggling gangs are making millions out of small boat crossings, undermining our border security and putting lives at risk,” Cooper said.
“We can’t carry on like this. We need to tackle the root of the problem, going after these dangerous criminals and bringing them to justice.
“The border security command will be a major step change in UK enforcement efforts to tackle organised immigration crime, drawing on substantial resource to work across Europe and beyond to disrupt trafficking networks and to co-ordinate with prosecutors in Europe to deliver justice.
“Work is under way to bring in a border security commander to lead this work - and we will begin recruitment on additional capacity in the National Crime Agency immediately.”
When asked on Sunday if she was making the same promise as the previous government to “stop the boats”, Cooper replied: “No one should be making these dangerous boat crossings.
“This is undermining our border security as well as having lives being put at risk. But that’s why we have to have a major upgrade in law enforcement and I have immediately started the work on that in the home office.”
Asked on Sunday if she was making the same promise as the previous Government to “stop the boats” and if so, when would it happen, Ms Cooper said: “No one should be making these dangerous boat crossings.
When pushed on when the numbers of small boats will start to come down, Cooper spoke about how the first half of the year has seen an increase of boast crossings. “I am very concerned about the increase that we’ve seen and the way that criminal gangs are being allowed to get away with this, are undermining our border security and also putting lives at risk.
“We need to make rapid progress in upgrading the law enforcement against these gangs to go after the problem at source.
“And that is why I have immediately started work on this and why I am setting out the process now to get the border security command in place.”
When asked if she has had any contact with Rwanda about winding the plan down and getting any money back, Cooper said she would be auditing the details around “the money and legislation and the processes” in order to set out more details to Parliament.
Here’s video of the prime minister’s remarks in Edinburgh, where Keir Starmer arrived today on the first leg of his two-day trip to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Speaking alongside Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, the UK prime minister said he and his Labour government would ‘deliver for Scotland’.
UK government working on rescue plan for Grangemouth oil refinery
Keir Starmer has revealed the UK government is working on a rescue plan for the Grangemouth oil refinery near Edinburgh, as he arrived in the city for talks with Scotland’s first minister, John Swinney.
Keir Starmer @10DowningStreet & @AnasSarwar enjoy rapturous applause at Edinburgh @ScottishLabour rally, before Starmer meets @JohnSwinney at Bute House pic.twitter.com/hSWtQiaGAW
— Severin Carrell (@severincarrell) July 7, 2024
The prime minister told reporters in Edinburgh the Labour government had already started conversations on how to save thousands of jobs at Grangemouth, after its owner Ineos said it was phasing out operations in its refinery business at the site.
Starmer said Grangemouth was high up his agenda for Scotland, and would be proof of his government’s pledge to champion Scotland’s interests. “It is obviously a source of great concern to me, [in] terms of what steps we can now take to preserve jobs and ensure the future,” he said.
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, said he had discussed a Grangemouth rescue plan with Ed Miliband, the energy security and net zero secretary, earlier on Sunday.
Scottish Labour was alerted to the significance of the Grangemouth crisis after it repeatedly came up on the doorstep during the election campaign.
Labour unexpectedly won three seats surrounding Grangemouth, including Falkirk, a seat long regarded as an ultra-safe seat for the Scottish National party, in its landslide election victory on Thursday.
Speaking after a short victory rally with some of Scottish Labour’s MPs and party activists, Starmer hinted Grangemouth would be on the agenda for his meeting with Swinney, the SNP leader and first minister, at Bute House on Sunday evening.
He denied that the UK government’s relations with Swinney and the Scottish government would be coloured by Labour’s determination to defeat the SNP in the 2026 Holyrood elections.
“I’m not focused on party politics,” he said. “I’m focused on one question, which is how can I bring about the change that so many people in Scotland want? That’s what they voted for. They voted for Labour.
“[We] have 37 [Scottish Labour] MPs, they will be sitting on the government benches delivering that change, but I’m focused on the people of Scotland who want change. I’m not focused on party politics. And that’s the way I intend to govern.”
Swinney, as first minister, had a right to be involved, Starmer added. He was “totally committed” to involving the UK’s devolved governments and regional mayors in his economic renewal agenda, and would soon be setting up a council of nations and regions – one of the main recommendations from a constitutional reform commission chaired by Gordon Brown.
“I’m totally committed to the principle that those with skin in the game know best, what works for their communities, and that what you shouldn’t do is have individuals in Westminster and Whitehall making decisions affecting communities when they’ve got their own representatives.
“They’ve got people who do understand those communities and work better but what I want is to make sure that whether it’s mayors, whether it’s elected representatives here in Scotland, that you have a Labour government coming up alongside them sharing the ambition and that’s what this is about.”
SNP party leader John Swinney must show voters he can be trusted as first minister after a “very clear message” was sent to the SNP in the general election results, Ian Blackford, who led the SNP in the Commons between 2017 and 2022, has said.
He appeared to back Swinney’s leadership, but added there “isn’t really anybody else” who could take on the job.
In an interview with the Sunday Mail, Blackford said the results showed the electorate had delivered a “very clear message”, adding: “They’re pissed off.”
He said:
You can’t sugar coat any of this. It’s up to John what the party does but the electorate have delivered a very clear message to us – primarily they’re pissed off. I don’t think anyone is pointing the finger at John and saying he has to go.
He’s inherited this and he has to own it in terms of fixing it. It’s not long until 2026. You’ve got some time and it can be turned around but you need to demonstrate that you can be trusted.
The SNP was reduced to nine MPs in last week’s election, from 48 MPs in 2019. Blackford was asked if Swinney – who took over as SNP leader eight weeks ago - would be able to turn the party’s fortunes around. Blackford said: “Time will tell but there isn’t really anybody else, so he’s the man for it.”
As my colleague Lisa O’Carroll notes in this story, it has been a turbulent two years for the SNP, during which time it has had three leaders. Sturgeon quit her post in February 2023, saying she was burnt out, weeks before her husband, Peter Murrell, was questioned in connection with alleged embezzlement of party funds. He was charged earlier this year. Sturgeon was also arrested but was released without charge.
Humza Yousaf, Sturgeon’s apprentice, stepped down in May after ending his power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens in Holyrood, with Swinney then taking the reins.
Updated
Starmer says Labour will 'deliver for Scotland' as he arrives in Edinburgh for UK tour
Keir Starmer said his Labour government would “deliver for Scotland” as he visited Edinburgh on the first leg of his two-day trip to the devolved administrations of the UK.
Appearing alongside Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, the prime minister said there were 37 Labour MPs from Scottish seats.
The prime minister said that during the campaign he wanted “Scotland to send a government to start delivering for Scotland”.
He added:
We have this team to be part of a government, sitting on the government benches, all working to deliver for Scotland. This team here, the whole of the Labour party in government and myself, delivering for Scotland.
Starmer told reporters yesterday that he wanted not to meet the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish first ministers to discuss the challenges they face and “to establish a way of working across the United Kingdom that will be different and better to the way of working that we’ve had in recent years”.
Updated
Labour’s defeated candidate in the constituency where Nigel Farage won his parliamentary seat has said he feared for the safety of those around him during what he characterised as a deeply ugly campaign.
Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, 27, who was installed to contest the seat weeks before Farage changed his mind and decided to stand, accused the Reform UK leader of waging a campaign “straight out of the Trump playbook”.
He said he faced vitriol from Reform supporters, including being asked repeatedly where he was “really from”.
During the election campaign, Labour was accused of not putting up a fight in the Essex seat after the Guardian revealed that Owusu-Nepaul had been instructed to leave the constituency and told he was distracting from Keir Starmer’s campaign.
He was seconded to the West Midlands, while the local campaign in Clacton said it was banned from printing leaflets and blocked from using campaigning software.
In his first interview since finishing third last week in the election, Owusu-Nepaul insisted he had fought hard, and said he understood the need for the national campaign to take priority. But he warned that Reform should be a cause for concern “because of the type of politics they represent”.
You can read the full story by my colleague, Ben Quinn, here:
Defence secretary John Healey is in Ukraine. He held a press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov in the Black Sea city of Odesa earlier.
In May, Healey said Labour backed all the commitments made to Ukraine by Rishi Sunak’s government, including a recent pledge to provide Kyiv with £3bn of military aid a year (which the Labour government will continue).
Updated
The new foreign secretary, David Lammy, has written an article in the Local Europe, outlining the government’s foreign policy vision. He said Britain must be a “good neighbour” to the EU as it targets a “closer partnership” with the bloc. Labour has ruled out rejoining the EU, the single market or the customs union. Keir Starmer, the Labour party leader and newly elected prime minister, has said instead that his party could achieve better trading arrangements with the EU in certain industries, such as in research and development and on security.
Lammy used his first trip abroad as the UK’s top diplomat to make clear to his counterparts in Germany, Poland and Sweden about the chance to “seize the opportunity for a reset” and work “even more closely together to tackle shared challenges”. He identified support for Ukraine and climate change, along with holidays and student exchanges, as areas where this can take place.
Writing in the Local Europe, Lammy said:
As the new British foreign secretary, with our prime minister Keir Starmer, this government will reset relations with Europe as a reliable partner, a dependable ally and a good neighbour.
That is why I am travelling immediately to some of our key European partners. Sitting down with Annalena Baerbock, Radek Sikorski and Tobias Billström, my message will be simple: let us seize the opportunity for a reset, working even more closely together to tackle shared challenges.
The most immediate of these challenges, of course, is Ukraine. We will stand by the brave people of Ukraine, as they defend their freedom against Vladimir Putin’s new form of fascism. British military, economic, political and diplomatic support for Ukraine will remain ironclad.
But we are always stronger when we work with others. Germany, Poland and Sweden are all also staunch supporters of Ukraine. European security will be this government’s foreign and defence priority.
Russia’s barbaric invasion has made clear the need for us to do more to strengthen our own defences. Next week, the prime minister, the defence secretary and I will all travel to Washington for the Nato Summit.
Updated
Junior doctors' pay dispute could be resolved within a week if government is prepared to 'move quickly', says BMA UK council chair
Philip Banfield, chair of the BMA UK Council, told Times Radio the junior doctors’ pay dispute could be resolved within a week if the government is willing to act quickly.
Medics in training across the NHS went on strike for five full days from 27 June. NHS England said 61,989 appointments, procedures and operations were postponed as a result of the latest round of industrial action by junior doctors.
Junior doctors have been pursuing a 35% pay rise to act as “full pay restoration” for the 26.2% fall in the value of their incomes they have seen since 2008-09.
Wes Streeting, the new health secretary, has said previously he would not meet the 35%, saying that if he gave in to the demand then “any trade union worth their salt” would come back the following year with the same request.
Banfield said the BMA are seeking a 26% rise which is “not necessarily” linked to an agreement over conditions.
Speaking to Kate McCann on Times Radio, he said:
This Labour government is straight away taking everyone at their word. It needs a government to negotiate in good faith, the previous government did not. If the Labour government negotiates in good faith, there need to be no more strikes.
Kate McCann Q: “Do you think that you are ready to have a deal sorted within the week? Because that’s clearly what Labour’s pushing for?”
Philip Banfield A: “If the question is ‘it possible to have a deal within a week?’ The answer is yes.”
"If Labour negotiate in good faith, there need be no more strikes."
— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) July 7, 2024
Junior doctors' pay dispute could be resolved within a week if the government is prepared to "move quickly", says Philip Banfield, chair of the BMA UK Council. #TimesRadio
📻 https://t.co/cNPxWZpxF2 pic.twitter.com/yMCUJta3RE
Updated
Keir Starmer: Palestinian state an 'undeniable right' as part of peace process
Keir Starmer has told the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, that recognition of the state of Palestine as part of a Middle East peace process is an “undeniable right”. Labour’s election manifesto committed the party to recognising a Palestinian state as part of a process that results in a two-state solution alongside Israel. Labour suffered significant election setbacks in areas with large Muslim populations on Friday amid discontent over its position on Israel’s war in Gaza. Starmer, the UK’s prime minister, has faced criticism for only gradually shifting towards calling for a ceasefire.
In his talks with the Palestinian leader this morning, No 10 said Starmer was “pleased to be able to speak to President Abbas so early in his tenure, given the pressing issues in the region, ongoing suffering, and devastating loss of life in Gaza”. “Discussing the importance of reform, and ensuring international legitimacy for Palestine, the prime minister said that his longstanding policy on recognition to contribute to a peace process had not changed, and it was the undeniable right of Palestinians,” No 10 said.
The commitment to recognising a Palestinian state “as part of a peace process” echoes comments made in January by David Cameron, the former foreign secretary. It is likely to irritate Israel. Netanyahu reacted angrily when Ireland, Spain and Norway all officially recognised Palestine in May, describing the move as a “reward for terrorism”.
Here are some more conversations Starmer has had with world leaders today:
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a readout of the call with Netanyahu, Downing Street said: “The leaders discussed the importance of regional security in the Middle East, and the prime minister said he was committed to continuing the UK and Israel’s vital cooperation to deter malign threats. The prime minister said the situation on the northern border of Israel was very concerning, and it was crucial all parties acted with caution.”
“Turning to the conflict in Gaza, the prime minister reiterated his condolences for the tragic loss of life following the October attacks. He then set out the clear and urgent need for a ceasefire, the return of hostages and an immediate increase in the volume of humanitarian aid reaching civilians. He added that it was also important to ensure the long-term conditions for a two-state solution were in place, including ensuring the Palestinian Authority had the financial means to operate effectively.”South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa. A No 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister spoke to South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, this morning. The president began by congratulating the prime minister on his election victory and said he welcomed this early opportunity to speak. The leaders reflected on the significance of South Africa’s state visit in 2022, noting that it was the first official state visit of His Majesty King Charles III’s reign.” “Turning to the strong bond between the UK and South Africa, the prime minister said he looked forward to strengthening and progressing the relationship between the two countries. The prime minister and president agreed to continue working together on climate change, economic growth and opportunity and equality ahead of the G20 in South Africa next year.”
The United Arab Emirates’ president sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed al-Nahyan. Downing Street said the prime minister “thanked sheikh Bin Zayed for his kind words on his election victory, and congratulated sheikh Bin Zayed on the success of the COP28 Summit in the UAE last year”. “The leaders agreed to deepen cooperation on defence, cybersecurity, trade and investment ties between the UK and UAE,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.
Since becoming the UK’s prime minister on Friday, Starmer has had phone calls with many other world leaders, including the US president, Joe Biden, Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Updated
The Conservative party is no longer a 'viable entity', ex-Tory MP says
Former Conservative MP Marcus Fysh has said the Conservative party is no longer a “viable entity” as Tory MPs are unwilling (or not inclined ideologically) to do what is needed to become electable again.
Fysh was Yeovil’s MP since 2015 but lost heavily to Adam Dance from the Liberal Democrats last week in the general election. He argues that the Conservatives need to occupy the centre-right in British politics to have broad electoral appeal, but says the current crop of MPs want to be on the centre-left.
Labour’s emphatic general election victory will mean the most dramatic transformation in the make-up of the House of Commons in decades, with Keir Starmer’s parliamentary party having almost doubled in size, and added 211 more members to its benches, while the Tories have vacated 252 seats and are down to 121 (you can read more about the new composition of the Commons here).
Speaking to Times Radio this morning, Fysh said:
I just don’t think it is a viable entity any more. I think with the current composition – or the new composition of the party in parliament – I don’t think there is any chance that it will do the things that are required to actually be electable again.
So, whether it’s making the most of actually being outside the EU, I don’t think the current crop of MPs will ever want to do that, and I don’t think it is possible for a centre right party that doesn’t want to do that ever to be elected in the UK again.
So I just think everyone’s wasting their time with it, and I am just calling it how I see it really. If it was my business, I would wind it up.
I just don’t think it works any more. I don’t think there is political space for where the current crop of MPs want to be, which is on the centre left, SDP side of politics, the old SDP. They are centre left politicians, and that is where Labour is.
Times Radio journalist Calum Macdonald then asked the former Tory MP if the Conservatives needed to move to the right – closer to Reform – to try to win back voters.
Fysh replied:
No I am saying that it needs to occupy that space, which is the centre right, and the centre in a sensible way that is going to resonate with the population and speak human to them, and be human about it.
And that is not what reform is. And I don’t think that that is capable of doing that. But I don’t think the current conservative MPs want to be there- that isn’t who they are. So it isn’t a Conservative party in that sense, and so it should no longer exist.
“I’m just calling it how I see it, if it was my business I would wind it up.”
— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) July 7, 2024
Former Conservative MP @MarcusFysh tells @CalumAM he doesn't think the Conservative party is "viable" anymore and "should no longer exist".
🎧: https://t.co/Woa0ovVVTN pic.twitter.com/CltUzmvWBV
Updated
Patrick Wintour is diplomatic editor for the Guardian
The new foreign secretary, David Lammy, sent out a warning to China not to become embroiled in Russia’s attempt to undermine Ukraine.
Warning of the dangers that face the west from authoritarian states, Lammy, standing alongside Poland’s foreign minister, Radislaw Sikorski, said:
I am concerned when I see Iranian drones turning up in Ukraine. I am concerned when I see shells from North Korea being used here on European soil.
And of course, I’m concerned with the partnership that I see Russia brokering across those authoritarian states. I think that China should be very careful about deepening those partnerships over the coming weeks and months.
A meeting between FM @sikorskiradek and the new Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 @DavidLammy is now underway in Chobielin.
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs 🇵🇱 (@PolandMFA) July 7, 2024
Poland is part of the itinerary for the first foreign trip of the new head of British diplomacy. pic.twitter.com/IuAzUjeC6X
He was speaking after holding two hours of talks with Sikorski at the foreign minister’s country retreat near the Polish city of Bydgoszcz.
On Gaza, the foreign secretary said:
We have been calling for a ceasefire now since the end of last year. All of us hope that in the days that follow, the Biden plan can be adopted by Hamas, and of course by the Israeli government, and we can see that ceasefire. We want to see those hostages out.
And you cannot look away from the amount of people that have lost their life in Gaza, many of them women and children, and not want to see that loss of life alleviated.
There is an absolute need for aid to get in unfettered in the way that we have been calling for in the international community.
Praising Lammy for Labour’s landslide victory, Sikorski said the recently elected Polish coalition government was also the product of the public being tired with enthusiasts on the nationalist side of politics.
Updated
We have some more quotes from the Northern Ireland secretary, Hilary Benn, who has made his first visit to Belfast in his new role (see earlier post at 13.20 for Benn’s comments on the prospect of an Irish reunification poll).
He said the Stormont powersharing executive – which has only the most minimal powers over borrowing and taxation – will have to look at raising its own revenue to help deal with public sector budget pressures, according to the PA news agency. Most of what Stormont spends is from the so-called block grant which comes from Westminster, but Stormont parties have complained of the negative impact of “Tory austerity” and are therefore hoping for more money from a Labour government. This hope may be misplaced though, with the Institute for Fiscal Studies saying: “Labour’s additional day-to-day spending commitments are essentially trivial.”
Speaking to the media on Sunday, Benn noted that public spending in Northern Ireland is higher than in England (the region receives about £124 a head for every £100 a head spent in England).
He told reporters:
Those (funding) discussions about the future will continue and there will be additional money when the main estimates are published which I anticipate will be in the near future.
But I would also say this. There is a question for the Executive about how the money is spent. All public bodies, governments, institutions have to look at what they’ve got coming in, what’s going out and how they can make the most effective use of that.
Historically, government in Northern Ireland has not been as good as it might be in income generation. That is something the executive is going to have to look at.
Updated
On Bristol’s harbourside on Friday morning, Carla Denyer was still on the go. The Green party co-leader, newly elected as MP for Bristol Central, had not slept since the count but was happy to pose for selfies with well-wishers and chat to her new constituents. “I’m elated,” she said, as people waved at her.
Denyer is still taking in the scale of the Green party’s achievements. Labour’s Thangam Debbonaire, the shadow culture minister who had been expected to take up a seat in the Labour cabinet, had a majority of more than 28,000 in Bristol West in 2019, but lost the new Bristol Central seat to Denyer by nearly 10,000 votes.
Three more Green MPs were elected across the UK. “This is an historic breakthrough,” Denyer said. “We have quadrupled our representation in the House of Commons overnight. We have got a historic vote share across the country, a historic number of second places, and I expect a historic number of deposits saved as well.”
Denyer believes the four Green MPs can put pressure on Starmer. “We’ll be pushing the Labour government to be bolder on climate, on the housing crisis, or properly funding public services,” she said. “We’ll be using all of the levers that we have available as opposition MPs, whether that’s through ministerial questions, motions, amendments, the committees, and just moving the debate on.” One of her first priorities will be getting Labour to lift the two-child benefit cap: “That policy was brought in by the Conservatives, and yet, shockingly, the Labour party have ruled out [scrapping it], even though it holds 250,000 children in poverty.”
Some experts see further Green gains as a distinct possibility. The party gained nearly 2m votes overall and came second in 40 constituencies. Prof James Dennison, who has researched the ebbs and flows of Green support across Europe, believes the UK Green party could pick up many more voters under a Starmer government, which will be largely reliant on growth to fund struggling public services. “The Greens are the only party – apart from Reform – who are well placed to take those anti-incumbency votes,” he said.
Denyer agrees. “There is a potential to grow our parliamentary party in the next general election,” she said. “Especially if Labour continue to backslide on policies, as they have been before they even got into power.”
You can read the full story by my colleague, Tom Wall, here:
As Andrew Sparrow mentioned in an earlier post (see 08.23), Keir Starmer is expected in Scotland this afternoon. It will be the first leg of the prime minister’s tour of the UK’s nations over the coming days to speak with the leaders of the devolved administrations.
The Guardian’s Scotland editor, Severin Carrell, has been told that at about 4:30pm Starmer and Labour’s Scotland leader, Anas Sarwar, “will make remarks” at a Labour event in central Edinburgh. They are expected to take some questions from journalists afterwards. Sarwar is expected by some to become Scotland’s first minister after the 2026 Holyrood elections.
At around 5pm, Starmer is then expected to meet Scottish first minister John Swinney at Bute House, after the SNP was swept aside by a resurgent Labour across central and western Scotland in the general election.
Updated
A bright red sofa and a piano were among the items removed from Downing Street on Sunday morning. Keir Starmer’s family (his wife, Victoria, and their two teenage children) will relocate from their north London house to either 10 or 11 Downing Street. Starmer has reportedly not moved into his new address yet.
Updated
Richard Tice: newly elected Reform MP says his party's policies will 'save the country'
Richard Tice, the newly elected Reform MP for Boston and Skegness, has said his party will become “the real opposition” and has the policies – such as on immigration and law and order – that “will save this country”. Tice, who is also the party’s chairman, overturned a 25,000 Conservative majority to win the seat for Reform.
Reform’s four other MPs are James McMurdock (who narrowly won the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency in the general election), Nigel Farage (the party’s leader, who won in Clacton), Lee Anderson (the former Tory party chairman who won Ashfield) and Rupert Lowe (the former Southampton chairman who won in Great Yarmouth).
Speaking to GB News’ Camilla Tominey, Tice said:
I think it was a real shock to the establishment despite everything. The lies, the spin, the mud, the abuse that was thrown at us in the last ten days or so of the campaign.
This is just the beginning. As Nigel [Farage] said, it’s a bridgehead. Five MPs now with James McMurdock joining us on Friday afternoon after I think the third counting of his votes. It’s a great start, and we build from here.
I think genuinely, we do become the real opposition. The Tory party is completely split asunder. They’re sort of so far apart from each other it’s not a cohesive force, whereas we clearly are.
We’ve got the policies that I think actually will save this country, whether it’s on immigration, whether it’s on growth, whether it’s on law and order.
I don’t think anybody’s really got any confidence in the Labour party’s ability to solve those issues.
'I think genuinely we do become the real opposition. We've got the policies that will save this country!'
— GB News (@GBNEWS) July 7, 2024
Chairman, Reform UK, @TiceRichard, says his party 'will build' on the General Election result.
🔓 Become a GB News Member: https://t.co/mNsRsGC8ef pic.twitter.com/Soh6jJELj1
Tice went on to say that the party needs to “professionalise” in the future, after dozens of candidates were dropped by the party in recent months after they were accused of making racist and other offensive comments in the past.
He echoed Farage’s comments about targeting Labour voters, particularly in some of their industrial “heartlands”. Tice also revealed he would work with the Green party and Liberal Democrats to advocate for proportional representation.
Hilary Benn, the newly appointed Northern Ireland secretary, has been in Belfast today. He was asked by Sky News’ senior Ireland correspondent, David Belvins, about the prospect of a referendum on Irish unity. Benn ruled this out, saying the conditions for such a poll have not been met. His comments echo those of the new prime minister, Keir Starmer, who said last year that a referendum on Irish unification was “not even on the horizon”.
Benn was quoted as saying:
The Belfast Good Friday agreement was very carefully considered, debated, discussed, drafted and signed. And the condition – the criteria if you would like – for a border poll is very clear.
It’s when the secretary of state, whoever he or she is, comes to the view that in the event that a border poll was held, the people of Northern Ireland would vote for a united Ireland. There is no evidence that this condition has been met.
His comments come after Sinn Féin became Northern Ireland’s largest party in Westminster after voters turned against the Democratic Unionist party. The party is likely to use its electoral victory to make the case for a referendum on Irish reunification by 2030.
Braverman says Tories should avoid 'rushed leadership decision', as she refuses to say if she will stand
Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, is another potential Tory leadership candidate who has been giving interviews today – but declining to say whether or not she will be a candidate.
In an interview with GB News, she claimed Reform UK posed an “existential threat” to the Conservatives. She said:
Our vote went from about 13 million in 2019 to just under 7 million this week. We lost hundreds of brilliant Conservative MPs because of Reform.
Millions of our voters were betrayed and angry with the Conservatives and they went to an alternative, Reform.
I believe whoever’s leading the party, whoever’s in the party, needs to acknowledge this basic truth, that we are facing an existential threat from Reform. And we need to change ourselves to ensure that we neutralise that threat, that we bring those people back home.
Asked if she would be a candidate herself, she refused to say. But she stressed there was “no urgency to install a new leader”. She said:
We don’t have the burden of government right now. We don’t need to rush into a knee jerk reaction or a rushed leadership decision.
Other Tories have said similar things today. Robert Jenrick said this morning that he would support having a long leadership campaign. (See 9.52am.) And on Times Radio Lord Pickles, the Tory former cabinet minister, said the party should allow time for potential leadership candidates to prove themselves (which is what happened in 2005 after the Tories lost the election). He said:
There are some good people wanting to stand, but they need to prove themselves through a selection process and that shouldn’t happen quickly.
When the [1922 Committee – the body in charge of leadership contests] meet, they should resist the temptation to ensure that it’s a quick decision. And they should ensure that is left to the membership and they’re offered a very wide choice.
That is all from me for today. Yohannes Lowe is taking over now.
Blair rejects claim Starmer does not have proper mandate because of electoral system
Keir Starmer is often seen as Tony Blair-type figure, because of the way he imposed ruthless discipline on his party, shifted policy to the right, and isolated the left. But the two don’t see eye to eye on everything and Blair’s article in the Sunday Times, headlined “Tony Blair: My advice to Keir Starmer”, though generally supportive, may not have been 100% welcome by the new occupant of No 10.
The government has already shot down one of the main proposals in the article – Blair’s long-standing call for some form of ID card to be introduced. (See 10.19am.) Although Blair includes some lavish praise for Starmer (his achievement is “immense”, he has appointed people of “exceptional talent” etc), he also includes some implied criticism too.
Here is a summary of his main arguments.
Blair rejects claims that Starmer does not have a mandate. Some commentators have been raising this argument because the election was result was so disproportionate (see 11.14am), the result of five parties contesting all the seats in Britain in first-past-the-post system designed for two-party politics. Addressing this point, Blair says:
An electoral system really designed for two big parties, plus possibly one “also-ran”, has seen not two but four parties all with double-digit proportions of the vote, plus another two also-rans and different varieties of independent splitting many constituency ballots, so resulting in a landslide result. Keir will be acutely aware of this.
However, people voted for disparate parties knowing full well that doing so would give Labour a big majority. The last throw of the Tory dice was to call upon the electorate not to give Labour a landslide and to explain precisely how this might happen. The advice was ignored, and we have to conclude deliberately.
But Blair implies people do not know exactly what Labour stands for. He says:
So, [Starmer] has a mandate. It is for “change”, for sure. But what type of change exactly? Stability, not chaos. But after that?
This was the argument the Conservative party used throughout the election campaign.
Blair claims the election result does not mean Britain is shifting left. He says:
You can make an argument that, although the country has chosen the centre-left to govern, its political centre of gravity also contains signs of moving right.
He welcomes Starmer’s focus on promoting growth but says, to make this happen, the new government needs to embrace the potential of artificial intelligence (AI). He says:
There are things that can be done to kickstart economic growth, in particular reforming the hopelessly slow and bureaucratic planning system, both infrastructure and housing, and fixing the worst aspects of the post-Brexit trade deal.
But the only game-changer is the full embrace of the potential of technology, especially the new developments in artificial intelligence (AI) …
The spread of the application of AI by the private sector and its encouragement by appropriate government policy is the only answer to Britain’s productivity challenge and, over time, it can turbocharge growth.
Blair says his thinktank, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, will present proposals on this theme at a conference this week. Starmer has also spoken about the potential of AI, but not with the enthusiasm of Blair, and Blair’s article implies he thinks the new government needs more vision in this area.
Blair says Labour needs to respond to the threat posted by Reform UK. He says ID cards would help, because they would show the new government had “a plan to control immigration”. (See 10.19am.) The government has rejected this proposal. But Blair also says the threat from Reform UK goes beyond that.
Cultural issues, as much if not more than economic issues, are at the heart of it. Reform has pillaged the Tory vote in this election, true. But it poses a challenge for Labour too …
We need a tough new approach to law and order. At present, criminal elements are modernising faster than law enforcement.
And the government should avoid any vulnerability on “wokeism”.
He says Labour should embrace “the centre ground”, which he describes as “the place of solutions, not ideology”. He says:
The Labour party won, as it always does, by returning to the centre-left. But, contrary to the common critique, the centre ground is not the place of the mushy middle, between the poles of right and left. It is the place of solutions, not ideology; where the policy comes first and the politics second. It can be sensible and radical at the same time. And that is what the country needs.
In some respects, this is Starmeresque. In his first speech outside No 10 on Friday Starmer promised “a government unburdened by doctrine, guided only by a determination to serve your interests”. But in the past he has said he disagrees with Blair about the left not being the only people offering solutions; he has said progressive parties are the ones with the answers to the world’s problems.
Updated
Irish PM Simon Harris says he hopes Labour's election win will lead to 'reset' in relations with Dublin
Simon Harris, the taoiseach (Irish PM), has given an interview to Sky News, broadcast this morning. Here are the main points he made.
Harris said he thought EU leaders would give a “fair hearing” to suggestions from Keir Starmer to improve the way the UK-EU Brexit deal works. And he said the Irish government would support moves by the UK to improve relations with the EU. He said:
Should it be the position of the British government in the time ahead that it wishes to improve relations [with the EU], or it wishes to have closer relations, in any area where it makes practical sense of course Ireland will be an ally in that conversation.
He said he hoped the election of a Labour government would lead to a reset in relations with Dublin. He said:
At the end of the day, we’re neighbours, we’re friends, in many cases we’re family as well, and there’s an opportunity now, a real opportunity that we must seize and that the next generation will never forgive us for if we don’t, to press reset, to say yes it’s been a difficult few years, but you know what? We have so much more in common than divides us.
He said he the Irish taoiseach and the British PM used to meet and talk regularly at EU summits, and that he hoped they could find a new way of ensuring that “regular engagement happens”. He went on:
I think when the relationship has gotten particularly challenging on occasion between Britain and Ireland, it has sometimes been through a lack of those structures.
So that’s the first thing I wanted to talk with [Keir Starmer] about, because I believe if we get that right, so much good can flow from that.
He said holding a referendum on Irish reunification was not a priority and not an issue that “arises currently”.
He said he welcomed Keir Starmer’s commitment to replace the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation Act), but that Ireland is not yet willing to drop its legal challenge to the law at the European court of Human Rights. “We need to take this step by step,” Harris said. The act gives an amnesty to people accused of Troubles-era crimes if they cooperate with a new reconciliation and information recovery commission.
He welcomed the appointment of Hilary Benn as Northern Ireland secretary, saying he was an experienced figure who understood Northern Ireland well.
Updated
Ed Davey says Lib Dems remain committed to PR, even though it would have given Reform UK more seats than Lib Dems
In his interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said that he remained committed to proportional representation, even though PR would have given Reform UK more seats that the Lib Dems at this election. (See 9.56am.)
Asked if he would be happy to see Reform UK get more seats than the Lib Dems under PR, Davey replied:
Well, I believe in democracy, and I believe in taking forward your ideas for political reform.
People will get voted in who you don’t agree with, under first past the post people in Reform have got elected too and people in the Conservative party who were very close to Reform have got elected. That’s democracy, that’s allowing the people to express their will.
This chart, from the elections expert Dylan Difford, shows what the composition of the Commons would look like now under three different PR systems.
Also - as a bit of fun - a projection of the results onto three alternative voting systems - Scottish-style PR, a roughly county-level List PR system and STV. pic.twitter.com/PJgbCHpGZn
— Dylan Difford (@Dylan_Difford) July 6, 2024
Alex Salmond, the former Scottish first minister, told LBC this morning that he voted for the SNP at the election, not for Alba, the new party he set up when he left the SNP. That was because Alba was not standing in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, where he lives, he said. He said this was one of the few seats the SNP won, and he said that was because Douglas Ross was the Tory candidate.
I voted SNP, because we had no Alba candidate here in the north east of Scotland and I’m one of the few people in Scotland who can say I voted for a successful SNP candidate because in this seat, because of the shenanigans of the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Douglas Ross, who stabbed one of his colleagues in the back, metaphorically.
Many people here decided that’s not the sort of person they wanted representing the north east of Scotland.
Nadhim Zahawi, the former Tory chancellor, told Sky News this morning that the election result showed how voters reacted after the Tories “formed a circular firing squad”. The party should choose a new leader capable of bringing unity, he said.
I think the biggest challenge for us is unity, and I think that the lesson – if we haven’t learnt it yet then we really will be in trouble – is that we have to present a united front to the country
Rishi [Sunak] suffered badly in the campaign because there were voices from his own party coming out against [him].
Lord Hayward, a Conservative peer, told Times Radio that the process of electing a new leader for his party “shouldn’t be rushed”. He said some candidates might need time to decide whether or not they want to stand.
The former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon should apologise for the role she played in the SNP losing so many seats at the election, Joanna Cherry told Sky News this morning. The SNP lost 38 seats on Thursday night, and has been left with just nine MPs. Cherry, one of the MPs who lost, said Sturgeon was to blame to a large extent because when she was first minister the SNP failed to make an progress on independence, and it lost its reputation for competence. Cherry said:
[Sturgeon] was elected on a wave, she was re-elected as first minister in a wave of optimism, as we were those of us who were elected in 2015 when the SNP got 56 out of the then 59 Scottish seats. She was presented with a series of opportunities after the Brexit referendum, and during the particularly the early years of Boris Johnson’s premiership, that ought to have been exploited to forward further the cause of independence. And there has been a huge strategic failure to do that.
Asked if Sturgeon owed voters, and SNP colleagues who lost their seats, an apology, Cherry replied: “I thinks she does.”
Cherry was one of Sturgeon’s leading critics in the party when Sturgeon was leader and first minister. They disagreed in particular over Sturgeon’s plan to make it easier for trans people to get a gender recognition certificate. Cherry is a gender critical feminist.
Boris Johnson not solution to Tories' problems, says Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen
Ben Houchen, the Conservative Tees Valley mayor, is now being interviewed on Times Radio. He says the Tories should not respond to their electoral defeat by pluning into some “existential crisis” and debating whether it has been too rightwing or too leftwing. He says the party lost trust because it was not governing effectively.
Asked if that means he is not saying the party needs to copy Reform UK, or let Nigel Farage join, Houchen replies: “Absolutely.”
Asked who he would like to see as the next leader, Houchen says it is too early to say.
He says he does not think it is realistic to think that just brining back Boris Johnson will solve the party’s problems. “I don’t think Boris is part of the conversation,” he says. He says Johnson is not even an MP at the moment, and he says he would be “surprised” if Johnson wanted to come back at this point.
Houchen was asked about Johnson because, when Johnson was PM, he has been a big Johnson supporter. Johnson’s levelling up boosterism was partly inspired by the approach Houchen was taking as Tees Valley mayor.
Labour won't introduce ID cards, says Reynolds, after Blair argues digital ID could help it manage migration
Adam Boulton is interviewing Reynolds, and he asks what stance Labour will take on law and order issues. Will it back ID cards, as Tony Blair wants? Or will it be more liberal, as the appointment of James Timpson as prison minister suggests?
Reynolds says he can rule out Labour backing ID cards.
When he was asked about this earlier by Trevor Phillips (see 8.40am), Reynolds gave an evasive answer (albeit one that implied he did not know what the official line was, not one that implied the government was in favour, but just did not want to say so). It sounds like he has had a call since then, because now he tells Boulton clearly that Labour is ruling those out. “I can rule out ID cards for you,” he says.
In his article for the Sunday Times, Tony Blair, who has been a supporter of ID cards for years, said Keir Stamer should introduce a system of digitial ID cards to help control irregular migration. Blair said:
We need a plan to control immigration. If we don’t have rules, we get prejudices. In office, I believed the best solution was a system of identity, so that we know precisely who has a right to be here. With, again, technology, we should move as the world is moving to digital ID. If not, new border controls will have to be highly effective.
Reynolds says Labour will be 'robust' in pointing out threat posed by Reform UK
Jonathan Reynolds is now being interviewed on Times Radio.
Asked how Labour should take on Reform, he says Labour will be “robust” in pointing out the threat they would pose because of their support for Russia’s stance on Ukraine.
Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, tells Laura Kuenssberg that, listening to Victoria Atkins and Robert Jenrick, she thinks the Tories still do not realise how much people are suffering as a result of the cost of living crisis. She says she hopes the Labour government will be transformational.
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, is being interviewed now.
He says the Lib Dems will be a constructive opposition to Labour.
The Labour manifesto did not mention carers. The Lib Dems will push them on this, he says.
Q: Is it right you got so many more seats than Reform UK, with fewer votes?
Davey says the Lib Dems have long argued for proportional representation. They will continue to do that, he says.
Jenrick also refuses to rule out standing for Tory leader, and says he would support having long leadership campaign
Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister and another potential Tory leadership candidate, is being interviewed now.
He says the party let voters down because it promised to reduce net migration but failed.
Q: Will you be standing for the leadership?
Jenrick says it would not be right to discuss that just three days after the election defeat.
I honestly don’t think that three days on from the General Election, in which we’ve just lost so many of our friends and colleagues, that it is right to have self-indulgent conversations like this.
The reason I came on your programme Laura is because I care about the Conservative Party, I’ve been a member of the party since 1997 when I was 16 years of age, I’ve been with it through thick and thin.
I want to ensure it has the right diagnosis of what’s gone wrong and that diagnosis is not about personalities, it’s about principles and ideas not individuals.
Q: Do you have wait it takes to be leader?
Jenrick says he does not want to discuss that now.
Q: And do you think there should be a long handover to a new leader.
Jenrick says he would support a “longer campaign”.
I would support a longer campaign. I think we as a party have to think very carefully about what’s happened and once we have that, unite behind that common set of true Conservative principles and move forward – and above all hold Keir Starmer to account.
Updated
Victoria Atkins refuses to rule out standing for Tory leadership
Victoria Atkins is being interviewed now. As the former health secretary, she is introduced as shadow health secretary, even though it is not entirely clear whether the Conservative party actually has a shadow cabinet at the moment. There are many vacancies, because so many cabinet ministers lost their seats. Since he resigned, Rishi Sunak has only made one appointment – announcing yesterday that Stuart Andrew is interim chief whip.
Atkins says her party will need to look hard at what went wrong.
We need to ask ourselves some very hard questions about delivery, about integrity, and also about our values that underlie all of this.
She says some good MPs lost their seats. She says voters did not like seeing Conservatives attacking each other.
Even though the party lost, people still have conservative instincts, she says. She says they want lower taxes.
Q: Will you stand for the leadership?
Atkins says it is not the time to discuss that now. That is not why she came on the programme, she says.
Kuenssberg puts it to her that, if she is talking about honesty, she should be willing to say if she will stand.
Atkins says the Conservative party is bigger than any one member. It should be focusing on what the country needs, not on individuals at this point.
UPDATE: Atkins said:
This weekend is not about leadership.
The absolute focus at the moment, and the reason I came on today, was genuinely not to talk about leadership because this is not the moment for this.
We need to show the public that we understand they have sent us some very, very loud messages, that we are listening, that we are reflecting and then we as a party need to get together and unite and work out what we want for the future.
Updated
Michael Howard tells the BBC that the Conservative party has to remember it is a “national party” as it seeks to recover. It is no good having policies that just appeal to a narrow section, he says.
Asked if he thought that was a problem in the campaign, he says he wants to focus on the future.
Q: Who would be a good future leader?
Howard claims he does not even know how the candidates are. Other members of the panel make it clear they don’t think he is telling the truth.
Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, is one of the guest on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
Graham says she is glad Labour is in power. But she is a union leader, focused on what is best for workers. She says it is essential that any government offer to Tata Steel includes a jobs guarantee.
On economic policy, she says she hopes Rachel Reeves, the new chancellor, will change the government’s fiscal rules, to allow more borrowing. They have already changed nine times since 1997, she says.
And she says the government could make different choices. The 50 richest families in Britain are worth £500bn, she says. That is unfair.
Q: Are you worried that Labour has lost voters over Gaza?
Burnham says the party has been listening. It changed its position, he says. He was glad Labour won back Rochdale from George Galloway, he says.
Laura Kuenssberg is now interviewing Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester. She suggests he wishes he was back in government, sitting around the cabinet table.
Burnham says he is happy with his job.
He says he hopes Starmer will commit to carrying on with the Northern Powerhouse agenda promised by the Tories.
Updated
Reynolds suggests Reform UK's leaders are not 'good people' because of their support for Putin's stance on Ukraine
Q: How woried are you about the loss of support from Mulsim voters?
Reynolds says the party is taking this issue serious. People want to see progress towards a peace process in the Middle East. The new government will take a leadership role on this, he says.
Q: Are you worried about people backing Reform UK?
Reynolds says he met good people thinking about backing Reform. That does not mean the party itself is made up of good people. They support the economic policies of Liz Truss, and the foreign policy of Vladimir Putin.
Q: So you are saying Reform UK are not good people?
He says the people who voted for them are good people. But often they did not know the agenda of the party. Supporting Putin’s position on Ukraine is not in the national interest, he says.
Reynolds says he is not supposed to pre-empt what will be in the king’s speech, but he says it is no secret that the government is going to prioritise its employment rights reforms.
Reynolds says he hopes to negotiate deal to save steel jobs at Port Talbot within weeks
Jonathan Reynolds is being interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg now.
Asked about Tata Steel and the future of its steelworksd in Port Talbot, Reynolds says he will be talking to the firm today.
Asked what he will offer the company, Reynolds says he will not reveal his position. But he says, in return for government support, the government will be setting conditions for the company.
He says job guarantees will be part of the negotiation.
Q: When are you going to be able to sort this out? You have had time to prepare?
Reynolds says this is a priority. The timescale is not a large one. But he will need a few weeks, he says.
Q: A few weeks?
Reynolds says there are due diligence issues to consider.
UPDATE: Reynolds said:
I do want things in exchange for money we’ll co-invest with the private sector around jobs and technology.
I think that’s a reasonable way to make sure public money is being well spent and I believe there are things, capacities, the steel industry needs in future that could be part of that conversation and that’s what I’ll be having in the next few days …
I’m going to make sure that job guarantees are part of the negotiation that we’re having.
Updated
Michael Howard, the former Tory leader, is one of the guests on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Asked about his party’s landslide defeat, he says governing parties all over the world are being punished. But he accepts that it contributed to its own defeat by some of the things it did. (He does no say what.) But he says he wants the new government to succeed, because “their successes will be our successes”.
It sounds like he has been rereading the letter George Bush wrote to Bill Clinton after Clinton beat him in the 1992 US presidential election – which is the model for a gracious message from a loser to a winner in politics.
It wasn't always this way on the other side of the Atlantic pic.twitter.com/4ixcgCY2Di
— Edward Lemon (@EdwardLemon3) July 6, 2024
Reynolds rejects claims Labour only won because Reform UK split rightwing vote
Q: Do you feel indebted to Nigel Farage for the size of your victory?
No, says Reynolds. He says he does not accept the argument that, if Reform UK had not been standing, all its votes would have gone to the Tories. He says Labour had to earn its victory. And that was a result of good leadership, he says.
And that is the end of this interview – but we are getting another dose of Reynolds on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg shortly.
Jonathan Reynolds rejects claim Labour does not have mandate because voting system gave it disproportionate number of MPs
Q: Is the PM having to bring back former ministers because the new MPs are not good enough?
Reynolds rejects that. He says it makes sense to use the expertise of people like Douglas Alexander, who is joining his team as a business minister.
Q: Two thirds of voters did not back Labour. Do you have the authority to carry through your changes. You have two thirds of MPs with one third of the voters.
Reynolds says you cannot say the system is unfair just because one side wins. Labour has a mandate to govern, he says.
And he says the smaller parties are subject to far less scrutiny.
Phillips shows a chart that illustrates his point.
Q: Is this system fair?
Reynolds says he has has set out his own views on this in the past. (He is referring to his previous support for proportional representation.)
But he suggests you cannot blame a party for fighting a campaign designed to win under the electoral system in place.
Updated
Phillips asks about Jonathan Ashworth losing his seats, and if the party is worried about losing the support of Muslim voters (an issue in Ashworth’s defeat).
Reynolds says Labour will always put country first, party second.
Q: Voters did not like you stance on Gaza?
Reynolds says there are people who have never seen a proper peace process in the Middle East. He says the UK can show real leadership on this issue.
Phillips says Simon Harris, , the taoiseach (Irish PM), told him in an interview recorded earlier that he thought EU leader would be willing to discuss improving the Brexit deal with the UK.
Reynolds says Labour would like to improve the deal, on issues like food and agricultural standards, or recognising professional standards, or making it easier for artists to tour around the EU.
Key event
Sky News is showing its interview with Jonathan Reynolds, recorded a bit earlier this morning.
Trevor Phillips starts by saying Tony Blair is already giving the new government advice. Blair’s Sunday Times article implies he thinks Labour does not have a plan for immigration, he says.
Reynolds says Blair only mentions immigration once in his article.
He says Labour does have a plan. It wants to link immigration policy to the needs of the Labour market.
Q: Blair thinks you don’t have a plan to control legal immigration. He favours ID cards. D you favour that?
Reynolds says he thinks legal migration needs to come down. It is right to recognise public concern about that, he says.
Q: Are digitial ID cards on the table as an idea?
Reynolds says Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, will look at options.
Q: Is this intervention from Blair unhelpful?
Reynolds says people with experience of government can offer invaluable advice.
Q: And you have Jacqui Smith and Alan Miliburn coming back?
Reynolds says the government will use experience where it is available.
John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, has issued a statement saying that he is looking forward to meeting Keir Starmer later and that he welcomes what Starmer has said about wanting to improve London/Edinburgh relations. He said:
I was really pleased to have the opportunity to speak to the prime minister on his first day in office and to congratulate him and wish him, and his family well.
I look forward to welcoming the prime minister to Scotland where I hope to have constructive discussions with him on our shared priorities for the people of Scotland. This includes eradicating child poverty, growing the economy, prioritising net zero, and ensuring effective public services.
I welcome the prime minister’s commitment to forge a positive relationship between our governments and for our part, the Scottish government is committed to working constructively with the UK government to build a better Scotland.
Starmer promises ‘immediate reset’ of relations with devolved governments as he starts four-nations tour
Good morning. On his second full day as prime minister, Keir Starmer is setting off on a tour around the UK intended to reset relations with the devolved governments. He will be in Scotland this evening, and then visiting Northern Ireland and Wales before returning to London and leaving for Washington on Tuesday to take part in the Nato summit. Talking about the four-nations tour at his press conference yesterday, Starmer said he wanted not just to meet the first ministers to discuss the challenges they face, but “to establish a way of working across the United Kingdom that will be different and better to the way of working that we’ve had in recent years”.
And in a statement issued overnight he said:
People across the United Kingdom are bound by shared beliefs. Fundamental values of respect, service and community which define us as a great nation.
And that begins today with an immediate reset of my government’s approach to working with the first and deputy first ministers because meaningful co-operation centred on respect will be key to delivering change across our United Kingdom.
Together we can begin the work to rebuild our country with a resolute focus on serving working people once again.
Last night Starmer announced a further set of ministerial appoinments, including giving minister of state jobs to two former cabinet ministers from the Blair/Brown era. Douglas Alexander, who has returned to the Commons as an MP, will be a business minister, and Jacqui Smith, who is getting a peerage, will be an education minister. Michael Savage has the details here.
Because of England’s victory in the Euros last night, there is less politics on the Sunday newspaper front pages than there might have been. But two of the papers that are splashing on Labour are also focusing on Blair-era figures.
The main story in the Sunday Times is based on an article written by Tony Blair urging Starmer to come up with a plan to control immigration.
The Sunday Times: Blair tells Starmer - You
— George Mann (@sgfmann) July 6, 2024
need plan for migration #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/vuV1xZWkkb
And the Sunday Telegraph is splashing on a story saying Alan Milburn, the former health secretary, will have a role helping Wes Streeting, the new health secretary, reform the NHS.
The Sunday Telegraph: Blair ally drafted in to drive
— George Mann (@sgfmann) July 6, 2024
NHS reform #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/Igh7VvNnD1
The Observer is splashing on Starmer’s message to his cabinet yesterday.
The Observer: Starmer tells his cabinet - now it’s
— George Mann (@sgfmann) July 6, 2024
time to deliver on our promises #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/ROJvR4uca1
The Mail on Sunday is splashing on a story about Starmer wanting to improve the Brexit deal with the EU – something he said repeatedly before the election he wanted to do.
Mail on Sunday: BREXIT - NOW THE RETREAT BEGINS
— George Mann (@sgfmann) July 6, 2024
#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/foGFR2ldSG
And the Sunday Express has splashed on Starmer ending the Rwanda policy – something Starmer also promised.
Sunday Express: PM 'Rwanda plan dead and buried' #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/MiNFFrZyBj
— George Mann (@sgfmann) July 6, 2024
Here is the agenda for the day.
8.30am: Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, is interviewed on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips. Nadhim Zahawi, the Tory former cabinet minister, and Simon Harris, the taoiseach (Irish PM) are also being interviewed.
9am: Reynolds is also interviewed on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. The other guests include Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, two potential candidates for next Tory leader (the former immigration minister Robert Jenrick and the former health secretary Victoria Atkins) and Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester.
4.30pm: Keir Starmer meets Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, in Scotland.
6pm: Starmer meets John Swinney, the Scottish first minister, at Bute House, his official residence, in Edinburgh.
We don’t have comments open at the moment, but hope to be able to turn them on later.
Updated
