Early evening summary
Keir Starmer has said Rachel Reeves will be chancellor for “many, many years to come”, as he insisted the government could not “tax our way out” of the problems it faces. (See 2.22pm.)
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has told MPs that he does not want “corridor care” – patients being treated in corridors because beds are not available in wards – to be normalised. (See 3.33pm.)
The Conservative party never responded to my request earlier to a comment on the Polly Billington letter (see 11.19am) accusing Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, of gross hypocrisy for opposing a law that she introduced as a minister. But they have just sent out a press release saying 346 Labour MPs have voted today for the “boiler tax” (the term they are now using for the measure Coutinho first brought in). This letter from Billington explains the background.
Young Britons who want to work or study across the Channel face a “tangle of Brexit red tape”, the Lib Dem MP James MacCleary told MPs today. He made the claim in a speech proposing a 10-minute rule bill that would require the government to negotiate a youth mobility scheme with the EU. MacClearly, the Lib Dems’ Europe spokesperson, said:
Few thought that young people would be able to go for two years to live and work all the way over in Japan, but not be able to hop across the Channel and do the same in France.
I’m not sure anyone voted for that kind of increased bureaucracy back in 2016.
This bill gives us the chance to send a different message to a generation of young people who have been denied the opportunities that so many of us in this chamber took for granted growing up.
If we wanted to get a job or go and study in an EU country, then we could just go and do it.
Opportunity and hope for the future have rarely been in such short supply in this country.
The motion to bring in the bill was approved but, as with all 10-minute rule bills, no time is available for it to be debated, and it will not become law.
Welsh secretary Jo Stevens rejects call for HS2 to be designated England-only project
The Welsh secretary, Jo Stevens, has rejected a call to have the HS2 scheme redesignated as an England-only project, which would result in a funding boost for Wales.
Plaid Cymru believes that if HS2 was designated an England-only scheme rather than an England and Wales one, the latter would receive £4bn of extra funding.
At the Welsh affairs committee, Plaid MP Ben Lake, asked:
Would she [Stevens] not agree that reclassifying HS2 as an England-only project would unlock a lot of that extra funding ... does she think there is a case of very nicely requesting the Treasury to look again at this?
Stevens replied that Wales’ railway system had been under-funded, blaming the Tory government.
But she said:
I want us to have a sustainable pot of rail infrastructure funding for Wales and I think we need to stop deriving the future of rail in Wales from HS2 alone. What’s gone on in the past, I can’t change but I can change what happens in the future.
Phillipson tells MPs which parts of freedom of speech law for universities being kept, and which parts ditched
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has confirmed that the government will revive large parts of the Tory law passed to guarantee freedom of speech in universities.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act was passed in 2023, but never implemented under the last government. When Labour took office, Phillipson shelved the law, claiming it was technically flawed, lead to the Conservatives claiming the government was not interested in freedom of speech.
Now she has concluded a review of the law, and decided that many of its provisions will be implemented, but that some of them will be scrapped.
Here is the Department for Education’s news release setting out the details. And here are extracts from what she told MPs in her statement to the Commons.
Phillipson told MPs that protecting freedom of speech in universities was “much more important” than “the wishes of some students not to be offended”. She said:
The ability of our academics to explore and express new ideas through teaching and research is precious and we must protect it.
And these fundamental freedoms are more important – much more important – than the wishes of some students not to be offended. University is a place for ideas to be exposed and debated, to be tried and tested.
She said that she wanted to protect free speech “effective and proportionate”, delivering an act that was “fair and workable”.
She said listed the elements of the act that will be implemented.
I’m proposing shortly to commence the following requirements currently in the act: the duties on higher education providers to take reasonably practicable steps to secure and promote freedom of speech within the law; the duty on higher education providers to put in place a code of conduct on freedom of speech; the ban on non-disclosure agreements for staff and students of higher education providers in cases of bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct.
I also plan to commence the duties on the OfS [Office for Students] to promote freedom of speech and the power to give advice and share best practice.
She said she would be retaining Arif Ahmed as the director for freedom of speech and academic freedom at the Office for Students. She said she had “complete confidence” in him.
But she also said that she did not want OfS executive appointments to be political appointees. She said proposals to change the appointments system would be announced shortly.
Phillipson also announced that two provisions in the act will be repealed. The first was the rule saying it applied to student unions. “Students’ unions are neither equipped nor funded to navigate such a complex regulatory environment, and they are already regulated by the Charity Commission,” she said. And the second provision being repealed was the statutory tort – the legal provision saying people could be entitled to compensation if denied freedom of speech under the law. Phillipson said this would lead to “costly litigation” taking resources away from universities.
She said the OfS complaints scheme would be retained for people who felt their freedom of speech had been infringed. She said “there must be a route for righting wrongs, but it must be proportionate”.
Gerry Adams claims British government will try to 'dodge its lawful responsibilities' over compensation for internees
Gerry Adams, the former Sinn Féin president who was interned in Northern Ireland in the 1970s on suspicion of being involved in IRA terrorism, has claimed that the British government will try to “dodge” its duty to pay compensation.
Referring to the thinktank report saying a proposed government change to the law should enable Adams and other internees to claim compensation (see 10.39am), and Keir Starmer telling MPs that the government would look at “every conceivable way” to block payments (see 12.18pm), Adams said:
The decision by the supreme court in 2020 was explicit. Interim custody orders not authorised and approved by the secretary of state are illegal. The British government has accepted this. It is a breach of the European convention on human rights.
When the legislation is changed there will almost certainly be further legal process in the courts before there is clarity on this matter. But no one should be surprised by a British government seeking to dodge its lawful and human rights responsibilities.
Mr. Starmer’s comments reflect the infamous assertion of British General Frank Kitson who said: ‘The law should be used as just another weapon in the government’s arsenal, in which case it becomes little more than a propaganda cover for the disposal of unwanted members of the public’.
Adams has always denied being a member of the IRA. But for decades the British government, and other players in Irish politics, operated on the basis that he was an IRA leader, and that was why he was able to play such an influential role in the peace process.
Updated
Streeting tells MPs he does not want 'corridor care' in hospitals to be normalised
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has told MPs that he does not want “corridor care” – patients being treated in corridors because beds are not available in wards – to be normalised.
In a Commons statement, he said he wanted to end this “undignified” practice. But he said that this would take time, and that he could not promise that corridor care would have gone by next winter.
He said:
Let me address the issue of corridor care, which became normalised in NHS hospitals under the previous government.
I want to be clear, I will never accept or tolerate patients being treated in corridors. It is unsafe, undignified, a cruel consequence of 14 years of failure on the NHS and I am determined to consign it to the history books.
I cannot and will not promise that there won’t be patients treated in corridors next year. It will take time to undo the damage that has been done to our NHS, but that is the ambition this government has.
At the weekend the Sunday Times revealed that a hospital in north London has been advertising specifically for nurses to look after patients in corridors.
Asked specifically about this story by the Lib Dem MP Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex), Streeting said:
It’s not the fault of the Whittington [hospital] that there is corridor care, it is a legacy of 14 years of Conservative failure.
I would also say that my reaction to seeing that advertisement was the same as hers, which it is was proof that corridor care has been normalised.
And I want to reassure her, the house and patients across the country that this government will not accept corridor care as normal care. We will not tolerate corridor care as being acceptable care. We will do everything we can, as fast as we can, to consign corridor care to the history books.
Adam Bienkov from Byline Times has posted on social media a transcript of the exchanges at the post-PMQs Tory briefing where he tried to get Kemi Badenoch’s spokesperson to justify what she said about some of those involved in grooming gangs being “peasants” from “sub-communities” in foreign countries.
How Kemi Badenoch's spokesman responded today when I asked which of the communities living in the UK she was referring to when she described them as "peasants" pic.twitter.com/zwZizGrfjk
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) January 15, 2025
Labour MP challenges Starmer over lack of progress in saving Grangemouth refinery
Keir Starmer has faced calls from one of his own MPs to meet an election promise to “save” the Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland, as it winds down, PA Media reports.
During PMQs Brian Leishman, the Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, told the Commons:
In the general election campaign, Labour leadership promised that if we won, we would step in and save the Grangemouth refinery, retain those jobs and invest in its future. Six months later, this hasn’t happened yet.
If the refinery closes then thousands of jobs will be lost and Scotland’s national security will become massively weaker. Now that we are in power, I know that the government should use it to intervene and save the refinery jobs, protect Scotland and deliver on the promise to build Grangemouth for the future. Will the prime minister do that?
After jeers from the opposition benches, Starmer replied:
This is a really important point because before July, there was no plan at all to support the workers of Grangemouth. Within weeks and importantly we announced a £100m deal for a growth deal and we’re jointly funding Project Willow to find a viable long-term future.
It is a really serious point, I take it very seriously and we’ll do everything we can to make sure that viable long-term future is there for the workers, for their communities and all that rely on it.
Trump administration will be allowed to consider Chagos Islands deal, No 10 says
Donald Trump’s administration will be consulted before any deal for the UK to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is finalised, Downing Street said.
Speaking at the post-PMQs briefing, the PM’s spokeperson said it was “obviously now right” for Trump’s administration to consider any deal.
But, as PA Media reports, the spokesperson steered away from suggestions Trump would now have a “veto” on the deal, and also said: “It is perfectly reasonable for the new US administration to actually consider the detail and we will obviously have those discussions with them.”
Bridget Phillipson says special educational needs reform will require people to 'think differently' about support offered
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, advised people to “think differently” about special needs education for children in England, and said the government was considering legislation to increase special needs provision within mainstream schools.
Phillipson told MPs on the education select committee:
This is a complex and challenging area. In terms of the longer term reform that I believe is required, I think it will require all of us to think differently about the kind of system and support that we want for all children - and children with Send [special educational needs and disabilities] have, I believe, been forgotten for far too long.
But Phillipson would not be drawn on addressing the financial pressures facing councils on increasing special needs spending, and the high needs deficits that some have accrued in recent years. A report published today by the Public Accounts Committee called for the government to address the accumulated council deficits by March.
Phillipson did clarify that the government’s new children’s wellbeing and schools bill would not limit teachers’ pay to national scales, as some academies had feared.
Pressed by Patrick Spence, the Conservative MP, over whether schools could offer pay above a teacher’s maximum band, Phillipson replied: “Yes because there will be a floor but no ceiling.”
Reeves to be chancellor for 'many, many years to come', Starmer tells MPs
Here is the PA Media story from PMQs.
Keir Starmer said Rachel Reeves will be chancellor for “many, many years to come”, as he insisted the government cannot “tax our way out” of the problems it faces.
The prime minister offered strong support to Reeves following recent questions over whether her future in No 11 was guaranteed amid high government borrowing costs.
He also sought to dampen talk of an emergency budget after Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch questioned if one was expected.
Badenoch used her questions to suggest Reeves was not qualified to manage the country’s finances and pressed Starmer to rule out any new tax rises this year.
After the Tory leader asked if the country could “afford four more years of his terrible judgments”, Starmer accused Badenoch of serving up a “barrage of complete nonsense”.
Speaking at PMQs, Badenoch opened by asking Starmer why anyone should “trust a word he says” over businesses who were saying “again and again that his budget means fewer jobs, lower growth and higher borrowing costs”.
Starmer said the global economy was experiencing “volatility” which was why he “took the tough and right decisions in the budget to get our finances back in order”.
He told the Commons: “We had to deal with the £22bn black hole that they left, made difficult cuts, raised taxes to invest in health, public services and housing, vital to stability, vital to growth, and we’ve got an ironclad commitment to our fiscal rules, and she will welcome, no doubt, the inflation figures from this morning.
“But contrast that with the party opposite, they weren’t brave enough in government to take those difficult decisions. They’ve opposed all of our measures to stabilise the economy and promote growth.
“They’re back to the magic money tree, she wants all the benefits of the budget, but she can’t say how she’s going to pay for them. They haven’t changed, they’re still economic vandals and fantasists, imagine where we’d be if they were still in charge.”
Badenoch highlighted warnings from the British Retail Consortium about price rises linked to government tax hikes, adding: “The prime inister refused to repeat his chancellor’s promise that she would not come back for more, will he now rule out any new tax rises this year?”
Starmer again defended the government’s budget, before adding: “When it comes to tax, she knows very well the limits of what I can say from this despatch box, but we have an ironclad commitment to our fiscal rules.
“We can’t just tax our way out of the problems that they left us, which is why we put in place tough – they were howling at the spending decisions, they wouldn’t take them, and we’ll stick to those spending decisions and our focus is absolutely on growth.”
Badenoch faced shouts of “shame” from Labour MPs after she said: “At the budget, Labour were congratulating themselves for having the first female chancellor instead of ensuring the country had someone actually qualified to do the job.
“The prime minister claims he has full confidence in the chancellor, but the markets clearly do not. Yesterday, the chancellor repeated her promise to have just one budget per year to provide businesses with certainty.
“The talk in the City is that she can’t meet her fiscal rules, and there will need to be an emergency budget. So does the prime minister stand by the chancellor’s commitment that there will be only one budget this year?”
Starmer replied: “She’ll be pleased to know the chancellor will be in place for many, many years to come. She’ll outstrip that.
“If we all thought that politics was about cheap words, I could criticise their chancellors, but I don’t have enough time to go through all the chancellors that they had.
“We had one budget, that’s what we’re committed to, strong fiscal rules, that’s what we’ll stick to, unlike the party opposite.”
Mauritian government's refusal to accept UK offer on Chagos Islands 'complete humiliation' for Starmer, say Tories
Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, has described the fact that Mauritius has still not accepted the UK offer on Chagos Islands sovereignty (see 11.58am) as humiliating for the government. In a statement Patel said:
This is a complete humiliation for Keir Starmer and David Lammy and marks yet another failure of British diplomacy under Labour.
Labour have been desperate to sign off the surrender of the Chagos Islands before President Trump returns to office, and the Mauritius Government know. They see the weakness at the heart of this government and are trying to exploit it by pressuring Britain into paying more for an even weaker lease for the military base at Diego Garcia.
During PMQs Kemi Badenoch said it was wrong to give up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands. (See 12.10pm.) The Conservatives have repeatedly attacked the proposed sovereignty deal with Mauritius since it was announced in October last year, but mostly they have attacked the terms of the deal. Today Badenoch went further, saying any transfer of sovereignty was wrong in principle.
Patel echoed this in her statement. She said:
While Labour have been hiding the details from us, we know they are prepared to blow billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money for the indignity of this dodgy deal, which will undermine our security and defence. It is high time they abandoned it altogether start focusing on how to strengthen our defence capabilities and get the economy growing.
Badenoch wants to keep Mel Stride, and all other shadow cabinet ministers, in current jobs until election, Tories say
On Monday the Tories claimed that Rachel Reeves’ future was in jeopardy after Keir Starmer declined to say she would stay as chancellor for the rest of this parliament. At the time, I described that as an over-interpretation, and said it would be surprising if Kemi Badenoch were to commit to keeping Mel Stride as shadow chancellor for the whole of this parliament.
But she has. At their post-PMQs briefing, a spokesperson for Badenoch said that Stride would remain shadow chancellor until the next election. Asked if that applied to all members of the shadow cabinet, the spokesperson said “Yes”. He added: “We’re very happy with the shadow cabinet as it is.”
If this really is the position, that means there will be no major shadow cabinet reshuffles between now and the election, expected in 2028 or 2029.
PMQs - snap verdict
At PMQs the leader of the opposition can either devote all their questions to one topic, go half and half (three questions on one subject, three questions on another – probably the most common approach) or do the full scattergun, trying a bit of everything. There are pluses and minuses either way.
The most memorable, and successful, PMQs for an opposition leader are probably those that are single-theme focused. Badenoch tried one of these last week. But they only work if the PM is particularly vulnerable on a topic, and the opposition leader can “win” convincingly, and that did not happen when Badenoch focused on grooming gangs seven days ago.
The main advantage of going pick ‘n’ mix, as Badenoch did today is that, even if you don’t triumph on every question, you are likely to at least score points on some of them. And, to an extent that happened. If the exchanges had ended after question one, Badenoch might have been declared the winner. This is because she opened with a reasonable point about the impact of the budget, and warned Starmer not to just blame global economic factors or the last government – only for Starmer to do precisely that. I’ve posted the quotes at 12.07pm (although you might need to refresh the page to get the updates to show up).
After that, it started go downhill. Badenoch asked Starmer to rule out future tax rises (which will produce a story for some papers, because he wouldn’t) and condemned the transfer of sovereignty of the Chagos Islands (which will also play well with the Tory press). But Starmer has decent responses on both these points, and so these were misses, not hits.
In the final three exchanges, Starmer won quite easily on all of them. It was foolish for Badenoch to attack Rachel Reeves as not qualified to be chancellor, because that is obviously not true. On Tulip Siddiq, Starmer made a very persuasive case that the Priti Patel case proved that the Tories’ record on cases like this was far worse than Labour’s. And, in response to Badenoch’s final question, Starmer came across as much stronger a) because he gave a substantial, newsy answer on Northern Ireland, and b) because he concluded with a jolly take-down of Liz Truss.
I got a letter this week from a Tory voter in a Labour seat. I hope they don’t mind me saying who it was; it was Liz Truss. It wasn’t written in green ink but it might as well have been. She was complaining that saying she had crashed the economy was damaging her reputation. It was actually crashing the economy that damaged her reputation.
So Starmer won on most of the six questions. Just as the advantage of chosing multiple topics is that you might win on at least some, the risk is that the PM will win on more of them.
There is another problem with this strategy too. MPs, and viewers, are left wondering what point you are trying to make. Badenoch tried to sum it up with her final question when she said that Britain could not afford four more year’s for Starmer’s “terrible judgments”. At some point an attack like this might work. But today, particularly after the proceedings beforehand, this just sounded like hyperbole.
Jonathan Brash (Lab) asks about the disappearance of a young child, Katrice Lee, from a military base in Germany in the 1980s. He says his consitutent, Katrice’s father, has been waiting 43 years to get answers.
Starmer says this is a deeply distressing case. He will ensure Brash gets a meeting with a minister to discuss it, he says.
Jack Rankin (Con) asks about the hostages being held by Hamas, and a conversation with the mother of one of them, a British citizen.
Starmer says it is “appalling” that Hamas are continuing to detain these people. “It is nothing short of torture what they are going through”, he says.
Ben Obese-Jecty (Con) asks if Starmer has had a discussion with the lawyer Philippe Sands about the Chagos Islands since becoming PM.
“No,” Starmer replies.
Joe Morris (Lab) raises the murder of Holly Newton and asks if the government will lower the age at which someone can be treated as the victim of domestic abuse.
Starmer says the government does need to look at this. He says he has been shocked by some of the examples of this he has heard about.
Updated
Andy McDonald (Lab) asks about gig workers being charged to receive their pay on time. Does the PM agree having a single status of worker will address these abuses?
Starmer says he wants all workers to have proper rights. The employment rights bill will deliver those, he says.
Danny Chambers (Lib Dem) says the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to the emergence of bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Will the UK help Ukraine deal with this?
Starmer says the UK is funding doctors to work with their Ukrainian counterparts, including on preventing the spread of infections.
Jim Allister (TUV) asks how Starmer hopes to get a trade deal with the US, when Donald Trump dislikes the EU and a deal covering Northern Ireland would involve EU law.
Starmer says the controls only apply to EU goods coming into Britain. They do not apply to good moving between Northern Ireland and Britain, he says.
Ed Davey suggests visa rules should be changed to allow Americans fleeing Trump's regime to settle in UK
Davey says he is disappointed by Starmer’s refusal to speed up the care review.
There are reports that some Americans want to come to the UK because they fear what President Trump will do. But some are finding there is no visa they can apply for. Does Starmer agree that if people like this want to come to the UK, to grow our econom, they should be able to?
Starmer says he welcomes all investment into the UK. But the last government lost control of immigration. Badenoch was championing driving up those numbers, he says.
Starmer refuses Lib Dem request to speed up Casey review of social care so it does not take three years
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, says we see a winter crisis in the NHS every year. NHS leader say this will happen every year unless social care is fixed. Will Starmer speed up the Casey review of social care? He says three years is too long.
Starmer says the Tories left the NHS “on its knees”. The government is investing to turn it round. He has set out the timetable, he says.
Starmer says government wants to avoid needing to pay compensation to people like Adams interned during Troubles
Badenoch says Starmer knowingly appointed a fraudster as transport secretary. And now the government may compensate Gerry Adams. Can the country afford four more years of his “terrible judgments”.
Starmer says, amid all that “nonsense”, he does want to address one point – the Legacy Act in Northern Ireland. He says the government inherited Troubles legislation that was opposed by all the Northern Ireland parties. It was also unlawful, he says.
He says the government will introduce a better framework. And he says the government will “look at every conceivable way to prevent these types of cases claiming damages”.
Starmer ends with a joke about Liz Truss, and her legal letter objecting to Starmer saying she crashed the economy.
UPDATE: Starmer said:
[The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023] was unfit not least because it gave immunity to hundreds of terrorists and wasn’t supported by victims in Northern Ireland, nor I believe by any of the political parties in Northern Ireland.
The court found it unlawful. We will put in place a better framework, we’re working on a draft remedial order and replacement legislation, and we will look at every conceivable way to prevent these types of cases claiming damages.
It’s important I say that on the record.
And see 1.29pm for Starmer’s comments on Truss.
Updated
Badenoch asks what it says about Starmer’s judgment that he said he was sad to lose an anti-corruption minister under investigation in Bangladesh for corruption. Will the UK help the Bangladeshis with their investigation?
Starmer contrasts what happened with Tulip Siddiq with Priti Patel failing to resign having broken the ministerial code.
Badenoch says Labour prided itself on having the first woman chancellor, “instead of someone qualified to do the job”. She asks if the government stands by its plan to have just one budget this year.
Starmer says Reeves will be in place for many years to come. He says he does not have time to criticise all the Tory ones – there were so many, he says.
Updated
Badenoch says there is 'no way we should be giving up British territory' in Chagos Islands
Badenoch says the OBR says there was no £22bn black hole.
She can suggest a cut, she says. The UK should not be giving away territory in the Chagos Islands, and paying for this. Why is the government giving away something that is ours?
Starmer says Labour inherited a situation where the future of the base was under legal threat. The last government started these negotiations, he says.
UPDATE: Badenoch said:
The prime minister knows very well the OBR found no such black hole, and he talks about a budget three years ago, the borrowing costs last week are at a 27-year high for 30-year gilts. The chancellor is apparently promising to be ruthless in reducing spending, let me suggest something he should cut.
There is no way that we should be giving up British territory in Chagos. He is rushing a deal which will be disastrous and will land taxpayers with a multibillion-pound bill. Why does the prime minister think British people should pay to surrender something that is already ours?
And Starmer said:
We inherited a situation where the long-term operation of a vital military base was under threat because of legal challenge.
The negotiations were started under the last government. The then foreign secretary came to this house to say why he was starting negotiations and what he wanted to achieve. And he said the aim was, to quote, ensure the continued effective operation of the base. That is precisely what this deal has delivered.
Updated
Badenoch challenges Starmer to rule out any new tax rises this year.
Starmer says the government took the right decisions at the budget. He claims knows the limit of what he can say about tax at the despatch box. But the government has an “iron-clad commitment” to its fiscal rules, he says.
Starmer accuses Tories of being 'economic vandals'
Kemi Badenoch says she met business owners on Friday. One said his business will not exist in four years time because of the government’s policies. Starmer may try to blame his inheritance, or global factors. But why should people trust Starmer over business leaders about the impact of the budget.
Starmer says the global economy is experiencing volatility. And Labour inherited a £22bn black hole, he says.
He says the Tories were not brave enough to take tough decisions. They want the benefits of the budget, but without the costs. They are “economic vandals”, he says.
UPDATE: Badenoch said:
While borrowing costs hit levels not seen since Labour was last in government, I met business owners and their employees in Chesterfield. One of them told me that his business will not exist in four years’ time because of this government’s policies, it might not even exist next year.
The prime minister may try to blame his inheritance, or blame global factors. But why should anyone trust a word he says over the businesses who are saying again and again that his budget means fewer jobs, lower growth and higher borrowing costs?
In response, Starmer said the global economy was experiencing “volatility” and he went on:
We had to deal with the £22bn black hole that they left, made difficult cuts, raised taxes to invest in health, public services and housing, vital to disability, vital to growth, and we’ve got an ironclad commitment to our fiscal rules, and she will welcome, no doubt, the inflation figures from this morning.
But contrast that with the party opposite, they weren’t brave enough in government to take those difficult decisions. They’ve opposed all of our measures to stabilise the economy and promote growth.
They’re back to the magic money tree, she wants all the benefits of the budget, but she can’t say how she’s going to pay for them. They haven’t changed, they’re still economic vandals and fantasists, imagine where we’d be if they were still in charge.
Updated
Naushabah Khan (Lab) asks about an adult college in her constituency.
Starmer says skilling up the next generation is vital for his plan for growth.
Joshua Reynolds (Lib Dem) asks about Maidenhead station, and its need for an upgrade.
Starmer says an upgrade is happening. Passengers across the country are facing difficulties. That is why the government is bringing them into public ownership, he says.
Keir Starmer starts by expressing thanks to President Biden for his leadership, and congratulating President-elect Trump ahead of his inauguration.
And he says the AI opportunties plan was announced this week.
Mauritius says Chagos Islands sovereignty deal not yet agreed, and talks with UK continuing
The Mauritian government said talks will continue on the Chagos Islands deal, with attorney general Gavin Glover set to return to the UK for further negotiations, PA Media reports.
A statement issued following a meeting of prime minister Navin Ramgoolam’s cabinet said:
The commitment and resolve of Mauritius to reach an agreement and end this long battle for the sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago remains unshaken.
PMQs is starting soon.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
The Commons authorities have just confirmed that Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, will be making a statement this afternoon about the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act. (See 11.24am.) But it may not start until about 2.30/3pm because there are three other things coming first.
Here is the running order.
12.30pm: An environment minister responds to an urgent question on foot and mouth disease in Germany.
Around 1.15pm: A housing minister responds to an urgent question about local government reorganisation.
Around 2pm: Wes Streeting, the health secretary, gives a “winter update” statement about the NHS.
Around 3pm: Phillipson gives her statement on universities.
Labour to revive controversial university freedom of speech legislation
The government is expected to make a statement later this afternoon on its plans to revise the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, which it paused on taking on office last year.
Although the act was passed in 2023 its provisions had yet to be implemented by the time of the general election last year, allowing education secretary Bridget Phillipson to pause it to take account of concerns inside and outside higher education about its consequences.
Claire Coutinho criticised for continuing to attack 'boiler tax' policy she introduced when she was minister
Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, has been criticised for continuing to attack a policy that she introduced when she was in government.
The Labour MP Polly Billington has taunted her about this in an open letter on social media, suggesting Coutinho changed her position “for cynical political reasons”.
It’s with a heavy heart that I’ve been forced to write to @ClaireCoutinho again. pic.twitter.com/kN9dTRZWuj
— Polly Billington for East Thanet (@PollyBLabour) January 15, 2025
When Coutinho was energy secretary, she introduced the clean-heat market mechanism (CHMM), setting targets for the sale of heat pumps. Coutinho subsequently delayed the implementation date, but she did not scrap the policy.
Now she is attacking her successor, Ed Miliband, for keeping the policy, branding it a “boiler tax”.
Billington challenged Coutinho over her apparent hypocrisy before Christmas, but did not get a reply. Now she has released another open letter to Coutinho in response to the shadow minister’s continued attacks on the CHMM policy.
In her latest letter Billington says:
Given public concern about taking action to tackle the climate crisis and make the transition to renewables, I would be concerned to think you might be changing your position on this issue for cynical political reasons. Or did you simply forget that it was you who introduced this policy in government?
Given your lack of response to my previous letter, I am becoming concerned that you do not share my belief that voters are right to expect transparency and honestly from their elected representatives, so I hope on this occasion you’ll be more than happy to clear up these inconsistencies.
The Conservatives have been approached for a comment. If I get a response, I will post it on the blog.
Minister ducks question about whether Gerry Adams could get compensation for Troubles-era detention due to law change
Removing a block on former Troubles internees, such as Gerry Adams, seeking compensation will deliver a taxpayer-funded payday for ex-detainees, a thinktank has claimed. As PA Media reports, Policy Exchange has published a report criticising the Government’s proposed repeal of legislation that had put a stop to such civil claims. PA says:
The relevant sections of the Legacy Act had been agreed by parliament in 2023 in response to a supreme court judgment in 2020 that paved the way for former Sinn Féin leader Adams to secure compensation over his internment without trial in the early 1970s.
Adams won his appeal to overturn historical convictions for two attempted prison breaks, after he was interned without trial in 1973 at Long Kesh internment camp, also known as Maze Prison, near Lisburn.
The supreme court ruled that his detention was unlawful because the interim custody order (ICO) used to initially detain him had not been “considered personally” by then secretary of state for Northern Ireland Willie Whitelaw.
At the time of the case, the previous government contended that the ICOs were lawful due to a longstanding convention, known as the Carltona principle, where officials and junior ministers routinely act in the name of the secretary of state.
Adams subsequently successfully challenged a decision to deny an application for compensation for his detention.
However, the Legacy Act stopped such payouts to Adams and other former internees.
The Act retrospectively validated the ICOs to make them lawful and halted civil claims related to the orders.
At the time, the then UK government said the legislation would prevent up to 400 compensation bids by former internees.
However, in February last year, the high court in Belfast ruled that the provisions of the act related to the ICOs were incompatible with the European convention on human rights.
The current government has not appealed that judgment and has tabled a remedial order in parliament that will repeal various parts of the Legacy Act, including the sections on ICOs.
The Policy Exchange paper criticising the move has been backed by 16 peers, including shadow attorney general Lord Wolfson KC. “The government’s decision to repeal sections 46 and 47 of the Northern Troubles Act 2023 is inexplicable and unexplained,” he said.
The Telegraph has splashed on the story.
TELEGRAPH: PM to pay damages to Gerry Adams #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/JL5Qmuye8s
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) January 14, 2025
Asked about this story on the Today programme this morning, Darren Jones, chief secretary to the Treasury, said that he did not know the details of what was happening but that the government inherited a scheme to deal with unresolved Troubles crimes that “didn’t have the support of anybody in Northern Ireland, that was found in many cases to be unlawful, and which actually, under the Conservatives scheme, gave immunity to people who committed appalling acts of terrorism”.
Asked if he would be happy to see Adams get compensation for his detention in the 1970s, Jones said he would not comment on “hypotheticals”, and that Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, was working on the details and would make an announcement in due course.
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Pensions industry welcomes Torsten Bell's appointment as minister
Tulip Siddiq’s resignation yesterday led to Torsten Bell joining the government as pensions minister. A former chief executive of the Resolution Foundation thinktank, Bell is regarded as one of the most able MPs from the 2024 intake, and is already being tipped as a future chancellor.
The pensions industry has broadly welcomed his arrival. Here are some of their comments.
From Zoe Alexander, director of policy and advocacy at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association
Torsten Bell is already well known and respected within the pensions industry. We are optimistic that he will bring the leadership that is needed to make progress on both phases of the Pensions Review and look forward to working with him to continue to deliver a system that is adequate, affordable and fair, in the interests of UK savers.
From Sophia Singleton, president of the Society of Pension Professionals
Torsten’s appointment comes at a particularly important time for pensions policy with various consultations in train, dashboards, value for money and other projects mid-progress and a much-needed pensions adequacy review having appeared to have stalled under the previous minister.
We therefore look forward to working with the new minister to drive forward these important initiatives and implement the most effective, evidence-based pensions policy possible.
From Lisa Picardo, chief business officer UK for PensionBee, an online pensions provider
We welcome the new pensions meinister to his new role. With his extensive experience in public policy, we’re keen to see his innovative approaches that prioritise savers and bring much-needed progress to the pensions industry.
We are looking forward to seeing whether Torsten Bell – with a background of campaigning for high retirement living standards – can revive the necessary discussions about increasing automatic enrolment pension contributions.
From Jon Greer, head of retirement policy at Quilter, a wealth management company
Bell’s background as an economist and his tenure as chief executive of the Resolution Foundation provides him with a solid background for the pensions brief and will enable him to grasp the complexities of a sector that is so critical to the financial well-being of millions.
While Bell has previously advocated for radical pension tax reforms – such as moving to flat-rate pension tax relief and capping the tax-free lump sum at £40,000 – these ideas often fail to account for the practical realities facing savers who have relied on the stability of the existing system.
That said, his dual appointment … across Treasury and DWP [Bell is a minister in both departments] reflects the broader implications pensions have for the economy and the public finances. Labour’s commitment to the state pension triple lock, despite fiscal constraints, will test his ability to deliver on manifesto promises while ensuring long-term sustainability.
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In his interviews this morning Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, was asked about reports that the government is close to finalising a revised deal with Mauritius to give it sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, on condition that the UK will continue to have control of Diego Garcia, where it operates a joint military base with the US.
Jones did not give details, but he confirmed talks are ongoing. He told LBC:
This is an island [Diego Garcia] that is an important military base for the UK, important to our national security. It’s right, therefore, that we secure our presence and operations on that island …
But what I can’t tell you now is the kind of details, because they are mid-negotiation. That will get presented in the normal way to Parliament, like any other treaty, in due course.
According to the Telegraph, ministers in Mauritius are expected to agree the deal today. But the Financial Times says: “Britain will await Donald Trump’s blessing before finalising a deal with Mauritius over the future of a strategic UK-US military base in the Indian Ocean, according to people familiar with the talks.”
Starmer to face PMQs as minister warns of 'tough decisions'
Good morning. Keir Starmer faces PMQs today. As he prepares, two issues seem very likely to come up.
First, the economy. There is some modest good news this morning, and Rachel Reeves easily fought off a Tory attempted hit job on her in the Commons yesterday, but the underlying fundamentals are still pretty grim. Here are the key developments this morning.
UK inflation unexpectedly fell in December, handing some breathing space to the chancellor, figures out this morning showed. The consumer prices index eased to 2.5%, below a reading of 2.6% in November, meaning prices rose at a slower rate.
Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said the government would have to take “tough decisions” to meet its fiscal rules. The rise in government borrowing costs means further spending cuts are likely if the government is to meet its fiscal rules and Jones acknowledged that as he gave interviews this morning. He told BBC Breakfast:
People at home know you can’t just keep borrowing every month to pay the bills.
And where we do borrow to invest in the country’s infrastructure, the debt has to be falling as a size of the economy over the next five years.
Those fiscal rules are non-negotiable. That means there are tough decisions for the chancellor and this government to take.
Jones said the government will not water down its plans to extend workers’ rights in the employment rights bill. In an interview on the Today programme Jones was asked about an interview on Monday where Rupert Soames, the CBI president, said the proposed changes could lead to firms laying off workers. Asked if the government would rethink the plans, Jones said: “No is the short answer.” He said giving workers more protection would be good for the economy.
And the second issue likely to dominate is the fallout from the resignation of Tulip Siddiq. As Pippa Crerar explains, even though Siddiq has now resigned, people are asking whether, given her family relationship with a Bangladeshi leader accused of corruption (and worse), it was wise for Starmer to make her anti-corruption minister.
The bad news for Starmer is that this means people are now “questioning his judgment”. (The good news for Starmer is judgment questioning is primarily a journalistic and political preoccuption, used to keep a scandal going after a resignation has largely killed it off as a story. In the real world, normal people very rarely go round complaining that something “raised questions about the PM’s judgment”.)
Here are the key developments on this.
Jones has rejected claims the Siddiq affair raises questions about Starmer’s judgment. In an interview with Times Radio, the Treasury minister said:
I don’t think there’s a question about the prime minister’s judgment. The independent process has been followed. It concluded, and Tulip took the decision to step down from government.
Jones also said the fact that there was an inquiry by the PM’s ethics adviser, leading to Siddiq’s resignation, showed “the process is working”.
Siddiq has been urged to “seek forgiveness from the people of Bangladesh”. As Sky News reports, responding to Siddiq’s resignation, a spokesperson for a Prof Muhammad Yunus, the interim leader of Bangladesh, said the former minister “may not have entirely understood the source of the money and property that she was enjoying in London”. The spokesperson added:
She knows now and should seek forgiveness from the people of Bangladesh …
We remain committed to accountability and justice and will be working with partners around the world to return the stolen funds to the people of Bangladesh.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Lord Hermer, the attorney general, gives evidence to the Commons justice committee.
10am: Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, gives evidence to the Commons education committee.
Morning: John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, gives a speech on child poverty.
Noon: Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.
After 12.30pm: James MacCleary, a Lib Dem MP, introduces a 10-minute rule bill that would require the government to negotiate a youth mobility scheme with the EU.
3pm: Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, gives evidence to the Commons energy committee.
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