Summary of the day …
Downing Street has issued a read-out of a meeting that prime minister Keir Starmer held last night with Donald Trump’s special envoy to the UK, former television producer Mark Burnett, during which, it says, Starmer spoke to the US president on the phone
Ukraine remains on “an irreversible path” towards Nato membership, Starmer has told Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call Friday morning that underlined the divide between Europe and the US over the future of the country
Foreign secretary David Lammy held a bilateral meeting with US vice-president JD Vance in Munich at the sidelines of the Munic Security Conference. Afterwards Lammy said “there was an agreement that Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians have to be part of that negotiated deal”. Trump’s sudden push for peace has caused concern at what concession Ukraine might be forced into, with Emmanuel Macron saying a peace deal would amount to “capitulation”. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said Starmer should “seize the moment and ensure that Trump’s plans to lock Ukraine, the UK and European allies out of decisions about our shared future do not succeed”
Science secretary Peter Kyle said the UK needs “cool, clear thinking” over the threat of new trade tariffs being imposed by the Trump administration in the US
Rachel Reeves has said that the British public will judge her on her performance, not on what is on her LinkedIn CV, as well as repeating that there had been no complaints about her expenses during her time at a commercial bank. Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch claimed Reeves had “some very, very serious questions to answer”. Science secretary Kyle accused the BBC of “totally inaccurate” reporting on the matter
The Liberal Democrats have said that the water regulator, Ofwat, is not fit to hold privatised water companies in England and Wales to account after it emerged that Thames Water is to appeal to the UK’s competition regulator to be allowed to raise customers’ bills over the next five years even higher than previously granted
Badenoch has launched a formal bid to keep local elections scheduled for some areas of England this May, as shadow cabinet member Kevin Hollinrake warned cancelling them was “entirely wrong”. Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner announced the delay to elections across nine areas earlier this month, telling the Commons: “We’re not in the business of holding elections to bodies that won’t exist”
That is it from me, Martin Belam, for today. Thank you for all your comments. I will be back with you next week.
The blog so far today has mercifully stayed clear of references to Valentine’s Day, but that doesn’t mean that political parties and politicians haven’t been using it as a cue to campaign. As I am wrapping up shortly I thought I would share a few of the highlights (or lowlights, depending on how you view this sort of thing).
Plaid Cymru have taken the opportunity to suggest that if you love Wales, then today is a great day to join their party.
♥️ Happy #ValentinesDay! ♥️
— Plaid Cymru 🏴 (@Plaid_Cymru) February 14, 2025
Show some love to our #Wales by joining Plaid Cymru today - https://t.co/wYaoyOipok 🥰
Anfonwch gariad i Gymru drwy ymuno â Phlaid Cymru heddiw - https://t.co/7vrndZA4wu 🥰
♥️ Dydd San Ffolant Hapus! ♥️ pic.twitter.com/ZO4SCO4V7L
Wendy Morton, the Conservative shadow minister for foreign affairs and MP for Aldridge-Brownhills in the West Midlands has spotted a topical post box topper …
Just spotted in Streetly this morning.
— Wendy Morton MP (@morton_wendy) February 14, 2025
Happy Valentine's Day! pic.twitter.com/Zd9LDyrBtE
And I regret to inform you that poetry has broken out on the social media account of the Scottish Conservatives, where they have been claiming there is an “SNP/Labour” love affair, posting:
Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
If John backs something,
Anas probably does too.
Roses are red.
— Scottish Conservatives (@ScotTories) February 14, 2025
Violets are blue.
If John backs something, Anas probably does too. pic.twitter.com/hWa3BapZKD
The Liberal Democrats were also at the poetry game, suggesting overtures between Kemi Badenoch’s Conservative party towards Reform UK and its leader Nigel Farage. They wrote a poem from her to him, with the idea that Farage might be appointed chancellor in a Badenoch Tory-Reform pact government mocked up as if it was the offer inside a card.
Roses are red,
Our parties are blue,
They say I’m finished,
Can I make a pact with you?
But to finish on a more wholesome note, somebody appears to have sent flowers to Jennie, who is, of course, the ever-popular guide dog to Torbay’s Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling.
Who’s the awesome secret admirer who sent me these stunning flowers? 💐 Whoever you are, you made this doggy very, very happy! 😉🐶 #mystery #flowers #thankyou pic.twitter.com/PT1BUQi1KB
— Rt Hon Jennie (@RtHonJen) February 14, 2025
My colleagues Chris Osuh and Joanna Partridge have this piece today looking at whether the much-touted Trump administration rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies would begin to have an effect on businesses here in the UK. You can read that here.
Reuters is carrying some quotes from David Lammy after his bilateral meeting with US vice-president JD Vance on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, in which Lammy claims Vance agreed “that Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians have to be part of that negotiated deal.”
It quotes the foreign secretary saying:
I was very encouraged in our conversations about Ukraine. All of us have this desire to bring this horrendous war to an end. We share the view that there has to be an enduring peace … there was an agreement that Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians have to be part of that negotiated deal.
It is not surprising that Donald Trump wanted to speak to Vladimir Putin, and indeed wanted to speak to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but these are just talks at the moment. We are some way from a negotiated peace.
Vance, meanwhile, went on to give a headline-grabbing speech at the event, in which he accused European leaders of being scared of voters and failing to defend democracy, and specifically criticised the UK over what he said was a failure to defend free speech over abortion protests. My colleague Jakub Krupa was watching, and has a decent summary here of a performance from the US vice-president at the conference which is likely to spark a lot of debate.
Richard Adams is the Guardian’s education editor
Staff at Newcastle University staff will strike for 14 days next month, unless the university’s managers back down over proposed job cuts, the University and College Union (UCU) has announced.
The strike days will mount up each week across March, culminating in five consecutive days between Monday 24 March and Friday 28 March, in protest at the university’s efforts to cut £20m from its staff budget, which the union says would be equivalent to losing 300 jobs.
This week 83% of UCU staff at Newcastle voted in favour of strike action, from a turnout of 64%.
Matt Perry, UCU’s Newcastle branch chair, said:
Our members are angry that Newcastle university’s vice-chancellor [Prof Chris Day], the chair of the Russell Group of “research-intensive” universities, is increasing the university’s carbon footprint during a staff travel ban with talk of a new campus halfway across the world. He should be sat with us at the negotiating table.
He now has two weeks to protect jobs and resolve this dispute to avoid sustained strike action across campus. Vice-chancellors’ copycat playbooks must be met with resistance across higher education so we can stop this unprecedented crisis.
Strike ballots have recently been passed by UCU members at the University of East Anglia, Sheffield Hallam and Brunel University, with ballots to come at Cardiff, Coventry and Durham universities.
Updated
Reeves: Public will judge me on my job as chancellor, not on my LinkedIn CV
Rachel Reeves has said that the British public will judge her on her performance as chancellor, and not on what is on her LinkedIn CV, as well as repeating that there had been no complaints about her expenses during her time at a commercial bank.
Speaking to the media while on a visit to a housing development site in Nottinghamshire, she said:
I worked as an economist at the Bank of England between 2000 and 2006 before going to work in financial services for Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS).
And I’m really proud of the work that I did before I became an MP, but in the end, people are going to judge me on the job that I’m doing now as chancellor of the exchequer to grow the economy and put more money in the pockets of working people.
A BBC report yesterday suggested her time working at the Bank of England was nine months shorter than she claimed on LinkedIn and that her use of expenses while working at HBOS was subject to an internal investigation. No conclusion of wrongdoing appears to have been reached. Science secretary Peter Kyle accused the BBC of “totally inaccurate” reporting over the issue during the media round. Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch said the chancellor has “very, very serious questions to answer.”
Asked about claims she was the subject of an expenses investigation at the bank, PA Media reports the Chancellor told broadcasters:
Noone ever raised any concerns about my expenses when I worked for HBOS. I submitted, had processed and had my expenses signed off in the proper way as you would expect, and no issues were ever raised during my time at HBOS.
Reeves added that nobody had gone on the record to suggest there had been concerns, and said: “I was never questioned, never asked to pay back any expenses.”
Yesterday prime minister Keir Starmer said he had full confidence in Reeves and said she dealt with “any issues” that arose from her career in retail banking.
Jayne Wayper, a former HR business partner for HBOS, told the media yesterday: “I do not recognise any of the accusations or claims that have been made against Rachel Reeves. In my role, I would have been made aware of any investigation which concluded there was a case to answer. I would have been required to organise and oversee a disciplinary process. This did not happen.”
Updated
Lib Dems: Ofwat is 'not up to the task' of holding privatised water companies to account
In response to the news that Thames Water is to appeal to the UK’s competition regulator to be allowed to raise customers’ bills over the next five years even higher than previously granted, the Liberal Democrats have said that the water regulator, Ofwat, is not fit to hold privatised water companies in England and Wales to account.
Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Tim Farron MP said:
It is outrageous that companies like Thames Water continue to plunge themselves into billions of debt, whilst demanding bill hikes for customers.
Ofwat is not up to the task and has failed to hold water companies like Thames Water to account. The government cannot continue to dither and delay whilst companies get away scot-free, polluting British seas and rivers.
The Liberal Democrats have spearheaded the campaign to end the sewage crisis and protect customers, and will continue to hold the government’s feet to the fire until they crack down on failing water companies.
Thames Water, which is on the verge of financial collapse, had wanted to raise bills by 59% over the next five years. It said on Friday morning its board had concluded that Ofwat’s final determination – a raise of 35% – would not allow the investment and improvement needed to improve its services. The water industry in England and Wales was privatised in 1989. Thames Water serves 16 million customers in London and south-east England, and is believed to be about £19bn in debt.
Kemi Badenoch has accused the Labour government of being “not serious” and said it “doesn’t have a plan for the country” while saying that the chancellor has “very, very serious questions to answer.”
Speaking to broadcasters, Badenoch was asked about media reports over Rachel Reeves, and said “I think she’s got some very, very serious questions to answer” and that the allegations were “very serious things.”
Reeves’s career history has been put under scrutiny again after a BBC investigation revealed her time working at the Bank of England was nine months shorter than she claimed and that her use of expenses while working at HBOS was subject to an internal investigation. No conclusion of wrongdoing appears to have been reached in the reports.
Badenoch, who once admitted that she hacked Harriet Harman’s website in 2008, said:
Keir Starmer said that he was bringing in a government of integrity. He’s lost one minister due to corruption allegations, another one has had to resign because of fraud that was committed while she was working.
This is a government that is not serious, that doesn’t have a plan for the country, made claims that are shown not to be true, has broken lots of promises.
We as the opposition, the Conservative party, will be holding them to account.
Reeves has denied any wrongdoing, and earlier today science secretary Peter Kyle accused the BBC of “totally inaccurate” reporting of the matter, saying that Reeves’ LinkedIn profile “got the dates out by a few months” because it was written by a member of her team, and that “the person who was actually head of HR at that bank at that time says it’s untrue, said that she never, ever receive a file on Rachel Reeves.” [See 9.20 GMT]
Ed Davey: Starmer must 'seize the moment' over Donald Trump's 'unacceptable' Ukraine proposals
Ed Davey has responded to the Downing Street read-out of prime minister Keir Starmer’s meeting with the US special envoy to the UK, Mark Burnett, at Downing Street last night, during which he had a call with US president Donald Trump.
The Liberal Democrat leader said:
Keir Starmer must be clear with Donald Trump that his proposals on Ukraine are unacceptable.
There is not a moment to lose. It is critical that the prime minister joins the gathering of global leaders taking place this weekend at the Munich Security Conference, and does all he can to bolster support for Ukraine.
Keir Starmer must seize the moment and ensure that Trump’s plans to lock Ukraine, the UK and European allies out of decisions about our shared future do not succeed.
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has spoken about the US Trump administration push to end the war in Ukraine, demanding that Europe needs to have a seat at any peace talks and that Ukraine must remain independent.
In a message on social media, ap Iorwerth said:
The world cannot stand by as Trump cozies up to the Kremlin. We must not forget that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was an illegal act of aggression. European allies must have a seat at the table in any peace talks, and Ukraine’s right to independence must underpin any agreement.
Earlier the party’s MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd and Westminster group leader, Liz Saville Roberts, also posted about Ukraine, saying:
Wales stands with Ukraine – its independence must be upheld. Capitulating to Russian aggression would be a historic betrayal. We must not stand by while Trump undermines Ukraine’s fight for freedom.
This morning, having had a phone call with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, prime minister Keir Starmer said that the UK is committed to Ukraine being “on an irreversible path to Nato.”
Peter Walker is senior political correspondent for the Guardian
Downing Street could become a notably less appealing place to work in the coming weeks, with cleaners and catering staff at No 10 scheduled to begin a month-long continuous strike over pay and conditions.
The strike, scheduled to last from 24 February to 25 March, is an extension of a wider dispute that has already taken place in a series of government departments, but will now be extended to No 10 and the Cabinet Office.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, which represents the workers, is seeking a pay rise and improvements to conditions in areas such as holiday entitlement, and, more widely, is trying to persuade the Labour government to bring staff currently employed by an outsourcing company into official roles.
The involvement of No 10 cleaners is particularly resonant given the focus on their role during coverage of repeated lockdown-breaking parties in and around No 10 during Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister.
Read more from Peter Walker here: No 10 cleaning staff to begin month-long strike over pay
Conservative opposition shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel is also in Munich today for the Munich Security Conference, and has posted a video explaining why she is there. In it, Patel said:
I’m at the Munich Security Conference here in Germany, a hugely important geopolitical convention that takes place every year.
And I’m speaking to foreign ministers of our close allies, because the threats to our collective security and values that underpin our way of life are immense.
Make no mistake, we are living in a world more dangerous and volatile than at any other point since the end of the Cold War.
We are approaching the grim milestone of three years since Putin invaded Ukraine, the regime in Tehran is bent on destabilising the Middle East, there are serious challenges to peace and security in the Indo Pacific, and we have seen the most terrible human suffering from Syria to Sudan.
Britain has agency if we have the courage to act, and we need to use that agency to shape the world around us to build a better future.
Patel was sacked as international development secretary from Theresa May’s government in 2017 for holding undisclosed meetings with Israeli government officials. She subsequently served as home secretary under the Boris Johnson government from 2019 until 2022, and was appointed shadow foreign secretary by Kemi Badenoch in November last year.
My colleague Jakub Krupa is covering the Munich Security Conference in his Europe live blog here.
Foreign secretary David Lammy has just used social media to comment on his meeting in Munich with US vice-president JD Vance, saying:
Last year JD Vance and I shared a panel at Munich from opposition. It was great to see him again today in Munich from government. We reaffirmed the UK-US special relationship and discussed building on our strong trade which already delivers growth and jobs for millions.
Foreign secretary Lammy meets with US vice-president JD Vance in Munich
In another bout of UK-US diplomacy today, foreign secretary David Lammy and recently installed US vice-president JD Vance have held a bilateral meeting in Munich at the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Reuters is carrying some quotes from the pair, with Lammy saying he looked forward to discussing support for Ukraine and European security, stating that the relationship between the UK and the US was “more than just an alliance, it’s a covenant between two partners”.
Lammy continued, saying “We are committed to increasing defence [spending] and encourage our friends across Europe to do the same, and of course we have got important issues to discuss on Ukraine and how we support Ukraine at this difficult moment, and also broader issues of UK-US security.”
For his part, Vance said:
Honestly, we have a lot in common, and the special relationship between the UK and the US will remain very strong. We are going to talk about something that he and I spoke about a couple of years ago, which is our shared belief that Europe really should take a big role in its own security, and I’m glad the foreign secretary agrees with me on that. I think there are other issues of common agreement. I’m sure we will talk about Russia-Ukraine.
My colleague Jakub Krupa is following the Munich Security Conference closely on our Europe live blog, which you can find here.
A little gossipy nugget on social media via Sky News political correspondent Tamara Cohen, who posts to say:
I understand this Starmer-Trump call happened spontaneously during the meeting, handing over the phone, and lasted just a couple of mins. Trump wanted to tell Starmer he and Burnett are “good guys” who should work together.
No 10: Starmer spoke with Donald Trump last night during meeting with president's special enovy to UK
Downing Street has issued a read-out of a meeting that prime minister Keir Starmer held last night with Donald Trump’s special envoy to the UK, former television producer Mark Burnett, during which, it says, Starmer spoke to the US president.
In the read-out, No 10 says:
The prime minister was pleased to host president Trump’s special envoy to the UK, Mark Burnett, at Downing Street last night, during which he took a call from president Trump and discussed his forthcoming visit to the US.
Burnett and the prime minister agreed on the unique and special nature of the UK-US relationship, the strength of our alliance, and the warmth of the connection between the two countries.
Burnett reflected on his personal connections to the UK, and his mother’s experience working part-time in Downing Street as a waitress over 30 years ago.
They emphasised the huge potential for even stronger collaboration on trade, tech and cultural matters between the US and the UK, and looked forward to working together.
Today science secretary Peter Kyle said the UK needs “cool, clear thinking” over the threat of new trade tariffs being imposed by the Trump administration in the US.
In an earlier diplomatic read-out from a phone call with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Starmer’s spokesperson said the prime minister had assured the government in Kyiv that the UK was committed to Ukraine being “on an irreversible path to Nato”, putting the UK seemingly at odds with recent statements coming out of Washington about talks to end the war there, which has been ongoing for nearly three years.
Trump announced Burnett’s appointment as his special envoy in December. The 64-year-old British television producer helped produce Trump’s show The Apprentice, and as former chair of MGM Worldwide Television Group, Burnett has won 13 Emmys.
At the time the then-president-elect said of Burnett “With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark brings a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international recognition to this important role. Mark will work to enhance diplomatic relations, focusing on areas of mutual interest, including trade, investment opportunities, and cultural exchanges.”
To contest his working conditions, private hire driver Simon Waite will not be working for private hire driving apps between 4pm and 10pm on Valentine’s Day. He’s taking part in a log-off action against Uber, Bolt and Addison Lee, withdrawing his labour alongside thousands of others to demand better pay, rights and safety measures. Jem Bartholomew wrote about Waite’s experience – “It’s hard to survive” – and the strike for the Guardian earlier today.
The former leader of the Labour party and independent MP Jeremy Corbyn has backed the action in a social media post this morning, writing:
While apps like Uber rake in the profits, it’s their drivers paying the financial, physical and emotional price. I stand with all drivers across the UK demanding change this Valentine’s Day!
While apps like Uber rake in the profits, it's their drivers paying the financial, physical and emotional price.
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) February 14, 2025
I stand with all drivers across the UK demanding change this Valentine’s Day!
Join a local action, or donate to support the campaign: https://t.co/ZesjGAdGuM pic.twitter.com/xVv4mGCglN
Corbyn called on people to support the strike action and its fighting fund.
Friday is the day that political parties tend to get excited about local byelection results, or neglect to mention the election happened at all if it didn’t go their way.
Across the evening and into today the Britain Elects social media account has recorded a hold for the Liberal Democrats in Manor (Stevenage), a hold for Labour in Burnt Oak (Barnet), a gain for Reform UK from Labour in Trevethin and Penygarn (Torfaen) and a gain for the Green Party of England and Wales in Warwick All Saints and Woodloes (Warwick).
Ballot Box Scotland, meanwhile, has recorded a Labour gain in the Kirkintilloch East, North and Twechar (East Dunbartonshire) byelection. That seat was being contested because the Liberal Democrat Mid Dunbartonshire MP Susan Murray stepped down as a councillor after being elected to Westminster last year.
Updated
My colleague Jasper Jolly reports that Thames Water is to appeal to the UK’s competition regulator to be allowed to raise customers’ bills over the next five years even higher than previously granted. He writes:
Thames Water, which is on the verge of financial collapse, had wanted to raise bills by 59% over the next five years. It said on Friday morning its board had concluded that Ofwat’s final determination, of a 35% increase, would not allow the investment and improvement needed to improve its services.
Liberal Democrat MP Charlie Maynard argued that Thames Water should not be allowed to raise bills further because a 35% increase over five years was “more than enough,” adding “So much of the money is being spent on sky-high interest rates and advisory fees. Everyone’s focus now should be putting the company into special administration so its balance sheet can be reset and our bills spent on actually fixing the sewage network.”
Thames Water is currently loaded with about £19bn in debt, and was in the high court last week seeking an emergency £3bn loan. The company has paid out a significant amount of shareholder dividends since it was privatised, and in December 2024 was ordered to pay an £18.2m penalty after the water industry regulator confirmed the troubled utilities company had breached dividend rules. The water industry in England and Wales was privatised in 1989 by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government.
Starmer tells Zelenskyy: UK is committed to Ukraine being 'on an irreversible path to Nato'
Prime minister Keir Starmer has told Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the UK is committed to Ukraine being “on an irreversible path to Nato.”
The pair spoke this morning, ahead of the meetings at the Munich Security Conference where the sudden Trump administration push to end the war in Ukraine has already been criticised as appeasement towards Russian president Vladimir Putin.
In a read-out from the call, Downing Street said
The prime minister spoke to the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, this morning.
The prime minister began by reiterating the UK’s concrete support for Ukraine, for as long as it’s needed.
He was unequivocal that there could be no talks about Ukraine, without Ukraine.
Ukraine needed strong security guarantees, further lethal aid and a sovereign future, and it could count on the UK to step up, he added.
The prime minister reiterated the UK’s commitment to Ukraine being on an irreversible path to Nato, as agreed by allies at the Washington Summit last year.
Discussing the upcoming third anniversary of Ukraine’s courageous defence of its sovereignty in the face of Russia’s barbaric full-scale invasion, the leaders agreed that it would be an important moment to demonstrate international unity and support for Ukraine.
EU foreign policy chief and former Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas, has already been highly critical of the Trump administration’s opening gambit in negotiations, saying “Why are we giving them [Russia] everything that they want even before the negotiations have been started?” she said. “It’s appeasement. It has never worked.”
Earlier this week Donald Trump’s new defense secretary Pete Hegseth said “We must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.”
My colleague Jakub Krupa is covering the Munich Security Conference live for the Guardian, where we are expecting to hear from Ursula von der Leyen, JD Vance and Zelenskyy among others. You can follow that here.
Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton, as well as talking about local election postponements, has been on social media complaining about the government’s plan for the renting sector.
Citing a Telegraph story using data from England which claims “Labour’s war on landlords triggers record wave of eviction claims” he said:
As we have said, Labour’s Renters Rights Bill is bad for tenants. The UK private rented sector is dominated by landlords who are private individuals (94%), and many will exit the market rather than risk suffering at the hands of a dodgy, difficult-to-remove tenant.
Labour says that its bill, which only applies to England, aims to “abolish section 21 evictions and move to a simpler tenancy structure”, “ensure possession grounds are fair to both parties, giving tenants more security, while ensuring landlords can recover their property when reasonable”, “provide stronger protections against backdoor eviction by ensuring tenants are able to appeal excessive above-market rents which are purely designed to force them out”, introduce a new private rented sector landlord ombudsman” and “apply the decent homes standard to the private rented sector” among other measures.
Badenoch launches formal bid to avoid nine areas of England postponing May local elections
Opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has launched a formal bid to keep local elections scheduled for some areas of England this May, as her shadow business secretary warned cancelling them was “entirely wrong”.
As part of the Labour government’s regional devolution plans for England, elections have been delayed in nine areas while local authorities work on a new structure that would see current “two-tier” arrangements (where residents have service delivery split between a county council and a smaller local council) reorganised into single unitary authorities. Polls due on 1 May in these areas would instead take place next year.
Badenoch has laid an early day motion calling for the order to postpone the elections to be “annulled”.
Kevin Hollinrake, shadow secretary of state for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, told PA Media:
The Labour Government have massively rushed this imposition. There has been no attempt to gather consensus within two-tier areas. Local residents have not been consulted at any stage.
Council leaders have a “gun to their head” from the Labour government. These elections are not being “postponed” – they are being cancelled. This mass change is unprecedented and entirely wrong.
We are particularly concerned about the significant delay of up to three years before the new councils are in place, and existing councillors serving a seven-year term.
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner announced the delay to elections across the nine areas earlier this month, when she told the Commons: “We’re not in the business of holding elections to bodies that won’t exist. This would be an expensive and irresponsible waste of taxpayers’ money.”
The changes affect elections scheduled in May for seven county councils – Essex, East Sussex, Hampshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey and West Sussex – and for two unitary councils – Thurrock and the Isle of Wight.
The reform will lead to the introduction of six elected mayors – in Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Greater Essex, Hampshire and Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Sussex and Brighton – along with merged county and district councils.
Polly Toynbee’s column today is about the assisted dying bill affecting England and Wales. You can read it here: The concerted attack on assisted dying won’t stop the public supporting this bill
The UK’s competition watchdog has recommended sweeping changes for the baby formula industry, Joanna Partridge reports:
The CMA proposed five measures on Friday, which it says will improve outcomes for parents and could allow them to save £300 a year by switching to a lower-price brand.
Baby formula could be placed in standardised packaging in hospitals, while it said parents should be allowed to use gift vouchers and loyalty card points to buy formula milk, as part of efforts to combat soaring prices and lack of choice in the market.
However, the regulator has decided against recommending regulations such as a price cap on baby formula or a profit-margin cap, which the Greek government did last year with the aim of making products more affordable. The CMA said such a move would “involve significant risks”
You can read more here: UK watchdog proposes sweeping changes for baby formula industry
Minister accuses BBC of 'totally inaccurate' reporting over Rachel Reeves HBOS expenses investigation claim
Science secretary Peter Kyle was put under pressure during the morning media round over reports that the online CV of Rachel Reeves contained inaccuracies after another round of media speculation about the chancellor’s career prior to entering politics.
He told BBC Breakfast “What you’re talking about here is something that Rachel has already addressed, and it is someone on her team set up a LinkedIn profile, and they got the dates out by a few months actually.”
PA Media reports he added “But what you’ve seen with Rachel is a Chancellor who is an economist by training and by practice, and she’s brought that experience into Government, and judge her on actions and not just words.”
Yesterday the BBC reported that Reeves “Reeves and two colleagues were the subject of an expenses probe while she was a senior manager at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) in the late 2000s.”
Speaking to the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Kyle suggested the BBC report was “totally inaccurate”, saying:
Unfortunately, the reporting has been totally inaccurate, and we heard yesterday that the person who was actually head of HR at that bank at that time says it’s untrue, said that she never, ever receive a file on Rachel Reeves.
And she says that before she left the bank, there was no investigation that passed her desk. And she’s also said if there was one, it would have passed her desk. I didn’t see any of that reporting included in the story I read yesterday evening on the BBC website.
The BBC’s online report now includes the line “We have not been able to establish what the final outcome of the investigation was. Indeed, it may not have concluded.”
Reeves is facing local media later today during a visit to the East Midlands.
Minister: UK needs 'cool, clear thinking' over threat of Trump's 'reciprocal' tariffs
The UK needs “cool, clear thinking” over the threat of new trade tariffs being imposed by the Donald Trump administration in the US, science secretary Peter Kyle.
PA Media reports that appearing on Sky News, he was asked if Britain should be worried about the US President’s latest threat to impose tariffs as a retaliation for charging VAT on US goods.
He said:
The first thing to reassure people is that we need a government with cool, clear thinking at times like this, and this is what you have with this Government.
We will assess any changes and challenges that come down the line from any part of the global economy, and we will act appropriately in the best interest of Britain.
The second thing to say is that whatever the circumstances globally, you’ve got to get the foundations right for running our domestic economy. That’s why we fixed some of the challenges we inherited from the previous government.
Asked whether the UK would expect to impose retaliatory measures, he added “What I said is that we will have a cool, clear look at what’s in the national interest, and we will respond accordingly, based on what we actually have in fact.”
On Thursday the US president announced he would introduce sweeping new “reciprocal”, pledging to roll out a “beautiful, simple system” of new US import duties that match those imposed by other countries. No new specific tariffs were announced. During the announcement the president specifically mentioned treating the European Union’s 20% VAT rate as an equivalent to being a tariff.
Callum Jones, writing in New York for the Guardian yesterday, noted that:
The administration has so far threatened more tariffs than it has introduced. Duties on Colombia were shelved when it agreed to accept military aircraft carrying deported immigrants; duties on Canada and Mexico have been repeatedly delayed; and modified duties on steel and aluminum, announced earlier this week, will not be enforced until next month.
An additional 10% tariff on goods from China is, for now, the only threatened trade attack actually enforced since Trump returned to the White House. On Friday, it emerged that a key component of this – removing the longstanding duty-free status of low-cost packages – had been delayed.
Welcome and opening summary …
Good morning, welcome to our live UK politics coverage for Friday. Here are your headlines …
The UK government will “wait and see” whether tariffs announced by Donald Trump “actually come to pass”, a senior minister said, with science secretary saying the UK needs “cool, clear thinking”
Ministers are trying to “mission-wash” every item of spending in their departments, according to officials, before a spending review at which Rachel Reeves has demanded they justify every pound they receive
Angela Rayner has insisted Labour’s flagship package of workers’ rights will be ringfenced from a bonfire of regulation being pursued by the government to reboot economic growth
A minister has accused the BBC of “totally inaccurate” reporting over Reeves’ HBOS expenses investigation claim. Reeves is facing local media later today during a visit to the East Midlands
The majority of academy leaders in England say the government’s new schools bill will not affect how they manage their schools, according to a new survey of multi-academy trust chief executives
Foreign secretary David Lammy and defence secretary John Healey are in Germany for the Munich Security Conference. Jakub Krupa will be covering that for the Guardian on the Europe live blog
It is Martin Belam here with you today. You can reach me on martin.belam@theguardian.com if you spot typos, errors or omissions.
