Closing summary
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Here is a summary of today’s key developments:
Keir Starmer has not ruled out the idea of smoking being banned in some outdoor spaces, including pub gardens and outside restaurants, as ministers consider fresh tobacco curbs that hospitality groups say could adversely affect the sector. It is understood Downing Street is in favour of a series of measures outlined in documents connected to the planned wider tobacco and vapes bill, details of which were seen by the Sun. Speaking to journalists in Paris on Thursday, Starmer said he is looking at changes to smoking laws and that “more details will be revealed”.
Starmer, who was in Paris on Thursday to meet Paralympics GB athletes and hold talks with Emmanuel Macron, said he had discussed resetting relations during talks with the French president at the Élysée Palace. A Downing Street spokesperson said that the prime minister also welcomed the joint action between the UK and France to tackle small boat crossings and he and Macron agreed to do more together to dismantle smuggling routes farther upstream and increase intelligence sharing.
Scotland will consider replicating any UK government ban on smoking in places such as beer gardens and outdoor restaurants, first minister John Swinney said. With Scotland the first part of the UK to bring in a ban on smoking in public places, Swinney said Holyrood ministers would “look with care at any proposals emerging from the United Kingdom government”.
Nigel Farage and Robert Jenrick criticised the reported plans to extend smoking ban to outdoor spaces. The Reform UK leader told the Sun: “It’ll be the end of pubs.” Conservative party leadership hopeful Jenrick told the newspaper: “The last thing this country needs is thousands more pubs closing. Our country faces huge challenges. Why is Starmer focusing on this nonsense?”
Rachel Reeves held talks with the leaders of some of Britain’s biggest business groups on Thursday, vowing to “co-design” government policy with them ahead of the October budget. Bosses at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Institute of Directors (IoD), the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and Make UK were at the meeting.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood formally announced his resignation as party leader during a press conference in Derry on Thursday. Eastwood said it had been a “great privilege” to be the leader of the party he joined when he was 14 or 15 for almost a decade. Eastwood said he had told the party chairman that he will resign as leader at the party conference on 5 October and confirmed that he will continue as MP for Foyle. DUP leader Gavin Robinson, Fianna Fáil TD Jim O’Callaghan, Northern Ireland secretary Julian Smith and SDLP councillor Séamas de Faoite were among the politicians that wished paid tribute to Eastwood.
Eastwood tipped fellow MP Claire Hanna as his successor. Hanna has not ruled herself out of the running to be the next SDLP leader. On Thursday afternoon, she posted on the social media network X that she will have more to say on that in the coming days.
Scotland’s first minister stressed the need to ensure decisions on oil and gas are compatible with “our journey on climate change” after the UK government confirmed it will not fight a legal challenge brought against plans to open two new developments in the North Sea. The government has said it will not challenge a court case brought against the Rosebank field off the coast of Shetland – the UK’s largest untapped oilfield, with an estimated up to 300m barrels of oil – and the Jackdaw field to the east of Aberdeen.
The Home Office has been accused of submitting “woeful” budget figures under successive Conservative ministers – which officials knew understated the ballooning cost of asylum and illegal immigration spending. In a report partially vindicating Rachel Reeves’s claim that the new Labour government inherited a far worse financial situation than initially thought, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) thinktank suggested the Home Office had repeatedly lowballed its budget estimates. Labour said it was proof the previous government had “covered up” the extent of the crisis in the asylum system and that ministers “ran away from the problem”.
Germany’s ambassador to the UK has said an agreement with the EU on youth mobility “should be in the British interest”. It came after Starmer’s press conference yesterday with German chancellor Olaf Scholz, during which the prime minister said the UK did not have plans to join the EU’s youth mobility scheme.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has announced his party is tabling a motion to block the government’s proposed cut to winter fuel payments as soon as parliament returns from recess next week. According to a statement released on Thursday by the party, all 72 Lib Dem MPs have backed the party’s ‘prayer motion’ to block the cut to winter fuel payments and ensure MPs are given a vote on the changes before they come into force on 16 September.
Ministers have committed to help households struggling with their gas and electricity bills this winter after energy industry bosses warned that consumer debt had climbed to more than £3bn. With Labour under fire for scrapping universal winter fuel payments to pensioners, ministers met energy industry bosses on Wednesday to discuss ways of supporting struggling households through the coming colder months.
The UK government is considering making further commitments on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, likely to be announced at the UN climate summit this year. It is hoped the plan will help kickstart global ambitions on cutting emissions and encourage other countries to follow suit.
Staff working at the National Education Union’s (NEU) headquarters in London have voted to strike over “unacceptable” workloads. The NEU is the UK’s largest teaching and education union, but administrative staff who are members of the Unite union will walk out for three days at the end of September and start of October.
The new rail minister threatened in a previous role to withhold public contracts from one of the UK’s largest engineering groups until it disciplined a senior engineer for raising concerns about safety at one of London’s busiest train stations. In his former role as chair of Network Rail, Peter Hendy threatened Systra UK, which counts Network Rail among its main clients, with losing business not only from the public body but also its supply chain.
First minister John Swinney has said he will be “very mindful” of funding for the arts despite “difficult choices” facing the Scottish government, after some of the country’s top musicians called for more cash. Paolo Nutini, Biffy Clyro and Franz Ferdinand were among more than 170 figures to sign an open letter addressed to the first minister in response to the closure of Creative Scotland’s open fund due to financial pressures.
Tom Tugendhat has said that, if he becomes Tory leader, the Conservative party will commit to a cap on net migration of 100,000 a year. Speaking during a campaign speech on Thursday, Tugendhat warned that Starmer’s government would drag the UK back to the 1970s by caving in to unions’ pay demands. Tugendhat claimed the government’s actions could result in rising inflation.
Updated
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has tipped fellow MP Claire Hanna as his successor. Speaking at a press conference in Derry on Thursday, Eastwood said he wants to become a voice for change and developing a new Ireland, describing the post-Brexit environment as a “moment of opportunity”.
Hanna has not ruled herself out of the running to be the next SDLP leader. On Thursday afternoon, she posted on the social media network X that she will have more to say on that in the coming days.
“Political leadership is a huge privilege and rightly carries huge responsibility. I’m grateful for many messages from colleagues, constituents and others about the future leadership of the SDLP,” she said. “I’ll have more to say in the coming days after speaking to my family and team.”
Colum Eastwood has put in a heck of a shift, leading the SDLP through 10 elections in 9 years! As a friend & colleague I’ve seen the relentless challenges he’s navigated. He’ll continue to be a passionate & skilled MP for Derry with a mega role to play in shaping the new Ireland pic.twitter.com/xiiL066Vrz
— Claire Hanna (@ClaireHanna) August 29, 2024
A YouGov poll on Thursday suggested that 58% of British adults support banning smoking in pub gardens and outside restaurants.
The polling company reported that 35% said they would oppose the measure. YouGov asked 3,715 people on 29 August.
Britons tend to support the proposed smoking ban in pub gardens and outdoor restaurants
— YouGov (@YouGov) August 29, 2024
Strong support: 35%
Tend to support: 23%
Tend to oppose: 17%
Strong oppose: 18%https://t.co/7JAyoPTSpI pic.twitter.com/4ace9phdYn
Rachel Reeves held talks with the leaders of some of Britain’s biggest business groups on Thursday, vowing to “co-design” government policy with them ahead of the October budget.
The chancellor, who embarked on a major charm offensive with businesses while in opposition, said she would “continue the strong partnership” now that Labour is in government.
The PA news agency reports that bosses at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Institute of Directors (IoD), the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and Make UK were at the meeting.
Reeves said:
Under this new government’s leadership, I will lead the most pro-growth, pro-business Treasury in our history, with a laser focus on making working people better off. That can only happen by working in partnership with businesses, big, medium and small.
I want to continue the strong partnership we built with business in opposition now we are in government, to deliver on our shared goal of fixing the foundations of our economy, so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.”
Bosses voiced their support after the meeting, but also hinted at the demands they made behind closed doors, according to the PA news agency.
Stephen Phipson, chief executive of manufacturing trade body Make UK, said the meeting was “very welcome”, and called for “more detail on the delivery as well as vision”.
Shevaun Haviland, director general of the BCC, said the group “outlined our priorities for the autumn budget, recognising the public finance challenge”.
Prime minister Keir Starmer warned of a “painful” budget in October earlier this week.
He also said “things are worse than we ever imagined” because of a £22bn “black hole” in the public finances.
Starmer said he found out last week that the Tories had borrowed almost £5bn more than the Office for Budget Responsibility expected.
According to a Treasury announcement, Reeves told bosses her door is “always open to valuable business insights on the opportunities and challenges they face”.
Tina McKenzie, FSB policy chairwoman, said the “diversity of UK businesses – 99% of which are the small, micro or self-employed that we represent – needs reflecting in government policymaking”.
Rain Newton-Smith, chief of the CBI, added that she “welcomes” the promise to co-design policy. Jonathan Geldart, director general of the IoD, added that Reeves must design a “stable tax and policy framework needed to support business confidence and investment”.
According to the PA news agency, a Downing Street spokesperson said of Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron’s meeting earlier today:
The leaders reflected on the success of the European Political Community meeting, held at Blenheim Palace last month, and agreed on the importance of further strengthening and broadening the close relationship between the UK and France in the coming months.”
The prime minister also welcomed the joint action between the UK and France to tackle small boat crossings and he and Macron agreed to do more together to dismantle smuggling routes farther upstream and increase intelligence sharing, the spokesperson said.
The new rail minister threatened in a previous role to withhold public contracts from one of the UK’s largest engineering groups until it disciplined a senior engineer for raising concerns about safety at one of London’s busiest train stations.
In his former role as chair of Network Rail, Peter Hendy threatened Systra UK, which counts Network Rail among its main clients, with losing business not only from the public body but also its supply chain.
He told Network Rail officials to “deal with” the engineer, Gareth Dennis, and said the Systra CEO should be sent a “stop and desist” letter with a request for disciplinary action against Dennis.
In an email to Systra, Lord Hendy said “the allegation that Network Rail is running an unsafe operation is a serious one” and added: “Employees here know that what they say in the media reflects on their employment, and I should like confirmation that your employees understand that too.”
Six days after Hendy’s letter to Systra on 14 May, Dennis was placed on suspension while an investigation was carried out into his comments in an Independent article published a month earlier in which he raised concerns that overcrowding at Euston station was unsafe. Hendy’s complaint was cited in the suspension letter that Dennis received on 20 May.
Further emails show that on 24 May Dennis was offered a financial settlement to leave Systra on the condition that he sign an agreement with a confidentiality clause. He did not sign it, and on 8 July he was dismissed with four weeks’ notice after a disciplinary hearing.
You can read the full piece here:
Updated
Tom Tugendhat has said that, if he becomes Tory leader, the Conservative party will commit to a cap on net migration of 100,000 a year.
During a campaign speech on Thursday, he said:
An honest and open conversation about population size is the only way to have a country that is happy with itself, where everyone of all colours, creeds and backgrounds knows that they can speak and be heard.
What we decide will have to recognise that we cannot build … the first-class public services we need without taking numbers into account.
It will take reform to visa policies, to welfare, to workforce planning, skills and training policies and university finances, but the pressure on housing, on infrastructure and on services is just one reason why the Conservative party, under my leadership, will commit to a legally binding annual cap on non-British annual net migration of 100,000.
We cannot sustain the hundreds of thousands it is today.”
My colleague Jennifer Rankin has written an analysis piece on how Labour hopes to deepen economic ties with Europe outside EU’s structures. Finding new trade arrangements to boost growth will be hard given the party has ruled out rejoining the single market and customs union, she writes.
You can read the full analysis piece here:
Keir Starmer does not rule out outdoor smoking ban proposal
Keir Starmer has not ruled out the idea of smoking being banned in some outdoor spaces, including pub gardens and outside restaurants, as ministers consider fresh tobacco curbs that hospitality groups say could adversely affect the sector.
It is understood Downing Street is in favour of a series of measures outlined in documents connected to the planned wider tobacco and vapes bill, details of which were seen by the Sun.
The bill would gradually make all smoking illegal by prohibiting the sale of tobacco to people born on or after January 2009, an idea first proposed in the UK by Rishi Sunak’s government, and taken on by Labour.
According to the Sun, it would also impose new restrictions on outdoor smoking, including outdoor spaces at, and pavements outside, clubs and restaurants, as well as at universities, children’s play areas and small parks.
Ministers could target vapers as well as shisha bars, it said. The restrictions would not cover private homes or large open spaces, such as parks, or streets.
Asked about the report during a visit to Paris, Starmer did not deny the plans. “My starting point on this is to remind everybody that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking,” he said.
“That is a preventable death, it’s a huge burden on the NHS and, of course, it is a burden on the taxpayer. So, yes, we are going to take decisions in this space, more details will be revealed, but this is a preventable series of deaths and we’ve got to take action to reduce the burden on the NHS and the taxpayer.”
The prime minister added: “It is important to get the balance right, but everybody … who uses the NHS will know that it’s on its knees.”
You can read the full piece by Peter Walker, Caroline Davies and Sarah Butler here:
Tory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat warned that Keir Starmer’s government would drag the UK back to the 1970s by caving in to unions’ pay demands, reports the PA news agency.
In a speech in central London, Tugendhat claimed the government’s actions could result in rising inflation.
Tugendhat said:
[Keir Starmer] is already losing control of pay across the public sector, with other unions now demanding more and threatening more strike action. It feels like we are heading back towards the 1970s and the days of wage-price spirals.
Just as importantly, it’s a missed opportunity for reform and a chance to make our public services better.”
He claimed Labour was “owned lock, stock and barrel by the unions”. He added:
The unions gave Labour more than £25m over the last parliament and in return Labour are giving in to the unions’ demands: scrapping laws that guarantee minimum services during strikes, ending rules that make sure strikes only happen when members actually want them and showering unions with public money, no strings attached.”
He said Starmer was right to warn of a “painful” budget to come because “he has splashed the cash on his friends and left you to pick up the bill”.
UK may unveil tougher emissions targets at Cop29 climate summit
The UK government is considering making further commitments on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, likely to be announced at the UN climate summit this year.
It is hoped the plan will help kickstart global ambitions on cutting emissions and encourage other countries to follow suit.
Under the Paris climate agreement countries are obliged to submit more stringent targets on emissions in February, if the world is to have any chance of holding global temperature rises to within 1.5C of preindustrial levels.
But Ed Miliband, the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, hopes to announce a new target months early, and has the support of Keir Starmer, the prime minister, in trying to propel the UK into a leadership position on the international stage at climate negotiations.
Starmer attended the previous summit, Cop28, when he was leader of the opposition and has been invited to Cop29, which will take place in Azerbaijan in November.
Activists representing developing countries told the Guardian the global south would welcome UK plans for the early publication of its emissions-cutting plan, known as a nationally determined contribution (NDC).
Harjeet Singh, the global engagement director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, said: “The UK has a critical opportunity to set the bar for climate leadership and equity by announcing a robust NDC well ahead of Cop29. This proactive approach would signal to other developed nations the urgency of abandoning fossil fuel production and committing to a future powered by renewables.
“By scaling up domestic investments in clean energy and fulfilling its fair share of climate finance to support developing countries, the UK can play its part in driving a global just transition that leaves no one behind.”
You can read the full piece here:
First minister John Swinney has said he will be “very mindful” of funding for the arts despite “difficult choices” facing the Scottish government, after some of the country’s top musicians called for more cash.
Paolo Nutini, Biffy Clyro and Franz Ferdinand were among more than 170 figures to sign an open letter addressed to the first minister in response to the closure of Creative Scotland’s open fund due to financial pressures.
They have joined a chorus of discontent from the arts sector, after 130 individuals and organisations urged the Scottish government to restore funding last week.
According to the PA news agency, the move was described as “disappointingly shortsighted” by Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos, while the letter warned of a “cultural catastrophe”.
Speaking to the PA news agency on Thursday, the first minister said:
I understand the concerns that have been expressed by members of the artistic community about funding for culture and the arts.
It’s a very important part of our country that we support and nurture investment in cultural and artistic activity.
The government already spends over £50m in the Creative Scotland budget, and we’re obviously facing very challenging economic and financial times at this particular moment and we obviously want to continue to invest in artistic and cultural activity.
We’ll engage actively with the community to do all that we can to make sure that Scotland’s international reputation for cultural activity is enhanced in the years to come.
I want to make sure that there is a high priority around cultural funding, because I realise how important it is to the wellbeing and the development of our society – it’s an important expression of who we are and it’s important for our society.
So as the government makes some really difficult financial choices, I will be very mindful of the importance of ensuring that we invest effectively in the artistic and cultural community within Scotland.”
Scotland will consider replicating any UK government ban on smoking in places such as beer gardens and outdoor restaurants, first minister John Swinney said.
With Scotland the first part of the UK to bring in a ban on smoking in public places, Swinney said Holyrood ministers would “look with care at any proposals emerging from the United Kingdom government”.
His comments came after leaked proposals, seen by the Sun newspaper, suggested the UK Government is to ban smoking in some outdoor areas to improve public health.
With the responsibility for the issue devolved in Scotland, Swinney said it was something the Scottish government could consider.
Speaking during a visit to a school in Edinburgh, PA Media reports Swinney said:
Obviously, we will look with care at any proposals emerging from the United Kingdom government.
Scotland was first to ban smoking in public places and the improvement in public health and the improvement in the environment in which people are sitting and spending time has been enhanced enormously as a consequence of that decision.
So, we need to be constantly attentive to the steps that are necessary to protect and enhance public health.
Updated
Staff working at the National Education Union’s headquarters in London have voted to strike over “unacceptable” workloads, Richard Adams, the UK Guardian’s education editor, reports.
The NEU is the UK’s largest teaching and education union, but administrative staff who are members of the Unite union will walk out for three days at the end of September and start of October.
Unite said its members have “raised the alarm over workloads that are causing high levels of stress and sickness among staff,” as well as allegations of workplace bullying, but the NEU’s managers failed to engage in meaningful talks.
Rose Keeping, Unite’s regional officer, said:
Our members have repeatedly raised concerns with their management and again and again these have been ignored. This stonewalling from another union is simply unacceptable. This is a dispute of the NEU’s own making and our members demand that NEU returns to the negotiating table to resolve these issues.
Scotland’s first minister stressed the need to ensure decisions on oil and gas are compatible with “our journey on climate change” after the UK government confirmed it will not fight a legal challenge brought against plans to open two new developments in the North Sea.
The government has said it will not challenge a court case brought against the Rosebank field off the coast of Shetland - the UK’s largest untapped oil field, with an estimated up to 300 million barrels of oil - and the Jackdaw field to the east of Aberdeen.
While the licences for the two developments have not been withdrawn, Labour - which has pledged not to issue licences for any new developments - said it will not contest a judicial review brought by environmental campaigners, PA Media reports.
The decision comes in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court ruling which requires regulators to consider the impact of burning oil and gas in the Environmental Impact Assessment for new projects.
UK energy minister Michael Shanks said the government will “consult at pace on new guidance” based on the ruling “to enable the industry to plan, secure jobs, and invest in our economy”.
First minister John Swinney said: “The United Kingdom government has got to take its own decisions when it is faced with legal challenge, it is right for them to do so.”
“I think at the heart of this issue is the importance of making any judgments about oil and gas developments based on the compatibility of those developments with our obligations on climate.
“That underpins the approach the Scottish Government has had, that whatever we are doing in relation to oil and gas we have to make sure it is compatible with our journey on climate change. And you can’t avoid those realities.”
Read more:
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As politicians, business leaders and other voices share their reaction to leaked Whitehall documents revealing plans to extend indoor smoking ban to certain outside spaces, such as pub gardens, it’s interesting to see how the smoking ban introduced in 2007 was received.
My colleague Helen Pidd wrote this piece where she spoke to a pub landlord and punters:
This is how it looked on the Guardian front page of 2 July 2007.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood formally announces resignation as party leader
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has formally announced his resignation as party leader during a press conference in Derry.
Eastwood said it had been a “great privilege” to be the leader of the party he joined when he was 14 or 15 for almost a decade.
He said he has told the party chairman that he will resign as leader at the party conference on 5 October and confirmed he will continue as MP for Foyle.
Eastwood said:
The bottom line, though, is [that] this last few years has been a period of immense change across these islands.
What we have seen after Brexit has been really unstable in many ways, but also been a moment of opportunity, and now that we have the three strands, all the institutions of the Good Friday agreement, in a better place, a more stable place, this is also now a big moment of change for this island, and I, for one, want to give my full commitment to leading in that space.
I want to be a voice for leading for change, to develop a new Ireland, to make the case for change across this island, and I need to be able to have to the space to do that, the time to do that.”
Eastwood said many do not realise the effort that goes into the day-to-day running of a political party. He said:
While I have been privileged and happy to do that, the moment now has come for me to step aside to allow other people to take on that mantle, to allow myself to focus on things I need to focus on, primarily representing the people of this city but also making the case for a new Ireland, making the case for change across this island.
That’s the work that I’m very passionate about, that’s the work that I’m committed to do.
So, today, I have told the party chairman that I will be resigning as leader of the SDLP at the upcoming party conference on 5 October and being there as a loyal servant of the party and to the next leader.
I look forward to working with the new leader, making sure that our voice is heard at Westminster, with a new Labour government, we’ve got lots of very strong connections.
We continue to do that work, but after a long period in leadership it’s now time to give somebody else a chance and to re-energise the party, and I look forward to being there to support them.”
Updated
Ed Davey says his party will table motion to block government's proposed cuts to winter fuel payments
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has announced his party is tabling a motion to block the government’s proposed cut to winter fuel payments as soon as parliament returns from recess next week.
According to a statement released on Thursday by the party, all 72 Lib Dem MPs have backed the party’s ‘prayer motion’ to block the cut to winter fuel payments and ensure MPs are given a vote on the changes before they come into force on 16 September.
The Lib Dems say the party’s own analysis shows that pensioners are expected to take a £670 hit this winter due to the rise in the energy price cap, the end to the pensioner cost of living payment, and the government’s cuts to the winter fuel allowance coming into effect.
Davey said:
We have heard from countless pensioners worried about how they will afford their energy bills this winter. Stripping support from many of the poorest pensioners, just when energy bills are set to rise again this winter, is the wrong thing to do.
That is why the Liberal Democrats are tabling a motion to reject these plans as soon as parliament returns, and give MPs a chance to vote on this issue on behalf of their constituents.
We recognise that the government faces difficult choices given the appalling mess left by the Conservative party. But a rethink is urgently needed so that poorer and vulnerable pensioners continue to get the support they need.”
Updated
Keir Starmer has said he discussed resetting relations during talks with French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
The prime minister told journalists after their meeting today:
I had a bilateral with the president whilst I’m here to discuss a number of issues – obviously the foreign policy issues which are pressing.
We discussed the situation in Ukraine, as you would expect, the situation in the Middle East, bilateral issues in terms of trade and defence and security, but also the wider reset that I want in relation to our relations, not just with France, but with the EU in general.
They were the topics that we discussed as part of the reset, rebuild and making sure that our number one mission, which is growing the economy, is absolutely central to everything that we do.”
Keir Starmer says 'more details' to come on changes to smoking laws
Keir Starmer told journalists in Paris that he is looking at changes to smoking laws.
According to the PA news agency, he said:
My starting point on this is to remind everybody that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking.
That is a preventable death, it’s a huge burden on the NHS and, of course, it is a burden on the taxpayer.
So, yes, we are going to take decisions in this space, more details will be revealed, but this is a preventable series of deaths and we’ve got to take action to reduce the burden on the NHS and the taxpayer.”
Starmer said it was important to “get the balance right” when asked whether new laws to reduce smoking would break his post-election pledge for politics to “tread more lightly” on voters’ lives.
He said:
It is important to get the balance right, but everybody watching this who uses the NHS will know that it’s on its knees. We have to relieve the burden and that’s why I spoke before the election about moving to a preventive model when it comes to health.
I want the NHS back on its feet, but I also want it fit for the next 75 years, just as we’ve had a brilliant 75 years already, and that means taking action in relation to preventable deaths.”
Updated
Starmer promises ‘project of hope’ in UK amid concern about rise of far right
Keir Starmer has expressed concern that the UK could face a rise in mass far-right populism as seen in Germany and France, as he said it was his mission to “inject some hope” into the country.
Speaking to reporters in Germany on Wednesday, where the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) could come top in three state elections next month, Starmer said the increase in support for such groups was “something that occupies my time”, especially after UK riots partly inspired by far-right misinformation.
“I do think that we should be alive in the UK to the challenge of the far right and populism and nationalism,” the prime minister said after talks in Berlin with Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor.
There are a number of reasons for my concern, partly what’s happening in the UK, partly what you can see happening in other European countries, including in France and in Germany.
I think that the challenge has to be met by democracy and by progressives, and we have to have a joint discussion about what that means across Europe, and beyond which I’m very keen to pursue with progressive parties.”
Asked if any particular countries had found a way to push back the tide of what Starmer called “the snake oil of populism and nationalism”, he said he would not single out any particular nation, not least because the issue varied across borders.
You can read the full piece here:
Tim Martin, founder of JD Wetherspoon, told the PA news agency:
Wetherspoon was the first pub company to open non-smoking pubs, long before smoking was banned. The rationale then was that non-smokers should be free to avoid passive smoking. That argument is diluted outside.
Our beer gardens are mostly divided into smoking and non-smoking areas, with non-smoking greatly predominant.
The question is whether the government should interfere in individual liberties where danger is involved. Mountaineering is dangerous, for example. Horse riding, statistically, causes many serious injuries.
I don’t think it will have a big effect on our business, one way or the other, and is really a libertarian issue.”
Support planned for UK households struggling with winter energy bills
Ministers have committed to help households struggling with their gas and electricity bills this winter after energy industry bosses warned that consumer debt had climbed to more than £3bn.
With Labour under fire for scrapping universal winter fuel payments to pensioners, ministers met energy industry bosses on Wednesday to discuss ways of supporting struggling households through the coming colder months.
Executives from more than 10 of the UK’s energy suppliers – including the boss of British Gas, Chris O’Shea – met the energy minister, Miatta Fahnbulleh, alongside consumer groups, charities and the regulator, Ofgem.
Fahnbulleh said: “Despite the tough inheritance, we will do everything in our power to support vulnerable households with their energy bills this winter.
“The determination to protect vulnerable families was clear. And we are committed to putting in place winter support this October. We will be hashing out the details over the next month so that families that need it are protected in the colder months.”
The Guardian understands there was “broad agreement around the table” that urgent action was needed to help tackle a “worrying” rise in debts being racked up by consumers on their energy bills, which have reached a record high of £3.2bn in total.
In the short-term, the government is expected to consider demands for it to double the support offered to homes through the warm home discount, a scheme that hands £150 to billpayers in Great Britain who are in receipt of certain benefits over winter.
Ministers have also heard calls from industry leaders to ease the burden on lower-income households by scrapping green levies on energy bills and moving them instead to general taxation.
You can read the full piece here:
The Green party made history in the general election, winning four seats for the first time. But how much will it be able to achieve in parliament when facing the gravity of the climate crisis?
The Guardian’s John Harris sits down with Carla Denyer, the Greens’ co-leader and MP for Bristol Central, to ask her what comes next for the party. You can listen to the interview in the Politics Weekly podcast here:
Home Office criticised over ‘woefully’ understated Tory asylum budgets
The Home Office has been accused of submitting “woeful” budget figures under successive Conservative ministers – which officials knew understated the ballooning cost of asylum and illegal immigration spending.
In a report partially vindicating Rachel Reeves’s claim that the new Labour government inherited a far worse financial situation than initially thought, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) thinktank suggested the Home Office had repeatedly lowballed its budget estimates.
It found ministers knew budgets it had submitted were insufficient and habitually drew on Treasury contingency reserves, a practice that one Labour source described as “like the wild west”.
Labour said it was proof the previous government had “covered up” the extent of the crisis in the asylum system and that ministers “ran away from the problem”.
Government sources said the IFS had now shown “in black and white” that there was a black hole in the public finances that was previously unknown.
“This is entirely consistent with the situation we have found in government,” one said. “Previously ministers had no regard at all for value for money, it is a really serious dereliction of duty.”
Analysing three years of financial records, the IFS found the Home Office had told parliament at the start of each year it needed an average £110m to cover the UK’s asylum, border, visa and passport operations. However, it ended up spending vastly more: an average of £2.6bn a year.
“The Home Office has got into the bad habit of submitting initial budgets to parliament that it knows to be insufficient, in the expectation of a top-up from the Treasury’s contingency reserve later in the financial year,” it said.
You can read the full piece here:
Tributes paid to outgoing SDLP leader Colum Eastwood
Tributes have been paid to outgoing SDLP leader Colum Eastwood. The Foyle MP is to formally announce his decision to resign in his native Derry later.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson wished Eastwood well on Thursday morning as he prepares to pass on the baton of leadership. “He’ll continue to champion Foyle in Westminster and as before, we will work together on mutually benefiting Northern Ireland,” Robinson posted on the social media network X.
As @columeastwood prepares to pass on the baton of leadership, I wish him well. He’ll continue to champion Foyle in Westminster and as before, we will work together on mutually benefitting Northern Ireland.
— Gavin Robinson (@GRobinsonDUP) August 29, 2024
Fianna Fáil TD Jim O’Callaghan praised Eastwood as having led the SDLP “with distinction during very challenging times”. He added:
He was a strong leader of nationalist Ireland, following in the great tradition of Hume and Mallon. I wish him well in the future and hope he remains actively involved in politics.”
Eastwood became the party’s youngest ever leader in 2015, having taken over from Alasdair McDonnell after a leadership contest that he won by fewer than 40 votes. The 41-year-old also previously served as the mayor of Derry.
Following reports of Eastwood’s decision on Wednesday night, former Northern Ireland secretary Julian Smith said on social media:
Really sorry to read that Colum Eastwood is stepping down from the SDLP. Whilst many differences on many issues, he is an exceptional communicator and I am certain will remain a key player in the UK and Ireland political fray. Ar aghaidh! [Forward!]”
Really sorry to read that @columeastwood is stepping down from @SDLPlive. Whilst many differences on many issues, he is an exceptional communicator & I am certain will remain a key player in the UK & Ireland political fray. ar aghaidh!
— Julian Smith (@JulianSmithUK) August 28, 2024
SDLP councillor Séamas de Faoite said Eastwood gave leadership and voice to the party’s vision and values “during the chaotic Brexit years”.
He added:
The foundation of the New Ireland Commission has helped us to chart a path towards a country free from the divisions of sectarianism, poverty and partition.
Colum secured the first NI Assembly majority for equal marriage. He helped to bring about real progressive change in SDLP policy so we could truly be a party of civil rights again.
He helped to bring forward more women, young people, LGBT+ and ethnic minority local leaders.”
Eastwood’s decision to step down follows shortly after the announcement that UUP leader Doug Beattie will also be leaving his post.
Updated
Keir Starmer continues UK-EU 'reset' effort with Emmanuel Macron talks in Paris
Keir Starmer will continue efforts to build bridges with European leaders as he holds talks with French president Emmanuel Macron on Thursday.
The prime minister travelled from Berlin to Paris as he undertakes two days of meetings designed to show the UK wants to “reset” its relationship with the EU after years of Brexit troubles.
Starmer and Macron were among the audience at the Paralympic Games opening ceremony on Wednesday evening.
This morning, Starmer will attend a breakfast meeting with French business leaders and a summit with Macron at the Élysée Palace.
On the first leg of his trip, Starmer said he was not “reversing Brexit” as he set out plans for a new treaty with Germany – including “deeper links” in several areas.
He agreed that a deal with Germany would be in place by the end of the year after talks with counterpart Olaf Scholz, and also noted it was a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity. The two countries also agreed to develop a “joint action plan to tackle illegal migration”.
Starmer said:
I’m absolutely clear that we do want a reset. I have been able to repeat that here today, a reset with Europe, a reset with the EU.
That does not mean reversing Brexit or re-entering the single market or the customs union, but it does mean a closer relationship on a number of fronts, including the economy, including defence, including exchanges, but we do not have plans for a youth mobility scheme.”
An agreement on youth mobility has been suggested by Brussels and could be a key demand in any negotiations. But that could be seen as a step towards the restoration of free movement and Starmer said he had “clear red lines” ahead of talks with the EU on the future relationship.
Updated
Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said reports of government plans to ban smoking in some outdoor areas “have understandably caused concern across the sector”.
He said:
This raises the critical question: Are we on the brink of becoming a nanny state? What is next?
While these measures may rightly be driven by public health considerations, they risk dividing opinion and imposing yet another regulatory burden on businesses already facing considerable challenges.
At a time when our industry desperately needs the freedom to trade, the last thing we need is further barriers.
Although many will not be personally affected by these potential changes, it’s important to recognise that 6.4 million people in the UK still smoke, many of whom enjoy doing so in social settings like beer gardens. These leaked regulations could significantly impact their lifestyle choices and the businesses that serve them.
As we consider the implications of these potential restrictions, we must question whether such an approach is truly in the public interest, or whether it risks over-regulation at the cost of personal freedom and business viability.”
Reem Ibrahim, acting director of communications at the Institute of Economic Affairs thinktank, said:
Banning outdoor smoking would be another nail in the coffin for the pub industry. The government’s own impact assessment concluded that banning smoking outdoors will lead to pub closures and job losses.
Pubs and other private venues should be able to determine their own outdoor smoking rules – just as they should be allowed to decide whether to play music, serve food or show football on TV.
Smoking rates are already declining in the UK, in large part due to smokers switching to safer alternatives to combustible cigarettes.
The government should look to countries like Sweden, which has attained the lowest prevalence of smoking in the world not by implementing nanny state measures like this proposal, but by allowing adults to choose safer and healthier products.”
Keir Starmer is in Paris today. The PA news agency report that the prime minister has met Paralympics GB athletes at their prep camp in Saint-German-en-Laye, west Paris.
Starmer spoke to coaches Maria Adey and Pamela Robson, before meeting shotputters Aled Davies and Funmi Oduwaiye and javelin thrower Ben Pembroke.
According to the PA news agency, they discussed their preparation for the Paralympics, disabled people’s access to sport and inspiring the next generation before Davies and Oduwaiye demonstrated shotputting technique for the prime minister.
Farage and Jenrick criticise reported plans to extend smoking ban to outdoor spaces
On the Sun report that smoking could be banned in pub gardens, outdoor restaurants, outside hospitals and at sports grounds in the UK under tighter restrictions being considered by ministers, according to leaked documents, here is some more reaction:
The Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, told the Sun: “It’ll be the end of pubs.”
The Conservative party leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick told the newspaper: “The last thing this country needs is thousands more pubs closing. Our country faces huge challenges. Why is Starmer focusing on this nonsense?”
The move has reportedly sparked cabinet tensions, with memos showing the Department for Business and Trade fearing the financial cost to hospitality. Many landlords have been forced to close since the Covid crisis because of rising costs and taxes.
But Keir Starmer is said to have resolved to press ahead with the outdoor ban, with the backing of England’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty.
Stewart Wood, a former adviser to the former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown, told BBC’s Newsnight:
There’s a difference between smoking outside and walking in a forest and smoking outside where there are large groups of people, particularly children, concentrated, like restaurants, like pub gardens, like football matches.”
Updated
Dr Layla McCay, of the NHS Confederation, has said she is “heartened” to see that progress is being made on abolishing smoking.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme:
I’m obviously in favour of measures that help abolish smoking, we have seen from the previous government and from this current government, and indeed from wider society, this strong commitment to move towards abolishing smoking, it is absolutely the health challenge of our time.
It’s the leading cause of preventable illness in the UK. So, we are heartened to see that progress is being made and that the intention is moving forward to really address one of Britain’s main drivers of health inequalities.”
She added:
Ultimately, all of these steps are steps in the same journey, which is towards a smoke-free future for Britain, reducing those health inequalities, reducing the huge problems that are caused to the individual and to society from smoking.
So, it’s not surprising but in this journey there will be different types of decisions, and there will be hard decisions that need to be made.
I think that, as a society, we do recognise that this is the right direction of travel, that has been very clear for many years.”
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade group UKHospitality, has said any plans to ban smoking in some outdoor areas should be “thought through very carefully before we damage businesses and economic growth and jobs”.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme:
I’m not sure at this point in time what the proposals are for banning smoking in public places and outdoors, but it would seem sensible for us to be able to look at that more carefully and think about that in due course, after we’ve taken some of these other steps that could be looked at.
This is not without economic harm, and it’s not without economic cost to businesses that are providing outside areas for smokers and non-smokers, and also vapers, because I note in some of the reports there’s suggestions that vaping in outside areas could also be restricted.
So, this needs to be thought through very carefully before we damage businesses and economic growth and jobs.”
Nicholls added that there has been “big investment” in outside areas for smokers and non-smokers since the coronavirus pandemic, saying a ban would be a “significant hit”.
Smoking could be banned in UK’s pub gardens and outdoor restaurants
Smoking could be banned in pub gardens, outdoor restaurants, outside hospitals and at sports grounds in the UK under tighter restrictions being considered by ministers, according to leaked documents.
The measures are being proposed as part of a tougher version of the previous government’s tobacco and vapes bill, which would prohibit the sale of tobacco to those born on or after January 2009, the Sun reports.
Secret Whitehall papers confirmed plans to extend the indoor smoking ban, despite some opposition within government, the newspaper said.
It added that under the proposals lighting up would also be banned at open-air spaces at clubs and restaurants, and pavements next to both, as well as outside universities, children’s play areas and small parks.
Ministers could also target vapers as well as shisha bars, it said. The restrictions will not cover private homes or large open spaces, such as parks, or streets.
The tobacco and vapes bill was introduced in parliament earlier this year but fell when the general election was called. Last month’s king’s speech promised to reintroduce legislation to increase progressively the age at which people can buy cigarettes, though made no mention of an outdoor ban.
You can read the full article here:
Good morning, and welcome to today’s blog, bringing you the latest news across the UK’s political scene.
Following Keir Starmer’s meeting yesterday with German chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Germans are continuing to highlight their enthusiasm for a youth mobility deal.
Germany’s ambassador to the UK has said an agreement with the EU “should be in the British interest”.
Miguel Berger told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme:
There are many misunderstandings about what youth mobility really means. It is not freedom of movement, it has nothing to do with migration.
It means that young people, who are really those who have most lost because of Brexit, that they have the possibility to come to the European Union, to come to the United Kingdom, for a limited amount of time, and then they will leave.
So, it’s enhancing the possibilities for young people. That’s what we want. And it’s not only Germany, I can tell you all the 27 in the European Union want to enhance that.”
As PA Media reports, Berger went on:
Youth mobility should also be in the British interest. Young people from this country might want to live for a year in Berlin or in Madrid or in Paris, and the youth mobility scheme would open that possibility.”
Yesterday, in his press conference with Scholz, Starmer said there were no plans for a youth mobility deal but speaking to reporters later, he pointedly did not rule out setting up some sort of system for other link-ups, for example student exchanges.
In other developments:
Keir Starmer has told reporters in Germany of his concern that the UK could face a rise in mass far-right populism as seen in their country and France, as he said it was his mission to “inject some hope” into the country.
After his visit to Germany, Starmer will meet Emmanuel Macron this morning for bilateral talks in Paris. He arrived in the city, and met the French president, last night for the Paralympics opening ceremony.
The government is reportedly considering banning smoking in some outdoor areas to improve public health. The indoor smoking ban could be extended to cover beer gardens or outside football stadiums, according to leaked plans seen by the Sun newspaper.
The Home Office has been accused of submitting “woeful” budget figures under successive Conservative ministers – which officials knew understated the ballooning cost of asylum and illegal immigration spending. In a report partially vindicating Rachel Reeves’s claim that the new Labour government inherited a far worse financial situation than initially thought, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) thinktank suggested the Home Office had repeatedly lowballed its budget estimates.
Colum Eastwood is to quit as leader of Northern Ireland’s SDLP, PA Media news agency understands. Eastwood is expected to announce the decision when he “makes a personal statement” about his future on Thursday, a senior SDLP source said.
