Minister defends Rachel Reeves’ China journey amid market turmoil – UK politics stay | Politics

Prof Alexis Jay to seem earlier than Commons Dwelling Affairs committee on 21 January

No 10 insists UK has enough power provide regardless of ‘concerningly low’ fuel storage ranges

Jillian Ambrose

Denyer: ‘leaders are sleepwalking’ after information exhibits hottest 12 months on document

Labour’s MP for Mid & South Pembrokeshire, Henry Tufnell, has simply issued an extended assertion saying he has been “deeply saddened” by what he referred to as “deceptive and inflammatory claims” about his participation within the parliamentary vote on Wednesday.

Conservatives tried to kill the federal government’s youngster wellbeing and colleges invoice by tabling an modification that will pressure a nationwide grooming and rape gangs inquiry, blocking the invoice on the similar time. The modification was defeated by 364 votes to 111, a majority of 253.

Tufnell, in a collection of posts to social media, mentioned:

Let me be completely clear: the security of kids and making certain justice for victims of those appalling crimes is a trigger I maintain extremely near my coronary heart.

The current vote was not about turning a blind eye or denying justice to victims of grooming gangs. It was about making certain that our efforts to sort out these heinous crimes are targeted and efficient.

Over the previous 10 years, a number of thorough investigations – together with the Alexis Jay Report into youngster exploitation in Rotherham and the unbiased inquiry into youngster sexual abuse – have highlighted systemic failings and led to vital reforms within the justice system.

If there may be consensus from victims or survivors calling for a brand new inquiry, we should hear fastidiously. Any choice on additional investigations must be knowledgeable by their voices and desires, making certain that it provides worth to the work already carried out and delivers significant outcomes.

What issues most is motion. Many suggestions from current inquiries stay unfulfilled, and it’s crucial that we prioritise implementing these adjustments to guard susceptible kids and produce perpetrators to justice. We can not permit delays or rhetoric to face in the way in which.

This isn’t about scoring factors; it’s about standing up for victims, holding establishments accountable, and making certain the load of the regulation is utilized to those that commit such horrific crimes. I stay dedicated to those ideas and can proceed to work for justice for all.

Let’s stay targeted on what really issues: delivering justice for victims and survivors, and making certain that kids and girls in our communities are secure from hurt.

Earlier this morning a brand new YouGov ballot, commissioned by the Girls’s Coverage Centre, reported that 76% of British individuals want to see a brand new nationwide inquiry. That has been picked up on social media by the Reform UK chief Nigel Farage in addition to shadow residence secretary Chris Philp.

Philp, who endured a torrid time when being interviewed by Cathy Newman on Channel 4 on Wednesday over his earlier silence on the difficulty in parliament, posted to social media to say “Victims, independent-minded Labour figures comparable to Andy Burnham, and now the general public. All are saying the identical factor. Starmer and the Labour authorities ought to hear and maintain the correct nationwide Inquiry we want.”

Downing Avenue has issued read-outs of two diplomatic calls that prime minister Keir Starmer has had at present, with Kristen Michal the prime minister of Estonia and with president Alexander Stubb of Finland.

Each read-outs are broadly comparable, stating that Starmer mentioned with them the problems of undersea cable safety and help for Nato and Ukraine.

The read-outs additionally explicitly talked about Starmer’s need for a “reset” of relations with the EU, stating that with Stubb “the leaders mentioned the UK’s EU reset, and talked about ambitions for nearer financial and safety ties between the UK and the EU,” whereas with Michal the main target was “on ambitions for an excellent stronger relationship via the UK’s reset with the EU.”

Plaid Cymru is constant its marketing campaign at present for cash it claims is owed to the Welsh funds over the HS2 railway.

Chief Rhun ap Iorwerth mentioned “Wales’ look forward to HS2 money epitomises how Westminster ignores our wants. Labour used to agree that £4b is owed to us, however now in energy, they’re solely asking for £350m! The uplift should include each £ we’re owed, in any other case it’s additional proof that solely Plaid Cymru stands up for Wales.”

Regardless of not one of the deliberate HS2 route or work being in Wales, it was designated as an England and Wales venture, which means the Welsh authorities was excluded from further transport funding that was made obtainable to Scotland and Northern Eire.

Earlier at present Sky Information reported that first minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan, was anticipating to see “some uplift when it comes to rail infrastructure and financing” for Wales from the federal government in Westminster.

Sky quoted a authorities supply saying Labour is making efforts to “repair” the “historic underinvestment in rail in Wales, exacerbated by HS2”.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson has mentioned No 10 wouldn’t “mandate” postponement of native elections in England, however would work “collaboratively” with councils.

PA Media quotes them saying:

We now have set out earlier than that any postponed elections will solely be thought-about on the request of the native authorities concerned, so this is not going to be mandated by the federal government. As a substitute we’ll work collaboratively with them to make sure any postponement is aligned to making sure that it suits with reorganisation and devolution in probably the most formidable timeframe.

Ministers introduced a serious redesign of native authorities in December, the place smaller district councils and bigger county councils might be merged to create unitary authorities that deal with all companies.

Deputy prime minister and native authorities minister Angela Rayner advised a choose committee listening to this week that it will be “ludicrous” for councils to carry elections in the event that they had been planning mergers.

The Liberal Democrats have accused Conservative-held areas within the south of England regarded as contemplating election delays of operating scared after the Lib Dems made vital positive factors in these areas in final 12 months’s common election. [See 10.45]

Inexperienced Celebration of England and Wales co-leader Carla Denyer has posted on social media to ship birthday greeting to local weather activist Gaie Delap.

Within the message Denyer mentioned:

Sending solidarity and birthday needs to Gaie Delap, a peaceable local weather protester who’s spending her 78th birthday behind bars – all as a result of the personal firm accountable for becoming digital tags couldn’t discover one the precise measurement for her. Will preserve pushing for her launch.

Delap, a retired trainer and a Quaker from Bristol, was jailed in August, together with 4 co-defendants, for her half in a marketing campaign of disruptive Simply Cease Oil protests on the M25 in November 2022.

She was launched in November to serve the remainder of her sentence below a house detention curfew. However the personal firm contracted to suit the tag to Delap was unable to connect one to her ankle due to a well being situation and didn’t have a tag obtainable sufficiently small to suit wrists her measurement.

Davey: UK economic system is ‘flying blind’ with chancellor and BoE governor overseas

Public and Industrial Providers (PCS) union common secretary Fran Heathcote has responded the reviews that chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering additional public spending cuts.

Heathcote mentioned:

If the Chancellor comes for our members’ jobs, and the companies they supply, we’ll struggle her each step of the way in which. She can be committing an unforgivable mistake by forcing civil servants to pay for a monetary state of affairs not of their making.

Fourteen years of austerity tells us you’ll be able to’t lower your approach to development. The federal government must be taxing those that can afford it, not taking away pay from those that can not.

In addition to making one other intervention on requires a nationwide public inquiry on grooming and rape gangs, Kemi Badenoch has printed a marketing campaign video this morning accusing the Labour celebration of “an ideological assault on schooling” and “academic vandalism.”

Within the clip Badenoch is seen visiting the old fashioned of chancellor Rachel Reeves, Harris Ladies’ Academy Bromley. The Tory chief says:

I’m actually frightened about what Labour goes to do to our colleges. Their new colleges invoice goes to unravel the entire good work that we did, and the entire good work that the earlier Labor governments did as effectively.

They’ll cease new free colleges. They’ll take away the liberty that good colleges should broaden. They’re going to take away the liberty that academies should pay their lecturers extra, they usually’re going to make schooling worse on this nation

What Labour is doing is an ideological assault on schooling. It’s being led by union coverage, not by what is nice for pupils, for lecturers or for folks. That is academic vandalism, and Conservatives are going to struggle it each step of the way in which, as a result of what we imagine in is what is correct for youngsters, not what is correct for politicians.

Training is a devolved coverage space.

Conservative opposition chief Kemi Badenoch has once more posted to social media her requires a nationwide public inquiry into grooming and rape gangs, selecting up on Andy Burnham’s feedback.

Within the publish, Badenoch mentioned “The federal government’s line is crumbling. Even Labour Mayor, Andy Burnham is aware of there must be a public inquiry into the rape gangs. It may be an inquiry that will get solutions shortly. It may draw on current work and it may possibly additionally COMPEL witnesses to attend and provides proof UNDER OATH.”

Our North of England correspondent Hannah Al-Othman has simply written this report on the feedback by the Higher Manchester mayor: Andy Burnham joins requires ‘restricted’ nationwide inquiry into sexual abuse gangs

On Wednesday at PMQs prime minister Keir Starmer mentioned of Badenoch “The chief of the opposition has been an MP, I believe for eight years, her celebration have been in authorities for seven and a half of these eight years. She was the youngsters’s minister. She was the ladies’s equalities minister. I can’t keep in mind her, I can’t recall her as soon as elevating this situation in the home, as soon as calling for a nationwide inquiry.

“It’s solely in current days she’s jumped on the bandwagon. In equity, if I’m flawed about that and she or he has raised it, then I invite her to say that now, and I’ll fortunately withdraw the comment that she hasn’t raised it on this home within the eight years that she’s been right here till at present.”

As a part of her interview spherical this morning, Tradition secretary Lisa Nandy was requested whether or not her personal division could be a primary goal for any additional spending cuts the chancellor deemed crucial. Nandy was defensive of her temporary, saying on the BBC Radio 4 Immediately programme:

I actually wish to push again on this concept that this authorities sees arts, tradition, media and sport as a pleasant to have.

We’ve put it on the coronary heart of the commercial technique, one in all eight industries that we’re going to put rocket boosters below, as a result of we imagine that provides the very best probability for development, jobs and residing requirements throughout the UK.

She additionally defended closing the Nationwide Citizen Service (NCS) for younger individuals, saying it was a “very troublesome choice” however including:

It’s been a programme that has benefited loads of younger individuals, however at a time when there’s a disaster afflicting the younger era, we don’t imagine that we will justify spending cash on a 4 week programme over the summer season for a wide range of younger individuals, fairly than gripping the challenges that they face.

The NCS was launched in 2011 by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition authorities, and was closely supported by David Cameron, who later served on the NCS Belief’s patrons’ board after leaving No 10. It has been subjected to repeated criticism of the way in which funding was allotted and the variety of youngsters it managed to contain.

The Liberal Democrats have gone on the assault this morning in opposition to the Conservatives over ideas that Conservative-held areas might request delays to native elections in England.

Native elections are resulting from happen in 21 county council areas in England in Might, however no less than 12 of them are poised to ask ministers for a delay.

Angela Rayner, the native authorities secretary, has given councils till Friday to request that their elections be delayed in order that they’ll discover the potential for restructuring their native authority as a part of devolution plans.

Liberal Democrats have accused the Conservatives of “operating scared”, mentioning that councils apparently bidding for delays are in locations the place the celebration made positive factors in opposition to the Tories within the common election final 12 months.

Deputy chief Daisy Cooper mentioned:

The Liberal Democrats made sweeping positive factors in opposition to the Conservatives on the common election, from Devon to Surrey. Now Conservative councils are operating scared and trying to delay these native elections, to keep away from voters appalled with their document of failure.

This try and silence the voice of tens of millions is a scandal. Democracy delayed is democracy denied. The Liberal Democrats will preserve combating to make sure these elections go forward in Might as deliberate.

The celebration additionally made a dig at opposition chief Kemi Badenoch, with a Liberal Democrat supply accusing her of sitting on her palms, saying “Kemi Badenoch is bottling it and attempting to cancel these native elections as a result of she’s petrified of extra Lib Dem positive factors and a Conservative collapse that will threaten her management.

“She might step in and ask Conservative councils to not delay, as an alternative she’s sat on her palms. It’s unhappy to see this so-called defender of free speech now refusing to offer voters a voice.”

The opening of the UK’s first safer medication consumption room can be a “vital step ahead” in efforts to sort out drug issues in Scotland, John Swinney has mentioned.

The First Minister was talking as he toured the Thistle Centre in Glasgow’s east finish, which is because of open on Monday.

PA Media reviews Swinney mentioned that whereas the “first of its sort” centre is not going to be a “silver bullet”, it’ll complement different motion being taken to sort out the issue of deaths from drug misuse.

The SNP chief mentioned:

Each dying associated to drug misuse is one too many, and drug deaths in Scotland stay far too excessive.

Scotland’s public well being and human rights-based method to tackling drug misuse means we’re targeted on making certain our healthcare companies are usually not solely listening to individuals, but additionally drawing on their experiences as we work to help them.

Earlier at present my colleague Libby Brooks had this report on the opening of the centre, the place a number of the most susceptible addicts will be capable of take their very own medication in a clear and secure atmosphere below the supervision of well being professionals.

Kiran Stacey