UK may keep away from US tariffs that the ‘atrocity’ EU is going through as a result of Starmer has been ‘good’, Trump suggests – UK politics dwell | Politics

Donald Tusk, the Polish PM, and a former president of the European Council, has mentioned that he desires to see the UK “as shut as doable to the EU in terms of safety points”. Poland at present holds the presidency of the EU and Tusk mentioned it was his initiative to ask Keir Starmer to the dinner tonight.

That is what he mentioned (in Polish) as he arrived this morning.

I’m actually eager that, no matter Brexit and its penalties, to have the UK as shut as doable to the EU in terms of safety points, defence trade, and to seek out methods to eradicate or scale back limitations in commerce between the UK and Europe.

In the present day is the second to get as shut as doable once more.

Q: College absences are nonetheless very excessive. How lengthy will it take to show that spherical?

Phillipson says she is “deeply involved” about this. One little one in 5 shouldn’t be regulary at school. That damages their life probabilities, she says. She goes on:

That’s not one thing that we as authorities can sort out alone, though there’s lots that we’re doing. It’s about that partnership between authorities colleges and households. And after the pandemic, that growing fracturing that we’ve seen – that’s why it’s been so necessary that we’ve reset that relationship between authorities and colleges, and with the workforce, too.

When it comes to what we’re doing in the mean time, we’re investing extra in mentoring and attendance help, working with colleges that aren’t delivering what they need to to drive up attendance charges.

Q: Is it unimaginable to have a report card system for colleges with sufficient element to maintain the unions completely happy, however sufficient simplicity to make it clear to folks?

Phillipson replies:

I feel the system ought to and might do each. I feel dad and mom are greater than in a position to course of extra info than is the case at present supplied.

I feel it’s, frankly, deeply insulting to recommend that in some way dad and mom both don’t need or can’t perceive a wider vary of areas that want additional enchancment, or the place there’s actual power throughout the faculty system.

What this may also enable us to do is to not simply give attention to areas the place colleges want to enhance, and the place we’ll put additional help behind that, however alongside that, recognising the place there’s implausible work throughout the system.

Bridget Phillipson, the training secretary, is giving her speech on faculty requirements now on the Centre for Social Justice.

There’s a dwell feed right here.

In response to extracts launched upfront, she is going to defend the proposals for a brand new Ofsted system for assessing colleges. She’s going to say:

Our proposals will swap single headline grades for the wealthy, granular perception of faculty report playing cards.

Elevating the bar on what we count on from colleges, shining a light-weight on all of the areas that matter, every given their very own grade.

Figuring out excellence and rooting out efficiency that falls in need of expectations, so that folks have clearer, higher details about their native colleges.

Strikes to overtake the best way colleges are inspected in England have been criticised by headteachers and instructing unions as “demoralising” and worse than the system they’re aiming to switch, Richard Adams and Peter Walker report.

Good morning. Keir Starmer will tonight grow to be the primary British PM since Brexit to attend a European Council assembly (a dinner, as a part of an off-the-cuff EU summit), and it couldn’t have come at a harder time, as a result of it’s taking place simply as Donald Trump is unleashing tariff warfare.

Graeme Wearden is overlaying the worldwide tariff story on his enterprise dwell weblog.

For the UK, a worldwide tariff warfare presents a selected problem. Pre-Brexit, the UK would simply been a number one member of the EU camp. In 2016, Brexiters argued that Britain can be higher off not aligned to any main buying and selling bloc, and that it could achieve most by having the ability to nimbly duck and weave by way of the worldwide buying and selling networks. Some Brexiters needed a simple alignment with the US, which now appears to be the official Conservative get together place, however most of them had been arguing for choose ‘n’ combine unilateralism.

Starmer is about to seek out out whether or not this Brexit state of affairs seems to be viable, whether or not, in a commerce warfare between the US and the EU, Britain can keep away from the US tariffs that Trump plans to impose on the EU whereas similtaneously reaching Labour’s purpose of bettering UK-EU commerce by easing a few of the commerce limitations which have been in place since Brexit. Or whether or not the UK has to select a facet. Or whether or not it finally ends up being crushed within the center, dropping out in each instructions.

In feedback yesterday, Trump mentioned that he was not ruling out tariffs on the UK, however he implied that he was attempting to peel Britain away from the EU, whom he described as “an atrocity”. He was talking to reporters at Andrews air drive base close to Washington, as he arrived again from Florida, and he was particularly requested concerning the UK by Nomia Iqbal, BBC’s North America correspondent. Here’s a transcript of the important thing change.

Q: Mr President, which nation shall be subsequent on tariffs? Would you take into account taxing the UK?

DT: Nicely, we’re going to see what occurs. It’ll occur

Q: With the UK?

DT: Would possibly. Let’s see how issues work out. It’d occur with them.

It should positively occur with the European Union, I can let you know that, as a result of they’ve actually taken benefit of us. We’ve over $300bn deficit. They don’t take our vehicles, they don’t take our farm merchandise, they take nearly nothing, and we take all the pieces from them – hundreds of thousands of vehicles, great quantities of meals and farm merchandise.

So the UK is approach out of line. And we’ll see.

[At this point Trump appears to correct himself, having said UK when he appears to have meant the EU.]

However European Union is de facto out of line. UK is out of line, however I’m positive that one, I feel that one, may be labored out.

However the European Union it’s an atrocity what they’ve performed.

Q: Prime Minister Starmer desires a more in-depth relationship with the EU.

DT: Nicely, Prime Minister Starmer has been very good. We’ve had a few conferences. We’ve had quite a few telephone calls. We’re getting alongside very nicely. We’ll see whether or not or not we are able to stability out our price range.

With the European Union, it’s $350bn deficit, so clearly one thing’s going to happen there

As is usually the case with Trump, he managed to mix the language of a youngster (“very good”, “getting alongside very nicely”) with the menace of a gangster.

In some unspecified time in the future we’ll get some type of response from Starmer, and from EU leaders, though – in public, not less than – it could be very constrained and restricted.

Jakub Krupa is overlaying the Europe-wide facets of the summit on our Europe dwell weblog

Right here is the agenda for the day.

10am: Bridget Phillipson, the training secretary, offers a speech on faculty requirements.

11.30am: Downing Avenue holds a foyer briefing.

2.30pm: Liz Kendall, the work and pensison secretary, takes questions within the Commons.

Afternoon: Keir Starmer holds a gathering with the Nato secretary normal at Nato HQ in Brussels. They’re resulting from maintain press convention at 3.40pm UK time.

3.30pm: The Dwelling Builders Federation and the Nationwide Housing Federation give proof to the Commons public accounts committee concerning the cladding scandal.

Night: Starmer has dinner with EU leaders on the Palais d’Egmont in Brussels.

If you wish to contact me, please submit a message under the road or message me on social media. I can’t learn all of the messages BTL, however in case you put “Andrew” in a message aimed toward me, I’m extra more likely to see it as a result of I seek for posts containing that phrase.

If you wish to flag one thing up urgently, it’s best to make use of social media. You’ll be able to attain me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X however particular person Guardian journalists are there, I nonetheless have my account, and in case you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I’ll see it and reply if crucial.

I discover it very useful when readers level out errors, even minor typos. No error is just too small to right. And I discover your questions very fascinating too. I can’t promise to answer to all of them, however I’ll attempt to reply to as many as I can, both BTL or generally within the weblog.