General election 2024: Starmer calls for closer ties with EU as Abbott ‘stopped from standing for Labour’
Rachel Reeves recalls how mother’s upbringing influenced Labour economic policies as the general election campaigns continue for a sixth day
Sir Keir Starmer has called for closer ties with the European Union as Diane Abbott will reportedly be banned from standing as a Labour candidate at the upcoming general election.
Speaking on the general election campaign trail in Hertfordshire today, the Labour leader said: “I do think that we can get a better deal with the EU than the one we’ve got … So we’ve got to take that on – a closer relationship.” He cited trade, defence and security, and education as areas with “huge scope for closer work”.
It comes as Sir Keir said Labour’s National Executive Committee will decide whether Ms Abbott, the longest-serving Black MP, will be able to stand for the party in the 4 July general election – as it emerged a party investigation into her finished five months ago.
The PA news agency understands Ms Abbott was given back the Labour whip on Tuesday after she was suspended last April over comments she made on racism – but The Times is reporting that the party leadership has already decided to stop the 70-year-old from standing.
Key Points
MPs call for urgent reform of government culture to make the UK ‘fit for future’
A government committee has called for an “urgent reform” of government culture to improve strategic decision making and make UK “fit for the future”.
The House of Commons Liaison Committee, made up of MPs who chair Commons select committees, has released a report detailing how the government can improve strategic thinking and future-proof decision making for generations to come.
The report said the government should develop a physical campus for a “National School for Government and Public Services”.
Vans with digital display boards suggesting that MPs may be about to lose their jobs drive near to the House of Commons on 28 February 2024 in London, England (Getty Images)
The committee said having a physical campus would create “a ‘network effect’ of civil servants across departments, enabling more effective collaboration in future”.
This would “embed cultural change in Whitehall” and develop a shared culture of strategic thinking and break the cycle of short-term thinking.
The committee heard evidence that younger generations are becoming “detached from democracy” and are more open to authoritarianism, with the failure to address long-term issues like housing and climate change leading to a disengagement with the political system.
Liaison Committee chairman Sir Bernard Jenkin said: “Getting parliament and government to be more strategic than they have been over the past 20 or 30 years is vital to restoring public confidence in our entire democratic system, particularly among younger generations who will inherit the consequences of what governments do now.
“The next government should seize this offer from parliament to support and scrutinise strategic thinking for the future.”
Sir Keir says Sunak is ‘in the changing room’ on net-zero
Sir Keir Starmer said Rishi Sunak is “in the changing room” on net-zero.
He said: “Whether it’s onshore or offshore, floating offshore wind is incredible engineering that is taking place, hydrogen, there is a race in the world for the next generation of jobs in renewables.
“And that race – European countries are out in that race, the US is out in that race, and Rishi Sunak’s in the changing room.”
Asked about electric car-charging infrastructure Sir Keir said during his visit to Airbus in Stevenage: “The grid has got to be fixed.”
The Labour leader added: “The grid has to change and at pace, but what we can’t do, I really feel this strongly, is simply push the date back.
“Because with electric vehicles, if all you do is say ‘there’s a problem with charging, therefore push the date back of electric vehicles’, all you do is not fix the problem because you need to have a target, a date when this is going to happen by.”
He added: “So we’ve got to rise to the challenge. We’ve got to do this. I genuinely believe this is the biggest opportunity that we’ve got for the next generation of jobs and we’ve got to take it because these are high-skill, valuable, secure jobs of the future.”
Politicians must commit to building 90,000 social homes a year, urge campaigners
Political parties must commit to building a new generation of social homes to end the housing emergency, according to a coalition of charities, businesses and campaigners.
An open letter with a range of signatories including Grenfell United, The Health Foundation and Ikea is urging a “mass social housebuilding programme” and emphasising the positive impact social rent homes can have on those who grow up in them.
Housing charities are re-stating their long-called-for commitment to build 90,000 social homes a year.
File: Pedestrians walk past homeless man James in his spot on High Street opposite Windsor Castle, in Windsor, west of London (AFP via Getty Images)
The letter comes as new survey findings from Shelter suggested that almost three quarters (70 per cent) of social tenants said they could not afford to live in their local area were it not for their access to social housing.
A total of 2,041 social renters in England responded to the research, with 412 of those having moved from a privately rented home in the previous 10 years, the charity said.
The polling, carried out by YouGov for Shelter in April, suggested that more than two thirds (69 per cent) of parents said social housing had given their children a stable home, while 43 per cent of social tenants said it had meant they could live close to their support networks.
The letter stated: “The construction of social rent homes has fallen off a cliff. We built over 200,000 social rent homes in 1954, but last year, we delivered just 9,560. In fact, we are seeing a drastic net loss of social rent homes. In the last decade alone, our social housing stock has shrunk by hundreds of thousands.
“The lack of social housing in this country is driving a housing emergency. Across the country, 1.3 million households sit on social housing waiting lists.
“There are over 145,000 children homeless in temporary accommodation, with nowhere to play or do their schoolwork and whole families living in a single room. Meanwhile, a private renter receives a Section 21 ‘no fault’ eviction notice every three minutes.”
Action needed to protect election from AI disinformation, study says
Artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes could be used to create fake political endorsements ahead of the general election, or be used to sow broader confusion among voters, a study has warned.
Research by The Alan Turing Institute’s Centre for Emerging Technology and Security urged Ofcom and the Electoral Commission to address the use of AI to mislead the public, warning it was eroding trust in the integrity of elections.
The study said that while there was, so far, limited evidence that AI will directly impact election results, the researchers warned that there were early signs of damage to the broader democratic system, particularly through deepfakes causing confusion, or AI being used to incite hate or spread disinformation online.
Editorial: It is something of a coup for Labour to position itself as the party to boost business
In a matter of weeks, the Labour Party will, most likely, be in government after 14 years in opposition. As Rishi Sunak so often points out, they have therefore had a long time to think about policy and ideas. Mr Sunak always adds, predictably enough, that the opposition has come up with nothing – or at least “nothing new” – in the election so far. This is harsh and, fortunately, Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, seems ready to prove him wrong.
‘Saving Matheson’s skin’ would destroy public trust in politicians, Scottish Tories say
Public trust in politics and politicians is “on the line” in Holyrood, the Scottish Tories have said, as the party pushes for Michael Matheson to resign.
The former health secretary has been under pressure to stand down as an MSP after a Scottish parliament committee recommended he should be suspended for 27 days and have his salary stripped for 54 days.
Mr Matheson attempted to use expenses to cover a near-£11,000 data roaming bill racked up on his parliamentary iPad during a family holiday to Morocco.
He later admitted the costs were incurred by his children, who were using the device as a hotspot to watch football.
Today, the Scottish Tories will force a vote on his future, calling for him to resign.
It is unlikely the motion will pass, however, with the Scottish Greens not expected to support it and party MSP Ross Greer describing it as “cynical”.
General election bid is an itch I need to scratch even at 61, says Iain Dale
Broadcaster Iain Dale said he has given up “the best job I’ve ever had” at LBC radio station in a bid to run in the General Election because “it is an itch I need to scratch”.
Dale said an emotional farewell during his show on Tuesday after 14 years with the station, because broadcast rules mean candidates in the General Election are not allowed to present radio shows.
He later discussed the announcement on his For The Many podcast with Jacqui Smith, saying it would be a “massive blow” if he was selected but did not win, but he picked himself back up after being unsuccessful in 2005.
“I’m essentially giving up the best job I’ve ever had, I’m giving up quite a good income on the chance that I might possibly be selected. A lot of people think I’ve gone stark raving mad,” he said.
“The reason I’m doing it is because it is an itch I need to scratch, even at the ripe old age of 61.”
Can Keir Starmer really be called a socialist?
As if they couldn’t think of anything more interesting to ask the leader of the Labour Party during an election campaign, Keir Starmer has been tackled on the hot topic of socialism, and whether he is a true socialist. Surprisingly, given his track record, Starmer immediately agreed that he was – though his answer was given a generous garnish of progressivism.
“Yes, I would describe myself as a socialist,” he said. “I describe myself as a progressive. I’d describe myself as somebody who always puts the country first and party second.”
It is a little disconcerting because he has dumped many of the socialist pledges he made when campaigning for the Labour leadership, and has ruthlessly expunged the Corbynite left of the party. As Private Eye editor Ian Hislop might say: if he’s a socialist, I’m a banana.
Government should’ve resolved junior doctors’ pay dispute ‘long ago’, Sir Keir says
The Government should have resolved the junior doctors’ pay dispute “long ago”, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
Taking questions at Airbus in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, the Labour leader said: “We’ve had a situation where the Government and the union have been arguing about who gets into the room first to solve this.
“We can’t have any more of that, and we would get in the room and negotiate, but also do the necessary work to take the NHS forward.”
He earlier said: “The Government should have resolved the dispute long ago. The Government’s been sitting it out for I don’t know how long.”
Earlier in May, the British Medical Association and the Department of Health and Social Care mutually agreed to explore mediation, according to online statements by both organisations.
Tara Cobham29 May 2024 02:00
