Afternoon summary
Digital ID cards present “an enormous opportunity” for the UK, Keir Starmer has said. Opposition parties have criticised the plans, and some Labour MPs have spoken out against them too. Labour’s Ian Byrne posted a message on social media saying:
Of all the worthy policies Labour could be promoting, they choose this.
Beyond tone deaf.
Deeply unpopular among my constituents and with good reason.
I will not be supporting this & will do all I can to ensure it does not become law.
But, speaking at the Global Progress Action Summit, Darren Jones, the Cabinet Office minister and chief secretary to the PM, said the plan could enable more public service reform. He explained:
If we get this digital ID system working and the public being with us, that will be the bedrock of the modern state and will allow for really quite exciting public service reform in the future.
More than 1.1m people have now signed an online parliamentary petition saying the government should scrap the plans for a digital ID scheme. The petition has been live since June, but the number of people signing only started shooting up yesterday, when it was reported that Starmer was about to confirm that plan is going ahead. The petition will be debated in parliament, but is unlikely to have much impact on government thinking.
The former leader of Reform UK in Wales has pleaded guilty to bribery charges relating to statements in favour of Russia in the European parliament. In response, the Labour minister Stephen Kinnock said:
Farage has said Putin is the politician he ‘most admires’. Now the former Reform leader in Wales has admitted taking bribes from the Kremlin to peddle pro-Moscow lies & propaganda.
We simply cannot trust these plastic patriots with our national security.
For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.
Updated
Here is Stephen Bates’ obituary of Menzies Campbell.
And this is how it starts.
The veteran Liberal Democrat politician Menzies Campbell, who has died aged 84, was briefly the party’s leader for 19 months from March 2006, before falling prey to a whispering campaign by colleagues claiming he was too old, at 66, for the job. Not too old, however, to serve another eight years as an MP.
Even at that age, Campbell could probably have outpaced most of his younger critics, having been a world-class sprinter in his youth and captain of the Great Britain athletics team. Closer to the truth was that he was not particularly happy or comfortable as a party leader: in an earlier era his sagacity and expertise would probably have been revered and respected but Gordon Brown, then the Labour prime minister, was a decade younger than he was, and the Tories had just elected David Cameron, who was a quarter century younger. Campbell gave way gracefully to be succeeded by Nick Clegg, nearly 26 years his junior, who at that time had been in parliament for little more than two years.
Reform UK 'hate Britain', says Darren Jones
Darren Jones, the Cabinet Office minister and chief secretary to the PM, told the Global Progress Action Summit that Reform UK hates Britain. As Sky News reports, he said:
I don’t understand why Reform hate Britain so much.
They hate the BBC, they hate the NHS - I don’t know what they think they’re going to do to actually deliver for the people of our country.
While Conservatives in London seem to be not totally opposed to Labour’s digital ID scheme (see 1.57pm), in Scotland their position is less nuanced. This is from Russell Findlay, the Scottish Conservative leader:
Labour’s digital ID plan strikes at the heart of individual freedom and our fundamental right to privacy.
It is an over-the-top attempt at state control and it is blatant overreach by Sir Keir Starmer.
In a desperate bid to distract from the chaos in the Labour party, he is putting forward a nonsensical plan that won’t work.
Reputable employers already check their workers’ ID before hiring and the state already collects enough data on citizens for passports and other documents.
Starmer’s state control plan will cost a fortune, but it won’t bring down immigration one bit.
Anas Sarwar [the Scottish Labour leader] should show some backbone, call out the severe flaws in this plan and tell Sir Keir Starmer to ditch it.
Reform UK’s ex-leader in Wales Nathan Gill pleads guilty to bribery charges
The former leader of Reform UK in Wales has pleaded guilty to bribery charges relating to statements in favour of Russia in the European parliament, Jamie Grierson reports.
Further to the post at 3.08pm about the Socialist Education Association endorsing Lucy Powell for deputy Labour leader, not Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, the GMB union has been in touch to say it has more than 100,000 members working in the education sector and it has decided to endorse Phillipson.
Reeves says Labour will be consigned to 'total irrelevance' if it lets borrowing get out of control
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has been speaking at the Global Progress Action Summit. Rachel Sylvester, the Observer political editor chairing her session, asked her if it was time to tell the voters that the promises made at the election (about not raising income tax, national insurance and VAT) no longer applied.
Reeves did not seem to accept the proposition – although in a long answer she seemed more keen to rule out relaxing government borrowing rules, an idea loosely floated by Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, in an interview this week.
She replied:
It was a key part of our manifesto that we would stabilise the economy, that we would bring back some economic, fiscal order to the economy.
Some people did think that that was just for an election and that, once we’re in government, that somehow those rules can be relaxed.
I did relax the fiscal rules last year. We said we would balance day-to-day spending with tax receipts and that would get that debt down as a share of the economy, but that, subject to those things, we would invest in those things to grow the economy.
As a result, we’ve been able to invest something like £120bn extra over the spending review period on big capital projects.
But there are limits to what government can do. At the moment our debt to GDP ratio is basically 100%, just under, and £1 in every £10 that the government spends is on servicing the debt interest, on the debts racked up not by us but by the previous government.
I don’t think there’s anything progressive about spending one in every £10 of government money on interest, often to foreign hedge funds and investors.
Reeves said there were only two ways to reduce this: by getting the debt down, and by bringing down interest rates.
She also said the government had to show how it would make “the sums at up”.
Some people think that is in tension with our Labour, our social democratic, values. I would argue the exact opposite. There’s nothing progressive about seeing interest rates go up again.
In what may have been a reference to Burnham, Reeves also said that if the government just borrowed more, it would end up like Liz Truss’s administration.
No one can accuse me of not accepting that there are tradeoffs. But that’s why there are people who are unhappy.
But if you pretend there aren’t trade offs, then we’re going to go the same way that Liz Truss went, and that is crashing the economy, putting pensions in peril, sending mortgage rates spiralling and not just losing elections, but being consigned to total irrelevance, which is where the Conservatives are today.
Asked again about tax rises, Reeves said the government had to deal with the situation it was in. The last Labour government inherited a debt to GDP ratio of less than 50%, she said.
I’m chancellor in the world that we are in, not in the world that we may wish it to be, and I have to make those trade offs.
Reeves said she had a plan, and would “not be dragged off course by every siren call”.
In what may have been a second reference to Burnham, she said:
I’ll stick to that plan, to grow the economy and to stabilise the public finances because I know it’s the right thing to do.
Of course, other things are available – I’m not sure if I would call them plans – other options are available, but we’ve tried that way before and that is what has got us into the mess we’re in today.
Reeves got a round of applause for this answer.
Digital ID will make it easier for firms to take on new workers, Recruitment and Employment Confederation says
A digital ID scheme will make hiring workers easier, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. Its chief executive, Neil Carberry, put out this statement about the government’s plans.
We use digital ID every day, from paying on our phones to travel and event tickets. There is no reason that the state should fall behind. By providing ID documents it already supplies digitally, the government can unlock faster job starts, and lower administration burdens in our labour market – as well as a faster, more accurate benefits system. This gives us a more fluent and dynamic job market – just what you need to achieve economic growth.
Updated
Rowena Mason is the Guardian’s Whitehall editor.
Members of Labour’s only education affiliate have decided not to back the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, for the deputy leadership - opting for Lucy Powell instead.
The Socialist Education Association’s executive committee said the result in favour of Powell “has to be seen in the context of frustration with the current Labour leadership as is borne out by similar results in Disability Labour and the Socialist Health Association”.
It went on:
We surmise our members want education reforms to go further and faster. Also they were all aware that Bridget ignored the executive committee’s request to appear in a brief online hustings and did not give written answers to two questions we put to the candidates.
Lucy Powell on the other hand complied. We hope this setback leads to a new positive relationship between the SEA and the education front bench where we respect each other’s differences and exchange ideas to build an education service which benefits all our children.
UPDATE: The GMB union has been in touch to say it has more than 100,000 members working in the education sector and it has decided to endorse Phillipson.
Updated
Tony Blair and other leader politicians pay tribute to former Lib Dem leader Menzies Campbell
Tony Blair has joined those paying tribute to Menzies (known as Ming) Campbell, the former Liberal Democrat leader who has died.
Peter Walker’s story includes tributes from Ed Davey, Gordon Brown and John Swinney.
Here are some more tributes.
From Tony Blair, the former PM
Ming Campbell was one of the most honourable and decent people in politics, liked and respected across the political spectrum.
He was a true Liberal who supported the New Labour government through its constitutional reforms, was a staunch advocate of multilateral institutions and was a colleague you could trust and work with.
From Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader
Very saddened to hear of Sir Menzies Campbell’s passing. Though we were not in Parliament at the same time, he always stood out as a man of principle, integrity and great commitment to our country. Politics is poorer for his loss.
From Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker
I was saddened to hear about the death of Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – Menzies or Ming – who I served alongside in the House of Commons for many years when he was MP for North East Fife. He was so kind, principled, incredibly active, and held with respect and esteem by all parties. I feel lucky that he was a friend to me and my father, Doug Hoyle, who he worked with on some major inquiries serving on the trade and industry committee.
From Douglas Alexander, the Scottish secretary
Deeply saddened to hear the news of Ming Campbell’s passing. I served with him in parliament for many years, enjoyed his friendship, & admired his decency, dignity & personal resilience. He was a significant son of Scotland & our public life is much the poorer for his passing.
From Tim Farron, a former Lib Dem leader
Ming Campbell was a hero of mine ever since I first became a LibDem activist back in my teens. He did the honour of appointing me his PPS when he was leader. It was a privilege to learn from him & become his friend, a wondrous thing to be able to call someone who was also a hero
From Willie Rennie, the former Scottish Lib Dem leader
This is a sad day for our party, for liberals everywhere and for me personally. Ming was a guiding light and elder statesman for so many of us.
He was an esteemed voice on foreign affairs and a true liberal at heart, embodying the values of reason, compassion, and internationalism. It was no wonder that he was often described as the best foreign secretary that the UK never had. I will miss him immensely.
Ming once told me that he was very fortunate to have had three careers in his life in sport, in law and finally in politics. What was remarkable was that he excelled in all three. That is why the slogan to secure his re-election in North East Fife - local champion with a...
...national reputation - was so successful that he won with a huge majority of votes.
From the broadcaster Michael Crick
Very sad news about the death of Ming Campbell. Such a gentleman, & a pity he didn’t lead the Lib Dems earlier when he’d have been much more effective. He captained GB athletics team in mid-60s & held the British 100m record for 7 years - ‘the fastest white man on the planet’.
David Blunkett, a Labour home secretary under Tony Blair, is a big enthusiast for ID cards. He told the World at One that he thought Keir Starmer should be pusing the idea more robustly.
I’m mystified because we are living in an era of conviction, high-profile, shake-the-tree politics, and this looks like a whimper.
And I’m mystified that people haven’t come out with a highly coherent view of why we need it, why it would be beneficial to individuals.
Why aren’t our people coming out and arguing this case full on? We need conviction politics now and we need it urgently.
Speaking more generally, he also said the government should be moving faster on delivery.
We had problems back in day in terms of the civil service and delivery ... but believe me we were moving like a jaguar compared to what’s happening at the moment.
Somehow we’ve got to energise, not just the public services, but we’ve got to energise the country.
And if at my age and the problems health wise I’ve had recently ... if I can have the energy and drive, for God’s sake, all of you get off your butt and do something.
Tories oppose Labour's digital ID scheme - while also accepting case for 'proper national debate'
The Conservatives are another party ostensibly opposed to the government’s digital ID scheme, but where views are actually a bit more complicated.
Last night Kemi Badenoch, party leader, issued a statement that started:
This announcement is a desperate gimmick that will do nothing to stop the boats.
But it also went on:
There are arguments for and against digital ID, but mandating its use would be a very serious step that requires a proper national debate.
Badenoch’s position is complicated because members of her shadow cabinet have different views on this (reflecting the fact that Conservatism has always had an authoritarian wing and a liberarian wing). Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary (with authoritarian leanings) said only last month that the Tories would have to consider “very carefully” the case for backing mandatory ID cards. But Andrew Griffith, the (more libertarian) shadow business secretary, wrote an article very recently saying he was “very opposed” to a mandatory scheme.
Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, was on the Today programme this morning but floundered badly as she tried to explain quite what aspect of the Labour plan the Tories found so objectionable.
Plaid Cymru say they won't back digital ID scheme if it erodes civil liberties, or stops people accessing government services
Like the Scottish nationalists (see 1.18pm), the Welsh nationalists are also opposed to the proposed digital ID scheme – or at least what is being proposed now. Liz Saville Roberts, the Plaid Cymru leader at Westminster, said:
Plaid Cymru will not support any digital ID system that risks shutting people out of services or eroding civil liberties. Wales still has thousands of people who are digitally excluded, and no one should ever be locked out of vital services simply because they don’t have a smartphone or internet access.
IDs could reduce some of the paperwork people face to access everyday services, but we are not convinced the UK government’s plans are really about making things easier. We are concerned about data security, and we will oppose any system that risks making monetising sensitive personal data for private companies or making it more vulnerable to cyberattacks.
This comment is more equivocal than the Liberal Democrat statement opposing the digital ID scheme. (See 1.06pm). Plaid seem to be saying that, with the right concessions or assurances, they could withdraw their oppositon to the plan.
Digital ID 'not a BritCard, and isn't even a card', says Scottish secretary Douglas Alexander
John Swinney referred to the digital ID card as a BritCard because this is term used by the Labour Together thinktank when it produced a report proposing this idea. The submission seems to have influenced government thinking. (See 1.18pm.)
But the government is not using this term. Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland this morning, Douglas Alexander, the Scottish secretary, said:
The prime minister will not be announcing a BritCard, it’s not called a BritCard, and it isn’t even a card ..
We’ve got boarding passes, train tickets, Tesco Clubcards on our phones already, and I can be very clear that you won’t be required to carry it or produce it except to prove your right to work in the United Kingdom.
So people may be inclined to try to play politics or to try and anticipate what this might or might not be, but I can give the assurance that this is not a card, it is a digital ID.
Scottish first minister John Swinney says he's opposed to digital ID cards
John Swinney, the SNP leader and Scottish first minister, has said he is opposed to the plans for digital ID cards.
I am opposed to mandatory digital ID - people should be able to go about their daily lives without such infringements.
That aside, by calling it BritCard, the Prime Minister seems to be attempting to force every Scot to declare ourselves British.
I am a Scot.
Electoral Commission rejects call to reopen Labour Together investigation
The Electoral Commission has rejected a request from the Conservatives into allegations that Labour Together, a thinktank that used to be run by Morgan McSweeney, now the PM’s chief of staff, deliberately failed to declare donations worth £739,492.
In a statement, a commission spokesperson said:
We investigated the late reporting of donations by Labour Together and published our findings in 2021.
We determined multiple offences including those relating to the late reporting of donations with a cumulative value of £739,492, as well as the failure to appoint a responsible person.
The fine was significant and reflects the seriousness of the offences determined, for which no reasonable excuse was put forward.
Earlier this week the Conservative party wrote to us with concerns that other offences had been committed. We have thoroughly reviewed this information and found no evidence of any other potential offences. We are confident that the initial determination and sanction were appropriate.
We are therefore not reopening the investigation.
Kevin Hollinrake, the Tory chair who has been trying to get not just the commission but also the police and the parliamentary commissioner for standards to investigate allegtions related to this affair, said he thought the commission had made the wrong decison. He said:
The commission must now publish all of their Morgan McSweeney files to ensure the public has full transparency.
This is not over, we will continue to reveal more evidence and continue to push for a full investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner into Keir Starmer.
A Labour party spokesperson said:
In a pathetic and desperate attempt to stay relevant, the Tories only hope is to throw mud at the wall and hope something sticks.
There isn’t a low that they won’t stoop to. They can’t be trusted and they haven’t changed.
Ed Davey says Lib Dems will fight digital ID card plan 'tooth and nail'
The Liberal Democrats have toughened up their rhetoric against digital ID cards. In a statement, Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, says:
Keir Starmer seems determined to lead a government of gimmicks - that just adds to our tax bills and bureaucracy, whilst doing next to nothing to tackle channel crossings.
Imagine if the Government devoted this much money and focus on getting GP waiting times down, or fixing social care, instead of pursuing the Labour Party’s decades long obsession with ID cards and more state control.
It is nonsensical and the Liberal Democrats will fight against it tooth and nail - just as we successfully did against Tony Blair’s ID cards.
Most of the opposition parties have come out against digital ID cards. It is not unusual for the opposition parties to oppose government policies, but arguably it is suprising in this case, because polling suggests there is majority support for the plan. Here is some More in Common polling on this from November last year.
Starmer suggests next election will be 'battle for soul of this country', between progressives and populist right
Ben Riley-Smith from the Telegraph says that during the Q&A at the Global Progress Action Summit Keir Starmer set out his thinking about the terms on which the next election will be fought. He is referring to the passage where Starmer said:
There’s a battle for the soul of this country, now, as to what sort of country do we want to be.
Riley-Smith says:
Keir Starmer just gave his clearest assessment of the next election and how the choice will be framed.
It will not be a binary ‘Labour vs Tory’ election, the PM says. (“The Conservative Party is dead” he says explicitly).
Instead it will be a “battle for the soul of the country”, with voting Labour the means to stop Nigel Farage becoming PM.
The strategy, even at this early stage, for how No 10 is expecting to frame the election is now emerging.
It looks likely voters will be told ‘the only way to stop Reform is to vote Labour’. The hope being whole swathes of voters not normally or currently backers of Labour will hold their nose and tick the red box.
This dynamic - how chunks of the electorate may well vote tactically to stop Reform - is still under-appreciated in the public discourse. And means the current polling should be taken with extra salt.
(Much may well depend on how much Farage can drain the toxicity some voters still associate with Reform and him. Notable Starmer keeps using that word this week: “toxic”.)
Starmer says his conference speech will have lots on taking on Reform. So expect more in this territory on Tuesday.
Starmer did not use the “battle for the soul of the country” phrase in his speech, but he did make the same point, arguing that the key debate in politics now is between progressives and the populist right (meaning Reform UK). He talked about that in the passage quoted at 9.52am and he also said this about the populists.
They want politics to be a choice between ‘globalists’ and ‘nationalists’.
To draw a dividing line between the ‘elites’ and the ‘people’.
In which somehow our rich story of patriotism and pride, our common cause with working people, our deep roots in the trade union movement and our communities, the desire and demand of working people for a voice in their future, is claimed by those who have nothing in common with them or their values.
Only a cynical intent to exploit their fears to benefit themselves.
That is what we’re up against.
So, we must show our politics resolutely opposed to a status quo that doesn’t deliver for working people.
The worst thing we can do is to defend the status quo, it hasn’t worked for working people.
We must be determined to deliver change in their interests.Patriotic renewal, rooted in our own national stories.
Updated
Online petition saying government should not introduce digitial ID cards heading for 900,00 signatures
An online petition on the parliamentary website saying the government should not introduce digital ID cards has attracted more than 860,000 signatures. It has gained more than 600,000 of those names since last night and the numbers are continuing to rise very quickly.
Petitions which get more than 100,000 petitions are debated in Westminster Hall at parliament, but there is little evidence that they have ever affected government decision making. More than six million people signed one calling for Brexit to be reversed.
Menzies Campbell, the long-serving Liberal Democrat MP who led the party for 18 months, has died aged 84, his family have said. Peter Walker has the story.
Albanese said in Australia his party was not letting the right “own nationalism”. He went on:
It’s a matter of not being nativist about it, but being proud of who we are and what we’re achieving.
Australian society has the oldest continuous culture on earth, in First Nations people. But we also are a multicultural society as well. We have welcomed people from all over the world. We’re all either migrants or descendants of migrants, except for First Nations people.
So we have a prime minister called Albanese, and a senate leader called Wong. That’s who we are as a modern society. And I think that is really important as well.
Carney said his core message at the election was “Canada Strong”.
He went on:
We’re building Canada Strong in a variety of ways.
And, to link it to foreign policy, [our foreign policy has] traditionally been a value-based foreign policy? We’re realizing that it’s not just the strength of our values, but the value of our strength.
Starmer said the global situation was more “fragile” than he ever expected.
When the Berlin Wall came down, he did not expect to see Russian tanks rolling across Europe again, he said.
And trade was changing too, he said. He said whether or not people agreed with tariffs, they had to accept that President Trump believed in them and was using them.
Starmer says Tommy Robinson march in London 'sent shivers down spines' of many communities across UK
Starmer said in the past the battle in the UK had been between Labour and the Conservatives.
But now the battle will be against Reform UK and Nigel Farage, he said. There was a choice between patriotic renewal, and toxic divide, he said.
He went on:
That march that we had here two weeks ago in London, in Whitehall, that sent shivers through the spines of many of our communities, well away from London, not just those in the immediate vicinity.
So there’s a battle for the soul of this country, now, as to what sort of country do we want to be.
Because that toxic divide, that decline with Reform, is built on a sense of grievance, grievance politics, identifying something real for sure, but relying on the problem existing in order for their politics to persist.
And it’s a very different choice. The choice before the electorate here at the next election is not going to be the traditonal Labour versus Conservatives. It’s why I’ve said the Conservative party is dead.
Starmer was referring to the Unite the Kingdom march in London, which was organised by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and which was joined by more than 100,000 people.
Although No 10 criticised some of the language used at the rally, particulary by Elon Musk, at the time, Starmer’s comments today go much further. Two weeks ago ministers were not describing it as a threat to minority ethnic communities across Britain.
Starmer is speaking now.
He says at the election people had not seen living standards rise for years.
There was a sense of disillusionment, he says.
So the promise of change was powerful.
He says the government has to offer growth. But it has to be growth for every area of the country.
We need to get economic growth. That is the number one passion of the government, but it’s got to be growth that is felt in every part of the country.
Kristrun Frostadottir, prime minister of Iceland, went next. She said when she took over the Social Democratic Alliance she went back to “core social democracy”, not “trying to run after identity politics”.
She went on:
A core message, coming into government, [was] delivery relatively quickly.
To be honest, I mean, the voter out there, they’re smart, they understand that hard structural changes, they take time.
But there are moments, I think, where you can prove that you’re there for the right reasons.
We put together a ministerial committee, for example, to revamp the building of nursing homes. And we just put people in a room, and we didn’t let them leave until they figured it out.
Mark Carney, the Canadian PM, told the session that a key reason for his election victory was the strong stance he was taking against President Trump, and his threats to Canada.
Anthony Albanese, the Australian PM, is speaking now. He also won an election this year, and he says having “a positive agenda” was crucial.
'You will not be able to work in UK if you don't have digital ID,' Starmer says
And Starmer ended his speech with the announcement about digital ID cards.
Today I am announcing this government will make a new, free of charge digital ID mandatory for the right to work by the end of this parliament.
Let me spell that out. You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID. It’s as simple as that.
Because decent, pragmatic, fair minded people, they want us to tackle the issues that they see around them.
Starmer says governments need to deliver good jobs, good public services and healthcare, and they need to cut regulation, so the private sector can create wealth.
Referring to a concept popular in US politics, he says some people call this abundance.
He says:
I have a different phrase for it. Social democracy.
He goes on:
But the way I see it, this is the defining political choice of our times – a politics of predatory grievance, preying on the problems of working people and using the infrastructure of division, against the politics of patriotic renewal, rooted in communities, building a better country.
Starmer says progressives must be 'resolutely opposed to status quo', which 'hasn't worked for working people'
Starmer says progressives need to take on the politics of grievance, using the passage briefed by Labour overnight. (See 9.52am.)
And he says it would be a mistake for progressives to defend the status quo.
We must show our politics resolutely opposed to the status quo … The worst thing we could do is to defend the status quo. It hasn’t worked for working people. We must be determined to deliver change in their interests.
Starmer mocks those who have depicted London as 'wasteland of anarchy'
Starmer tells the activists in the audience that he hopes that they have enjoyed their time in London. He says they will have noticed that it is not the ‘wasteland of anarchy’ that some people have claimed.
That seems to be a jibe at Donald Trump, who recently wrongly claimed sharia law was in force here.
Starmer says global election results refute claim centre-left politics 'dying out'
Starmer says the turnout at this summit today (see 9.40am) shows that centre-left parties have not been defeated by rightwing populism.
The turnout “puts paid to a story we often hear in the press these days that somehow our politics is dying out”.
Referring to the election results in Canada, and Norway, he says “centre-left parties are having quite a year so far”.
UPDATE: Starmer said:
This is a gathering of people bound by a common cause.
The patriotic renewal of our nations that is underpinned by the values of dignity and respect, equality and fairness, and the belief that social democratic means are the best way to pursue that goal.
But it’s also a room that puts paid to a story we often hear in the press these days, that somehow our politics is dying out.
And yes, we are in an era of huge challenge, but we can take heart when we look around the world, in fact we only need to look around this room.
Updated
Starmer speaks at Global Progress Action Summit
Keir Starmer is about to give his speech at the Global Progress Action Summit.
He is on a panel with Mark Carney, the Canadian PM, Kristrun Frostadottir, the Icelandic PM, and Anthony Albanese, the Australian PM, and they will all be speaking too.
There is a live feed here.
Only 'small minority' of Labour MPs unhappy with Starmer's leadership, says Sadiq Khan
Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, has said that Andy Burnham has been raising “legitimate concerns” about Keir Starmer’s leadership.
But, in a phone-in with LBC, he also said he thought only “a small minority” of Labour MPs were unhappy with Starmer’s leadership.
He said:
I think Andy’s raising legitimate concerns he has, and, you know, he’s entitled to do so.
Asked by the presenter, James O’Brien, if he thought Burnham was manoeuvring for the Labour leadership, Khan said that was “your characterisation”.
He went on:
I think we’ve got 400 MPs, so it won’t be a surprise to anybody that there may be a small minority not happy with the leadership.
I’m going to conference next week, and the joy of conference when Labour is in Government far outweighs any concerns people may have.
Khan said he had no intention of running for any other job in politics himself.
Keir Starmer hailed the “strength of our personal relationship” as he welcomed Mark Carney to a bilateral meeting on the sides of the Global Progress Action summit in London, PA Media reports. PA says:
The PM joked the only “issue we’re going to disagree on” was the women’s rugby world cup final between England and Canada on Saturday. He said: “Welcome to London, this is now your second inward bilateral.”
Starmer thanked Carney for “the way we’ve been able to work together” on Ukraine and the Middle East. He added:
On all of that we’re very close, very strong.
There’s only one issue we’re going to disagree on and that’s a certain game of rugby tomorrow.
And Carney said:
I also want to salute your leadership, Keir. In Ukraine, in the coalition of the willing, in the Middle East, more broadly in this next phase of multilaterals.
Government says it is seeking clarification as to whether UK covered by Trump's new pharma tariffs
Lisa O’Carroll is a senior Guardian correspondent covering trade.
The UK government has said it is pressing for clarification over Donald Trump’s threat to impose new 100% tariff on pharma imports.
Trump promised the UK “preferential treatment” on pharma tariffs as far back as May but has yet to deliver on the pledge.
A government spokesperson said:
We know this will be concerning for industry, which is why we’ve been actively engaging with the US and will continue to do so over the coming days.
Sectors such as pharmaceuticals are critical to our economy... so we will continue to press the US for outcomes that reflect the strength of our relationship and deliver real benefits for UK industry.
Starmer claims left 'went wrong' on migration, ignoring concerns about both legal and illegal immigration
Keir Starmer has also published an article in the Daily Telegraph today setting out his ideas about how to counter what he calls the “nativist, populist right”. Some of it just echoes the language he will use in his speech this morning, briefed overnight. (See 9.52am.) But in the Telegraph he also argues that in the past Labour has been wrong about immigration – ignoring concerns about illegal migration, while been overly positive about the impact of legal migration.
Starmer says:
The first essential part [in taking on the populist right involves] recognising where some on the left went wrong on the issue of immigration.
There is no doubt that for years, leftwing parties, including my own, did shy away from people’s concerns around illegal immigration. It has been too easy for people to enter the country, work in the shadow economy and remain illegally.
We must be absolutely clear that tackling every aspect of the problem of illegal immigration is essential …
Equally, the belief that uncontrolled legal migration was nothing but good news for an economy should never have been accepted on the left. It is not compassionate leftwing politics to rely on labour that exploits foreign workers and undercuts fair wages.
The huge increase in immigration that happened under the Conservatives was based on a hyper-liberal free-market viewpoint. Labour is clear that there must be no return to that.
To be fair, there is no Labour government in history that has favoured “uncontrolled legal migration” in a literal sense. Starmer is referring in particular to the Blair government, its relaxed attitude to seeing net migration rise, and in particular its decision not to impose transitional controls when 10 mostly eastern European countries joined the EU in 2004, giving their citizens the right to work in the UK.
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YouGov MRP poll suggests Reform UK would crush Labour and Tories if election held now
The Keir Starmer speech comments briefed overnight by Labour (see 9.52am) are, in the UK context, all about Reform UK. Today YouGov has published the results of its latest MRP polling (more on the MRP method here) and it suggests that, if there were an election now, Nigel Farage would almost certainly be forming the government, although he would be just short of an overall majority.
Summing up the results, YouGov says:
-Projection shows Angela Rayner, Bridget Phillipson, Yvette Cooper, John Healey, Wes Streeting, Ed Miliband, Pat McFadden and Lisa Nandy losing their seats to Reform
-Model shows Jeremy Hunt’s seat being taken by the Liberal Democrats, and Reform UK unseating Mel Stride, James Cleverly and Suella Braverman
-SNP projected to win 37 seats in Scotland, where Labour would be reduced to 9
-Reform projected to win 23 out of the 32 Welsh Westminster constituencies
The MRP also suggests the Liberal Democrats will beat the Tories in terms of seats, but not votes.
The next election might not take place until 2029, a lot could change before then, and polls are not always reliable. But normally they are at last half-right, and these are finding that MPs won’t ignore.
Starmer to call for 'politics of patriotic renewal', warning 'you don't need to be historian' to understand far-right threat
Keir Starmer has been criticised over the summer for letting Nigel Farage and Reform UK dominate the national argument, about immigration and much else. (Lucy Powell, a candidate for the Labour deputy leadership, has set out a good version of this critique in a Guardian article today.)
In his speech today Starmer is expected to offer his most detailed response to this charge since the summer. Labour has released some extracts in advance, and two lines stand out.
Starmer will suggest that today’s far-right populism could lead to fascism and war if left unchecked. He will say:
An industrialised infrastructure of grievance - an entire world – not just a worldview, created through our devices. That is miserable, joyless, demonstrably untrue. And yet in another way – totally cohesive. That preys on real problems in the real world. Identifies clear enemies – that’s us.
And, at its heart – its most poisonous belief - on full display at the protests here in London, just a week or two ago, that there is a coming struggle, a defining struggle, a violent struggle, for the nation. For all our nations.
Now – you don’t need to be a historian to know where that kind of poison can lead. You can just feel it.
A language that is naked in its attempt to intimidate.
In this extract, Starmer is not using the term fascism, but it is clear what history he is talking about. The point he is making might seem unremarkable. But Starmer himself has generally avoided 1930s references when describing the threat posed by the far-right today.
He will say progressives should be offering the “politics of patriotic renewal”. He will say:
This is the defining political choice of our times: a politics of predatory grievance, preying on the problems of working people. Using that infrastructure of division… against the politics of patriotic renewal.
Rooted in communities, building a better country. Brick by brick, from the bottom-up – including everyone in the national story.
Difference under the same flag.
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Starmer to join 5 other PMs speaking at Global Progress Action Summit
Keir Starmer will be making the formal digital ID cards announcement in a speech this morning at 11am at the Global Progress Action Summit. Newsy as this might be, it is fair to say that he won’t have the headlines all to himself. There are five other prime ministers speaking, as well as two former prime ministers and two American politicians seen as potential Democratic candidates for president in 2028. If there is a progressive global alliance, they will all be at the Methodist Central Hall in London.
The event starts at 9.30am, but here are the timings for what might be the most interesting sessions.
11am: Keir Starmer speaks in a session where he will be followed by Mark Carney, the Canadian PM, Kristrun Frostadottir, the Icelandic PM, and Anthony Albanese, the Australian PM.
12pm: JB Pritzker, governor of Illinois, speaks.
1.30pm: Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish PM, speaks at a session where he will be joined by Jacinda Ahern, the former PM of New Zealand.
2pm: Mette Frederiksen, the Danish PM, speaks at a session where she will be joined by John Healey, the UK defence secretary.
4.45pm: Stefan Löfven, the former Swedish PM, speaks.
5.30pm: Pete Buttigieg, the former US transport secretary, speaks.
There is a live stream of the conference here.
No 10 says digital ID cards scheme will take in 'best aspects' from similar schemes around world
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Amy Sedghi.
Downing Street has now sent out a news release about its identity cards scheme. It promotes the idea as a means to combat illegal working, but it also argues that the system will provide a consumer benefit to ordinary citizens not related to the illegal migration issue.
And it says the government is learning from model digital ID schemes around the world. It says:
In designing the digital ID scheme, the government will ensure that it works for those who aren’t able to use a smartphone, with inclusion at the heart of its design. The public consultation will engage with groups who aren’t as experienced with the digital world, like the homeless and older people, learning from other countries that have done this well.
The scheme will be rolled out alongside an outreach programme, including face-to-face support for citizens who are struggling to access the scheme.
This will result in a service that takes the best aspects of the digital identification systems that are already up and running around the world:
-In Australia, citizens can access a range of private services, from banking to buying alcohol, with their digital identification, reducing the need for multiple separate accounts and pieces of paper.
-In Estonia, digital ID has revolutionised parents’ lives by enabling access to child benefits, health records and applications for nursery places seamlessly, never having to provide the same information twice.
-In Denmark, students can use their national digital ID to log in and automatically retrieve education records and qualifications in job and university applications.
-And in India, the government has saved around US $10 billion annually by reducing fraud and leakages in welfare schemes.
Labour MPs call for action to tackle deprivation in coastal ‘sea wall’ seats
A group of Labour MPs representing coastal areas will demand urgent action to tackle deprivation in their seats, warning a lack of progress could leave them vulnerable to Reform.
They will use the party conference this weekend to call for an equivalent of the London Challenge, which turned around failing schools in the capital under Tony Blair’s government, but with a focus on post-16 training and apprenticeships.
The Coastal Parliamentary Labour party group, set up earlier this year by Polly Billington, MP for East Thanet, which takes in the Kent coast around Margate and Ramsgate, is also demanding a dedicated minister for coastal communities, as well as spending on public transport and efforts to reduce entrenched health inequalities.
The campaign is a counterpoint to the repeated focus on “red wall” seats, generally based in formerly industrial towns and cities in the north and Midlands, dozens of which were won by the Conservatives in 2019 and re-taken by Labour last year.
While definitions of the “red wall” differ, Labour holds at least as many“sea wall” seats, with 66 MPs in the coastal group, and many of them face similar or greater levels of deprivation.
The call for major investment in skills and training, with a focus on non-graduate jobs, is because of the particular problems faced by many coastal areas of young people being neither in work nor education, and the “brain drain” of young people who do get degrees away from such areas.
The London Challenge is often cited as one of the greatest policy successes of the Blair years. When Labour came into power in 1997, many London schools were failing, with only 16% of students reaching the then-accepted standard of getting five GCSEs at grades A to C.
But a combination of extra investment of about £40m a year, which involved not just new school buildings but also better school leadership, meant that by 2010, London schools tended to out-perform those elsewhere in England.
The coastal MPs said there is also a political imperative for ministers to focus on improving their areas, given Reform’s record in performing well in such places – of the five seats the party won in 2024, four were coastal.
Lammy says Gaza conflict is 'inhumane' and 'utterly unjustifiable' in address to UN general assembly
Deputy prime minister David Lammy has called the conflict in Gaza “inhumane” and “utterly unjustifiable”.
Addressing the United Nations general assembly in New York, Lammy said:
What is happening in Gaza is indefensible, it is inhumane, it is utterly unjustifiable and it must end now.
He said the UK had “proudly” recognised Palestine and said both its people and those of Israel “deserve better”. He said:
Better than the horrific acts by Hamas on 7 October that left children without their parents and parents without their children.
Better than the torment of families waiting desperately for the return of their loved ones from the most barbaric captivity. Better than the fanatical rule by Hamas, a vile, pitiless terrorist organisation that must have no future in Gaza.
Better than Israel’s denial of life-saving humanitarian aid and the catastrophic famine that it has caused.
As Israel escalates its military operations and displaces Palestinian families again and again and again, there can be no answer to these horrors but concerted diplomatic action to keep the hope of peace alive.
Earlier this week, foreign secretary Yvette Cooper told the UN that recognising Palestinian statehood must be a “spur” to action rather than a “substitute” for it.
Cooper said the UK’s decision to recognise Palestine reflects the “grave reality” that the two-state solution is in “profound peril”.
A non-profit advocacy group for migrants and refugees has said that mandatory digital ID cards will “entrench discrimination, supercharge the hostile environment and create a surveillance state”.
In a statement, Josephine Whitaker-Yilmaz, head of advocacy at Praxis said:
Far from reducing irregular migration, mandatory digital ID will entrench discrimination, supercharge the hostile environment and create a surveillance state nobody asked for.
Migrants already have to prove their rights to work and rent with a digital visa. It’s hard to see what difference a digital ID will make, other than requiring all of us to sacrifice our civil liberties.
We know the government can’t be trusted with our data, whether that’s the failed Covid app to breaches that exposed EU nationals. And Windrush showed us that it’s people of colour and migrants with every right to be here who will end up wrongly blocked from accessing services and exercising their rights.
Instead of wasting millions on digital ID schemes, the government should invest in policies that deliver real economic benefits-like taxing the wealthy and fixing our broken housing system.
Ministers plan to allow naming and shaming of offenders completing community sentences
Ministers are pushing through powers to photograph, name and shame offenders who have been ordered to complete unpaid community work in England and Wales.
The sentencing bill, now moving through parliament, will for the first time give probation officers “a legal power” to take and publish the names and pictures of individuals ordered by courts to tidy grass verges, litter-pick or scrub graffiti.
The move, pushed through by the government “to build confidence” in community sentences, has sparked concern that it could instead be used to humiliate and embarrass offenders’ partners and children.
Martin Jones, HM inspector of probation, said it could result in more offenders dropping out. He said:
I am very concerned about seeking to name and shame people undertaking unpaid work.
I think it could act as a disincentive to rehabilitation and some may refuse to turn up. If offenders are turning up to do the work I do not see a reason why they should also have their images published, particularly when the evidence shows that reintegration back into communities and employment are key to preventing reoffending.
Ian Lawrence, the general secretary of Napo, the probation officers’ union, said the change would bring shame upon families of offenders, particularly children. He said:
This proposed policy serves no value to the rehabilitation of offenders but could have potentially devastating effects on innocent family members, namely children.
It seems to only serve as a form of humiliation, not just for the offender but those around them. It also could potentially place people on unpaid work at risk, especially if it involves those that commit sexual offending.
It comes as the government plans to rapidly expand “community payback” as an alternative to custodial sentences, as part of a plan to divert offenders away from overcrowded prisons.
Digital ID will be compulsory for anyone who wants to work in the UK, the culture secretary has said, reports the PA news agency.
“It will be compulsory if you want to work in this country, so you’ll have to show that to be able to prove that you have the right to work,” Lisa Nandy told BBC Breakfast. However, in a speparate interview with Sky News Nandy said that while all UK citizens will have a digital ID under new plans, it will be “entirely their choice” whether they use it (see 8.21am BST).
She said the change would make a “significant dent” in the number of people who are able to work illegally because current documents can be too easily falsified.
A national insurance number “won’t be sufficient” in future to prove employment rights, she said.
The problem with national insurance numbers is that they’re not linked to anything else.
So they’re not linked, for example, to photo ID, so you can’t verify that the person in front of you is actually the person whose national insurance number that you’re looking at, and we’ve seen a real rise in the amount of identity theft and people losing documents and then finding that their identity has been stolen.
She said the government was not putting a “precise figure” on the cost of rolling out the scheme because the consultation would seek to determine how it would work for groups including older people, homeless people and people with disabilities.
Lisa Nandy insists digital ID 'will not be mandatory for people to use'
All UK citizens will have a digital ID under new plans, but it will be “entirely their choice” whether they use it, culture secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky News:
The plan is to ensure that everybody has it, but you can choose whether you use it.
She referred to debates over identity cards that go back to when Tony Blair was prime minister between 1997 and 2007. Nandy said:
We’ve debated it ever since. It’s important, of course, that we protect people’s civil liberties, and we have got no intention of pursuing a dystopian mess. But I do think for most people, this is a fairly common sense and practical measure.
And like I said, although all UK citizens will have a digital ID, it will not be mandatory for people to use it. It will be entirely their choice.
Introducing digital IDs will not change what penalties companies face for failing to check their employees’ right to work, a cabinet minister has said.
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy told Times Radio:
Companies already are meant to check on whether people have the right to work in the UK and face penalties for that … they will continue to face those penalties.
But she said it would make it easier for businesses to do their checks:
It makes it much easier for companies to be able to do this and to be able to check whether people are able to work legally or not, which means there is no excuse for not doing so.
The cards will be free of charge, she said and funded under existing spending plans.
It is 21 years since Tony Blair’s government made proposals for an ID card system to tackle illegal working and immigration, and to make it more convenient for the public to access services.
The same issues are on the agenda again as Keir Starmer revives what became one of New Labour’s most controversial policies. He is about to find out if he can defeat the argument that David Cameron’s Conservatives made before scrapping it. They said the ID card approach to personal privacy was “the worst of all worlds – intrusive, ineffective and enormously expensive”.
Blair is an important figure in the latest push, through lobbying carried out by his Tony Blair Institute (TBI).
The idea re-emerges in a different technological world in which smartphones are ubiquitous and much, but far from all, of the population is familiar with negotiating digital credentials.
Starmer appears ready to try again, and ministers believe there will be less public opposition, although digital ID cards could worsen the effect of digital exclusion.
Age UK has estimated that about 1.7 million people over the age of 74 do not use the internet. TBI’s arguments in favour are that far from reflecting the “papers, please” caricature, digital ID “brings fairness, control and convenience to people’s everyday interactions with each other and with the state”.
It can close loopholes exploited by trafficking gangs, reduce pull factors driving illegal migration to Britain, speed up citizens’ interactions with government, reduce errors and identity fraud and boost trust as a tangible symbol of a more responsive and flexible state.
The arguments against often centre on privacy. Civil liberties campaigners fear any mandatory ID card system, even one intended to tackle illegal migration, would require the population to surrender vast amounts of personal data to be amassed in national databases.
Robert Booth is the Guardian’s UK technology editor. You can read more of his analysis here:
The prime minister will set out the measures on Friday at a conference on how progressive politicians can tackle the problems facing the UK, including addressing voter concerns around immigration.
The proposals for a “Brit card” would require legislation and are already facing opposition from privacy groups.
However, No 10 is understood to believe that it is necessary to make sure people have the right to work in the UK to tackle illegal migration, and that the national mood has moved on since Tony Blair’s plans for ID cards were abandoned in the 2000s.
Starmer said this month that digital IDs could “play an important part” in making Britain less attractive to illegal migrants, and France has repeatedly claimed that the lack of official cards acts as a “pull factor”.
The prime minister has also spoken about the government’s goal of “patriotic renewal”, comparing it to “the politics of grievance, of toxic divide, which is what Reform are all about”. He dismissed the Conservative party as “basically dead”.
During his speech on Friday, he will set out his view that the far right is injecting a “poisonous” discourse into national life, saying:
At its heart – its most poisonous belief – on full display at the protests here in London, just a week or two ago, that there is a coming struggle, a defining struggle, a violent struggle for the nation. For all our nations.
Now – you don’t need to be a historian to know where that kind of poison can lead. You can just feel it. A language that is naked in its attempt to intimidate.
But he will also explain his belief that immigration and borders need to be controlled, saying:
For too many years it’s been too easy for people to come here, slip into the shadow economy and remain here illegally.
Starmer will add:
It is not compassionate leftwing politics to rely on labour that exploits foreign workers and undercuts fair wages. But the simple fact that every nation needs to have control over its borders.
What do the digital ID cards entail?
Starmer’s plans envisage ID cards being stored on devices in the same way contactless payment cards or the NHS app are.
The digital ID would be the authoritative proof of identity and residency status in the UK and include name, date of birth, and a photo as well as information on nationality and residency status, reports the PA news agency.
How the scheme will work for those who do not use smartphones will be addressed as part of the consultation process.
Those who do not want to carry a digital ID card or do not operate digitally could be given a physical card instead, according to The Telegraph.
Mandatory ID cards have previously only existed during wartime.
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Starmer says digital ID cards an 'enormous opportunity' for UK and will make working illegally tougher
Keir Starmer says plans for a new digital ID held on people’s phones will be an “enormous opportunity” for the UK and make working illegally tougher.
Digital ID will become mandatory as a means of proving the right to work under the plans, but people will not be required to carry or asked to produce it. It will be available to UK citizens and legal residents by the end of this parliament, reports the PA news agency.
Starmer said:
I know working people are worried about the level of illegal migration into this country. A secure border and controlled migration are reasonable demands, and this government is listening and delivering.
Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK. It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure.
And it will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits, like being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly – rather than hunting around for an old utility bill.
Starmer admitted Labour has previously shied away from addressing concerns over immigration said it is now “essential” to tackle “every aspect of the problem of illegal immigration” in an article for The Telegraph.
The prime minister argued that it is possible to be concerned about immigration while rejecting Reform UK’s “toxic” approach. “There is no doubt that for years left-wing parties, including my own, did shy away from people’s concerns around illegal immigration,” he wrote.
Reform UK called the plans a “cynical ploy” designed to “fool” voters into thinking something is being done about immigration. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch also dismissed the plans as a “gimmick that will do nothing to stop the boats”.
The Liberal Democrats said they would not support mandatory digital ID where people are “forced to turn over their private data just to go about their daily lives”.
Meanwhile, Tony Blair’s thinktank said the cards, which will be mandatory by the end of this parliament, could act as a “gateway to government services”.
More on this story in a moment, but first here are some other developments:
Ministers are pushing through powers to photograph, name and shame offenders who have been ordered to complete unpaid community work in England and Wales. The sentencing bill, now moving through parliament, will for the first time give probation officers “a legal power” to take and publish the names and pictures of individuals ordered by courts to tidy grass verges, litter-pick or scrub graffiti.
Leading climate figures and Labour MPs have urged Keir Starmer to attend the crucial Cop30 climate summit this November, after aides advised him not to attend for fear of attracting the ire of the Reform party. Simon Stiell, the UN’s climate chief, said: “Cop30 is where leaders are expected to come and roll up their sleeves, make deals to help their nation’s economy transition faster, creating more jobs, and guide the world on what next steps we take together.”
Britain will violate its nuclear disarmament obligations if Labour presses ahead with the £1bn purchase of 12 F-35A fighter jets, according to a specialist legal opinion prepared on behalf of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). Two international lawyers argue that the government’s plan to reintroduce air-launched nuclear weapons for the RAF will break a key provision of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) signed by the UK and 190 other countries.
Hopes that international rail services could return to UK stations abandoned by Eurostar have grown, with the government backing new competitors who plan to serve stops in Kent. Ministers have been leaning on the rail regulator to give crucial space on the railway to prospective entrants who pledge to bring cross-Channel services back to Ashford and Ebbsfleet stations – and possibly London’s Stratford International.
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