No 10 rejects Tory claim it's at war with countryside, and seeks to allay NFU's fears over impact of higher standards
Victoria Atkins, the shadow environment secretary, has described the animal welfare strategy being published today, including the proposed ban trail hunting, as Labour continuing its “war on the countryside”.
Asked if that was an accurate description, the PM’s spokesperson told journalists at the lobby briefing this morning:
No, absolutely not. We have said that we share the British public’s high regard for countryside in lots of ways, whether it’s through farming or the animal welfare strategy.
Asked specifically about the ban on trail hunting, the spokesperson said that a ban was proposed in Labour’s election manifesto. He went on:
Even at face value, the nature of trail hunting makes it very difficult to safely use large packs of hounds and reduces the control of the huntsman.
Asked about the NFU’s concerns that the higher welfare standards for farmers could put them at a disadvantage compared to foreign competitors (see 9.26am), the spokesperson also suggested the government would take action to stop this happening. He said:
In many cases the strategy announced today catches up to what supermarkets have been doing to improve the standard of food sold on their shelves.
For example, retailers like Sainsbury’s now, they have already committed to not selling eggs produced from cage systems.
So we’ll always consider whether overseas products have an unfair advantage and are prepared to use the full range of powers at our disposal to ensure produce made here in the UK by our farmers is always the most viable option, and that’s alongside bringing down inflation to keep supermarket prices low.
The spokesperson did not explain what this would mean in practice.
No 10 plays down claims Streeting's intervention shows cabinet split over Europe policy
No 10 has played down suggestions that cabinet minsters are split over whether or not the UK should join a customs union with the EU.
Keir Starmer has ruled this out. He wants a closer relationship with the EU, but he has said that rejoining a customs union or the single market are ‘red lines’ that he would not cross.
But, in an interview at the weekend, Wes Streeting signalled that he does favour joining a customs union. (See 12.33pm.)
At the No 10 lobby briefing, when it was put to him that the cabinet seemed divided on this, the PM’s spokesperson replied:
I think what the cabinet has been very clear on is that there is a need to reset our relationship with the EU, that is what prime minister and the cabinet have been working on over the last 12 months.
Asked if Starmer was happy with ministers like Streeting speaking out on issues outside their ministerial portfolios, the spokesperson said Starmer was “very happy with his cabinet”. He added:
They’re getting on with the important work of driving down the cost of living, targeting growth and turning renewal into reality for the year ahead.
No 10 rejects Lib Dem claim that delaying some local elections will breach voters' human rights
Downing Street has rejected a Lib Dem claim that allowing councils to delay elections planned for next May will be a breach of human rights.
As the BBC reports, Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, has written to the Equality and Human Rights Commission urging it to investigate the government’s decision on the grounds that it could breach human rights.
Last week the government said that some councils have said that it will be hard to combine the reorganisation that is going ahead (the government is creating unitary authorities in areas in England where county and district councils cover the same geographical area) with elections, and 63 councils have been told that, if they think they need to delay elections, that will probably be allowed.
In his letter Davey said:
Article 3 of the first protocol of the Human Rights Act spells out in black and white the right to free elections.
Removing elections altogether, entirely unnecessarily, is in clear breach of this principle – can you therefore confirm your plans to investigate the government’s cavalier approach to our elections?
Asked if the government accepted this argument, the PM’s spokesperson said there was no “credible basis” for this claim.
He said councils would have to demonstrate “exceptional reasons” if they requested a delay in elections, and he said there is there was no reason for a delay, the elections would go ahead as scheduled.
But he defended the decision announced last week.
We are delivering the biggest reform to local government for more than 50 years, streamlining councils to speed up decisions, improve services and empower communities. And some councils have told us that holding elections in May next year will divert substantial time and resources away from delivering these reforms.
Around 70% of Labour, Lib Dem and Green voters think future PM should open talks on rejoining EU, poll suggests
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, used an interview with the Observer published at the weekend to suggest that he favours joining a customs union with the EU. This is something that Keir Starmer has ruled out.
But Labour supporters back Streeting on this. According to YouGov polling for the Times, 80% of people who voted Labour at the last general election say a future leader should open negotiations on joining a customs union with the EU.
The polling also found that around 70% of people who voted Labour, Lib Dem or Green at the last election said that a future leader should open talks on rejoining the EU. Even among Conservative voters, 25% of those questioned said a new leader should start negotiations on rejoining.
If respondents were asked if a new leader should start negotiations on rejoining the EU, some people may have taken that as a question about what should happen assuming Keir Starmer were replaced as PM in 2026 – and others may have taken that as a question about what should happen much further in the future, assuming Starmer has some years to serve in No 10.
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'Abusing Muslims is not going to fix this country' - a Guardian video about rising hate crime in UK
Mary-Ann Stephenson, the new chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has said that the “demonisation of migrants” is bad for Britain. (See 10.21am.)
This morning we have published a video report illustrating what she is worried about. It is about the rise in hate crimes, and it features the Muslim journalist Taj Ali visiting smaller more isolated minority communities around the UK to find out the impact this is having.
Starmer hosts Christmas dinner at Downing Street for almost 100 public sector workers as thank you for their 'dedication'
Keir Starmer has hosted a dinner in Downing Street for almost 100 public sector workers and their families to show his appreciation for their “extraordinary dedication” to the country.
In a post on his Substack blog, he referred to people who would be working on Christmas Day and said he wanted to pass on his thanks to all people who have to make sacrifices on behalf of others.
He said:
I remember thinking that the pandemic really showed just how dependent we all are upon the workers that keep our country going. But just because we are out of those times, does not mean that their sacrifice for all of us has stopped. Quite the opposite. So on behalf of everyone in the country, I would like to thank them and their colleagues who are heading out to work on Christmas Day to keep the rest of us safe and healthy. It’s a huge sacrifice, and it lets the rest of us celebrate Christmas with our families in peace.
Describing the Downing Street dinner, he said:
We laid out 17 tables in a single-run through the first floor, decorated with 10 table runners, 60 miniature Christmas trees, 70 tea lights, a Christmas cracker for each person, and 93 hand-written place cards.
In the corner we set up a hot chocolate station for the kids with gingerbread, Christmas stickers, arts and crafts.
In his blog Starmer also named two of the people invited as examples of the sort of people who attended: Zoe Rufus, a nurse from Lancashire who has also fundraised for the hospitals where she works, “collecting over 600 Easter eggs that she donated to the neurosurgery and children’s ward earlier this year in April”; and Stacey Bailey, a detective sergeant specialising in digital capabilities who has been nominated for a leadership award and whose work has had “a massive impact on the quality of investigations and better outcomes for victims”.
Animal rights groups are mostly positive about the animal welfare strategy being published today. (See 9.26am and 9.36am.) Here are some of their comments.
About the proposals for farm animals
From Claire Bass, senior director of campaigns and public affairs at Humane World for Animals UK
The government’s commitment to phase out the use of farrowing crates for mother pigs is extremely welcome. We are concerned that this and other measures are being held hostage by ongoing trade negotiations with the EU because if the UK doesn’t clearly protect our right to set our own animal welfare standards, we will be unable to stop cruel products, like pork from caged pigs, from coming into our country, which could undermine the viability of a crate ban for British farmers. We need the government to ensure that high animal welfare standards are a foundation of our trade policy, not a casualty of it.
From Georgie Hancock, public affairs lead at the Humane League UK
Overall this a very promising strategy – but the mooted bans on cages need to be implemented before we can truly celebrate. However, the direction of travel for farmed animals suggests the government understands the need to reform factory farming.
But some of the rhetoric in the press, that this strategy is a war on farmers, needs massive pushback. Making British farming more compassionate makes the lives of animals and farmers better, as workers won’t need to collect as many dead animals or see so much suffering.
While we would also love to see animal welfare standards be applied to imports, we should not make the perfect the enemy of the good.
From Lindsay Duncan, farming campaigns manager at World Animal Protection
We welcome the inclusion of a ban on cages for laying hens and on crates for mother pigs in the government’s animal welfare strategy, being published today. These measures address some of the cruellest elements of UK factory farming. But they do not go far enough.
Most farmed animals are raised in environments that cause needless suffering and create huge climate, environmental and human health costs. Animal welfare is a strong indicator of the harms a system does to people and planet – what is bad for one is bad for the other.
Despite the animal welfare strategy being announced in advance of the national food strategy and farming vision in 2026, there are few indications it will seek to halt the expansion of factory farming and embed a just transition to an equitable, humane and sustainable food system that has animal welfare at its core.
About the proposals for pets
From Owen Sharp, chief executive of the Dogs Trust
We welcome the government’s new animal welfare strategy, particularly its commitment to delivering the measures set out in the recently passed animal welfare bill, which will prevent the import of underage puppies, heavily pregnant dogs and dogs with mutilations. We are also pleased that the government plans to consult on the regulation of rehoming centres. We have seen too many cases of neglect and fatalities involving dogs at the hands of unregulated individuals, and the public strongly supports mandatory licensing and regular inspections.It is also positive that the government intends to consult on banning the use of cruel and unnecessary electric shock collars. However, we are disappointed that the proposals stop short of committing to a full ban on the sale of shock collars and other aversive devices.
Greens broadly welcome animal welfare strategy, but urge PM to follow Wales in banning greyhound racing
The Green party has broadly welcomed the government’s animal welfare strategy. In a statement, the Green MP Adrian Ramsay said:
There is much to welcome in the animal welfare strategy, but it must have real teeth to deliver for animals. Ministers must set clear timescales to phase out crates and cages, properly support farmers through the transition and not allow imports that don’t meet UK standards.
I welcome the action on snares, hunting and puppy farming. Puppy legislation must end breeding for extreme, unhealthy traits in dogs. The strategy could go further for animals, particularly by ending greyhound racing, as the Welsh government is doing.
Ending the use of farrowing crates and cages – as we called for in the cross-party letter I organised – is particularly crucial for tackling cruelty, and the strategy must set out how and when this will happen.
Resident doctors say they will resume talks to avoid further strikes with ‘can-do spirit’
Resident doctors have said they will approach talks with Wes Streeting with a “can-do spirit” to avoid further strikes in the new year, as their five-day action ended this morning. Rowena Mason has the story.
In her interview with PA Media, Mary-Anne Stephenson, the new chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, also criticised calls for the UK to leave the European convention on human rights. This is a policy supported by both Reform UK and the Conservative party, although Stephenson did not talk about that in the published interview remarks. Kevin Rawlinson has more on what she said on this topic here.
Tories call new EHRC chair 'disgrace' after she says 'demonisation of migrants' bad for UK
The Conservatives and Reform UK have strongly criticised the new head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission for criticising the “demonisation” of migrants”.
Mary-Ann Stephenson, who took up her post as chair of the EHRC at the start of the month, appealed for restraint in language used to discuss migrants in an interview with PA Media published last night.
The interview, as published, largely focused on Stephenson’s thoughts about the European convention on human rights. But it also included this comment from her about immigration.
I think it’s really important that we have honesty in the way that we talk about human rights, and that we also have a recognition that the demonisation of migrants, the creating this idea that migration causes huge risks for the country, can make the lives not just of migrants to the UK, but of ethnic minority UK citizens, very, very difficult.
Stephenson did not specify who or what she was referring to, but the rise in the number of asylum seekers arriving in the UK on small boats in recent years has coincided with an upsurge in hostile comments about migrants in the rightwing media, and from Reform UK and the Tories.
Much of this negative commentary links migration with criminality, on the basis of partial, contested or nonexistent evidence and there has been much more of this from the Conservative party since they lost the election and since Rishi Sunak was replaced as leader by Kemi Badenoch. Only last week Badenoch responded to the publication of the government’s violence against women and girls strategy by implying that the main threat to women comes not from British men, but from migrants.
This morning the Daily Telegraph has splashed on Stephenson’s comments. Its story includes a quote from Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, saying:
Reform believes we should deport terrorists, rapists and serious foreign criminals. The vast majority will agree with me that we must prioritise the rights of British people, whatever their ethnicity.
This morning Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, went further. He issued a statement saying:
These comments by the new Labour-appointed human rights chief are a disgrace. Once again, the left tries paint those opposed to mass immigration and illegal immigration as racist.
Mass migration with no integration has undermined social cohesion. Sex crimes by foreign nationals are up 62%, foreign criminals and illegal immigrants routinely abuse human rights, modern slavery and asylum laws to stay in the UK.
This nonsense has to end. It is completely wrong that Labour’s new human rights chief dismisses legitimate concerns about mass migration and crimes committed by foreign nationals – including the recent spate of rapes and sex attacks committed by small boat illegal immigrants.
Stephenson was appointed by the Labour government to replace Lady Falkner, who was appointed by the last Conservative government. Previously Stephenson ran the Women’s Budget Group, a feminist, economic thinktank.
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What's in government's new animal welfare strategy?
Here is a summary from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of what’s in the animal welfare strategy.
Improved welfare for companion animals by:
-Reforming dog breeding practices to improve health and welfare, preventing animals from becoming unwell and ending puppy farming
-Consulting on a ban on the use of electric shock collars due to the possible harm to our pets
-Considering the introduction of new licences for domestic rescue and rehoming organisations to ensure rescues have the right checks in place
-Promoting responsible dog ownership to protect public safety
Improved welfare for farmed animals by:
-Moving away from confinement systems such as colony cages for laying hens and the use of pig farrowing crates
-Addressing the welfare issues that arise from the use of carbon dioxide to stun pigs because of animal welfare concerns
-Introducing humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish to spare them avoidable pain
-Promoting the use of slow growing meat chicken breeds
Protection for wild animals by:
-Banning trail hunting amidst concerns it is being used as a smokescreen for hunting
-Banning snare traps because they cause suffering to animals and can catch pets
-Introducing a close season for hares which should reduce the number of adult hares being shot in the breeding season, meaning that fewer young hares are left motherless and vulnerable to starvation and predation
Ministers defend ‘most ambitious animal welfare strategy in generation’ as NFU claims it could undermine British farming
Good morning. Parliament is in recess, ministers, like everyone else, are getting ready for Christmas, but the government does have a big announcement today – its animal welfare strategy. The document is being published later today, but the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has already published a good summary here.
There are multiple strands to what is being proposed. As Helena Horton reported at the weekend, there are plans to ban trail hunting and shooting hares during most of the year.
And there will be higher welfare standards for farmed animals, including the banning of colony cages for chickens, and pig farrowing crates.
The Conservatives are claiming this will lead to British farmers being undercut by rivals from countries where standards are lower. In her response to the plans, Victoria Atkins, the shadow environment secretary, said:
While it is good to see the government taking forward Conservative policies to tackle puppy smuggling and livestock worrying, Labour is yet again favouring foreign farmers over British farmers by allowing substandard foreign imports to undercut our already-high welfare standards.
Labour have snuck this announcement out just before Christmas to avoid scrutiny, because they know that this will be another hammerblow to farming profitability. Once again, they have shown that they simply don’t care about rural Britain.
Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers’ Union, was on the Today programme this morning and he echoed these concerns – although his language was less alarmist than Atkins’.
Bradshaw told the programme:
We’ve seen from history that, if we don’t implement the changes that we want to have in our production systems here within our import standards, all we do is export our industry overseas.
We saw that with our pig industry back in 1999 where we used to produce 80% of our pork, but now we only produce about 45% …
We’ve got to make sure that we don’t drive food price inflation by adding a cost burden to the production system. The battery cages that have been banned are still in use in countries around the world, particularly in some of our Eastern European counterparts where we are importing eggs from those systems.
So what we in the National Farmers’ Union want is a system of fairness so that, if we have higher animal health and welfare standards here, then our imports have to meet those same standards of production.
Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, has defended the plans, calling them “the most ambitious animal welfare strategy in a generation”.
There is not much in the diary for today, but we are getting a No 10 lobby briefing at 11.30am.
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