Starmer rejects call from Corbyn for meeting to discuss Palestine Action-linked hunger strikers
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, says in the Commons yesterday a justice minister refused his request for a meeting about the eight Palestine Action-linked hunger strikers. They are all remand prisoners, he says.
Since then a further prisoner has been taken to hospital. He asks again for a meeting to discuss what he says are the regular breaches of the conditions that should apply to hunger strikers.
Starmer says there are laws and procedures in place for dealing with hunger strikes in prison, and he says the government is following them.
John Whittingdale (Con) asks Starmer to cancel his proposed trip to China if Jimmy Lai is not released.
Stamer condemns the conviction of Lai, but does not comment on the proposed trip.
Starmer joins those saying Farage should apologise to fellow pupils who recall him being racist to them at school
Starmer says he has a message for Nigel Farage in the lounge.
Christmas is a time for forgiveness. It’s never too late to apologise to people.
That is a reference to this story.
Andrew Snowden (Con) uses his question to make a series of Christmas-themed jokes about Labour’s performance.
Starmer says Snowden asked people for ideas for a question. He says he submitted a suggestion. He wanted Snowden to ask about the 6,000 jobs safeguarded by Labour in his Fylde constituency.
He seemed to be referring to this announcement.
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Antonia Bance (Lab) makes a point about Nigel Farage not being there. Some MPs point out that he is watching from the gallery. (See 12.03pm.)
Starmer says Farage is in the lounge. He says the Reform UK leader likes to get away early to his home in France. He says Farage went to the US and actively called for sanctions against the UK.
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Ben Maguire (Lib Dem) says residents in Cornwall were poisoned by water in the 1980s, and he says South West Water poisons his constituents with their sewage dumping. He asks for a meeting to discuss all water poisoning cases.
Starmer says the 1980s case was a terrible scandal, and he agrees to set up a meeting.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, urges Starmer to enjoy his Christmas, because it will be his last in No 10.
Starmer says Scotland would be better of being led by Anas Sarwar, not by the SNP.
UK will transfer £2.5bn of Abramovich cash to Ukraine fund, Starmer says
Jessica Elgot has more details of the announcement from Starmer about £2.5bn being set aside from the sale of Chelsea FC for Ukrainian causes. She says:
The Russian billionaire sold Chelsea in 2022 under pressure from the British government after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Abramovich was granted a licence from the UK government to sell Chelsea as long as the money was spent supporting the victims of the Ukraine war. The proceeds were placed in a UK bank account controlled by Abramovich’s company Fordstam.
Since then, the money has been frozen amid deadlock in negotiations with Abramovich over whether the money should be spent exclusively in Ukraine or whether it can go outside the country as well.
The government has promised to establish a foundation to disburse the money, headed by Mike Penrose, the former head of Unicef UK.
Ministers have stressed that they have tried for many years to agree terms with Abramovich and seek his cooperation in the transfer of the funds. Starmer said the government was prepared to take Abramovich to court in order to access the money.
And here is the story.
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, asks the government to commit to a comprehensive strategy to protect Jewish people in Britain.
Starmer says up to £28m has been set aside to protect Jewish places. He is proud to do that, but sad that it is needed. The government is looking at giving the police new powers. And it is tackling antisemitism in the NHS.
Davey says the patients were facing a winter crisis before today’s strike. Patients are being left on trolleys. Some people have died on trolleys. Will the PM approve a mass vaccination programme to stop people going to hospital with flu, and will he address the care crisis.
Starmer says more than 17 million patients have been vaccinated this year. But he wants to drive that up.
Jessica Morden (Lab) asks for an update on Ukraine.
Starmer says he can announce that the government is issue a licence to transfer £2.5bn from the sale of Chelsea FC. He challenges Roman Abramovich to approve that, so the funds can be released for Ukraine, as originally promised.
Badenoch says Starmer is not going to ban strikes because he “doesn’t have the baubles”. She says the unions bought him, not just for Christmas, but for life.
All Labour MPs want for Christmas is a new leader.
Starmer says we have the Muppets Christmas carol here. And all the Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin wants is a “white Christmas”, he says.
Badenoch jokes about Labour MPs being banned from pubs.
She says the doctors have gone back on strike despite Labour giving them a pay rise. She urges the government to ban doctors from going on strike.
Starmer says the strike is dangerous and irresponsible.
More days were lost to strikes under the Tories than in any year since the 1980s.
Badenoch says the government is full of turkeys.
She asks Starmer to admit pubs will close because of the budget.
Starmer says the temporary business rates relief for hospitality was always going to end.
Badenoch says Starmer promised not to put up taxes for working people. Will he admit he did not keep that promise.
Starmer says he is proud of budget.
But Badenoch has broken her own record, he says. Last week 21 former Tory MPs had joined Reform UK. Now it is 22. He quotes a shadow minister says the shadow cabinet is full of “non-entitites”. “That’s you lot,” he tells them.
Badenoch says Starmer promised growth, but the only thing that has grown is the list of broken promises. Why has unemployment gone up?
Starmer says under the Tories it averaged 5.4% – higher than it is today.
Kemi Badenoch says, with reference to the Bondi beach attack, Islamic extremism is incompatible with British values. She says it must be driven out of the country.
She says Starmer has admitted he is not in control. He says nothing happens when he pulls the levers. Does he blame himself, or the levers?
Starmer says he is announcing the violence against women and girls plan, coming out tomorrow. That is one lever. Other levers are Ineos, Erasmus, the employment rights bill. He could go on, he says.
Melanie Ward (Lab) asks if the government will extend the scheme allowing students from Gaza to come to the UK.
Starmer says he wants this to continue.
Keir Starmer starts by saying antisemitism attacks, like the one at Bondi beach, “are not isolated”.
He says he held a Hanukah reception at No 10 yesterday. He will do everything to ensure Jewish communities are safe and secure.
He wishes the speaker, and everyone in the Commons, a happy Christmas.
And he says he has some advice for Reform UK.
If mysterious men from the east appear bearing gifts, this time report it to the police.
Nigel Farage says on social media he is boycotting PMQs again.
PMQs today will be rigged again by the Labour party. I will sit in the gallery.
Starmer faces Badenoch at PMQs
PMQs is starting soon. It’s the final one of the year.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Lisa O’Carroll is a senior Guardian correspondent covering trade.
Exploratory talks between the UK and the EU on giving Great Britain access to the EU’s single electricity market have “concluded”, ministers have said.
The deal, which has now to be worked out in detail, could see reduced prices for access to electricity from France or other member states.
The UK was part of the EU’s single electricity market before Brexit but GB now has to trade like any other third country to buy supplies from the continent.
Northern Ireland is an exception as it remains part of the all-island of Ireland electricity market through a separate Brexit agreement.
In a joint statement, the EU’s trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, and the Cabinet Office minister, Nick Thomas-Symonds, said:
The United Kingdom and the European Commission have … concluded exploratory talks on the United Kingdom’s participation in the European Union’s internal electricity market, with the details set out in letters to be published in the coming days. The European Commission and the United Kingdom will now work towards negotiating the United Kingdom’s participation in the internal electricity market of the European Union and set out the necessary framework for that participation.
There will be two urgent questions and three ministerial statements after PMQs. Here they are, with rough timings.
12.30pm: A Northern Ireland minister responds to a Tory UQ on the draft Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 (remedial) order 2025.
After 1pm: A health minister responds to a Tory UQ on the puberty blockers trial.
After 1.30pm: Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister, gives a statement on “UK-EU common understanding negotiations”.
Around 2.30pm: Alison McGovern, the local government minister, gives a statement on the local goverment settlement for 2026-27.
Around 3.30pm: Chris McDonald, the industry minister, gives a statement on the Ineos settlement.
Former Labour North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll joins Greens
The Green party has confirmed that Jamie Driscoll, the former Labour North of Tyne mayor, has joined.
In a statement, Driscoll said that he was switching to the Greens because “British politics is a mess” and because he viewed the Green party as see “an organisation that’s serious about running our country in the long-term interests of all our people.”
Driscoll served for five years as the North of Tyne mayor, from 2019 to 2024, and he was generally well regarded as a pragmatic leftwinger. But he fell out with Labour after being blocked from standing to be the party’s candidate for the North East mayor (a new post, taking in the North of Tyne mayoralty).
In what was widely seen as a stitch-up, Driscoll was excluded from the shortlist on the grounds that, because he had appeared on stage at an arts event to discuss film with Ken Loach, that meant he was endorsing Loach’s criticism of Keir Starmer’s stance on antisemitism in the party. Kim McGuinness, a Starmer supporter, became North East mayor instead.
Driscoll had until recently been involved in helping to set up Your Party, the new party launched by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.
Commenting on his defection, Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, said:
This is another example of the Green surge sweeping across the country. Jamie is a well-known political figure with a proven track record of delivering real change to people’s lives. People are looking for bold politics that offers hope rather than fear, and solutions rather than division.
Newcastle Greens are growing fast because they’re delivering for their communities. It’s great to see Jamie Driscoll choosing to be part of a party that’s building real momentum from the ground up.
Peter Walker has more on the story here.
Andrea Egan, leftwinger expelled from Labour who now favours Your Party, elected to lead UK's biggest union, Unison
Andrea Egan has been elected general secretary of the country’s biggest trade union, PA Media reports. PA says:
In a surprise result, she beat Christina McAnea, who has been leader of Unison since 2021.
She will begin her five-year term of office representing public service workers next month.
She won 58,579 votes compared with 39,353 for McAnea.
The winner is on the left of the Labour movement and has been critical of the government since it came to office last year.
Egan said:
This result means ordinary Unison members are at long last taking charge of our union.
We will put faith in members’ decisions and stand up to any employer, politician or cabinet minister who acts against our interests.
Together, we will turn Unison into the remarkable force for change it should be. That journey has begun today.
And Keir Starmer said:
Congratulations to Andrea Egan on her election as general secretary of Unison. I look forward to working with her.
A huge thank you to Christina McAnea for her outstanding contribution to the Labour and trade union movement.
She played an important role in securing the landmark Employment Rights Bill and her work has ensured this Labour government will bring in a fair pay agreement to boost the wages of social care workers.
The result means that the two biggest unions affiliated to Labour – Unison and Unite – are now both run by leftwingers (Egan, and Sharon Graham) who have been very critical of Starmer, whose loyalty to the Labour government is limited, and who would support confrontational tactics to get more pro-worker policies from Labour.
In a mini-profile of Egan, the Financial Times says:
Egan describes herself as a “social worker and straight-talking working-class trade unionist”. She has been a union steward for 30 years and is secretary of Unison’s Bolton local government branch as well as having been president of the national union for the past three years.
She has accused the union of having “a subservient approach to the Labour government, allowing the factional priorities of the Labour leadership to take precedence over the interests of Unison members”.
Labour said it had terminated her membership because she shared two articles from Socialist Appeal, a Marxist group within the party, on social media. Labour had proscribed Socialist Appeal a year earlier, saying it was not compatible with its rules or aims or values.
In a recent interview with The House magazine, Egan said that, although she is not a member of any party, she does feel enthusiastic about Your Party, the new party set up by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana. “I do feel that it gives people hope again,” he said
Streeting refuses to tell MPs it's safe to pass assisted dying bill, highlighting concerns palliative care not good enough
Streeting is now being asked about the assisted dying bill.
Q: Is it is good idea to pass the assisted dying bill, with auto-commencement after four years, when the health service is in the state it is now? If proper palliative care is not available, people could be incentivised to take their own lives.
There is a pause. Then Streeting says that is a matter for parliament. He says the government is neutral.
(Streeting himself voted against the bill at second reading.)
Q: Do you have safety concerns about the legislation?
There is another pause.
Then Streeting says, if parliament does pass the bill, he would like to ensure high-quality palliative services are in place by the time its provisions come into force. “That is not where we are at present.”
I would like to make sure, were parliament minded to proceed with the bill and see through its completion on the statute books, I would like to make sure that we have high-quality palliative, end-of-life care services so that there is a real choice and no one feels compelled to take up an assisted death through the absence of palliative and end-of-life care services. That is not where we are as a country at present.
Q; Do you think auto-commencement puts that at risk?
Streeting says:
Please, permanent secretary, save me from this line of questioning.
Samantha Jones, the permanent secretary, says the legislation is still going through parliament, there have been lots of amendments, and it would not be appropriate to comment.
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Streeting says hospices should be 'essential part' of health service, and not so reliant on voluntary donations
Josh Fenton-Glynn (Lab) asked Streeting about funding for hospices.
Streeting said he was “uncomfortable” about the extent to which hospices are reliant on voluntary donations.
He said that members of his family had benefited from hospice care.
He said the hospice sector felt more like an “essential part” of a health service, not an extra funded by the charity sector.
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Gregory Stafford (Con) asked how much money central government had given the NHS to cover the costs of the strike.
Streeting said NHS England had been able to keep costs under control. He went on:
We have managed to absorb pressures of strikes and costs of strikes without directly impacting on frontline services.
But he accepted that strikes had an opportunity cost of £500m. That was money that could have been spent elsewhere if it had not been spent on dealing with the impact of strikes.
Streeting pays tribute to Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA’s resident doctor’s committee. He says he thinks Fletcher is a decent person, and he says he and Streeting do agree on “so many things”.
Streeting says, even though staff are on strike, people should still go to hospital if they need emergency help
Streeting says he does not want people to stay away from hospitals today if they need emergency medical help.
The most important message that I want us all to convey collectively as, as parliament and the NHS, is to the public’ I do not want people who need to access health care to think [they’d] better not try.
So if it’s an accident or an emergency, people should have access.
Streeting says he is in 'violent agreement' with BMA on need for action on resident doctors' jobs
McIntyre moves on to the resident doctors’ strike.
Streeting say he won’t go over all he has said already about the BMA.
He explains what the government has done for resident doctors on pay and on jobs.
On jobs, he says the government is in “violent agreement” with the BMA.
He says the government has proposed legislation that would make it easier for resident doctors to get jobs.
At the health committee Wes Streeting is now being asked about strikes.
Alex McIntyre (Lab) starts by asking about what he says is the longest running strike in the NHS – the strike by phlebotomists in Gloucestershire.
Streeting says no one has covered themselves in glory in this dispute. He says Unison and the NHS are involved in a “constructive” period of dialogue at the moment. He says he hopes it will be over soon.
He also declares an interest, saying he is a Unison member.
Streeting says apologises to patients for disruption, saying government did 'everything we could' to avert resident doctors' strike
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has apologised to patients over the strike by resident doctors in England today.
Speaking to broadcasters before he started giving evidence to the Commons health committee, he said:
We did everything we could to avert these strikes and to stop strike action from taking place.
When we came into government, we recognised what resident doctors were saying about pay, and that’s why they received a 28.9% pay rise from this government.
Of course, we’re willing to talk to them about what we do in future years.
I think people can see that I’ve tried my absolute best to avoid these strikes on what is the worst time for the NHS.
I’m really sorry to patients for the disruption that is happening as a result.
UK inflation falls sharply to 3.2% amid slowdown in food price rises
UK inflation fell by more than expected in November amid a slowdown in food prices, official figures show, strengthening the case for the Bank of England to cut interest rates on Thursday, Richard Partington reports.
Streeting gives evidence to Commons health committee
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, is giving evidence to the Commons health committee. There is a live feed here.
At the start of the hearing Layla Moran, the chair, said they would cover the resident doctors’ strike in the hearing, but she said she wanted to start with other topics.
Labour support on course to fall to 10% in Senedd elections, poll suggests, with Plaid Cymru set to win most seats
Steven Morris is a Guardian reporter who covers Wales.
Labour is on course to be crushed in next year’s elections for the Senedd, a new YouGov poll implies.
Previous polls have shown Plaid Cymru and Reform UK on course to be the two largest parties in the Senedd, with Labour and the Conservatives far behind, but the new poll, conducted by YouGov for Cardiff University, shows Labour’s support falling even further, to 10%.
According to Jac Larner from Cardiff University, these results would result in the following seat distribution.
Plaid Cymru – 39
Reform UK – 34
Labour – 10
Conservatives – 6
Green – 4
Lib Dem – 3
Labour has been in power continuously in Cardiff since the first elections to what was then called the Welsh assembly in 1999 and a result like this – even though it is in line with that polls have been suggesting for months – would be devastating for the party.
Commenting on the poll in a post on his Substack newsletter, Will Hayward, the Welsh political commentator, says:
The magic number under the new Senedd system is 49. You need 49 seats to get a majority. As it is highly unlikely that one party will get that alone, parties will need to work together.
With that in mind here are some key takeaways from the polling:
-Plaid and Labour together have exactly 49.
-Plaid alongside the Greens and Lib Dems are on 46 - three short of a majority.
-Together Reform and the Tories are nine short of a majority.
Once we start getting into the realms of Plaid potentially being able to form a government without Labour we are truly in uncharted waters.
In a joint blog on the poll for Cardiff University, Larner and fellow academic James Griffiths say “while Reform UK’s growth reflects broader British patterns, Plaid Cymru’s consolidation of progressive votes represents a Wales-specific political development”. They explain:
England’s disaffected Labour voters are increasingly drifting to the Greens or Liberal Democrats. Wales’ progressive voters have a credible alternative in Plaid Cymru, but specifically in devolved electoral competition, where the choice is about Welsh governance and Plaid can credibly claim to fight for Welsh interests within Wales.
This creates a bifurcated realignment with different mechanisms on each side. Reform’s consolidation of the British-identifying right reflects British politics playing out in Wales. Plaid’s consolidation of the Welsh-identified left reflects Welsh politics asserting autonomy within the devolved electoral context.
For the first time in a century, Welsh Labour faces the prospect of opposition or junior coalition partnership. That prospect, more than any survey, signals how profound this realignment truly is. The bloc structure that has organised Welsh politics for decades persists, but the hierarchy within those blocs has been overturned.
Commenting on the poll, a Plaid Cymru spokesperson said:
Something big is truly happening in Wales.
Coming so soon after our Caerphilly by-election win, this poll shows the momentum is firmly with Plaid Cymru and that next year’s election is shaping up to be a straight choice for Wales’ future.
After years in power, Labour have given up on Wales. People are tired of broken promises and being taken for granted and yearning for something new: fairness, ambition, and a government that finally puts Wales first.
And a Welsh Labour source told ITV:
There will be many polls before May. This doesn’t mean this is where we’ll be by election day. Welsh Labour is focused on protecting jobs, bringing down waiting lists, supporting our communities. This is what makes a difference to everyone’s everyday lives. We know we’ve got work to do, but we’re determined to earn back the trust that voters have put in us before.
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Labour says Farage's refusal to apologise over racism allegations shows he's 'unfit for high office'
Nigel Farage has been told to apologise for his alleged teenage racism by 26 school contemporaries who have written an open letter telling of their “dismay and anger” at his response in recent weeks. Daniel Boffey, Henry Dyer and Mark Blacklock have the story.
This morning Anna Turley, the Labour party chair, said in a statement that Farage’s refusal to apologise, and to even fully account for what happened, shows that he is “unfit for high office”.
It’s shameful that Nigel Farage’s refusal to have a proper answer as to whether he racially abused people at school has led to this. He should finally do the right thing now and apologise fully to those who have bravely come forward.
His inability to answer basic questions about his past behaviour leaves the impression he may have something to hide. It really shouldn’t be that difficult for him to explain his actions, or to take responsibility for them. Once again, Nigel Farage has proven he’s unfit for high office.
In his various comments on these stories, Farage has veered between denying the allegations in their entirety, suggesting people misremembered what happened, and dismissing the comments alluded to as banter that was not intended to cause offence.
Starmer urged by Lib Dems to ensure rejoining Erasmus is ‘first step to closer relationship’ with EU
Good morning. As Pippa Crerar revealed for the Guardian yesterday, the government will today announce that the UK is rejoining the EU’s Erasmus student exchange programme.
The move has been welcomed by pro-EU parties. The Liberal Democrats released this comment from their universities spokesperson, Ian Sollom.
After years of campaigning by the Liberal Democrats, we welcome the news that the UK is finally set to rejoin the vital Erasmus+ student exchange scheme from 2027.
This is a moment of real opportunity and a clear step towards repairing the disastrous Conservative Brexit deal.
However, while this is a welcome breakthrough, it must be viewed as a crucial first step on a clear roadmap to a closer relationship with Europe. Starting with negotiating a bespoke UK-EU customs union, and committing to a youth mobility scheme for benefit of the next generation.
The SNP has also been calling for the UK to rejoin Erasmus, and it issued this statement from Joe FitzPatrick MSP.
Scotland did not vote for Brexit. Our young people, our universities, and our communities have already been paying the price of Farage’s campaign to leave for years while Starmer refuses to admit that the whole thing was a mistake.
The SNP has campaigned tirelessly for Scotland’s access to Erasmus, while Labour and the Tories ignored the voices of the young people most affected by Brexit.
It is baffling how Labour is only now realising what Scots figured out a long time ago. This isn’t leadership, it’s a desperate scramble to fix a mess they helped create. Scottish students shouldn’t be used as pawns in Westminster’s Brexit blunders.
But from the Conservative party and Reform UK – so far, we’ve just had silence. It is not hard to see why. Do they defend Boris Johnson’s decision not to join Erasmus, and the replacement scheme, Turing, that he set up as an alternative (which is not reciprocal, and which is less generous)? And, if they are going to criticise the decision, do they commit to pulling out again if they win the next election – a pledge that would be unpopular with young people, and the university sector?
We may find out later today, although the Tories will probably want to say as little as possible on this topic.
And it is not as if there are not other issues to discuss. Here is our story about the strike by resident doctors in England starting this morning.
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, will be speaking to MPs about this within the hour.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Wes Streeting, the health secretary, gives evidence to the Commons health committee.
Morning: The government is due to confirm that the UK is joining the EU’s Erasmus programme.
10am: Unison is due to announce the results of its leadership election. Christina McAnea, the incumbent who is seen as one of Keir Starmer’s main union allies, is being challenged by a leftwinger, Andrea Egan.
11am: The Green party is due to announce what it calls a “significant” defection. Politico says it’s Jamie Driscoll, the former Labour North of Tyne mayor.
Noon: Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.
With recess starting tomorrow afternoon, the government is also making 14 announcements in the form of written ministerial statements, including ones covering the local government settlement for 2026-27, the bid to buy the Telegraph, and progress on the Grenfell Tower inquiry recommendations.
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