Afternoon summary
Rishi Sunak has come under pressure to provide clarity on Britain’s long-term strategy in the Red Sea as he resisted calls for MPs to be given a vote, insisting the new airstrikes against the Houthis on Monday night were carried out in self-defence.
Jeremy Hunt’s scope to cut taxes by about £20bn in his March budget has been boosted after the latest official figures showed UK government borrowing halved in the past year.
Labour would let optometrists deal with some common eye problems such as cataracts and glaucoma in high-street opticians as it seeks to make the NHS in England more productive, Karin Smyth, a shadow health minister, has said.
Huw Merriman, a transport minister, has lashed out at a satirical Radio 4 show as being “completely biased” in the latest allegation from the Conservatives about BBC impartiality.
Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, has described the number of pupils not in school in England as a national scandal. Speaking in a Commons debate on a Labour motion to legislate to set up a national register of children not in school, she said:
It is a national scandal that every day, every week, so many children are not in school. Absence from school is not simply a problem in itself, it is a symptom of deeper problems and a cause of further problems.
Labour lost the vote by 303 votes to 189 – a majority 114.
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Trust in government in UK has fallen sharply in recent years, survey shows
Edelman, a global PR firm, has for more than 20 years been publishing a global survey showing how much people in different countries trust institutions such as their government or media. The 2024 figures, out today, are quite damning for the Conservative party and Rishi Sunak’s administration. Here is an extract from the Edelman news release.
Since 2021, trust in government overall fell by 15 points while, trust in local government also plummeted, from 53% to 41% over the same period. The timeframe suggests the incumbent government led by Rishi Sunak hasn’t been able to shake off the impact of either the Partygate scandal or the economic shock of Liz Truss’s short-lived tenure as prime minister.
A record high 69% of people now believe that the government only serves the interests of certain groups – up 23 points since 2021; 63% of people believe the government is “corrupt and biased” – again up 23 points since 2021; while less than a quarter (24%) consider government “honest and fair”; and 3 in 5 (60%) deem the government “completely ineffective as an agent of positive change”, another record change – up 19 points since 2021.
The report also contains a chart showing the UK near the bottom of a list of countries for trust in government, with trust falling seven points on the previous year. The figures are based on replies when people were asked if various institutions in their countries could be trusted to do what was right.
But look who comes top: Saudi Arabia, followed by China, both repressive regimes. This suggests that in some countries this particular trust index is not so much a measure of the inherent integrity and honesty of the government in charge, but more a measure of whether people feel it is safe to criticise their rulers when responding to opinion polls.
The 30% figure for the UK is still very poor when ranked against more comparable countries, such as France (39%), Germany (42%) and Ireland (45%). But it is not a record low; Edelman says this is just the lowest figure since 2012.
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Official advised Humza Yousaf on how to avoid wearing mask, UK Covid inquiry hears
Humza Yousaf was allegedly advised on how to avoid wearing a face mask in public by one of Scotland’s most senior health officials at the height of the Covid crisis, a public inquiry has been told. Severin Carrell has the story here.
Almost all anti-Labour statements from CCHQ these days include a reference to the party’s plan to spent up to £28bn a year on green investment, and that is true of the one it has released this afternoon about Labour’s plan to get high street opticians seeing more NHS eye patients. (See 11.56am.) In response, the Tories issued this statement from Dame Andrea Leadsom, a health minister. She said:
In Wales where Labour are in charge fewer than half of eye care patients are being seen within the target time.
Labour can’t say how they’d pay for this announcement. Because just like their reckless £28bn-a-year spending spree they don’t have a plan – meaning less money for the NHS.
Labour has said it would not put up taxes, or break its borrowing rules, to fund the £28bn pledge, but the constant attacks on the policy has made it nervous and, as Kiran Stacey reported last week, the future of the pledge is being reviewed.
Chris Heaton-Harris signals he hopes power sharing in Northern Ireland can resume by 8 February
In posts on X, Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, has confirmed that the government will put off the legal moment when the absence of a power-sharing executive at Stormont has to trigger new elections until 8 February.
In a sign he thinks that by then the DUP might have been persuaded to lift its boycott, he says he thinks this delay will be “sufficient”.
Tomorrow I will be introducing the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill to allow for the reformation of Stormont.
— Chris Heaton-Harris MP (@chhcalling) January 23, 2024
The Bill only has a single clause: to extend the period of time Stormont can legitimately come back until the 8th February.
(1/2)
Tomorrow I will be introducing the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill to allow for the reformation of Stormont.
The Bill only has a single clause: to extend the period of time Stormont can legitimately come back until the 8th February.
I am committed to restoring devolution and significant progress has been made towards that objective. I believe that this Bill, with the constrained timescales, will be sufficient.
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If you are a Guardian reader, you may not be getting adverts from the Conservative party on your Facebook page. But if you are, as James Heale from the Spectator reports, you may get an invitation to sign up for a personalised video from Rishi Sunak.
Latest Conservative adverts on Facebook are offering voters “A personal video from the Prime Minister.”
Users are encouraged to sign up to a site which takes their email, name and town then sends them the following personalised message… 1/3
Latest Conservative adverts on Facebook are offering voters “A personal video from the Prime Minister.”
— James Heale (@JAHeale) January 23, 2024
Users are encouraged to sign up to a site which takes their email, name and town then sends them the following personalised message… 1/3 pic.twitter.com/u6u7UkVgmh
It then emails you a video that welcomes you by name ‘Hi XYZ’ and includes a personalised poster ‘XYZ’s priorities are my priorities’ 2/3
It then emails you a video that welcomes you by name ‘Hi XYZ’ and includes a personalised poster ‘XYZ’s priorities are my priorities’ 2/3 pic.twitter.com/OyO33AIr3V
— James Heale (@JAHeale) January 23, 2024
Other personalised touches include a laptop featuring a ‘Task list: XYZ’s priorities’ and a mocked-up eponymous newspaper on how they’re delivering for your area 3/3
Other personalised touches include a laptop featuring a ‘Task list: XYZ’s priorities’ and a mocked-up eponymous newspaper on how they’re delivering for your area 3/3 pic.twitter.com/AEn0bwLVF8
— James Heale (@JAHeale) January 23, 2024
According to the Guido Fawkes website, which has produced the sort of Sunak video that Nigel Farage would get, this is not an AI production and Sunak recorded all the content himself.
Using other parties’ logos and branding in campaigns is “misinformation”, an Electoral Commission official has said.
Louise Edwards, director of regulation and digital transformation at the Electoral Commission, made the comment when giving evidence to the Commons standards committee. Asked by Sir Michael Ellis (Con) about the use of misleading logos/colour schemes by campaigners, Edwards said this was an example of the sort of misinformation or disinformation that was becoming more common. She went on
If you follow the trend of complaints that we have about [misinformation or disinformation], it would be pretty exponential …
The sort of instances you are talking about impact on public confidence … We as the commission do have a role in making that very clear to the people that might be actually putting these things out ... It’s quite clear that the public, their confidence falls if they see examples of misinformation or disinformation out there.
When it comes to legitimate political parties doing this about other political parties, you would hope actually that having it pointed out that this is undermining public confidence in democracy is a factor they would take into account.
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Penny Mordaunt, leader of the Commons, has told MPs that the Commons will consider all stages of a short bill on Northern Ireland tomorrow before they get on to the debate about the air attacks on the Houthis and the situation in the Red Sea.
Legislation is required because the current deadline for the formation of a power-sharing executive has passed and, without a new bill, new assembly elections would have to take place. The government wants to avoid that and, according to the BBC, it will instead legislate to make 8 February the new deadline.
Ministers are engaged in talks which they hope will persuade the DUP to lift its boycott of power sharing, which has lasted almost two years.
MPs pay tribute following death of Labour veteran Tony Lloyd
Sir Tony Lloyd was hailed as a “great man of Manchester” by Rishi Sunak as the House of Commons gathered to say goodbye to the Labour MP, PA Media reports. PA says:
The 73-year-old’s family watched the tributes in the chamber, with some MPs also seen wiping away tears as they listened.
Lloyd died on 17 January only days after announcing that he was suffering from an incurable form of leukaemia.
The Commons speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, recalled his final phone call with Lloyd after he left hospital, saying: “Tony made it so easy for me and he was that kind of person – he put me at ease when it was meant to be the other way around. He made sure it wasn’t a difficult conversation. I didn’t know that would be the last time we’d ever speak but I’m so glad we did. We’ve not only lost a great colleague and friend, the country has lost one of the nicest, most effective MPs.”
Sunak said Lloyd was an “enormously decent man who gave his life to public service”, adding: “In his penultimate contribution in this house, Tony said that change can happen and we must fight for the change we want to see. From the beginning of his career right to the end, Tony Lloyd lived those words. He was a great family man, a great man of Manchester and a great man of the House of Commons. He will be missed but he and the change he fought for and achieved will never be forgotten.”
The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, addressing Lloyd’s family, said: “I hope they can take some comfort in the memories and tributes of colleagues today, and I hope they see just how much Tony was loved and respected here in this house and how much he managed to achieve in his decades of public service.”
Starmer added he was able to convey to Manchester United fan Lloyd the “high esteem in which he was held by everyone”, adding: “I hope it did give him some comfort and support in those final days.”
Lloyd was first elected to represent Stretford in 1983 and also served as MP for Manchester Central following boundary changes. He would go on to serve in the influential position as chair of the parliamentary Labour party between 2006 and 2012 before standing down from parliament to successfully contest the election for police and crime commissioner for Greater Manchester. Lloyd returned for a second stint in the Commons and represented Rochdale from 2017.
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MPs heard that children in Gaza were now having to have their limbs amputated without anaesthetic. The point was made during the statement by Rishi Sunak, where he came under pressure over the UK’s position on the conflict there and the Israeli prime minister’s doubling down of his opposition to a two-state solution.
Labour’s former shadow chancellor John McDonnell asked the prime minister:
Does he not realise without an immediate ceasefire any strategy, any hope of a strategy succeeding, will fail and the Netanyahu cabinet has now become an obstacle to peace rather than a partner in peace?
McDonnell also cited an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme with a doctor in Gaza who said that the desperate shortage of medical supplies meant he was having to amputate the limbs of children without anaesthetic.
MPs also sought to press the prime minister on the comments by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who said last week he has told the US that he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state once the conflict in Gaza comes to an end.
Netanyahu’s words had “inflamed hopes for peace” and echoed the views of Hamas, Sunak was told by the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson, Layla Moran, who cited reports that the death toll in Gaza had reached 25,000. Her own relatives were still trapped there.
“While you might want to have hope I daresay it has turned to complete despondency,” she added.
An “immediate” pause was now needed to get aid in and hostages out of Gaza, said Sunak, who told MPs that they should not draw a link between the situation in the Red Sea and Gaza and that the UK would recognise Palestinian statehood “at a time which best serves the peace process”.
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No 10 claims Lords defeat won't hold up implementation of Rwanda policy
At the Downing Street lobby briefing this morning No 10 indicated that last night’s Lords vote would not hold up the passage of the Rwanda bill through parliament.
Peers defeated the government by passing a resolution saying it “should not ratify the UK-Rwanda agreement on an asylum partnership until the protections it provides have been fully implemented, since parliament is being asked to make a judgment, based on the agreement, about whether Rwanda is safe”. In voting for it, peers were endorsing the conclusions of a report from the cross-party international agreements committee.
The UK-Rwanda agreement, or treaty, underpins the new Rwanda bill, because it supposedly ensures that Rwanda will be a safe country for asylum seekers – as the bill asserts. The Lords committee said it was too early to know those safeguards are in place.
But the House of Lords does not have the power to block treaties, and so the government can ignore the vote saying ratification of the treaty should be delayed. The PM’s spokesperson indicated that that is what would happen. Asked what would happen next, he told reporters:
The treaty will continue to follow the usual processes in terms of scrutiny and ratification … Ultimately government can decide to issue a statement in the House of Commons on the treaty, and that shouldn’t impact our timelines for the progress of the bill and getting flights off the ground.
Under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, which governs how treaties are ratified, the Commons can delay ratification of a treaty. The Lords does not have that power, and if the Lords does vote against a treaty, the government can go ahead and ratify it anyway, provided it publishes a statement explaining why it is doing that.
The spokesperson also said that the Lords committee did not find anything objectionable in the treaty itself and he said that implementation by Rwanda of the measures in the treaty are supposed to be in place by the spring, when the government hopes flights might start.
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Pay for civil servants in data, digital and AI could rise to ensure vacancies get filled, minister says
Civil servants taking jobs in data, digital and AI are set to get higher pay to help fill shortages, John Glen, the Cabinet Office minister, has said.
The minister said he would review the pay structure for these expert areas as he seeks to transform productivity in Whitehall.
In a speech at the Institute for Government conference Glen, who has been in the job for 10 weeks, also set out plans to:
Review civil service “networks” to ensure their impartiality, having previously briefed the Daily Telegraph that he was leading a crackdown on “activism” in Whitehall during working time.
Make sure senior civil servants are in the office more than 60% of the time, which is the amount mandated for all Whitehall workers.
Launch a new performance management framework for civil servants to make it easier to get rid of underperforming employees or help them to improve.
Work towards a “smaller, more skilled civil service that is better rewarded” and reduce reliance on expensive contractors.
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Government publishes summary of legal advice justifying air strikes against Houthis
The government has published a summary of its legal advice justifying the air attacks last night. It says the justification is the same as it was for the attacks on 11 January. Here is an excerpt.
The Houthis have been carrying out dozens of serious attacks on shipping in the Red Sea for a sustained period. British flagged vessels, as well as the vessels of many other States, have been the subject of those attacks. On 9 January, this culminated in an attack against HMS Diamond, involving multiple drones. Those attacks against shipping in the Red Sea continue, with 10 further attacks since 11 January. The government assesses that attacks will continue unless action is taken to deter them.
Military intervention to strike carefully identified targets in order to effectively downgrade the Houthi’s capabilities and deter further attacks was lawfully taken. It was necessary and proportionate to respond to attacks by the Houthis and this was the only feasible means available to deal with such attacks.
The UK is permitted under international law to use force in such circumstances where acting in self-defence is the only feasible means to deal with an actual or imminent armed attack and where the force used is necessary and proportionate.
Andrew Gwynne (Lab) says Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli PM, are not committed to a two-state solution. So what is the UK doing to make it happen?
Sunak says the UK government is committed to the two-state solution, and is working with allies to make it happen.
Stephen Timms (Lab) asks why, given Sunak claims there is international support for the air attacks, only two countries have participated.
Sunak says Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and Bahrain supported the mission. And he says a dozen countries said they back what is happening.
Updated
John Crace, the Guardian’s sketch writer, says there is not a lot of interest in today’s statement from backbenchers.
A week ago the Commons was packed for Sunak’s statement after strikes on Yemen. Today it’s almost empty as Sunak gives a statement after second strikes. Presumably no one is that bothered any more
A week ago the Commons was packed for Sunak’s statement after strikes on Yemen. Today it’s almost empty as Sunak gives a statement after second strikes. Presumably no one is that bothered any more
— John Crace (@JohnJCrace) January 23, 2024
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John Cryer (Lab) asks when the government will fully proscribe the IRGC [the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps].
Sunak says the government does not comment on what groups may or may not be subject to proscription. But he says it has been sanctioned as an entity.
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Valerie Vaz (Lab) asks how many civilian casualties there have been from the UK attacks.
Sunak says the intelligence suggests there were no civilian casualties from the first attack, and the intention was to minimise them again in the attacks last night. He says there is no evidence to suggest there were any civilian casualties.
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said that, although he was glad the Commons is debating the airstrikes tomorrow, he thought there should be a proper vote. And he said Sunak had not sufficiently explained how he would avoid regional escalation.
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Alicia Kearns, the Conservative chair of the foreign affairs committee, said the government should have a strategic approach to tackling all Iran’s proxies and allies in the region, “so we don’t end up playing whac-a-mole”.
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SNP's Stephen Flynn challenges PM to explain why these airstrikes might work when Saudi bombing campaign didn't
Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, says “it’s fair for the government to use proportionate and robust action to defend their right to freedom of navigation”.
But he goes on:
The Houthis have been under almost constant bombardment from Saudi Arabia for the best part of eight years. They didn’t get that message. So why are we so confident that they will get our message this time around?
Sunak says doing nothing would also have involved a choice. It would have been the wrong choice “because it would be tantamount to ceding control of a global shipping route, which is economically vital, to a dangerous militant group, which is backed by Iran and putting innocent lives at risk”.
He stresses that the airstrikes are only part of a wider strategy.
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Sunak sidesteps question about whether campaign against Houthis will be 'prolonged'
Jerermy Quin, the Conservative chair of the defence committee, asks the PM if this may need to be a “prolonged” campaign.
Sunak says no decision has been taken to embark on a sustained campaign. The government reserves the right to act in self defence, he says.
In response to questions raised by Starmer, Sunak said the government would shortly published a summary of its legal advice relating to the attacks.
And he says the government was alive to the risk posed by Iran in the region.
Keir Starmer told MPs that Labour would judge action against the Houthis on a case-by-case basis. And it supported what happened last night, he says.
Updated
Sunak told MPs the airstrikes were only part of a “wider response” to the Houthis being taken by the government.
He said the government was increasing diplomatic engagement in the region, working to end the supply of arms to the Houthis, using sanctions to try to cut off their funding and delivering humanitarian aid to help people in Yemen who have suffered from the civil war.
He claimed that there was no link between what the government was doing and the conflict in Gaza. But people who glorified the Houthi attacks were glorifying terrorism, and that would be met by a zero tolerance response, he said.
Updated
Sunak tells MPs Britain attacked Houthis again because they pose ongoing threat to UK shipping
Sunak is addressing the Commons now.
He says the UK decided to join the airstrikes against the Houthis yesterday in response to intelligence showing they presented an ongoing threat to UK shipping.
He says, as with the first round of attacks in which the UK participated, the action was fully in line with international law, and targets were carefully selected.
Since the first airstrikes on 11 January, there have been further attacks on shipping, he says.
We have already shot down dozens of missiles and drones and civilian vessels and that the Royal Navy and the Houthis have conducted at least 12 further attacks on shipping since 11 January, including just last night shortly before our strikes were conducted, so we reacted to further degrade their ability to mount such attacks.
Last week, I gave the house our initial assessment of the first wave of strikes. Since then, we have seen further evidence that they were successful in degrading the duties military capability.
Last night, we hit two military sites just north of Sana’a, each containing multiple specific targets, which the Houthis used to support their attacks on shipping.
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Starmer not told about airstrikes in advance due to 'operational security and strike timelines', No 10 says
At the No 10 lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson said Keir Starmer, as leader of the opposition, and Sir Lindsay Hoyle, as Commons speaker, were told about the air strikes at the time they were happening, at around 10pm.
Asked why Starmer and Hoyle had not been told in advance, the spokesperson said No 10’s preference was to inform them in advance. But he said that in this instance “operational security and strike timelines” did not allow that.
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Sunak to give statement to MPs about UK's further involvement in airstrikes against Houthis
Rishi Sunak will be giving a statement to MPs at 12.30pm about the UK’s involvement last night in another round of airstrikes against the Houthis. It is the second time the UK has joined with the US in attacking installations in Yemen being used by the Houthis to attack shipping in the Red Sea.
At cabinet this morning Sunak told his colleagues the initial signs were the attacks had been effective. In a readout of what was said, the PM’s spokesperson said:
The prime minister opened cabinet with an update on last night’s strikes which have further degraded the Houthis’ ability to attack civilian and military ships, endanger lives and disrupt trade in the Red Sea.
The prime minister said the initial signs are that the strikes were effective.
The prime minister said that we took this action, together with our allies, because we continue to see an ongoing and imminent threat to UK vessels, and those of our partners, with the Houthis launching about 12 attacks on shipping in the Red Sea in the last 10 days.
While we are not seeking a confrontation, we will not hesitate to act in self-defence to protect British lives and interests.
The spokesperson also said MPs would hold a general debate on the airstrikes tomorrow, although it was not going to invite the Commons to vote for a substantive motion approving them.
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Labour says it would use high street opticians to cut waiting lists for NHS eye treatment
Labour would let optometrists provide tests and outpatient appointments for medical eye problems in high street opticians, a shadow health minister told the Institute for Government conference.
Filling in for Wes Streeting, who is ill, Karin Smyth said it would address the 620,000 patients currently waiting for NHS eye care, with 17,000 waiting over a year. It has previously been revealed that hundreds of NHS patients lost their eyesight following delayed appointments.
The party said it would seek to negotiate a national deal to deliver more routine outpatient care in high street opticians, using existing funds. This would include cataract pre-assessments and operation follow-ups, glaucoma monitoring, and common diagnostic tests.
Smyth said it would free up hospital specialists to treat more serious cases and provide better value for money. Labour highlighted that the plan had support from expert opthamologists. Prof Ben Burton, president of the Royal College of Opthalmologists said:
While expanding ophthalmology infrastructure and workforce capacity is essential and must be prioritised, we should also be making better use of the existing expertise and facilities in high street optical practices to manage stable, chronic conditions. The Labour party’s announcement today is therefore a positive commitment to supporting eye care patients and we would offer our clinical expertise to shape this policy if delivered in government.
Smyth also expanded on Streeting’s comments briefed overnight that Labour would wage a war on waste in the NHS, which have provoked a backlash on the Labour left. (See 9.36am, 10.22am and 11.17am.)
The shadow minister said around one in four missed outpatient appointments are due to administration issues, costing £300m a year. She also highlighted that the NHS still spends £200m a year on paper and postage, a decade after Jeremy Hunt pledged the NHS would go paperless.
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The UK is hosting the next meeting of the European Political Community, the group set up in 2022 to provide a forum where EU countries can discuss matters of common interest with non-EU European countries. The event is meant to happen before the middle of 2024.
But, according to a report in the Financial Times, Downing Street has not yet set a date – and European diplomats think that is because Rishi Sunak has not entirely ruled out a spring election. The FT says:
European diplomats believe the UK government’s refusal to rule out a snap general election this spring lies behind “delays” to an upcoming meeting of the European Political Community in Britain.
Several EU ambassadors have grumbled privately that officials in London have been dragging their feet over agreeing a date for the summit, which insiders said was initially expected to take place in March or April.
While Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has indicated that a general election is most likely to take place in the second half of the year, European diplomats suspect the fact he has not completely excluded the possibility of a May poll explains the absence of a date for the summit …
Another senior EU official said the delay had added to speculation about the UK election date. “We keep asking for a date and they [the UK] say they can’t give us one ‘for obvious reasons’, which we take to mean they have not fully decided about the election.”
Diane Abbott, who was shadow home secretary under Jeremy Corbyn and who is currently suspended from the parliamentary Labour party, has also said Wes Streeting is wrong to downplay the need for more investment in the NHS. (See 9.36AM.)
The population is ageing and growing. It is getting sicker too as the effects of austerity bite. There are also rising costs in the NHS especially with medical equipment and many drugs.
Of course the NHS needs more money.
Wes Streeting doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
The population is ageing and growing. It is getting sicker too as the effects of austerity bite. There are also rising costs in the NHS especially with medical equipment and many drugs.
— Diane Abbott MP (@HackneyAbbott) January 23, 2024
Of course the NHS needs more money.
Wes Streeting doesn't know what he's talking about. pic.twitter.com/IgSgfcgT2F
Wes Streeting was not able to deliver the speech planned for the Institute of Government this morning (see 9.36am) because he is unwell. Karin Smyth, a shadow health minister, delivered the speech on his behalf.
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Momentum, the leftwing Labour group, says Wes Streeting is “utterly wrong” to play down the need for the NHS to get more investment. (See 9.36am.)
The British Medical Journal called funding “the elephant in the room” when it comes to the NHS.
Wes Streeting is utterly wrong to deny the importance of investing in our NHS.
And he is setting Labour up for failure in government.
The British Medical Journal called funding "the elephant in the room" when it comes to the NHS.
— Momentum 🌹 (@PeoplesMomentum) January 23, 2024
Wes Streeting is utterly wrong to deny the importance of investing in our NHS.
And he is setting Labour up for failure in government. https://t.co/E9tSVO18gx
Streeting claims NHS could save billions by eliminating wasteful spending
In his Sun interview today Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, is argues that the NHS needs reform more than it needs extra money. (See 9.26am.) One (seemingly obvious and easy) reform would be to waste less, and in the overnight preview of his speech Labour identifies “waste” in the NHS worth billions of pounds that it suggests could be eliminated. It cites these five examples.
£1.7 billion cost of hospital beds for patients who are well enough to leave, but can’t because there is no care available in the community
£3.5 billion paid to recruitment agencies because the Conservatives have failed to train enough staff over the last 14 years
£626 million spent by the Department of Health and Social Care on management consultants
£32 million value of the pagers NHS staff are still forced to use
£1 billion of savings the NHS itself says is available through bulk-buying equipment at a cheaper rate. Currently some hospitals pay twice as much as others for equipment like scanners and surgical tools.
Streeting says:
With a government that understands the value of public money, that is brave enough to reform the NHS, that knows prevention is better than cure, the crisis in the health service can be turned around.
I am focusing on waste because I want to give the public hope that the NHS can be saved. The money that is wasted today can be used to get the NHS back on its feet tomorrow. Only Labour has a plan to reform the NHS.
In his Sun interview Streeting also claims that the NHS could save money and become more efficient by embracing technology properly. He says:
This morning DPD text-messaged to tell me this parcel was being delivered, they gave my slot and gave me the opportunity to change it.
Why is it that with the NHS you can’t turn around and say, ‘Actually, that isn’t convenient, I need to change it?’ Or you think, ‘Oh, shit, I forgot about that’.
It’s just those basic things, that basic organisation of the system. And this is not revolutionary technology.
David Cameron, the foreign secretary, has urged peers to back the government’s Rwanda bill after the House of Lords last night voted for a motion intended to delay its implementation.
As Rajeev Syal reports, peers voted for a motion saying ratification of the UK-Rwanda treaty, that underpins the Rwanda bill going through parliament, should be delayed until Rwanda has shown that it has enacted the legal reforms set out in the treaty intended to show it is a safe country for asylum seekers.
The vote will not stop the government ratifying the treaty, but it may make it harder for the government to fight off legal challenges to the policy in the courts.
Cameron, who sits in the Lords, said in response:
What the government will do is, having passed the bill through the House of Commons, bring the bill to the House of Lords, and I’ll be urging fellow peers in the House of Lords to vote for that bill because it’s absolutely essential that we stop the boats and that we fulfil the prime minister’s plan.
It’s not acceptable to have people travelling from a perfectly safe country – France – to another safe country – Britain – and to be able to stay, and that’s what the Rwanda plan is all about and why I urge the House of Lords to pass this bill.
As the division list shows, only one Conservative peer, the Earl of Dundee, voted with the opposition parties and crossbenchers for the motion saying treaty ratification should be delayed.
Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA
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Jeremy Hunt has room for £20bn tax cuts after borrowing halves year on year
A halving of UK government borrowing over the past year has created scope for Jeremy Hunt to make tax cuts worth about £20bn in his March budget, Larry Elliott reports.
Fresh US/UK airstrikes ‘send clear message’ to Houthis, says Cameron
A fresh set of US and UK airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen were intended to “send the clearest possible message that Britain backs its words and our warnings with action”, David Cameron, the foreign secretary, has said. Ben Quinn has the story.
Wes Streeting says Labour has been too nostalgic about NHS as he argues it needs reform more than extra money
Good morning. Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, is the main speaker at a conference organised by the Institute for Government thinktank today and, according to the overnight briefing, his speech will be an attack on “waste” in the NHS, and a declaration that Labour will make it more efficient. This is a relatively standard opposition party theme. The Conservatives used to say much the same when Labour was in power. But Streeting has also given an interview to the Sun to promote his message, and this will attract more attention because he has used it to accuse his own party of being too nostalgic about the NHS.
He told the paper:
I think there are times when the Labour party is led too heavily into nostalgia. It would be the easiest thing in the world to go into the next general election just saying ‘worst crisis in NHS history’, ‘you can’t trust the Tories on the NHS’, ‘you’ve got 24 hours to save the NHS’ and, by the way, here’s a nice sepia film of Nye Bevan.
When the Sun’s Harry Cole put it to Streeting that that was exactly how Labour campaigned on the NHS in elections, Streeting replied:
Well, we haven’t done very well in the last four, so I’m not planning to repeat those mistakes.
Streeting also restated an argument that he has previously made as shadow health secretary, saying that what the NHS needed most was reform, not extra money.
You can’t just keep on pouring ever-increasing amounts of money into a leaky bucket, you’ve got to deal with the bucket itself.
And on the topic of NHS funding, he told the Sun:
It’s not right to keep on asking people on low to middle incomes to pay high taxes when they’re struggling. And it’s not right that they don’t get much for the money they are putting in.
I will post more from the interview and speech shortly.
Otherwise, we have cabinet today, and we are expecting a Commons statement from Rishi Sunak on the latest air strikes against the Houthis. There is full coverage of those on our Middle East crisis live blog.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.15am: Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary, gives a speech at the Institute for Government’s annual conference. Other participants include Kwasi Kwarteng, the Tory former chancellor, who is speaking on a panel, and John Glen, the Cabinet Office minister, who is giving a speech. The full agenda is here.
Morning: Rishi Sunak chairs cabinet.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
11.30am: Victoria Atkins, the health secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
After 12.30pm: Rishi Sunak is expected to make a statement to MPs about the latest air strike against the Houthis.
After 1.30pm: MPs debate a Labour opposition day motion which, if passed, would set aside a day for the Commons to debate and pass a Labour bill on school absences that would force the government to set up a national register of children not in school.
If you want to contact me, do try the “send us a message” feature. You’ll see it just below the byline – on the left of the screen, if you are reading on a laptop or a desktop. This is for people who want to message me directly. I find it very useful when people message to point out errors (even typos – no mistake is too small to correct). Often I find your questions very interesting, too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either in the comments below the line; privately (if you leave an email address and that seems more appropriate); or in the main blog, if I think it is a topic of wide interest.
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