Starmer ‘completely rejects’ suggestion he echoed Enoch Powell in immigration speech, No 10 says – UK politics live

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Putin 'prevaricating' and 'obfuscating' implicit bid successful Ukraine, David Lammy tells MPs

Vladimir Putin is “prevaricating” and “obfuscating” successful bid talks with Ukraine, David Lammy has told MPs.

Speaking during questions successful the Commons, the overseas caput said:

We invited the desires to get an enduring peace, but determination indispensable beryllium a ceasefire successful bid to prosecute successful those talks it seems to me, and it is Putin that is prevaricating, it is Putin that is obfuscating and we indispensable telephone that retired with our agelong acquisition of scrutinising that peculiar individual.

In July Labour volition person been successful powerfulness for a year. To people the anniversary, Guardian Live events are hosting a speech successful Conway Hall, London, connected Wednesday 9 July wherever Pippa Crerar, the Guardian’s governmental editor, Rafael Behr, a Guardian columnist, Frances O’Grady, the Labour adjacent and erstwhile TUC wide secretary, and Salma Shah, the erstwhile Conservative peculiar advisor to Sajid Javid, volition sermon however it has gone.

There is much astir the event, and a nexus allowing you to publication tickets, here.

Government to broaden instrumentality criminalising those who promote radical to self-harm

Anyone who assists idiosyncratic to self-harm – specified arsenic by giving them a leaf oregon pills – could look up to 5 years successful situation nether plans for a caller offence, PA Media reports. PA says:

Ministers are seeking to broaden the instrumentality to criminalise those who promote oregon assistance aforesaid harm online oregon successful person, arsenic portion of the transgression and policing bill.

The determination would mean anyone who mean to origin superior self-harm could beryllium prosecuted, adjacent if that did not pb to immoderate injuries.

Under the Online Safety Act 2023, it is already amerciable to promote oregon assistance termination oregon self-harm done contented online.

But the alteration to the instrumentality seeks to regenerate the existing offence to screen each ways self-harm could beryllium aided.

Commenting connected the change, Alex Davies-Jones, the victims minister, said:

The prevalence of superior self-harm, particularly successful young people, is hugely concerning.

It is an atrocious information that immoderate radical promote oregon assistance specified behaviour, and 1 I wanted to gully attraction to during Mental Health Awareness Week.

Whether encouragement is by communication, oregon much straight by assistance, the result is the same.

We are determined that anybody intending to spot others harm themselves is stopped and dealt with successful the strongest way.

UK jointly calling for urgent gathering of UN information assembly to sermon concern successful Gaza, curate tells MPs

David Lammy, the overseas secretary, has conscionable started taking questions successful the Commons. In effect to the archetypal question, Hamish Falconer, curate for the Middle East, said the UK has joined calls for an urgent gathering of the UN information assembly this day to sermon the concern successful Gaza.

After Foreign Office questions, Mel Stride, the shadiness chancellor, is asking an urgent question astir the Mansion House accord – a woody with pension companies intended to get them to put much successful UK firms.

The government’s migration achromatic insubstantial generated antagonistic headlines crossed each wings of the property this morning.

Here are 2 of the headlines successful rightwing papers.

Mail splash Photograph: Daily Mail

Express splash Photograph: Daily Express

And present are 3 headlines from papers successful the centre oregon connected the left.

i splash Photograph: The i

Guardian splash Photograph: Guardian

Morning Star splash Photograph: Morning Star

But, without pleasing the near oregon the right, possibly Keir Starmer was aligned with the views of radical who bash not place with either side? That is the statement made by Luke Tryl, who arsenic manager of More successful Common UK spends a batch of clip successful absorption groups researching nationalist opinion. He posted these on Bluesky yesterday.

IMO, some Starmer’s designation that migration is portion of Britain’s nationalist story, and the informing that without much power “we hazard becoming an land of strangers, not a federation that walks guardant together” does a beauteous bully occupation of capturing wherever astir Brits are connected immigration.

There are precise fewer propulsion up the drawbridgers adjacent successful the astir migration sceptic absorption groups we tally (or successful the polling). But determination are precise decidedly worries, adjacent successful much wide groups, that the pace/scale of migration and deficiency of integration expectations undermines cohesion/identity/community.

Insisting much power is needed and we should person greater expectations connected contribution/integration (and we should really beryllium prepared to put successful it) tackling reliance connected inexpensive labour, portion besides being wide Britain volition ever privation to pull people, seems to conscionable nationalist expectations connected balance

UK unemployment rises to highest successful astir 4 years

The unemployment complaint successful the UK has risen to its highest level successful astir 4 years, according to authoritative figures, arsenic the jobs marketplace continues to slow. Heather Stewart has the story.

Thames Water brag defends aboriginal £195,000 bonus successful grounds to MPs

Chris Weston, main enforcement astatine Thames Water, has defended his decision to judge a £195,000 bonus just 3 months into the occupation past year.

Giving grounds to the Commons situation committee, wherever helium was asked if it was omniscient to judge specified a large bonus truthful soon aft her started, Weston replied:

I deliberation successful the archetypal 3 months I did marque a difference.

I started to enactment successful spot the caller organisational structure, I started to springiness radical assurance and reassurance astir however arrogant they could beryllium of the occupation they did and what we were mounting retired to do. And that helped stabilise the institution and I deliberation that was important.

Weston besides said the institution had “lost absorption a bit” erstwhile helium took over.

I was the 5th main enforcement successful 5 years … that creates a disorder for radical successful the company. I deliberation it required clearer direction, which I person fixed … Sixteen months successful I’m rather pleased with the advancement we’re making.

It is simply a large vessel to crook around. It is precise difficult.

Helena Horton is simply a Guardian situation reporter.

US agriculture caput Brooke Rollins finished a property league successful London wherever she said she would similar to spot the UK and the US much aligned connected nutrient standards regulation.

She besides seemed to soften her stance connected getting the UK to judge chlorine-washed chickenhearted and hormone-treated beef from past week erstwhile she said US agriculture was being treated “very unfairly” by countries specified arsenic the UK and that she wanted the UK to judge “all meat” from the US.

Rollins told reporters the marketplace is opening to determination distant from hormone-treated beef, and that chlorine-washed chickenhearted has astir wholly been removed from the US proviso chain.

Asked astir US beef producers phasing retired hormones she said:

Our agriculture producers, our cattle producers etc, evidently are perpetually watching what the markets look like, and if the markets are calling for a circumstantial type, oregon they person much accidental somewhere, past I deliberation that we perchance bash spot immoderate question successful the market.

Rollins added that she wanted the US, UK and different countries to person much regulatory alignment and akin standards for agriculture. She said:

One happening … I’ve taken from a batch of the discussions yesterday [when she met Steve Reed, the enviroment secretary] and contiguous is that the much our 2 countries, and those who are aligned with our values, are regulatory aligned, meaning that we don’t person each these antithetic systems and structures – I deliberation that that is going to spell a tremendously agelong mode to supporting the agriculture industry.

Rollins besides seemed to person softened her stance connected asking the UK to judge chlorine chicken. She said:

Only astir 5% of our chickenhearted successful America is really treated that way, with the chlorine. So we person moved, implicit the past decade, wholly distant from the ‘chlorine chicken’. So that’s I deliberation that’s a truly important to dispel, and I’m precise grateful to bash that.

She besides said that, though pork and poultry weren’t included successful past week’s US-UK commercialized deal, they are astatine the apical of the database for further discussions.

Starmer's usage of operation echoing Enoch Powell was 'accident', not intentional, says root adjacent to No 10

In an interrogation connected Newsnight past nighttime Arlene Foster, the erstwhile DUP leader, said she thought that idiosyncratic successful Downing Street would person known that “island of strangers” was a wide echo of what Enoch Powell said successful his Rivers of Blood speech. Asked if Keir Starmer would person been alert of the similarities successful the language, she replied:

Somebody did Downing Street, I’m convinced of it,

“Island of strangers” is simply a precise peculiar signifier of words, it’s astir a word of art. So wherever did it travel from? And who was the idiosyncratic that said this should spell into the speech?

But Starmer’s allies are saying it was genuine mistake, and not an intentional echo of what Powell said. “It was an accident, and not designed to origin a row,” according to a root adjacent to No 10 acquainted with what happened. The root accepts that idiosyncratic should person realised that the “island of strangers” operation had Powellite connotations. But the information that this was not picked up is attributed to an error, and not an effort to notation the Rivers of Blood speech.

This is from Steve Richards, the seasoned governmental commentator, connected societal media the Starmer/Powell connection row.

Keir Starmer’s ‘island of strangers’ remark is portion of a pattern.. his willingness to work retired immoderate is written for him by clunky advisers ..in this lawsuit trying excessively hard to marque him dependable similar Farage..As a effect inauthenticity is simply a wider occupation for him. There are galore arguments to beryllium made for borderline security. He made immoderate of them well…All mislaid by a azygous anserine operation that immoderate close helping populists would deliberation doubly earlier using…and anyhow predictably leads to the Mail and co moving their accustomed hostile beforehand pages.

Yvette Cooper (left), the location secretary, and Jo Stevens, the Welsh secretary, arriving successful Dowing Street for furniture this morning.
Photograph: James Manning/PA

Robert Jenrick claims migration has already turned UK into 'island of strangers'

Robert Jenrick, the shadiness justness secretary, was besides doing an interrogation circular this morning. Asked astir Keir Starmer’s informing successful his code yesterday that Britain was astatine hazard of becoming an “island of strangers” due to the fact that of the interaction of wide immigration, Jenrick claimed Britain was already similar this. He told Times Radio:

I deliberation it’s true. In fact, I deliberation successful immoderate places we already are. Aggressive levels of wide migration person made america much divided.

If you look astatine communities successful our country, for illustration cardinal Bradford, 50% of radical were calved extracurricular of the United Kingdom; successful cardinal Luton, 46% of residents arrived successful the past decade.

There are places similar Dagenham wherever the achromatic British colonisation has fallen by astir 60% successful the past 25 years.

People successful galore parts of our state are experiencing profound alteration arsenic a effect of the levels of migration that we’ve seen, and we’ve got to bring that backmost to the historical levels that we enjoyed arsenic a state which enabled america to beryllium a well-integrated and agreed country, alternatively than the 1 that we’re seeing today.

(A pedant mightiness constituent retired that, adjacent though Enoch Powell and Keir Starmer were making a rhetorical constituent erstwhile they talked astir “strangers”, technically we are an land of strangers anway. There are astir 70 cardinal of america here, and astir of america lone personally cognize hundreds, oregon astatine champion a fewer thousands, of our chap citizens.)

Cooper defends Starmer’s ‘island of strangers’ enactment but says she does not cognize if helium was alert of Enoch Powell echo

Good morning. Yesterday Keir Starmer unveiled the government’s migration achromatic paper, a important argumentation involution connected a taxable that is adjacent the apical of the public’s database of concerns. Yet contiguous the statement is dominated not by the existent policies – adjacent though they could origin large problems successful immoderate sectors of the economy, arsenic we explicate here – but by the connection Starmer utilized to support them.

To recap, successful 1 conception of his speech yesterday Starmer said:

Nations beryllium connected rules – just rules. Sometimes they’re written down, often they’re not, but either way, they springiness signifier to our values. They usher america towards our rights, of course, but besides our responsibilities, the obligations we beryllium to 1 another. Now, successful a divers federation similar ours, and I observe that, these rules go adjacent much important. Without them, we hazard becoming an land of strangers, not a federation that walks guardant together.

This generated immense contention not conscionable due to the fact that of the statement (some radical don’t judge the assertion that precocious levels of migration undermine societal cohesion), but due to the fact that the statement and the language echo what Enoch Powell said successful his infamous Rivers of Blood code in 1968. Powell said:

While, to the immigrant, introduction to this state was admittance to privileges and opportunities eagerly sought, the interaction upon the existing colonisation was precise different. For reasons which they could not comprehend, and successful pursuance of a determination by default, connected which they were ne'er consulted, they recovered themselves made strangers successful their ain country.

They recovered their wives incapable to get infirmary beds successful childbirth, their children incapable to get schoolhouse places, their homes and neighbourhoods changed beyond recognition, their plans and prospects for the aboriginal defeated; astatine enactment they recovered that employers hesitated to use to the migrant idiosyncratic the standards of subject and competence required of the native-born worker; they began to hear, arsenic clip went by, much and much voices which told them that they were present the unwanted.

Starmer was intelligibly echoing Powell. But what is not wide is whether, for Starmer and/or the idiosyncratic who constitute the speech, this was intentional, unconscious (people tin retrieve phrases without recalling wherever they came from), oregon implicit coincidence (politicians much than 50 years apart, making a akin argument, by deploying the same, not-particularly-unusual word).

Powell’s Rivers of Blood code was denounced arsenic racist arsenic soon arsenic helium delivered it (although not truthful overmuch for his comments astir autochthonal Britons uncovering wide migration unsettling, wherever galore radical would hold helium had a point, but for his proposition that it would culminate successful violence, oppression and societal collapse, wherever helium has turned retired to beryllium hopelessly wrong) and it is inactive wide viewed arsenic abhorrent. Yesterday Starmer was condemned by leftwingers for saying thing that sounded Powellite.

But ministers person defended him. Asked astir this connected Newsnight past night, Jacqui Smith, the skills minister, said comparing the Starmer code to Powell’s was “wrong”. She went on:

Labour and Labour governments person ever listened to radical successful presumption of their concerns astir their information and the opportunities that they privation to person for themselves and their children. And erstwhile we spot thing that we recognize that radical judge is unfair, past we are going to instrumentality enactment connected that. That’s what the British radical expect america to do, that’s what Labour governments do.

This greeting Yvette Cooper, the location secretary, was giving interviews, and connected the Today programme she said she agreed with Smith. She went on:

I don’t deliberation it’s close to marque those comparisons [between Starmer’s code and Powell’s]. It’s wholly different. And the premier curate said yesterday, I deliberation astir successful the aforesaid breath, talked astir the divers state that we are and that being portion of our strength.

Cooper said that, erstwhile Starmer talked astir the emergence of Britain being “an land of strangers”, helium was referring to “the value of recognising the interaction … [of] this large summation successful nett migration, and besides that we’ve got to person the enactment for integration, enactment for English connection speaking, a batch of the measures that are acceptable retired arsenic portion of that achromatic paper”.

Asked if Starmer oregon his code writers knew that the “island of strangers” operation echoed Powell, Cooper said she did not know.

Here is the docket for the day.

9.30am: Keir Starmer chairs cabinet.

10am: Thames Water bosses springiness grounds to the Commons situation committee astir reforming the h2o sector.

11.30am: David Lammy, the overseas secretary, takes questions successful the Commons.

Noon: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

2.30pm: MPs statesman a statement connected an assisted dying bill.

3.15pm: Jonathan Reynolds, the concern secretary, gives grounds to the Commons concern committee astir concern strategy.

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