Miliband: ‘High electricity costs have held back British businesses’
Energy secretary Ed Miliband has also commented on the announcement of the government’s promise to cut electricity costs for key business sectors.
He said:
For too long high electricity costs have held back British businesses, as a result of our reliance on gas sold on volatile international markets.
As part of our modern industrial strategy we’re unlocking the potential of British industry by slashing industrial electricity prices in key sectors.
We’re also doubling down on our clean power strengths with increased investment in growth industries from offshore wind to nuclear. This will deliver on our clean power mission and plan for change to bring down bills for households and businesses for good.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the plan would “see billions of pounds for investment and cutting-edge tech, ease energy costs, and upskill the nation.”
The government’s announcement can be found here.
Key events
While she was speaking this morning, Rachel Reeves took the opportunity to criticise the Reform UK policy announcement this morning, describing the scheme involving non-doms as “a tax cut for foreign billionaires”.
The chancellor said:
That would mean either taxes on ordinary working people would have to go up to compensate for those lack of revenues, or Reform UK would have to cut public services, including the NHS. So, this is a tax cut by Nigel Farage and the Reform Party for foreign-born billionaires.
Labour’s priority is easing the pressure on ordinary working families and investing in our public services, including the NHS.
The chancellor has joined other government ministers today in refusing to be drawn on whether the UK government thinks US strikes on Iran are legal or not.
Speaking to broadcasters, Rachel Reeves said “It is up to the US to make that case. We were not involved in these actions and, of course, we would never comment on the legal advice that the government receives.”
That line is slightly disingenuous, as prior to winning the election in 2024, the Labour party and shadow foreign secretary David Lammy had urged the then foreign secretary David Cameron to publish formal legal advice on whether Israel was breaching international humanitarian law in Gaza.
PA Media reports that Reeves continued by saying:
The Iranian regime has caused instability in the region for a long time and, of course, we share concerns [with the US] about that. The priority, though, at the moment is de-escalation and getting the Iranian regime back around the negotiating table. We believe very strongly that Iran should never be able to develop a nuclear weapon, but what is needed now is a return to the negotiating table to reduce that threat.
Reeves has been in Nuneaton with prime minister Kier Starmer, promoting the government’s new industrial strategy document.
Green party’s Denyer: industrial strategy is ‘another missed opportunity’ from Labour government
The Green party of England and Wales have responded to the government publishing its Modern Industrial Strategy for the UK document. Co-leader Carla Denyer said:
This industrial strategy looks like another missed opportunity from the Labour government. The move away from polluting oil and gas towards clean power offers huge wins for communities, for workers and for industry – but that requires government to make a clear plan to urgently phase out fossil fuels, make polluting companies pay to retrain workers, and to harness the skills and innovation this country has in bucket loads.
The investment in skills announced in today’s strategy is welcome, and the move towards clean sources of power like wind and solar offers huge opportunities for good-quality jobs in futureproofed industries.
But the failure to make a plan for those currently working in high-carbon industries is shortsighted. 3 million workers across the UK will need re-skilling and retraining in order to make the most of the green jobs boom, and fossil fuel giants must shoulder the cost of this.
We also need to see measures to ensure that all investment in the government’s GB Energy supports jobs and industries here in the UK rather than being lost overseas.
We have already seen decades of missed opportunities on this, leaving communities hollowed out and people forced out of work. This government must act fast to turn the corner and put Britain first in the race towards the economy of the future.
Denyer has announced that she is stepping down from the co-leader role later this year.
Davey: Starmer must appear before parliament over US strikes on Iran
The leader of the Liberal Democrats has called for the prime minister to make a statement in parliament in the wake of US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and social media talk from Donald Trump about regime change in Tehran.
In a statement, Ed Davey said:
Trump’s strikes on Iran were a seismic moment which will have a profound effect on global security for many years to come.
But UK ministers are dodging questions on whether they support these strikes, and failing to guarantee that we won’t be dragged into another illegal American war in the Middle East.
The prime minister has not even spoken once in the Commons since this crisis began. He needs to come to parliament today, update the country on where the UK stands, and what he is doing to ensure the situation does not escalate any further.
The chair of the Labour party has described the Reform UK policy announcement of “the Britannia Card” as “a bonanza for billionaires.”
In a statement Ellie Reeves said:
Nigel Farage’s new policy is quite simply a bonanza for billionaires. Not only is this a golden giveaway to the rich, but experts warn this will leave a massive black hole in the country’s finances that working people will be left to pick up the bill for.
Reform UK is not serious or credible. Every family in the country would foot the bill for their dangerous and unfunded Liz Truss-style policies which would devastate Britain’s economy.
Rowena Mason
Rowena Mason, the Guardian’s Whitehall editor, has been at a Reform UK press conference this morning.
Nigel Farage has defended his plans to attract wealthy foreigners to the UK with a £250,000 tax giving them 10 years of residency, as Labour called it a “billionaire’s bonanza”.
In a press conference in London, attended by Zia Yusuf and party treasurer Nick Candy, Farage said he wanted to win back very wealthy people leaving the country and encourage them to spend money and create jobs in the UK.
Reform estimates 6,000 people would pay the tax and the proceeds would be used to give a £600 dividend for the lowest paid workers.
Farage rejected the idea that it was a Robin Hood tax, saying: “We are not stealing from the rich, we are encouraging them to come.”
Tax expert Dan Neidle suggested the policy could cost the UK £35bn over five years in lost revenue, highlighting the tax gap it would cause and arguing it would not get a high take up, especially as no government could guarantee a tax policy would be in place for 10 years.
Farage rejected this analysis as “nonsense”, with Reform sources saying those paying the £250,000 “landing fee” would still pay tax on any UK earnings – just not overseas gains.
Separately, the Reform UK leader said Israel and the US were right to attempt to destroy Iran’s nuclear capability by bombing it.
He also accused the attorney general, Richard Hermer, of being “frankly bordering on treacherous” for striking a deal to hand ownership of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back the military base there, claiming this had hindered the US bombing mission against Iran.
Asked whether he supported UK joining military action in Iran, he said: “I doubt they are going to ask for our help but they could do with our support.”
Matthew Pearce
The Liberal Democrats have said the government’s industrial strategy must mark a “new chapter” for British businesses.
Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park and their business spokesperson, said:
If the Government is truly serious about backing British business, today’s announcement must be followed with U-turns on the damaging jobs tax and family farm tax – with revenue raised instead through the fairer ways we’ve set out – and negotiations on a new UK-EU customs union that will deliver new trading opportunities for businesses across the UK.
This strategy must contain real solutions to bring down businesses’ sky-high energy costs and upskill workers around the country.
Ministers must also ensure that across every sector, small businesses are right at the heart of this economic plan.”
Patrick Wintour
The Guardian’s diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour has this report on foreign secretary David Lammy’s comments this morning:
The UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, has repeatedly refused to say if the UK supported the US military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities on Saturday or whether they were legal.
Interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday for the first time since the US launched airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, he also sidestepped the question of whether he supported recent social media posts by Donald Trump that seemed to favour regime change in Tehran, saying that in all his discussions in the White House the sole focus had been on military targets.
Lammy said western allies were waiting for battlefield assessments of the impact of the strikes, but it was possible Iran still had a stockpile of highly enriched uranium, although the strikes “may also have set back Iran’s nuclear programme by several years”.
Ever since the US strikes, senior figures in the Labour government have tried to make their criticism of the action only implicit rather than explicit.
Lammy tried to focus on urging Iran to return to the negotiating table, insisting that Iran was in breach of its obligations by enriching uranium at levels of purity as high as 60%.
The UK Foreign Office has denied Iranian reports that in a phone call with the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, on Sunday, Lammy had expressed regret about the US strikes.
Asked if the airstrikes were legal, Lammy said three times it was for Washington to answer such questions.
You can read more of Patrick Wintour’s report here: David Lammy refuses to say if UK supported US strikes on Iran nuclear facilities
PA are carrying these quotes from health secretary Wes Streeting who has announced what he called “a rapid national investigation” into NHS maternity services.
For the past year, I have been meeting bereaved families from across the country who have lost babies or suffered serious harm during what should have been the most joyful time in their lives.
What they have experienced is devastating – deeply painful stories of trauma, loss, and a lack of basic compassion – caused by failures in NHS maternity care that should never have happened. Their bravery in speaking out has made it clear: we must act – and we must act now.
I know nobody wants better for women and babies than the thousands of NHS midwives, obstetricians, maternity and neonatal staff, and that the vast majority of births are safe and without incident, but it’s clear something is going wrong.
That’s why I’ve ordered a rapid national investigation to make sure these families get the truth and the accountability they deserve, and ensure no parent or baby is ever let down again. I want staff to come with us on this, to improve things for everyone.
We’re also taking immediate steps to hold failing services to account and give staff the tools they need to deliver the kind, safe, respectful care every family deserves.
Maternity care should be the litmus test by which this government is judged on patient safety, and I will do everything in my power to ensure no family has to suffer like this again.
Health is a devolved policy area.
Wes Streeting announces investigation into NHS maternity services in England
The health secretary, Wes Streeting, has announced the launch of a national investigation into NHS maternity services in England.
More details soon …