Politics tamfitronics
PM says we should ‘mark it’ if England wins Euros – but doesn’t commit to bank holiday
The prime minister has described England’s win over the Netherlands in the Euros last night as “fantastic”.
Sir Keir Starmer told broadcasters: “I managed to pop out from one of my sessions [at the NATO summit] for just five minutes, which is when I saw Harry Kane get the first goal.
“I missed the second one, but it was brilliant.”
He went on to say: “I’ve always said this team were going to go all the way, so I’m really, really pleased – and just good luck for [the final on] Sunday.”
Asked if he will arrange an extra bank holiday if England wins, the PM replied: “We should certainly mark the occasion, I don’t want to jinx it. I went to the last Euros final, I don’t want to go through that again.
“I don’t want to jinx anything, but we must mark it in some way. But the most important thing is getting it over the line on Sunday.”
Sir Keir has previously called for bank holidays if England won past tournaments.
Sky News Daily: How does Starmer reach out to the world?
As the new prime minister makes his international debut at the NATO summit in Washington – what does he need to do to make a quick impact with international colleagues?
On today’s Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by political correspondent Tamara Cohen to discuss how Sir Keir is tackling his first overseas visit.
Plus, Lord Peter Ricketts, former diplomat and French ambassador, joins Niall to look at Labour’s wider foreign policy plans.
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Becoming PM would have been ‘very special to my parents’, says Starmer
At the end of his interview with our political editor Beth RigbySir Keir Starmer is asked how he thinks his parents would have reacted to seeing him become prime minister.
The prime minister, who is proudly the son of a tool maker, became emotional in his response, telling Beth he wished his parents could have witnessed the moment he entered Number 10.
“They’d have loved that,” Sir Keir said. “And there’s a real part of me that just wishes that they could have been there, because that would been very special for them.
“Obviously, they’re not with us anymore. They won’t have that moment.
“But I can’t pretend to you that I haven’t thought about that.”
Was becoming prime minister a bittersweet moment?
Sir Keir says not, but he and his wife Victoria “smiled because we know what they would have thought had they been there”.
Starmer says Biden ‘on good form’ after White House meeting
Sir Keir Starmer has said Joe Biden was “on good form” after a meeting with the US president at the White House during the NATO summit.
The prime minister dismissed concerns the US president’s cognitive ability is not up to scratch as Mr Biden faces calls to step down as the Democratic candidate ahead of the election in November.
Mr Biden’s suitability as president has come into question after he faced a disastrous first presidential debate against Republican rival Donald Trump nearly two weeks ago.
The president’s doctor released a letter on Tuesday saying Mr Biden has shown no symptoms of Parkinson’s disease or any other neurological disease after reports a specialist had visited the president several times over the past year.
Starmer refuses to put ‘arbitrary date’ on 2.5% defence spending target
Sir Keir Starmer has refused to put a date on when he will increase defence spending to 2.5% of national income.
The prime minister is under pressure to match the timeframe set out by the last Conservative government, which said it would increase spending by 2030 in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the rising threats posed by China and Iran.
Speaking to Sky News’s political editor Beth RigbySir Keir said it was “right to say” that European nations were going to have to “put more in” to their defence budgets and that such discussions formed the “big theme” of the NATO summit in Washington DC that he attended with US President Joe Biden.
But asked repeatedly whether he would commit to increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP “by the end of the parliament”, the prime minister said he thought it would be “unserious… to simply pick an arbitrary date”.
He said the figure was a “serious commitment” and that he wanted to “set out a roadmap to it within our fiscal rules”.
You can read more from Sky News here:
Former veterans’ minister intends to ‘keep his word’ on alleged extra-judicial special forces killings
Earlier. we reported that the former veterans’ minister Johnny Mercer has been ordered comply with the Afghanistan Inquiry.
He has been told to hand over the names of people who told him about alleged extra-judicial special forces killings by 25 July.
While giving evidence to the inquiry in February, Mr Mercer repeatedly refused to hand over names of “multiple officers” who told him about allegations of murder and a cover-up.
He applied to the chair to be able to withhold the names – but that application has today been rejected.
Reacting to this news, the ex-Tory minister said it is “extraordinary” that his “moral courage and integrity” have been questioned repeatedly in public.
He said he intends to “keep his word” to those who approached him.
You can read his statement in full here:
MP ‘deeply disturbed’ by discovery of human remains in suitcases
A manhunt is under way after two suitcases believed to contain human remains were left near the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol.
Reacting to this news, Carla Denyer, the new Green Party MP for Bristol Central, said she was “deeply disturbed”.
She thanked the police for their “swift action”.
The Green Party co-leader said: “I am deeply disturbed by the horrifying discovery of human remains at Clifton Suspension Bridge overnight.
“Distressing events like this are unsettling for all of us who call Bristol home and are proud of our city.
“Thank you @ASPolice for your swift action.
“I am in contact with authorities and will do anything I can to support a swift and thorough investigation.”
You can read more on this story in the link below:
Coming up on Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge
Our weeknight politics show Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge will be live on Sky News from 7pm.
The fast-paced programme dissects the inner workings of Westminster, with interviews, insights, and analysis – bringing you, the audience, into the corridors of power.
Tonight, Sophy will be joined by new Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who has ordered a full and independent investigation into the state of the NHS.
She will also chat toAndrew Bowiethe Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine.
On Sophy’s panel are:
- Broadcaster Nick Ferrari;
- Lucy Rigby, Labour MP for Northampton North.
Watch live on Sky News, in the stream at the top of this page, and follow live updates here in the Politics Hub.
Watch Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge from Monday to Thursday on Sky channel 501, Virgin channel 602, Freeview channel 233, on the Sky News website and app or on YouTube.
The newly elected MPs given top jobs in Starmer’s government
By Alix Culbertsonpolitical reporter
MPs who were only elected for the first time last week have been given ministerial jobs by Sir Keir Starmer.
In an unusual move for a new government, five MPs have been appointed as junior ministers despite having no parliamentary experience.
Georgia Gould, the new MP for Queen’s Park and Maida Vale, has been appointed as a parliamentary secretary in the Cabinet Office, so will support Pat McFadden, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Nick Thomas-Symonds, Cabinet Office minister.
The 38-year-old became leader ofSir Keir Starmer‘s local council in Camden in 2017 after failing to become the Labour candidate for Erith and Thamesmead, which she said was down to a “vicious smear campaign”.
She is the daughter of Blair strategist Lord Philip Gould and worked for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation before going into politics.
Davey refuses to say if Lib Dems will try to force Starmer to scrap two-child benefit cap
Figures published today show that a total of 1.6 million children are now affected by the two-child benefit cap.
The Conservative government introduced the cap, which prevents parents from claiming child tax credit or Universal Credit for more than two children for those born after April 2017.
It means families cannot claim about £3,200 a year per extra child, the Resolution Foundation has said – and experts say it pushes many children into poverty.
Despite having said he won’t, Sir Keir Starmer is under vast pressure to scrap the cap from both inside and outside his party.
Speaking to broadcasters, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: “The quickest way to reduce child poverty, the most efficient, the most cost-effective way to get rid of the two child limit.”
“I hope the government listens to Liberal Democrat arguments and to those who are experts in this to make sure that we can have a fairer society and that we can dramatically reduce child poverty.”
Asked if he will try to force the issue by laying an amendment to the King’s Speech next week, Sir Ed replied: “Let’s see what happens in the King’s Speech.
“We’ve made our arguments. We think we’ve won the argument.”
Pushed on the question, he added: “We believe that the strength of our arguments are so good that the government will be forced to listen.”
Davey: Customers shouldn’t pay for ‘incompetence’ of water companies
We’ve just been hearing from Sir Ed Davey following the news that water bills are set to rise by an average of 21% over the next five years.
The water regulator says it will allow a tripling of investment to stop future sewage spills, but the Liberal Democrat leader argues that customers should not foot the bill to fix what should already have been done.
He told broadcasters: “The British public have seen these water companies pumping their filthy sewage into our rivers, into our lakes, onto our beaches for years now.
“And the water regulator and the government let them get away with it.
“I don’t think they [customers] should be paying for the economic incompetence of these water companies or the regulator’s mistakes.”
His party wants a “stronger regulator” to replace Ofwat to hold companies to account.
Sir Ed called for the water industry more broadly to be “quite transformed”, saying “the current position is just not acceptable” – but would not so far as to say water companies should be nationalised.
