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Sir Keir Starmer is attending the 75th summit of the Nato defence alliance in the US, where he will meet president Jo Biden at the White House in their first face-to-face meeting.
The prime minister said the meeting would be a chance to strengthen the “very special relationship” between the UK and US.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Sir Keir has been accused by shadow minister James Cartlidge of causing “massive uncertainty” for the UK’s armed forces after failing to set a deadline for increasing defence spending.
The PM said he was committed to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence “within our fiscal rules” but he cautioned that he needed to carry out a review before setting a timeline to reach that goal. Armed forces minister Luke Pollard said it would not be completed until next year.
In the Commons, hundreds of MPs continue the swearing in after Diane Abbott was praised by the PM on Tuesday during his first speech as prime minister, following tension between the two early in the campaign trail.
Key Points
- Keir Starmer to strengthen ‘special relationship’ in meeting with Biden
- PM suggests Biden not too old to remain in office
- Tugendhat accuses Labour of ‘compromising’ on UK defence
- Starmer accused of causing ‘massive uncertainty’ with defence spending
- Tories: Defence spending delays ‘damaging for the armed forces’
- Kidnapping Farage would not solve Tories’ problems, says Rees-Mogg
Keir Starmer appoints new parliamentary whips
Downing Street has announced a list of new parliamentary appointments. The 13 Commons, who are not ministers but whips, will work with Labour MPs to ensure they are fully informed.
- Mark Tami MP as Treasurer of HM Household (Commons Deputy Chief Whip);
- Samantha Dixon MP as Vice-Chamberlain of HM Household (Government Whip);
- Chris Elmore MP as Comptroller of HM Household (Government Whip);
- Nic Dakin MP as a Junior Lord of the Treasury (Government Whip);
- Vicky Foxcroft MP as a Junior Lord of the Treasury (Government Whip);
- Jeff Smith MP as a Junior Lord of the Treasury (Government Whip);
- Anna Turley MP as a Junior Lord of the Treasury (Government Whip);
- Taiwo Owatemi MP as a Junior Lord of the Treasury (Government Whip);
- Christian Wakeford MP as an Assistant Whip, House of Commons;
- Gen Kitchen MP as an Assistant Whip, House of Commons;
- Keir Mather MP as an Assistant Whip, House of Commons;
- Gerald Jones MP as an Assistant Whip, House of Commons;
- Anna McMorrin MP as an Assistant Whip, House of Commons.
The prime minister has also appointed three whips in the House of Lords:
- Lord Kennedy of Southwark as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentleman at Arms (Lords Chief Whip);
- Baroness Wheeler MBE as Captain of The King’s Bodyguard of the Yeoman of the Guard (Lords Deputy Chief Whip).
Ex-Telegraph owner pardoned by Trump quits Lords
Lord Black, the ex-proprietor of The Daily Telegraph and a number of other world newspapers, is one of three peers leaving the Lords.
The Canadian-born British citizen served more than three years in prison after being convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice in 2007.
He was pardoned by then US president Donald Trump in 2019.
Lord Black was the former head of Hollinger International, which once owned The Daily Telegraph, Chicago Sun-Times, Jerusalem Post and hundreds of community papers in the US and Canada.
He was ennobled in 2001, having renounced his Canadian citizenship to become a Conservative peer.
His downfall came in 2007 when jurors in Chicago found that he and other Hollinger International executives swindled shareholders out of more than $6m (then worth around £3 million).
There are no records of Lord Black having spoken in the Lords and he had not voted since 2003.
Education minister vows to deliver ‘sea change’ in early years
Bridget Phillipson has pledged to deliver a “sea change” in early years as she called it her “number one priority”.
The new education secretary has said the Government will recruit more early years staff through a “re-energised” recruitment campaign.
Ms Phillipson visited a school-based nursery in East Croydon, in south London, today where she spoke to staff and children at the setting.
Ahead of the General Election, Labour said it would repurpose empty or under-used school classrooms in England’s primary schools to offer more childcare places at 3,000 new school-based nurseries.
In her first week as education secretary, Ms Phillipson said: “Early years is about more than just childcare – it’s about giving every child the best possible start in life, which is why it’s my number one priority and right at the centre of my vision for education in this country.
“We will deliver a sea change in our early years system, and that begins now.”
Cleverly: People smugglers ‘cashing in’ after Labour scrapped Rwanda scheme
James Cleverly has said people smugglers have been “cashing in” after Labour scrapped the Rwanda scheme.
The shadow home secretary said the latest migration numbers show gangs are “cramming more vulnerable people into dangerous small boats”.
Mr Cleverly tweeted: “The people smugglers are evil but they aren’t stupid. They’ve seen the first steps taken by Labour and moved quickly to cash in, cramming more vulnerable people into dangerous small boats.
“Without a deterrent, they won’t solve the problem.”
Provisional figures from the Home Office reported 419 migrants were detected crossing the English Channel on Tuesday.
Salma Ouaguira10 July 2024 14:47 1720619102Pictured: Keir Starmer meets German chancellor Olaf Scholz
Sir Keir’s first meeting in Washington was with Germany’s Olaf Scholz, underlining the importance the prime minister is placing on European diplomacy.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, who has been given the newly-created job of minister for European relations, joined the meeting.
Prescott leaves Westminster after more than 50 years
Labour former deputy prime minister John Prescott and one-time jailbirds Jeffrey Archer and Conrad Black have ceased to be members of the House of Lords.
Lord Prescott had only spoken once in the chamber since suffering a stroke in 2019, official records show, and he had not voted since February 2023.
The 86-year-old was first elected as a Hull MP in 1970, and remained in the Commons until 2010 when he joined the Lords.
The former trade union activist served 10 years as Tony Blair’s deputy prime minister after Labour’s 1997 general election landslide.
He once famously punched a protester who threw an egg at him during an election campaign visit to North Wales in 2001.
Watch: Reform UK chief blames ‘lefties’ for AI candidate theories
Reform UK chairman Richard Tice dismissed theories that one of his party’s candidates was an AI bot:
Reform UK chair blames ‘lefties’ for causing AI candidate theories
Reform UK chairman Richard Tice dismissed theories that one of his party’s candidates was an AI bot, describing claims as coming from “lefties who can’t believe we did so well.” Online commentators had speculated that a picture of Mark Matlock, who stood in the Clapham and Brixton Hill constituency, was computer-generated. Mr Matlock spoke to The Independent on the phone on Monday. “This is the lefties who can’t believe we did so well, they still [propagate] nonsense and lies and fibs,” Mr Tice said of the theories during an appearance on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, 10 July.
Jane Dalton10 July 2024 14:34 1720618239Watch: Jacob Rees-Mogg starts filming reality TV show
Jacob Rees-Mogg starts filming new reality TV show following general election defeat
The former minister lost his North East Somerset and Hanham seat to Labour’s Dan Norris last week
Salma Ouaguira10 July 2024 14:30 1720617662Braverman blasts Badenoch as Tories ignore calls for unity
Suella Braverman has blasted her critics as liberals having a “meltdown” after one of her rivals for the Tory leadership reportedly accused her of having a “very public” nervous breakdown:
Suella Braverman blasts Kemi Badenoch as Tories ignore calls for unity
Conservative Party descends into infighting after outspoken leadership candidate rips into Rishi Sunak’s election blunders
Jane Dalton10 July 2024 14:21 1720617039Starmer gives Nato ‘iron commitment’ on defence spend but no timetable
Sir Keir Starmer has doubled down on his “iron commitment” to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent but waded into a row with military chiefs as he failed to set a timetable to meet his pledge.
The new prime minister has flown to the Nato summit in Washington DC with his wife Victoria for his first international visit since winning the general election last week.
With the situation at crisis point in Ukraine after Vladimir Putin’s Russian army bombed a children’s hospital and Voydymyr Zelensky’s forces warned they are running out of ammunition, the defence gathering is being billed as the most important since the invasion began.
During the recent UK election campaign, Sir Keir was challenged repeatedly by his predecessor Rishi Sunak whether he would meet the Conservative commitment to 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2030 after the Tories tried to make it an issue for voters.
Our politics team has the full story:
Starmer heads to Nato with ‘iron commitment’ on defence spending – but no timetable
Military chiefs hit out at Keir Starmer’s refusal to commit to a timeline for 2.5 per cent spending on defence as he flies to Washington for Nato summit
Jane Dalton10 July 2024 14:10 Newer1 / 5OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
