No 10 says Starmer ‘completely rejects’ suggestion he echoed Enoch Powell with ‘island of strangers’ comment
Downing Street has said that Keir Starmer “completely rejects” suggestions he echoed Enoch Powell in his speech on immigration yesterday. (See 9.43am.)
At the Downing Street lobby briefing, asked about the criticism he has attracted for using a phrase that echoed one used by Powell in his Rivers of Blood speech, the PM’s spokesperson said: “We completely reject that comparison.”
Asked if Starmer was not worried about his language, the spokesman said:
Absolutely, the prime minister rejects those comparisons and absolutely stands behind the argument he was making that migrants make a massive contribution to our country, but migration needs to be controlled.
Asked if Starmer stood by what he said yesterday about Britain being at risk of turning into an “island of strangers”, the spokesperson replied: “Yes.”
Asked if that meant that Starmer agreed with what Powell said in 1968 when he said immigration made native Britons feel as if they had “found themselves made strangers in their own country”, the spokesperson said he did not accept the comparison.
Asked to explain the difference between the two sentiments, the spokesperson said:
The prime minister has made the argument that migrants make a massive contribution to the UK, and have done for generations.
Asked if that meant Starmer would be unwilling to use the words Powell used, the spokesperson replied:
The prime minister was using his own words to rightly recognise both the contribution that migrants have made over generations and to make the point that uncontrolled migration has been has been too high.
But look, this government is not going to shy away from this issue. The public are rightly concerned about the impact that uncontrolled migration has had on the UK.
In another version of the question, the spokesperson was asked if Starmer would condemn Powell for what he said. The spokesperson replied: ‘The prime minister would reject in its entirety previous speeches made [by Powell].”
Asked if anyone in Downing Street was aware of the similarity between Starmer’s phrase and Powell’s, the spokesperson avoided the question and just said he rejected “the premise of any comparison”.
When it was put to him that the two phrases were very, very similar, the spokesperson replied: “I can reject the comparison.”
Key events
Green party urges PM to ‘start discussions with EU on what rejoining would involve’ at summit next week
The Green party has tabled an amendment to the Tory motion on next week’s UK-EU summit (see 4.10pm) saying the government should rejoin the EU customs union and use next week’s summit to “start discussions with the EU on what the process of rejoining would involve”.
The motion, which is not likely to be put to a vote, also highlights some of the reported costs from leaving the EU, including “the £100bn annual cost of lost output arising from Brexit”, the “14% of UK businesses … forced to stop trading with the EU”, reduced food and agricultural exports worth £2.8bn a year “with no signs of recovery”, and food inflation being 8% higher than it would have been if the UK had stayed in the EU.
The Green MP Ellie Chowns said:
Brexiteers promised freedom but delivered decline. Five years on, British families, farmers and firms are paying the price of isolation. At the summit next week, ministers must choose progress over pride: we must work to re-join the customs union, restore the right to live, work and study across Europe, and rebuild the networks that keep Britain secure and prosperous.
Shadow minister laughed at as he tells MPs Tories would reverse any ‘handover of power’ to EU at next week’s summit
Alex Burghart, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, was laughed at by Labour MPs when he told the Commons this afternoon that the Tories would reverse any concessions to the EU made by Labour at a summit next week.
He was repeating a pledge made by Kemi Badenoch in an open letter she released last Friday addressed to Pedro Serrano, the EU’s ambassador to the UK.
On Monday next week Keir Starmer will hold a summit with Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, and Antonia Costa, the European Council president. Starmer has said he would like a “reset” of post-Brexit relations, and the two sides are expected to deepen ties in a range of area, particularly on defence and security.
Keir Starmer spoke about the summit in a call with Micheál Martin, the taoiseach (Irish PM), this morning and, according to the No 10 readout, “both leaders agreed that there was an ambitious package on the table that would serve to benefit hard-working people and businesses across Europe”.
Opening a Tory debate on the summit, Burghart claimed the government was on the verge of handing over more power to Brussels. He said:
We on this side of the house are clear, following the referendum this country turned a page and it’s very important that [Labour] does not turn it back. The fact is that we are on the brink of witnessing yet another disastrous Labour deal, because we know that when Labour negotiates, Britain loses.
According to PA Media, Labour MPs laughed as Burghart continued:
To leave the house in no doubt, if and when my party is back in power, we will reverse any handover of power, any imposition of EU law, any new rights for the ECJ [European Court of Justice], and any new budgetary commitments. It’s my party that took the country out of the EU, and it’s my party that will keep it out.
In her letter to Serrano, Badenoch said her party would apply five tests to the deal announced next week. She said:
The tests are: 1. No backsliding on free movement or compulsory asylum transfers; 2. No new money paid to the EU; 3. No reduction in our fishing rights; 4. No rule taking, dynamic alignment or European Court jurisdiction; and 5. No compromise on the primacy of Nato as the cornerstone of European security.
She went on:
It is important that I stress that the next Conservative government under my leadership would not remain bound by terms that failed the five tests set out above, and damaged the interests of the United Kingdom and its people. We would take back any legislative or judicial powers handed over to the EU by the present government.
In the Commons, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minster, was responding to Burghart. He accused the Tories of wanting to “go back to re-hash the arguments of the past”.
He went on:
They simply don’t believe in Britain’s ability to win. Perhaps that’s no surprise given the 14 years of failure they delivered for our country.”
Is there any country they actually want a British business to trade with? Now in government, they promised an India trade deal by Diwali – to be fair, they didn’t say which Diwali, but they did deliver absolutely nothing for the British people. We secure an India trade deal, they’re complaining about that.
We secure an economic deal with the United States, long promised by the last government, never delivered, and they don’t like that.
Later MPs will vote on the Conservative party motion which urges the government at the summit next week “to put the national interest first and not to row back on Brexit, for example by re-introducing free movement through a EU youth mobility scheme, accepting compulsory asylum transfers, creating dynamic alignment between the UK and the EU, by submitting the UK to further oversight from the European Court of Justice or by joining the EU’s carbon tax scheme which will lead to higher energy bills”.
The Labour MP Tahir Ali is being investigated by parliament’s expenses watchdog over his spending, PA Media reports. Ali faces a probe relating to “office costs, travel and accommodation,” the Independent Parliament Standards Authority (Ipsa) said. The watchdog is examining whether payments made to Ali through the Commons staffing and business costs scheme, which sets rules on what MPs can and cannot make claims for, “should not have been allowed”, PA reports. Ali has been contacted for comment.
Lord Dubs, the Labour peer best known for his campaiging on behalf of refugees, has said that the language used by Keir Starmer when he published the immigration white paper yesterday was “regrettable”. In an interview with the News Agents podcast, he said Starmer’s language was “reminiscent of [Enoch] Powell and I’m sorry Starmer used some of those phrases.”
Man held over suspected arson attacks on Keir Starmer-linked properties
A man has been arrested in connection with a series of suspected arson attacks on property linked to Keir Starmer, Scotland Yard has said. Pippa Crerar and Jamie Grierson have the story.
MP Patrick Spencer charged with two counts of sexual assault
Patrick Spencer, the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, has been charged with sexual assault over alleged incidents at London’s Groucho Club in 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service has said. Kiran Stacey has the story.
Reform UK enjoyed 10-point ‘winner’s bonus’ during local elections under FPTP, research says
Reform UK enjoyed a 10-point “winner’s bonus” in the English local elections because of the way the first past the post (FPTP) voting system magnifies the advantage for parties in the lead, according to research published by the Electoral Reform Society (ERS).
It says Reform won just under 31% of the vote, but received over 40% of the seats – equivalent to what the ERS calls a “winner’s bonus” of 9.8 points.
By contrast, Labour got 14% of the vote, but only 5% of the seats.
This disproportionality has always been a feature of FPTP, but the ERS says it is now benefiting the challenger party. In 2013, when Nigel Farage’s previous party, Ukip, did well in local elections, it got 18% of the vote, but only 5% of the seats.
The ERS also points out that, in some councils, Reform won more than two thirds of the seats with just over a third of the vote. It cites these examples:
Staffordshire – Reform got 79.0% of councillors, from 41.3% of votes.
Kent – Reform got 70.4% of councillors, from 36.2% of votes.
Durham – Reform got 66.3% of councillors, from 37.2% of votes.
At the last election Reform was committed to replacing FPTP with proportional representation (just as Ukip was when Farage was leading it). But Farage has not said anything on this topic since the elections, and it may be that his enthusiam for PR is starting to wane in the light of how well the current system is working for his party.
Darren Hughes, chief executive of the ERS, said:
It is clear from these results that UK elections are turning into a random lottery to see which party will get the ‘winner’s bonus’ under first past the post.
At these local elections we again saw that people are voting in an increasingly multi-party way and our two-party voting system is simply unable to cope. That is why it is throwing out distorted results that don’t represent the way people voted with parties winning majorities on councils on just over a quarter of the vote.
This just underlines the need to move to a fairer, proportional electoral system for town halls, as well as Westminster, that accurately reflects the way people vote in the seats parties receive.
No 10 claims fishing industry won’t be ‘sold out’, as EU’s foreign policy chief suggests revised deal all but agreed
Over the last few months there have been reports saying the proposed UK-EU defence and security pact – which will be one of the items being discussed at the UK-EU summit on Monday next week – was being held up by a row about fish. The post-Brexit fishing deal with the EU is up for renegotiation, and EU countries which fish in British waters, particularly France, are keen to maintain the current arrangements, which were condemned at the time by the British fishing industry as a sell-out.
Last night, in an interview with BBC’s Newsnight, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, implied that the fishing issue has now been sorted out.
Asked if fish could really hold up a security deal, she replied: “No, I think we are over the fish.”
At the Downing Street lobby briefing, asked if he could confirm that a deal has been struck with the EU on fishing rights, the PM’s spokesperson said that he would not give a running commentary on the negotiations and that discussions were ongoing.
He said the last government agreed a deal with the EU that would give them access to British waters beyond 2026.
Asked if he could reassure British fishermen they would not be “sold out”, the spokesperson replied:
Absolutely, we’re looking for an overall arrangement that’s beneficial to our fishers, and we’re determined to continue to support those communities.
Sadiq Khan says he would not have used Starmer’s ‘squalid chapter’ language about soaring immigration
Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, has distanced himself from the language used by Keir Starmer yesterday to describe the impact of mass immigration in the UK.
In an interview with James O’Brien on LBC, Khan was asked how he felt when he heard Starmer say in his speech in No 10 that soaring immigration was “a squalid chapter for our politics, our economy, and our country” and that there was risk of Britain becoming “an island of strangers” as a result of it.
Khan replied: “My job is to reassure those of you listeners who may be nervous and touchy.”
When O’Brien put it to Khan, whose parents both came to the UK as immigrants, that Starmer was “talking about you”, Khan said that in fact Starmer was talking about the much more recent wave of very high immigration. But he added:
Those are those aren’t words that I’d use … I read the white paper and I understand the context of the white paper. And those aren’t words that I’d use.
Khan also said that the white paper was about “solutions” to the problems associated with very high levels of immigration.
No 10 does not challenge claim that white paper plans unlikely to reduce net migration below 250,000 per year
Brian Bell, chair of the government’s migration advisory committee, has told the Daily Telegraph that the plans in the immigration white paper are unlikely to reduce net migration below 250,000 a year. It was at 728,000 in the year ending June 2024, and even higher in the year before.
Net migration was already falling, and the measures announced yesterday are expected to reduce immigration by at least 100,000. Bell told the Telegraph this meant net migration would probably fall to “under 300,000 and probably closer to 250,000 in the next few years”.
At the Downing Street lobby briefing, asked if Keir Starmer would be satisfied with net migration at 250,000, the PM’s spokesperson did not challenge the figure.
Instead, he said Starmer has ruled out having a target for net migration because in the past targets have not worked. He also said that Starmer has been clear that, if further steps are needed, the government will take them.
No 10 says Starmer ‘completely rejects’ suggestion he echoed Enoch Powell with ‘island of strangers’ comment
Downing Street has said that Keir Starmer “completely rejects” suggestions he echoed Enoch Powell in his speech on immigration yesterday. (See 9.43am.)
At the Downing Street lobby briefing, asked about the criticism he has attracted for using a phrase that echoed one used by Powell in his Rivers of Blood speech, the PM’s spokesperson said: “We completely reject that comparison.”
Asked if Starmer was not worried about his language, the spokesman said:
Absolutely, the prime minister rejects those comparisons and absolutely stands behind the argument he was making that migrants make a massive contribution to our country, but migration needs to be controlled.
Asked if Starmer stood by what he said yesterday about Britain being at risk of turning into an “island of strangers”, the spokesperson replied: “Yes.”
Asked if that meant that Starmer agreed with what Powell said in 1968 when he said immigration made native Britons feel as if they had “found themselves made strangers in their own country”, the spokesperson said he did not accept the comparison.
Asked to explain the difference between the two sentiments, the spokesperson said:
The prime minister has made the argument that migrants make a massive contribution to the UK, and have done for generations.
Asked if that meant Starmer would be unwilling to use the words Powell used, the spokesperson replied:
The prime minister was using his own words to rightly recognise both the contribution that migrants have made over generations and to make the point that uncontrolled migration has been has been too high.
But look, this government is not going to shy away from this issue. The public are rightly concerned about the impact that uncontrolled migration has had on the UK.
In another version of the question, the spokesperson was asked if Starmer would condemn Powell for what he said. The spokesperson replied: ‘The prime minister would reject in its entirety previous speeches made [by Powell].”
Asked if anyone in Downing Street was aware of the similarity between Starmer’s phrase and Powell’s, the spokesperson avoided the question and just said he rejected “the premise of any comparison”.
When it was put to him that the two phrases were very, very similar, the spokesperson replied: “I can reject the comparison.”
Putin ‘prevaricating’ and ‘obfuscating’ over peace in Ukraine, David Lammy tells MPs
Vladimir Putin is “prevaricating” and “obfuscating” in peace talks with Ukraine, David Lammy has told MPs.
Speaking during questions in the Commons, the foreign secretary said:
We welcome the desires to get an enduring peace, but there must be a ceasefire in order to engage in those talks it seems to me, and it is Putin that is prevaricating, it is Putin that is obfuscating and we must call that out with our long experience of scrutinising that particular individual.
In July Labour will have been in power for a year. To mark the anniversary, Guardian Live events are hosting a conversation in Conway Hall, London, on Wednesday 9 July where Pippa Crerar, the Guardian’s political editor, Rafael Behr, a Guardian columnist, Frances O’Grady, the Labour peer and former TUC general secretary, and Salma Shah, the former Conservative special adviser to Sajid Javid, will discuss how it has gone.
There is more about the event, and a link allowing you to book tickets, here.
Government to broaden law criminalising those who encourage people to self-harm
Anyone who assists someone to self-harm – such as by giving them a blade or pills – could face up to five years in prison under plans for a new offence, PA Media reports. PA says:
Ministers are seeking to broaden the law to criminalise those who encourage or assist self harm online or in person, as part of the crime and policing bill.
The move would mean anyone who intend to cause serious self-harm could be prosecuted, even if that did not lead to any injuries.
Under the Online Safety Act 2023, it is already illegal to encourage or assist suicide or self-harm through content online.
But the change to the law seeks to replace the existing offence to cover all ways self-harm could be aided.
Commenting on the change, Alex Davies-Jones, the victims minister, said:
The prevalence of serious self-harm, especially in young people, is hugely concerning.
It is an awful truth that some people encourage or assist such behaviour, and one I wanted to draw attention to during Mental Health Awareness Week.
Whether encouragement is by communication, or more directly by assistance, the outcome is the same.
We are determined that anybody intending to see others harm themselves is stopped and dealt with in the strongest way.