Youth mobility scheme disagreement hampering reset of UK-EU relations

Significant gaps remain in negotiations on the reset in relations between the UK and the EU despite Keir Starmer’s latest pledge to put Britain “at the heart of Europe” after last week’s election drubbing.The UK wants to limit the number of young people from the EU who come into the country as part of a post-Brexit youth mobility scheme to below 50,000, it has emerged.The EU has already rejected a cap and wants unlimited visas with an annual review on numbers instead, to allow an “emergency brake” on the scheme if politically desirable.It is understood that the UK is also unwilling to budge on the issue of “home” fees for EU citizens, although it can argue that this was never a topic in the reset roadmap.Catherine Barnard, a professor of EU law at the University of Cambridge, said in relation to negotiation on the youth mobility scheme: “I fear that things are still very tricky

Tax cuts and cost of living help proposed by Labour-linked groups allied to Streeting and Burnham

Groups connected to the health secretary, Wes Streeting, and the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, have proposed large changes to government policy, giving a sense of how the country may change should either one succeed Keir Starmer.The Labour Growth Group, allied to Streeting, and the Tribune group of Labour MPs, allied to Burnham, have published competing visions for how Britain should be run, including sweeping tax cuts, help with the cost of living and big changes to government machinery.With Keir Starmer under concerted pressure to stand down, the groups are two of a number of Labour-linked organisations that have proposed radical measures as they try to influence the thinking of a future prime minister.In a document entitled An Honest Day, Mark McVitie, the director of the Labour Growth Group, which has connections with Streeting, called for a rise in capital gains tax to pay for a 2p cut in national insurance.The document also called for mayors in England to be given greater powers over tax and spending, for the creation of a new Department of the Prime Minister and for ministers to allow Thames Water to fail

Minister resigns from Starmer government with call for PM to quit

Miatta Fahnbulleh has become the first minister to resign from Keir Starmer’s government, calling on the prime minister to quit.The communities minister’s resignation came as one of Starmer’s closest aides declined to say whether he would lead Labour into the next election amid mounting calls for him to resign.Darren Jones, a close ally of Starmer, said the prime minister was “listening to colleagues” who were asking him to set out a timetable for departure but would make his own decisions about the way forward, the prime minister’s chief secretary said on Tuesday.He warned the prime minister’s rivals that it was a “gruelling” job. “Anybody who thinks that they can just walk into the job of prime minister and, like the second coming of the messiah, fix all of our problems probably hasn’t really thought carefully enough about how difficult it is,” he said

Greens’ Zack Polanski admits failing to pay correct council tax on houseboat

The Green party leader, Zack Polanski, has admitted he may have failed to pay the correct council tax while living on a London houseboat.Polanski had faced mounting questions over whether the houseboat, moored in east London, was his primary residence.A Green party spokesperson described the situation as an “unintentional mistake” and said Polanski had “immediately taken steps” to pay any tax owed.The spokesperson said: “Until relatively recently, Zack was living on a houseboat, which came with its own unique practical circumstances and considerations. He has immediately taken steps to pay any council tax he may be found to owe

Wes Streeting faces narrow road to Labour members’ favour

“Country first, party second” is a mantra Keir Starmer and his cabinet have repeated since being in opposition, seeking to draw a dividing line between Labour and their Conservative predecessors’ inclination for self-destruction.But party members do matter in politics – and a key problem for Wes Streeting, one of those with ambitions to succeed Keir Starmer, is that many of Labour’s do not like him.Just before Labour’s heavy local election losses, a Compass survey of more than 1,000 members found that if they were given a free choice, 42% would pick Andy Burnham to succeed Starmer – against just 11% for Streeting. And whereas Burnham had a 44% favourability rating, only 18% felt the same towards the health secretary.That result put Streeting roughly on a par with Angela Rayner and Ed Miliband – but given those potential candidates and Burnham are firmly to his left, it would appear to suggest that the majority of the party would prefer not to have a candidate in Streeting’s place on the ideological spectrum

Senior cabinet ministers and more than 70 MPs call for Keir Starmer’s resignation as speech fails to quell rebellion – as it happened

Keir Starmer’s grip on power appeared to be slipping away on Monday as cabinet ministers urged him to set out a timetable for his departure and more than 70 Labour MPs publicly called for him to stand down.The Guardian understands that two senior cabinet ministers – Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, and Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary – told the prime minister he should oversee an orderly transition of power after crushing election defeats risked ringing the death knell on his premiership.At least two others – believed to be John Healey and David Lammy – discussed with Starmer how they should take a “responsible, dignified, orderly” approach to what might follow. Several others – including Richard Hermer and Steve Reed – were defiant, urging him to fight on.One cabinet minister told the Guardian: “In the end Keir has listened to cabinet ministers – there are differences about where this will go and what is in best interests of party and country

Starmer on the brink as cabinet ministers urge him to quit

Keir Starmer’s grip on power appeared to be slipping away on Monday as cabinet ministers urged him to set out a timetable for his departure and more than 70 Labour MPs publicly called for him to stand down.The prime minister warned the country would “never forgive” Labour for plunging into the chaos of a leadership election – and that he intended to prove his doubters inside and outside the party wrong.The Guardian understands that four senior cabinet ministers - Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, John Healey, the defence secretary and the deputy prime minister David Lammy - were among those who spoke to Starmer on Monday.Some told the prime minister he should oversee an orderly transition of power after crushing election defeats risked ringing the death knell on his premiership.Others discussed with Starmer how they should take a “responsible, dignified, orderly” approach to what might follow

Starmer began the day damaged and then things got worse

“Has Keir done enough to survive?” was the question anxious Labour MPs were asking each other throughout Monday, after the speech regarded by many as crucial to Starmer’s chances of political survival.But the anxiety for many of them, badly bruised by Thursday’s election crushing, did not stem from concern the prime minister might be ousted. But that he would not.Starmer began the day already damaged. As many as 40 MPs had called for him to set out a timetable for his departure

Newly elected Reform councillor resigns after social media claims

A Reform UK councillor has resigned days after being elected, after he allegedly celebrated on social media the rape of a Sikh woman in the Midlands, declared white people the “master race” and called Muslim people “rats”.Stuart Prior was elected as a councillor for Essex county council last Thursday, winning 2,404 votes, the highest total of any candidate in the ward.Prior was one of 53 Reform councillors elected to the authority, giving the party overall control of the council. He also won a seat on Rochford district council.A Reform spokesperson confirmed Prior had resigned his positions for personal reasons and that his party membership had been revoked