In a reaction to Kemi Badenoch’s speech in London at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference, the Liberal Democrats deputy leader Daisy Cooper has accused the Tory leader of “competing with Farage to fawn over Donald Trump” and choosing to “parrot Trump’s dangerous rhetoric”.During a passage of her speech, Badenoch drew warm applause in the room when she said:The Conservative party in Britain has just lost an election.We have a crisis.People ask me what difference new leadership will make? Well, take a look at president Trump.He’s shown that sometimes you need that first stint in government to spot the problems, but it’s the second time around when you really know how to fix them.

In other passages of her speech Badenoch asserted that the UK was not a racist country but suggested “some cultures are better than others” and claimed that some immigrants to the west were finding common cause with “our own useful idiots” in order to undermine society’s values.In response, Cooper said:Kemi Badenoch is competing with Nigel Farage to fawn over Donald Trump.Instead of standing up for Ukraine and Europe’s security, Kemi Badenoch has decided that she would rather parrot Trump’s dangerous rhetoric.To borrow a phrase from her political hero: sad.Kemi Badenoch has suggested that western civilisation is at risk of collapse, and the UK will be lost as a country if the Conservative party is not successful in renewing itself and regaining powerIn a speech at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference in London, the opposition leader insisted the UK was not a racist country, said Keir Starmer had taken the knee during BLM protests because he was “cowed by the mob”, said that “some cultures are better than others” and that British people should be put first.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper criticised the speech as “dangerous rhetoric”,Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is expected to appear at the event tomorrowPrime minister Keir Starmer has said the UK and Europe face a “generational challenge when it comes to national security” after he wrote an article for the Telegraph announcing that he was prepared to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force,Starmer is in Paris meeting other European leaders to discuss European security in the wake of Donald Trump’s seemingly unilateral decision to negotiate a peace with Russia on Ukraine’s behalfLiberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said it was “absolutely right” that Starmer was proposing deploying troops, and suggested the only people in parliament unlikely to support the move were what he called the “Trump bootlickers” of Reform UKKeir Starmer has announced that he will travel to the US to meet president Donald Trump next weekHealth secretary Wes Streeting has hailed news that the government claims to have met an election promise early by providing an extra two million appointments in NHS England since it was elected compared to figures from a year ago,Streeting said there was “a hell of a lot further to go” but the government was determined to provide “year-on-year improvement” in the NHSA group of more than 900 Labour members and trade unionists, including MPs and peers, have accused the government of copying the “performative cruelty” of the Conservatives in its migration and asylum policyBoth Robert Jenrick and shadow chancellor Mel Stride have attacked chancellor Rachel Reeves over news that UK employers are preparing for the biggest redundancy round in a decade amid collapsing business confidenceThe government has announced investment in two Leeds-based cultural institutions as part of its Plan for Change programme, which will provide six major culture projects across the UK with more than £47mThat is it from me, Martin Belam, today,I will be back with you tomorrow.

Take care, and I hope you have a good evening.The Conservatives have published the full text of leader Kemi Badenoch’s earlier speech.You can read it here.Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain has said her party supports reversing cuts in troop numbers made by previous Conservative governments, saying “we live in uncertain times.”She said “Our manifesto talked about 2.

5% [of GDP on defence spending] by 2030, and clearly we are living already in different times.And one of the key things we were talking about was the fact that we wanted to reverse the cuts that had been made to troop numbers by the last Conservative government.”She said she agreed with earlier comments by Richard Dannatt, chief of the general staff between 2006 and 2009, who was concerned that there would not be enough British troops to fulfil a role in Ukraine.Chamberlain said:The lack of even the ability to put an armoured division out would be a key consideration for any UK military action or involvement.Clearly, there is a lot more to do, but I think what we are right to say is that defence and national security is taking a much, much higher priority than it has done previously.

And frankly, when you look at the sort of economic issues that are facing the chancellor, if we don’t have that security as a nation, the rest of that just becomes … you won’t deliver any of the things that the government say they want to deliver without that,So I think actually the parties are all in a similar place in terms of accepting that we need to do more,It’s how quickly we do that,But we live in uncertain times,Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has added further words to his earlier comment about the potential deployment of British troops on the ground in a peacekeeping force in Ukraine, calling Reform UK MPs “Trump bootlickers”.

He posted to social media to say “In principle there should be a vote in parliament when troops are deployed.I’m confident all sides of the House are likely to agree with the prime minister apart from those Trump bootlickers in Reform.”Earlier Davey said it was “absolutely right” that Starmer was proposing deploying troops to, as the Liberal Democrat leader put it, “uphold any peace deal and deter Putin,” adding “We must act rapidly to bolster the size of the army.British forces are among the best in the world but were neglected by the Conservatives under their 10,000 troop cut.”The prime minister’s official spokesperson, asked if there would be a parliamentary vote on such a decision, told reporters “We’re getting ahead of ourselves here.

We’ve already been clear that the UK will play a role in security guarantees, but parliament will, of course, be consulted as appropriate.”Prime minister Keir Starmer has arrived at the Élysée Palace in Paris where he has been welcomed by France’s president Emmanuel Macron.My colleague Jakub Krupa is following events there for the Guardian on his Europe live blog.Labour politicians in Scotland have been using today’s NHS England figures and the announcement by the government in Westminster that it had achieved an election promise of two million extra appointments in England to attack the SNP government record on waiting times in Scotland.Scottish Labour lead Anas Sarwar said “UK Labour is delivering in government.

Now it’s time for a new direction here in Scotland too – only a Scottish Labour government can fix Scotland’s NHS.”MP for Dunfermline and Dollar Graeme Downie said “The UK Labour government is taking radical action to tackle waiting lists while more and more Scots wait for operations or are forced to go private.Only choosing a Scottish Labour government next year will see an improvement in the NHS in Scotland.”The most recent Public Health Scotland bulletin on waiting times, from November 2024, said that there had been a 0.8% increase in ongoing waits compared to the previous quarter, amounting to nearly 5,000 patients.

It added “The total waiting list size is 5.6% higher than at the end of September 2023 and has increased more than twofold since 31 March 2020, shortly after the onset of the pandemic.”Recent polling has shown support draining from Labour in Scotland since the general election, with a Norstat poll for the Sunday Times suggesting if there was an election for the Holyrood parliament tomorrow, Labour would end up tied with the Conservatives in second place, with the SNP remaining the largest single party by some distance.Keir Starmer rather unconventionally announced the potential deployment of British troops on the ground in Ukraine via a newspaper op-ed this morning rather than in parliament.If you didn’t get a chance to read the article in the Telegraph, the government has just reproduced it on its website, where it can be read for free.

Lanre Bakare is an arts and culture correspondent for the GuardianThe government has announced investment in two Leeds-based cultural institutions as part of its Plan for Change programme, which will provide six major culture projects across the UK with more than £47m.Culture secretary Lisa Nandy confirmed that £10m would go to the British Library North in Leeds and there was a further £5m for the National Poetry Centre.The National Railway Museum in York will receive £15m, which is part of a Yorkshire-wide programme of investment in cultural sites.The £10m for the British Library North will be spent revamping the Egyptian-style Temple Works building, which is a derelict Grade I building that will be converted into a northern outpost for the Library, and the £5m for the National Poetry Centre will renovate a Grade II-listed building to create a national headquarters for poetry in the city.Nandy said: “Everyone across the country should be able to access arts and culture in the place they call home.

”In the announcement deputy prime minister Angela Rayner added: “Through investing in these critical cultural projects we can empower both local leaders and people to really tap into their potential and celebrate everything their home town has to offer.“This means more tourism, more growth and more money in people’s pockets.”Ben Quinn has been at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference today, and has filed this report from ExCeL London:The biggest cheer for Kemi Badenoch at a gathering of global right-wing thinkers, activists and others came when she described critiques of the west’s “inheritance” as “the real poison of left-wing progressivism.”“Whether it’s pronouns, or DEI, or climate activism, these issues aren’t about kindness-they are about control.We have limited time and every second spent debating what a woman is, is a second lost from dealing with challenges,” said the Conservative leader, to cheers from those inside London’s ExCeL centre, which is hosting the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC).

Giving an opening keynote address a day ahead of an appearance by Nigel Farage, who will be interviewed by ARC co-founder Jordan Peterson, the Conservative leader sought to position her party as a torch-bearer in Britain of a new political wave, claiming that western civilisation is “in crisis” and echoing Trumpian and right-wing populist rallying calls.“Millions of people all around the world want to live in the west because they want the benefits.However, some of them bring behaviours, cultures and practices that will undermine the west and the values that helped make us great,” she told the audience.Badenoch also hit out at a familiar old opponent “the media class” and urged those at ARC not to listen to them “when they complain about populism.”“The very essence of democracy is acknowledging the will of everyday people – and then actually making it happen,” she said.

But she followed this with an implicit attack on her rivals on the right, Nigel Farage and Reform UK, saying that populism becomes corrosive if it is “anger without the ability to take action,” Badenoch concluded her address by telling ARC that failure to renew the Conservative party could lead to the loss of “our country and all of western civilisation”Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives, appeared remotely, and used the event to bemoan what he said were poll findings that only one in five British adults consider themselves to be very patriotic,Speaking days after the US vice-president JD Vance sparked anger by launching a scathing attack on western European democracies, Johnson decried what he claimed was a weakening of national identity,“If Americans are not Americans any more and Britis are not Brits any more and Germans are not Germans any more than naturally something else will fill the void,” said Johnson, who also doubled-down on the hardline new “America first” towards the Nato alliance and defence relations with previously close allies,“We must each take care of our own houses before we take care of the neighbourhood,” he said, a sentiment at odds with Donald Trump’s own expressed expansionist view that the US should “own” the Gaza Strip.

Here are those earlier comments from Keir Starmer on defence earlier in full.The prime minister was speaking to broadcasters during a visit to a community diagnostic centre in Bristol.He said:We’re facing a generational challenge when it comes to national security.Obviously, the immediate question is the future of Ukraine, and we must continue to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position whatever happens next, and to make sure that if there is peace – and we all want peace – that it is lasting.I think there’s a bigger piece here as well, which is that this isn’t just about the frontline in Ukraine.

It’s the frontline of Europe and of the UK.It’s about our national security, and I think that we need to do more.We need to step up in terms of our collective response in Europe.And by that, I mean capability.By that, I mean playing our full part when it comes to the defence of the sovereignty of Ukraine, if there’s a peace agreement.

And of course, when it comes to funding and training,So on all those fronts, I want the UK and all European allies to step up for the UK to play a leading part in that,Two prominent Conservative figures have attacked Labour’s handling of the economy today,Previously a leadership hopeful, Robert Jenrick, the shadow secretary of state for justice has accused chancellor Rachel Reeves of being “a charlatan”,Seizing on news that UK employers are preparing for the biggest redundancy round in a decade amid collapsing business confidence, he posted to social media to say “She embellished her economic credentials on her CV, and now she’s driving our economy into the ground.

”Earlier, shadow chancellor Mel Stride picked up on the same news, saying “Labour is putting the economy at risk.Small businesses are being badly hit, with confidence at its lowest point in a decade – outside of the pandemic.The government’s tax hikes will lead to more shop closures and job losses.”He continued “Labour says it wants to deliver stability, but their lack of foresight & economic understanding looks set to cost thousands of jobs and push many businesses to the brink.Rachel Reeves needs to rethink her approach before it’s too late.

”It is Martin Belam back with you now for the next few hours.You can get in touch with me at martin.belam@theguardian.comThe prime minister’s spokesperson said: “There’s going to be a wide range of issues that we’ll be working with the new US administration on.“The prime minister looks forward to meeting President Trump shortly to discuss how we can deepen the special relationship across trade, investment and security.

”He added: “The prime minister will travel to Washington DC next week.The prime minister’s spokesperson also told reporters on Monday that Starmer will urge European leaders to take on a greater role in Nato, which will include increasing defence spending.He later added: “It also means being ready to play a leading role on security guarantees, as we’ve discussed before, in Ukraine, and that includes further supporting Ukraine’s military.It also means being ready to contribute to security guarantees by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary.“As the PM also spelled out yesterday, the United States is going to remain critical on this, and the US security guarantee will be essential for lasting peace, because only the United States can deter (Vladimir) Putin from attacking again, and that will obviously be relevant to the prime minister’s discussions with president (Donald) Trump in the coming week and working with him and all of our G7 partners to help secure the future of Ukraine.

”The proposed increase in spending on defence comes at a time when the government plans to cut disability benefits, which, experts say, will increase poverty among disabled people.A group of more than 900 Labour members and trade unionists, including MPs and peers, have accused the government of copying the “performative cruelty” of the Conservatives in its migration and asylum policy.In a joint statement, they singled out the Home Office’s decision, revealed last week, to refuse citizenship to anyone who arrives in the UK via “a dangerous journey” such as a small boat over the Channel.The statement also criticised ministers for highlighting the number of people being deported from the UK, with a Home Office publicity blitz last week using footage and images showing people being removed on planes…Starmer says countries across Europe must “step up” their defence capabilities and funding to protect Ukraine.The UK and Europe face a “generational challenge” and “need to do more” to secure Ukraine’s security in the long term, he adds.

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey says he supports the Government in sending British peacekeeper troops to Ukraine, saying it is “absolutely” the right decision.He adds that Starmer should reverse the 10,000 troops the Conservative government cut from the Army.Davey says:The PM is absolutely right when it comes to the deployment of British troops in Ukraine to uphold any peace deal and deter Putin.We’ve been very clear that the UK now needs to lead in Europe.That means ensuring that President Zelensky isn’t bullied into accepting a deal which effectively hands victory to Russia.

We must act rapidly to bolster the size of the Army.British forces are among the best in the world but were neglected by the Conservatives under their 10,000 troop cut.Our armed forces must have the capabilities they need to help keep our country and continent secure against Putin.”