UK politics: Unite hits back at Starmer over Birmingham bin strike, questioning Labour’s backing for ‘working people’– as it happened

The war of words between Keir Starmer and the Unite union is escalating. After No 10 issued a strong statement criticising its conduct in the Birmingham bin strike (see 1.32pm), Unite has hit back, questioning Labour’s commitment to “working people” and saying the government should intervene directly in the dispute and force the council to settle.In a statement issued in response to what Downing Street said earlier, Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, said:It is not surprising that many workers in Britian question the Labour government’s commitment to working people when it issues a statement clearly blaming bin workers in a dispute not of their making.The bottom line about this dispute is that these workers woke up one morning to be told they would be taking up to an £8,000 pay cut

Downing Street says Trump’s tariffs signal ‘new era’ in global economics

Donald Trump’s tariffs signal a new global economic era, Downing Street has said, as economists warned that the British government would probably have to raise taxes in response.No 10 said on Friday the prime minister believed that this week’s trade announcement by the US president, which has started a global trade war and sent stock markets tumbling, marked a turning point in history.Keir Starmer is due to speak to European and Commonwealth leaders in a series of calls over the next few days before setting out on Monday how he intends to respond more fully.Senior MPs have called on him not to give too much ground to Washington in trade talks, cautioning against trying to become “the 51st US state”.The prime minister is expected to say next week that he wants to cut red tape and remove more planning restrictions in order to boost growth, but experts say this is unlikely to fill a new black hole in the autumn budget

Emails reveal extent of peer’s role in asking minister to commercial event in parliament

New documents reveal the extent of a Labour peer’s involvement in organising the attendance of a minister at a commercial event in parliament.Emails show how David Evans contacted officials working closely with Sharon Taylor, a housing minister in the House of Lords, who was to be the keynote speaker at an event on housing that Lord Evans of Watford was hosting in parliament.Evans is under formal investigation by the House of Lords watchdog after a series of Guardian stories revealed his involvement in an apparent cash-for-access venture. He hosted commercial events in parliament, similar to the one to which he invited Taylor, on behalf of his son Richard’s company, which was charging up to £25,000 for sponsorship of the events. Evans owns a one-third shareholding in the business

Shabana Mahmood: lord chancellor with political nous unafraid to shake up system

Shabana Mahmood’s potential as a future cabinet minister was first noticed by the former deputy Labour leader Tom Watson in the 90s over tea and samosas at her family’s end-of-terrace Birmingham home.Watson, a seasoned fixer, had become a close friend of her father, Mahmood Ahmed, the chair of Birmingham Labour party. When political problems arose, Watson and fellow Labour party organisers would be guided through to comfy sofas in the family sitting room.He said the group, nearly all middle-aged men, would “start babbling” about the latest ructions and discuss how to negotiate multilayered West Midlands politics involving factions and complex community alliances.Inevitably, Ahmed would turn towards his daughter, who had appeared with a fresh pot of tea

UK politics: Starmer warns Trump’s US tariffs not just ‘short-term tactical exercise’ – as it happened

Some commentators have assumed that President Trump is just using tariffs as a negotiating ploy. Given that he has announced tariffs on Canada and Mexico, only to cancel them very quickly, there is a theory that he is doing the same thing again, only on a global scale. Alternatively, there is a view that a prolonged, negative reaction – falling share prices, rising inflation, higher unemployment? – could lead him to change his mind quite soon.During the Q&A at the Labour local elections campaign launch earlier, Keir Starmer in effect rejected all these theories. He said that what Trump was doing was the start of “a new era”

After Doge come Doze and Dope | Brief letters

Two further UK government departments to add to the list, the first of which appears to be in operation already: Doze (the Department of Zero Effort) for managing communications and Dope (the Department of Preconceived Expectations) for managing disillusioned MPs.Dr Anthony IsaacsLondon In terms of art therapy, half an hour spent in the Rothko room at Tate Modern at least once a year has done wonders for my mental health (Take two Van Goghs daily: the growing popularity of museum prescriptions, 31 March).Peter de VoilKing’s Cliffe, Northamptonshire In responding to Nels Abbey’s article about racial slurs and hate crime, your letter writer is right to note that “many lesbian and gay men object to being called ‘queer’” (30 March). I would add that many of us bisexuals object to it too.Ria HopkinsonHolloway, London I do so hope that the story about a coffee-cup-shaped bag was an April fool (Letters, 1 April)