Labour select committee chairs call for parliament to vote on trade deal with US

The Labour chairs of the foreign and trade committees have called for parliament to have a vote on any UK trade deal with the United States.Emily Thornberry, who chairs the foreign affairs committee, and Liam Byrne, who chairs the business and trade committee, said MPs should have a say on the deal ministers are hoping to strike with Donald Trump.The government is hopeful of finalising an agreement that would exempt the UK from some of Trump’s most punishing tariffs, including on cars and pharmaceuticals, after positive signals from Washington.Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, on Wednesday said the US would be announcing its first deals “very soon” and the vice-president, JD Vance, said this week there was a “good chance” of the US agreeing one with the UK.But ministers have offered controversial concessions, including slashing the digital services tax on US tech giants and reviewing the enforcement of online safety laws, as part of their negotiations

The sinister psychology at the heart of populism | Letters

George Monbiot (Rightwing populists will keep winning until we grasp this truth about human nature, 13 April) makes some very important points about the psychology of those who follow demagogues and rightwing populist leaders. But this knowledge is not new. After the horrors of the rise of the Nazis and the persecution by them of Jews and other minority groups before and during the second world war, psychologists, many of them Jewish, began to systematically study the origins of such hatred. One was Henri Tajfel, a Jew born in Poland whose family were murdered by the Nazis.Tajfel was primarily interested in group identity, and popularised the terms in-group and out-group

Nigel Farage and the unions: Reform leader walks line between friend and foe

Reform UK’s manifesto last summer was clear: a Nigel Farage-led government would “make it easier to hire and fire” workers. Eight months on, Farage was at pains to praise trade unions, saying his party had “a good partnership” with them. So which one is it?There are two broad answers. The first is that, as with most politicians but particularly Farage, there is an element of saying two contradictory things at once. But also, in the era of British Steel returning to state control and Reform pursuing votes in Labour heartlands, the political landscape has changed

Reeves says inflation fall shows ‘plan for change is working’ – as it happened

Speaking about the latest inflation figures, chancellor Rachel Reeves said there were “encouraging signs that our plan for change is working.”UK inflation dropped to 2.6% in March, meaning prices are rising slightly more slowly. Reeves said:Inflation falling for two months in a row, wages growing faster than prices, and positive growth figures are encouraging signs that our plan for change is working, but there is more to be done.I know many families are still struggling with the cost of living and this is an anxious time because of a changing world

UK trade secretary to visit China with aim of reviving key joint trade commission

The trade secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, will travel to Beijing to revive a key trade dialogue with China despite saying it had been naive to allow Chinese investment in sensitive sectors, the Guardian has learned.Reynolds is scheduled to travel to China later this year for high-level talks in an effort to boost bilateral trade and investment.His trip is intended to restart the UK-China joint economic and trade commission (Jetco), which has not met since 2018 when relations began deteriorating after Beijing’s crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong.In documents published after Rachel Reeves’s trip to China in January, the Treasury set out its intention to revive the talks.The government is also planning to conclude its cross-Whitehall audit of UK-China relations by June, although the results will not be published in full

Reform a ‘racist and far-right’ party, says teaching union after Farage attack – as it happened

The largest education union in the country, the National Education Union (NEU), has called Reform UK a “racist and far-right” political party.Reform – led by Nigel Farage - has been neck and neck with Labour and ahead of the Tories in some recent polls and will contest nearly all the 1,600 council seats up for re-election on 1 May.Delegates at the annual NEU conference called for the union’s political fund to be used to help campaign against Reform UK election candidates whose policies and campaigns were described as “racist”, according to the PA news agency.A motion, which was passed by delegates at the conference on Tuesday, said it believes Reform UK is racist because of its hardline policies on immigration and its “campaigns against migrants”.It added that organisations like Reform UK “seek to build on the despair, poverty and alienation in our society by scapegoating refugees, asylum seekers, Muslims, Jews and others who do not fit their beliefs”