The postponement of local elections could present an opportunity | Letters

One thing that’s been missing from the debate around the English devolution bill is what this change will mean for town and parish councils (More than 20 England council elections likely to be delayed until 2027, 15 January). As combined authorities start to form, it is these hyperlocal councils that will be taking the lead in shaping solutions that are genuinely rooted in place and driven by the people who live there.At Lewes town council, the conversations we are having focus on how these changes could be an opportunity for the town. Sussex is one of the six counties on the government’s priority programme for establishing a combined authority. As the possibility of a more unified county structure edges closer, we are having to think imaginatively about the future

Starmer’s chief secretary reveals plans to bust ‘the sludge’ in Whitehall

Keir Starmer’s chief secretary, Darren Jones, says he is going to bust “the sludge” in Whitehall by bringing in risk-taking taskforces to deal with problems, and providing the ability to sack senior civil servants who do not deliver.Jones, the MP for Bristol North West, said civil servants should feel “jeopardy” if they were underperforming, highlighting that only seven out of 7,000 senior civil servants were on improvement plans.As part of plans to “rewire” Whitehall, he said big bonuses would in future be reserved for those who showed exceptional achievement. Key performance indicators for senior officials would be set by ministers and those civil servants not meeting expectations would be “shown the door”.“Instead of the sideways shimmy to another team or department if you fail to perform, I’m afraid you will be sacked,” he said, adding that “the doers, not the talkers” would be in line for promotion

UK should consider expelling US forces from British bases, says Zack Polanski

The UK should consider expelling the US from British military bases, the leader of the Green party has said, as he advocated leaving Nato and spending less on American weapons as part of a wider dismantling of the two countries’ defence alliance.Zack Polanski told the Guardian he believed Britain should wean itself off its reliance on American military cooperation, though would not say whether he supported spending more money to replace that capability.His comments come as the prime minister, Keir Starmer, attempts to placate the US president and dissuade him from his threats to invade Greenland and to impose tariffs on European countries who oppose him.Polanski told the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast: “I think it’s pretty worrying that we’ve allowed ourselves to become so reliant on American interests, and that a lot of this depends on if Donald Trump is in a good mood or not.”He added: “We should be reviewing US bases on UK soil, and actually looking at a genuine strategic defence review

Reeves plans to refund some visa fees in effort to attract ‘trailblazer’ investment to UK

Rachel Reeves will pledge to refund visa fees for some global businesses on Tuesday, as she flies to the World Economic Forum in Davos aiming to showcase the UK as a haven of stability, despite Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats.The chancellor, who will be accompanied by the business secretary, Peter Kyle, will hold a series of meetings with business leaders at the annual gathering of the global elite in the Swiss mountain resort.She will announce tweaks to the visa regime aimed at encouraging “trailblazer” businesses to bring highly skilled staff to the UK – including refunding fees – and speeding up the time it takes to qualify as a sponsor of migrant workers.“Some countries give you a platform, but Britain gives you momentum. My message at Davos this week is clear: choose Britain – it’s the best place in the world to invest,” the chancellor said in pre-released remarks

Who said it: the Robert Jenrick memo or David Brent?

The fallout from Robert Jenrick’s abrupt and chaotic defection from the Conservatives to Reform UK on Thursday continued over the weekend, with the leaking of a memo prepared by his aides for how he should face the press after the event.The six-page document coaches Jenrick on how to answer some potentially tricky questions. While it reflects the character of the man himself, it also somehow manages to channel the spirit of David Brent, the character created by Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais, and played by Gervais in the original UK version of The Office, which aired from 2001 to 2003.With that in mind, your challenge is to decide whether the following nuggets of wisdom come from the office of a senior Conservative defector – or from the philosophical musings of the self-styled “friend first, boss second. Probably entertainer third” at Wernham Hogg in Slough

Romford MP Andrew Rosindell becomes latest Tory to defect to Reform

Andrew Rosindell, the Conservative MP for Romford since 2001, has announced his defection to Reform UK, the second such departure to Nigel Farage’s party in four days.Rosindell, who was a shadow Foreign Office minister under Kemi Badenoch, announced in a statement on X that he was joining Reform, giving as the main reason his opposition to the UK’s handover of sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.While Badenoch opposes the Chagos plan finalised by Keir Starmer, talks about the fate of the British-controlled islands began under the Conservatives, and Rosindell said he felt the party had not properly sought to oppose the plan.After the defection on Thursday of Robert Jenrick, who was Badenoch’s shadow justice secretary, Rosindell’s move puts Reform on seven MPs. While Rosindell is notably lower profile than Jenrick, the departure of another sitting MP is a blow to the Tories