12 April 2024 • 10:44am
10:33AM
Lib Dems: UK economy ‘stuck in the slow lane’ The Liberal Democrats labelled the UK’s economic growth “sluggish” and claimed the Government was “out of touch with families feeling the pinch”.
Sarah Olney, the Lib Dems’ Treasury spokesperson, said: “This sluggish growth shows the UK economy is stuck in the slow lane under the Conservatives.
“This government has no plan to fix the damage they’ve done to people’s living standards.
“Instead we have a prime minister and Chancellor totally out of touch with families feeling the pinch. The only way to get the economy moving again is to kick this economically illiterate Conservative government out of office.”
10:31AM
Police investigating Angela Rayner over council house row Police are now formally investigating Angela Rayner over the sale of her council house.
The Labour deputy leader was reported to Greater Manchester Police by James Daly, a Conservative MP, over concerns she may have committed an offence in the early 2010s by giving false information about where she was living.
The force said in March that Ms Rayner would not face an investigation but decided to reassess their decision after Mr Daly complained that officers appeared not to have contacted witnesses or looked at the electoral roll, deeds and other relevant documents.
A GMP spokesperson said this morning: “We’re investigating whether any offences have been committed. This follows a reassessment of the information provided to us by Mr Daly.”
10:24AM
Pictured: Starmer and Healey tour BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness
Sir Keir Starmer (middle), the Labour leader, and John Healey (left), the shadow defence secretary, are pictured today during a campaign visit to BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness Credit: Danny Lawson/PA 10:15AM
Labour unable to say when it would hit 2.5pc defence spending target Labour was unable to say when it would achieve its goal of boosting defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP.
Sir Keir Starmer has made the pledge to get to 2.5 per cent when the economic circumstances allow (see the post below at 09.39).
Luke Pollard, the shadow armed forces minister, was asked this morning if the number would be hit by the end of a first Labour term in power but he was unable to say.
He told Sky News: “The commitment that Keir is making today is 2.5 per cent of GDP when economic circumstances allow.
“That is the same position that the Conservative Government have currently. But they can see the information that is required to make the assessment and we can’t and so I can’t answer that question directly to you because I don’t get to see the information, the security briefings, the intelligence, that would be required for us to set out clearly which capabilities need to be invested in, at what time, to deter what threat.”
Asked where the extra money for the armed forces would come from, Mr Pollard pointed to increased economic growth.
10:07AM
West needs to ‘wake up’ to growing threats, says Ellwood The West needs to “wake up” to the growing threats it faces and the UK must question if it is ready to defend itself, a senior Tory MP said.
Tobias Ellwood told Sky News: “We need to wake up as to where the world is actually going. I think Britain as a nation.
“Are we ready to defend ourselves, to defend our economy, to keep our lights on, to protect our infrastructure?”
9:52AM
Sunak launches employment plan to help veterans into high-paid jobs Rishi Sunak is today launching an employment plan which pledges to help veterans secure high-paid jobs after they leave the armed forces.
“Op Prosper” aims to support veterans into work where they can use the skills they developed in the military.
The scheme is part of the Government’s plan to make the UK “the best place in the world to be a veteran” and will be backed by £2.1 million in new funding.
Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, and Johnny Mercer, the minister for veterans’ affairs, visit a museum in north west London this morning Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA Mr Sunak said: “The courageous men and women who have served in our armed forces represent the very best of our country and we must serve them as well as they have served us.
“They deserve our full support to thrive in civilian life and to continue contributing their incredible skills to the prosperity of our country.
“That is why I am proud to announce Op Prosper, which will support veterans in securing high-skilled roles in key sectors that are helping to grow the economy.”
9:48AM
Pictured: Sunak visits a museum in north west London this morning
Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, visits a museum in north west London as he launches an initiative to help veterans secure high-paid jobs after they leave the armed forces Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA 9:39AM
Starmer vows to boost defence spending to 2.5pc if Labour wins election Labour will aim to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP if the party wins the election, Sir Keir Starmer has vowed.
It is the first time the opposition leader has said he wishes to spend that amount on the military, which would match the Government’s existing aim.
In an interview with the i newspaper, he indicated defence was “the number one issue for any government” and admitted a more dangerous world made it necessary to spend more on the armed forces.
However, he said Labour will only spend the extra money if doing so is achievable within the party’s borrowing rules.
You can read the full story here.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, is pictured today as he arrived at BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness Credit: Christopher Furlong /Getty Images Europe 9:37AM
Ex-minister: UK troops in Ukraine would need to be part of wider coalition Any deployment of UK troops to Ukraine would need to be done as part of a wider coalition, Tobias Ellwood said.
The former defence minister told Sky News: “If we were to send any troops ourselves, I think it would need to be done as part of a coalition.
“The call by Ukraine right now is actually not for personnel, it is desperately for equipment.”
9:30AM
Putin now ‘more powerful than Stalin’, says Ellwood Vladimir Putin is now “more powerful than Stalin” and the West is “largely in denial” about the scale of Russia’s shift to being on a war footing, a former defence minister said this morning.
Tobias Ellwood, a senior Tory MP, told Sky News that the West “must prepare better” so it can face down the Russian threat.
“Our adversaries, including Russia, particularly Russia, are moving their economies, their industries, to a war footing but the West is largely in denial,” he said.
“Putin is now the most powerful leader in Europe. He has removed all of his opposition voices, he has pivoted his entire economy away from Europe to China and Iran and he is now more powerful than Stalin.
“In plain sight, his goal is to emulate his hero Stalin by reasserting his influence over eastern Europe, not to replicate the old Soviet Union but the old Russian empire.
“So we must prepare better, we must support Ukraine better, we simply cannot ignore the growing schism between those who respect global order and those who largely ignore it.”
9:13AM
Cameron ‘acting like PM’ on world stage, says Osborne Lord Cameron is “acting like the British prime minister” on the world stage, his former chancellor George Osborne said.
Mr Osborne argued that Lord Cameron had “upgraded Britain’s foreign policy clout” since his return to the political front line in November last year.
Mr Osborne told his Political Currency podcast: “On the world stage, Cameron is acting like the British prime minister… he’s getting the kind of meetings that no normal British foreign secretary would get.
“There’s no way that James Cleverly or Liz Truss before him when she was foreign secretary, would have had dinner with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
“What Cameron has done is he’s upgraded Britain’s foreign policy clout.”
8:52AM
UK suffering from ‘low growth and high taxes’, says Reeves Rachel Reeves said the UK was suffering from “low growth and high taxes” as she responded to this morning’s economic data showing growth of 0.1 per cent in February.
The former shadow chancellor said: “After 14 years of Conservative economic failure, Britain is worse off with low growth and high taxes. The Conservatives cannot fix the economy because they are the reason it is broken.
“It’s time for change. Only Labour has a long-term plan to grow the economy to put more money in people’s pockets.”
8:44AM
Chancellor: UK economy is ‘turning a corner’ Jeremy Hunt said the UK economy is “turning a corner” as he welcomed this morning’s data showing growth of 0.1 per cent in February.
The Chancellor said in a statement issued by the Treasury: “These figures are a welcome sign that the economy is turning a corner, and we can build on this progress if we stick to our plan.
“Last week our cuts to National Insurance for 29 million working people came into effect across Britain, as part of our plan to reward work and grow the economy.”
8:35AM
Economy grows in February, boosting hopes of exit from recession The UK economy grew by 0.1 per cent in February this year, boosting hopes that the UK has exited recession.
Official data published this morning by the Office for National Statistics said the economy expanded by 0.1 per cent in February, following growth of 0.3 per cent in January.
The UK slipped into a technical recession in the second half of 2023.
If the economy is shown to have grown in March when those statistics are published next month then the country will be be formally in growth again.
8:24AM
Nato’s ‘numerical supremacy’ over Russia could be eroded, says Heappey Nato’s numerical superiority over Russia could start to be eroded without action by the West, a former armed forces minister has suggested.
James Heappey said Russia has “mobilised its entire economy” onto a war footing and depending on what happens in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s forces could start to catch up with Nato in terms of fighting numbers.
He told Sky News: “Russia has mobilised its entire economy. It will grow its armed forces significantly.
“If Ukraine grinds to a stalemate and we end up with a sort of Cold War on broadly the current lines or heaven forbid he’s successful in Ukraine then I think actually we might be a situation where Nato’s numerical supremacy rapidly starts to be caught up with.
“And therefore, how do we maintain our advantage?”
8:12AM
UK armed forces running ‘incredibly hot’, warns ex-defence minister James Heappey warned the UK’s armed forces are currently running “incredibly hot” as he called for a boost to the size of the nation’s fighting force.
The former defence minister, who stepped down from his role last month, said if military personnel are pushed “too hard” many could opt to leave.
He told Sky News: “The reality is is that we are running them incredibly hot.
“It feels to me that the geostrategic environment is such that we are going to be running our forces as busy as they are for a very long time to come and if we are going to do that, bearing in mind that they have an absolute right to leave when we push them too hard and lots of them are, we need a bigger force in order to be able to meet the ambition.”
Mr Heappey is urging the Government to increase defence spending now to 2.5 per cent of GDP and to hit three per cent by 2030.
8:05AM
Heappey: UK should consider sending troops to Ukraine but ‘nowhere near’ front line The UK should consider sending troops to Ukraine to help with training, a former armed forces minister has said.
But James Heappey insisted any troops would have to be kept far away from the front line to avoid sparking a direct confrontation between Nato and Russia.
Asked about the possibility of western troops on the ground in Ukraine, he told Sky News: “You have got to be careful about how you do it. I think definitely nowhere near a combat zone.
“I think you have got to be very, very careful not to make it into a Russo-Nato war. But I do think it is worth exploring what, in the sort of deeper, in the depth of Ukraine, the donor community could do.”
It was suggested to Mr Heappey that British troops could help with training Ukrainian forces and he said: “I think it is worth considering.”
Mr Heappey stepped down from his role at the Ministry of Defence last month and he is due to quit as a Tory MP at the next general election.