Scottish Labour leader says he doesn’t regret calling for Starmer to quit – UK politics live

Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, has said that he had a “reasonable” conversation with Keir Starmer yesterday, despite Sarwar having not retracted his call for the PM to quit.Sarwar said that he stood by what he said when he announced on Monday that he wanted Starmer to stand down.But he also said he was “looking to the future”, implying that he is not actively trying to orchestrate Starmer’s removal now.The news on Monday that Sarwar was going to say Starmer should go prompted intense speculation as to whether cabinet ministers would also declare he no longer had their confidence. But all members of the cabinet did subsequently issue statements backing Starmer, it became obvious that there would be no immediate leadership contest, and on Wednesday Sarwar indicated that he wanted to draw a line under the dispute

Dual nationals to be denied entry to UK from 25 February unless they have British passport

Dual British nationals have been warned they may be denied boarding a flight, ferry or train to the UK after 25 February unless they carry a valid British passport.The warning by the Home Office comes amid scores of complaints from British people living or travelling abroad who have suddenly found themselves at risk of not being allowed into the UK.The problem has arisen because of a change in border controls on 25 February, when everyone travelling to the UK will need permission to travel, unless they are a British or Irish citizen or are otherwise exempt. Visitors for short stays must apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation that costs £16.But dual nationals will, for the first time, be obliged to show their British passport to travel to the UK or pay what many believe is a punitive price of £589 for a “certificate of entitlement” to attach to their second nationality passport in order to board a flight, ferry or train

Left or right, Keir? Labour factions jostle for influence in post-McSweeney No 10

As the prime minister fought for his political life before Labour MPs at their Monday evening meeting, even hardened sceptics saw a flash of something different in Keir Starmer.Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, said Starmer had been “liberated”. He did not have to spell out who from. His comments came 24 hours after the departure of Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, a man who has shaped Labour’s modern incarnation.McSweeney’s presence loomed the largest over any other in Starmer’s government, and his departure means there are many cabinet ministers, groups and factions of the party who spy an opportunity to define what comes next

Reform UK’s Kent council faces ‘extreme risk’ after passing first budget

Reform UK’s showcase council in Kent faces “extreme risk” and “instability”, opposition politicians have warned, after it passed its first budget.The party’s councillors voted it through on Thursday night after their leaders announced a 3.99% council tax increase, one percentage point under the limit before a referendum is required, despite promising before their election win not to raise tax.While it was described by the council leader, Linden Kemkaran, as a “sensible, low-tax budget,” opposition parties said it left the council’s reserves “dangerously low” and exposed to financial risk totalling more than £410m on the local authority’s risk register.The vote was carried with 48 councillors in favour – the number who are still with Reform after a period of turmoil in which several left Nigel Farage’s bloc on the council – with 26 against and one abstention

Reeves urged to reassure MPs over public finances amid £6bn-a-year Send costs

Rachel Reeves is under pressure to reassure MPs over the state of the UK’s public finances, amid concerns that the rising cost of special educational needs and disabilities (Send) could leave a significant hole in the government’s financial buffer.Meg Hillier, the chair of the all-party House of Commons Treasury committee, said the chancellor should make clear her long-term plans for the £6bn-a-year Send bill as uncertainty grows over how it will be accounted for at the end of the decade.Reeves, who is due to appear before the committee next month, said in a letterto MPs that she plans to delay a decision until next year.City analysts said financial market investors would be concerned if some or all of the £6bn Send annual cost was deducted from the budget surplus, which the chancellor more than doubled in last November’s budget to £22bn to cushion the UK against volatile government bond markets.The spat between MPs and the Treasury comes after the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said the £6bn Send bill was unaccounted for at the budget and expected increases to the bill over the next decade posed a risk to the public finances

Starmer ousts cabinet secretary in clear-out of top team after Mandelson scandal

Keir Starmer’s attempt to shake up his top team after the disastrous Peter Mandelson scandal began on Thursday, when he forced out his most senior civil servant with a view to replacing him with Antonia Romeo.The prime minister announced that Chris Wormald was stepping down “by mutual consent” after just over a year as cabinet secretary, with Romeo almost certain to succeed him as the first woman in the job.Starmer’s decision to oust Wormald drew ire from senior civil servants over the brutality of the move. One person described the mood as “sulphurous” over the prime minister’s apparent willingness to let senior officials go.The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, said the cabinet secretary had become the “latest person Keir Starmer has thrown under the bus to save his own skin”