MPs to vote on whether to hold inquiry into Starmer over Mandelson

Keir Starmer will face a vote on whether to launch a standards investigation into his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, prompting senior party figures to call for restraint from Labour MPs.The speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, has granted a debate on Tuesday after which MPs could vote to refer the prime minister to the privileges committee over claims he misled parliament over his decision.The vote would be the latest test of Starmer’s authority, which has been damaged by the Guardian’s revelation Mandelson was installed as ambassador despite the advice of vetting officials that he be denied security clearance.Government whips are considering whether to instruct Labour MPs to oppose any attempt to refer the prime minister to the committee – with senior figures accusing the Conservatives of political point scoring.The former prime minister Gordon Brown said: “At challenging times both for our country and the world, the Labour party has always sought to put the needs of the country first

Support Starmer and move on from Mandelson vetting row | Letters

Regarding Gaby Hinsliff’s article (Two men made mistakes over Mandelson – only one has lost his job. That should haunt Starmer, 24 April), most would concur that the prime minister has the most important job in the country. It is also one of the most demanding jobs, if it is to be done well. So would it not be better to help Keir Starmer instead of trying to hound him out of office for an error made in December 2024 that has been corrected?Would it not be better to support him in the job we elected him to do instead of him having to spend time and energy defending himself against his implacable adversaries? Would that not be preferable to replacing him with someone chosen by a small contingent of the elected party? Can we not learn from the chaos caused by the last government in switching prime ministers?Michael GoodhartGrantchester, Cambridge “An atmosphere of pressure”, Sir Olly Robbins (Report, 21 April)? Isn’t that what you’re paid to work in? All you had to do was go to your boss, the cabinet secretary, and get him to go to the prime minister to call them off. Tell a police officer, an A&E nurse or a children’s social worker about your “atmosphere of pressure”

Match the children’s game to the profession | Brief letters

I was interested to read that Peter Mandelson was seen going to the park to walk his dog “like a weekending solicitor on his way to an egg and spoon race” (Walking the dog and braving the paps, 25 April). Are there other professions known for their love of children’s games? Maybe a retired GP going to play musical chairs, or a pair of award-winning architects en route to a three-legged race?Lesley WarnerIlford, London Re Graham Head’s point about Nigel Farage (Letters, 23 April), if the job of the US ambassador is to be an obsequious boot-licker at the court of King Donald, Farage was eminently qualified. If he’d been appointed, he wouldn’t be where he is now. And we wouldn’t be where we are now either.James WilkinsonShrewsbury, Shropshire Regarding EV charging, how many households with no off-street parking can guarantee a parking spot outside their door (Shake-up will help UK motorists without driveways to charge EVs, 21 April)? Very few

What the parties promise Welsh voters on the NHS, schools, childcare and tax

The parties most likely to win the Senedd election next month offer radically different futures for Wales, but all six are facing criticism for not being “upfront” in their manifestos about the fiscal challenges the next Welsh government will face.Labour, Plaid Cymru, Reform UK, the Green party, the Conservative party, and the Liberal Democrats are standing for the Senedd, which is expanding from 60 to 96 seats under a more proportional voting system.Polls suggest Plaid Cymru or Reform will be the biggest party, with Welsh Labour, which has led the country for nearly 30 years, in a distant third. Coalition mathematics means Plaid is the only party likely to be able to form a government, possibly in coalition with the Greens or Labour.This week, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) thinktank said that its analysis of the party manifestos showed “virtually no detail” on spending commitments; big public investment plans are beyond Wales’s current budgets, and will require expensive upfront private funding, or increased borrowing powers

Police assess evidence on £40,000 donation to Robert Jenrick’s campaign

Police are assessing evidence about donations to Robert Jenrick’s campaign to become Conservative leader in 2024 after a referral from the elections watchdog, the Guardian can reveal.The information was passed on by the Electoral Commission, which the Guardian understands has been investigating allegations that almost £40,000 of donations to Jenrick’s leadership campaign before he defected to Reform UK, were from a foreign source in breach of electoral rules.The Met said: “On Tuesday, 6 January we received a referral from the Electoral Commission concerning donations connected to a leadership campaign. This referral is under review and until it has been completed, we’re not in a position to comment further.”The Electoral Commission confirmed that it had sent evidence about a leadership campaign to the Met after conducting its own investigation, with its inquiries now paused while the police review the material

Free bus travel to first-homes fund: what Scottish parties are promising on the campaign trail

Polls predict a gravity-defying fifth term at Holyrood for the Scottish National party – albeit on a much reduced vote share – but the advent of Reform UK has radically altered the dynamics of the election campaign. The manifesto pledges set out below reveal how established parties are responding, however, a lack of engagement with an estimated £5bn hole in Scottish government finances by the end of the decade has prompted economists at the independent Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI) to accuse all parties of “a collective bout of fiscal denial”.The SNP’s most eye-catching pledge – to cap supermarket prices for essential goods such as bread and milk – was instantly dismissed as a “potty gimmick” by retailers, and many constitutional academics doubt whether the Scottish parliament has the powers to implement it.The manifesto also included a £100m first-homes fund to give up to £10,000 towards a deposit for first-time buyers, plans to cap all bus fares at £2, and the expansion of subsidised childcare based on family income.Economists at the FAI were quick to highlight “several billion pounds’ worth of unfunded pledges”, even as the SNP leader, John Swinney, pledged not to increase the number of income tax bands or rates during the next parliament

Senior Labour figures say call for new Mandelson investigation is a ‘political stunt’

A series of senior Labour figures have dismissed calls for a new investigation into what Keir Starmer told MPs about the appointment of Peter Mandelson as political point scoring, before a possible Commons vote on the issue.The Conservatives have called for the cross-party privileges committee, the remit of which includes examining whether MPs broke rules, to look at whether the prime minister misled parliament when he said normal procedures were followed with Mandelson’s appointment.The privileges committee previously examined Boris Johnson’s behaviour around lockdown-breaking Downing Street parties during Covid, finding he deliberately misled parliament in saying no rules had been breached.The foreign affairs committee has already begun an inquiry into Mandelson’s appointment. Downing Street says the evidence it has heard so far, including from senior civil servants, has shown Starmer told the truth

Rival Labour factions understood to be discussing how to remove Keir Starmer as leader

Labour figures from across rival factions have begun circulating informal proposals for an “orderly transition” of power away from Keir Starmer, the Guardian understands.MPs have shifted discussions from speculating about whether the prime minister could be removed to how – including timelines, potential triggers and the mechanics of forcing a leadership contest.One Labour MP said: “There have been conversations about process. When the time comes, and if the numbers are there, a process will be found.”With no formal mechanism to remove a sitting prime minister, attention has turned to how political pressure can be applied, with one senior party source warning poor local election results could trigger junior ministerial resignations, which would provide “cover for someone to come out from behind”

Lonely at the top: who are Keir Starmer’s allies as daunting May elections loom?

Given that the signs of an embattled premiership are all around – defensive-sounding interviews insisting he will be in post at the next election; a rush of stories about supposed cabinet plotting – now, more than ever, Keir Starmer needs real allies. And here, at least, there is something to feel positive about.If you talk to most Labour MPs, Starmer most likely will not lead Labour into the next election. He may even not remain in No 10 much beyond a set of Scottish, Welsh and local English elections on 7 May, which are expected to be disastrous for his party.All that said, Starmer is not totally isolated