Starmer prepares for parliamentary battles over imminent EU ‘reset’ bill
Keir Starmer is set to face fresh battles over his EU “reset” as the government plans to lay a bill which could hand ministers significant powers to forge closer ties with BrusselsThe legislation aims to introduce an alignment mechanism for the agrifoods and electricity trading deals agreed with EU leaders but still under negotiation.The bill will hand ministers powers to go beyond what the UK has agreed so far, giving future administrations the power to potentially align standards in other sectors and keep pace with new EU regulation.The government plans for the bill to run in parallel with the negotiations with Brussels, meaning MPs will start voting on it before the deal is finalised.Government sources said they were braced for major battles but it would be an opportunity for Starmer to defend closer ties with Europe as a way of reviving the UK economy.The bill is expected to be introduced in the next few months and carried over into the next parliamentary session.
The Liberal Democrats have already vowed to amend the bill to bring forward a binding vote on a customs union.More than a dozen Labour MPs rebelled when the Lib Dems held their last opposition day vote on the issue.Opposition politicians are likely to raise significant objections if the bill hands ministers sweeping powers, potentially leading to obstruction in the House of Lords.The Lib Dem Cabinet Office spokesperson, Lisa Smart, said: “On a bill of this scale and scope, it would be a shameful betrayal of voters to simply sketch out the vague thrust then fill the details out later with the stroke of a ministerial pen.”Starmer’s spokesperson said on Monday it was possible the UK could negotiate further sector-by-sector access – often likened to a “Swiss-style” deal – and that it might be prepared to pay for it.
“The deals we’re striking involve huge benefits to British taxpayers by supporting British businesses, backing British jobs and putting more money into people’s pockets, and in total, they’ll add nearly £9bn to our economy by 2040,” they added.“We’ve always been clear that some of this work will involve trade-offs, but as a sovereign nation, we’ll make the sensible, pragmatic choices that are in the national interest and stand to benefit the UK public.”Starmer signalled on Sunday that the UK may seek sectoral deals to deepen access to the single market, beyond what was agreed with EU leaders in May, saying this was preferable to a customs union that could undermine other trade deals.The prime minister signed the political agreement to pave the way for a new agrifoods deal.Known as an SPS agreement, it removes red tape on food and drink exports, lifting some routine checks on animal and plant products completely.
In return, the UK will accept some dynamic alignment on EU food standards and a role for the European court of justice in policing the deal.Both sides have expressed hope that the final deal could be signed by the second half of this year.The UK has also begun negotiating to join the EU’s internal electricity market, but European leaders have confirmed they expect the UK to pay for access.Tensions over money have already scuppered negotiations for UK participation in a €150bn security action for Europe (Safe) fund.Starmer told the BBC on Sunday that he had once argued for a customs union but “a lot of water has now gone under the bridge” and it would undermine deals with India and the US.
“We are better looking to the single market rather than the customs union for our further alignment,” he said.The comments were seen as a response to ministers, including Wes Streeting, who have suggested the UK would benefit from exploring rejoining the customs union.The health secretary told the Observer it would bring “enormous economic benefits”.The Conservatives said they would insist on the final details of the negotiations with the EU having full parliamentary scrutiny.“Keir Starmer came into government with no plan and he lacks the backbone to tackle the serious issues facing our country.
So he is trying to reopen old wounds over Brexit instead,” said the shadow foreign secretary, Priti Patel.“In doing so, he is preparing to give himself vague, sweeping powers to change our relationship with the EU in the vain belief it will make him more popular.”The Lib Dem leader, Ed Davey, said his party would use the bill as a chance to force Labour MPs to take a position on a closer relationship with Europe.The party plans an amendment to place a duty on the government to begin negotiations with the EU on establishing a bespoke UK-EU customs union by 2030.It also said it would seek to secure a meaningful vote on this amendment at either committee stage or report stage.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “The UK-EU reset is improving our diplomatic, economic and security cooperation and will be worth £9bn to the UK economy by 2040.We will legislate to deliver on this and further details of the bill will be announced in due course.”
Nigel Farage dismisses racist and antisemitic school bullying claims as ‘made-up fantasies’
Nigel Farage has called allegations of racist and antisemitic bullying during his time at Dulwich college “complete made-up fantasies”, saying his accusers are “people with very obvious political motivation”.More than 30 people have spoken to the Guardian as part of an investigation based on multiple accounts of racism, including Peter Ettedgui, 61, an Emmy- and Bafta-winning director, who recalled Farage growling repeatedly “Hitler was right” or “Gas them” at him when they were at school.Farage has previously denied “directly” targeting anyone with racist or antisemitic abuse or having the “intent” to hurt anyone, and has not publicly recognised the events described. His response to claims of racism, which he was first questioned on in 2013 by the Channel 4 reporter Michael Crick, have shifted over time.In a broadcast interview in November, he said: “I would never, ever do it in a hurtful or insulting way
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Curious. Nigel Farage devoted decades to trying to get elected as an MP. His victory in Clacton in 2024 followed seven unsuccessful attempts in other constituencies. And now he is finally an MP, he seems reluctant to spend any time in the Commons chamber. The one place where we, the public, now pay him to be
Shadow attorney general steps back on Ukraine over Abramovich link
The shadow attorney general, David Wolfson, has recused himself from giving advice to Kemi Badenoch on Ukraine and Russia because he is representing the under-sanctions Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in a court case, the Conservatives have announced.This would prevent him from offering advice on the possible deployment of UK troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia.Lord Wolfson, who is a senior KC and a Tory peer, is part of the legal team representing Abramovich as he attempts to recover billions in frozen assets he owns in the Channel Islands.Speaking at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, Keir Starmer criticised Wolfson’s role, telling Badenoch: “How can someone sit in her shadow cabinet, advising someone trying to escape sanctions, and pretend that their policy is to support us on sanctions?”Asked about this, Badenoch’s spokesperson said Wolfson did not sit in the shadow cabinet, and that because Jersey was a different legal jurisdiction the case had no bearing on the release of £2.5bn from Abramovich’s sale of Chelsea football club, which the UK government wants to use to help rebuild Ukraine
Labour workers’ rights concessions to cut cost to business by billions, analysis shows
Labour watering down its sweeping overhaul of workers’ rights is expected to slash the cost of the plan for UK businesses by billions of pounds, the government’s own analysis shows.According to an updated Whitehall impact assessment published on Wednesday, concessions by ministers could reduce the cost of the employment rights bill for businesses to about £1bn.An earlier version of the document had suggested the package, which includes day-one employment rights and banning zero-hours contracts, could have cost firms up to £5bn.In its revised analysis, the government said the new lower estimate reflected a decision to phase in the changes over several years, as well as “the fact that policy design and evidence have developed” since its last assessment, in October 2024.Labour’s employment rights bill finally became law last month after a lengthy legislative battle in the House of Lords, amid fierce business lobbying and after the government made a last-minute U-turn on an important element of the plan
‘Bigger than me’: road safety campaigner whose son died in collision welcomes new UK rules
For Meera Naran, the new road safety strategy is a long-awaited milestone after years of campaigning since her eight-year-old son Dev was killed in a motorway collision in 2018.As ministers unveiled plans to cut thousands of deaths by 2035, they paid tribute to campaigners, Naran in particular, whose son is commemorated with a pledge to mandate safety technology in new vehicles as “Dev’s Law”.The 2018 crash piled tragedy on her family. Naran’s father was driving Dev to visit his older brother, Neel, who was being treated in hospital.Returning on the M6, the car halted on what would been a hard shoulder, had it not been converted for use as part of a smart motorway; a lorry ploughed into them, killing Dev
Government lacks emotional link with voters, cabinet ministers warned
The government must find ways to reconnect emotionally with voters, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, is said to have warned cabinet ministers, in a meeting where the prime minister said they were in “the fight of our lives”.The prime minister sought to rally his cabinet on Tuesday, telling them to ignore the polls and to prepare to take on Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.But sources said that in a presentation, ministers were told the government needed to gain back voters’ trust with three Es, emotion, empathy and evidence.One source said McSweeney warned that the government had a “deficit in emotion”, though a No 10 source denied he had used that phrase.Cabinet ministers are understood to have raised concerns about the government’s ability to connect with voters
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