Macron says European countries must end their “excessive dependencies on both the US and China”.He suggests China’s use of subsidies are a threat to fair trade.And he says that President Trump’s trade war is also an attack on WTO rules.He says the European democratic model is as under threat from “foreign interference, information manipulation, domination of minds by negative emotions and addictions to social media”.UPDATE: Macron said European countries had to break away from economic dependence on the US and China.

“We want an open world.We want to co-operate, but not to depend,” he said.Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has promised to deliver on measures to cut the number of migrants crossing the English Channel ahead of a summit with Keir Starmer.As PA Media reports, Macron said the issue of irregular migration was a “burden” to both countries.The UK has pushed for tougher action from the French authorities on the beaches along the Channel coast and also hopes to strike a “one in, one out” deal to send small boat migrants back to the continent.

In exchange, the UK would accept asylum seekers in Europe who have a British link.Speaking to MPs and peers in Parliament as part of his state visit to the UK, Macron said:In this unstable world, hope for a better life elsewhere is legitimate.But we cannot allow our countries’ rules for taking in people to be flouted and criminal networks to cynically exploit the hopes of so many individuals with so little respect for human life.France and the UK have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and fairness.More than 13 people may have killed themselves as a result of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal and it drove at least 59 more to contemplate suicide, according to the first findings from the public inquiry into what has been labelled the worst miscarriage of justice in UK history.

The UK’s public finances are on an unsustainable long-term trajectory, given the growing cost of state pensions and the mounting climate emergency, the Office for Budget Responsibility has warned.Rishi Sunak is to take on a new job as an adviser to the investment bank Goldman Sachs while still serving as an MP.Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, in England have voted in favour of strikes that could result in industrial action lasting until January next year, the British Medical Association has announced.“Huge swathes” of severely disabled people will be hit by the planned universal credit cuts, contrary to government claims that they will be protected, charities say.For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.

Bethan McKernan is the Guardian’s Wales correspondent.Overnight visitors to Wales could pay a tourist tax from 2027 after the Senedd passed new legislation aimed at curbing overtourism.The law, which could raise as much as £33m a year if widely adopted, will give councils the option to tax people staying at hotels £1.30 a night, or 75p at campsites and hostels.The legislation passed 37-13 in the Senedd during a final debate today after Plaid Cymru lent its support.

“We believe it is reasonable for visitors to contribute towards infrastructure and services integral to their experience, as they do in so many other parts of the world,” finance secretary and former first minister Mark Drakeford said in a statement.The charges, which are expected to come into force in 2027 at the earliest, are subject to VAT.Children under 18 will be exempt at hostels and campsites.So far, Cardiff, Anglesey and Gwynedd have shown interest in introducing the new levy, despite opposition from some businesses worried it could deter visitors.The Welsh Tourism Alliance has said that the wording of the bill means councils will not have to spend the money raised on tourism infrastructure.

Impact assessments vary wildly: the boost to the economy could be between £7.3m - £10.8m, according to one study, but could also lead to the loss of 390 jobs.Several holiday destinations across Europe have introduced visitor taxes in recent years in a bid to clampdown on overtourism and raise funds to manage and improve local infrastructure.In the UK, Manchester implemented a tourist levy in 2023, and Liverpool, Mournemoth, Pool and Christchurch followed suit last year.

A Scottish tourist tax comes into effect in July 2026.Emmanuel Macron, the French president, is meeting Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, and Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, during his trip.A courtesy meeting with opposition leaders is relatively routine when a European leader visits another European country.But Macron is not meeting Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader.Given that Farage’s party only had five MPs at the last election (down to four now – see 2.

10pm), and that most EU leaders like Macron regard Farage as a malign threat, not a potential partner, the snub is not at all surprising,But Farage’s party is leading in the polls, and Richard Tice, the Reform UK deputy leader, has said Macron should have offered a meeting,There are growing calls at Westminster for a wealth tax,Today the Institute for Fiscal Studies has issued a statement from Stuart Adam, one of its senior economists, saying that, while there is a case for getting more tax from the wealthy, including by “reforming capital income taxes in order to properly tax high returns”, a wealth tax would be a bad idea,Adam explains:It is difficult to make the case that an annual tax on wealth would be a sensible part of the tax system even in principle (see further information here).

Taxing the same wealth every year would penalise saving and investment,In practice, implementing a wealth tax would be difficult,It would require the government to set up a new administrative apparatus to value wealth – and valuation would be extremely difficult for some assets, such as private businesses: it is much easier to observe and tax the stream of income they generate,An annual wealth tax would need to apply broadly to all assets to ensure that it was not easy to avoid,Such a tax could raise significant revenue if it applied to the bulk of the UK’s wealth – that would include the homes and pensions of the middle class.

Trying to raise large amounts of revenue from only the very wealthy would make the UK a less attractive place for those people to live,International experience of annual wealth taxes is not encouraging: they have been abandoned in most of the developed countries that previously had them,There are strong reasons to radically reform how we currently tax the sources and uses of wealth; this includes reforming capital income taxes in order to properly tax high returns,An annual wealth tax would be a poor substitute for doing that,Macron confirms the Bayeux Tapestry announcement, which gets a loud round of applause.

He thanks King Charles for his hospitality.And he ends:Finally, we meet again, and let’s be sure that we will meet again for years and decades, because we are linked by our geography, by our past, but we are linked by our common future.And the only way to overcome the challenges we have, the challenges for our times, would be to go together, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder.Macron gets a standing ovation.Macron suggests new rules are needed to protect children in Europe from the dangers social media.

Macron says European countries must end their “excessive dependencies on both the US and China”.He suggests China’s use of subsidies are a threat to fair trade.And he says that President Trump’s trade war is also an attack on WTO rules.He says the European democratic model is as under threat from “foreign interference, information manipulation, domination of minds by negative emotions and addictions to social media”.UPDATE: Macron said European countries had to break away from economic dependence on the US and China.

“We want an open world.We want to co-operate, but not to depend,” he said.Macron says he is the first EU head of state to make a state visit since Brexit.And he praises Starmer for restoring trust in that relationship.Macron says the UK and France also work together on the climate.

And the two countries will cooperate to tackle illegal migration, he says.We cannot allow our countries’ rules for taking in people to be flouted in criminal networks, to cynically exploit the hopes of so many individuals with so little respect for human life.France and the United Kingdom have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and firmness.The decisions that we will take at our bilateral summit will respond to our aims for cooperation and tangible results on these major issues.Very clearly, we task our ministers of domestic affairs [Home Office ministers, in UK terms] to work very closely together, and I want to salute the very close coordination and cooperation.

But Macron also says there will only be “a lasting and effective solution” with action at the European level.Macron says the UK-France pact on defence and security is getting stronger.And he says he and Keir Starmer will take this further at their summit this week.There is an expectation in Europe that the two countries have “a special responsibility for the security of the continent”, he says.UPDATE: Macron said:Our two countries, the only European nuclear weapon states, the leading armed forces of the continent, together accounting for 40% of European military budgets, both fully shoulder the responsibility when it comes to European security.

And we are faced with new threats, with aggressive nuclear powers, with sometimes hesitating alliances, and the return of major conflict on our continent.This is why, in two days, our summit is so important, and the announcement we prepared so historical.Macron said there was an expectation that the UK and France, “faced with revisionist neighbours” have a “special responsibility for the security of the continent”.And he said, to paraphrase William Pitt, it was time to “make sure that not only our two countries will save themselves by their own exertions, but also that we will save Europe by our example and our solidarity”.Pitt said: “England has saved herself by her exertions, and will, as I trust, save Europe by her example.

”Macron says the UK and France cannot tolerate the threat that would be posed by Iran having a nuclear weapon.They will work for a deal “which ensures international monitoring of Iran’s nuclear programme over the long term, thereby preserving the international non-proliferation framework as a foundation for collective security”.Macron says the UK and France are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.It is a matter of absolute urgency to end the suffering of the hostages and of the Gazans.A war without end and without a strategic objective poses a huge threat to the region and our collective security.

Today, a dehumanisation is occurring there that can never be justified together.We are aware that the political way out is crucial, and I believe in the future of the two-state solution as a basis for regional security architecture, which will enable Israel to live in peace and security alongside its neighbours.But I want to be clear: calling today for a ceasefire in Gaza without any conditions is just telling to the rest of the world that for us, as Europeans, there is no double standard.Macron says, as permanent members of the UN security council, the UK and France are “deeply committed to multilateralism, the United Kingdom and France must once again show the world that our alliance can make all the difference”.He says the two countries have to defend multilaterism and protect the international order.

Turning to Ukraine, he says:Together we worked very hard during the past few years in order to stand with the Ukrainian people, just helping them to resist,We were right, and we are right, and because every time Vladimir Putin’s Russia advances in Ukraine, the threat moves closer to us all,We will never accept the theory that might is right,And I want to be clear, this is why, together with you, Mr Prime Minister, we decided to launch last February this coalition,And this coalition was just a signal that Europeans will never abandon Ukraine, never.

And whatever the decisions could be elsewhere, we will fight till the very last minute in order to get the ceasefire, in order to start the negotiations to build this robust and sustainable peace, because this is our security and our principles together which are at stake in Ukraine,