Starmer rattles through a list of other measures taken by the government to help with the cost of living.But he says, in the future, “it is not going to be easy”.He goes on:double quotation markWe will continue to stand up for the British national interest, and we continue to do what we must to guide our country calmly through this storm.However, it is increasingly clear that as the world continues down this volatile path, our long-term national interest requires closer partnership with our allies in Europe and with the European Union.The Scottish Greens are calling for the king to lose the tax breaks he gets in Scotland.

They are opposed to the monarchy as an institution, but they are saying that if they were in power in Holyrood they would end the exemption that allows the king to buy property in Scotland without paying the land and buildings transaction tax.Most taxes were the monarchy enjoys an exemption are controlled by the UK government, but this is one that is devolved to Holyrood.In a statement, Ross Greer, the Scottish Green co-leader, said:double quotation markWith costs soaring and people being priced out of everyday essentials, it is ridiculous that so much public money is given to one super-rich and scandal-ridden family based on who their ancestors were.The king is one of the richest men in the world and one of the biggest landowners in Scotland.He doesn’t need even more perks, and he shouldn’t be given a free pass from paying taxes simply because of the wealthy family he was born into.

The SNP’s selected candidates “will go forward for election”, first minister John Swinney has said, amid calls for a Central Scotland list candidate to resign, the Press Association reports,PA says:double quotation markTracy Carragher, leader of the SNP group on North Lanarkshire Council, is being urged to step down over her handling of sexual assault allegations against former council leader Jordan Linden,Linden was convicted of 10 separate offences following a trial at Falkirk sheriff court,The convictions included five sexual assaults,Carragher, who is a list candidate for Central Scotland at the May election, is facing calls to resign after audio clips from a 2022 meeting were made public in which she voiced support for Linden after reports of his crimes.

Swinney has announced an independent review of the SNP’s complaints process,Speaking to PA,Swinney said: “It’s really important that in all of these situations, we listen to the voices of those who complain and that we address those issues, and that’s exactly the approach that the SNP is taking,“The review that I have set out will explore and examine all the ways in which these issues have been handled and those issues will be resolved by the SNP,”When asked by PA if he had confidence in Carragher, Swinney responded: “The party selected its candidates and its candidates will go forward for election.

”Keir Starmer made two announcements at his press conference this morning.With both, it is hard to tell how significant they will turn out to be – although “questionable” and “potentially, very” might serve as a useful, initial guess.The PM started by announcing that Britain is convening a meeting of up to 35 nations that are willing to play a role in keeping the strait of Hormuz open.(See 10.18am.

) This sounds like an important initiative, and the fact that the meeting is going ahead does show that the UK still exercises some diplomatic clout,But it is very hard to see what this might mean in practice,These 35 countries are not joining the war to support the US,Starmer is talking about some sort of operation to get the strait open after the main conflict has finished, which might be necessary because Trump has suggested he could halt the war with the strait still closed,But if the Iranians are still determined to attack shipping in the strait, the UK and other countries are not likely to dispatch navy ships that might end up as targets, or to launch their own bombing raids against Iranian missile sites.

And if the Iranians have lifted the threat to attack shipping, what is there left to do? Mine clearing, perhaps – with Iranian consent? The government may give more details soon, but at the moment it is hard to see how this could make a big difference.More significant, potentially, was what Starmer said about Europe.As the Sun’s Jack Elsom pointed out, Starmer has always insisted that the choice between the US and Europe is a false one, and that it is in Britain’s best interests to hug them both.(See 11.03am.

) But today it sounded like Starmer was choosing; he did not explicitly say that the Trump presidency made the US an unreliable ally, but it obviously has, Starmer knows this as well as anyone, and today he clearly implied that he will respond accordingly.(See 10.24am.)He also implied that he wants more alignment with EU standards (see 10.57am), in what might be seen a single market membership-lite (assuming the EU allow it – which is by no means certain given their concerns about cherrypicking).

This was not a Harold Macmillan-style ‘Europe is our destiny’ speech.If Brexit does get reversed, it won’t happen in a big, handbrake turn, but in small, incremental shifts.But this is a shift; Elsom was right; although Starmer denied it, he did sound like someone who has made a choice – Europe, not the US.Quite where this will go, who knows? It is not just a matter of what Trump does, and what Starmer thinks.How the Uk’s relationship with the EU will evolve will depend on domestic politics too, and it may turn out that Brussels offers very little in terms of closer alignment.

But, potentially, this could turn out to be meaningful day for post-Brexit policy.Q: How seriously do you take President Trump’s threat to withdraw from Nato?Starmer repeated the suggestion that this was Trump using a threat as a negotiating tactic.(See 10.32am.) He said:double quotation markThere’s been a good deal of pressure on me to change my position in relation to joining the war.

And I’m not going to change my position on the war.So, whatever the pressure, whatever the noise, I’m the British prime minister, and I have to act in our national interests.I should say that on defence and security and intelligence, we’re obviously working closely with the US, as we always do.And in relation to the planning on the strait of Hormuz, of course, that involves talking to the Americans, as well.That was the last question at the press conference.

Q: [From Jack Elsom from the Sun] Do the manifesto commitments not to join the single market or the customs union still stand? And in the past you said you would not be forced to choose between the US and the EU.But are you now choosing Europe over America?Starmer said the manifesto commitments remain.But the manifesto also said Labour wanted a closer relationship with the EU, he said.He went on:double quotation markI’m not going to choose, because I think it’s in our interest to have a strong relationship with the US and with Europe.But I do think that, when it comes to defence and security, energy emissions and the economy, we need a stronger relationship with Europe.

I actually think that will help strengthen our relationship with the US because, successive presidents have said that Europe needs to do more on their defence and security.I’ve long argued that with European colleagues that we should be doing more.And that’s not just, for example, on defence spend; it’s also on how we spend, how we collaborate, cooperate.And that’s why I’ve focused on deals, for example, that we’ve done with Norway in relation to frigates.Really good deal, very good for trade, very good jobs in the Clyde.

But really importantly, the inter-operability of the frigates,We can have our crews on their frigates, they can have their crews on our frigates,That to me is the future of a stronger European defence, which is bringing together the capability that we’ve had,Q: [From the Guardian’s Jessica Elgot] You have ruled out joining a customs union with the EU,Are you planning something more like rejoining the single market? Would that be good for the economy?Starmer said that the UK and the EU have already taken “steps … in relation to the single market” and he said he was “ambitious that we can do more in relation to the single market, because I think that’s hugely in our economic, interests”.

(Starmer seemed to be referrring to alignment with EU standards – rather than formally joining the single market,)He went on:double quotation markObviously, this is a matter of negotiation and discussion with the EU,but, the summit we have this year will not be just be a stock-take summit where we look at actually the 10 strands that we put in place last year,It will be a deliberate, ambition on our part to go further than that and to cooperate more deeply, including in the economic sphere,Q: [From Natasha Clark at LBC] Do you support calls for the king to meet victims of Jeffrey Epstein when he goes to the US? And why do you think polls show that only 10% of the public think you are doing well on the cost of living?On the cost of living, Starmer said he does not think everybody knows that fuel bills are coming down this quarter as a result of decisions taken by the government.

double quotation markI want as many people as possible to know that that’s the case, because I know they’re going to be anxious.And, on the king, Starmer just said it was a long-planned visit.He did not address the Epstein question.Q: People say you have been dithering.When will you give details of the energy support package that you will set out?Starmer says:double quotation markA lot of the measures on the cost of living were measures that were taken at the budget last year.

So we were ahead of this,On energy, Starmer says fuel bill are far less of a problem for people during the summer,He says the energy bill people get for the summer accounts for only 7% of the annual cost,double quotation markIt doesn’t mean [people are] not worried about it, but I think most people would be looking to watch the one that comes when it gets colder later in the year,He says the government is working on contingency plans that would cover the autumn energy bills.

double quotation markA lot of it will depend on how long the conflict goes on, how quickly the straits are opened, because it’s very difficult to assess at the moment what might be needed …In the end, the focus has to be on de-escalation.Q: [From Andy Bell from 5 News] Isn’t it time to tell people they need to start changing their behaviour because of this crisis?Starmer repeats points he has already made, saying the government has a five-point plan, it is monitoring the situtation, and de-escalation is neeed.Q: [From Sky News’ Lucy McDaird] Do you think people should change their behaviour now, in terms of using petrol?Starmer says the government is monitoring the situation carefully.He says the best thing that could happen for petrol prices would be de-escalation in the Gulf.Q: [From ITV’s Harry Horton] Donald Trump says today he might pull out of Nato.

Is your reference to a closer relationship with the EU an acknowledgment that the relationship with the US is changing?Starmer replies:double quotation markFirstly, Nato is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen.And it has kept us safe for many decades.And we are fully committed to Nato.Secondly, that, whatever the pressure on me and others, whatever the noise, I’m going to act in the British national interest in all the decisions that I make.And that’s why I’ve been absolutely clear that this is not our war, and we’re not going to get dragged into it.

But I’m equally clear that, when it comes to defence and security and our economic future, we have to have closer ties with Europe.Starmer is now taking questions.Q: [From the BBC’s Henry Zeffman] No one thinks the government will push ahead with the fuel duty rise in the autumn.Can you confirm it won’t happen?Starmer says fuel duty is frozen until September.The government will keep this under review, he says.

Starmer says he will push for a closer relationship with the EU at a summit coming up later this year.double quotation markAs the chancellor has rightly pointed out, Brexit did deep damage to our economy and the opportunities to strengthen our security and cut the cost of living are simply too big to ignore.So in the coming weeks, we will announce a new summit with our EU partners.And I can tell you that at that summit the UK will not just ratify existing commitments made at last year’s summit.We want to be more ambitious, closer economic cooperation, closer security cooperation, a partnership that recognises our shared values, our shared interest and our shared future.

Starmer rattles through a list of other measures taken by the government to help with the cost of living.But he says, in the future, “it is not going to be easy”.He goes on:double quotation markWe will continue to stand up for the British national interest, and we continue to do what we must to guide our country calmly through this storm.However, it is increasingly clear that as the world continues down this volatile path, our long-term national interest requires closer partnership with our allies in Europe and with the European Union.