Keir Starmer has recorded a short pooled TV interview in Qatar this morning,It did not really add much to what we have heard him say before but, for the record, here are the main lines,Starmer implied that he declined the opportunity to tell Donald Trump in person how “fed up” he is about the president’s impact on UK energy bills (see 9,01am) when they spoke last night,He said their focus in the call was on the need for a “practical plan” to open the strait of Hormuz.

He also said he had told the president that leaders of the Gulf countries stressed to him that, if the ceasefire is to hold, they should be involved in the plan for the region’s future.Starmer was being interviewed by Robert Peston, who conducted the interview yesterday in which the PM said he was “fed up” with energy prices going up in the UK because of wars started by Trump and Vladimir Putin.Peston asked if Starmer raised this in his call with Trump, but the PM did not address that point and said they spent “most of the time on the call talking about the practical plan”.(He did not say what that practical plan was.)Starmer said there among the Gulf states there is “a very strong sense there can’t be tolling or restrictions” on the stait of Hormuz as part of the final settlement.

He said the “overarching impression” from his tour was how much value Gulf countries placed on having the UK as an ally.He said:double quotation markThe overarching impression here is the importance, as they see it, of us standing with them as an ally, as a friend of theirs at a point of need.And there’s been reflection on the work that we’ve done with them over the last six to seven weeks, on collective self-defence.Here in Qatar, we’ve got a joint squadron, so a real sense of ‘here we are as an ally, standing with our allies when it matters most to them’.He restated his belief that European members of Nato need to spend more on defence.

He made this point when asked about Trump’s threats to withdraw from Nato,Asked if raised these threats in the call, Starmer did not answer directly, but said he was continually saying that Europe needed to do more for Nato,Keir Starmer has said he is “fed up” with the effect that Donald Trump’s actions in the Middle East are having on the British public, while appearing to draw a comparison between the US president and Vladimir Putin,The UK’s actions in the Gulf should be the basis for any US judgment of the country’s value rather than Donald Trump’s social media posts, John Healey, the defence secretary, has said,Ministers are to start removing post-Brexit residency rights from EU citizens who are no longer “continuously” living in the UK.

Annie Lennox and Miriam Margolyes are among artists who have accused the Metropolitan police of giving preferential treatment to a far-right demonstration led by Tommy Robinson over a pro-Palestine protest in London on the same day.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.Disgraced peer Lord Mandelson is facing a fine of up to £300 after he was pictured urinating in the street, the Press Association reports.PA says:double quotation markKensington and Chelsea council confirmed it is seeking to issue a fixed-penalty notice to the former Labour grandee over the incident in Notting Hill, west London, last November.Public urination carries a maximum fine of £300 within the borough, which can be reduced to £150 if paid within 14 days.

A fixed-penalty notice is not a criminal conviction but can show up on the police national computer.The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea confirmed it is looking to fine Lord Mandelson, as first reported by The Sun newspaper.A spokesman said: “We are looking to issue a fixed-penalty notice but need to obtain a suitable address.”Photos published in the Daily Mail appear to show the peer relieving himself after a late-night visit to former Tory chancellor George Osborne’s Notting Hill home last November.He apologised at the time, claiming he had been “stood up by two Uber drivers and kept waiting in the street for half-an-hour” and was “bursting”.

Labour MPs are hoping to hijack plans to cut back on jury trials in England and Wales by proposing specialist courts for sexual offences with fixed dates for trial, Peter Walker reports,Here is the readout from No 10 about Keir Starmer’s meeting this morning with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani,double quotation markThe prime minister underlined the UK’s solidarity with Qatar following Iran’s indefensible attacks and his gratitude for keeping UK nationals living in the country safe,He added that the UK-Qatar Joint Squadron had worked well together to defend the region in a time of need,Now that the ceasefire has been agreed, he said, this brought some relief but work must be done to ensure it turns into a lasting peace.

They affirmed their strong support for initiatives to reopen the strait of Hormuz and for the principle of freedom of navigation.The prime minister set out how the UK was convening partners on the political, military and logistical steps necessary.They committed to further strengthen their relationship, including on defence cooperation economic growth.A reader asks:double quotation markIs it true that Tony Blair and his Institute receive large amounts of funding from the fossil fuel lobby and AI exponent and close Trump ally Larry Ellison? Could it be the reason he has lobbied for fossil fuel for 20-odd years is not political or ethical but simply financial?I have not looked closely at the funding of the Tony Blair Institute.But my colleague Fiona Harvey has, in this article a few weeks ago.

It starts:double quotation markA thinktank with close ties to Saudi Arabia and substantial funding from a Donald Trump ally needs to present a particularly robust analysis to earn the right to be listened to on the climate crisis.On that measure, Tony Blair’s latest report fails on almost every point.The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) received money from the Saudi government, has advised the United Arab Emirates petrostate, and counts as a main donor Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, friend of Trump and advocate of AI.You are right to suggest that transparency re political funding is important, and that there is a link between the views of people who donate to politicians and the policies those politicians subsequently promote.But where I tend to disagree is with your view of the causal relationship.

In my experience, most political donations are best understood as donors giving to politicians who agree with them anyway – not politicians selling their services to the highest bidder,Such behaviour is rare – and criminal, as Nathan Gill discovered to his cost,That does not mean donations don’t shape what gets prioritised; they do,But explaining how this works simply in terms of ‘they’re only saying X because they get funding from Y’ tends to be too simplistic,It is also a device that allows critics to avoid having to engage with the substance of the arguments.

(Not that Fiona was doing this; her article referenced above is all about the quality of the arguments being used by the TBI.)The SNP’s pledge to give private renters first refusal if their home is put up for sale “will not fix a broken system”, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has said.As the Press Association reports, speaking as he launched his party’s battle bus in Glasgow ahead of the May election, Sarwar said many renters in Scotland feel they have been “forgotten about” by the SNP government.PA says:double quotation markIt came after first minister John Swinney announced plans to introduce legislation to bring in the change if the SNP secures another term in power.This would mean if a landlord decides to put a property on the market, tenants would be given a period of first refusal to buy it “at a fair market rate”, Swinney said.

He said such a move could “help people to put down roots and to feel secure in their own home”,But Sarwar criticised the idea, claiming it would not fix the problem,He said: “I think everyone will accept in principle that those who have been long-term tenants should have the right to buy their home, but the reality is it will not fix a broken system that the SNP has broken over the last 20 years,“The record that they can’t run away from is the fact that on their watch, rough sleeping has increased by 66%,“On their watch we have a record number of children who are homeless.

“There are over 10,000 homeless children in Scotland as we speak, that’s why we will confront that, we will build 125,000 new homes in the next parliament, we will give a tax rate to young people who are buying their first home so we can bring back the dream of home ownership.“We’ll take action to drive down the cost of rent and mortgages, and we’ll make sure we have a housing system that works for every part of our country, because I think a lots of communities feel that they’re forgotten about by this SNP government.”The SNP has already said that it would help first-time buyers through a scheme that would allow them to get up to £10,000 towards a deposit on a house.Setting out the party’s housing policies today, the SNP also said it would: “Establish a new housing agency More Homes Scotland to build homes more quickly and affordably; invest £4bn in affordable housing over the next four years; deliver 100,000 affordable homes by 2031/32; [and] enhance the planning system to ensure new housebuilding is supported.”The Press Association has filed more on the Green party’s council byelection win in Cliftonville.

(See 1.28pm.)Rob Yates won the seat for the Greens with 2,068 votes, making up 39% of the vote, ahead of Marc Rattigan for Reform UK with 1,767 votes, making up 33%.Yates said:double quotation markThis result shows that across Kent and across the country the Greens are the antidote to Reform.The 39-year-old is an offshore wind farmer and is currently a Thanet district council member, PA says.

A Reform UK spokesperson said:double quotation markMarc and the team have run an incredible, positive and professional campaign in the midst of challenging circumstances,We’d like to thank voters for their support,The overriding message from this result is, vote Conservative, get Green,“Challenging circumstances” is a reference to the fact that the byelection was triggered after ex-Reform UK councillor Daniel Taylor, of Ramsgate, Kent, was jailed for 12 months in February after admitting controlling and coercive behaviour towards his wife,The 36-year-old was suspended from Reform after his arrest in June last year and expelled after he pleaded guilty to the crime in January.

The Conservatives’ candidate Charlie Leys came third in the byelection, gaining 811 votes, which accounted for 15% of the vote.Reform won control of Kent county council in May last year, securing 57 out of 81 seats, but is currently down to 47 after removing some of them.Here is a video that Yates posted on social media earlier this week, before the byelection.Nigel Farage has restated his claim that big Reform UK wins in the May elections could force Keir Starmer out of office.At an event promoting his party’s “Vote Reform, Get Starmer Out” slogan (see 10.

38am), Farage said:double quotation markIf we achieve anything like our potential, I do not believe Starmer will still be prime minister at the end of May.This is the most unpopular prime minister in living memory.Without doubt, the least patriotic prime minister in history.Nobody else can do this – the Conservatives are not even in the race, Greens might hurt them in the big cities – but we can.We can, if we get enough people to vote Reform, get Starmer out.

Reform UK is expected to do exceptionally well in the English local elections, gaining more than 2,000 seats, according to at least one forecast,But, although the party at one point hoped it had a chance of forming a government in Cardiff, recent polling suggests Plaid Cymru will be in charge after May,And while Reform UK has easily overtaken the Tories in Scotland, it is nowhere near eclipsing the SNP,Even if Reform UK does sweep the board in the English elections, Labour MPs and members seem increasingly inclined to think that a leadership contest now would not be desirable,(See 10.

02am.)The Greens have welcomed a council byelection win in Kent, claiming that it is evidence that the party can win anywhere.Last year Reform UK won the Cliftonville in Margate, for Kent county council, with 40%.The Greens were in fourth place.But last night they won quite comfortably, with their share of the vote rising by almost 27 points.

Election Maps UK have the results in full.Commenting on the result, Zack Polanski, the Green leader, who campaigned in the contest, said:double quotation markThe Green Party BEATS Reform!!!Greens came fourth here last year.Proving once again that Greens can win anywhere.Labour tanking and Greens beating Reform!KentOnline has more about the byelection, which was triggered by the former Reform UK councillor going to jail, here.And Andrew Teale has a long history of elections in Cliftonville in a post on his Substack blog.

Cliftonville is in the East Thanet parliamentary constituency, which Labour won with a majority of almost 7,000 at the 2024 general election,Tony Blair, the former Labour prime minister, has joined those saying the government should allow drilling for oil and gas in the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields in the North Sea,Both applications were approved by the last Conservative government, but then overturned by a court ruling,Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, has to make a decision about the revised applications operating in a quasi-judicial capacity, which means he has to follow due process and can’t take the decision purely on political ground,In saying both developments should go ahead, Blair – or, to be more accurate, his thinktank, which has published a paper on this today – is lining up with Reform UK, as well as the SNP and Scottish Labour.

The UK government is waiting for Miliband to complete the quasi-judicial process; as the leading champion of net zero in government, it is assumed he is opposed to the developments, but Labour is under increasing pressure to allow at least one of them.In its report, the Tony Blair Institute says:double quotation markThe current debate [on energy policy] is deadlocked between two incomplete responses.The government argues the answer is to accelerate Clean Power 2030, focusing on decarbonising the electricity system as quickly as possible.The opposition argues that the answer is to expand domestic oil and gas production.Both positions contain elements of truth, but neither addresses the core strategic problem: outside the power sector the UK economy remains overwhelmingly dependent on fossil fuels, and electricity is still too expensive to support mass electrification.

The UK is caught in a self-reinforcing high-cost, low-electrification trap,High electricity costs suppress demand, slowing the uptake of electric vehicles, heat pumps and industrial electrification,Weak demand growth, in turn, means that the fixed costs of the system – from networks to long-term contracts – are spread across a smaller base, keeping prices high,The result is a system that is too expensive to electrify and therefore remains dependent on fossil fuels and exposed to global shocks …In the near term, the UK must reduce its exposure to immediate shocks,This requires accelerating domestic energy supply where viable.

Pursuing production at the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields can help meet demand, and would have been good policy even before the war in Iran – the current conflict makes the opening of these sites essential.This is not the first time Blair and his thinktank have criticised Miliband’s energy policy.In part, this could be seen as a continuation of a feud going back more than a decade.Blair was alarmed by the way Miliband disowned parts of the New Labour legacy when he became party leader in 2010 and their relationship has been strained every since.As Fiona Harvey reported last week, experts say allowing both fields to be drilled would make almost no difference to the UK’s reliance on gas imports