Change of kit? Keir Starmer managed to take a breather amid the Peter Mandelson scandal this week to check out some classic football shirts at a St George’s Day reception in Downing Street on Tuesday © PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Keir Starmer found himself, once again, defending his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister was not overly complimentary towards the Foreign Office calling it “staggering” and “astonishing” that neither he, nor any Minister, had been informed that UK Security Vetting had recommended denying Mandelson’s clearance. Starmer maintained that the vetting decision could have been shared with him, doubling down on his previous assertion he had not misled Parliament. The PM’s defiance on the matter did not prevent a myriad of questions from all sides at Wednesday’s PMQs, with Kemi Badenoch arguing Olly Robbins had been sacked to cover his failings. Criticism of Starmer was so widespread this week that even Lee Anderson and Zarah Sultana managed to agree on something (!) when both were asked to leave the Commons on Monday for using unparliamentary language, with Sultana describing him as a “bare faced liar.”
Former top official at the Foreign Office, Olly Robbins, appeared before the Foreign Affairs Committee for nearly two and a half hours on Tuesday morning. During the session, he described the pressure the FCDO was under to complete the vetting process quickly, alleging Downing Street had taken a “dismissive” attitude towards vetting to get Mandelson approved as quickly as possible. He confirmed that Mandelson had already been given access to classified material and a Foreign Office pass before the process had been completed, and revealed attempts by Downing Street to secretly secure a senior diplomatic role for No.10’s Director of Communications Matthew Doyle (who was ultimately granted a peerage instead, before losing the Labour whip just days later). Cat Little, Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office, also appeared in front of the committee, maintaining that due process had been followed and that she did not receive records related to the decision-making process until 25 March this year. Don’t expect the drama to subside any time soon: Philip Barton, former Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, is due to give evidence next week. Just in time before Parliament is prorogued…
5,377 – number of minutes the Lords sat debating the Assisted Dying Bill, calculated before its final session today, when it will be timed out… that’s almost 90 hours.
4.9% – rate of unemployment in the three months to February
165 – number of times the word ‘Mandelson’ was mentioned in the Commons this week
£661m – total investment the Home Office has announced to strengthen the control system in northern France to combat illegal migration
£132bn – total government borrowing in the year to March, down by £19.8bn
2 …hopefully – number of days left until Parliament goes into prorogation
A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has been extended by three weeks according to the White House, although with ongoing bombing and attacks by both Israel and Hezbollah, it’s unclear to what extent and how long it will last. Meanwhile President Trump claimed the US had “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz, despite it being effectively closed with reports Iran had attacked three vessels attempting to pass through. Peace talks were due to take place in Pakistan but have yet to begin, with areas of Islamabad sealed off in anticipation of delegations arriving at any moment. Back home, thorny relations between the US and UK administrations could be eased by King Charles’ State Visit next week, after Trump further criticised the Prime Minister’s stance on immigration and North Sea oil extraction in an interview with the BBC, but lavished praise on the King, calling him “fantastic”, a “brave man” and a “great man”.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband argued his clean energy mission is “even more important” amid geopolitical instability and the UK’s second fossil fuel shock in five years. Speaking at the Good Growth Foundation’s National Growth debate, he rejected claims the Government has gone too far or too fast, and said it will move faster and deeper on renewables, citing record auctions and the largest nuclear programme in half a century. He announced plans to deploy wind and solar on public land and to accelerate the rollout of rooftop solar, batteries, heat pumps and EVs, pledged £100m extra to upgrade social homes before winter and confirmed continued North Sea production from existing fields but opposed new licences.
The Home Office announced a new £661m agreement with France to strengthen efforts against illegal migration in northern France and prevent crossings to the UK. The partnership includes a 53% increase in ground deployments the creation of an 80 person specialist unit, an administrative detention centre in Dunkirk and a future CRS base in Calais. Additional measures include increased staffing for France’s GAO unit and enhanced surveillance using drones, helicopters and electronic monitoring.
Medical data from around 500,000 UK Biobank participants was briefly listed for sale on Alibaba in China. Updating MPs on Thursday, Data Minister Ian Murray confirmed the information did not include names or contact details, but could cover age, gender, socioeconomic status, lifestyle factors and biological measures. UK Biobank said the data was lawfully accessed by accredited researchers but later uploaded in breach of contract. The listings were swiftly removed, access for those involved suspended, and an investigation launched.
Adding to the high-profile pressure on the civil service this week… Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones told the Good Growth Foundation’s National Growth debate that the current civil service structure is “not fit for the modern age”. The Prime Minister’s right hand man highlighted the “huge opportunity” presented by AI and technology to boost productivity, backed expansion of homegrown energy to give the UK more control over prices, and warned that industrial energy costs are too high, stressing the importance of supporting people into work while tackling the rising cost of welfare.
Ofgem will be reformed to act as a “true consumer champion”, under changes announced by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The reforms will give the regulator stronger powers to enforce consumer law directly, removing the need for lengthy court processes to secure redress, and the ability to block bonuses for energy bosses who break the rules. Ofgem’s remit will be refocused on economic and consumer protection, with flexibility to regulate new parts of the market if required, whilst responsibility for overseeing home upgrade schemes will transfer to the Warm Homes Agency.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis announced a new ‘Cyber Resilience Pledge’ at the CYBERUK conference. Businesses will be invited to sign the new voluntary pledge by taking three steps: making cyber security a board level responsibility, signing up to the National Cyber Security Centre’s Early Warning service, and requiring Cyber Essentials certification across supply chains. The pledge will launch later this year as part of the National Cyber Action Plan, due this summer.
As industry awaits the long-overdue Defence Investment Plan, the MOD announced a £50m Defence Growth Deal for Northern Ireland, to align it with similar arrangements elsewhere in the UK. The funding will aim to support SMEs seeking to join the defence supply chain, including through a new Secure Innovation Hub offering protected research and development space for start-ups and new entrants.
When not dealing with the fallout from Olly Robbins’ sacking, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper released a joint statement with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi, after they met in Tokyo on Monday. During the meeting they reaffirmed their ‘commitment to working together to tackle the unprecedented global challenges we now face, promoting security, resilience, and prosperity, and advancing the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.'
The Green Party unveiled a “three step plan” to boost high streets. The proposals include introducing affordable leases for local traders to reduce the dominance of multinational chains, using powers such as compulsory purchase orders to bring long term empty shops back into use for art, leisure and music, and giving residents a stronger role in shaping their high streets so money stays in the local economy. Launching the plan, Zack Polanski also pledged to extend rent controls to small shop premises, giving councils powers to stop landlords from raising rents and forcing out independent retailers.
It’s that time of year again, with Bills moving back and forth between the Commons and the Lords on a seemingly endless basis as the Government does its utmost to complete its legislative agenda in the final days of the session. The Pension Schemes Bill, Crime and Policing Bill, English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, and Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill are all currently in the ping pong stage, and with the Government hoping to prorogue Parliament at the close of Tuesday’s sittings, compromises will almost certainly be required, particularly given that only the Tobacco and Vapes Bill and the Victims and Courts Bill completed their passage this week. Two other Bills – the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill and the Public Office (Accountability) Bill – will now have to wait until after the next King’s Speech to become law, with carry over motions due to be agreed next week.
This week also likely marked the final full sitting week for many hereditary Peers. With the parliamentary session drawing to a close next week, the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act is set to come into effect, prompting most of the remaining 92 hereditary Peers to pack up their offices for the last time. Meanwhile, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill reaches the end of the road today. Despite spending 13 days in committee in the Lords, it will not progress any further in this session, although reports are already circulating that it may return in the next.
Plaid Cymru is on course to win the Senedd elections, polling at 30%, followed by Reform UK at 25% and Labour on 15%, according to the latest Ipsos poll. However, just 11% of voters support Welsh independence, suggesting Plaid’s independence position is less of a pull than its power as a protest vote (although 37% do want more powers for the Welsh Government). In an even more worrying sign for Labour, a significant majority (62%) believe that it does not deserve re-election at all.
Meanwhile in Scotland, the SNP remains the party viewed most favourably, in Ipsos’ latest favourability poll. 37% approve of the ruling party, compared to 29% for the Scottish Greens, 23% for the Lib Dems, 22% for Labour, 19% for Reform UK and 17% for the Conservatives. Reform’s Malcolm Offord is the leader viewed least favourably, with just 13% like the cutting of his gib.
A majority of Brits support nuclear power, with 51% in favour and 19% opposed, according to YouGov’s poll. Approval is highest among Reform and Conservative voters (66 and 64% respectively), while 52% of Labour supporters are in favour. Green voters, unsurprisingly, are the most opposed (46%), although 39% are also in favour. The poll, which was taken to mark the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster this Sunday, came alongside a new Policy Exchange report which sets out how the UK can support a ‘more disciplined and strategically coherent approach to nuclear governance.’
The Government needs to ‘strike a better balance between bringing down energy bills now and building a system fit for the future’ according to the IPPR’s latest report. Since 2022, network costs on average annual household bills have increased by £129, which the public hold the Government responsible for ‘despite many years of underinvestment.’ It warned that technologies that could reduce system costs, such as batteries or electric vehicles, face barriers that limit their deployment and urged the Government to ‘prioritise solutions to this challenge that deliver visible and measurable benefits to households while improving the efficiency of the energy system.’
Keir StaRmer may have a habit of (metaphorically) running into a brick wall like Wile E. Coyote, but he echoed the other half of the famous Looney Tunes duo at PMQs this week with a “meep meep” noise reminiscent of the Road Runner. In fairness to Mr. Starmer, anyone speaking in public so often is bound to slip up once in a while (or confuse “hostages” with “sausages”), but the Opposition benches, the press and the world of social media were unlikely to be so charitable…
Three’s a crowd, but Richard Tice seemed to think Reform’s campaign trail needed more, resulting in accusations that he might’ve resorted to AI to bolster the ranks of his visit to Erdington alongside party chairman David Bull and local candidate Kenneth Morris. Readers are invited to inspect the (allegedly) digitally-altered digits of those in the pictures, and decide for themselves.
Can you judge a woman by her enemies? Emily Thornberry would certainly like you to think so, as she chaired a session of the Foreign Affairs Committee featuring the recently sacked (but definitely harbouring no ill will at all) Olly Robbins, to discuss the Peter Mandelson scandal. Mandelson is reportedly an erstwhile opponent of Thornberry’s, and she seemed to enjoy every minute of the hearing, her contributions filled with amusing turns of phrase and, on one occasion, the f-word (insistently inserted over the more delicate description of fellow committee member Richard Foord), while quoting an alleged statement from Morgan McSweeney expressing his impatience with the speed of Mandelson’s appointment.
