PMQs - live: Starmer hits back at Sunak’s national security questions in testy exchange
Labour government will allow free vote by MPs on controversial assisted dying bill
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Sir Keir Starmer was involved in a tense exchange with Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) over a national security question.
Mr Sunak said the PM has halted the implementation of the foreign agents registration scheme. Mr Starmer simply replied “that is not correct”, before sitting down to cheers from Labour backbench MPs.
Shortly after PMQs a private members bill on assisted dying is due to be formally introduced to the House of Commons.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who is bringing forward the proposals, has said that disabled and vulnerable people will not be at risk from the legislation as it will apply only to terminally ill adults.
She said the end of life bill will have “stringent” criteria and the legislation was about giving “autonomy” to people at the end of their lives.
She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “The health inequalities in this country, the pressure that disabled people feel and the fact that they don’t feel they’ve got the same rights as other people, let’s address those issues, and I will champion those causes all day long.
“But this is about people who are terminally ill, who just want the autonomy to have the choice to end their lives in a way that they feel more comfortable with, that respects their family and their friends and their loved ones.”
Archbishop of Canterbury warns of ‘slippery slope’ ahead of assisted dying legislation
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Sunak claims PM has halted foreign agents registration scheme
Sunak claims that the prime minister has halted the foreign agents registration scheme.
Starmer replies “that is not correct” and then sits down to cheers from his backbenchers.
Starmer calls for release of Jimmy Lai
Sunak asks if David Lammy will raise the case of imprisoned British citizen Jimmy Lai. Starmer called for the immediate release of Mr Lai.
Starmer congratulates Tuchel on England job
The prime minister wished new England men’s football manager Thomas Tuchel all the best in his new role and joked he would not hold his previous job against him. Sir Keir is an Arsenal fan and Mr Tuchel previously managed London rivals Chelsea FC.
And we begin...
Sir Keir Starmer’s kicks off PMQs by paying tribute to former SNP leader Alex Salmond who died at the weekend. The prime minister described him as a “monumental figure”.
PMQs will begin shortly...
Sir Keir Starmer will face off against Rishi Sunak for one of the final times before a new Tory leader is crowned. In the future the prime minister will be grilled by either Kemi Badeboch or Robert Jenrick.
Jenrick proposes withholding student loans from 10% worse performing degree courses
Robert Jenrick has suggested the government withhold student loans from the 10 per cent worst-performing degree courses in order to fund apprenticeships instead.
He said the funding would support the “biggest expansion of apprenticeships and vocational skills programmes in a generation” in order to deliver “the real skills we need”.
Addressing supporters in Westminster, the Tory leadership contender said: “We are sending people to university who would benefit far more from building practical skills. It’s time to end Blair’s failed experiment with higher education, close down failed institutions, and replace them with apprenticeship hubs for young and old alike, giving people the real chance at a better life they deserve.
“We should never again be reliant on foreign labour for the brickies, welders and electricians that build this country and power our economy forward.
“If we were to withhold student loans to the worst performing 10 per cent of courses for graduate outcomes, we would have 130,000 fewer students going to university.”
He added: “With these policies we would ensure there isn’t drama, not excuses, just delivering the real skills we need.”
EXCLUSIVE: From new MPs to cabinet ministers, how influential think tank is bankrolling Labour
More than 100 Labour MPs have registered donations from the think tank linked to Keir Starmer’s new chief of staff and backed by a hedge fund manager.
The donations from Labour Together, totalling about £1.5m and ranging from £5,000 to £137,168, have raised questions over the influence of the think tank and the power of its former director Morgan McSweeney.
The figures come just days after Mr McSweeney, Labour Together’s former director, won the power struggle with Sue Gray in Downing Street to replace her as the prime minister’s chief of staff.
From new MPs to cabinet ministers, how influential think tank is bankrolling Labour
Exclusive: Organisation linked to Keir Starmer’s new chief of staff handed donations totalling £1.5m to more than 100 MPs
‘No drama, no excuses’, pledges Jenrick
Robert Jenrick has promised to lead a Conservative Party “focused on delivery”, saying there will be “no drama” and “no excuses”.
He promised that under his leadership, the Conservatives would be a party “grounded in the concerns of ordinary people”, saying it would “serve the British people once again”.
Mr Jenrick told supporters: “It’s a simple agenda: rather than a big state that fails, we need a small state that works.”“It comes back to the fundamental rewriting of the relationship between the citizen and the state that Thatcher oversaw.”
Breaking: London Underground workers vote for strike action
London Underground workers, including drivers, are to stage a series of strikes next month in a dispute over pay, Aslef announced.
Previous government didn’t do enough to take advantage of Brexit, Jenrick says
The previous government didn’t do enough to take “full advantage” of Brexit, Robert Jenrick has said.
Giving a speech in Westminster, the Tory leadership contender said: “Brexit should be unpicked, according to Keir Starmer, and Britain brought back under the auspices of the EU’s regulatory orbit.”
While the Labour government has promised to renegotiate the UK’s Brexit deal, Sir Keir has ruled out rejoining the EU.
Speaking about the previous government, Mr Jenrick added: “We started to take advantage of Brexit, but we didn’t do enough to take full advantage of the newfound opportunities that were in our hands.“So we paid a price at the ballot box. And now we need a credible plan.”
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