Labour conference live: Reeves defends winter fuel allowance cut while promising ‘no return to austerity’
Reeves says cutting winter fuel allowance to the poorest pensioners was the right decision ahead of keynote speech in Liverpool
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Rachel Reeves has defended the government decision to cut winter fuel allowance to pensioners at the Labour conference in Liverpool.
The chancellor said “it was right to restrict the winter fuel payment to the poorest pensioners”.
She also promised there will not “be a return to austerity” but that “detailed” spending by department will be “negotiated”.
Ms Reeves is set to make a keynote speech to pledge that the government’s autumn Budget statement will be used to “rebuild Britain”, as ministers seek to move from under the shadow of a row about donations.
Speaking on the BBC’s Today programme, she admitted people might “find it odd” that Labour MPs have received clothes as gifts but defended their decision to accept thousands of pounds worth of freebies.
Her speech will come after Sir Keir Starmer vowed Labour would not return to an austerity agenda to deal with public spending pressures.
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner was the first major speaker on Sunday with an optimistic speech on new rights for workers and renters.
The Independent’s political team will be reporting throughout the week from the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.
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Starmer claims ‘transparency’ is key as it emerges he and Gray accepted more football freebies
If he fails to get a grip on his government, Starmer’s five missions will become impossible
Streeting jokes Gray ‘shot JFK’ and ‘no one should be paid more than PM’
Wes Streeting has joked that Sue Gray had “shot JFK” and “no one should be paid more than the prime minister” amid controversy over the Labour chief of staff’s salary.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Labour Together think tank at the party conference in Liverpool, the Health Secretary said: “I want to welcome the BBC’s conviction that no one should be paid more than the prime minister, that no one should receive hospitality, and that we should judge performance on social media mentions.
“Be careful what we wish for, comrades.”
He added: It’s going to get worse before it gets better. Sue Gray is hiding Lord Lucan and shot JFK… I don’t know how we’re going to recover from this, frankly.”
Sinn Fein chief McDonald urges Starmer to ‘walk final length of Irish journey’
Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald has called on the British Government to “make clear its intention to trigger a referendum” on Irish unity.
Speaking at a fringe event at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Ms McDonald also urged Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to “walk the final length of the Irish journey”.
While in opposition, Sir Keir said a referendum on Irish unification was “not even on the horizon”, while Sinn Fein has called for a date for a vote to be set before the end of the decade, but have not specified when.
Ms McDonald told the audience in Liverpool that the reunification of Ireland “presents the single greatest opportunity to unlock our potential and to deliver prosperity for all”.
She said: “We’re living in a time when history will be made by the people. That’s why referendums on Irish unity must be held by the end of this decade to allow the people to have their say.
“The moment will come to name the date, but first, the British Government must make clear its intention to trigger a referendum as per the Good Friday Agreement, and set out the threshold for the referendum as they see it – there can’t be any more dodging.
“We need clear and we need an honest conversation. Our countries are each other’s nearest neighbours, and good neighbours should always want what’s best for each other.
“What is best for Ireland is that Britain end its involvement in our affairs, and that the people of Ireland finally get to decide our future together.”
Lammy pressed by delegates on Government’s position on arms exports
David Lammy has been pressed by delegates on the Government’s position on arms exports, which have proven a sticking point within party ranks.
The UK has suspended some export licences to Israel over concerns the country is violating international humanitarian law in Gaza, but some have argued stronger action is needed including a full arms embargo.
Questioned on whether such a measure would be introduced at a Labour Party conference fringe event on Sunday, the Foreign Secretary said: “I don’t think it would be quite right to suspend licences, for example, that the Israelis could use in relation to the Houthis, that Israel may need to use in relation to the challenges it has with other proxies in the area.
“I think that would be a mistake. It would lead to a wider war and an escalation that we here in the UK are committed to stopping, so I’m afraid I disagree with that position.”
Starmer and Gray took football freebie from Boris Johnson’s former aide
Keir Starmer has defended his gift-taking as he took part in two eve-of-conference interviews, insisting that it is transparency that matters.
But the prime minister is facing new questions about a football match he and his controversial chief of staff Sue Gray attended after hospitality was arranged by a former aide to Boris Johnson. Sir Keir was pictured at the game with lobbyist Katie Perrior, who ran Mr Johnson’s publicity campaign when he became mayor of London in 2008.
Mr Johnson has praised Ms Perrior, who runs the PR firm iNHouse, and her business partner Jo Tanner as “the Fortnum and Mason of communications”. He added: “They deliver, and they deliver quality. Without them, I simply would not have been made mayor.”
Political editor David Maddox reports:
Starmer and Gray took football freebie from Boris Johnson’s former aide
Keir Starmer has opened the Labour conference with a defence of his gift-taking but is facing questions about hospitality at another football match
Rayner says she will ‘fix’ Right to Buy scheme and make it a ‘fair system’
Angela Rayner has said she intends to “fix” the Right to Buy scheme and make it a “fair system” for taxpayers and tenants.
Speaking at a Labour conference fringe event in Liverpool, the Deputy Prime Minister suggested that changes had to be made to the scheme to secure “social housing into the future”.
Right to Buy legislation allows tenants renting local authority-owned homes to buy them at a discounted rate.
Ms Rayner said: “Housing is not just about a house, housing is about a home. It’s about people’s social wellbeing, it’s about people’s health, it’s about people’s education, it’s about people’s recreation, it’s about support, it affects every single aspect of a person’s life, so we have to have a whole Government approach to it.
“But this Labour Government is absolutely determined that we will have the biggest wave of social housing of a generation, and we are also going to have to fix the situation in Right to Buy.
“I’ve said that I’ll do a consultation on this, but the changes that they made in 2012 mean that more of our council homes are being sold off and we just can’t replace them.
“So there’s no point in me having the biggest wave in a generation of council homes through one way, and then not being able to replace them as they go out the door the next.
“So we’ve got to have a fair system.
“And, I think if you’ve raised your kids, you’ve lived in the house for decades and you want to buy the house, I think it’s absolutely reasonable and right that people should be given that opportunity.
“But I also believe that we can’t have a situation where taxpayers are funding social housing and actually we can’t replace that social housing because of the discount.
“So I’m starting a conversation on that, to make sure that we fix that end of the scale as well, so that we can make sure we can keep our social housing into the future.”
Watch: Angela Rayner tears up as she opens Labour conference as deputy prime minister
Lammy leaves door open for further sanctions over West Bank violence
David Lammy has insisted imposing a full arms embargo on Israel would be a “mistake” but left the door open to further sanctions over settler violence in the West Bank.
The Foreign Secretary suggested suspending export licences that could be used by Israel against Houthi rebels and other proxies in the region would lead to a “wider war”.
But speaking at a Labour Party conference fringe event on Sunday, he said he was in talks with G7 allies about responding to “deeply” concerning “escalatory behaviour” in the occupied region.
“I’m deeply, deeply worried by the growing violence and settler violence that we see in the West Bank,” Mr Lammy said.
“I’m in discussions with G7 partners, particular European partners on that. I’m not announcing further sanctions today, but that is kept under close review.”
It comes after Israeli president Isaac Herzog earlier on Sunday expressed disappointment in the UK’s changing position towards the country.
Immediate ceasefire required between Israel and Hezbollah, says Lammy
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said an “immediate ceasefire” is required between Israel and Hezbollah following a “worrying escalation”.
Mr Lammy said the ongoing hostilities are in “nobody’s interest” as he also advised British nationals in Lebanon to “leave now”.
Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Kassem, speaking on Sunday, said his group is now in an open-ended battle of reckoning with Israel.
His comments came after a wave of explosions hit pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members, killing at least 37 people – including two children – and wounding about 3,000.
The attacks are widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, although Israeli president Isaac Herzog said he “rejects out of hand any connection” to the operation against Hezbollah.
Mr Lammy, speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, spoke of the new Government’s response to the Israel-Gaza conflict before turning to Lebanon.
He said: “We have never lost sight of the end goal: an irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.
“I believe in the right of Israel to be safe and secure. I also believe in the justness of the Palestinian cause.
“It is only once Palestinians and Israelis have the same fundamental rights – sovereignty, security and dignity in their own independent, recognised states – that we can achieve a just and lasting peace for all.
“In recent days, we have seen worrying escalation between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah. This is in nobody’s interest.
“Our message to all parties is clear: we need an immediate ceasefire from both sides so that we can get to a political settlement.”
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