UK politics live: Priti Patel says four-day week would have ‘devastating impact’ as smoking ban faces backlash
Priti Patel attacks Starmer for seeking to make ‘fewer places where you can smoke’
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Dame Priti Patel has warned Labour’s four-day week plan would be “devastating” for businesses as she launched her Conservative leadership campaign in London.
The former home secretary criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s speech in the Downing Street Rose Garden on Tuesday this week as “one of the most feeble, pitiful and dishonest speeches you will ever hear”.
She also accused Sir Keir of launching a “nasty financial assault” on pensioners with the decision to cut winter fuel payments.
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer faced backlash for moving a £100,000 portrait of Margaret Thatcher in No 10 Downing Street because he found it “unsettling”.
The portrait controvercy has drawn sharp criticism from Conservative MPs, who branded his decision as “petty” and a “vindictive” act.
The prime minister hinted at a potential smoking ban in outdoor spaces like pub gardens.
Speaking in Paris, he confirmed changes to smoking laws are under consideration, with details to be revealed soon. But the move has sparked concern among hospitality groups over potential negative impacts on the sector.
The potential new Tobacco and Vapes Bill also caused cabinet tensions with Business Department officials warning that the move could create financial challenges for the industry.
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I would have won Westminster seat lost by Ross, says Duguid
Ousted MP David Duguid has said he would have won the seat lost by party leader Douglas Ross.
Mr Duguid was barred by Scottish Conservative officials from running for the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat, citing health reasons.
Earlier this year, he suffered a spinal stroke and subsequently contracted pneumonia, telling the BBC he “flatlined” on two occasions.
But the former MP – who represented the now defunct Banff and Buchan seat since 2017 – said he would have won the contest Mr Ross lost to the SNP on 4 July.
Asked in an interview with the BBC if the party made the wrong decision in barring him from standing, Mr Duguid said: “Evidently – we lost the seat.
“I think I would have won it.
“The last official communication I had with the party when they came to visit me that last time, I didn’t know Douglas was going to be the candidate.”
He went on to say he “had the incumbency” and constituents “knew me, and I’m a half decent MP or a fully decent MP”.
He added: “I thought any new candidate was not going to have that incumbency, which may not be worth that many votes, but it could have made a difference between winning or losing.”
Priti Patel slogan: ‘Experience. Strength. Unity.’
Priti Patel is set to deliver her speech from a lectern featuring her campaign slogan: “Experience. Strength. Unity.”
Breaking: Prison population hits record high
The prison population of England and Wales has hit a record high, Ministry of Justice figures show.
A total of 88,350 people were in prison as of August 30, up 116 from 88,234 a week ago and a jump of nearly 1,000 from 87,362 four weeks ago.
It is the highest end-of-week figure since weekly population data was first published in 2011.
It also surpasses the highest number of prisoners in England and Wales ever recorded, which was 88,336 at the end of February 2024, based on separate figures for the end-of-month population size.
In the aftermath of the summer 2011 riots, the prison population peaked at 88,179 on 2 December 2011.
Labour’s four-day week: How it will work and who can do it
Employees could get the right to a four-day working week under new laws being considered by Labour as part of their new package for workers.
This would come in the form of “compressed hours,” where an employee is allowed to work their regular hours over four days instead of five, reports The Telegraph.
Angela Rayner is understood to be spearheading Labour’s plan for workers, consulting with trade unions and businesses ahead of new legislation expected in the autumn.
Under current rules, workers have the right to request flexible working, but employers aren’t legally obliged to agree.
Coming up: Priti Patel vows to ‘send Starmer packing'
Tory leadership hopeful Priti Patel is set to deliver her first major speech in the race to replace Rishi Sunak at 11.30am.
Speakng in central London, the former home secretary will position herself as the best candidate to equip the Tories to challenge Labour and “send Starmer packing”.
Her address comes after Tom Tugendhat delivered his yesterday. He promised to impose a legally binding annual cap on net migration at 100,000 if elected leader.
The proposal is part of his campaign patform as he seeks to position himself as a candidate committed to control immigration.
Priti Patel takes on Farage
Priti Patel is making a bid to win back Reform voters, our political editor David Maddox writes.
The former home secretary has invited Howard Cox who stood for Reform in the London mayor contest to her launch event.
Ms Patel and her campaign manager Jonathan Gullis have worked closely with Cox in the past with the Fair Fuel Campaign.
Winning him back would be a major signal to the voters who switched to Nigel Farage and Reform in the election.
Mr Cox told The Independent: “Priti Patel has supported my Fair Fuel Campaign for over a decade and she has been instrumental in keeping fuel duty frozen since 2011. I am flattered to be invited to her launch event today because I think she is the only Thatcherite left in the Tory party.”
Foreign Office ‘deeply worried’ by ‘methods Israel employed’ in IDF attack
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has said the UK is “deeply worried” by the “methods Israel has employed” in an IDF military operation in the occupied West Bank.
In a statement on Friday morning, a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said: “The UK is deeply concerned by the ongoing IDF military operation in the occupied West Bank.
“We recognise Israel’s need to defend itself against security threats, but we are deeply worried by the methods Israel has employed and by reports of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
“The risk of instability is serious and the need for de-escalation urgent. We continue to call on Israeli authorities to exercise restraint, adhere to international law, and clamp down on the actions of those who seek to inflame tensions.
“The UK strongly condemns settler violence and inciteful remarks such as those made by Israel’s national security minister Ben-Gvir, which threaten the status-quo of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem.
“It is in no one’s interest for further conflict and instability to spread in the West Bank.”
Priti Patel to launch Tory leadership campaign
Dame Priti Patel is set to officially launch her Tory leadership bid at a major speech.
The former home secretary is expected to reveal her plan to change the Conservative party and her vision for improving the nation if she gets elected.
The Tory MP will tell Conservative members that she is the best candidate to ensure the party has “all the tools needed” to take on Labour and to “send Starmer packing”.
She is one of six candidates standing to replace Rishi Sunak, including James Cleverly, Kemi Badenoch, Mel Stride, Robert Jenrick and Tom Tugendhat.
Watch: Starmer jokes about staying in ‘chilled’ Paris as he meets Team GB Paralympians
Starmer jokes about staying in ‘chilled’ Paris as he meets Team GB Paralympians
Sir Keir Starmer joked he wanted to stay in a “chilled” Paris as he met with Team GB Paralympians on Thursday (29 August). The prime minister, who this week made an address to the nation admitting things will get worse for people in the UK before they get better, met several Paralympian athletes at their training ground Saint-Germain-en-Laybe in Paris. One of the athletes told Sir Keir: “As you can see, it’s a very chilled atmosphere. The prime minister laughed and replied: “Yes, it’s nice. I am staying.” The Labour leader then watched the Paralympians take part in their training sessions.
Mortgage approvals for house purchase jump to highest levels since mini-budget
The number of mortgages approved for home buyers has jumped to its highest level since the month the mini-budget was delivered under then-prime minister Liz Truss.
The Bank of England recorded 62,000 approvals for house purchases in July – the highest total since 65,100 were recorded in September 2022.
Mortgage rates surged after then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s September 2022 statement delivered as part of a “growth plan”.
In recent weeks, mortgage rates have been edging down and earlier this month, the Bank of England base rate was cut by 0.25 percentage points to five per cent.
The Bank’s Money and Credit report said house purchase approvals increased from 60,600 in June.
By contrast, approvals for remortgaging (which only capture loans with a different lender) fell to 25,100 in July from 27,300 the previous month.
The figures were released as Nationwide Building Society said UK house prices fell by 0.2 per cent month-on-month in August, after taking account of seasonal effects, but the annual rate of house price growth continued to edge higher. Average prices were up 2.4 per cent year-on-year – the fastest rate since December 2022.
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