UK politics live: Starmer warned not to pull punches with Trump after ex-president says PM ‘very popular’

Sir Keir Starmer and foreign secretary David Lammy spent time with former president before flying back to UK

Keir Starmer refuses to apologise to pensioners over winter fuel payment cuts

The government should not “pull our punches” if they disagree with the American president, Labour MP Emily Thornberry has said.

Her comments come as Sir Keir met Donald Trump for the first time as the two sat down for a two-hour dinner meeting in New York.

Ms Thornberry, House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Donald Trump may be the president of the United States in a couple of months’ time so of course, it’s important to have meetings with him and to build a relationship with him.

“Whatever criticisms one may have of Donald Trump, the point is that the office of president is one that needs to be properly respected and the Americans are very close friends of ours.”

Ms Thornberry added: “I do think that if there are things the American president does or says that we disagree with, then we shouldn’t pull our punches.”

She also said Mr Trump must be “called out” for his “racist” remarks.

Following the meeting, the former president heaped praise on “very popular” Sir Kier.

“I actually think he’s very nice. He ran a great race, he did very well, it is very early, he is very popular,” he said.

Key Points

• ‘Gaza shames us all’ Sir Keir tells world leaders at UN
• Starmer admits mangling his words over ‘sausages’ blunder
• Donald Trump ‘needs to be called out’ on ‘racist’ comments, Labour MP says
• Starmer meets Donald Trump for first time at dinner meeting in New York
• Starmer to hold post-Brexit ‘reset’ talks with EU chiefs

[26 September 2024 15:35 · Salma Ouaguira]

How are the winter fuel payments changing?

The annual tax-free winter fuel payment of between £100 and £300 was introduced in 1997 to help eligible pensioners meet the costs of heating their homes in winter. It was then expanded to all pensioners in 2000.

The government is facing opposition to its decision to means-test the payment, stripping it from millions of pensioners. It means those in receipt of pension credit or other certain benefits will continue to receive them but others won’t.

Some make the point that rich pensioners wrongly get the payment too, but the unions argue that a universal payment to all pensioners ensures nobody falls through the gaps.

[26 September 2024 15:20 · Salma Ouaguira]

Pictured: Starmer meets Pakistani prime minister Shahbaz Sharif

Keir Starmer meets with Pakistani prime minister Shahbaz Sharif during a bilateral meeting at the consul general’s residence around the fringes of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York (Getty Images)

[26 September 2024 15:06 · Salma Ouaguira]

Tory leadership candidate Labour most fears revealed

Senior aids have revealed that Labour wants to “avoid” James Cleverly as future Tory leader.

According to the i newspaper, Downing Street officials said it was the former home secretary who they would least like to win the contest.

A Labour party figure said: “I think Cleverly could be a problem. He sounds quite reasonable,” a No 10 aide added: “James Cleverly – that’s who we want to avoid.”

Another government aide said Kemi Badenoch does not represent a threat as the party is “not sure she’d take our votes”.

[26 September 2024 15:05 · Salma Ouaguira]

Hunt warns Reeves against changing fiscal rules to increase borrowing

Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt has claimed that Treasury officials told him higher borrowing could lead to high interest rates.

He was responding to claims that Rachel Reeves is considering to change fiscal rules in an effort to allow more capital spending.

But Mr Hunt warned that “more borrowing means interest rates stay higher for longer”.