Keir Starmer to face Kemi Badenoch in first PMQs since resignation – UK politics live
Starmer faces Badenoch at PMQs
PMQs starts at noon.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Key events
Farage tells conference for social conservatives ‘family breakdown pretty much same as community breakdown’
Ben Quinn
Ben Quinn is a Guardian political correspondent.
Nigel Farage has made an explicit pitch for support from an international gathering of thousands of social conservatives and hard-right activists, likening “family breakdown” to “community breakdown” as populations grew more diverse.
The Reform UK leader was speaking a day after the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference, which is backed by influential right-wing funders including including donors to Donald Trump.
“I think family breakdown is pretty much the same as community breakdown,” Farage said in an interview on the event’s main stage with Philippa Stroud, the Tory peer who set up ARC with others including the controversial Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson and Paul Marshall, one of the backers of GB News.
Farage went on:
When people live together in the same communities and they all speak the same language and they all have something in common and they all know their neighbours’ christian names and they all take part in community events … And when that starts to break down what happens? People become more individualised, more selfish.
They don’t know the names of their next door neighbours and I think downstream of that a similar thing has happened in families and I am not pretending that government can on its own wave a magic hand. But we can at least start to make the argument that living in a family, living in a genuine sense of community, is a better way of life and start unashamedly champion that.
But Farage, who had two children with his first wife, from whom he is divorced, and two with his second wife, from whom he separated, also admitted that he was not necessarily the best person to make the case for marriage.
Farage also drew applause from attendees at the event by saying that his first action, if he were to enter Downing Street, would be to call South Korean nuclear engineers and get them to come to Britain to rapidly boost the role out of nuclear energy.
Here is our report on yesterday’s speech at the ARC conference.
Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/PA
Starmer faces Badenoch at PMQs
PMQs starts at noon.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Reaction to Burnham choosing Purnell as his chief of staff
Younger readers may not have have heard of James Purnell, but the news this morning that he will be Andy Burnham’s chief of staff is quite a big deal. This is one appointment that can make a big difference. Tony Blair had a highly competent, but low profile, chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, and both of them stayed in their jobs for 10 years. Boris Johnson appointed the high-risk, madcap disruptor Dominic Cummings, and Cummings delivered a big election victory before walking out after generating months of chaos. The sacking of Sue Gray was an early sign that Keir Starmer’s operation was flawed, and her replacement, Morgan McSweeney, probably contributed to Starmer having to resign because he was instrumental in Peter Mandelson being appointed US ambassador.
James Purnell was a Blairite cabinet minister who resigned from Gordon Brown’s cabinet after he lost faith in Brown. As Stephen Bush writes in his Inside Politics briefing for the FT, New Labour people are thrilled.
It’s an impeccable appointment because it ticks not only the essential boxes for a chief of staff (he is qualified to do the job, knows the principal well enough to act as his vicar on earth, has a political sense of his own and experience of working in large organisations) but also because it offers further reassurance to MPs who are worried about Burnham’s plans for the economy. One Blairite described the appointment as “the first bit of good news since the exit poll” last night.
Another New Labour veteran and something of a Burnham-sceptic texted just the words “James Purnell. Thank God!” The biggest thing worrying the minority of Labour MPs with doubts about Burnham is what he might do on the economy, and no one in that group thinks that Purnell is going to pull together some kind of leftwing Liz Truss administration.
But the appointment can’t just be seen in ideological terms; a big factor is that Purnell and Burnham are very close friends. In Head North, the book he published with Steve Rotheram (part memoir, part manifesto – now essential reading in Westminster), Burnham thanks Purnell in the acknowledgements “for believing in me and seeing things others didn’t”.
Here is some more reaction to the appointment.
From Joshi Herrmann, founder and editor of the Mill, the online Manchester news website
If like me you’re a bit sceptical about Burnham’s heart being in his new “ending 40 years of neoliberalism” thing, appointing a big Blairite as CoS is another clue.
Burnham wants to bring utilities under “public control”. Purnell advises water/energy firms on “regulatory risk”.
From Sonia Sodha, the Times columnist
James Purnell would be a good/interesting pick for Burnham’s chief of staff:
-a grown up who’s run things – including but not limited to government departments
-his politics while an MP were v much Blairite
From Kevin Maguire, the former Daily Mirror political editor
Andy Burnham appointing corporate lobbyist James Purnell his No 10 chief of staff would strain the Left of the Labour alliance currently behind the PM-in-waiting.
Purnell was a Blairite ultra who quit Brown’s cabinet in 2009 as part of a failed coup to make David Miliband PM.
Grooming gangs inquiry to focus first on London, Oldham, Bradford and Keighley
London, Oldham, Bradford and Keighley are to be the first towns and cities investigated by the grooming gangs inquiry, the Press Association reports. PA says:
The £65m probe is investigating how grooming gangs operated and how police, councils, health services, social care services and schools responded.
The announcement confirmed which areas will first face so-called local investigations – where serious failures have been identified in response to child sexual exploitation by grooming gangs.
Former children’s commissioner for England Anne Longfield is heading up the inquiry, which has the legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence and require organisations to hand over documents.
Any evidence of crimes uncovered will be referred to Operation Beaconport, the national police operation launched last year to review hundreds of previously closed investigations.
Nearly a quarter of voters in Europe now back far-right parties
Almost one in four voters in Europe now cast their ballot for far-right parties, research shows, a proportion that has grown nearly fivefold since the mid-1990s and climbed particularly steeply over the past three years. Jon Henley has the story.
Back to Ed Miliband, and Caroline Wheeler in the i has a report saying that the energy secretary is preparing to approve the application for the new Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea as part of a move that would held clinch the case for Miliband becoming Andy Burnham’s chancellor. Wheeler says:
[Miliband’s] determination to pursue strict net-zero targets at all costs – and his stalling of fossil fuel projects – have come under fire from the unions and business leaders.
Now allies say he is prepared to give ground and is “winning the argument” to become Burnham’s chancellor.
They claim he is preparing to approve plans for the first major North Sea gas field project in almost 10 years in a bid to burnish his pro-business credentials and answer some of the concerns of the unions.
Yesterday a reader asked.
Do you think there will be some polling to gauge public opinion about whether Andy Burnham should just become PM or should there be a contest?
I said I was fairly sure polling like this would turn up, and it has. Here is polling carried out by Ipsos between Friday and Monday showing that a plurality of voters would prefer Labour to have a leadership contest.
James Purnell tells staff at his lobbying firm reports he’s leaving to be Burnham’s chief of staff ‘basically correct’
Kitty Donaldson from the i has posted on social media a copy of the note that James Purnell sent to staff at Flint Global, the lobby company where he works, confirming that he will leave to serve as Andy Burnham’s chief of staff at No 10.
Jones declines to say whether Ed Miliband would be good choice as Burnham’s chancellor
Here are some more extracts from Darren Jones’ interview with Beth Rigby from Sky News. Jones spoke to Andy Burnham on Monday seeking reassurance about his economic plans, and the interview is interesting because Jones, a fiscal hawk in Labour terms, came away satisfied by what he was told. (See 9.46am.)
But Jones would not go as far as saying he wanted to see Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, as the next chancellor. Miliband is thought to be Burnham’s preferred option. But Burnham is under pressure from the Tories and the rightwing press (eg today’s Mail splash) who are trying to convince the public that Miliband is some sort of fiscally irresponsible, far-left version of Liz Truss (he isn’t) and that appointing Miliband would ruin the government’s economic credibility.
Here are some more quotes from Jones in the interview.
On why some Labour MPs who were urging him to stand were worried about Burnham’s economic policies
We all want to build more council houses. We want to see more control over public utilities. We want to be able to devolve more, to get more development and investment in infrastructure in and around the country. But there is a route to doing that in line with the fiscal rules, in a way which continues economic stability as opposed to moving too quickly. And just saying you’re going to borrow lots of extra money – because the risk of doing that – borrowing isn’t free. I mean, if you just say you’re going to borrow lots of extra money, you could probably sell the debt. But it’s increasingly expensive, and it means you take money away from doctors and nurses and police officers of the armed forces in order to pay debt interest payments, predominantly now to American hedge funds.
On why Jones thinks “a little bit more borrowing” would be possible within the fiscal rules
I think there’s room to borrow a little bit more, and there’s room to do things in a different way. So let me give you an example. We all want to see more council houses built. You could just say I’m going to borrow tens of billions of pounds, put it into Homes England will give it to councils and say build. That’s just not going to work. Because the problem is that we don’t have enough builders, we don’t have enough bricks, and we can’t plug these things into the electricity grid. So I’m all for investing into new towns and mayoral development corporations that give apprenticeship opportunities, that support British business, that can help fix our energy system. But you can do that without kind of broad brush borrowing and spending, which actually doesn’t really deliver the outcomes that you want to achieve.
On whether he thinks Burnham understands and is committed to the government’s fiscal rules
I think he does. And I think the people around him do. And I think it’s important he’s committed to those fiscal rules.
On whether he would be happy to see Ed Miliband as chancellor
I’m not going to get into personalities, but maybe I can answer that by saying what I think the tests are for who should be chancellor. I think the next chancellor needs to be able to have a clear view about the political economy and understand how the Treasury works. I think they need to have an important relationship with the prime minister, because, quite frankly, in many circumstances, the chancellor in the Treasury is more powerful than the prime minister in Downing Street. So you have to have someone that’s going to enable the delivery of the prime minister’s priorities and not not try to control the prime minister. And that relationship is really critical. And you also need a chancellor that can reassure the markets, reassure the trade unions and reassure the parliamentary Labour Party and by extension the public.
In response to this answer, Rigby put it to Jones that he seemed to be implying Miliband would fail that test. Jones replied: “I will let you mark those tests, but those are the tests I think need to be met.”
Darren Jones says he has been ‘reassured’ by what Andy Burnham has told him about his economic plans
Good morning. There are very few upsides for Keir Starmer for his current situation, but one of them is that soon he will no longer have to worry about taking PMQs. In his memoir, Tony Blair described PMQs as “the most nerve-racking, discombobulating, nail-biting, bowel-moving, terror-inspiring, courage draining experience in my prime ministerial life, without question”. Today’s could be Starmer’s third last. Including today, there are four Wednesdays between now and Friday 17 July, when Andy Burnham is due to become PMQs, but one of them coincides with the Nato summit, and Starmer should be away for that.
While we will hear from Starmer at PMQs, interest in what he has to say may be limited. Power is like water on a surface with a slope; it very quickly heads in one direction and, despite only being sworn in as an MP on Monday afternoon, Andy Burnham is already the most powerful figure in Westminster, and most of the political class is focused on what sort of administration he might lead. There have been three developments overnight.
-
It has emerged that Burnham will appoint James Purnell, who served in cabinet with him under Gordon Brown, as his chief of staff. Here is our story, by Kiran Stacey and Jessica Elgot.
-
Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the PM, has announced that he will not stand as a leadership candidate against Burnham. He had been refusing to rule this out, and some Starmer loyalists were urging him to run. Ben Quinn has the story.
-
Burnham has decided not to keep on Rachel Reeves as chancellor, the BBC is reporting. This has not been officially confirmed, but it does not come as a big surprise and the BBC has had a briefing that means they are reporting this with some confidence.
Jones announced his decision in an interview with Sky’s Beth Rigby. The idea that he might launch a leadership challenge never seemed particularly likely in the first place and what is perhaps most interesting about the interview is the fact that Jones now seems confident that a Burnham government won’t abandon fiscal responsibility. Jones was Reeves’ deputy at the Treasury until last autumn, he supported her drive to keep borrowing under control and in the interview he says he was being encouraged to stand by Labour MPs worried about Burnham’s economic policies. He also says he spoke to Burnham on Monday – which means he probably has a better idea of how Burnham would run the economy than most people.
Jones suggested that Burnham might raise borrowing a bit, but that he would do so in line with the fiscal rules, which Burnham has said he will keep. Jones said it was possible to “to borrow a little bit more” within the fiscal rules.
Here is the key exchange between Rigby (BR) and Jones (DJ).
BR: So you would be happy for [Burnham] to borrow more, to invest in specific projects.
DJ: And I think that’s what the market and the trade unions and the parliamentary Labour party wants. Because if you’ve got a credible plan for how investment can stimulate economic output, then that is something we’ll do well.
BR: And did he say to you that’s what he intended to do?
DJ: Yeah, we talked about a lot of these details, and he was interested in the ideas I was putting forward – the ways in which the Treasury works well and sometimes doesn’t work well. Some of the delivery challenges I’ve been trying to tackle across government as chief secretary to the prime minister. And I think Andy just wants to bring the party together, come in and show delivery for the public as we gear up for the next general election.
BR: To be clear, he said to you in these conversations where you were seeking reassurances over economic policy that he was looking to borrow more to invest in certain infrastructure investment projects.
DJ: We talked about the things that I had read about in the media. So, for example, council house building, and we had that conversation. I mean, he didn’t go into specifics with me about particular spending priorities, but as I say, there is a route to doing that in a way which is in line with the fiscal rules and maintains economic stability.
Later Rigby asked Jones if he thought the bond markets would be happy with a Burnham government (ie – they would not raise borrowing costs out of concerns spending was about to get out of hand), or if he thought it would all depend on who he appointed as chancellor. Jones replied:
I think I think they can be content and I think this can be done in the right way. Andy’s going to have to set out who his team is and what the policy platform is. But that’s the discussion we had today on the fundamental principles around that.
Rigby asked Jones if he was “reassured”. And Jones replied:
I was reassured, yeah.
I will post more from the interview soon.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Louise Casey, chair of the independent commission on adult social care, gives evidence to the Commons health committee about her review. Stephen Kinnock, the care minister, gives evidence at 10.30am.
10am: The grooming gangs inquiry makes an announcement about the next phase of its work.
10.15am: Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leaders, takes part in a Q&A at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference.
11.45am: Donna Ockenden’s report into failings at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust is published. Later there will be a ministerial statement in the Commons.
Noon: Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.
2.20pm: Bridget Phillipson, the women and equalities minister, gives evidence to the Commons women and equalities committee.
Afternoon: Starmer flies to Berlin for a meeting of the E5 (the UK, France, Germany, Poland and Italy) to discuss need for more European and Nato support for Ukraine and the Middle East. A press conference is expected at 5pm (UK time).
If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (between 10am and 3pm), or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.
I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
