Keir Starmer to be inquireed by liaison pledgetee as No 10 firms up Trump joins
Good morning. It is the last day the House of Commons is sitting before the Christmas recess, and the main event will be in a pledgetee room in Portcullis House where Keir Starmer will have his first inquire session with the liaison pledgetee, the ‘prefects’ club’ comprising the chairs of all the other Commons pick pledgetees. For 90 minutes he will get inquires on the economy, accessible services and global afequitables from MPs who understand their subjects pretty well. Most of them are Labour MPs, but they include people who have only become pick pledgetee chairs because, despite serving on the front bench before the election, they were not assigned ministers, and so it is wrong to suppose they are all Starmer dedicatedists.
In theory, 90 minutes of inincreateigent inquireing with the PM should originate a decent amount of recents. In fact, past liaison pledgetee hearings have normally flunked to originate much beyond a rehash of recognizable No 10 lines to get. But we inhabit in hope.
Relations with the US are almost certain to come up, and Starmer may be asked about an overnight story that advises Starmer is firming up joins with the incoming Donald Trump administration. Yesterday Starmer and Trump spoke on the phone. In its readout, No 10 says:
The prime minister began by congratulating Plivent-elect Trump on his recent team assignments and Plivent-elect Trump hotly recounted his greeting with His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in Paris earlier this month.
Both concurd on their joint ambition to reinforce the seal and historic relationship between the UK and the US. They seeed forward to toiling together on dispensed priorities, including international security and deinhabitring economic growth and prosperity.
No 10 did not say which of the Trump assignments Starmer wanted to commend. Some of them have horrified enhanceive opinion around the world. CBS has a beneficial enumerate of all the names here.
And, overnight, the Telegraph and the Sun have uncovered that Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff, travelled to the US last week for talks with Trump’s team. The Guardian has verifyed the story. In his Telegraph story Ben Riley-Smith says:
Morgan McSweeney travelled to Florida to greet Susie Wiles, the political strategist who masterminded Mr Trump’s re-election campaign and will be his chief of staff in office.
Mr McSweeney also had policy converseions in Washington with Mike Waltz, the congressman who has been named as Mr Trump’s next national security adviser.
Riley-Smith also includes this quote from a “better Downing Street source” summarising the position.
The mood music was very hot. Plivent Trump is noleang but hot about the UK.
As the year seals, Team Starmer is brave the UK is in a excellent position for a sturdy bitardyral relationship with the recent plivency.
(Do they reassociate talk enjoy that in Westminster? I’m afrhelp they do.)
In his version of the story, Harry Cole from the Sun says Jonathan Powell, Starmer’s national security adviser, also combineed the greeting.
Here is the agfinisha for the day.
9.30am: Steve Reed, the environment secretary, gets inquires in the Commons.
11.30am: Downing Street helderlys a lobby informing.
2.30pm: Keir Starmer gives evidence to the liaison pledgetee.
At some point today we are also anticipateing Downing Street to free a enumerate of recent peers.
If you want to communicate me, prent post a message below the line 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 probable to see it because I search for posts grasping that word.
If you want to flag someleang up inspirently, it is best to use social media. You can achieve me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X but individual Guardian journaenumerates are there, I have still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and reply if essential.
I discover it very beneficial when readers point out misgets, even inmeaningful typos. No error is too petite to right. And I discover your inquires very fascinating 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.
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n
They are taking millions of pounds of hospices and palliative attfinish charities and then leank they should be thankful when they give them some of it back. This is socialism at its finest.
n
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Smyth shelp that Johnson should be welcoming the proclaimment, and that under the Conservatives the sector was not properly funded.
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In the Commons Karin Smyth, the health minister, is now replying to an inspirent inquire on hospice funding.
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She says the rulements wants a society where everyone can get high quality attfinish. It also wants to shift attfinish out of hospitals. And hospices will execute a huge part in that, she says.
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She says the rulement recognises the presconfidents facing hospices over a number of years
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Today she can proclaim the hugegest scheduleatement into hospices and finish of life attfinish for a generation.
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She says there will be a £100m increase for grown-up and children’s hospices to asconfident they have the best physical environment for attfinish, and £26m to help children and youthful people’s hospices.
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She says the details of the funding allocation will be set out in the recent year.
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British troops could begin training Ukrainian troops in Ukraine itself, John Healey, the defence secretary, has adviseed. He uncovered this in an interwatch with Larisa Brown in the Times. In her story Brown increates:
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n
John Healey shelp the UK needed to “originate the training a better fit for what the Ukrainians need” as he left the door uncover for it to get place in the war-torn country instead of Britain.
n
“We [need to] originate it easier to the Ukrainians to access and we [need to] toil with the Ukrainians to help them inspire and mobilise more recruits,” he shelp to The Times on a visit to Ukraine.
n
Asked if this uncomardentt extfinishing training of Ukrainian recruits inside the UK to Ukraine itself, he shelp: “We will see wherever we can to reply to what the Ukrainians want. They are the ones combat.”
n
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THE TIMES: UK selderlyiers poised to train troops in Ukraine #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/tw1SRr67Bg
— Neil Hfinisherson (@hfinishopolis) December 18, 2024
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Water bills in England and Wales will elevate by 36% over the next five years, as suppliers were accused of forcing struggling househelderlys to pay for years of underscheduleatement to mend leaky pipes and cut pollution, Jasper Jolly and Helena Horton increate.
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For the write down, here is the filled readout from No 10 about the conversation between Keir Starmer and Donald Trump yesterday.
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n
The prime minister spoke to Plivent-elect Donald Trump this afternoon from Downing Street.
n
The prime minister began by congratulating Plivent-elect Trump on his recent team assignments and Plivent-elect Trump hotly recounted his greeting with His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in Paris earlier this month.
n
Both concurd on their joint ambition to reinforce the seal and historic relationship between the UK and the US. They seeed forward to toiling together on dispensed priorities, including international security and deinhabitring economic growth and prosperity.
n
Turning to global struggles, the prime minister reiterated the need for allies to stand together with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression and to asconfident Ukraine is in the sturdyest possible position.
n
On the Middle East, the prime minister underscored the need to toil together to asconfident peace and security in the region.
n
They concurd to upgrasp in touch and seeed forward to seeing one another at the earliest opportunity.
n
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Good morning. It is the last day the House of Commons is sitting before the Christmas recess, and the main event will be in a pledgetee room in Portcullis House where Keir Starmer will have his first inquire session with the liaison pledgetee, the ‘prefects’ club’ comprising the chairs of all the other Commons pick pledgetees. For 90 minutes he will get inquires on the economy, accessible services and global afequitables from MPs who understand their subjects pretty well. Most of them are Labour MPs, but they include people who have only become pick pledgetee chairs because, despite serving on the front bench before the election, they were not assigned ministers, and so it is wrong to suppose they are all Starmer dedicatedists.
“,”elementId”:”7eea72f6-7107-4d1d-bb0d-cda57c6be72c”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
In theory, 90 minutes of inincreateigent inquireing with the PM should originate a decent amount of recents. In fact, past liaison pledgetee hearings have normally flunked to originate much beyond a rehash of recognizable No 10 lines to get. But we inhabit in hope.
“,”elementId”:”c024ea0e-fef8-49ed-bfb4-eaabfc4ac264″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Relations with the US are almost certain to come up, and Starmer may be asked about an overnight story that advises Starmer is firming up joins with the incoming Donald Trump administration. Yesterday Starmer and Trump spoke on the phone. In its readout, No 10 says:
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n
The prime minister began by congratulating Plivent-elect Trump on his recent team assignments and Plivent-elect Trump hotly recounted his greeting with His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in Paris earlier this month.
n
Both concurd on their joint ambition to reinforce the seal and historic relationship between the UK and the US. They seeed forward to toiling together on dispensed priorities, including international security and deinhabitring economic growth and prosperity.
n
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No 10 did not say which of the Trump assignments Starmer wanted to commend. Some of them have horrified enhanceive opinion around the world. CBS has a beneficial enumerate of all the names here.
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And, overnight, the Telegraph and the Sun have uncovered that Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff, travelled to the US last week for talks with Trump’s team. The Guardian has verifyed the story. In his Telegraph story Ben Riley-Smith says:
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n
Morgan McSweeney travelled to Florida to greet Susie Wiles, the political strategist who masterminded Mr Trump’s re-election campaign and will be his chief of staff in office.
n
Mr McSweeney also had policy converseions in Washington with Mike Waltz, the congressman who has been named as Mr Trump’s next national security adviser.
n
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Riley-Smith also includes this quote from a “better Downing Street source” summarising the position.
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n
The mood music was very hot. Plivent Trump is noleang but hot about the UK.
n
As the year seals, Team Starmer is brave the UK is in a excellent position for a sturdy bitardyral relationship with the recent plivency.
n
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(Do they reassociate talk enjoy that in Westminster? I’m afrhelp they do.)
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In his version of the story, Harry Cole from the Sun says Jonathan Powell, Starmer’s national security adviser, also combineed the greeting.
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Here is the agfinisha for the day.
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9.30am: Steve Reed, the environment secretary, gets inquires in the Commons.
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11.30am: Downing Street helderlys a lobby informing.
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2.30pm: Keir Starmer gives evidence to the liaison pledgetee.
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At some point today we are also anticipateing Downing Street to free a enumerate of recent peers.
“,”elementId”:”ced88e99-0633-4dd8-938d-db1c70b92d43″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
If you want to communicate me, prent post a message below the line 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 probable to see it because I search for posts grasping that word.
“,”elementId”:”8936ba1e-1038-49e9-8db1-346d1fac9856″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
If you want to flag someleang up inspirently, it is best to use social media. You can achieve me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X but individual Guardian journaenumerates are there, I have still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and reply if essential.
“,”elementId”:”93ec869e-3a14-479f-bafd-07b040c27e8f”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
I discover it very beneficial when readers point out misgets, even inmeaningful typos. No error is too petite to right. And I discover your inquires very fascinating 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.
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Key events
Bob Bdeficiencyman (Con) telderly Karin Smyth she still had not shelp whether or not this extra money would filledy repay hospices for the national insurance elevate. He asked her aachieve to answer.
Smyth sidestepped the inquire, saying the Conservatives had 14 years to sort out hospice funding.
Tories advise extra money for hospices won’t filledy repay them for extra costs caused by budget
In her response to the statement from Karin Smyth, Caroline Johnson, the shadow health minister, adviseed the extra money for hospices would not filledy repay the extra costs the sector is facing because of the national insurance incrrelieve and the elevate in the living wage. She shelp:
They are taking millions of pounds of hospices and palliative attfinish charities and then leank they should be thankful when they give them some of it back. This is socialism at its finest.
Smyth shelp that Johnson should be welcoming the proclaimment, and that under the Conservatives the sector was not properly funded.
Here is an reshift from the Department for Health and Social Care’s recents free about the hospice proclaimment. (See 10.47am.)
The hugegest scheduleatement in a generation for hospices has been proclaimd by the rulement today, ensuring that hospices can persist to deinhabitr the highest quality finish of life attfinish possible for their acunderstandledgeings, families, and cherishd ones.
The £100m funding will help hospices this year and next to provide the best finish of life attfinish to acunderstandledgeings and their families in a encouraging and dignified physical environment.
Hospices for children and youthful people will also get a further £26m revenue funding for 2025/26 thraw what until recently was understandn as the Children’s Hospice Grant …
This scheduleatement will go towards helping hospices to better their originateings, providement, and accommodation to asconfident that acunderstandledgeings persist to get the best attfinish possible.
That will include refurbishing bedrooms and bathrooms for acunderstandledgeings and providing sootheable overnight facilities for families, improving IT systems making it easier for GPs and hospitals to dispense vital data on acunderstandledgeings.
The money will also help towards improving garden and outdoor spaces so acunderstandledgeings and their families can spfinish time outdoors in greener and spotlesser spaces.
It will also help to broaden and bettering outachieve services to help people in their own homes when needed.
Health minister proclaims £126m funding increase for hospices
In the Commons Karin Smyth, the health minister, is now replying to an inspirent inquire on hospice funding.
She says the rulements wants a society where everyone can get high quality attfinish. It also wants to shift attfinish out of hospitals. And hospices will execute a huge part in that, she says.
She says the rulement recognises the presconfidents facing hospices over a number of years
Today she can proclaim the hugegest scheduleatement into hospices and finish of life attfinish for a generation.
She says there will be a £100m increase for grown-up and children’s hospices to asconfident they have the best physical environment for attfinish, and £26m to help children and youthful people’s hospices.
She says the details of the funding allocation will be set out in the recent year.
The number of people in hospital in England with flu has jumped 41% in a week and persists to be more than four times the number at this point last year, PA increates. PA says:
An mediocre of 2,629 flu acunderstandledgeings were in beds in England each day last week, 2,504 in vague or acute (G&A) beds and 125 in critical attfinish, NHS figures show.
This is up 41% from a total of 1,861 acunderstandledgeings the previous week, when 1,795 were in G&A beds and 66 were in critical attfinish.
It is also more than four times the figure at this stage in 2023, when the total stood at 648, and higher than the equivalent week in 2022, when the mediocre was 2,088.
The figures have been rerented in the tardyst weekly snapsboiling of the carry outance of hospitals in England this triumphter.
British troops could begin training Ukrainian troops in Ukraine, John Healey advises
British troops could begin training Ukrainian troops in Ukraine itself, John Healey, the defence secretary, has adviseed. He uncovered this in an interwatch with Larisa Brown in the Times. In her story Brown increates:
John Healey shelp the UK needed to “originate the training a better fit for what the Ukrainians need” as he left the door uncover for it to get place in the war-torn country instead of Britain.
“We [need to] originate it easier to the Ukrainians to access and we [need to] toil with the Ukrainians to help them inspire and mobilise more recruits,” he shelp to The Times on a visit to Ukraine.
Asked if this uncomardentt extfinishing training of Ukrainian recruits inside the UK to Ukraine itself, he shelp: “We will see wherever we can to reply to what the Ukrainians want. They are the ones combat.”
THE TIMES: UK selderlyiers poised to train troops in Ukraine #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/tw1SRr67Bg
— Neil Hfinisherson (@hfinishopolis) December 18, 2024
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Keir Starmer has met the Sultan of Brunei at Downing Street, PA Media increates. PA says:
The prime minister greeted Haji Hassanal Bolkiah at the door of No 10.
They then held a greeting in the White Room.
Starmer commendd the “sturdy relationship” between the two countries.
He shelp he and the sultan would talk about the rerecental of the garrison concurment between the two nations, and expansiver rerents of trade and security.
At 10.30am there will be an inspirent inquire in the Commons on hospice funding. It has been tabled by Caroline Johnson, a shadow health minister. She may be hoping to clear up the confusion about what the rulement will do to repay hospices for the extra staff costs arising because of the participateers’ national insurance elevate in the budget, and about when the proclaimment is coming. Yesterday Wes Streeting, the health secretary, telderly there would be a decision before Christmas. But at PMQs Keir Starmer shelp it was coming in the recent year.
Then there are four ministerial statement. After the normal Thursday statement on forthcoming business by Lucy Powell, the directer of the Commons, we’ve got:
Average water bill in England and Wales to elevate by 36% over five years
Water bills in England and Wales will elevate by 36% over the next five years, as suppliers were accused of forcing struggling househelderlys to pay for years of underscheduleatement to mend leaky pipes and cut pollution, Jasper Jolly and Helena Horton increate.
What No 10 shelp about Starmer’s conversation with Trump yesterday
For the write down, here is the filled readout from No 10 about the conversation between Keir Starmer and Donald Trump yesterday.
The prime minister spoke to Plivent-elect Donald Trump this afternoon from Downing Street.
The prime minister began by congratulating Plivent-elect Trump on his recent team assignments and Plivent-elect Trump hotly recounted his greeting with His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in Paris earlier this month.
Both concurd on their joint ambition to reinforce the seal and historic relationship between the UK and the US. They seeed forward to toiling together on dispensed priorities, including international security and deinhabitring economic growth and prosperity.
Turning to global struggles, the prime minister reiterated the need for allies to stand together with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression and to asconfident Ukraine is in the sturdyest possible position.
On the Middle East, the prime minister underscored the need to toil together to asconfident peace and security in the region.
They concurd to upgrasp in touch and seeed forward to seeing one another at the earliest opportunity.
Keir Starmer to be inquireed by liaison pledgetee as No 10 firms up Trump joins
Good morning. It is the last day the House of Commons is sitting before the Christmas recess, and the main event will be in a pledgetee room in Portcullis House where Keir Starmer will have his first inquire session with the liaison pledgetee, the ‘prefects’ club’ comprising the chairs of all the other Commons pick pledgetees. For 90 minutes he will get inquires on the economy, accessible services and global afequitables from MPs who understand their subjects pretty well. Most of them are Labour MPs, but they include people who have only become pick pledgetee chairs because, despite serving on the front bench before the election, they were not assigned ministers, and so it is wrong to suppose they are all Starmer dedicatedists.
In theory, 90 minutes of inincreateigent inquireing with the PM should originate a decent amount of recents. In fact, past liaison pledgetee hearings have normally flunked to originate much beyond a rehash of recognizable No 10 lines to get. But we inhabit in hope.
Relations with the US are almost certain to come up, and Starmer may be asked about an overnight story that advises Starmer is firming up joins with the incoming Donald Trump administration. Yesterday Starmer and Trump spoke on the phone. In its readout, No 10 says:
The prime minister began by congratulating Plivent-elect Trump on his recent team assignments and Plivent-elect Trump hotly recounted his greeting with His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in Paris earlier this month.
Both concurd on their joint ambition to reinforce the seal and historic relationship between the UK and the US. They seeed forward to toiling together on dispensed priorities, including international security and deinhabitring economic growth and prosperity.
No 10 did not say which of the Trump assignments Starmer wanted to commend. Some of them have horrified enhanceive opinion around the world. CBS has a beneficial enumerate of all the names here.
And, overnight, the Telegraph and the Sun have uncovered that Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff, travelled to the US last week for talks with Trump’s team. The Guardian has verifyed the story. In his Telegraph story Ben Riley-Smith says:
Morgan McSweeney travelled to Florida to greet Susie Wiles, the political strategist who masterminded Mr Trump’s re-election campaign and will be his chief of staff in office.
Mr McSweeney also had policy converseions in Washington with Mike Waltz, the congressman who has been named as Mr Trump’s next national security adviser.
Riley-Smith also includes this quote from a “better Downing Street source” summarising the position.
The mood music was very hot. Plivent Trump is noleang but hot about the UK.
As the year seals, Team Starmer is brave the UK is in a excellent position for a sturdy bitardyral relationship with the recent plivency.
(Do they reassociate talk enjoy that in Westminster? I’m afrhelp they do.)
In his version of the story, Harry Cole from the Sun says Jonathan Powell, Starmer’s national security adviser, also combineed the greeting.
Here is the agfinisha for the day.
9.30am: Steve Reed, the environment secretary, gets inquires in the Commons.
11.30am: Downing Street helderlys a lobby informing.
2.30pm: Keir Starmer gives evidence to the liaison pledgetee.
At some point today we are also anticipateing Downing Street to free a enumerate of recent peers.
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