End of day summary …
We will shortly be wrapping up today’s live blog. Here are the headlines …
Keir Starmer is under pressure to suspend councillors who attended a meeting in Hyndburn over claims that they failed to call out antisemitic remarks by Azhar Ali, the former Labour candidate for the Rochdale byelection. On Tuesday, Labour suspended Graham Jones, the candidate for Hyndburn in Lancashire, less than 24 hours after the party withdrew its support from Ali.
Former Conservative home secretary and chancellor Kenneth Clarke has told the House of Lords that Rishi Sunak’s government is setting an “extremely dangerous precedent” and he hopes the Rwanda bill will be struck down as unconstitutional. The Lords were debating a series of proposed amendments. John Randall, former Conservative minister, warned his party “not be so dogmatic that we haven’t got an inch of humanity”. Baroness Butler-Sloss told peers victims of modern slavery and human trafficking should be protected from removal to Rwanda
The UK’s annual inflation rate unexpectedly held steady at 4% in January despite rising energy bills adding to the pressure on households, raising the chances of a cut in interest rates sooner than anticipated. Offering consumers some respite amid the cost of living crisis, the latest figures showed food and non-alcoholic drink prices fell at a monthly rate of 0.4% in January – the first monthly decline since May 2021.
The governor of the Bank of England has said the UK economy is beginning to pick up. Sunak has told the media today that he absolutely believes “the economy has turned the corner” while convening the first meeting of his 2024 Business Council.
The average UK house price fell by around £4,000 in the 12 months to December 2023, according to official figures, although the change was unevenly distributed among the nations. The private rental market saw large cost increases for tenants. The ONS said private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK rose by 6.2% in the 12 months to January 2024.
Train drivers at five rail operators have voted to continue taking strike action for another six months. Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef said “Our members have voted, time and again, for strikes. That’s why Mark Harper, the transport secretary, is being disingenuous when he says that offer should have been put to members.”
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) regulator has launched an investigation into the performance of National Highways in England.
Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has endorsed Vaughan Gething as his choice for Labour leader in Wales.
Voters will go to the polls tomorrow in the Kingswood and Wellingborough byelections, with Labour hoping to gain two seats from the Conservatives.
Thank you so much for sticking with the blog today and for your comments. I do try and read them all and often find them helpful – especially if you have spotted some ambiguous wording or typos. I will be with you again tomorrow from 9am-ish, when there will be byelections on, and so by law I will have to be on my best behaviour.
Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has written for the Mirror today to endorse Vaughan Gething as his choice for Labour leader in Wales.
Noting Gething’s previous role as health minister, Kinnock says:
He was tested under the spotlight of our biggest public health emergency for a century and the biggest crisis Britain has experienced since the second world war. Vaughan’s qualities and values stem from his democratic socialism, his long history of trade unionism and his strong character.
Painting the next general election as “a real opportunity to finally oust the Tories after 14, long, painful years”, Kinnock goes on to say “Vaughan is the right candidate to spearhead that fight in Wales and help Keir Starmer become prime minister.”
Gething is standing against Jeremy Miles to succeed Mark Drakeford as first minister of Wales and Labour leader in the country.
