Afternoon summary
- Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, has confirmed that his party does not intend to nominate ministers to the power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland without “decisive action” on the Northern Ireland protocol. After a meeting with Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, he said:
We have had a meeting this morning with the secretary of state and we have made our position clear to him. It is the position we have held before the election, throughout the election campaign and will continue to hold, and that is until we get decisive action taken by the UK government on the protocol we will not be nominating ministers to the executive.
Without DUP participation, the executive cannot be formed. Michelle O’Neill, the Sinn Féin leader in Northern Ireland, who is set to become first minister if the executive does get constituted, accused the DUP of holding Northern Ireland to ransom. She said:
As democrats, the DUP, but also the British government, must accept and respect the democratic outcome of this election. Brinkmanship will not be tolerated where the north of Ireland becomes collateral damage in a game of chicken with the European Commission.
Responsibility for finding solutions to the protocol lie with Boris Johnson and the EU. But make no mistake, we and our business community here will not be held to ransom.
That’s all from me for today. For the latest live news, head over to our Ukraine blog:
Updated
Gary Neville, the football pundit, former coach and player, and Labour member, liked Keir Starmer’s speech.
This is a great speech from @Keir_Starmer that restores faith. Over to you liar!
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) May 9, 2022
Emily Thornberry, the shadow attorney general, is on BBC News. She has just been asked what Keir Starmer would do if Durham police were to say he probably broke the rules, but not fine him (as they did with Dominic Cummings).
Starmer was slightly evasive when asked about this at his mini press conference. (See 4.20pm.)
Thornberry said the police would not conclude Starmer broke the rules.
But then she also said that, in this case, she did not think a Cummings-type outcome was likely. She said Durham police (reportedly) have six officers working on this case. That did not apply in the case of Cummings, she said. She implied that if they concluded Starmer had broken the law, they would have to issue a fine.
Three reasons why Starmer's pledge to resign if fined may impress the electorate
Keir Starmer is often portrayed as a dull politician. But as Labour leader he has produced at least two moments of supreme political drama: first, suspending Jeremy Corbyn (when did a major party leader last boot out a predecessor?), and today promising to resign if fined over Beergate.
No one makes a commitment of this kind from a position of strength, and the merits of Starmer’s move are being fiercely debated. But the manner in which he announced it was polished, and for three reasons many people are likely to be impressed.
First, it was in stark contrast to anything Boris Johnson would, or could, do. Starmer was able to say he stood for “honour and integrity” and it sounded credible. From Johnson, the same sentence would sound more like the punchline for a gag.
Second, Starmer sounded prime ministerial. Voters may elect celebrity/entertainment politicians, but some at least may hark back to the notion of having a leader with a bit more old-fashioned rectitude.
Third, and above all, it was ballsy. At one point during Watergate Ben Bradlee, the Washington Post editor, reputedly told his team “our cocks are on the chopping block”. Well, Starmer’s put his on the chopping block too. It may not be wise, but it certainly is brave.
This announcement also puts huge pressure on Durham police, who now find themselves in a position where they can decide the fate of the leader of the opposition. This may make them think twice about issuing a fine (assuming they ever get to the point where they might do so – it still seems much more likely that they will decide that this event did not reach the threshold for judging the law was broken). But it is also possible that the police could view this as an attempt to bounce them into a pro-Labour ruling, and that they will pursue the case with more vigour as a result.
Here are the main points.
- Starmer confirmed that he will resign if fined by Durham police for breaching lockdown rules. He said:
I am absolutely clear that no laws were broken. They were followed at all times. I simply had something to eat whilst working late in the evening, as any politician would do days before an election.
But if the police decide to issue me with a fixed-penalty notice I would, of course, do the right thing and step down.
- But he refused to commit to resigning if Durham police say he broke lockdown rules but do not issue a fine. (See 4.20pm.) This is not a far-fetched hypothetical, because this is what Durham police did in relation to Dominic Cummings. (See 3.16pm.)
- He stressed that he was saying this because it was a matter of honour for him. Politicians who make the law should respect the law, he said. Highlighting a contrast with Boris Johnson, he condemned “this cynical belief that all politicians are the same” and said he wanted to show it was wrong. He said:
This is a matter of principle and honour for me. It’s about who I am and what I stand for. And I stand for honour and integrity, and the belief that politics is a force for good, and we shouldn’t all be dragged out by this cynical belief that all politicians are the same. And I’m here to make it clear that I am not the same.
We’ve seen 50 fines in Downing Street, we’ve seen a prime minister who won’t step down. We are not all the same. I am different. And I’ve set out to date how I’m different.
- He claimed that even his accusers (some Tory MPs and newspapers) probably did not believe he was someone who casually broke the rules. (See 4.08pm.)
- He restated his belief that no laws were broken at the Durham event. He said:
I am absolutely clear that no laws were broken. They were followed at all times. I simply had something to eat whilst working late in the evening, as any politician would do days before an election.
Updated
I have beefed up some of the earlier posts with more direct quotes. You may need to refresh the page for those to appear.
Full text of Starmer's statement offering to resign if fined for breaching lockdown rules
Here is the full text of Keir Starmer’s opening statement.
Ever since the first Covid lockdown I have always followed the rules.
People were left desperately lonely. They were separated from family and friends. Tragically, many were unable to see dying loved ones. This was a collective sacrifice. People were entitled to expect that politicians would follow the same rules as everyone else.
When my mother-in-law passed away suddenly just before the first lockdown, my wife and I were unable to provide her father the support we wanted afterwards because we followed the rules.
Barely a day has passed where we haven’t agonised over that decision. But we did it, because we followed the rules.
We all found following those rules frustrating at times, I’m no exception to that. I had to isolate six times during Covid, pulling me away from my work and the things I love. But I did it, because we followed the rules.
The idea that I would then casually break those rules is wrong, and frankly I don’t believe those accusing me believe it themselves. They are just trying to feed cynicism, so the public to believe all politicians are the same.
But I am here to say they are not. I believe in honour, integrity and the principle that those who make the laws must follow them.
And I believe that politicians who undermine that principle undermine trust in politics, undermine our democracy and undermine Britain.
I am absolutely clear that no laws were broken. They were followed at all times. I simply had something to eat whilst working late in the evening, as any politician would do days before an election.
But if the police decide to issue me with a fixed penalty notice I would, of course, do the right thing and step down.
This matters. It matters because the British public deserve politicians who think the rules apply to them. They deserve politicians who hold themselves to the highest standards, and they deserve politicians who put the country first rather than themselves. They will always get that from me.
Rayner also says she will resign if fined over Beergate
Angela Rayner, who was also at the Durham event, has also said she will resign if fined. In a statement she said:
I’ve always been clear that I was at the event in Durham working in my capacity as deputy leaader and that no rules were broken. Eating during a long day’s work was not against the rules.
We have a prime minister who has been found to have broken the rules, lied about it and then been fined. If I were issued with a fine, I would do the decent thing and step down.
Updated
Starmer won't commit to resigning if Durham police say he broke rules but don't fine him
The final question is perhaps the most important one.
Q: What will you do if Durham police do not issue a fine, but if they say you broke the rules anyway
Starmer replies:
The penalty for a Covid breach is a fixed penalty. And I’ve set out what the position is in relation to that. Thank you very much.
That implies that he wouldn’t. He seems to be arguing that if the penalty for a breach of the rules is a fine, then if he does not get a fine, he has not broken the rules.
And that’s it. The mini press conference is over.
I will post a summary shortly.
Q: Do you accept you jumped the gun when you said the PM should resign when he was being investigated?
Starmer says the PM has not resigned, even though more than 50 fines have been issued.
I’m setting out my position in relation to the events of the last few days.
The prime minister has chosen not to resign, notwithstanding that, not only has he broken the law that he made, but 50 fines being imposed in relation to the workplace that he is responsible for.
That is his choice. But it’s very important that the public don’t think that all politicians are the same and that is why I have set out my position in terms of honour and integrity.
Q: But he had not been fined when you said he should resign?
Starmer says the PM wants people to think politicians are all the same. They are not.
He’s been found guilty, he’s been found to be in breach of the law. I think over 50 fines now in relation to Downing Street, and the prime minister has not stepped down.
He and others in his party want the public to believe that we’re all the same, that we’ll all act in that way. I’m here to make clear that is not the case.
Updated
Q: How angry and embarrassed are you about this?
Starmer says no rules were broken.
But if he gets a fine, he will step down.
Q: Do you think people in the Labour party are trying to undermine you?
Starmer says he believes in integrity.
This is my decision about what is the right thing to do in these circumstances.
No rules were broken, I have said that with great clarity. But this is about me. It is about what I believe in in politics.
It is about integrity. I believe in integrity, and integrity requires me to take the course of action I have set out here, if in the event, I get a fixed-penalty notice.
Updated
Q: You said the PM should resign when he was being investigated. But you are not resigning now. Aren’t you a hypocrite?
Starmer says he is very different from the PM in terms of honour and integrity.
Starmer is now responding to questions.
He says he stands for honest and integrity.
Updated
Starmer says if he is fined by police 'I would of course do the right thing and step down'
Starmer goes on:
I simply had something to eat while working late in the evening, as any politician would do days before an election, but if the police decide to issue me with a fixed penalty notice, I would, of course, do the right thing and step down.
This matters. It matters because the British public deserve politicians who think the rules apply to them.
They deserve politicians who hold themselves to the highest standards.
And they deserve politicians who put the country first rather than themselves.
They will always get that from me.
Starmer says he thinks even his accusers do not think he would casually break Covid rules
Keir Starmer says the British people have made heart-wrenchin sacrifices during Covid.
People were entitled to expect that politicians would follow the same rules as everyone else, he says.
He says everyone found the rules frustating. He did too. He had to isolate six times.
The idea that he would then casually break those rules is wrong – and frankly I don’t believe those accusing me believe it themselves.
They are just feeding cynicism, he says.
But he says he believes in honour.
Politicians who feed cynicism are undermining democracy and our politics.
Updated
Here are two alternative views on the Keir Starmer strategy.
From Toby Helm, the political editor of the Observer
Not sure those pushing "beergate" have thought this through. If Starmer is cleared having promised to go if fined, he wins all round. If he is fined he would have to go anyway. Nothing to lose. All to gain in integrity stakes.
— Toby Helm (@tobyhelm) May 9, 2022
From Insider’s Cat Neilan
Fine or no fine, once you openly talk about resigning, it's ultimately just a matter of time
— Cat Neilan (@CatNeilan) May 9, 2022
If Durham police were to fine Keir Starmer for a breach of lockdown rules, then the case for his resignation would be clear, because he said Boris Johnson should resign when he was fined. Starmer is expected to acknowledge that this afternoon.
But, as explained earlier (see 10.39am), in the past Durham police said its general approach was not to issue retrospective fines over lockdown breaches. In the case of Dominic Cumming’s trip to Barnard Castle in 2020, it instead issued a statement saying Cummings probably committed minor breach of the rules. This is what it said:
Durham constabulary have examined the circumstances surrounding the journey to Barnard Castle (including ANPR [automatic number plate recognition], witness evidence and a review of Mr Cummings’ press conference on 25 May 2020) and have concluded that there might have been a minor breach of the regulations that would have warranted police intervention. Durham constabulary view this as minor because there was no apparent breach of social distancing.
Had a Durham constabulary police officer stopped Mr Cummings driving to or from Barnard Castle, the officer would have spoken to him, and, having established the facts, likely advised Mr Cummings to return to the address in Durham, providing advice on the dangers of travelling during the pandemic crisis. Had this advice been accepted by Mr Cummings, no enforcement action would have been taken.
What would Starmer do if Durham police were produce a verdict like this? It would not exonerate him, but should he have to resign for what “might have been a minor breach”?
Starmer will be under pressure to clarify this this afternoon.
Starmer to promise to resign if police conclude he broke lockdown rules
Keir Starmer will promise to resign if Durham police conclude that he broke the lockdown rules in Durham last year when he had a curry and a beer with Labour workers at the end of a day campaigning, my colleague Jessica Elgot reports.
💥Statement at 4pm - Starmer WILL pledge he will resign if found to have breached rules. Wording will be crucial
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) May 9, 2022
Updated
From my colleague Jessica Elgot
Several Labour sources say Starmer has been wrestling with whether to pre-emptively say he will resign if fined and there will be an update later today. Definitely a camp that believes he has no option but to do so, some MPs suspect some bouncing going on.
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) May 9, 2022
Starmer wrestling with whether or not to say he will resign if fined over Beergate
Keir Starmer is wrestling with whether to announce he will resign if he is found to have breached Covid-19 rules at a gathering of campaign staff for a curry in Durham.
Labour MPs expressed fury at the chaos – with briefing lines produced by Labour HQ as late as Monday morning saying that Starmer was emphatically not considering that possibility.
One senior source said there were several within Starmer’s team who believed he should stake his leadership on having done nothing wrong – a move that would put pressure on Boris Johnson – but said they believed Starmer himself was unconvinced.
Starmer pulled out of a keynote speech at the Institute for Government, understood to be linked to the decision about how to respond to renewed pressure on him over the conduct of aides at the gathering in Durham, with some reported to have been drunk.
The growing pressure from the scandal has caused some despair among Labour MPs for preventing the party from capitalising on local election results and key airtime ahead of the Queen’s speech on Tuesday.
“We’ve lost hugely valuable time to make our case for what we would be doing in government by cancelling this speech – all because Keir is yet again unable to be bold,” said one MP, who has counselled in favour of Starmer saying he would be prepared to resign.
Updated
Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, has hinted defence spending should go up. In a Q&A with reporters after his speech this morning, he said his budget was “sound” for this year and next year, but he suggested an increase in 2024-25 might be needed. He said:
I have always said as a threat changes, so should our funding. No different from other parts of government, if pressure on the NHS goes up, that gets met with money. If the threat changes, then [defence spending should too]. If it goes down, be prepared for what you wish for, because if the threat goes down, maybe defence spending [should too].
Then it’s a discussion about government, about its appetite. For decades, defence spending has been at risk for a number of things, but one common risk has been government’s appetite has never matched its budget. It has done more than it can afford.
Wallace said Tobias Ellwood, the Tory chair of the defence committee, would say in a dangerous world there is a case for a higher defence budget, and he said he would agree with that. He went on:
But, at the moment, my spending for this year and last year, and next year, I’m in a sound position. The long-term is as much about what Nato plans I mean, I think we have to ask Nato: what is your long-term plan?
As PA Media reports, it has recently been revealed that Wallace wrote to Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, on 11 March warning that Britain risked missing a Nato commitment to spend 2% of national income on security by 2025.
Updated
This is from Tony Diver at the Telegraph.
Understand an update on whether Keir Starmer will resign if he is fined over beergate coming at around 4pm.
— Tony Diver (@Tony_Diver) May 9, 2022
Patrick Maguire from the Times says the Conservative chief whip, Chris Heaton-Harris, wants a non-aggression pact with Labour over lockdown breaches.
JRM not freelancing here. This implicit call for a truce, I’m told, is the line the chief whip is desperate for Tory MPs to take on Beergate.
— Patrick Maguire (@patrickkmaguire) May 8, 2022
They’ve been warned that Starmer’s resignation would cause serious problems for the Tories in the country. https://t.co/pMYnSPENzF
Should Starmer say he’ll quit if fined?
— Patrick Maguire (@patrickkmaguire) May 8, 2022
One Tory offers a convincing case for doing so: with Durham Constabulary’s probe having only just started and the Met’s in full swing, there’s every chance Johnson gets *another* fine well before any are issued to Labour, if at all.
Kevin Schofield from HuffPost has more on the Labour thinking on why Keir Starmer should announce that, if he is fined by the police for a lockdown breach, he will resign.
As per @patrickkmaguire and @hzeffman's top scoop, a senior Labour source tells HuffPost: "He is more likely to go down that route than not ... ultimately his instinct is that his integrity is more important to him than anything else."https://t.co/XfGcb1F7fO
— Kevin Schofield (@KevinASchofield) May 9, 2022
Steven Swinford from the Times says Tory HQ has had to remind ministers today not to say that Keir Starmer should resign if he is fined over Beergate.
CCHQ advised all ministers this morning NOT to call for Keir Starmer's resignation - they said to instead to focus on hypocrisy
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) May 9, 2022
It sent a terse reminder after Michelle Donelan came close to doing so during the morning broadcast round
Obviously, calling for Starmer to resign in these circumstances would make it hard for the party to explain why Boris Johnson should not also resign for the fine he has already received. This is an argument understood by Conservative voters, according to the YouGov polling out today (see 11.44am) - but perhaps not by some ministers.
Updated
'All options open' for dealing with cost of living crisis, says No 10
And here are the main lines from the Downing Street lobby briefing.
- The PM’s spokesperson did not deny a claim that the energy price cap could rise by more than £900 in the autumn. (See 12.32pm.)
- The spokesperson said that the government was keeping all options open when considering how to help people with the cost of living crisis. Asked if tax cuts were being considered, the spokesperson said:
I think we’ve seen that this government will act at the right time whenever it’s able to do. The chancellor has reiterated that point over the weekend [in an article in the Mail on Sunday].
We have significant support already available, some of which is deliberately phased to come into force later on in the year. So it’s important not to discount the billions of pounds that’s already being spent of taxpayers money on this issue.
We know that this is forefront of the public’s minds, it’s certainly forefront [of] the prime minister’s mind, and we will keep all options open but beyond that, I wouldn’t speculate on what those measures might entail.
- The Queen is expected to deliver the Queen’s speech in person tomorrow, but Buckingham Palace will confirm this tomorrow, No 10 said. Recently the Queen has had to miss some engagements because of mobility issues. If the Queen cannot attend, Prince Charles is expected to step in on her behalf.
- The spokesperson defended Ben Wallace’s decision to compare Vladimir Putin to the Nazis this morning. In a speech Wallace said:
Through their invasion of Ukraine, Putin, his inner circle and generals are now mirroring the fascism and tyranny of 77 years ago, repeating the errors of last century’s totalitarian regimes.
The spokesperson said this was a “valid” comparision given that today is the day Russia celebrates the liberation of Europe from the Nazis at the end of the second world war. He said that it was important to push back against the “false narrative” promoted by Russia that its invasion is justified by the need to denazify Ukraine. That was “simply disinformation designed to justify an illegal war”, the spokesperson said.
- The spokesperson said the government was “not setting a specific timeline” for when the dispute with the EU over the Northern Ireland protocol needed to be resolved.
Updated
These are from Robert Shrimsley from the Financial Times on the proposal (see 12.15pm) for Keir Starmer to confirm that he will resign if fined for breaking lockdown rules in Durham last year.
This is probably the right move but it's a hell of a risk. If he's not fined he looks brave and principled and is more of a contrast with Johnson. If he is then he is probably doomed anyway since integrity and upholding the law was his strongest point of differentiation. 1/2 https://t.co/YxaEOaNZV6
— robert shrimsley (@robertshrimsley) May 9, 2022
But the idea his departure would force out Johnson is probably for the birds. The Tories will just sit back and watch Labour plunge into leadership chaos and worry about it later.
— robert shrimsley (@robertshrimsley) May 9, 2022
Either way it would be a defining move and if it works out he’s significantly enhanced. Still a hell of a gamble for someone who has worked his way to be a party leader to risk it all on an unpredictable police decision
— robert shrimsley (@robertshrimsley) May 9, 2022
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has accused the Tories of using Beergate as part of a “massive operation” to distract attention away from Boris Johnson’s own lockdown breaches in Downing Street. Commenting on the controversy, she said:
Let’s let’s wait and see what comes of this.
What I do think is pretty obvious is that there is a massive operation under way on the part of the Conservatives to divert attention from Boris Johnson.
And not just Boris Johnson’s single breaking of the rules, but what appears to have been a serial breaching of the rules and, of course, Boris Johnson’s inability to be straight with the House of Commons.
Updated
Start being honest with voters about Northern Ireland protocol, EU tells UK
The EU has warned the UK to “dial down the rhetoric” and start being “honest” to voters about the Northern Ireland Brexit protocol after the historic Stormont election that put Sinn Féin top of the polls, my colleague Lisa O’Carroll reports.
No 10 does not deny claims energy price cap could rise by more than £900 in autumn
At the Downing Street lobby briefing No 10 did not deny reports that the energy price cap could rise by more than £900 in the autumn. Asked about the figure, which is a forecast from Scottish Power (see 10.58am), the prime minister’s spokesperson said he could not comment on speculation. He went on:
With Ofgem, I think it’s fair to say that we do expect there to be further increases later in the year. The chancellor has talked about that, and has made clear that we will look to do what we can to help with energy bills in the autumn when we know more about prices will be.
I will post more from the briefing shortly.
Keir Starmer considers saying he would resign if he were fined for lockdown breach claims, reports say
According to the Times, Keir Starmer is considering announcing that, if he were to be fined for breaking lockdown rules in Durham, he would resign. In their story, Henry Zeffman, Patrick Maguire and Chris Smyth say that an announcement from Starmer is likely today. They say:
Starmer’s allies fear that the next two months could be paralysed by the investigation. By saying he would resign if fined, some believe, Starmer would retain the moral high ground over Johnson, who was fined last month for a birthday gathering in 2020 and could face further fines.
“There’s a clear logic to it,” one supporter said. “It would give him something to say at the despatch box when Johnson raises it.”
Another influential Starmer supporter said: “He feels a huge sense of honour. He is the real deal. But he is less sure of himself on politics and determining what action would be best for him and the party.”
Given that Starmer said Boris Johnson should resign after he was fined for breaching lockdown rules when he attended a surprise birthday party in the cabinet room at No 10, it is hard to see how he could plausibly avoid resigning himself if found to be in the same situation. For that reason an announcement of this kind would make sense.
This is from Newsnight’s Lewis Goodall.
Have heard similar things. Really this is the only play if Starmer knows he would resign if fined anyway. This is the only way he gains political advantage from it if he comes through unscathed- by drawing a counterfactual comparison between himself and the Prime Minister. https://t.co/tTVfsy6r1J
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) May 9, 2022
Starmer, of course, says that he did not break lockdown rules, and the evidence against him is far from compelling. Claims that this is equivalent to Partygate are spurious, for reasons explained here.
In interviews this morning Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, would not say whether or not he thought Starmer would have to resign if he were fined because he said he thought the prospect so improbable. He said:
Let’s just remember this central fact, which is the police have looked at this before, they found no case to answer. No action was taken. There’s no reason to think this time round will be any different.
What it will show is the stark contrast between Boris Johnson, who was fined, Boris Johnson who lied about there being any events whatsoever under his own roof, Boris Johnson who said all of that despite the fact we now know that officials were wheeling in suitcases full of booze into Number 10.
There is no comparison whatsoever between perfectly legitimate campaigning activity which Keir has never denied, and the actions of Boris Johnson and the people who work for him, which was rule-breaking, lying, completely unacceptable, and the fact that Boris Johnson is still there, I think, is remarkable and depressing.
Updated
Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Updated
More than half of Britons think Starmer definitely or probably broke lockdown rules with Beergate, poll suggests
The YouGov poll also suggests that more than half of Britons do think Keir Starmer definitely or probably broke lockdown rules with Beergate.
Most Britons think that Keir Starmer either "definitely" or "probably" broke lockdown rules with #Beergate
— YouGov (@YouGov) May 9, 2022
Definitely did: 24%
Probably did: 30%
Probably did not: 16%
Definitely did not: 5%https://t.co/JNGLNIY8as pic.twitter.com/HLWNQ8OENt
In his analysis for YouGov, Matthew Smith also points out that the beergate affair has not affected Starmer’s overall approval ratings. He says:
There is as yet no discernable impact on Starmer’s standing with the public as a result of the beergate saga. In mid-April, 31% of Britons had a positive impression of the Labour leader, compared to 54% with a negative view. As of this weekend, those figures are unchanged: 32% have a favourable view and 54% an unfavourable one.
Updated
According to a YouGov poll, almost half Britons (46%) think Keir Starmer should resign if he is fined over beergate. Some 32% think he should not have to resign.
The figures are very similar for people who voted Labour in 2019. Interestingly, Tory voters are less likely than Labour voters to say Starmer should resign if fined, but that is probably linked to the fact that most Tory voters do not believe that Boris Johnson should have to resign over the fine he has already received.
As explained earlier, even if Durham police does concluded that the rules were broken, it is not certain yet that they would issue a fine, because in the past they have not fined people over retrospective breaches of Covid regulations. (See 10.39am.)
Should Keir Starmer resign if fined by police for #Beergate?
— YouGov (@YouGov) May 9, 2022
General public: 46% yes / 32% no
Labour voters: 48% yes / 32% no
Conservative voters: 40% yes / 43% nohttps://t.co/JNGLNJghoA pic.twitter.com/sudjECMXem
Scottish Power boss urges Sunak to take swift action on energy bills crisis
Scottish Power has said that it thinks the energy price cap could rise by more than £900 in the autumn. As my colleague Alex Lawson reports, the company wants the government to underwrite a “deficit fund” that could allow energy suppliers to cut £1,000 off bills for low-income households. The money would be paid down over a decade by adding £40 a year to all household energy bills. Alex has more details here.
Commenting on the story, Ed Miliband, the shadow secretary of state for climate change and net zero, said:
As energy bills spiral for working people, this warning is yet another reminder that the Government is failing to tackle the cost of living crisis.
Energy bills have already risen to their highest level in a generation. Yet instead of offering real support, this government’s buy now, pay later loan scheme is wholly inadequate to meet the scale of need.
Michelle Donelan, the universities minister, was doing the morning interview round for the government today. She said scrapping the Northern Ireland protocol was still “on the table” as an option for the government to pursue if the talks with the EU did not reach an acceptable conclusion.
She also accused Keir Starmer of hypocrisy over Beergate. Asked if he should resign if fined by Durham police, she replied:
My constituents are saying that this whole thing smacks of sheer hypocrisy given the relentless focus he has placed on Partygate.
I think this is a decision for him, he’s going to have to search his soul after making this a top priority over the last few months at the expense of key issues like rising cost of living, etc, but look this is a decision for him. My takeaway is that it does smack of sheer hypocrisy.
In the past Durham police said its general approach was not to take retrospective action in relation to breaches of Covid rules. When it investigated Dominic Cummings’ trip to Barnard Castle in 2020, it concluded that Cummings may have committed a minor breach of the rules, but did not fine him. But it is not clear whether it would apply this same approach to Starmer.
Even without a fine, Starmer would still come under intense pressure to resign if the Durham police were to issue a statement saying he broke lockdown rules.
Updated
'Landing zone' available for deal between UK and EU on NI protocol, says Irish PM
Micheál Martin, the Irish taoiseach, has used an interview with RTÉ to give his reaction to the election results in Northern Ireland, where Sinn Féin emerged as the largest party. Here are the key points.
- Martin said that he thought a “landing zone” was available where the UK and the EU could agree a compromise for reform of the Northern Ireland protocol. Referring to British claims that the EU has not been willing to be flexible, he said:
I don’t think the assessment that is coming from the British government is a fair assessment of the EU’s position. I think the European Union has been flexible, has demonstrated flexibility, but every time up to now that the European Union has demonstrated flexibility, it hasn’t been reciprocated. And that has made the EU more cautious in terms of the discussions with the United Kingdom government.
He also claimed that now an agreement might be possible.
I think the moment is now for both the EU and the UK. The British government wants to bring this to a conclusion. Any further sort of negative developments on this front will prove that Brexit isn’t being done.
- He said the DUP should rejoin the executive in Northern Ireland without making removal of the protocol in its current form a precondition. He said:
All the parties, bar the Traditional Unionist Voice, focused on the bread-and-butter issues.
My sense is that the mandate they got was to take their assembly seats.
This was an election fought on current topical issues and, therefore, I think parties could lose out if they do not respond to what people said to them on the doorsteps.
- He said he did not think the Sinn Féin victory meant an early border poll was probable, saying he was “amused” by speculation about this. He explained:
That was not the mandate sought by Sinn Féin in the last three weeks. The whole campaign was on cost of living, on health and on housing.
The border poll was nearly buried from its documentation and its manifesto and, [as] soon as the votes are counted, it is brought back into centre stage.
He also said that Sinn Féin itself did not seem to be planning for a border poll. He said:
What work have they done themselves in relation to that? Where is Sinn Féin’s work on this? It’s fairly scant now in terms of substance.
-
He said that he did not agree with calls for a citizens’ assembly on Irish unity. He said:
I don’t favour that approach because I think the way you build bridges between North and South is by first of all the political parties and members of parties, members of society more generally, engaging more and more.
Updated
Ben Wallace accuses Russian military leadership of 'amorality and corruption'
Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, has accused leaders of the Russian military of “amorality and corrupion”. In a speech at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, London, he referred to the Russian soldiers killed during the second world war and went on:
I thought about the scale of the suffering across the Soviet Union, but also how the suffering was used then as it is now - to cover up the inadequacy of those ruling in safety and comfort from behind the Kremlin walls above and within the general staff nearby.
Most Soviet conscripts hadn’t a chance. The suffering was often needless. In the absence of effective military leadership many of their best officers were purged by the NKVD [the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs] for counter-revolutionary crimes.
For barrier troops executed swathes of retreating soldiers, deemed unpatriotic for failing to press on in the face of unassailable odds.
Fear and sycophancy dictated behaviours then, and today’s Russian armed forces still carry that Soviet imprint - the imprint of amorality and corruption.
Labour denies Starmer dodging scrutiny over beergate as source says late-arriving curry made event against rules
Good morning. We’re one day away from the Queen’s speech, but the story with most traction at Westminster this morning is still beergate - the claim that Keir Starmer broke lockdown rules in April last year when he had a beer and a takeaway meal with Labour workers at the end of day campaigning.
Starmer was due to take part in a Q&A at the Institute for Government today, but that has been cancelled. Labour sources have said that diary changes are to blame, but they have not given more details. Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, was giving interviews this morning and he said he had “no idea” why the event was cancelled; he did not even bother to ask, he said, because he thought it was such a trivial issue. He also ridiculed the suggestion that Starmer was avoiding scrutiny.
The idea that Keir has been avoiding scrutiny when he’s been out all weekend in front of cameras celebrating those brilliant results we got in the local elections last week, you know, whether or not he’s done an event, his diary changes all the time. It’s kind of neither here nor there really.
Streeting was speaking as Politico’s London Playbook published fresh details about what happened at the event from an unnamed source “familiar with what happened last night”. Of the various revelations that come out yesterday, the most incriminating was probably a claim from an unnamed source who was present who told the Sunday Times that some of the Labour staff there were “just getting pissed” (which undermines claims they were working). The Playbook source makes exactly the same allegation. (It may be the same person, although Playbook says its source thinks there may be two Labour whistleblowers from the event speaking to the media.)
But the Playbook source also adds a detail that adds a new element of absurdity to the story. They say the takeaway curry was meant to arrive while Starmer was doing an online Zoom event for party members, but that it arrived late - and that that is the reason why a debate has arisen as to whether work was still going on when it was consumed. The source said:
There was no work being done. There just wasn’t. The Zoom events had finished … If the curry was on time during the Zoom call it wouldn’t have been a breach [of the lockdown rules]. But it was late and work had finished. It wasn’t work and there was no work afterwards that I’m aware of.
Labour insists that Starmer and others were still working as they consumed the meal after the online event was over. They argue the meal was justified under lockdown rules because it was necessary for work.
Parliament is still not sitting today, but we are getting a lobby briefing at 11.30am.
I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com.
Updated
