Summary of the day …
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy has defended chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision to visit China amid turbulence in the economy as being “right and proper”. She said “it is absolutely right and proper that the chancellor is taking seriously our relationship with the world’s second largest economy”
Nandy has said she believes that the Labour government is still “on track” with its ambition for the UK to be “the fastest growing economy in Europe,” adding “I’m not, for a moment, saying it’s all going swimmingly” she said when asked about Labour’s first few months in government. Nandy said “our intention is that in the next few years, people will start to feel significantly better off in their own lives and for the prospects for their children”
Almost 700,000 homeowners are facing an increase in mortgage costs when their fixed-rate deals end this year, as a sell-off in the UK government debt market threatens to push up household borrowing costs
The Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, has joined calls for a “limited” national inquiry into grooming gangs, saying the scope of the local inquiry he had commissioned in Oldham did not have the same legal powers
Burnham’s intervention was seized upon by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and shadow home secretary Chris Philp, both of whom have been criticised for raising the issue now rather than when they were previously in government. Tom Crowther KC, the former chair of the Telford child sexual exploitation (CSE) inquiry, said the “Telford model” led to real progress in the Shropshire town and could be used in towns across the country looking into similar CSE scandals
Prof Alexis Jay, who led the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, will appear before the Commons Home Affairs Committee on 21 January. The inquiry’s secretary, John O’Brien, will also appear
Culture secretary Nandy rejected calls for England’s men’s cricket team to boycott a planned match against Afghanistan over the treatment of women by the Taliban
PA Media reports that it understands 11 councils in England have asked for their local elections to be postponed. They include Surrey, Oxfordshire, Devon and Norfolk county councils as well as Worcestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Gloucestershire and Thurrock. The Liberal Democrats have accused Conservative-run areas of “running scared” in areas where the Lib Dems made huge gains in last year’s general election
The UK has enough gas and electricity to meet demand this winter, the government has insisted, after the company that owns the country’s gas stores said levels had become “concerningly low” amid the current cold snap
Carla Denyer, the co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, has accused world leaders of “sleepwalking” into a “deadly new future” and demanded that Keir Starmer revoke recently issued North Sea oil and gas drilling licences
The opening of the UK’s first safer drugs consumption room will be a “significant step forward” in efforts to tackle drug problems in Scotland, John Swinney said. The first minister was speaking as he toured the Thistle Centre in Glasgow’s east end, which is due to open on Monday
The co-leader of the Scottish Greens, Patrick Harvie, has said his party was yet to make a “final decision” on whether to back the draft Scottish budget, and that they were continuing to “negotiate constructively” with the SNP-led government on it
That is it from me, Martin Belam, for today. Thank you very much for all your comments. I will see you again at some point next week.
11 councils in England ask government to postpone local elections – reports
PA Media reports that it understands 11 councils in England have asked for their local elections to be postponed.
They include Surrey, Oxfordshire, Devon and Norfolk county councils, which have all voted to push their elections back.
Worcestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Gloucestershire and Thurrock have also requested postponements.
Local authorities have until Friday to request permission from the government to postpone their elections, after plans to abolish two-tier council areas were announced in December, as part of Labour’s proposals to devolve more power away from Westminster.
