Evening summary
The time is just coming up to 5pm in Westminster. Here is a round-up of the day’s news stories:
Royal Mail workers have voted overwhelmingly to continue with a campaign of industrial action in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, the Communication Workers Union announced. A fresh ballot of Royal Mail workers who are members of the CWU showed almost 96% were in favour of more strikes unless the deadlock is broken. CWU general secretary Dave Ward said it was a “stunning” result which showed that Royal Mail workers were determined to continue campaigning against plans to introduce changes in the company.
John McDonnell, who was shadow chancellor under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, has said it is a “mistake” for Labour to try to block Corbyn from standing as a party candidate. McDonnell, a friend and ally of Corbyn, was speaking after Keir Starmer said his predecessor would not be standing as a Labour candidate at the next general election. McDonnell told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme that the issue was “more fundamental” than being simply about Corbyn.
A senior ally of Jeremy Corbyn has dismissed as “nonsense” suggestions that Keir Starmer privately fought against the former leader’s handling of antisemitism while in his shadow cabinet. Diane Abbott, who at the time was shadow home secretary, disputed the defence levied by supporters of Starmer that he spoke up about the issue at the time, given the criticism he has faced for serving in Corbyn’s top team as shadow Brexit secretary.
Police vetting standards will be overhauled under a Labour government, including close checks of social media and immediate suspensions of officers accused of sexual offences or domestic violence, Yvette Cooper has said. The shadow home secretary said although the Home Office had powers to make changes immediately, Labour would legislate for a completely new standards framework to underpin the new rules.
The SNP’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, suggested the party’s planned conference to discuss the next steps in its push for Scottish independence could now be delayed. Nicola Sturgeon had planned to fight the next general election as a de facto referendum on Scottish independence, with party members due to gather to discuss the plan in the coming weeks.
Rishi Sunak is to meet the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, over the weekend, raising hopes of an imminent deal to end the protracted Northern Ireland protocol dispute. They are expected to meet on the sidelines of an international security conference in Munich which will also be attended by EU leaders including the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has responded to criticism of his planned expansion of London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) by Boris Johnson. The scheme, which aims to cut emissions by charging for more polluting cars for a designated area, will be extended to the whole of the capital from 29 August. Those whose cars do not meet the standards will have to pay £12.50 each day, when they cross into the zone.
The Home Office has decided not to proceed with its appeal against a pre-Christmas high court ruling that it was unlawful to force EU citizens with pre-settled status to reapply for settled status to remain in the UK. The Home Office had been granted permission to appeal despite it posing a risk of loss of residency, employment and welfare rights to more than 2m citizens.
The proportion of repeat knife offenders in England and Wales is at its highest level in a decade. Almost one in three people found guilty of possessing or threatening people with knives or other offensive weapons last year had a previous caution or conviction for a weapons offence, according to new Ministry of Justice figures. The figure – 30% – marks the highest proportion of repeat offenders since comparable figures began in 2012.
Ambulance handover delays outside hospitals in England improved last week, falling to one of their lowest levels this winter, NHS figures show. A total of 20% of ambulance patients waited at least 30 minutes to be transferred to A&E teams, down from 24% the previous week. The figure hit a record 44% in the week to 1 January, PA Media reported. The lowest figure for the winter so far is 18%, in the week to 29 January.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, and the UK politics live blog for today. Thanks for following along. I’ll be back in the morning so, for now, goodbye.
Updated
A fresh ballot of Royal Mail workers who are members of the Communication Workers Union showed almost 96% were in favour of more strikes unless the deadlock is broken.
The CWU general secretary, Dave Ward, said it was a “stunning” result which showed Royal Mail workers were determined to continue campaigning against plans to introduce changes in the company.
He revealed that talks have been held with Royal Mail’s chairman and new members of the board with a view to “refresh” talks to try to reach an agreement.
Royal Mail workers have staged a series of strikes in recent months, including in the busy run-up to Christmas.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said:
We are disappointed that the CWU members who took part in the ballot have voted to take further industrial action. Even the threat of more strike action by the CWU means more customers will switch their parcel business to our competitors. We remain committed to getting around the table with the CWU, resolving this dispute and agreeing a pay and change deal for our people.
Should the CWU announce further strike action, we have plans to minimise disruption and get our services back to normal as soon as possible to keep people, businesses and the country connected.
Royal Mail can have a bright future, and the CWU play a part in that, but further strikes and resistance to change by the CWU will only worsen our financial position and threaten the long-term job security of our postmen and women.
Not changing is not an option in a business losing £1m a day. The company’s financial position is worsening with every strike day, and we know that it is well understood by our employees. Royal Mail reported losses of almost £300m in the nine months to December 2022, two-thirds resulting from industrial action.
We urge the CWU to seriously consider our best and final pay offer and to work with us to transform Royal Mail and secure its future. That is in the best interests of Royal Mail and all its employees.
Updated
