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Here is a summary of today’s key developments:
Keir Starmer announced a new UK-Germany treaty at a press conference with German chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday. The British prime minister described it as a “once in a generation chance to deliver for working people in Britain and in Germany” and “a testament to the depth an potential of our relationship”. Prior to his Berlin visit, Starmer had promised to “turn a corner on Brexit” and rebuild productive relationships with EU member states.
While Starmer said at Wednesday’s press conference in Berlin with Scholz that the UK did not have plans to join the EU’s youth mobility scheme – with No 10 having previously ruled out such a move – speaking to reporters later, he pointedly did not rule out setting up some sort of system for other link-ups, for example student exchanges. Olaf Scholz had stressed to the British prime minister his wish for closer youth mobility ties.
Starmer and Scholz said there were “no new decisions” from either the UK or Germany as regards to the use of weaponry donated by both countries to Ukraine. Asked at a press conference in Berlin if he and the German chancellor had discussed lifting restrictions on weapons given to Ukraine that would allow them to be used inside Russian territory, Starmer said he was “not going to get into tactical questions about the use of weapons”.
The Liberal Democrats said Starmer’s treaty talks with Scholz were a “positive step forward” but called on the government to be “more ambitious”. Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesperson Layla Moran said that such ambition should “start with agreeing a youth mobility scheme giving young people the opportunity to easily live and work across the continent”.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, Starmer met German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin, making him the first British prime minister to visit the palace since David Cameron in 2015. Steinmeier had made the invitation to Starmer after they met earlier in the summer at Euro 2024.
Starmer has said that more prisons will be built to manage overcrowding once the government gets its “hands on the planning laws”. Speaking to broadcasters in Berlin, the prime minister said the lack of prisons being built is one of the reasons for the current capacity crisis in jails across the UK.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves defended the decision to restrict winter fuel payments despite rising energy bills, during a growth-related visit to Glasgow on Wednesday. Reeves told broadcasters: “It’s not decision I wanted to make. It was a decision that I had to make in incredibly challenging circumstances to put our public finances on a firm footing.” Reeves also said that the Scottish government was “as guilty” as the Tories on the country’s finances after the Scottish government attacked decisions made at Westminster for the country’s financial strife
Reeves refused to rule out a rise in inheritance tax or capital gains tax. Asked directly whether she could rule out the tax increases, she replied during her Scottish visit on Wednesday: “I’m not going to write a budget two months ahead of delivering it. We’re going to have to make difficult decisions in a range of areas.”
The UK’s data protection watchdog has taken action against the Labour party for repeatedly failing to respond to people who asked what personal information the organisation held on them. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued a formal reprimand after it was revealed that the party had not complied with its legal obligations.
Josh Greally, 28, was given a suspended prison sentence at Barnsley magistrates court on Wednesday after throwing items at Nigel Farage during the general election campaign. Greally was sentenced to six weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work, 20 rehabilitation activity days and pay £85 court costs and a surcharge of £154.
Lots of pensioners will need support this winter who won’t be eligible for the new winter fuel payment threshold, an ex-Labour minister has warned. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, chair of the Committee on Fuel Poverty Caroline Flint said that although the existing scheme was “poorly targeted”, since not all the 10 million pensioners need it to pay their bills, the new plans are too narrow.
Vapes should only be sold from “behind the counter”, like cigarettes, and not be on display in shops, according to the British Medical Association. In a report published on Wednesday, the doctors’ union called on ministers to introduce legislation to tackle the “growing epidemic” of vaping in the UK.
Labour’s key housebuilding target will not be met if water companies are blocked from significantly increasing bills, the leader of an industry group has said. The government has promised to build 1.5m homes during this parliament as a central pillar to its plans to end the housing crisis. David Henderson, the chief executive of Water UK, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that water companies would not be able to facilitate this without getting the green light from the regulator to substantially raise bills.
Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick said he wants to put Farage’s Reform UK “out of business”. The former immigration minister said he wants to make Reform “redundant” by persuading its supporters he can address their concerns on the number of people coming to the UK.
Updated
Here is a video of Keir Starmer at a joint press conference with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz. During a speech to journalists, the prime minister said the UK had agreed a treaty with Germany which he hoped would bring closer relations between the two countries.
