Closing summary
We are closing the UK politics blog. Here is a summary of events today:
Foreign secretary David Lammy criticised Russia for having “learned nothing” over the Ukraine war. In a speech at the G20 Foreign Ministerial Meeting in South Africa, he added: “We are at a crucial juncture in this conflict, and Russia faces a test”. He said the only “just and lasting peace” will be a peace “consistent with the UN charter” which “rejects Tsarist imperialism”.
Keir Starmer spoke to Volodymyr Zelenskyy to express support for him “as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader” after US president Donald Trump claimed Ukraine’s president was a “dictator”
The UK signed a defence agreement with Norway, aimed at what the countries perceive as a threat from Russia in the Arctic. Defence secretary John Healey said Norway and the UK will “step up further” support to Ukraine. At a press conference, he said Russia’s threat to Europe stretches beyond its war in Ukraine adding that Britain will support Ukraine on the “battlefield and the negotiating table”. He hailed Vlodomyr Zelenskyy’s “commitment” to his country but added that talks about peacekeeping forces were “jumping ahead of ourselves”.
On Thursday morning culture secretary Lisa Nandy said that the “heat” needed to be taken out of public discussions about any peace deal in Ukraine. She added that “it’s important that we maintain a dialogue with Russia, and I think it’s important that Russia hears what the world believes, and certainly across Europe.”
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said on Thursday that she could not comment on the motivation behind Trump’s attack on Zelenskyy and that “there are no clear solutions right now”, offering tentative Conservative support to any plans to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage broke his silence on Donald Trump’s comments on Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying: “Let’s be clear, Zelenskyy is not a dictator, but it’s only right and proper that Ukrainians have a timeline for elections.” Speaking to GB News, he said that Trump’s words should be taken “seriously” but not “literally”. He attacked people suggesting that the UK did not hold elections during the second world war, and said it was “about time the British media woke up to the truth of that.”
Nigel Farage has declared he has handed over Reform UK to its 200,000 members, but the party now appears to be owned by a not-for-profit company controlled by its leader and chair.
Former chair of the defence select committee Tobias Ellwood has warned the Britain risks being in direct conflict with Russia within five years, and said that current discussions about possible peace in Ukraine had descended into what he called “foghorn diplomacy”.
The Labour government has announced a £270m Arts Everywhere fund for arts venues, museums, libraries and the heritage sector.
Plans by the Labour government to prevent refugees who arrive in the UK on a small boat, lorry or via other so-called “irregular” means from becoming a British citizen face their first legal challenge.
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy says she will be “discussing” a Gaza documentary with the BBC after it emerged the film’s narrator was the son of a Hamas deputy minister.
Local authorities in Scotland will need to increase council tax bills by almost a fifth if they are to keep pace with increases to local government funding in England, a thinktank has found. A report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) noted “core spending power” for local government and schools in England is set to increase by 7.4% in real-terms between 2023-24 and 2025-26.
The number of number of people in hospital in England with norovirus has jumped sharply to reach a new high for this winter, NHS figures show.
The former head of the Foreign Office, Simon McDonald, has warned Rachel Reeves not to cut Britain’s international aid spending, amid signs the chancellor is willing to raid the development budget to help pay for higher defence spending.
On the Israel-Gaza war, Lammy said there needed to be a “long-term plan for security and governance on the strip” to lead to a two-state solution:
And as we turn to the Middle East, the ceasefire in Gaza is painfully fragile, I’m grateful that so many of us here today are working together to ensure that it holds we must continue to work together tirelessly to secure the release of the remaining hostages, to bolster the Palestinian Authority, and to boost aid into Gaza and to develop a long term plan for governance and security on the strip so that we can advance towards a two state solution, which remains the only long term viable pathway to peace.
