End of day summary
Here’s a roundup of the key developments of the day:
The Tories have accused Keir Starmer of flip-flopping over the EU following claims Labour wants to effectively undo Brexit. Speaking on GB News on Friday morning, the environment minister, Mark Spencer, accused Labour of obsessing over Brexit and said Starmer seems to make policy up “on the hoof”.
Keir Starmer defended his approach to dealing with the European Union. Starmer told reporters in the City of London there was “no case for rejoining the EU, no case for the customs union or single market” and laws would be “made in this country for the public interest”.
The shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, dismissed claims Labour wanted to effectively undo Brexit. Reeves said what Labour want is “a better relationship with our nearest neighbours and trading partners”.
Two-thirds of people say they do not trust the Conservatives to make the right decisions on the environment, a poll had found. The Ipsos poll was carried out between 20 and 21 September after the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, announced changes to his climate policies.
Ministers would have to consult the official watchdog on major tax and spending changes under Labour plans that would prevent a repeat of Liz Truss’s ill-fated mini-budget, the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has said. The move would ensure the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was not “gagged” by future prime ministers and chancellors trying to avoid an official financial forecast, she said.
The risks of a UK recession have risen as business activity is shrinking at the fastest pace since the financial crisis, when months hit by Covid-19 lockdowns are excluded, according to a closely-watched survey.
More than two-thirds of UK universities expected to take part in next week’s scheduled strikes called by the University and College Union (UCU) have now said they won’t take part. UCU announced that 89 out of the 140 potentially taking industrial action will not now do so, while 10 campus branches will strike for at least one day out of the five scheduled.
We are closing this liveblog shortly. You can follow our Ukraine-Russia liveblog here:
The chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng’s speech at the Commons dispatch box on 23 September last year, and his refusal to publish the Office for Budget Responsibility’s autumn 2022 forecast on the state of the economy, led to a run on the pound, sharply higher borrowing costs and a crisis in the UK pensions industry.
A year on from Liz Truss and Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-budget, people from across the country shared with the Guardian how their lives and finances were affected by its chaotic aftermath.
Read the full story from my colleagues Jedidajah Otte and Clea Skopeliti here:
