End of day summary …
We are going to be wrapping up the live blog shortly. Here are the headlines …
Keir Starmer has hailed Labour’s “fantastic” results in the Kingswood and Wellingborough byelections after the party secured two victories that suggest the party is on course for a majority at the general election this year. The party secured a near-record swing of 28.5 percentage points in Wellingborough and a more modest one of 16.4 points in Kingswood, both of which would give them a secure majority if repeated at a national vote. Rishi Sunak said “Midterm elections are always difficult for incumbent governments, and the circumstances of these elections were of course particularly challenging.”
Sunak has insisted that his government can afford to cut taxes, despite the country having entered a recession, because “economic conditions have improved”. Speaking to the media, he said “our plan is working” and he can “give everyone the peace of mind that there is a better future for them and their families”.
Labour leader in Scotland, Anas Sarwar, urged people to vote for the party at the next general election in order to get rid of the Westminster Conservative government. He claimed Scotland would be at the heart of a Labour-led UK government, and criticised the SNP government in Holyrood for what he described as “a culture of secrecy and cover-ups”.
NatWest made its biggest annual profit last year since the 2007 financial crisis. The UK lender – which is still 35% government-owned – said pre-tax profits rose 20% to £6.2bn in the year to December.
No new proposals for general-use windfarms were submitted for planning permission in England last year, despite the government’s much-vaunted relaxation of planning restrictions.
A charity that has worked for 37 years for greater cohesion between different UK faith communities is expected to close down next week after the government signalled it will scrap its funding. The Inter Faith Network (IFN) is due to close after Michael Gove, the communities secretary, said he was “minded to withdraw” £155,000 of provisional funding over concerns about a trustee connected to the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB).
People are being hospitalised for sexual health conditions that are easily treatable in local clinics, experts have warned, after some council budgets being cut by up to two-thirds over 10 years.
I wanted to say thank you so much for reading this week and all your comments while I have been sitting in for Andrew Sparrow. I’ve really appreciated them. He will be back with you next week, and I will no doubt see you around the Guardian website somewhere soon. Take care and enjoy the best weekend you can.
Keir Starmer and former prime minister Gordon Brown were among mourners today at the funeral of veteran Labour MP Tony Lloyd in Stretford.
Giving an address, Brown said “His mission was social justice, his life was given to public service, his cause was the people he represented. Fighting for Tony was not against any individual or any group, it was against poverty, inequality and injustice wherever he saw it.”
Others at the service included Andy Burnham, Angela Rayner, Yvette Cooper, Lisa Nandy, Lucy Powell and Rebecca Long-Bailey. Conservative MP for Ribble Valley Nigel Evans also attended.
Rayner said “Tony was not just a politician. He was guided by a deep sense of duty and commitment to improving society in pursuit of his socialist principles. He never lost sight of his values and he also showed incredible skill in bridging divides, uniting people and trying to find common ground while making progress. He devoted himself to championing the marginalised, the silent and the forgotten.”
Lloyd died from blood cancer last month aged 73.
Josh Halliday has a report here: Tributes paid to ‘true statesman’ Tony Lloyd at Manchester service
Updated
