Closing summary
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Here is a summary of today’s key developments:
Keir Starmer has not ruled out the idea of smoking being banned in some outdoor spaces, including pub gardens and outside restaurants, as ministers consider fresh tobacco curbs that hospitality groups say could adversely affect the sector. It is understood Downing Street is in favour of a series of measures outlined in documents connected to the planned wider tobacco and vapes bill, details of which were seen by the Sun. Speaking to journalists in Paris on Thursday, Starmer said he is looking at changes to smoking laws and that “more details will be revealed”.
Starmer, who was in Paris on Thursday to meet Paralympics GB athletes and hold talks with Emmanuel Macron, said he had discussed resetting relations during talks with the French president at the Élysée Palace. A Downing Street spokesperson said that the prime minister also welcomed the joint action between the UK and France to tackle small boat crossings and he and Macron agreed to do more together to dismantle smuggling routes farther upstream and increase intelligence sharing.
Scotland will consider replicating any UK government ban on smoking in places such as beer gardens and outdoor restaurants, first minister John Swinney said. With Scotland the first part of the UK to bring in a ban on smoking in public places, Swinney said Holyrood ministers would “look with care at any proposals emerging from the United Kingdom government”.
Nigel Farage and Robert Jenrick criticised the reported plans to extend smoking ban to outdoor spaces. The Reform UK leader told the Sun: “It’ll be the end of pubs.” Conservative party leadership hopeful Jenrick told the newspaper: “The last thing this country needs is thousands more pubs closing. Our country faces huge challenges. Why is Starmer focusing on this nonsense?”
Rachel Reeves held talks with the leaders of some of Britain’s biggest business groups on Thursday, vowing to “co-design” government policy with them ahead of the October budget. Bosses at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Institute of Directors (IoD), the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and Make UK were at the meeting.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood formally announced his resignation as party leader during a press conference in Derry on Thursday. Eastwood said it had been a “great privilege” to be the leader of the party he joined when he was 14 or 15 for almost a decade. Eastwood said he had told the party chairman that he will resign as leader at the party conference on 5 October and confirmed that he will continue as MP for Foyle. DUP leader Gavin Robinson, Fianna Fáil TD Jim O’Callaghan, Northern Ireland secretary Julian Smith and SDLP councillor Séamas de Faoite were among the politicians that wished paid tribute to Eastwood.
Eastwood tipped fellow MP Claire Hanna as his successor. Hanna has not ruled herself out of the running to be the next SDLP leader. On Thursday afternoon, she posted on the social media network X that she will have more to say on that in the coming days.
Scotland’s first minister stressed the need to ensure decisions on oil and gas are compatible with “our journey on climate change” after the UK government confirmed it will not fight a legal challenge brought against plans to open two new developments in the North Sea. The government has said it will not challenge a court case brought against the Rosebank field off the coast of Shetland – the UK’s largest untapped oilfield, with an estimated up to 300m barrels of oil – and the Jackdaw field to the east of Aberdeen.
The Home Office has been accused of submitting “woeful” budget figures under successive Conservative ministers – which officials knew understated the ballooning cost of asylum and illegal immigration spending. In a report partially vindicating Rachel Reeves’s claim that the new Labour government inherited a far worse financial situation than initially thought, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) thinktank suggested the Home Office had repeatedly lowballed its budget estimates. Labour said it was proof the previous government had “covered up” the extent of the crisis in the asylum system and that ministers “ran away from the problem”.
Germany’s ambassador to the UK has said an agreement with the EU on youth mobility “should be in the British interest”. It came after Starmer’s press conference yesterday with German chancellor Olaf Scholz, during which the prime minister said the UK did not have plans to join the EU’s youth mobility scheme.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has announced his party is tabling a motion to block the government’s proposed cut to winter fuel payments as soon as parliament returns from recess next week. According to a statement released on Thursday by the party, all 72 Lib Dem MPs have backed the party’s ‘prayer motion’ to block the cut to winter fuel payments and ensure MPs are given a vote on the changes before they come into force on 16 September.
Ministers have committed to help households struggling with their gas and electricity bills this winter after energy industry bosses warned that consumer debt had climbed to more than £3bn. With Labour under fire for scrapping universal winter fuel payments to pensioners, ministers met energy industry bosses on Wednesday to discuss ways of supporting struggling households through the coming colder months.
The UK government is considering making further commitments on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, likely to be announced at the UN climate summit this year. It is hoped the plan will help kickstart global ambitions on cutting emissions and encourage other countries to follow suit.
Staff working at the National Education Union’s (NEU) headquarters in London have voted to strike over “unacceptable” workloads. The NEU is the UK’s largest teaching and education union, but administrative staff who are members of the Unite union will walk out for three days at the end of September and start of October.
The new rail minister threatened in a previous role to withhold public contracts from one of the UK’s largest engineering groups until it disciplined a senior engineer for raising concerns about safety at one of London’s busiest train stations. In his former role as chair of Network Rail, Peter Hendy threatened Systra UK, which counts Network Rail among its main clients, with losing business not only from the public body but also its supply chain.
First minister John Swinney has said he will be “very mindful” of funding for the arts despite “difficult choices” facing the Scottish government, after some of the country’s top musicians called for more cash. Paolo Nutini, Biffy Clyro and Franz Ferdinand were among more than 170 figures to sign an open letter addressed to the first minister in response to the closure of Creative Scotland’s open fund due to financial pressures.
Tom Tugendhat has said that, if he becomes Tory leader, the Conservative party will commit to a cap on net migration of 100,000 a year. Speaking during a campaign speech on Thursday, Tugendhat warned that Starmer’s government would drag the UK back to the 1970s by caving in to unions’ pay demands. Tugendhat claimed the government’s actions could result in rising inflation.
Updated
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has tipped fellow MP Claire Hanna as his successor. Speaking at a press conference in Derry on Thursday, Eastwood said he wants to become a voice for change and developing a new Ireland, describing the post-Brexit environment as a “moment of opportunity”.
Hanna has not ruled herself out of the running to be the next SDLP leader. On Thursday afternoon, she posted on the social media network X that she will have more to say on that in the coming days.
“Political leadership is a huge privilege and rightly carries huge responsibility. I’m grateful for many messages from colleagues, constituents and others about the future leadership of the SDLP,” she said. “I’ll have more to say in the coming days after speaking to my family and team.”
Colum Eastwood has put in a heck of a shift, leading the SDLP through 10 elections in 9 years! As a friend & colleague I’ve seen the relentless challenges he’s navigated. He’ll continue to be a passionate & skilled MP for Derry with a mega role to play in shaping the new Ireland pic.twitter.com/xiiL066Vrz
— Claire Hanna (@ClaireHanna) August 29, 2024
