Latest news with #ClementAttlee
Sky News
4 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Starmer couldn't be clearer: Britain must prepare for war
Clement Attlee was the Labour prime minister credited with creating the welfare state. On Monday, at a shipbuilding yard in Glasgow, Sir Keir Starmer presented himself as a Labour prime minister who wants to be credited with turning the UK into a warfare-ready state, as he spoke of the need for the UK to be prepared for the possibility of war at the launch of his government's Strategic Defence Review. The rhetoric couldn't be clearer: Britain is on a wartime footing. The UK's armed forces must move to "war-fighting readiness" over the coming years, the UK faces a "more serious and immediate" threat than anytime since the Cold War, and "every citizen must play their part". The prime minister promised to fulfil the recommendations of the 10-year strategic defence plan, which will be published in full on Monday afternoon. But what he refused to do was explain when he would deliver on spending 3% of GDP on defence - the commitment necessary to deliver the recommendations in the Strategic Defence Review. 8:36 PM is sticking plasters over wounds His refusal to do so blunts his argument. On the one hand, the prime minister insists there is no greater necessity than protecting citizens, while on the other hand, he says his ability to deliver 3% of spending on defence is "subject to economic and fiscal conditions". This is a prime minister who promised an end to "sticking plaster politics", who promised to take difficult decisions in the interest of the country. One of those difficult decisions could well be deciding, if necessary, to cut other budgets in order to find the 3% needed for defence spending. Instead, the prime minister is sticking plasters over wounds. After voters lashed out at Labour in the local elections, the Starmer government announced it was going to look again at the cut to pensioners' winter fuel allowance. There is an expectation, too, that Sir Keir is planning to lift the two-child cap on benefits. Refusing to lift the cap was one of his hard choices going into the election, but now he is looking soft on it. 2:15 What choices is Starmer prepared to make? That's why I asked him on Monday what the choices are that he's going to make as prime minister. Is his choice properly-funded defence, or is it to reverse winter fuel cuts, or lift the two-child benefit cap? If he needs to be the prime minister creating the warfare state, can he also deliver what voters and his own MPs want when it comes to the welfare state? To hit the 3% target, Sir Keir would have to find an extra £13bn. That's difficult to find, and especially difficult when the government is reversing on difficult decisions its made on cuts. For now, the prime minister doesn't want to answer the question about the choices he's perhaps going to make. But if he is really clear-eyed about the security threat and what is required for the UK to become ready for war, it is question he is going to have to answer.
Sky News
4 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Starmer wants UK to be a warfare-ready state - but how does that balance with the welfare state?
Clement Attlee was the Labour prime minister credited with creating the welfare state. On Monday, at a shipbuilding yard in Glasgow, Sir Keir Starmer presented himself as a Labour prime minister who wants to be credited with turning the UK into a warfare-ready state, as he spoke of the need for the UK to be prepared for the possibility of war at the launch of his government's Strategic Defence Review. The rhetoric couldn't be clearer: Britain is on a wartime footing. The UK's armed forces must move to "war-fighting readiness" over the coming years, the UK faces a "more serious and immediate" threat than anytime since the Cold War, and "every citizen must play their part". The prime minister promised to fulfil the recommendations of the 10-year strategic defence plan, which will be published in full on Monday afternoon. But what he refused to do was explain when he would deliver on spending 3% of GDP on defence - the commitment necessary to deliver the recommendations in the Strategic Defence Review. 8:36 PM is sticking plasters over wounds His refusal to do so blunts his argument. On the one hand, the prime minister insists there is no greater necessity than protecting citizens, while on the other hand, he says his ability to deliver 3% of spending on defence is "subject to economic and fiscal conditions". This is a prime minister who promised an end to "sticking plaster politics", who promised to take difficult decisions in the interest of the country. One of those difficult decisions could well be deciding, if necessary, to cut other budgets in order to find the 3% needed for defence spending. Instead, the prime minister is sticking plasters over wounds. After voters lashed out at Labour in the local elections, the Starmer government announced it was going to look again at the cut to pensioners' winter fuel allowance. There is an expectation, too, that Sir Keir is planning to lift the two-child cap on benefits. Refusing to lift the cap was one of his hard choices going into the election, but now he is looking soft on it. 2:15 👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne's on your podcast app👈 What choices is Starmer prepared to make? That's why I asked him on Monday what the choices are that he's going to make as prime minister. Is his choice properly-funded defence, or is it to reverse winter fuel cuts, or lift the two-child benefit cap? If he needs to be the prime minister creating the warfare state, can he also deliver what voters and his own MPs want when it comes to the welfare state? To hit the 3% target, Sir Keir would have to find an extra £13bn. That's difficult to find, and especially difficult when the government is reversing on difficult decisions its made on cuts. For now, the prime minister doesn't want to answer the question about the choices he's perhaps going to make. But if he is really clear-eyed about the security threat and what is required for the UK to become ready for war, it is question he is going to have to answer.
Sky News
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Growing calls for UK to withdraw from treaty banning landmines
Calls are growing for the UK to withdraw from the treaty banning the use of landmines. Nations in eastern Europe, including Poland and Finland, have signalled they will leave the 1997 Ottawa Treaty so they are allowed to lay mines amid an increasing threat from Russia and Belarus. The UK government remains committed to staying part of the Ottawa Treaty, but some want it to be abandoned or at least reviewed. In a debate in the House of Lords, several peers made the case for the UK being more open to the use of landmines, including the Duke of Wellington, former soldiers and aid workers and the grandson of prime minister Clement Attlee. Former defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace has also called for the UK to withdraw from the treaty. Lord Robathan, who was an officer in the Coldstream Guards and also in the SAS before becoming a Conservative MP, recalled a vehicle he was in was hit by a mine in Iraq. The Ottawa Treaty was signed in late 1997, with the UK as one of the initial members. Nations that are not signatories include Russia, China, Iran, India, North Korea, South Korea and the United States. According to the UN, more than 40 million mines have been destroyed since the treaty came into force and "vast" previously mined areas have been cleared. He described the Ottawa Treaty as "window dressing" - adding that British soldiers "should have" the defence of being able to use landmines should the UK enter a war. "I have seen UK soldiers maimed in Afghanistan and Iraq in the recent past. "This convention does nothing for them or for peace. It takes away one line of defence from our own soldiers," he said. Lord Robathan also spoke of his work clearing landmines. The Duke of Wellington, a descendant of Arthur Wellesley who won the Battle of Waterloo, told the chamber how he was a trustee of the HALO Trust that worked with Princess Diana on de-mining. But 25 years after the Ottawa Treaty was signed, "the military situation has changed unimaginably", the duke said - claiming that potentially millions of mines have been laid by Russia. The duke said he wanted changes to how the UK interprets the treaty. "I humbly suggest to the minister that the government seek to preserve the principles of the Ottawa convention but attempt to modify it to take account of the new technologies and the transformed military situation in Europe," he said. The Ottawa Treaty also prevents the UK from producing, selling and transferring mines to other nations. Earl Attlee spoke of his time running an NGO in Rwanda and seeing the impact of mines there. But he said his "counsel" is to support a research paper from the Policy Exchange think-tank calling for Ottawa to be "jettisoned", alongside the treaty banning cluster munitions. 👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈 Among those calling for the ban to remain in place were anti-landmine campaigner Lord Dubs, as well as the Lord Bishop of Southwark and Lady Bennett of Manor Castle. Foreign Office minister Baroness Chapman of Darlington responded on behalf of the government. Friday 4 April marks International Mine Awareness Day, and barrister Ben Keith of Campaign For Landmine Justice used the event to call for action to be taken against nations using the weapons. Mr Keith told Sky News that countries using mines and companies making them should contribute to a UN fund for victims. He said: "Victims need comprehensive support including medical care, psychological counselling, prosthetics, vocational training, and social reintegration services. "Their needs are lifelong, but current funding mechanisms are fragmented, inconsistent, and vastly insufficient." She said the UK has "engaged" closely with the nations that are withdrawing from the Ottawa Treaty to understand their decisions. The minister said: "The government continue to believe that we can advance both our own national security and that of our allies, and the vital humanitarian norms that protect civilians, which these treaties represent.
The Guardian
26-03-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Catch up on-demand: Wes Streeting in conversation with Pippa Crerar
After a turbulent first six months in power, Keir Starmer has vowed to rebuild Britain in 2025, just as Clement Attlee did in 1945. In this pivotal year of his premiership, what are Labour's long-term plans for the NHS and social care? While the government's 10-year health plan is still months from launching, the core themes around which they plan to build its NHS reforms are set; slashing waiting lists and re-engineering the system in the direction of preventive public health. But how will they deliver this new model of healthcare? And how will Streeting's proposed reforms get Britain back on its feet? In this special event recorded live in London Wes Streeting MP, the secretary of state for health and social care, sat down with Pippa Crerar, the Guardian's politics editor. They discussed the government's pledge to rewire our health and social care systems, the challenges they face and its wider plans for the country. Book tickets – This live event has now passed but you can still book tickets to watch on-demand. Viewer discretion is advised: At this live event there were some disruptions in the audience which will have been captured on film and are apparent in the recording. We hope you enjoy watching what was a lively and informative event. Please note this event was recorded on Tuesday 25th March 2025, and the interactive elements of the event will not work.
Arab News
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Why Labour's path to power is relevant internationally
The UK Labour Party last week celebrated the 125th anniversary of its founding, following last year's 100th anniversary of the first Labour government. While sometimes written off as a political force in the past, the party's landslide victory in 2024 may now offer insights for other centrist and center-left parties seeking to win back power. To be sure, Labour's election record is not nearly as good as that of its chief rival, the Conservative Party, which is sometimes called the most successful democratic political party in the world. Nonetheless, from humble origins, Labour has put its stamp on UK politics in the 20th and 21st centuries. It was on Feb. 27, 1900, that trade unions and socialist groups came together to form the UK Labour Representation Committee. This was the first step toward the party's formation. What started with a motion from railway workers in Doncaster led to a meeting in London, where delegates united behind a call for a Labour voice in Parliament. The party won just two seats in the 1900 election, but it gradually built a movement that would win power multiple times. The party has tended to do best when it has offered a clear, bold and optimistic vision for the future of the country. Thus, Prime Minister Clement Attlee in 1945 developed a historic reform program that included the creation of the National Health Service, helping him win reelection in 1950. This was followed by the modernizing missions of Harold Wilson, who won four general elections (in 1964, 1966 and two in a single year, 1974) and Tony Blair, who won three successive election victories in 1997, 2001 and 2005. Given the electoral success of the Conservatives, Labour's victories have often followed significant periods in the political wilderness. The party was shut out of power between 1951 and 1964, 1979 and 1997 and 2010 and 2024, for instance. At times during these periods, Labour was written off as a political force. Yet, so far at least, the party has always bounced back. Prime Minister Keir Starmer today finds himself with relatively few left-of-center and centrist allies across the world. This was reinforced by this month's German election, which saw Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz turfed out of power. Meanwhile, in the US, the Democrats last November lost control of not only the presidency, but also the Senate. This means that Republicans now control all three federal institutions, the so-called trifecta of power, including the House of Representatives. As much of the political center and left around the world licks the wounds of defeat, there may be insights from Labour's last half-decade that are of relevance for a fightback. Labour suffered a significant setback in the 2019 election, winning just 202 seats — its lowest total since the 1935 general election. The party's pathway since may be particularly relevant for the Democrats ahead of the 2026 congressional elections and 2028 presidential ballot, when President Donald Trump will be constitutionally barred from standing for reelection. It remains highly uncertain whether the political appeal that surrounds Trump today can be transferred to any single successor, even someone in his family. Instead, like Boris Johnson, whose Conservatives won in 2019 in an election shaped by Brexit, much of the president's Make America Great Again appeal may be tied to just one individual with unusual political strengths and weaknesses. Like Labour, the Democrats have proven themselves able to rejuvenate after major setbacks, including three straight presidential election defeats in the 1980s. The reason why the Democrats may now benefit from insights from Labour is that the nature of the Republican victory in 2024 had such parallels with the UK's Conservatives in 2019. What delivered Trump's win was his demolition of the Democrats' so-called blue wall, including in Michigan and Wisconsin. He also dented Democratic majorities in several northeastern states, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Meanwhile, Sun Belt states in the South held strong for Republicans. This pattern has significant similarities with Johnson's victory in 2019. Then, he knocked down the 'red wall' in the English North and Midlands, while retaining political predominance in Southern England. From humble origins, Labour has put its stamp on UK politics in the 20th and 21st centuries. Andrew Hammond Both Trump and Johnson effectively tapped into the anti-establishment mood that has shaped the Western political landscape since at least the international financial crisis that began in 2008. They both brought together powerful coalitions defined by cultural conservatism, including on immigration, with promises to support economically challenged regions. These insurgent coalitions were very unusual compared to those led by other Conservatives and Republicans in recent decades. For Johnson, a key focus was winning over voters in the areas Labour tended to regard as its historical political heartland. This saw him espousing what he called a 'leveling-up' agenda, with an ambition of seeking to spread economic and social opportunity more equally across the country. However, Johnson was forced out of office in 2022 after a series of scandals, despite some predictions in 2019 that he could remain in power for a decade. So, especially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, he got no big, sustained traction on his important agenda and Labour won back a critical mass of the red wall in 2024. While Trump's coalition won him power again last November, it may also fragment sooner rather than later, especially if the Democrats can respond as quickly to their defeat as Labour did after 2019. The US electorate, like that of the UK, remains febrile and will punish the Republicans if the party is perceived as not delivering in the coming years.
