Latest news with #SirKeir
The Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Peter Mandelson criticises ‘fetish' for scrapping EU rules that work in Britain's favour
Peter Mandelson has hit out at what he said was a 'fetish' for scrapping EU rules that work in Britain's favour but warned that Britain will not rejoin the bloc 'for the foreseeable future'. Speaking at the Atlantic Council in Washington, the UK's ambassador to the US defended Sir Keir's recently signed 'reset' deal with the EU, saying the previous deal Britain had struck with the bloc was 'pretty miserable' and denying that closer alignment would begin the process of Britain rejoining. 'Why make a fetish of dis-alignment when we know that it's in the interests of our business and traders to pursue and to follow those rules and standards', he said. The previous Conservative government had promised to scrap up to 4,000 EU laws as part of a post-Brexit bonfire of regulation, but watered down the plans almost entirely as a result of the massive administrative burden. Lord Mandelson also argued that Britain's job on the world stage is to 'be of huge usefulness, both to the United States and the European Union'. He added: 'We're not in the European Union anymore, and we're not going to go back for the foreseeable future, certainly. But we are European, a European country. 'We left the European Union with a pretty miserable deal, frankly, unfair to us, not particularly favourable in the long term to the EU.' Sir Keir – who has made the Brexit reset a centrepiece of his administration – said last week's summit marks a 'new era' of relations with the bloc, adding that it is about 'moving on from stale old debates' and 'looking forward, not backwards'. Lord Mandelson also used his Atlantic Council address to argue that the transatlantic alliance needs a 'boot up the backside', saying that Britain must work closely with the US to take on Chinese technological dominance. The UK's ambassador to the US argued Beijing represents a 'far more dynamic and formidable strategic rival than the Soviet Union ever was', urging Britain and the US to combine forces to 'drive the scientific breakthroughs that will define this century'. 'Rather than stifling these transformative technologies through excessive regulation, our two governments must unleash their immense potential for human benefit and Western advantage', he said. While Donald Trump almost blocked Lord Mandelson's ambassadorship because of concerns about his links to China, the Labour peer now appears to have turned against Beijing, saying there is 'there is nothing in this world I fear more than China winning the race for technological dominance'. The ambassador warned that there is now a 'new dynamic between China and the west', saying Britain and the US 'must not be afraid... to take on aspects of China's behaviour and policies'. He also urged European countries to step up their defence spending and stop 'living in a fantasy created by the US security guarantee', accusing Europe of having spent decades relying on the US to defend it in the face of global threats. Lord Mandelson said: "If we are serious about rebuilding confidence in the international system… we need to devote an enormous amount of energy and goodwill to preserve, sustain and deepen the alliances which exist between like-minded countries for the UK and the rest of Europe. 'We must reboot the transatlantic alliance. Indeed, a boot up the proverbial backside is needed now to deliver peace through strength across three interconnected domains - military, economic and technological." Lord Mandelson added: "We have lived in a fantasy created by the US security guarantee, complacent that a friendly heavyweight across the water would be always there when the going gets tough.'
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Welsh first minister says Starmer won't give her everything she wants
The Welsh government will not get everything it wants from the UK government's spending review, the first minister has Morgan had called on the prime minister to "cough up" extra funding for Wales ahead of meeting him on after it took place she urged people to be "patient" and said there were a "lot of pressures" on prime has criticised the PM over a list of complaints in recent weeks - the Conservative and Plaid Cymru have accused her of confecting a row in response to poor opinion polls. Plaid said all Morgan got from the meeting was a photograph, posted to the Welsh government's feed on Friday, Morgan argued for winter fuel payments to go to all but the richest of pensioners, and said she was worried Sir Keir's migration policy could harm she has called for a re-think on disability benefit cuts, for greater rail funding, for Wales to benefit more from wind generation on the Crown Estate and for a shake up to how the Welsh government is funded. It followed an ITV Wales interview where the first minister made spending demands of Sir there was a shift in tone from the first minister following her meeting in London, which she said was "really positive".Morgan's transport secretary Ken Skates had said earlier this week that he was "very, very confident that Wales will do well" from the spending told BBC Wales: "I made the case. We're all going to have to be patient and see what comes out the Spending Review."I'm clear that we're not going to get everything in the spending review but I will obviously be disappointed if we haven't landed a few points."She said Friday's meeting was "never going to be about locking ideas down"."It was about making sure I make the case before the spending review," she said."Success for me is to make sure that we deliver on the public's priorities, which was bringing down those waiting lists, making sure that we improve our rail system; making sure that we can build those 20,000 social homes that we promised."All of those things are things can only be delivered if because we've had that money from the UK government."Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to say how she intends to fund government departments for the next few years on 11 June. Morgan met Sir Keir as the Council of Nation and Regions took place in London, with other first ministers from Scotland and Northern Ireland and English mayors taking Cymru leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth, said Morgan had left "with nothing more than a photo with the prime minister."Eluned Morgan and Keir Starmer have walked the same walk and talked the same talk on all the issues which caused hardship and concern for the people of Wales."Even today, the First Minister secured no guarantees from the prime minster despite the bravado beforehand."Earlier on Friday the Welsh Conservatives Senedd leader Darren Millar said: "Fabricating rows between Labour in Wales and Labour in Westminster due to recent polls isn't fooling anyone."
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Court puts last-minute block on signing of Chagos Islands deal
A High Court judge has temporarily blocked the Government from concluding its deal on the Chagos Islands hours before it was expected to be signed off. Downing Street insisted the deal, which would see Britain give up sovereignty of the island territory to Mauritius and lease back a crucial military base there, is the 'right thing' but would not comment on the legal case. A hearing is expected to take place at 10.30am. Mr Justice Goose granted an injunction at 2.25am against the Foreign Office for 'interim relief' to Bertrice Pompe, one of two British women born on the Chagos Islands who had previously taken legal action over the deal. 'The defendant shall take no conclusive or legally binding step to conclude its negotiations concerning the possible transfer of the British Indian Ocean Territory, also known as the Chagos Archipelago, to a foreign government or bind itself as to the particular terms of any such transfer,' Mr Justice Goose said in his order. The last-minute hurdle is the latest stumbling block to Sir Keir's efforts to get the deal over the line. He had been expected to attend a virtual ceremony alongside representatives from the Mauritian government on Thursday morning to sign off on the deal after several weeks in which it appeared to be on hold over political difficulties. Under the injunction, the Government is required to 'maintain the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom over the British Indian Ocean Territory until further order'. The judge granted the injunction after considering an out of hours application from Ms Pompe and after reading a response from the Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister's office. A Government spokesperson said: 'We do not comment on ongoing legal cases. 'This deal is the right thing to protect the British people and our national security.' Critics of proposals to hand over the islands to Mauritius fear the move will benefit China, which has a growing reach in the region. The Conservatives are among those which have criticised Labour's handling of the negotiations, though they began discussing the handover with Mauritius when they were in power. Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said: 'If this group can force the Government to think twice, then all power to them.' He told Sky News it was a 'bad deal' and a 'sell-out for British interests'.
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Keir Starmer: I want to make more pensioners eligible for winter fuel payments
Sir Keir said the Government would act after first needing to 'stabilise the economy with tough decisions'.
Telegraph
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Boris Johnson brands Starmer ‘the orange ball chewing gimp of Brussels'
Boris Johnson has lambasted Sir Keir as the 'orange ball-chewing manacled gimp of Brussels' over his EU reset deal. Branding the agreement an 'appalling sell-out', the former prime minister said it was 'hopelessly one-sided' and 'sacrificed UK fishing interests'. He compared the deal – which gives European fishermen access to British waters for another 12 years – to the 'surrenderism' of his pact with Mauritius to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos islands. Labour MPs have also spoken out against the deal, with one describing it as a 'gift for Reform' for giving too much away on fishing. Sir Keir insisted the agreement was a 'win-win' for Britain during its launch in London on Monday, at a press conference alongside, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, and Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council. But critics point to the fact it gives European fishermen access to the UK's coastal waters – due to end next year – until June 2038. And it allows Brussels to introduce punitive measures on British exports if any future government decides to restrict this access. The deal also means that Britain will agree to EU regulations on agricultural produce and submit to the judgment of the European Court of Justice in case of disputes. The UK will also have to pay undisclosed sums to the European Union to join various schemes. 'Two-tier Keir' In a lengthy post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Johnson claimed this effectively meant 'two-tier Keir' had agreed to make Britain a 'non-voting member of a two-tier European Union'. 'Under this appalling sell-out of a deal, the UK will have to accept EU law on a host of measures from food standards to emissions trading,' he said. 'We will have to accept whatever changes the EU decides to make to those laws. 'We will have to accept the rulings of the European Court of Justice in the definition and enforcement of those laws. We will therefore lose our freedom to innovate in areas such as gene editing and much more besides.' The former prime minister said the UK would have no say in making the regulations – making Britain the 'non-voting punk of the EU Commission'. 'Sacrificed UK fishing interests' 'Two-tier Keir is the orange ball-chewing manacled gimp of Brussels,' he wrote. 'He has sacrificed UK fishing interests, handing over our seas to be plundered again – when under the current Brexit agreement we are on the point of taking back full legal control, next year, of every fish in our waters. 'He is clearly bent on signing up to a deal on free movement which could give 80 million younger EU nationals the right to come to this country… 'Most bizarrely of all he has agreed that Britain will once again be paying countless millions of pounds into EU coffers – for the privilege of becoming the non-voting punk of the EU Commission!' 'Wishy-washy' promises He said that in return, Britain had only received 'wishy-washy' promises to get rid of 'vexatious and unnecessary bureaucracy' affecting travellers. These include what Sir Keir had trumpeted as a deal to allow UK passport holders to use EU airport e-gates – but it later emerged the agreement had not yet been signed off by member states. Mr Johnson said there were 'no real guarantees that this will be enforced'. And he compared it to Theresa May's 2018 Chequers deal to leave the EU, which prompted Mr Johnson to quit as foreign secretary. 'Surrenderism of Chagos' 'This deal is hopelessly one-sided,' he wrote. 'It combines the vassalage of Chequers with the surrenderism of Chagos. 'Starmer promised at the election that he would not go back on Brexit. He has broken that promise as he broke his promise on tax. 'This deal should not be signed, should not be ratified and should never come into force and if it is the next Conservative government should kick it out forthwith.' A number of Labour MPs have criticised Sir Keir over the agreement, saying it could harm their chances at the next election in Brexit-voting areas. 'A gift for Reform' Graham Stringer, the MP for Blackley and Middleton South, told The Telegraph: 'I would have had more confidence in the negotiations if they hadn't been dominated by ministers who spent time and effort trying to overturn the original referendum decision by campaigning for a second referendum. 'I think far too much has been given away on fishing and I have no confidence we will ever get it back. 'It has destroyed one of the main reasons many people voted to leave the EU. It is a gift for Reform.' Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, branded the agreement a 'surrender deal' and promised to reverse it if the Conservatives are voted in at the next election. Asked if she would undo the new deal, the Tory leader told journalists at a press conference: 'We have said that if anything in the deal violated those five tests, that we would reverse them. 'Britain is Europe's largest defence power and has led the West in the response to the war in Ukraine, and yet, thanks to Labour's negotiating, we have ended up with a surrender deal. 'Perhaps that should have been no surprise. Anyone who watched Keir Starmer agree that we would pay Mauritius for our own territory in the Chagos Islands, or try to claim that a non-binding agreement with President Trump, which left us in a weaker position than a few months ago was historic.' She said the new deal on fishing rights puts the UK in a 'worse position than the Faroe Islands'. 'This deal will mean Britain becoming a rule taker, accepting dynamic alignment, giving up fishing rights, and paying new money to the EU, she said. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, called the agreement 'a total sell out', and warned it could spell the end of the UK's fishing industry. He added: 'It is wholly unnecessary and will finish off the industry. 'The Prime Minister thinks he'll get away with it but he perhaps underestimates how strong Brexit feeling still is in the Red Wall. 'The whole thing is an abject surrender from Starmer and politically, something he will come to regret.' The Liberal Democrats were the only opposition party to defend the deal. Daisy Cooper MP, Treasury spokesman, said: 'This agreement marks a first step towards addressing the damage done by the Conservatives. 'But with more ambition, the economic benefits of today's deal could have been up to 10 times greater, even within the Government's existing red lines. 'The Government has got to show far more ambition if we are to truly unlock the benefits of a renewed relationship with our European partners for communities across the UK.'
