Starmer tells Macron he wants 'stronger' UK-France relationship at Paris meeting

Sir Keir Starmer told Emmanuel Macron that he would seek to build an “even stronger” relationship between the UK and France if Labour wins power at the next general election.

The Labour leader and the French President held talks in Paris today, with post-Brexit relations expected to feature prominently in their discussion.

Sir Keir told broadcasters that it was a “very, very good meeting” and it was “really good to have that opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues, as you’d imagine, covering a lot of ground”.

He said: “[We had a] positive meeting which as you can imagine covered a wide range of issues.

“It was my first opportunity to say how much I value the relationship between our two countries, particularly when it comes to prosperity and security and how, if we are privileged enough to be elected into power, I intend to build on that relationship and make it even stronger than it is today. So a very, very good meeting.”

The meeting took place after Sir Keir’s hopes of achieving a “closer trading relationship” with the EU were dealt a blow.

A new report by the UK in a Changing Europe think tank said it would be “challenging” for Labour to persuade Brussels to agree to a major rewrite of the Brexit trade deal.

04:01 PM BST

That's all for today...

Thanks for joining us on another busy day across Westminster and beyond.

My colleague Jack Maidment will be back early tomorrow to guide you through the day.

03:59 PM BST

Patrick O'Flynn: You’d have to pay me to buy an electric car

Who remembers those simpler, happier days when the consumer was king? asks Patrick O’Flynn. Retail outlets used to offer goods for sale and customers would just choose the stuff they liked.

Read Patrick’s full column here

03:43 PM BST

UK Government acted unlawfully by quashing Scottish self-ID gender law, Lord Advocate tells court

Nicola Sturgeon’s self-ID gender legislation was vetoed unlawfully by the UK Government, SNP ministers have argued in court.

Simon Johnson, our Scottish Political Editor, has more here

03:20 PM BST

Tory chairman on Birmingham: 'Where Labour run something, they run it badly'

03:17 PM BST

UK spending £8 million a day housing migrants, Home Office figures show

The Home Office is now spending £8 million a day on hotels for asylum seekers, it has emerged, up by a third on the previous year amid the small boats crisis.

Migrants are being housed in around 400 hotels across the UK while their claims are processed, including four-star country estates and popular tourist hotels in city centres.

Ministers are trying to reduce the amount of accommodation being used, including through the use of the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset, the first of its kind.

Last October, the Home Affairs Committee was told that £5.6 million a day was being spent on hotels for people who have arrived in the UK and submitted an asylum claim.

Read the full story here

03:10 PM BST

Melvyn Bragg complains Gary Lineker’s salary is ‘27 times’ more than his

Melvyn Bragg has complained Gary Lineker’s salary is “27 times” higher than his own as he criticised “ridiculous” pay packets handed out by the BBC.

The broadcaster and Labour peer highlighted the disparities between his pay and Lineker’s despite claiming weekly audience figures for his Radio 4 series In Our Time were similar to Match of the Day’s on BBC One.

Lineker is the highest earning BBC presenter, banking £1.35 million in the previous financial year, according to the BBC’s annual report released in July.

According to Lord Bragg’s own estimation, his BBC salary is around £50,000.

Catherine Lough has the story here

02:49 PM BST

Pictured: Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt chew the fat at Cabinet

02:34 PM BST

Michael Gove: Labour-led councils have shown 'comprehensive mismanagement'

Responding to Angela Rayner’s claims (see 2:31pm), Michael Gove said responsibility for the failure of Birmingham Council “does need to be shared” between elected members and officials.

“I didn’t mention anything explicitly party political in my statement,” Mr Gove said, emphasising a need to work on a cross-party basis to deal with the issue.

However, he added: “Given the honourable lady did mention the party politics of it, I think it’s important that we recognise that this intervention in Birmingham, like our intervention in Sandwell, like our intervention in Liverpool, have all been interventions in Labour-led local authorities, that have comprehensive mismanagement extending back over years.

“And it is simply not good enough to say that Birmingham has not received the support that it needed... Labour-led local authorities have been supported with funding and also supported with the help of the West Midlands Combined Authority as well. Why is it that Labour Sandwell and Labour Birmingham that are failing, when the Conservative leadership of Andy Street has seen record investment and record housebuilding delivered?”

02:31 PM BST

Rayner suggests Tories to blame for Birmingham Council cash crisis

Angela Rayner accused the Conservatives of causing a “crisis in local government” while in power and said the Government had “serious questions to answer” over Birmingham Council’s bankruptcy.

Ms Rayner, Labour’s shadow levelling up secretary, asked Mr Gove whether his officials would consider similar measures for other councils struggling financially.

She also said £1bn had been “taken from the pockets” of local authorities in the past decade, arguing Birmingham, which is Labour-run, had struggled as a result of Conservative cuts to public services.

“The truth is this crisis in local government has been caused by the Conservatives’ wrecking ball. With every swing another local council is pushed to the brink and another local community falls over the edge,” Ms Rayner said. “A Labour government would oversee sustainable long-term funding increases for councils.”

02:23 PM BST

Gove attacks 'woeful mismanagement' of Birmingham council

Michael Gove has announced new measures to target the “woeful mismanagement” and “ineffective” performance of Birmingham City Council, as he took aim at a failure to deliver for residents.

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary said the Government needed to act after the council declared itself bankrupt earlier this month by issuing a section 114 notice, meaning it has to halt all new spending.

Mr Gove said he proposes to appoint commisssioners and launch a local inquiry into “significant shortcomings” on the part of the local authority.

“The residents and businesses of Birmingham deserve better,” he added, outlining plans for statutory directions to the council on a range of matters, including the council’s financial governance.

“I will take whatever steps are necessary to uphold the good name of local government [and] protect the residents of that great city.”

02:04 PM BST

'Warm' and 'constructive': French president is here for Keir

Christopher Hope, political editor at GB News and The Telegraph’s Peterborough diarist, is in Paris and has bumped into Sir Keir Starmer after the Labour leader’s meeting with Emmanuel Macron.

The pair spoke for 45 minutes, with no advisers present, in English. Sir Keir gave Macron an Arsenal shirt with the number 25, representing his status as the 25th president, and “MACRON” on the back, while Macron gave Starmer cufflinks.

The conversation was described as “warm” and “constructive”. It was the pair’s first ever sit down chat having met previously on the margins of the Queen’s funeral and the King’s coronation.

Brexit was discussed along with other issues, sources said.

02:00 PM BST

Dame Caroline Dinenage: Brand allegations 'raise significant questions'

The chairman of the Commons culture committee has written to the heads of the BBC and Channel 4 urging them to tell her when their investigations into Russell Brand will be completed, writes Genevieve Holl-Allen.

Dame Caroline Dinenage told Sir Tim Davie and Alex Mahon that anyone who had reported incidents concerning Brand should report them to the police.

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee chairman also asked for “all information that can be disclosed publicly” about the broadcasters’ internal investigations to be released.

In the letters, published on Monday, Dame Caroline wrote that the allegations regarding the disgraced comedian “raise significant questions not only about the culture of the industry in the past but whether that culture still prevails today.”

She added that the BBC and Channel 4 should “do everything possible not only to ensure that employees, contributors and suppliers feel safe at work, but also create an environment whereby people can speak out when procedures are breached.

01:53 PM BST

'The children were all petitioning me to stay in the Portakabin'

The Education Secretary has claimed children affected by crumbling schools are happier in their temporary learning spaces than in at-risk buildings.

Gillian Keegan was updating the Commons on the Government’s response to the Raac crisis, with arrangements made to deal with classrooms which contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Responding to a question from Sir Robin Walker, the chairman of the education select committee, Ms Keegan said: “There is 11 Raac schools that already have temporary buildings that have been installed, are in use. There is a further 28 sites, I think it is, that have made inquiries and have requested potential orders. As he rightly said, 180 single classrooms, 68 double classrooms plus a mixture of WC toilet provision.”

“I would just like to say as well in terms of the Portakabins, I have been to a number of these schools and seen children and met children in the Portakabins, and in fact at the first school I went to the children were all petitioning me to stay in the Portakabin because they actually preferred it to the classroom.”

When heckled by Briget Phillipson, her opposite number, Ms Keegan added: “The Portakabins are very high quality and I would advise her to go and see some of the high quality Portakabins that we have, and that is true.”

01:42 PM BST

Good afternoon

Dominic Penna here, The Telegraph’s Political Reporter, guiding you through the rest of the day.

Britain could rejoin the European Union as an “associate member” under plans for the bloc’s dramatic expansion drawn up by France and Germany.

The country would be expected to contribute to the EU’s annual budget and be governed by the European Court of Justice in exchange for “participation” in its Single Market.

The plan will be officially unveiled this afternoon as Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, meets France’s Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

Joe Barnes, our Brussels Correspondent, has more here

01:30 PM BST

Starmer hails 'very, very good' meeting with Macron

Sir Keir Starmer said he had a “very, very good meeting” with Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

The Labour leader said he had set out to the French President that he wanted to make the UK-France relationship “even stronger that it is today”.

Speaking to broadcasters, Sir Keir said: “[We had a] positive meeting which as you can imagine covered a wide range of issues. It was my first opportunity to say how much I value the relationship between our two countries, particularly when it comes to prosperity and security and how, if we are privileged enough to be elected into power, I intend to build on that relationship and make it even stronger than it is today.

“So a very, very good meeting.”

Sir Keir said it was a “really good to have that opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues, as you’d imagine, covering a lot of ground”.

01:20 PM BST

Britain’s economy almost as weak as Argentina, warns OECD

Britain will be one of the worst performing advanced economies this year and next, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned, with only Argentina performing worse over the next two years.

The organisation said Britain’s growth this year would only outpace Germany and Argentina, while next year only Argentina will be below the UK.

You can read the full story here.

12:58 PM BST

Labour criticise Tories over 'astronomical' spend on asylum hotels

Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, has responded to the news that the daily spend on asylum hotels has now risen to £8million (see the post below at 12.31), labelling the figure “astronomical”.

She said: “This report illustrates the staggering costs of the Tories’ asylum chaos, with the taxpayer now spending an astronomical £8million a day on hotels and the costs still going up and up. That is the price of the Conservatives’ utter failure to get a grip on this issue - now costing over £3billion a year.

“Shockingly, the cost of hotel accommodation has gone up by a third since Rishi Sunak promised to end hotel use. The Tories have busted the Home Office budget, they’ve broken the asylum system, and the British people are paying the price.”

12:45 PM BST

Macron to give Starmer cufflinks

Emmanuel Macron will seek to break the ice with Keir Starmer when the two men meet at the French presidential palace on Tuesday by handing the Labour leader a pair of cufflinks with the Elysée logo, The Telegraph understands.

The Labour leader, who this weekend said he would use the meeting to “attempt to get a much better deal for the UK” with the EU, is expected to offer the French president an Arsenal shirt. Mr Macron is a fervent fan of the French team Olympique de Marseille.

You can read the full story here.

12:31 PM BST

Daily cost of asylum hotels rises to £8million

The daily cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels has risen to £8million, according to the Home Office’s annual accounts for 2022/23.

The previous estimate for the daily cost of the accommodation was £6million.

The annual accounts document, published today, stated: “We need to stop the boats to relieve the unsustainable pressure on our asylum system and accommodation services, which is costing over £3 billion a year.

“The Illegal Migration Act will ensure anyone arriving illegally can be detained and swiftly removed, so that people know they cannot skip the queue by coming here illegally. This goes further than ever before to do what is necessary to fix the issue, but legislative changes take time and there is no single silver bullet.

“In the meantime, we must take action to address the unacceptable costs of housing migrants in hotels which is costing the taxpayer around £8 million a day. The Minister for Immigration has set out the measures we are taking to correct the injustice of the current situation.”

12:26 PM BST

Starmer promises 'economic stability' in bid to win foreign investment

12:22 PM BST

City watchdog finds ‘no evidence’ of debanking – but admits it didn’t look at Farage case

The City watchdog has claimed that it found “no evidence” that customers have been debanked for their political views but admitted that it did not examine Nigel Farage’s case at Coutts.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that information supplied by banks, building societies and payment companies suggested that no accounts were “primarily” closed because of a customer’s political beliefs between July 2022 and June 2023.

You can read the full story here.

12:19 PM BST

HS2 and NHS strikes not discussed at Cabinet

Neither HS2 nor NHS strikes were discussed at this morning’s meeting of the Cabinet, No10 said.

There has been speculation in recent weeks that the Government could axe the northern leg of the high speed railway between Birmingham and Manchester to save money.

Meanwhile, consultants and junior doctors are both staging major walkouts across the health service this week.

Asked if either issue was discussed at Cabinet, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman said they had not been.

12:14 PM BST

UK to host second global investment summit

The UK will hold a second global investment summit later this year, Downing Street has announced.

The event, designed to boost investment in the UK and create more jobs, will take place on Monday November 27.

No10 said Rishi Sunak had told his Cabinet this morning that it will build “on the legacy of the first summit in 2021 which raised billions in new investment and created thousands of jobs across the country”.

It will “showcase why the UK continues to be the best place in Europe to invest and do business”, No10 said. A location for the summit is yet to be confirmed.

12:00 PM BST

Rachel Reeves vows to work with European allies to 'bring growth back to Britain'

11:39 AM BST

Pictured: Penny Mordaunt leaves Downing Street after attending Cabinet meeting

11:29 AM BST

Lib Dems: UK economy 'stuck in the slow lane'

The UK economy is “stuck in the slow lane” under the current Government, the Liberal Democrats claimed, after the OECD downgraded its growth forecast (see the post below at 10.18).

Sarah Olney, the Lib Dems’ Treasury spokeswoman, said: “This damning report shows that under the Conservatives, the UK economy is stuck in the slow lane. We’ve had zero apology from Liz Truss for trashing the economy, and now zero plan from Rishi Sunak to fix it.

“It’s time for a proper plan to grow the economy and tackle the cost of living. That means boosting apprenticeships to tackle skills shortages and helping exporters by fixing the government’s botched trade deal with Europe.”

11:13 AM BST

Labour criticise 'Inaction Man' Sunak over downgraded economic forecast

Labour said the OECD’s downgraded forecast for the UK economy for next year (see the post below at 10.18) showed the “Tories are delivering more of the same”.

Darren Jones, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “Our ‘Inaction Man’ Prime Minister is too weak to turn things around, while his predecessor Liz Truss calls for even more uncosted policies that crashed the economy this time last year.

“Businesses and workers across the country deserve better, which is why Labour has a plan for the economy to boost growth, increase wages and bring down bills so working people are better off.”

10:58 AM BST

Tory chairman claims Starmer wants to 'take Britain back to square one' on Brexit

10:39 AM BST

Poll: Just one in four voters think Starmer is clear about what he stands for

Just one in four voters believe Sir Keir Starmer is clear about what he stands for, according to a new YouGov poll.

YouGov asked people in a survey conducted on September 15 if they thought the Labour leader was clear or unclear about what he stands for.

One quarter - 25 per cent - said they believed he was clear, with 20 per cent saying “fairly clear” and five per cent saying “very clear”.

Meanwhile, a majority - 53 per cent -  said they believed he was unclear, with 26 per cent saying “very unclear” and 27 per cent saying “fairly unclear”.

10:18 AM BST

Chancellor responds to downgraded economic forecast by OECD

The UK economy is forecast to grow by 0.3 per cent in 2023 and by 0.8 per cent in 2024, according to numbers set out in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s interim report on the global economic outlook in September.

The 0.8 per cent figure for next year represented a 0.2 percentage point downgrade by the OECD when compared to its previous forecast.

Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, said: “Today the OECD have set out a challenging global picture, but it is good news that they expect UK inflation to drop below three per cent next year.

“It is only by halving inflation that we can deliver higher growth and living standards. We were among the fastest in the G7 to recover from the pandemic, and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) have said we will grow faster than Germany, France and Italy in the long term.”

10:00 AM BST

Pictured: Ministers arrive in Downing Street ahead of Cabinet meeting

09:51 AM BST

Number of schools affected by crumbling concrete crisis rises

The number of schools and other education settings with collapse-prone reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Racc) has increased.

An updated list from the Department for Education which was published this morning showed that a total of 174 education settings in England had Raac present as of September 14.

The original list – published in the first week of September – showed there were 147 schools and colleges with Raac as of August 30.

09:49 AM BST

Pay offer to NHS staff is ‘fair and final’, says Health Secretary

The Health Secretary has told striking NHS workers that the Government has set out its “fair and final position” on pay rises.

Asked if he was partially to blame for the ongoing industrial action in the health service, Steve Barclay told Times Radio: “We reached an agreement with over a million NHS staff through the agenda for change, I have very regular discussions with staff groups in terms of issues within the NHS.

“The Prime Minister, the Government has been very clear that in terms of pay for this year, we have said a fair and final position.

“But of course we are open to discussion in terms of the wider issues and on pay issues we have said that consistently.”

09:45 AM BST

Steve Barclay: NHS strikes ‘risk damaging patients’

Steve Barclay said strikes this week by NHS consultants and junior doctors “risk damaging patients”.

Consultants are walking out in a dispute over pay on Tuesday and Wednesday this week as well as on October 2, 3 and 4. Junior doctors, who have held 19 days of strike action since March, will walk out on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week, and October 2, 3 and 4.

Asked if the situation in the NHS during the strikes was “unsafe”, the Health Secretary told Times Radio: “The strikes risk damaging patients, that is the concern, that is what the Government has said throughout.

“That is why, where there are concerns locally by NHS leaders, they look to put in place exemptions and sometimes those are agreed.

“A Christmas Day service means that life threatening issues are covered. That is what a Christmas Day service [is].

“But it does mean important things are delayed or cancelled and that is the balance we are trying to get right by having legislation which protects those things that are particularly time critical.”

09:23 AM BST

'The incentives for the EU to return to the negotiating table will likely remain low'

A Labour government would have to offer the European Union “tangible benefits” to persuade the bloc to agree to a major overhaul of the existing Brexit trade deal, a new think tank report has suggested.

The UK in a Changing Europe report said the election of a Labour government “would likely increase the impetus on the UK side for a more ambitious review” of the trade deal in 2025/26.

It continued: “External factors like developments in the European neighbourhood, the results of the US election or climate events could also encourage both sides to seek closer cooperation in some areas.

“Yet the incentives for the EU to return to the negotiating table will likely remain low. The EU is tired of Brexit, has many higher priorities, and is generally happy with a trade deal which favours trade in goods over trade in services.

“The onus will therefore be on the UK government to persuade politicians in the EU, if it wants to build on the current relationship. In so doing, the UK would have to think carefully about its approach. It will first have to improve the level of trust in the relationship, and then offer tangible benefits to the EU which can be negotiated in the relatively short term. It will also have to consider how much sovereignty it is willing to give away for trade easements.”

08:57 AM BST

Pictured: Sir Keir Starmer meets with business leaders in Paris this morning

08:47 AM BST

Starmer risks 'demanding more than the EU is willing to give'

Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe think tank, said Sir Keir Starmer risked “demanding more than the European Union is willing to give” by seeking a major rewrite of the Brexit deal.

He said: “Keir Starmer’s desire to secure a ‘much better’ Brexit deal for the UK is all well and good.

“However, he failed to explain how tinkering with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement will make a meaningful economic difference. Moreover, he runs the risk of demanding more than the European Union is willing to give.

“The UK is not a priority for the EU, which remains relatively happy with the TCA. The key for a Labour government will be figuring out a way to provide the EU with an incentive to restart negotiations over Brexit.”

08:37 AM BST

EU believes Brexit trade deal is 'working well' and has 'higher priorities' than a Labour rewrite

Today’s report by the UK in a Changing Europe think tank (you can read the full thing here) suggested Labour and the EU are in two very different places when it comes to reviewing the Brexit deal.

It said the EU has “general satisfaction” with the current Trade and Cooperation Agreement and believes it is “working well”. The bloc also has “significant Brexit fatigue” and it has “higher priorities” than a major overhaul of the Brexit pact.

The report said: “At the moment, the EU has a clear minimalist position: a short, technical review of the treaty’s implementation in 2026. It also considers that the parties can take steps to improve the functioning of the current TCA at any time (through the TCA’s governance framework) without waiting for the review.

“The EU’s position stems from a general satisfaction with the TCA, which it considers to be working well. Moreover, there is significant Brexit fatigue in Brussels, trust in the UK remains low, and the EU has a long list of higher priorities.

“If the review is to be anything other than a short, technical exercise, the onus will be on the UK to incentivise the EU to shift its position.”

The report suggested that if Labour maintains its position of wanting a significant rewrite then “it will need to persuade the EU to undertake an expansive TCA review”.

08:29 AM BST

New report: Would be 'challenging' for Labour to persuade EU to rewrite Brexit deal

Sir Keir Starmer has said a Labour government would seek to rewrite the existing Brexit deal when it is up for review in 2025/26. Sir Keir said he wanted to deliver a “closer trading relationship”.

But a new report published this morning by the UK in a Changing Europe think tank has cast doubts on whether the EU would agree to a major overhaul of the existing Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The report said: “The review has been identified by some, most notably the Labour Party, as an opportunity to expand the terms of the TCA, as a way of reducing barriers to trade.

“Yet this report finds that using the review for such ends will be challenging, for both political and practical reasons.”

08:23 AM BST

Sir Keir Starmer in Paris for talks with Emmanuel Macron

Sir Keir Starmer is set to hold talks with Emmanuel Macron in Paris this morning as the Labour leader concludes his world tour with a trip to the French capital.

The Labour leader will meet with the French President behind-closed-doors at about 11am UK time.

Sir Keir said ahead of the introductory meetings that a Labour government would “improve our relationship with Europe and make Brexit work for Britain”.

However, a new report published today by the UK in a Changing Europe think tank has dealt a blow to Sir Keir’s hopes of rewriting the current Brexit deal.

I will provide a breakdown of the report in the next few posts.