Sir Keir Starmer is in the White House to meet US President Joe Biden to discuss conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
The prime minister and Mr Biden are expected to consider Kyiv’s request to be able to use Western Storm Shadow long-range missiles in Russian territory.
But President Putin said such a move would mean that Russia would be “at war with Nato”.
Speaking to reporters during a flight to Washington DC, Sir Keir said Russia started the conflict in Ukraine and it can end the war “straight away”.
During the trip, he admitted there had been no impact assessment of how the decision to cut winter fuel payments will affect millions of pensioners.
And this week the PM warned the NHS would receive “no more money without reform” during a major speech where he blamed the Conservative government for “critical failures”.
A review by Lord Darzi found the health service is “in serious trouble” and Sir Keir is launching a 10-year-plan to address the problems.
As part of a new health initiative, Labour pledged to ban junk food advertising on TV completely and online before 9pm.
Key Points
- Winter fuel payments: Starmer admits no impact assessment has been carried out
- Starmer and Biden to discuss Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons, says minister
- Putin warns West about approving Storm Shadow missiles
- Labour to nationalise National Grid’s Electricity System Operator
COMMENT | What Starmer’s Washington visit could mean for Ukraine
08:45
Salma Ouaguira
The prime minister’s trip to the White House could provide an answer to President Zelensky’s prayers to use Western-made long-range missiles, writes Mary Dejevsky:
For once, a UK prime minister’s visit to Washington could offer more than the usual formulaic courtesies and obligatory references to the “special relationship”. Sir Keir Starmer’s meeting with President Biden at the White House could provide the opportunity for the US to announce that it is acceding to Ukraine’s long-standing pleas to use US- and UK-supplied missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia.
It is a perilous moment, and those with longer memories might sense the ghosts of another fateful UK-US encounter haunting the scene: the meeting between Tony Blair and George W Bush at Camp David in September 2002, where Blair gave Bush a degree of international cover, in the form of his unconditional support, for the invasion of Iraq.
Read Mary Dejevsky’s full opinion piece below:
Independent readers divided over Keir Starmer’s decision to suspend some arm sales to Israel
08:30
Salma Ouaguira
While some viewed the arms suspension as a mere ‘token gesture’ that doesn’t go far enough, others argued Israel has a right to defend itself.
Here’s what you had to say:
VOICES | The one glaring omission from the devastating report into the NHS? Brexit
08:20
Salma Ouaguira
The latest review of the health service is a substantial, thoroughgoing and even radical piece of work, writes Sean O’Grady. But it doesn’t mention the 2016 referendum once – despite its enormous impact.
Putin issues warning about Storm Shadow missiles
08:17
Salma Ouaguira
Sir Keir Starmer and Joe Biden are set to agree on a deal to allow Ukraine to open up a new front in the war with Russia by using Western Storm Shadow long-range missiles.
But President Putin said such a move would mean that Russia would be “at war with Nato”.
“So this is not a question of allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons or not. It is a question of deciding whether or not Nato countries are directly involved in a military conflict,” Mr Putin told Russian state TV.
In response, Sir Keir told journalists on the flight to Washington DC: “First, to reiterate, it was Russia who started this in the first place. They caused the conflict, they’re the ones who are acting unlawfully. And Ukraine obviously has the right to self-defence.
“That is why we have been providing training and capability. And, you know, there are obviously further discussions to be had about the nature of that capability.
“What I want to do is make sure that those discussions, tactical discussions, are set in the proper strategic context of the situation in Ukraine. And there are, equally, tactical issues in relation to the Middle East, which need to be set in a context which is strategic, not just tactical.”
Where is Keir Starmer today?
08:13
Salma Ouaguira
Sir Keir Starmer is in Washington DC to meet the US President Joe Biden to discuss conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine.
The prime minister has a packed agenda at the White House today where he will meet Mr Biden with Kyiv’s request to open up a new front in the war with Russia by using Western Storm Shadow long-range missiles.
The bilateral summit has been carefully choreographed with foreign secretary David Lammy and US secretary of state Antony Blinken making a joint visit to Kyiv this week.
It is understood that the prime minister and the president want to thrash out a long-term victory plan for Ukraine.
Starmer stares down Putin as he and Biden prepare missiles decision
08:10
Salma Ouaguira
Sir Keir Starmer defiantly stared down a threat of retaliation by Vladimir Putin as he flew out to Washington DC for talks with Joe Biden on the Ukraine war.
The prime minister and the US president are believed to be on the cusp of allowing Kyiv to open up a new front in the war with Russia by using Western Storm Shadow long-range missiles.
But in a message apparently timed for when Sir Keir and his entourage were over the Atlantic on their way to the US, President Putin said such a move would mean that Russia would be “at war with Nato”.
Our political editor David Maddox reports from Washington DC:
Ed Miliband says new energy grid ‘marks a milestone’
08:04
Salma Ouaguira
The energy secretary has praised the move to bring the National Energy System Operator into public ownership.
He said: “Today marks a milestone for Britain’s energy system as we bring the system operator into public ownership to provide impartial, whole-system expertise on building a network that is fit for the future.
“The new National Energy System Operator has a huge role to play in delivering our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.
“This is another step forward by a government in a hurry to deliver for the British people.”
John Pettigrew, chief executive of National Grid, said: “We look forward to working together with NESO to continue to drive the UK’s energy transition forward at pace; accelerating the decarbonisation of the energy system for the digital, electrified economies of the future.”
Labour to nationalise National Grid’s Electricity System Operator
08:00
Salma Ouaguira
The government is to bring National Grid’s Electricity System Operator arm into public ownership after striking a deal worth £630 million.
The move is part of the launch of the new National Energy System Operator (NESO) – a public body designed to aid the UK’s clean energy transition and support energy security.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the new body will launch on 1 October following the deal with National Grid.
National Grid said the “final cash consideration” for the sale is still subject to potential adjustments before the deal closes.
Pictured: Keir Starmer arrives to Washington DC
07:50
Salma Ouaguira
Minister urges Putin to end war now
07:44
Salma Ouaguira
Science and technology secretary has suggested the west should not listen to Vladimir Putin’s threats.
Peter Kyle told Sky News: “President Putin has continually made threats, but the bottom line has never changed in this.
“If this war could end quickly, it could do so because of President Putin, who could decide to win this war straight away.
“He started the war. He did so in an illegal way. He did so in an unprovoked way. He could end the war by just turning off the aggression that he’s shown consistently since the very beginning. And return this continent to peace.
“I urge him to do so.”
Pupils may be missing school on Fridays as parents ‘try to beat holiday traffic’
07:40
Salma Ouaguira
Pupils could be missing school on Fridays because their parents are trying to avoid bank holiday traffic or they want longer holidays, a study has suggested.
Absences from school at the end of the week are more common ahead of bank holidays or half-term breaks, according to economists from the University of Bath.
The study, published in the British Educational Research Journal, has concluded that the extension of holidays or attempting to beat bank holiday traffic might explain the “Friday effect”.
It comes after Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson recently described the number of children missing school in England as an “absence epidemic”.
Parents in England who take their children out of class without permission are facing higher fines this year as part of a Government drive to boost attendance since the Covid-19 pandemic.
In May, then Education Secretary Gillian Keegan suggested that parents working from home could have contributed to a rise in children skipping school on Fridays.
But Bath University researchers concluded that there was “no evidence” that parents working from home was driving the higher absence rates on Fridays.
The study used daily level attendance data at local authority level collected by the Department for Education (DfE) from the beginning of the academic year 2022/2023.
The researchers found significantly lower school attendance rates on Fridays across England, with a 20% higher absence rate compared to other days.
Minister: Starmer and Biden to discuss Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons
07:38
Salma Ouaguira
Science and technology secretary Peter Kyle has confrimed Sir Keir Starmer and Joe Bifen will discuss Ukraine’s demand to use Western long-range missiles in Russia.
During their meeting at the White House today, both leaders will cover topics of Ukraine and Palestine.
The minister told Sky News: “That is clearly going to be one of the items that they’re going to discuss. I think they want to discuss Ukraine in the round.
“I think they want to understand where the conflict has got to. They want to try to understand, you know, the behaviour of President Putin.
“He’s increasingly erratic. His volatility is causing huge instability, not just in Ukraine and the immediate region, but around the world as well.
“I know that the two leaders are going to want to get together and talk about that, but also all of the big things that are happening in the world at the moment.”
UK national debt could reach nearly 300% of GDP in next 50 years
07:30
Salma Ouaguira
The UK’s national debt is on an “unsustainable path” and is set to nearly triple in relation to the economy over the next 50 years, the Office for Budget Responsibility has warned.
Public debt is currently at its highest since the early 1960s, sitting at a total of some £2.7trn – equating to around 99.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Read the full story below:
Winter fuel payments: Starmer admits no impact assessment has been carried out
07:20
Salma Ouaguira
Sir Keir Starmer has admitted there has been no impact assessment of how the decision to cut pensioners of winter fuel payments will affect them.
The prime minister said he had not been shown any reports about the consequences of his decision.
Speaking to reporters during a flight to Washington DC, he said: “There isn’t a report on my desk which somehow we’re not showing, that I’m not showing, as simple as that.”
Sir Keir said his cabinet was not legally obliged to carry out an official assessment of the plan to be done in advance.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “There are clear rules on this that we followed carefully.”
Winter fuel payments tied to council tax bands ‘not possible’, says minister
07:08
Salma Ouaguira
Winter fuel payments based on council tax banding “would not be possible”, the pensions minister has warned, as she revealed the Government has not set a target for pension credit uptake.
Responding to a written question by Labour MP Rachael Maskell, Emma Reynolds said banding based on property values may not accurately reflect taxpayers’ incomes.
The Government has axed the universal winter fuel payment, which all pensioners used to receive regardless of their income, and replaced it with an allowance available to pensioners on means-tested benefits, including pension credit and universal credit.
Ms Reynolds vowed to “work with external partners, local authorities and the devolved governments to boost the take-up of pension credit” but declined to say how many pensioners she would like to see sign up, in response to a further written question from Democratic Unionist Party MP Gregory Campbell.
MPs voted 348 to 228 to cut the seasonal payment for all but the country’s poorest pensioners on Tuesday, rejecting a Conservative bid for the controversial policy to be blocked.
Does our technocrat PM believe he is above politics?
07:00
Salma Ouaguira
Keir Starmer’s growing impatience with the House of Commons suggests that, having come late to politics, he thinks he is better than those who have spent their lives doing nothing but politics, says John Rentoul:
Waiting lists for routine treatment unchanged after three monthly increases
06:30
Salma Ouaguira
The size of the waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England was unchanged in July, following three consecutive monthly increases, figures show.
An estimated 7.62 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of July, relating to 6.39 million patients, NHS England said.
The list hit a record high in September 2023 with 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients, after which the figures fell for several months before rising in April, May and June of this year.
Streeting: We need to be tough on ill health, tough on the causes of ill health
06:00
Salma Ouaguira
Wes Streeting has pledged to be “tough on ill health, tough on the causes of ill health” as he evoked the spirit of New Labour in the House of Commons.
The health secretary gave a nod to Sir Tony Blair’s “tough on crime” mantra as he outlined a “national mission” to improve health opportunities across the country.
Mr Streeting said he wants to be “honest about the problems” facing the NHS and be “serious about fixing them”, as he updated MPs about the “raw, honest and breath-taking” Darzi report commissioned by the new government.
Respected surgeon and former Labour health minister Lord Darzi’s rapid review said the health service “is in critical condition, but its vital signs are strong”.
Speaking in the Commons, Labour MP Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) warned a person’s socio-economic circumstances will “drive their health status”.
She added: “We don’t want to see the position where for every 1% increase in child poverty, six additional babies per 100,000 live births will not reach their first birthday.”
Mr Streeting replied: “She’s absolutely right about the social determinants of ill health and that is why I am genuinely excited that with the mission-driven approach that the Prime Minister has set out, we are already bringing together Whitehall departments, traditionally siloed, to work together on attacking those social determinants.
“And the real potential and the real game-changer is taking genuine cross-departmental working with also working alongside business, civil society and all of us as active citizens to mobilise the whole country in pursuit of that national mission.
“Tough on ill health, tough on the causes of ill health, as someone might have said.”
NHS not underfunded, says leading clinician
05:30
Salma Ouaguira
Professor Sir John Bell has denied Labour claims that the NHS is underfunded and warned the answer to the crisis in the service is not more money.
He told the BBC: “I think it [the NHS] is not underfunded to be honest. I think we need to get better at using the money that is in it.
“We did run a healthcare service for actually many of my early years when I was a practising physician which was profoundly underfunded and the outcomes weren’t bad, people did pretty well.
“But then over the last five, 10 years we have been pumping up the amount of money going into the NHS so when you look at it as a comparator, as a percentage of GDP we actually spend more money than Spain, we spend more money than Japan, we spend more money than a lot of developed economies that have healthcare systems that deliver much better outcomes.
“So the answer is not in my view pouring more money or indeed pouring more people into the system.”
I’d have stayed on if I knew we wouldn’t be independent 10 years on – Salmond
05:00
Salma Ouaguira
Former first minister Alex Salmond has said he would have stayed on in the role after the 2014 referendum if he knew Scotland would still not be independent after a decade.
Mr Salmond made the decision to step down the day after the vote – which the Yes campaign lost by 55% to 45%.
But in recent months, he has described the move as a “mistake”.
Speaking in a new documentary by ITV Border about the 10th anniversary of the independence referendum – named A Decade of Debate – Mr Salmond said he would not have handed off the reins to deputy Nicola Sturgeon at the time had he known how the next 10 years would play out.
“I thought to make a point of departure for the referendum in the future was a right thing for the national movement. Looking back, that was a mistake,” he said.
“Now, in retrospect, that was a daft thing to do. But then… I thought we were set for independence in a reasonable timescale.”
He added: “If you’d told me then that ten years later, we’d still be waiting despite the manifest opportunities there have been, then I would have said, ‘well, I’ll just hang about then and see the matter through.”
But Ms Sturgeon questioned if that would be the case.
“So clearly he’s going to think that he could have done things so much better. I say that in as gentle a way as possible, to coin one of his favourite phrases,” she told the documentary.
Sending more doctors to the NHS like ‘sending more guys into the Battle of the Somme'
04:50
Salma Ouaguira
Leading clinical professor Sir John Bell has said that sending more doctors into the NHS would be like “sending more guys into the Battle of the Somme”.
The health expert claims that the service is in desperate need of reform, not more staff.
He told the BBC’s The Today Podcast: “There are two models. Crank the handle faster, which is I think the model that many people would argue you need to do.
“My view is that is really hard because as you throw more people in to crank the handle, the efficiency of the system just falls away. ‘Let’s train an extra 20,000 doctors’: that was the plan of the last government, and I just said: ‘Well, you know, it is like sending more guys into the Battle of the Somme.’ You are not going to get any more ground, you are just throwing more people into a system that doesn’t work.
“My personal view is that is not the model. You have got to have changing roles. People have to do [things] differently. We have to move things to the community, try and keep things out of hospital wherever we can, and use a whole range of innovations to do that.”
Keir Starmer promises ‘biggest reimagining of NHS since its birth’
04:30
Salma Ouaguira
Health Secretary urges British Medical Association to ‘stop the sabre-rattling’
04:00
Salma Ouaguira
The British Medical Association (BMA) should stop “sabre-rattling” and work with the government on the future of general practice, the health secretary has said.
Wes Streeting said there was still the “unnecessary threat of collective action” from the BMA’s GP committee that “would harm patients”.
It comes as leading scientist Professor Sir John Bell said doctors in the BMA have “been a major drag on reform of healthcare”, as a report on the health service is published.
The BMA said it was “having positive conversations with the Health Secretary”, adding that “a decade and more of mismanagement has erased the trust and goodwill of many frontline staff”.
Mr Streeting told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I do not find resistance in the NHS, people are crying out for change, and I have some good conversations with the BMA, actually, on reform.”
He added: “I contrast that with some of the sabre-rattling we’ve seen from the BMA’s GP committee.
“Despite the fact we put £100 million into GP unemployment in the first six weeks of this government and our determination to grow primary care in general practice as a proportion of NHS budget, we still see sabre-rattling, the unnecessary threat of collective action which, let’s be clear, would harm patients and put more burden on their colleagues in other parts of the NHS.
“I don’t think that’s where GPs are, actually. I think GPs want to work with this government.
“They can see the seriousness of our intent, and GPs really care about their patients. They want, as we do, to rebuild the family doctor relationship.
“I urge the BMA to work with us on that, and stop the sabre-rattling.”
Labour will end no-fault evictions by next summer, minister promises
03:30
Salma Ouaguira
Labour will end no-fault evictions and give renters the right to have pets by next summer as part of the biggest overhaul of the rental sector for three decades, its housing minister has said.
Introducing the Renters’ Rights Bill, Matthew Pennycook said he hopes it “will make quick progress through the House of Commons and we have that new tenancy system in place around summer next year”.
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell has the full story:
Public finances on ‘unsustainable path’ without government action, says watchdog
03:00
Salma Ouaguira
The UK public finances are on an “unsustainable path” without future tax increases, spending reductions or sharp improvements to productivity, according to the fiscal watchdog.
The Office for Budget Responsibility warned that the national debt was on track to triple against the size of the economy over the next 50 years.
David Miles, member of the OBR’s budget responsibility committee, said “something has got to give” to take the national debt away from an “unsustainable path”.
The latest OBR Fiscal Risks And Sustainability report said the public debt was set to jump to over 270 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by the mid-2070s.
UK national debt currently stood at around £2.7 trillion, or 99.4 per cent of GDP, according to estimates from the Office for National Statistics for July.
This sits around the highest levels the UK has seen since the early 1960s.
The latest report highlighted that an ageing population linked to the falling birth rate, fiscal costs from climate change and rising geopolitical tensions were all expected to put increased pressure on Treasury budgets.
Public spending was at almost 45% of GDP for the past fiscal year – its highest sustained level for almost 50 years.
The OBR said these potential pressures could push public spending to over 60% of GDP over the next 50 years.
But it projected that state revenues – money brought in, predominantly through taxes – were expected to remain at around 40 per cent of GDP.
MPs could face crackdown on paid media roles in blow to Farage
02:30
Salma Ouaguira
MPs such as Nigel Farage and Lee Anderson’s presenting roles at GB News could be at risk under potential reforms from a new parliamentary body set up to restore trust in politics.
In its election manifesto, the Labour Party committed to establishing a modernisation committee of crossparty MPs tasked with reforming House of Commons procedures and drive up standards.
Following the newly-formed committee’s first meeting this week, chair Lucy Powell – who also serves as Commons leader – set out the body’s key priorities on Thursday, including addressing “cultural issues of bullying and harassment” and giving MPs more opportunity to scrutinise government legislation.
You can read the full story below:
‘Radical’ measures needed to tackle tooth decay in youngsters, report says
02:00
Salma Ouaguira
The government is being urged to take “radical” action – such as expanding the sugar tax and banning the sale of energy drinks to youngsters – in a bid to tackle “staggering” levels of tooth decay in children across England.
A joint report from the Child of the North project and the Centre for Young Lives – a think tank founded by former children’s commissioner for England Anne Longfield – said ministers should “ignore any accusations of a nanny state”.
Among its recommendations is a call for the government to develop a national child oral health strategy with a focus on reducing sugar consumption.
The organisations suggest this could be achieved by expanding the so-called sugar tax to include sugary milk drinks.
The report also calls for restrictions on the sale of energy drinks to under-16s, optimising fluoride exposure, and bolstering access to dental care.
Tooth decay is the most common reason for hospital admissions among five to nine-year-olds in England.
According to the report, it is also more common among families living in deprived areas, with “much higher levels” of tooth decay in children in the north of England.
Ms Longfield, executive chair of the Centre for Young Lives, said: “It is staggering that so many children, particularly in the north of England and those living in low-income families, are now growing up with tooth decay and suffering from toothache and discomfort.
“This can affect their quality of life, sleep patterns, eating habits, and impact on school readiness and attendance, speech and language development, and overall confidence. In some areas it has sadly become the norm.
“Many children are not only missing out on NHS dental healthcare but are more likely to suffer tooth decay from a younger age.”
John Rentoul: Reforms from the New Labour playbook won’t save today’s flatlining NHS
01:30
Salma Ouaguira
The last time a Labour government commissioned a landmark report to tell us what we already knew about the NHS, it was to prepare the general public to pay for it, says John Rentoul:
Government strengthens Online Safety Act to crack down on revenge porn
01:00
Salma Ouaguira
The sharing of revenge porn is to be classified as the most serious type of online offence under the Online Safety Act, meaning social media platforms will now have to take steps proactively to remove it, the Government has said.
The change to the law will see the sharing of intimate images without consent upgraded to be made a priority offence under the new online safety rules, which are due to come into force from spring next year.
Under the laws, material considered a priority offence – which also includes public order offences and the sale of weapons and drugs online – must not only be removed when it is found online, but platforms must also proactively remove it and take steps to prevent it from appearing in the first place – with large fines for those who fail to do so.
The Government said it hoped the crackdown would help drive the development of new and existing technologies to help keep people safer online, while also helping to tackle sexual offending and the normalisation of misogynistic material being shared online.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said he hoped requiring social media platforms to take more proactive action would “drive behaviour change”.
“What I’m trying to do is, rather than just see action once an offence had been committed and the damage has been done to a victim, is to try and change behaviour that will prevent it happening in the first place,” he told the PA news agency.
“So once this becomes a priority offence, social media companies and platforms themselves are going to have to take proactive measures to ensure their algorithms and their systems prevent this content from going live in the first place – so that will protect thousands, if not millions, of women in particular, from the degradation, the humiliation and the suffering that goes with this kind of activity.”
Streeting urges the BMA to stop 'sabre-rattling’
Friday 13 September 2024 00:30
Salma Ouaguira
The British Medical Association (BMA) should stop “sabre-rattling” and work with the government on the future of general practice, the health secretary has said.
Wes Streeting told Times Radio: “I think there’s a really bright future for general practice.
“I’ve done a serious down payment already, despite the £22 billion black hole we’re wrestling with.
“I acted immediately to tackle GP unemployment, so 1,000 more GPs will be employed on the front line by the end of this year to tackle the crisis in patient access and also GP unemployment.
“That was a serious signal of intent. It’s not the panacea, it is a signal of intent, and that’s why I urge the BMA, instead of sabre-rattling, to work with a government that has signalled very clearly that the future for the NHS leads to a bigger share of the pie for general practice and more neighbourhood health services.”
Streeting vows to deliver schemes from the Tories’s New Hospitals Programme
Friday 13 September 2024 00:00
Salma Ouaguira
Labour will deliver the schemes in the previous administration’s New Hospitals Programme, the health secretary has said, but it may be over a longer timeframe.
Wes Streeting told BBC Breakfast that the government was reviewing the programme, but added: “In terms of the schemes that were on what the last government called the New Hospitals Programme, I am determined to deliver those schemes.
“But I might have to do it over a longer period of time because I’ve got to make sure, firstly, the money is there, secondly that the timetables are realistic and we’ve got the supply chain, the labour and the resources that we will need, and thirdly I’ve got to balance the need for new bricks and mortar alongside the need for new technology.”
The one glaring omission from the devastating report into the NHS? Brexit
Thursday 12 September 2024 23:30
Salma Ouaguira
The latest review of the health service is a substantial, thoroughgoing and even radical piece of work, writes Sean O’Grady. But it doesn’t mention the 2016 referendum once – despite its enormous impact.
Health secretary warns NHS could ‘go bust’ if action is not taken
Thursday 12 September 2024 23:00
Salma Ouaguira
The NHS could “go bust” if action is not taken to reform it, the Health Secretary has warned.
Wes Streeting told BBC Breakfast: “If we don’t grasp both the immediate challenge in front of us and deal with the crisis today, but also prepare the NHS for the challenges of the future in terms of an ageing society and disease and rising costs, rather than a country with an NHS, we’re going to have an NHS with a country attached to it if we’re not careful, and more likely an NHS that goes bust.
“That’s not the future we want to see, which is why we’re going to deal with the immediate crisis today, but get the NHS back on its feet and make it fit for the future.”
The minister also said primary care and community services, rather than hospitals, will be “the first port of call” for new money for the NHS.
He added: “We’ll be setting out our plans in the Budget and the spending review, but effectively it means that when it comes to more resources for the NHS, additional resources going in, the first port of call will be primary care and community services, and social care too, because we’ve got to deal with the systemic problems in our health and care services.”
Starmer arrives in US for talks with Biden on conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza
Thursday 12 September 2024 22:30
Salma Ouaguira
The prime minister has arrived in the US to hold talks with President Joe Biden on resolving the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to meet Mr Biden in the White House on Friday following pleas from Ukraine to lift restrictions on using Western weaponry against Russian targets.
The PM’s visit to Washington DC comes just two months before Americans go to the polls in the presidential election, and follows Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s trip to Kyiv alongside US secretary of state Antony Blinken.
Sir Keir’s second trip to the US as PM will see him discuss the conflict in the Middle East, and any potential progress that can be made towards the release of hostages and a ceasefire deal.
Their first White House bilateral took place as Sir Keir attended the Nato summit just days after Labour won the election.
The pair are also expected to discuss strengthening cooperation to secure supply chains, increasing climate resilience and advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific.
No more money for NHS without reform, says Starmer
Thursday 12 September 2024 22:00
Salma Ouaguira
There will be no more money for the NHS without reform, the prime minister has said, as he acknowledged that not all of his policies will prove universally popular.
Sir Keir Starmer said his 10-year plan for the NHS would be about changing it into a “neighbourhood health service”.
He said this would mean “more tests, scans, healthcare offered on high streets and town centres, improved GP access, bringing back the family doctor, offering digital consultations for those that want them, virtual wards and more patients safely looked after in their own homes where we can deal with problems early before they are off work sick and before they need to go to hospital”.
Sir Keir also pledged to drive up productivity in hospitals so more patients can be seen and boost efforts to prevent ill health rather than just treat it.
Addressing the King’s Fund annual conference in London, the Prime Minister acknowledged that tackling problems in the NHS will take a long time, but said work had already begun in some areas.
He also committed to driving up the use of technology, giving the example of the urgent need to speed up test results in A&E.
He said: “Reform does not mean just putting more money in.
“Of course, even in difficult financial circumstances, a Labour government will always make the investment in the NHS that is needed, but we have to fix the plumbing before we turn on the taps.
“So, hear me when I say this, no more money without reform.”
Labour vows not to hike taxes on salt or sugar
Thursday 12 September 2024 21:30
Salma Ouaguira
The government has no plans to introduce taxes on salt or sugar, the Health Secretary has said.
Wes Streeting told LBC: “That wasn’t in our manifesto and the reason why we are reluctant to go down that sort of route is because there is a cost-of-living crisis at the moment and I think we have got to get the balance right.
“And, crucially, on public health and prevention measures we have got to take people with us.
“So, I’m up for having a debate and listening to ideas from experts in public health, but also the public. We have got to have a debate about how we deal with sickness in our society, keeping us living longer but also living well for longer.
“The priorities we have are the ones that are in our manifesto, which are particularly around children’s health and making sure we are stopping the marketing of junk food at them, stopping the scourge of vaping amongst teenagers, for example.
“Those are our priorities and we don’t have plans for sugar and salt taxes.”
Streeting: Tories ‘squandered’ a ‘golden inheritance’ on the NHS
Thursday 12 September 2024 21:00
Salma Ouaguira
Wes Streeting has accused the Tories of “squandering” the “golden inheritance” on the NHS during their time in government.
The health secretary said Tony Blair left the health service with the lowest waiting times and highest patient satisfaction.
Ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s speech and the Lord Darzi review, he claimed the service needs to go through three shifts.
He told Sky News: “A shift from our hospital to community - so we get to people earlier, diagnose faster. Better for them, better for taxpayers.
“A shift from analogue to digital so that patients can use health services and care services with the same ease and convenience we can elsewhere in our lives.
“And thirdly we need to deal with the sickness in our society that sees people living longer, but becoming sicker earlier.”
IN FOCUS: ‘I spend my fuel allowance on dinner at The Ivy – others need help’
Thursday 12 September 2024 20:30
Salma Ouaguira
As the backlash rages over Labour’s decision to cut the winter fuel allowance for some pensioners, Zoë Beaty heads to Harrogate in Yorkshire, where she hears two very different takes on the controversial policy:
PM: Not possible to build an NHS for the future without fixing social care
Thursday 12 September 2024 20:00
Salma Ouaguira
Fixing social care must be part of any plan to build an NHS for the future, the prime minister has said, but he declined to give further detail on the government’s plans for the sector.
Sir Keir Starmer’s comments came as a major review of the health service branded the state of social care as “dire” and noted the “profound human cost and economic consequences” of a long under-resourced area of healthcare.
The report by independent peer Lord Darzi, published this week, is focused on the NHS but said a growing gap between people’s needs and those getting publicly funded social care in England is placing “an increasingly large burden on families and on the NHS”.
Sir Keir was twice asked by reporters about timings for major reform of social care but declined to give detail other than repeating Labour’s “ambition” to have a National Care Service.
He said he wants such a service to be
