Welsh first minister Eluned Morgan backs Starmer but cites ‘concerns’ after Scottish Labour leader calls for his resignation – UK politics live

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Burnham speaks at Resolution Foundation conference on 'Unsung Britain'

At the Resolution Foundation Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, is speaking at a conference on “Unsung Britain”. There is a live feed here.

The conference covers issues raised in this report from the thinktank. The RF uses “Unsung Britain” to the poorer half of working-age families.

Here is a summary of its key points.

Starmer tells cabinet Sarwar's comments yesterday won't stop Labour fighting to make him first minister

Keir Starmer chaired a meeting of the political cabinet today, as well as normal cabinet. Labour has sent out a readout, and it says that Starmer thanked his colleagues for their support yesterday. He also said he wanted Anas Sarwar to become first minister in Scotland, despite Sarwar saying yesterday he no longer backed Starmer. And Starmer said the government would continue with a “relentless focus” on the priorties of voters.

A Labour spokesperson said:

The prime minister thanked political cabinet for their support. He said they were strong and united.

He highlighted the ways ministers are delivering on their mandate to change the country, including investing in local communities through Pride in Place and restoring economic stability, which has led to six interest rate cuts and lower mortgage costs for families.

He said the government would continue its relentless focus on the priorities of the British people, including tackling the cost of living.

The prime minister said that the whole of the Labour party wants Anas Sarwar to become first minister and will fight for a Labour government in Scotland.

Scottish Tories say it's 'ludicrous' for Douglas Alexander to campaign alongside Sarwar given Starmer disagreement

The Scottish Conservatives say it is “ludicrous” for Douglas Alexander, the Scottish secretary, to campaign alongside Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, when Alexander backs Keir Starmer and Sarwar doesn’t.

In an interview this morning Alexander defended this arrangement. (See 11.59am.)

But Rachael Hamilton, the deputy Scottish Tory leader, has released an open letter to Alexander urging him to take a side. She says:

With less than three months to go until polling day at Holyrood, Douglas Alexander must choose whether he wants to remain in Keir Starmer’s cabinet or run Scottish Labour’s election campaign – because he can’t credibly do both.

If he’s backing Starmer to remain as prime minister, he is completely at odds with Sarwar and his fellow campaign co-chair Jackie Baillie and must relinquish this role.

The idea that he can stand alongside Sarwar, who wants Starmer to go, and remain in the PM’s cabinet is for the birds. It’s ludicrous, contradictory and unsustainable.

Douglas Alexander insists Starmer and Sarwar can work together despite leadership row - citing Blair/Brown precedent

Libby Brooks is the Guardian’s Scotland correspondent.

Keir Starmer and Anas Sarwar remain united in their determination to oust the SNP from government in Scotland – according to Scottish secretary Douglas Alexander this morning, less than 24 hours after Sarwar called for Starmer to step down.

Asked what on earth Scottish Labour voters should make of the chaotic scenes of yesterday, Alexander told BBC Radio Scotland:

There was a sincere and genuine disagreement between the Scottish Labour leader and the UK prime minister yesterday, but the task at hand remains the same, which is that there’s a judgment to be made in just over three months’ time as to who we want to be the government of Scotland.

Referring to his own previous experience of the ongoing battles during the New Labour years, he added:

There have been some pretty tough days in the Labour family over the years, and I can attest to that having observed the differences, to put it mildly, between Gordon Brown and Tony Blair – but together they were able to change the country.

Alexander insisted that Starmer and Sarwar were “both individuals who have strong and clear opinions, but who do not bear grudges”. He went on:

I’ve spoken to the prime minister in the last few hours. I’ve spoken to Anas, and I can tell you sincerely and authentically that there is a willingness to work together.

I know both of these men, I talked to them both last night. Kier Starmer was on the phone to me yesterday evening making very clear he remains determined that Anas Sarwar is the first minister of Scotland after May. Equally, Anas is clear that he has set out his position, he will work hard to take the fight to the SNP in the coming months.

Kemi Badenoch has said that Keir Starmer just received a “stay of execution” yesterday. Speaking to reporters on a visit this morning, she said:

[Starmer] is in a very dangerous place. The Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the quiet bit out loud.

Labour MPs and the Labour party have lost confidence in their leader, but the MPs are too scared of losing their jobs, so they’re not going to call an election, and they’ve given him a stay of execution. The sad thing is that the country is suffering from not being governed at all.

“Stay of execution” is also the verdict used by the Daily Mail in its splash headline.

Mark Saunokonoko has a good round-up of what the Mail, and all the other national papers, are saying about yesterday’s Labour crisis.

There are two urgent questions in the Commons after 12.30pm: on the Ministry of Defence’s contracts with Palantir, and on the Ministry of Justice’s “impending deletion of the Courtsdesk court reporting data archive”. Both have been tabled by the Tories.

After they are over, Ed Miliband is making a statement about the local power plan. (See 11.02am.)

Welsh first minister Eluned Morgan says she backs Starmer, but says he must 'deliver for Wales'

Eluned Morgan, the Welsh first minister, has issued a statement saying she backs Keir Starmer.

Yesterday, as Anas Sarwar, Morgan’s Labour opposite number in Scotland (although Sarwar is in opposition, and Morgan is in government), said that he thought Starmer should stand down, Morgan kept her silence. She did not join the chorus of cabinet ministers saying they wanted him to stay.

This morning she has issued this statement.

I support the prime minister in the job he was elected to do. After years of revolving-door leadership under the Conservatives, the country needs stability in an age of instability, and that matters for Wales.

I had concerns that Peter Mandelson was incompatible with public office because of the company he kept. What has since come to light has only reinforced those concerns.

These issues are deeply troubling not least because, once again, the voices of women and girls were ignored.

That failure must be acknowledged and confronted honestly.

Leadership means upholding standards and acting when they fall short.

Ultimately, I judge any prime minister by a simple test: whether they deliver for Wales. I have been clear with Keir about what Wales needs. Action on the cost of living, investment in our economy and infrastructure, and a continued commitment to stronger devolution.

My focus remains on leading Wales with integrity and delivering real change for people here.

Councils and campaigners welcome government's £1bn community energy investment plan

In his Sky News interview, defending the government’s record on growth (see 10.45am), Ed Miliband said that he was announcing investment today. He was referring to this £1bn plan for community renewable energy projects.

Here is our story, by Severin Carrell.

And here is the news release from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

The plan has been welcomed by councils and campaigners.

Arooj Shah, chair of the Local Government Association’s neighbourhoods board, said:

We support the government’s ambition to back local and community energy and give people a real stake in the clean energy transition. Investment that helps communities co-own generation, cut bills and reinvest returns locally is a positive step.

Stew Horne from the Energy Saving Trust said:

Today’s publication of the local power plan will ensure communities across the country can benefit from the clean energy transition. Backed by a new £1bn fund, the plan sets out a strong and ambitious vision – that by 2030, every community in the UK will have the opportunity to own or participate in local energy projects.

The focus on building capacity, capability and skills is essential. We know from our work delivering the Scottish government’s community and renewable energy scheme and the Welsh government energy service just how effective expert, tailored support can be in empowering communities to get projects off the ground.

And Mathew Lawrence, director of the Common Wealth thinktank, says:

Putting power in the hands of ordinary communities can bring down bills and build durable support for the energy transition. But expanding local renewable production always required ambitious public action to overcome barriers of cost and coordination. That is why the local power plan is an exciting moment: a coherent strategy to decentralise and democratise energy production. It is a downpayment on the potential of GB Energy and a statement of what more ambitious public ownership and investment can deliver.

Miliband says he does not agree with Streeting's claim about Labour having 'no growth strategy' in message to Mandelson

Yesterday Wes Streeting, the health secretary, published his private WhatsApp messages exchanged with Peter Mandelson. Under the terms of the humble addressed passed by MPs on Wednesday last week, they would have been published anyway. But Streeting, one of the cabinet ministers most friendly with Mandelson, was potentially more at risk from what might come out than most of his colleagues, and so he decided to pre-empt the humble address by publishing them anyway.

The full set of messages is on the ITV News website here. And here is our story, by Peter Walker and Pippa Crerar.

In a message sent in March last year, Streeting said that the government had “no growth strategy at all”.

Asked about this on Sky News, Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, said:

I think that actually Rachel has done a very good job as chancellor.

I don’t agree with – if that’s what, I haven’t seen the detail of the messages – but I think we’ve seen the stability that is essential.

We’ve seen investment. I’m announcing today.

Miliband rules out running again for Labour leadership

And here are some more lines from Ed Miliband’s inteviews this morning.

Miliband, the energy secretary, rejected suggestions that Keir Starmer would not be in office for much longer. When this was put to him on BBC Breakfast, he replied: “I don’t agree with that.”

He told the BBC’s Nick Robinson that that Robinson was “a bit too far” when he said that Miliband’s call for more “boldness” made it sound as if he wanted Labour to be a bit more like Zack Polanski, the Green leader.

He said that he personally had had “very limited contact” with Peter Mandelson.

He ruled out standing for the Labour leadership again, telling Sky News: “I’m not going to run.”

Miliband says he does not know if Sarwar's move against Starmer plotted with others, and urges party to 'move on'

The Telegraph is running a story today saying that “Wes Streeting has been accused of orchestrating a leadership coup against Sir Keir Starmer”.

The report says that Wes Streeting, the health secretary with ambitions to be the next PM, spoke to Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, on Saturday, two days before Sarwar said that he wanted Keir Starmer to stand down.

And the Telegraph says:

One leftwing Labour source told The Telegraph: “Everyone from the PM down to the most junior bag carrier knows who was behind the McChicken Coup. And his name rhymes with Les Weeting.”

The McChicken Coup refers to apparent efforts to use the ousting of Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir’s chief of staff, to force the Prime Minister to step aside.

A spokesperson for Streeting told the Telegraph:

Wes did not ask Anas to do this; he did not coordinate with Anas on this. Anas is the leader of the Scottish Labour party; he is his own man, and Wes has the highest respect for him.

In his interview on Sky News this morning, Ed Miliband was asked if he thought that Sarwar had been plotting with Streeting. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’m not going to get into the Kremlinology of all that.”

When it was put to him that the Streeting spokesperson also claimed in their comment to the Telegraph that No 10 had been briefing against Streeting, alleging disloyalty, and he was asked to respond, Miliband said:

Move on dot org. I mean, let’s just get on. Let’s just move past all this.

Come on. I’m saying to our colleagues – don’t focus on yourselves. Focus on the country. That’s what Keir’s message was last night and he’s dead right.

Miliband says PM has 'burning passion' to end 'class divide' - but that it's 'balderdash' to call this class war

In his Today interview, when Ed Miliband said that Keir Starmer has a “burning passion” to end the “class divide” in British politics (see 9.15am), Nick Robinson, the presenter, said that Miliband would be accused of promoting class war.

It was a fair guess. Within minutes, a Mail journalist posted this on social media.

Ed Miliband suggests Starmer will now wage a new class war: ‘What angers Keir most is class, the class divide - he exists to change that.
‘I dispute the idea this is not someone driven by burning passion.
‘He knows we need more of that and we are going to see more of that

When Robinson put it to him that he was suggesting class war, Miliband replied:

Come off it …

It’s not class war, Nick.

It means that so many people from working class backgrounds are looked down upon in our country, are held back in our country, whether it’s from not getting an apprenticeship, not being able to rise up. The inequalities we face hold people back.

Keir is about changing that, not just social mobility for a few, but recognition for everybody, a decent life for everybody. That’s what motivates him.

Absolute balderdash that it’s about class war.

The latest edition of the Guardian’s Politics Weekly UK podcast is out. It features Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey talking about yesterday’s apparent bid to topple Keir Starmer.

Miliband says Starmer facing down leadership threat must lead to 'moment of change', with more 'clarity' and 'boldness'

Good morning. One consequence of yesterday – when for a few hours it looked as if Tim Allan’s resignation and Anas Sarwar’s declaration of no confidence looked like the start of a leadership coup that would have topped Keir Starmer if cabinet ministers (and Angela Rayner) had not rallied round – is that Starmer needs a new communications director at No 10.

Listening to the morning media round, it sounds like he should appoint Ed Miliband. Because the energy secretary did an excellent job defending Starmer, in terms that implied Starmer’s premiership isn’t, or at least shouldn’t be, terminally damaged.

Miliband’s most important message came in his interview in the Today programme, when he argued that what happened yesterday had to be “a moment of change” for the Labour government.

Referring to what happened yesterday, Miliband said:

Labour MPs looked over the precipice, once Anas Sarwar made his statement, and they didn’t like what they saw.

And they thought the right thing to do was to unite behind Keir, to focus on the country, because we didn’t want to go down the road of the Tories when they were in power – chaotic, disorderly leadership contest.

But I want to be very clear; Peter Mandelson should never have been appointed to this post. We are a government whose central purpose, I believe, is to stand up for the powerless, not the powerful, and it undermines that.

And this has got to be … a moment of change where we have much greater clarity of purpose, avoid some of the mistakes that we’ve made, but also focus outwards on the country.

Miliband said that the govermment was doing lots of good things, but they were being “drowned out” by policy mistakes like getting rid of winter fuel payments. (Sarwar made exactly this point yesterday, also using the phrase “drowned out”.) Miliband said that in politics “what gets you through is a sense of your values and your moral mission” and he said that Starmer had a mission like that.

For 20 years, this country has been run for the wealthy and powerful, not ordinary working people. And the manifestation of that is this long-term cost of living crisis. We we exist to change that. That is our mission and everything must be consistent with that purpose.

Miliband said the public were “angry”, and they wanted “boldness” for political leaders.

But when the presenter, Nick Robinson, put it Miliband that, while Starmer has many strengths, boldness is not one of them, Miliband said he did not accept that.

I know Keir well. I know somebody who is in politics for all the right reasons.

I’ll tell you what angers Keir most about this country. It’s class. It’s the class divide … He exists to change that. I absolutely dispute the idea that this isn’t somebody driven by burning passion about the injustices our country faces and how we need to change them. We need more of that. He knows we need more of that. I think we’re going to see more of that.

Often in the interview it sounded as if Miliband were talking as much about his beliefs as about Starmer’s. But, asked if he wanted to be leader himself, he insisted that he didn’t. “Tried that, got the t-shirt,” he said.

I will post more from the Miliband interviews soon.

Here is the agenda for the day.

Morning: Keir Starmer chairs a political cabinet.

Morning: Kemi Badenoch is in a visit in London.

11.30am: Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

Noon: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

12.20pm: Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, speaks at a Resolution Foundation conference.

1.30pm: Eluned Morgan, the Welsh first minister, takes questions in the Senedd. Unlike her Scottish Labour counterpart, she has yet to comment on yesterday’s Keir Starmer leadership crisis.

2.30pm: Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan police commissioner, gives evidence to the Commons home affairs committee.

Afternoon: Starmer is expected to do a visit.

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