Diane Abbott took aim at Joe Biden today as she claimed his resignation ranked in the “two best things he ever did”.
The Labour MP said praise for the US President was “misplaced” as she criticised the 81-year-old’s legacy in Gaza.
She wrote on social media: “The eulogies for Biden seem a bit misplaced. The two best things he ever did was beat Trump in 2020 and resign now.
“But just one word will forever sully any Biden legacy: Gaza.”
In contrast to Abbott’s comments, Prime Minister and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer praised the outgoing resident of the White House.
Speaking today, he added: ““I respect that decision that he has now made.
“Not an easy decision, but a decision that I know that he will have arrived at taking into account the best interests of the American people, and I look forward to working with him for the remainder of his presidency.”
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Eluned Morgan officially announces bid to replace outgoing Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething
Eluned Morgan has officially announced she is running to replace outgoing First Minister Vaughan Gething, who lasted just four months in the post.
The Welsh Health Secretary will be standing on a joint “unity” ticket with rural affairs minister Huw Irranca-Davies, who would become deputy first minister.
They have received a groundswell of support from across the Labour benches, including from Gething’s rival in the last leadership race, Jeremy Miles.
Their announcement on Monday comes after Gething was forced to announce his resignation as First Minister and Welsh Labour leader last week, after four members of his cabinet quit en masse in criticism of his leadership.
No other candidates have announced their intention to run, with Baroness Morgan automatically becoming Welsh Labour leader if that remains the case by Wednesday.
However, she would not become First Minister until she is confirmed in a vote in the Senedd.
If no one else stands, the Welsh Tories have said they will ask for the Welsh Parliament to be recalled from its summer recess to enable Baroness Morgan to take over.
Starmer urged to stand firm as PM hit by first rebellion just weeks into new job
Starmer urged to stand firm as PM hit by first rebellion just WEEKS into new jobPA
Keir Starmer has been urged to stand firm as he could be facing his first rebellion just weeks into his new job as Prime Minister.
As many as 19 Labour MPs could be willing to trigger a Commons vote to scrap the two-child benefit cap which critics claim is leading to children falling into poverty.
Starmer has so far refused to ditch the cap, as he claims it would be unaffordable.
Headed by Kim Johnson, the 19 MPs have tabled an amendment to the King’s Speech calling for the change.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle will decide whether it is selected for debate this week.
Former Labour Home Secretary Lord Blunkett has urged Starmer to stand firm as he claims parents must take responsibility for choosing to have bigger families.
He told the Telegraph: “There’s been given the impression that there’s been a massive increase in child poverty because of it, but that doesn’t stack up because the number of families with more than two children who are not entitled must be still relatively small.
“So firstly, I think people should address the facts rather than the emotion.”
Blunkett added that scrapping the cap would certainly be a “partial solution” but would not address the “underlying causes” of child poverty.
He said parents should “think seriously” about whether they can afford to have more than two children because the Government was not “an ATM machine”.
WATCH: ‘Schools have had ample time to prepare’: Bridget Phillipson doubles down on Labour’s private school tax raid
Starmer admits there is ‘no silver bullet’ to end child poverty as MPs threaten to rebel
Starmer admits there is ‘no silver bullet’ to end child poverty
PA
Keir Starmer said there is “no silver bullet” to end child poverty but that “it’s good that we’re having a debate” about the two-child benefit cap as he faces growing pressure for the measure to be dropped.
The Prime Minister acknowledged the “passion” of Labour MPs considering rebelling over the continuation of the policy that affects some 1.6 million children.
Speaking at the Farnborough International Airshow, Starmer said: “I’m not surprised that there’s a real passion about this in the Labour Party, you’d expect there to be.
“Child poverty is something that we need to eradicate. And there’s a very strong feeling in the Labour Party, Labour movement about that.”
He added: “There is no silver bullet. If there was a silver bullet it would have been shot a very long time ago.”
Scotland announced £10.9m funding boost for ‘burgeoning’ space sector
Scotland’s “burgeoning” space sector is to receive a funding boost worth almost £11million from the UK Govenrment.
Scottish Secretary Ian Murray announced the cash support as he met with firms to hear about their “pioneering” projects.
He said: “Scotland is a major player in the international space industry and I am delighted the UK Government is continuing to back the sector with £10.9million in funding for these five Scottish projects.”
Sadiq Khan demands £25bn from Starmer to fund re-election promises
Sadiq Khan demands £25bn from Starmer to fund re-election promises
GB News
Sadiq Khan has demanded the new Labour Government give him £25billion to fund his re-election promises.
Despite having an existing £21billion a year budget, the London Mayor is calling for the eye-watering sum from the taxpayer to fund commitments made in his re-election manifesto. Having ruled out most tax rises during Labour’s subsequent General Election campaign, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will face pressure from the Mayor to instead find the sum through additional borrowing.
The London Mayor was re-elected in May, promising to recruit 1,300 police officers, build 40,000 council homes, freeze TfL fares and make free school meals permanent if he and a Labour Government were both elected.
The phrase ‘Labour Government’ appeared in the Mayor’s manifesto nearly forty times, with Sadiq Khan asking Londoners to “imagine what a Labour Mayor and Government could do together”.
Sadiq Khan’s demands from Government over the next four years include £500million a year for Transport for London, a least £250million a year for the Metropolitan Police Service, a one-off ‘emergency’ payment of £2.2billion for housing, and an additional £4.9billion a year to fund affordable housebuilding.
Despite being given £9billion by the previous Conservative Government to fund 140,000 homes, the number of homes built in London has recently fallen to record lows.
Neil Garratt AM said: “The vast majority of the manifesto commitments Sadiq Khan was re-elected on depended on a Labour Government being elected. Will Rachel Reeves now give in and fund the Mayor’s demands with £25billion of additional borrowing?
“We welcome long-term investment in our city, but Londoners should not forget that Mayor Khan already has a £21billion annual budget that he has not spent prudently.
“We should be very cautious about the taxpayer having to pick up Sadiq’s tab down the road and what demands will come next.”
John Healey shows off new laser weapon capable of ‘neutralising targets at speed of light’
Britain’s new laser weapon system
MoD
Meeting with industry leaders and defence apprentices on the first day of Farnborough International Air Show, Defence Secretary John Healey announced a £6.5billion complex weapons partnership and ground-breaking trials of a laser weapon fired from a British Army vehicle.
The renewal of a complex 10-year weapons partnership with MBDA, who manufacture the Storm Shadow missile used on Ukraine’s front line, will deliver battle-winning complex weapons faster and at lower cost.
The contract will also support more than 5,500 jobs across the North-West, East of England and the South-West, as well as thousands of other jobs in UK’s supply chain.
The Defence Secretary also revealed that scientists and engineers have successfully fired a laser weapon from a British Army vehicle, in a first for the UK.
The ground-breaking trials, conducted at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) range in Porton Down, saw the laser weapon neutralise targets at the speed of light from more than 1km away, with each shot costing less than a cup of tea.
The Raytheon-developed laser weapon could be mounted onto various armoured vehicles to defeat a range of drones, helping protect soldiers from aerial threats.
Defence Secretary, John Healey said: “Farnborough International Air Show showcases the best of British industry and how a vibrant industrial base keeps us all safe and contributes to UK economic growth.
“As Defence Secretary, I want to take the politics out of national security so where there is important work begun under the previous government, we will take it forward in the interest of national security.
“That is why we are renewing important partnerships with industry and continuing to push technological boundaries. This will drive prosperity and create skilled jobs across the country.”
Green Party row erupts after message praising Joe Biden
Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer has sparked outrage from her own members after praising Joe Biden upon his decision not to standing the 2024 Presidential Election.
The Bristol Central MP faced a backlash with Green members criticising the US President over the conflict in Gaza.
Denyer wrote: “I wish President Biden well and thank him for his many years of public service.
“This cannot have been an easy decision for him. But to take a decision that is personally difficult, but that is in the public interest, is a true sign of leadership.”
Reacting, Green councillor Joe Lever said: “We don’t need to say these things.”
Adam Pugh said: “For the record, Carla doesn’t speak for me and she doesn’t speak for a huge chunk of the Green Party. This is a horrendously bad take.
He added: “Some of us have worked too damn hard to have our leadership come and undermine us and humiliate us like this.”
Meanwhile, activist and commentator Owen Jones added: “Joe Biden has armed and facilitated the mass slaughter of innocent people.
“I hope the Green Party co-leader reconsiders this tone deaf statement, retracts it, and agrees to meet with British Palestinians whose relatives have been butchered with US bombs.”
Most Britons think two-child benefit cap should remain in place
Should the two-child benefit cap be kept or abolished?
All Britons
Kept: 60%
Abolished: 28%2024 Labour voters
Kept: 50%
Abolished: 38%18-24 year olds
Kept: 32%
Abolished: 46%https://t.co/ZDR4Y6dpQX pic.twitter.com/kJUZ1Fbq0i— YouGov (@YouGov) July 19, 2024
Starmer vows to ‘transform’ how UK trains young people
Sir Keir Starmer set out his plans to training for young people and adults
GB NEWS
Sir Keir Starmer said the new Skills England organisation would transform the relationship between businesses and the education system.
Speaking at the Farnborough International Airshow he said it was “another marker of the future”.
The Prime Minister said it was “the launch of a new organisation that we hope will transform not just how we train our young people and adults, but also the relationship between business and education system”.
He said it was “a plan to make sure that we’re training young people, not just for any business, but for the businesses that exist in their communities, the skills that you and they need to take each other forward”.
Starmer arrives at Farnborough International Airshow
Sir Keir Starmer has arrived at the Farnborough International Airshow in Hampshire, where he will make a speech on skills training.
The Prime Minister was greeted by the chief executives of plane-maker Airbus and aerospace manufacturer Rolls-Royce, Guillaume Faury and Tufan Erginbilgic.
He then met a group of apprentices from the two companies in front of a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330-900 jet which has Rolls-Royce engines.
‘We can get back in a single term’ – Mel Stride outlines plan for Conservative Party redemption
Conservative MP Mel Stride told GB News this morning that he is confident the Tories can be back in power after a single term in Opposition.
Watch the full interview above.
New polling suggests Conservatives’ time in power to be marked by Brexit, Partygate and Liz Truss disaster
⏳What will the Conservatives’ time in office between 2010-2024 be remembered for?
When we asked the public, they said:
1. Brexit (43%)
2. Partygate (41%)
3. Managing response to Covid-19 (33%)
4. Liz Truss’ ‘mini budget’ (31%)
5. The Rwanda scheme (27%) pic.twitter.com/ftJrm7qoQ0— Savanta UK (@Savanta_UK) July 22, 2024
Mel Stride confirms he is considering Tory leadership bid
Mel Stride told GB News he is considering a bid for the Tory leadership
GB NEWS
Mel Stride told GB News this morning that he’s not ruling out running for Conservative Party Leader.
The Central Devon MP said he is considering running after colleagues urged him to stand.
The shadow Work and Pensions Secretary is a well-regarded figure across the parliamentary party, and emerged as one of its leading communicators during the general election campaign.
While the MP for Central Devon would be an outside bet to lead the party, supporters of his believe he would steady the ship, even if he were to serve on an interim basis.
“I haven’t ruled that out and I haven’t ruled it in,” he told GB News.
“We don’t yet know what the contest holds. The party board is going to come forward shortly, I think, with the process, and I will finally take a decision at that time.
“some colleagues have been speaking to me about that possibility and it’s something that I’m weighing up.
SNP to join Labour rebels in revolt on two-child benefit cap
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has urged Scottish Labour MPs to support a move to scrap the two-child benefit cap.
The party has tabled an amendment to the King’s Speech calling for the cap to be axed in what Flynn is describing as a “test” of the new Labour Government’s pledge to deliver real change for the country.
The Government has said it will set up a taskforce to deliver a strategy to tackle child poverty but Flynn has previously described this as a “cynical attempt to kick the issue into the long grass”.
Flynn said ahead of today’s debate: “We’ve worked constructively with other groups in Westminster to deliver a cross-party movement to scrap the child benefit cap but, sadly, no Labour MP from Scotland appears willing to join these efforts.
“Anas Sarwar and his Labour MPs in Scotland have said the cap should go, and our amendment gives them the opportunity to put those words into action – it’s a fairly easy test for them to pass should they wish to do so.”
Keir Starmer praises Joe Biden after withdrawal from US presidential race
Starmer praised Joe Biden for withdrawing from the US presidential elections
PA
Keir Starmer has praised Joe Biden for making a decision based on what he believed to be in “the best interest of the American people” after the US president withdrew his bid for re-election.
Biden said on Sunday that it was “in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down”.
Responding to Biden’s decision, Starmer said: “I respect President Biden’s decision and I look forward to us working together during the remainder of his presidency.
“I know that, as he has done throughout his remarkable career, President Biden will have made his decision based on what he believes is in the best interests of the American people.”
Starmer to launch Skills England to tackle ‘fragmented and broken’ training system
Starmer to launch Skills England to tackle ‘fragmented and broken’ training system
PA
The Prime Minister is to launch a new body today to deal with Britain’s “fragmented and broken” skills training system.
Skills England, which was included in Labour’s manifesto, is intended to ensure training provision is aligned with the needs of the economy.
It will bring together central and local Government, businesses, trade unions and training providers to better understand the nation’s “skills gap”.
Starmer said: “Our skills system is in a mess, which is why we are transforming our approach to meet skills needs over the coming decades.
“They will help to deliver our number one mission as a Government, to kickstart economic growth, by opening up new opportunities for young people and enabling British businesses to recruit more home-grown talent.
“From construction to IT, healthcare to engineering, our success as a country depends on delivering highly skilled workforces for the long-term. Skills England will put in place the framework needed to achieve that goal while reducing our reliance on workers from overseas”.
