Conservative shadow minister: Labour has already lost control of state sector pay
Conservative MPs have been continuing to attack the new Labour government over public sector pay settlements.
Chris Philp, shadow leader of the House of Commons, has claimed “it has taken Labour barely a month to lose control of state sector pay.”
He posted to social media to say “they will all now demand double digit rises. None of the increases come with commitments to reform or improve. All the public gets is a much bigger tax bill – or cut winter fuel allowances for 10 million pensioners”.
Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow business secretary, while conceding “of course it’s true that there is a ‘direct cost to the economy’ if workers go on strike” said “there’s a much bigger cost of capitulating to the unions. 40 years after Thatcher sorted them out, the unions are now back in charge and the country will pay the price”.
About 6.25 million people in the UK out of a workforce of about 33 million are members of a trade union.
Key events
Ipsos has published its monthly issues index, where it interviews people about what they think the major issues facing the country are. Immigration, healthcare and the economy head the list:
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Immigration/immigrants 34%
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NHS/hospitals/healthcare 30%
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Economy 29%
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Crime/law and order 25%
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Inflation/prices 20%
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Housing 15%
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Poverty/inequality 13%
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Race relations 11%
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Education/schools 10%
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Pollution/environment/climate change 9%
Mike Clemence at Ipsos suggests “The impact of the recent riots across the UK is clear in this month’s data”. He states “Immigration has returned as the top issue for the country for the first time since 2016, while the level of concern about crime and race relations has also surged to recent highs.”
That figure for “immigration/immigrants” being the top concern compares with a peak of 56% which was recorded in September 2015, with the lowest rating in recent years being at 5% in April 2020.
The survey interviews a representative sample of 1,000 people each month by telephone.
With the summer recess in full swing, a lot of MPs have been posting about their constituency work and visits today rather than making any politics news. Museums, coffee shops, food banks and the odd spot of leafleting were all on the agenda …
It was really lovely to meet the team at Pump House Bakes this morning in Winterslow, where I enjoyed a very welcome coffee and delicious millionaire’s shortbread in the sunshine. Open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 8-4pm, and on a popular cycling route! pic.twitter.com/E28B7hte7T
— Rt Hon John Glen MP (@JohnGlenUK) August 16, 2024
I had the privilege of joining Midlands Langar Seva Society for a food service at St. Peter’s Church. Together, we served meals to over 150 people of all backgrounds, each with their own story behind the headlines and statistics of the cost-of-living crisis. The struggle is rife,… pic.twitter.com/nTTDmLwKdL
— Shockat Adam MP (@ShockatAdam) August 16, 2024
Wonderfully warm welcome to Risca Museum and enjoyed learning more about the town’s industrial past.
I would like to say a big thanks to these passionate volunteers who are doing so much to keep our heritage alive.
I hope they will join me in Westminster soon! pic.twitter.com/0s4k7JKV69
— Ruth Jones MP (@RuthJonesLabour) August 16, 2024
A UK government offer of £15,000 compensation to some victims of the infected blood scandal has been described as a “kick in the teeth” by one of those affected. My colleague Caroline Davies has more on that here.
On the BBC Radio 4 Today programme this morning paymaster general Nick Thomas-Symonds was at pains to stress that the £15,000 was only a component of what he described as a “comprehensive” package of compensation. Payments are due to start later this year, after many, many years of delay by the previous Tory administration.
Liberal Democrats Cabinet Office spokesperson Christine Jardine said “Governments of all stripes over decades owe them all a sincere apology for this delayed justice. This announcement is welcome and it is critical that the government pays full and fair compensation to the victims and their families as quickly as possible. Our thoughts are with those whose lives have been torn apart by this disaster. This scandal has cruelly cost too many people their lives.”
PA Media reports a 28-year-old man who threw bricks, stones and wood at police in Hartlepool has been jailed for two years and eight months. A police spokesperson said he “played a significant role” in the rioting, “demonstrated aggressive behaviour” and “at one point was in possession of a police-style baton – lashing out at the officers to attempt to assault them.”
Train drivers on LNER are to stage a series of strikes, claiming a breakdown in industrial relations and breaking of agreements.
The dispute is separate from the one related to pay. Members of Aslef are set to walk out every Saturday between 31 August and 9 November and every Sunday from 1 September to 10 November, a total of 22 days.
PA Media reports Mick Whelan, Aslef general secretary, said: “the company has brutally, and repeatedly, broken diagramming and roster agreements, failed to adhere to the agreed bargaining machinery, and totally acted in bad faith. When we make an agreement, we stick to it. This company doesn’t and we are not prepared to put up with their boorish behaviour and bullying tactics.”
London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has published a video showing him meeting with community leaders and police, and explaining that extra funding is being provided to protect mosques in the capital after the recent far-right led violence against immigrants and ehtnic minorities.
In the video, Khan says “The targeting of Muslims and minority ethnic communities has left many communities fearing for their safety, which is simply not right. We’re providing additional support for security at our mosque during this difficult time. This funding will deliver practical advice from experts to mosque leaders on how to keep their congregations and premises safe.”
At a meeting that includes members of the Metropolitan police and representatives of the government, Khan is seen saying “there is no room in our city for racism, for Islamophobia, antisemitism, or for any forms of hatred.”
The targeting of Muslims & minority ethnic communities has left many Londoners fearing for their safety, which is simply not right.
I’m providing extra support for security at mosques during this difficult time, so our communities are safe – & feel safe. pic.twitter.com/xQ2Ifs1Jvd
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) August 16, 2024
Libby Brooks
Libby Brooks is the Guardian’s Scotland correspondent
Angela Rayner has denied that UK government decisions are forcing spending cuts in Scotland, as John Swinney challenged her over the means testing of winter fuel payments.
The deputy prime minister was in Edinburgh yesterday evening to take the salute at the Military Tattoo, but denied that budget cuts at Westminster were forcing tough decisions at Holyrood as she held talks with Swinney at Bute House, adding “We’re getting on and governing and working collaboratively.”
Swinney said that “tens of thousands” of pensioners in Scotland would be impacted after the UK government’s decision to only award the winter fuel payment to pensioners in receipt of certain benefits. Ministers at Holyrood said the loss of £160m cash as a result meant their replacement for the benefit – the pension age winter heating payment – would also have to be means tested.
After the talks, Swinney he had “expressed concern at the UK government’s decision to cut spending for the winter fuel payment for pensioners without any consultation with the Scottish government”.
This issue has been the first serious test of Labour’s promised “reset” of relations between Westminster and Holyrood, after years of conflict between the Tories and the SNP.
On Wednesday, Shona Robison, Scotland’s finance secretary, accused the UK government of preparing for austerity by stealth after she ordered civil servants to cut back on all non-essential spending.
Robison is preparing a statement at Holyrood to set out other spending cuts and freezes once the Treasury provides updated figures on how the chancellor’s revised budgets will affect Scotland’s allocation from the UK.
Two men have been charged in Sunderland with offences relating to far-right led disorder that spread across England and Northern Ireland in recent weeks. A 32-year-old has been charged with riot, while a 58-year-old has been charged with a racially aggravated public order offence. Over 390 people have now been charged with offences taking pace during the disorder.
Conservative leadership candidate Mel Stride is continuing the Tory strategy of using recent economic data to suggest that the country was doing well under Rishi Sunak’s government. He has posted to social media to say:
Our growth remains the strongest in the G7. Yet Rachel Reeves continues to lay the ground for damaging tax rises. Labour cannot keep concocting excuses – the facts speak for themselves. If they raise taxes it is not out of necessity, it’s because they always planned to do it.
Our growth remains the strongest in the G7. Yet @RachelReevesMP continues to lay the ground for damaging tax rises. Labour cannot keep concocting excuses – the facts speak for themselves. If they raise taxes it is not out of necessity, it’s because they always planned to do it. pic.twitter.com/3A22k6dnHM
— Mel Stride (@MelJStride) August 16, 2024
Yesterday Labour’s chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, said “The last Conservative government left this new Labour government with the highest tax burden since the 1940s, the highest debt burden for over 60 years and a huge cost for just paying the interest on that debt every single month.”
Rebecca Long-Bailey, who was elected in July as a Labour MP but is currently suspended having voted for an SNP amendment to the king’s speech, has reminded everybody that today is the 205th anniversary of the Peterloo massacre. Me typing this all for you today is one very long distant consequence of that.
205 years ago today, the Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter’s Field in Manchester. Amongst those killed and injured were many brave Salfordians, such as Sarah Jones. We remember those like Sarah who fought for future generations to have a real voice in our politics.👇 pic.twitter.com/qtTHBQ52Yc
— Rebecca Long-Bailey (@RLong_Bailey) August 16, 2024
Sadiq Khan is set to close London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) scrappage scheme in three weeks.
PA Media reports the mayor said it will close on 7 September. The scheme allowed those who own a vehicle that does not meet minimum emissions standards to apply for cash – or a combination of cash and a public transport pass – to have them scrapped.
A total of more than £186 million has been committed to nearly 54,000 applicants to the scrappage scheme since it opened in January last year.
Priti Patel: ‘lazy’ to make sweeping generalisation that net migration was too high under Tories
Overnight Conservative leadership candidate Priti Patel has defended the previous government’s record on migration, saying it was “lazy” to suggest net migration was too high.
Speaking on GB News, she said:
During the pandemic our borders were effectively closed. There was no travel. What about all those international students they came in after the pandemic? Are we saying that they should not have come into the country?
What did the government choose to do? I think this is the right thing to do. We absolutely made sure we gave the NHS the support that it needed through health and social care visas.
Are we going to say that was the wrong thing to do? I mean, knock on doors and ask your listeners, your viewers. Would they say we should not have had more doctors and nurses? I think they would not. A lot of these people are also high-rate taxpayers. So that context matters.
If you don’t want so many people to come in to work in our country, then there’s a wider discussion to be had there about having a labour market strategy
Retail sales return to growth across Great Britain
Graeme Wearden
Retail sales volumes rose by 0.5% in July, the Office for National Statistics reports this morning. That follows a fall of 0.9% in June when households cut back amid poor weather, and election uncertainty.
Department stores and sports equipment stores reported a boost in sales “following summer discounts and sporting events” last month, the ONS says.
Sales volumes were 1.4% higher compared with July 2023, when bad weather hit the high streets. But, volumes are still 0.8% lower than pre-pandemic levels.
Paymaster general Nick Thomas-Symonds also appeared on Times Radio this morning, where he said he did not think it was fair to characterise public sector workers as queueing up to make large pay demands after the government attempted to settle long-running disputes with junior doctors and train drivers.
He told listeners:
I think that’s an unfair characterisation. I think what is absolutely crucial here is we are a government again that is sticking to the promises we made in opposition. We promised we would sit down and find solutions, and people expressed scepticism about that, but actually that is precisely what we have done in Government.
Thomas-Symonds also disputed a claim that Labour was not seeking productivity improvements or reform of the railways, saying “We are absolutely looking to deliver a better service for passengers and, frankly, it’s a low bar given the state the railways have been in recent years.”
Labour: public sector pay deals are settling disputes that were costing the economy millions
The paymaster general has defended pay offers to public sector workers from the new Labour government, saying they are “settling disputes, the continuation of which is costing the economy hundreds of millions of pounds”.
Responding on the BBC Radio 4 programme to criticism that the chancellor could not square the party’s willingness to meet pay demands square with “the difficult economic inheritance the new government keep telling us about”, Nick Thomas-Symonds said:
It squares because we are settling disputes, the continuation of which is costing the economy hundreds of millions of pounds.
He said he hoped Aslef would accept a proposed pay deal for train drivers, saying:
The dispute isn’t settled, by the way. An offer has been made that is over the three year period from 2022 to 2025 that will now be put by Aslef to its membership. I sincerely hope that it is approved and that that is accepted,
We want to move forward with a better passenger experience on the railways and better value, frankly, for taxpayers, because we’ve seen the estimates the disruption since 2022 of up to £850m of lost revenue on our railways. We can’t continue like that.
The last government’s rail minister didn’t even meet the trade union leaders from January of 2023. We always said we would engage, and we have.
Attempting to highlight a different tone from the last administration, he continued:
I came on programmess like this when I was an opposition spokesperson, and often said that Labour in government would sit down, get around the table, do that hard work of finding in each individual area where the common ground was to find a solution. And that’s exactly what the government has done, whether its junior doctors [or] Aslef.
Allowing these disputes to continue is damaging the economy. That’s what the Conservatives did. This government takes a different approach. We engage. We work hard. We find that common ground. And doing that means the disruption doesn’t continue.
Conservative shadow minister: Labour has already lost control of state sector pay
Conservative MPs have been continuing to attack the new Labour government over public sector pay settlements.
Chris Philp, shadow leader of the House of Commons, has claimed “it has taken Labour barely a month to lose control of state sector pay.”
He posted to social media to say “they will all now demand double digit rises. None of the increases come with commitments to reform or improve. All the public gets is a much bigger tax bill – or cut winter fuel allowances for 10 million pensioners”.
Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow business secretary, while conceding “of course it’s true that there is a ‘direct cost to the economy’ if workers go on strike” said “there’s a much bigger cost of capitulating to the unions. 40 years after Thatcher sorted them out, the unions are now back in charge and the country will pay the price”.
About 6.25 million people in the UK out of a workforce of about 33 million are members of a trade union.
Welcome and opening summary …
Welcome to our rolling coverage of UK politics for Friday. Here are your headlines …
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Paymaster general Nick Thomas-Symonds has defended public sector pay settlements, saying the Labour government is ending long-running disputes and disruption that had been costing the country millions
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Conservative shadow minister Chris Philp accused the government of already losing control of state sector pay
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Angela Rayner has been told Labour’s new towns plan risks missing England housing targets
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The UK government has said contaminated blood scandal payouts are to start by the end of year
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Retail sales volumes rose by 0.5% in July, the Office for National Statistics reports this morning. That follows a fall of 0.9% in June when households cut back amid poor weather, and election uncertainty.
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The UK’s National Crime Agency says it is “not scared” of PPE Medpro’s lawyers
It is Martin Belam with you today. Do email me if you spot typos, errors or omissions – martin.belam@theguardian.com.
