Reeves says she is 'getting on' with job as she responds to questions about tears at PMQs
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Reuters
11 minutes ago
- Reuters
EU's Kallas warns that China needs to rebalance trade relationship with EU
BRUSSELS, July 2 (Reuters) - The European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas told Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Wednesday that Beijing needed to rebalance its trade relationship with the EU and warned Chinese companies' support for Russia's war in Ukraine posed a serious threat to European security. "She also called on China to put an end to its distortive practices, including its restrictions on rare earths exports, which pose significant risks to European companies and endanger the reliability of global supply chains," the EU readout said.
Scotsman
18 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Why Labour incompetence created welfare Bill disaster – and worse is to come
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... As a former Chief Whip, I often tell colleagues that the first rule of politics is to know how to count. You have to be able to add up the votes on your side of the aisle and the numbers on the opposite side – and make sure that your figures add up. That may appear to be a pretty low bar to clear but it is one that Keir Starmer's government has spectacularly failed to pass this week. Incompetence at the top of the government created utter chaos over the welfare Bill – but there may be far worse yet to come. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A Bill that set out to cut back support for people with disabilities and health challenges was always likely to meet resistance from both inside and outside of Labour. That is why it is astonishing that the government only began to realise the scale of its miscalculation towards the end of last week, when more than 100 Labour members – led by several senior, moderate MPs – signed an amendment which would have brought down the Bill entirely. Chancellor Rachel Reeves was clearly emotional as Keir Starmer was grilled about the Labour rebellion over the welfare Bill (Picture: House of Commons/UK Parliament) | PA Wire High-handed ministers In one fell swoop, the massive Labour majority in the House of Commons was gone – and all because of the high-handed, contemptuous approach taken by those at the top. For a government to be blindsided in this way is a total failure of party management. It suggests that whips are either not doing their job, or are being ignored by those above them. Above all, it smacks of a government that thinks it is a lot cleverer than it really is, and that does not believe it is accountable to the MPs who make up their majority. What is so concerning about this week's debacle is that ministers appear to be unwilling to make the case for their policies, either with the public or with their own MPs. To govern, after all, is to choose. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Sometimes cuts have to be made, tough decisions taken. If the planned cuts in the welfare budget were so necessary, as the government claimed up to the last minute, why were ministers so unwilling to win the argument with their colleagues? A lack of conviction This matters, because now that the government has shown that it cannot control its own party, every difficult vote becomes that much more difficult. The rebels have had a taste of successful rebellion – why would they stop here? What we are witnessing is a government that does not have the courage of its convictions. It may, in truth, not even have convictions to begin with – and a government that has neither the ideas nor the votes has a rocky road ahead of it. All indications, however, are that this poor management is going to continue. Just hours after the government turned tail on the welfare Bill, anonymous messages were circulating from the higher-ups, threatening that the two-child limit on benefits – one of the greatest drivers of child poverty in this country – would have to be kept in place to teach a lesson to rebellious MPs. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad If the government think they have the numbers to bully their MPs, they may have another thing coming. The first rule of politics is to know how to count.
Powys County Times
28 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Ban on Palestine Action clears Parliament but faces legal challenge
A ban on Palestine Action as a terror group is poised to become law after peers backed the Government move at Westminster but faces a legal bid to block it. The House of Lords backed proscribing the group under the Terrorism Act 2000 without a vote. A short time before, a so-called regret motion proposed by a Green Party peer criticising the measure was rejected by 144 votes to 16, majority 128. The ministerial order, which has already been approved by MPs, will make it a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison to be a member of the direct action group or to support it. However, it is unclear when the ban, which needs final sign-off by the Home Secretary, will come into force as the group is mounting a court challenge to try to temporarily block the move with a hearing scheduled on Friday, pending further proceedings. The Government crackdown comes after two planes were vandalised at RAF Brize Norton on June 20 causing £7 million worth of damage, in an action claimed by Palestine Action. Four people have been charged by counter-terrorism police in connection with the incident and were remanded in custody following a court appearance. Home Office minister Lord Hanson of Flint said: 'I will always defend the right of British people to engage in legitimate and peaceful protest and to stand up for the causes in which they believe. 'But essential as these rights are, they do not provide a blank cheque for this particular group to seriously damage property or subject members of the public to fear and violence.' He added: 'We would not tolerate this activity from organisations if they were motivated by Islamist or extreme right-wing ideology, and therefore I cannot tolerate it from Palestine Action. 'By implementing this measure, we will remove Palestine Action's veil of legitimacy, tackle its financial support, degrade its efforts to recruit and radicalise people into committing terrorist activity in its name.' But ministers have faced criticism over the decision to outlaw Palestine Action, with opponents branding the move as 'draconian overreach' and comparing the group to the Suffragettes. The United Nations has also warned against the ban, with experts concerned at the 'unjustified labelling of a political protest movement as 'terrorist''. In the Lords, Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb opposed the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. Her regret motion argued the ban undermined civil liberties, constituted a misuse of anti-terror legislation, suppressed dissent against the UK's policy on Israel, and criminalised support for a protest group, causing 'a chilling effect on freedom of expression'. The legislation approved by the Lords also bans two white supremacist groups, Maniacs Murder Cult and Russian Imperial Movement, including its paramilitary arm Russian Imperial Legion. The Home Office describes the Maniacs Murder Cult as a neo-Nazi transnational and online organisation which has claimed a number of violent attacks around the world. The Russian Imperial Movement is an ethno-nationalist group which aims to create a new Russian imperial state. Its paramilitary unit fought alongside Russian forces in the invasion of Ukraine to advance its ideological cause.
