Keir Starmer to meet police leaders as Southport attack leads to violent unrest
Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s latest UK politics live blog. I’m Amy and I’ll be bringing you the latest updates today.
The prime minister, Keir Starmer, is to hold an emergency meeting with senior police officers in Downing Street after a second night of disorder and unrest in parts of England.
The meeting in Downing Street on Thursday afternoon comes after scenes of violent unrest in London, Hartlepool and Manchester overnight while a demonstration in Aldershot saw a tense standoff with riot police. In London, more than 100 people were arrested as violence flared after the Southport stabbings.
Starmer will meet with senior police leaders in Downing Street to express his full support for their efforts to deal with the violence and is expected to praise their “bravery” in dealing with the incident in Southport and its aftermath. Starmer will also encourage them to use their powers to “stop mindless violence in its tracks”.
Elsewhere, the justice secretary, Angela Constance, will visit Stirling police station at an event to mark the national phased rollout of digital evidence sharing technology. She will meet justice partners collaborating on the £33m Scottish government initiative to share digital evidence across the justice system.
This morning, the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar will visit a community group, during which he will set out how the government’s plans to boost workers’ rights will deliver for Scots. Of the employment rights bill to be introduced to the Commons within 100 days, Sarwar said: “Labour’s transformative plans represent the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation – they will fundamentally reset our economy and make it work for working people.”
I’ll also keep an eye out for any reaction to the Guardian’s exclusive on Kemi Badenoch that was published last night. The Guardian’s political editor, Pippa Crerar reported that Badenoch had asked officials to pay for a holiday flight with taxpayers’ money to the US while in government but was rebuffed by her former department’s top civil servant.
Officials at the department for business and trade (DBT) ended up booking her travel to Texas for a family holiday in February last year, sources claimed, although the former cabinet minister covered the cost herself.
I’ve been advised by the moderators that comments will not be open today for reasons of sensitivity, so if you want to get in touch then please email me at [email protected].
Key events
At least a dozen police leaders have arrived for their meeting with the prime minister on Thursday afternoon.
The group entered 10 Downing Street and ignored questions from the gathered media about what they hoped to ask Keir Starmer, reports the PA news agency.
More police leaders are expected to arrive before the start of the meeting at 2.30pm.
Keir Starmer will a hold press conference at around 4pm today following his meeting with senior police chiefs about the disorder seen in London, Hartlepool and Manchester on Wednesday evening.
The Prime Minister will speak about the gathering with policing leaders and take questions from the media, after scenes of violent unrest.
Rioters clashed with police in Southport on Tuesday, attacking officers and setting a van on fire, following the fatal stabbing of three children in the Lancashire town on Monday.
The Scottish government should explore making its version of the winter fuel payment “more targeted”, the leader of Scottish Labour has said.
PA reports:
This week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the benefit would move from being universal to means-tested, sparking outrage in Scotland about a potential £160 million funding gap.
As part of the process of devolving social security, the Scottish government is due to take control of the benefit this winter.
Ministers have said the universality of the payment – which could be worth as much as £300 for pensioners – cannot be guaranteed.
But Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the announcement from the Chancellor presents an “opportunity” for the benefit in Scotland.
Speaking to journalists on a visit to a community project in Easterhouse, Glasgow, he said:
This is a new devolved benefit that’s going to come to Scotland this year now that the winter fuel payment is going to be devolved.
We have an opportunity to do that in a more progressive, fair way and I think the Scottish government should take that opportunity.
I don’t see the benefit in us giving a payment to those that frankly are millionaires and don’t need the money at a time when people are struggling to make ends meet and our public finances are in a difficult situation.
The MSP said he was “sympathetic” to those on the edges of receiving the benefit, who would likely lose out, adding he would work with the Scottish government to adjust the criteria north of the border if that was required.
The country needs to have a conversation about false information spread by the far right on social media, Hartlepool’s MP has said.
Jonathan Brash told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme:
The conversation we need to start having is about the way these far-right groups are disseminating false information on social media.
Because I see it almost every single day – straight-up lies about these situations designed to cause violence, to incite racial hatred, to incite people to violence.
We have to deal with that situation because there is so much misinformation and it’s being spread quite deliberately to stoke tension in communities and ultimately it’s the communities that are suffering as a result.
He added that the unrest “is not in any way, shape or form reflective of Hartlepool, its people, its values”, and that many people have got in touch to “express their absolute disgust” at what was seen on the streets last night.
He said:
This has clearly been co-ordinated on social media earlier in the day, so it’s not clear what the mix was in terms of who was there.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has welcomed the interest rates cut, warning that “millions of people are still paying higher mortgage rates” following the 2022 mini-budget.
She said:
Homeowners will welcome this cut in interest rates, but I know that millions of people are still paying higher mortgage rates after the Conservatives mini-budget less than two years ago that sent interest rates and mortgage rates soaring.
That is why I am focused on taking the difficult decisions to fix the foundations of our economy so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of our country better off.
Libby Brooks
The Scottish Conservative party has published the timetable for its leadership election, after Douglas Ross stepped down during the general election campaign following a row about his last-minute attempt to win another Westminster seat. Ross had promised colleagues to focus on Holyrood in preparation for the 2026 Scottish parliament elections.
Although two candidates – current justice spokesperson and former journalist Russell Findlay and Brian Whittle, MSP and former Olympic sprinter – have already put themselves forward, the official process has now begun with nominations closing on Thursday 22 August, with candidates requiring the backing of 100 members. Ballots go out early September with the winner announced on Friday September 27.
This is of course well in advance of the UK party leadership contest, with the new leader not chosen until 2 November, and some concerns have been raised about whether this uncertainty will inhibit the Scottish contest, particularly when some MSPs have been pushing a discussion on whether the party should separate in some way from the UK party in order to cement a more distinctive centre-right identity in Scotland.
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said policymakers will remain “highly alert” to signs that inflation might increase.
Speaking at a press conference, Bailey said the UK has “truly come a long way in returning inflation to target”, but that some indicators like persistent services price inflation remain a risk factor.
He said:
We need to watch this very carefully. The Monetary Policy Committee continues to pay close attention to services inflation as an indicator of persistence in domestic inflationary pressures, along with a range of other economic indicators.
We need to put the period of high inflation firmly behind us. And we need to be careful not to cut rates too much or too quickly – all the while monitoring the evidence on how inflationary pressures are evolving.
Monetary policy will need to remain restrictive for sufficiently long until the risks to inflation remaining sustainably around the 2% target in the medium term have dissipated further.
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak has suggested that Labour’s “inflation-busting public sector pay rises” could make it more difficult for the Bank of England to cut interest rates further.
He posted on X, formerly known as Twitter:
The @bankofengland has cut interest rates for the first time since 2020.
That’s good news for homeowners and shows Labour inherited a strong economy.
My concern now is that Labour’s inflation-busting public sector pay rises have put further cuts at risk.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) August 1, 2024
Former counter-terror chief accuses Nigel Farage of inciting Southport violence
Vikram Dodd
A former counter-terrorism police chief has accused Nigel Farage of helping incite violence that broke out in Southport after the killing of three children in a knife attack this week.
Farage drew criticism from across the political spectrum for remarks he made in a video on Tuesday in which he questioned “whether the truth is being withheld from us” after the attack on Monday.
Neil Basu – a former senior Scotland Yard officer who was in charge of counter-terrorism from 2018 to 2021 – said there were “real world consequences” when public figures failed to “keep their mouth shut”.
“Nigel Farage is giving the EDL [English Defence League] succour, undermining the police, creating conspiracy theories, and giving a false basis for the attacks on the police,” he said, referring to the far-right, Islamophobic group whose supporters are believed to have been involved in the rioting in Southport.
“Has Nigel Farage condemned the violence? Has he condemned the EDL? Fomenting discord in society is what these people seem to exist for,” Basu added.
Farage said that it was “quite legitimate to ask questions”.
Others who criticised the Reform UK leader on Wednesday included the deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, who said Farage had “a level of responsibility … and it’s not to stoke up what conspiracy theories or what you think might have happened”.
“There’s a responsibility to say the police are doing a difficult job, local authorities, all of the services that are on the ground,” she said in an interview on LBC.
“We have a responsibility to hold the community together and say let’s get the facts, and then let’s look at what the actual solutions are and what we can do about the horrific situation that we find ourselves in, not to stir up these fake news online.”
You can read the full piece by Vikram Dodd, Ben Quinn and Rowena Mason here:
The MP for Aldershot, Alex Baker, said she had been “liasing” with Hampshire police on Wednesday evening after a “significant incident at Potter’s international hotel in Aldershot”. Baker said this was due to a “peaceful protest” having “descended into intimidating behaviour”.
Posting on social media, Baker rebuked the violence, stating that there is “no justification for disorderly behaviour and the scenes do not represent Aldershot and Farnborough”.
She wrote:
I have visited the scene myself this evening and have been in touch with the chief inspector. This incident was exacerbated by people from outside our community who came here determined to cause unrest. I would like to pay tribute to the brave police officers who worked hard to restore order.
There is no justification for disorderly behaviour and the scenes do not represent Aldershot and Farnborough. We all support our shared right to peacefully protest, but we will not stand for people coming into our towns determined to stir up trouble and divide our community.”
In Manchester, local councillor John Flanagan posted on social media in responce to violence in the city on Wednesday, labelling those involved in the “sickening” incident as “mindless idiots”.
“I’d like to condemn these mindless thugs, attacking innocent men who are asylum seekers. They have been there for months and we have not had any issues or problems. They have been in a place of safety,” the councillor for Newton Heath said.
Flanagan added:
It’s sickening to think they are being targeted because of their race or their religion, and I hope this isn’t tied with the disgraceful scenes in Southport where a mosque was attacked last night.
These idiots are attacking innocent people. My initial reaction is to contact GMP and support them. The whole of the city and reasonable thinking people will be horrified and sickened by these actions. Idiots is too soft of a word – I hope the police use the full force of the law.
We cannot allow our country and our city to descend into anarchy, which seems to be being driven by madness on social media.”
It comes after violence erupted in Southport on Tuesday after a vigil for three girls killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
The public will “pay the price with more strikes and higher taxes”, if Labour does not resolve industrial action by GPs, the Conservatives have said.
Shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins said:
After appeasing junior doctors with a budget-busting 22% pay rise, it comes as no surprise that other healthcare workers are feeling short-changed by the new Labour government.
Instead of caving in to unaffordable union demands, the Labour government must resolve this dispute or it is patients and the public who will pay the price with more strikes and higher taxes.”
The leader of the Unite trade union criticised the interest rate decision as being “too little, too late from the Bank of England” for working families.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said:
Interest rates still stand at historic highs and this small cut will offer little help to workers struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and record housing costs.
Decisive action from both the Bank of England and government is urgently needed, including a clear roadmap for future rate cuts and a programme of serious investment in our public services and industry to get us out of this crisis.”
Responding to the Bank of England’s decision to cut interest rates to 5%, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, Sarah Olney said:
There is finally light at the end of the tunnel for homeowners but sadly for millions the damage has already been done. Families across the country are already paying off sky high mortgage bills. The country is still reeling from Liz Truss’ disastrous mini-budget and years of economic failure under the Conservatives.
Today must serve as a reminder that governments should never treat budgets as an economic experiment for wild policies. We need a return to sound economics and stability after years of Conservative chaos and mismanagement.”
The Bank of England has cut interest rates to 5% at its August monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting, the first reduction of the UK’s base rate in four years, reports the PA news agency.
In a finely balanced decision, five committee members voted in favour of cutting rates, versus four who preferred to keep them unchanged.
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said: “Inflationary pressures have eased enough that we’ve been able to cut interest rates today.”
Bailey, alongside policymakers Sarah Breeden, Swati Dhingra, Clare Lombardelli and Dave Ramsden voted in favour, while Megan Greene, Jonathan Haskel, Catherine Mann and Huw Pill voted to maintain the base rate at 5.25%.
The MPC indicated that continued progress on slowing wage growth and reducing services price inflation helped prompt the decision.
The Bank of England also announced on Thursday that it expects the UK economy to grow 1.25% this year, higher than its last forecast. But, it has kept its outlook for 2025 the same at 1%.
For the latest episode of Politics Weekly UK, John Harris talks to the Guardian correspondent Hannah Al-Othman, who has been reporting from Southport.
Harris also speaks to political editor, Pippa Crerar, about her exclusive report on bullying allegations against the Conservative party leadership frontrunner Kemi Badenoch.
You can listen to the podcast here:
