Starmer called ‘petty’ over Margaret Thatcher portrait row as PM to reveal smoking ban – UK politics live

UK house prices fell by 0.2 per cent month-on-month in August, Nationwide Building Society said.

But the annual rate of house price growth was 2.4 per cent, marking the fastest pace since December 2022.

The average UK house price in August is £265,375.

Nigel Farage has said he will “never go to the pub again” if Labour’s mulled outdoor smoking ban comes to pass.

Writing in The Telegraph, the Reform UK leader claimed “the Puritans are on the march” after details emerged of the leaked plans, which suggest the government is considering banning smoking in outdoor areas including pub gardens.

Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday that he is considering tougher rules on smoking, telling reporters on a trip to Paris: “yes, we are going to take decisions in this space, more details will be revealed.”

The proposed ban would see smoking banned in some outdoor spaces, extending to nightclubs, sports venues and small parks. Perhaps most controversially, the new rules would also ban smoking outside of pubs, even if they have private gardens.

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Sir Keir Starmer has removes a portrait of Margaret Thatcher from No 10 Downing Street, according to biographer Tom Baldwin.

The portrait, commissioned by Gordon Brown in 2009, was displayed in the room once used by Ms Thatcher, now known as the Thatcher room.

Baldwin revealed that Sir keir found the portrait “unsettling” and agreed to remove it when asked.

The decision has drawn criticism from Conservative MPs, who accused him of “pettiness” and a lack of respect for historical figures.

The painting, created by Richard Stone and costing £100,000 was the first of a former prime minister to be commissioned in No 10.

Some Tories viewed the removal as a slight against Thatcher’s legacy, with MP Greg Smith calling it a sign of disrespect.

Murdo Fraser, a Scottish Tory leadership candidate, also said: “It seems like a churlish move, but perhaps Sir Keir Starmer was intimidated by the gaze of a world-renowned leader whose achievements he will never come close to matching.”

Despite the controversy, the PM recently acknowledged Thatcher’s role in bringing “meaninful change” to Britain.

The government is considering a ban on outdoor smoking in an effort to curb preventable deaths and alleviate pressure on the NHS.

The proposal would affect small parks, pub gardens, and areas outside hospitals, nightclubs and sports venues.

Sir Keir Starmer said action is needed “to reduce the burden on the NHS and the taxpayer”.

But the hospitality industry warned it would cause serious economic harm to venues already struggling since the Covid-19 pandemic, and questioned whether the move is in the public interest.

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A social media post by Conservative MP Esther McVey has been branded as “repugnant” by the Board of Deputies of British Jews for likening the Labour government’s proposed smoking ban to the Holocaust.

The MP for Tatton took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share Martin Niemoller’s 1946 poem “First They Came”.

The poem includes the lines: “Then they came for the Jews. And I did not speak out.”

However, the former cabinet minister for common sense ended her version with a twist: “Pertinent words re Starmer’s smoking ban.”

In response, the Board of Deputies of British Jews condemned the Tory MP for her choice of words, and dubbed her social media stunt as “repugnant” and “breathtakingly thoughtless”.

The Board said in a statement: “The use of Martin Niemoller’s poem about the horrors of the Nazis to describe a potential smoking ban is an ill-considered and repugnant action.

“We would strongly encourage the MP for Tatton to delete her tweet and apologise for this breathtakingly thoughtless comparison.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting responded to Ms McVey with: “No, I do not think the postwar confessional of Martin Niemoller about the silent complicity of the German intelligentsia and clergy in the Nazi rise to power is pertinent to a Smoking Bill that was in your manifesto and ours to tackle one of the biggest killers.”

Rabbi David Mason, executive director of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality, said: “Tasteless. Utterly tasteless. How can you not see that?”

The prime minister dropped the phrase ‘rubble and ruin’ from his speech and tried to emphasise the things he is doing to fix the problems, writes John Rentoul – but will it work?

First Minister John Swinney has warned cuts by the UK government will leave his ability to serve Scotland “under real threat”.

Speaking ahead of his first conference as party leader in almost two decades, Mr Swinney urged Scots to rally against any potential spending cuts at a UK level, which would impact on the funding provided to Scotland.

Both the UK and Scottish governments find themselves fighting against dire financial outlooks, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing a more than £20 billion black hole in public finances, while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the Budget expected in October will be “painful”.

North of the border, Finance Secretary Shona Robison has said “tough decisions” will be needed, as experts suggested a combination of high spending and uncertainty around funding from the UK government could see Scotland struggle to balance its budget.

Ahead of the first SNP conference of John Swinney’s tenure as leader – after he succeeded Humza Yousaf earlier this year – the First Minister said: “The Prime Minister’s speech on Tuesday has made clear that Scotland is facing years of austerity under Labour, which will have profound consequences for public services and living standards.

“Be in no doubt – our ability to serve the people of Scotland is under real threat by the sweeping spending cuts that the Labour government are introducing – cuts that, only a few months ago, they were denying would take place.

“The SNP, and indeed Scotland as a whole, must come together to stand up against Labour’s cuts.

“My belief that Scotland will be better as an independent country has never been stronger – and I know that we will win our independence when we show the people of Scotland that the powers of independence are central to improving their living standards, their local services and their communities.

“Under my leadership, the SNP will work harder than ever for the country that we are so privileged to lead.

“What people in Scotland need right now is hope and ambition for a better future – and that is what the SNP will offer.”

The government has said it will not challenge judicial reviews brought against developments for the Rosebank and Jackdaw offshore oil and gas fields in the North Sea, in order to “save the taxpayer money”.

The move has been welcomed by climate action groups, despite the licences for drilling at the sites not being withdrawn.

Greenpeace and Uplift jointly brought judicial reviews to stop the development of the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields.

If the judicial review backs the environmental groups, operators would need to resubmit environmental assessments, adding costs to the projects.

Rosebank is owned by Equinor and Ithaca Energy, and Jackdaw is owned by Shell.

The Rosebank oil field was approved by the previous government in September 2023. Located 80 miles west of Shetland, it is the UK’s largest untapped oil field and is estimated to contain up to 300 million barrels of oil.

The Jackdaw gas condensate field is being developed 155 miles east of Aberdeen and is expected to start production in 2025.

Sir Keir Starmer confirmed prior to the election that Labour would respect the Conservative government’s decision to approve the fields and would uphold existing oil and gas licences, whilst banning any new ones.

Conservative leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat has pledged that the party will commit to a policy of an annual net migration cap of 100,000 if he becomes party leader.

In a speech in central London on Thursday, he also said that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is “already losing control of pay across the public sector” and warned that it could lead to rising inflation.

Mr Tugendhat said that “an honest and open conversation about population size is the only way to have a country that is happy with itself”.

Pointing to ideas such as reforms of visa policies and welfare, he said that “the pressure on housing, on infrastructure and on services is just one reason why the Conservative Party, under my leadership, will commit to a legally binding annual cap on non-British annual net migration of 100,000”.

Polling of Conservative party members from YouGov released earlier this week suggested that more than half of party members would “support” a policy of “a freeze in all migration coming into Britain for the next five years”.

The blunt subtitle of Sir Anthony Seldon’s account of our shortest-serving prime minister’s brief time in office says it all, writes Simon Walters – ‘How Not to Be Prime Minister’: