Key events
Badenoch says the Tories could take legal action against cuts being imposed on Wandsworth council
Kemi Badenoch says the Conservative Party has “instructed lawyers” to challenge government cuts in the Tory-run London council, which they say are 40%.
The cuts will force Wandsworth to increase council tax by 94%, the Conservative leader says.
In an interview with Matt Chorley on BBC Newsnight broadcast tonight, Badenoch accuses the government of deliberately taking money from areas that don’t vote Labor and giving it to places that do.
Badenoch says:
I find it outrageous that Wandsworth Council has to levy council tax. But they don’t do it because they want to.
This is because the government took 40% of their funding. So we, as the Conservative Party, have actually commissioned lawyers to see if we can challenge this government decision.
Because it looks like Labor is taking money from areas that don’t vote Labour, and giving it to places that do vote Labour.
And I think this is completely wrong. I think this is outrageous. So we’re talking to lawyers.
Andy Burnham hasn’t found 40% of what can be cut, but he asks Wandsworth to do it. I don’t think that’s fair. I don’t think that’s right.”
Wandsworth is one of the few councils that have been given two-year “funding reallocation powers”, allowing them to increase council tax beyond the 5% threshold. It comes as the government recognizes that changes to the way local government is funded means the council needs to significantly increase council tax.
The council was under Tory control for over 40 years and became famous for its very low council tax. Labor came to power in 2022. In the May elections, the Conservatives regained control as the largest party, but without a clear majority.
Watson says Palantir “can transform government services,” explaining joining firm
Here’s the statement Tom Watson announced his decision to take a job at Palantir.
I’m thrilled to be joining the young team at Palantir, which is building the tools public service workers need to change the way they serve the British people.
Whether that means reducing the time it takes to get diagnosed, treated, and discharged from the hospital, helping our military keep us safe, or empowering our police to solve crimes and root out corruption, Palantir’s software has the potential to transform the nation’s government services.
Through our partnerships across the UK, we will demonstrate Palantir’s ongoing commitment to the UK, not only through the services we help provide, but also through the skills, jobs and opportunities we help create.
Watson has been on leave from the House of Lords since March and says it will continue while he works at Palantir. Palantir said he gave up his parliamentary pass and access privileges that members of parliament typically retain while on leave.
Greens condemn Tom Watson’s move to Palantir, saying it shows ‘corrosive revolving door’ between politics and business
How Robert Booth reports former deputy leader of the Labor Party Tom Watson got a job at the controversial American artificial intelligence company Palantir.
The Green Party says this is an example of the “corrosive revolving door” between politics and business.
In the statement Sian BerryGreen MP said:
Palantir, which works for ICE in the US and the IDF, has nothing to do with our NHS and public services at all. Tom Watson was hired to lobby his friends in the Labor government.
This is yet another example of the destructive revolving door between politics and big business lobbying, which has no place in public life.
Burnham will meet the Irish Prime Minister at No. 10 North as the UK seeks exemptions from the EU’s Made in Europe plan.
Good morning. At a summit in Cardiff on Monday with SNP and Plaid Cymru leaders, Mary Lou McDonald, the Sinn Féin president, joked that Liverpool was Ireland’s 33rd county. Andy Burnham it is essentially a Scouser; he was born in Liverpool and supports the Liverpool football team, despite growing up in Culcheth, a village halfway between Liverpool and Manchester, which made him man enough to become mayor of the city. He also has Irish roots, and so the mood today when he receives guests should be very cordial. Michelle MartinThe Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) this morning at No. 10 North, Manchester.
This is the first time Burnham has used Number 10 North for an overseas visit, which should help his efforts a little to establish that Number 10 North is a real government power base and not just a branch office.
And in an overnight report on the visit, Number 10 says it is part of a deliberate attempt by Burnham to use meetings with foreign leaders to focus attention on parts of the UK outside London. Number 10 says:
The historic visit to No 10 North came as the Prime Minister was covering cities across the country, days after he hosted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Liverpool and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte in Oxford.
Number 10 also indicates that when Burnham met with Vladimir Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, they were in Portsmouth.
This should be a friendly meeting. When Burnham was mayor of Greater Manchester, he held several meetings with Martin, including in Ireland, and when Burnham became prime minister, Martin issued a statement praising him as a man who was “a great champion of deeper ties between Ireland and Britain.” No. 10 says talks will focus on “shared goals including boosting trade, supporting Ukraine and working with the European Union as Ireland continues its EU Presidency.” Following the official meetings, the two leaders will visit the Irish Community Centre.
While Burnham and Martin meet in Manchester, John HealyThe Chancellor will be in Dublin, where he has been invited to the Ecofin informal meeting, a meeting of EU finance ministers. And this is not just a social meeting. The UK is desperate to get some sort of exemption from EU “Made in Europe” procurement laws and Healey will be making the case to his European counterparts.
Healy will urge the EU to implement Made in Europe rules in a way that “ensures a good deal for everyone” rather than “raising new barriers,” Treasury sources said.
Burnham is due to meet Martin at 10am.
Otherwise the political diary is rather empty.
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