Man Verhofstadt has claimed the suggestion that Brexit will be made to work is a “delusion” as he referred to as for Britain and Brussels to rethink their relationship.
The MEP who chaired the European Parliament’s Brexit steering group tweeted: “British politicians are far behind public opinion.
“Making Brexit work is a delusion. Time for pro-Europeans to place a roadmap for a distinct relationship on the desk!”
The feedback had been made in response to reviews of a cross-party convention being held final week which checked out “making Brexit work higher”.
Senior Tories together with Michael Gove, the Levelling Up Secretary, reportedly attended the convention at Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire together with Labour politicians and enterprise leaders.
It got here amid rising optimism that the UK and the EU will agree a deal on the Northern Eire Protocol within the subsequent fortnight after a long-running row between the 2 sides over post-Brexit border guidelines.
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11:22 AM
Man Verhofstadt: ‘Making Brexit work is a delusion’
Man Verhofstadt has claimed the suggestion that Brexit will be made to work is a “delusion” as he referred to as for Britain and Brussels to rethink their relationship.
The MEP who chaired the European Parliament’s Brexit steering group tweeted: “British politicians are far behind public opinion.
“Making Brexit work is a delusion. Time for pro-Europeans to place a roadmap for a distinct relationship on the desk!”
The feedback had been made in response to reviews of a cross-party convention being held final week which checked out “making Brexit work higher”.
10:38 AM
UK misplaced 843,000 work days to strike motion in December – most since 2011
The UK recorded the best variety of working days misplaced to strike motion for greater than a decade in December, based on official figures printed this morning.
The Workplace for Nationwide Statistics mentioned: “There have been 843,000 working days misplaced due to labour disputes in December 2022, which is the best since November 2011.”
The surge in misplaced days got here after rolling industrial motion involving Publish Workplace, rail and NHS employees amongst others.
ONS director of financial statistics Darren Morgan mentioned: “The variety of working days misplaced to strikes rose once more sharply in December.
“Transport and communications remained essentially the most closely affected space, however this month there was additionally a big contribution from the well being sector.”
10:15 AM
UK financial system ‘lagging behind’, claims Labour
The UK financial system is “lagging behind” its worldwide rivals, Rachel Reeves mentioned this morning as she responded to as we speak’s unemployment and wage statistics (see the publish under at 08.04).
Labour’s shadow chancellor mentioned: “Britain has large potential – however 13 years of the Tories has left actual wages down, households worse off, and our financial system lagging behind on the worldwide stage.
“The federal government must cease sitting again and following this path of managed decline. Labour will get individuals again into work, with our actual plan for progress to create good, new jobs throughout each a part of our nation.”
09:50 AM
Lib Dems: ‘Onerous-working individuals are having their pay squeezed because of the incompetence of Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt’
Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrats’ Treasury spokeswoman, mentioned this morning’s wage figures (see the publish under at 08.04) had been the results of Tory “incompetence”.
She mentioned: “This Conservative authorities has hammered households with hovering mortgages, rising power payments and large unfair tax hikes.
“Onerous-working individuals are having their pay squeezed because of the incompetence of Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt.
“A protracted record of Conservative Chancellors have pushed the financial system to the sting of recession, leaving hundreds of thousands fearful about shedding their jobs. The Authorities ought to do the best factor, put in place a correct windfall tax and cancel April’s power invoice rise.”
09:15 AM
Former MI6 boss: China made a ‘deep mistake’ over use of spy balloons
Sending Chinese language spy balloons into US airspace “wasn’t correctly thought by way of” and Beijing has made a “deep mistake”, the previous head of MI6 has mentioned.
Sir Alex Youthful mentioned using the balloons represented a “gross and actually seen transgression of the sovereignty of many countries” which is more likely to undermine China’s overseas coverage.
He advised the BBC Radio 4 At present programme: “It’s a deep mistake by China to underestimate the impact that this was going to have. I believe it wasn’t correctly thought by way of and it’s actually tough for Xi as a result of to your level he’s spent quite a lot of time, he’s proposing a brand new safety structure for the world, it’s referred to as the worldwide safety initiative and it’s in regards to the indivisible rights and interconnected safety of creating nations and China’s position in safeguarding that in distinction to form of US recklessness. That’s the story and it will get various take within the non-aligned world.
“This simply flies completely within the face of that. That is only a gross and actually seen transgression of the sovereignty of many countries.
“So I believe the West, the US, will, and I believe rightly, take the chance to level out the manifest hypocrisy that this programme entails and can I believe be politically motivated to make an enormous fuss and I believe that’s wise.”
09:10 AM
‘Eminently doable’ that Chinese language spy balloons use US know-how – ex-MI6 chief
It’s “eminently doable” that US know-how could also be being utilized in Chinese language spy balloons, the previous boss of MI6 has mentioned.
Sir Alex Youthful mentioned individuals must “wait to listen to what the FBI has obtained to say” in regards to the balloon which was shot down however that if US tech is discovered it’s going to “quickly deepen” the dialog round tech divergence between the 2 nations.
He advised the BBC’s Radio 4 At present programme: “On the balloons, we have now obtained to attend to listen to what the FBI has obtained to say. Let’s be clear, we’re below the complete press of Chinese language espionage exercise already – house, cyber, human – so I personally can be a bit shocked if it is a form of sport altering new method.
“However let’s see what they are saying. I believe by the best way if it seems there may be US know-how getting used inside these sensors to spy on the US that can quickly deepen the tech divergence dialog.”
Requested if he believes that’s doable, Sir Alex mentioned: “I believe it’s eminently doable however let’s see.”
09:06 AM
Former MI6 boss: Belief between China and the West ‘plummeting to zero’
Sir Alex Youthful, who was the pinnacle of MI6 from 2014 and 2020, mentioned the Chinese language spy balloon controversy represents a severe second for China-US relations.
Sir Alex mentioned belief between China and the West is “plummeting to zero” and the balloon row “demonstrates to you ways there is no such thing as a belief in that relationship now”.
He advised BBC Radio 4’s At present programme: “Sure, regrettably I do assume that. Because it occurs Xi Jinping made a speech final week. It has sort of suited Xi to faux there isn’t a contest happening as a result of china has benefited enormously from the established order.
“However he mentioned it final week, he mentioned modernisation shouldn’t be Westernisation and made it very., very clear that he sees China’s path as being completely different and sees danger within the interdependence that exists between us and clearly he’s vaunting rising divergence and self-sufficiency as a matter of nationwide precedence and in a method that buttresses Communist occasion management.
“And to your query, the important thing truth there may be that that’s inevitably making a response and now the US sees danger within the interdependence as nicely, though it’s at an all time excessive and primarily the financial relationship turning into politicised and belief is plummeting to zero and this complete balloon dialog simply demonstrates to you ways there is no such thing as a belief in that relationship now.”
08:35 AM
Folks ‘should not be panicking’ about Chinese language spy balloons – ex-national safety adviser
Lord Darroch, the previous nationwide safety adviser and former UK ambassador to the US, mentioned individuals “should not be panicking” about Chinese language spy balloons making incursions into Western airspace as a result of it’s “simply a part of the best way the world is”.
He advised Occasions Radio: “These are, in the long run, balloons. An terrible lot of surveillance goes on, quite a lot of it’s executed by satellite tv for pc, balloons are a less expensive method of doing it and I suppose as a result of they’re decrease and so they transfer extra slowly you get completely different sorts of intelligence from it.
“However that is stuff that simply has been happening for years so it’s a good story, it is crucial, however we shouldn’t be panicking about it. It’s simply a part of the best way the world is.”
08:25 AM
Former nationwide safety adviser says UK air defences not as ‘watertight’ as PM instructed
Lord Darroch, who served because the UK’s nationwide safety adviser from 2012 to 2015, mentioned the UK’s functionality to guard in opposition to incursions by spy balloons into British airspace shouldn’t be as “watertight” as Rishi Sunak instructed.
The Prime Minister mentioned yesterday that “individuals ought to be reassured that we have now all of the capabilities in place to maintain the nation protected”.
Requested if he was as assured because the PM, Lord Darroch advised Occasions Radio: “I’m not, to be trustworthy, however I would not need your listeners to get very fearful about that.
“I’m not as a result of I believe we have now underinvested in defence for the final couple of a long time, one may argue ever for the reason that finish of the Chilly Struggle, and we don’t have all of the equipment and gear that we actually want and there are gaps round within the know-how that our armed forces have.
“So we could have some functionality. Whether or not we have now a watertight functionality because the Prime Minister says, I’m not so certain. However we have now sufficient functionality, I believe, that folks can actually sleep simple of their beds.”
08:13 AM
Chancellor: Unchanged unemployment price an ‘encouraging signal’
Jeremy Hunt mentioned as we speak’s unchanged unemployment figures (see the publish under at 08.04) are an “encouraging signal of resilience” within the UK’s labour market.
The Chancellor mentioned: “In robust occasions unemployment remaining near report lows is an encouraging signal of resilience in our labour market.
“The perfect factor we will do to make individuals’s wages go additional is stick with our plan to halve inflation this 12 months.”
08:04 AM
Unemployment price is unchanged whereas wages proceed to be outstripped by inflation
The UK’s unemployment price has remained unchanged regardless of Britain’s financial system flatlining, official figures printed this morning have proven.
The Workplace for Nationwide Statistics (ONS) revealed the speed of UK unemployment was 3.7 per cent within the three months to December, the identical price that was recorded within the three months to November.
Nevertheless, it had edged barely greater than the earlier calendar quarter, with the unemployment price standing at 3.6 per cent within the three months to September.
The info additionally confirmed that common pay progress was 6.7 per cent within the three months, the strongest progress price seen outdoors the pandemic. Nevertheless, wages continued to be outstripped by rising costs, falling by 2.5 per cent as soon as inflation was taken under consideration.
08:00 AM
One other Tory MP pronounces they’ll step down at subsequent normal election
Stephen McPartland final evening turned the newest Tory MP to announce they’ll stand down on the subsequent normal election.
The MP for Stevenage mentioned he had made the choice after “a lot soul looking”. He has been an MP since 2010.
Here is his tweet and letter to Rishi Sunak:
07:56 AM
Senior Tory MP says slicing taxes on the Finances can be ‘irresponsible’
Caroline Nokes, the previous minister and present Tory chairman of the Girls and Equalities Choose Committee, has argued it will be “irresponsible” for Jeremy Hunt to chop taxes on the Finances subsequent month.
Requested if she can be proud of no tax cuts on this Finances, Ms Nokes advised TalkTV: “Yeah, I might be proud of no tax cuts. I believe it will be irresponsible to have tax cuts and we noticed again within the autumn, didn’t we, the risks of unfunded tax cuts.
“I can be content material with that. What I want to see and I believe goes to be a very tough selections, is one thing on childcare.”
She continued: “I believe it is vitally apparent in the mean time that we have now a sector that’s actually struggling and we have now mother and father which are struggling and that’s one thing that’s most keenly though not solely felt by girls.
“We would like mums to return to work, we would like them to be within the financial system, we have now huge labour shortages however you may’t return to work in case you can’t get respectable, reasonably priced childcare, so that will be my huge plea for the Chancellor headed into subsequent month’s Finances.”
The Tories are fiercely break up on tax cuts, with allies of Liz Truss planning handy the Chancellor another low-tax Finances as they ramp up strain on him to set out a plan for progress (you may read that story here).