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Starmer gives Brown and Harman new roles as pressure grows over election mauling – UK politics live | Politics
Starmer appoints Brown as special envoy on global finance
Gordon Brown has been appointed as a special envoy on global finance.
Number 10 said:
The PM has committed to boosting the country’s security and resilience’
In this role, Gordon Brown will advise on how global finance cooperation can help to achieve this.
Key events
We have more from Downing Street on Brown’s appointment as special envoy on global finance.
He will be tasked with developing new international finance partnerships that can support defence and security-related investment, including measures that underpin the UK’s relationship with Europe.
As part of the role he will engage with international leaders and finance institutions as well as private finance partners to establish multilateral finance mechanisms.
The former prime minister, who steered the country through the 2008 financial crash and was also the longest serving chancellor of the modern era, has consistently thrown his support behind Starmer through various dramas (most recently the Peter Mandelson saga).
Starmer appoints Brown as special envoy on global finance
Gordon Brown has been appointed as a special envoy on global finance.
Number 10 said:
The PM has committed to boosting the country’s security and resilience’
In this role, Gordon Brown will advise on how global finance cooperation can help to achieve this.
Gordon Brown visits Starmer at No 10
Former prime minister Gordon Brown was seen meeting Keir Starmer at Downing Street.
He was pictured shaking hands with the prime minister outside No 10 this morning.
There are no details on what they discussed, but the visit comes as Starmer attempts to shore up support for his leadership amid calls for him to step down.
Starmer appoints Harriet Harman as adviser on women and girls
Keir Starmer has appointed former deputy leader Harriet Harman as his adviser on women and girls in his first post-election move.
Harman will work with ministers on work to tackle violence against women and girls, improving job prospects and increasing representation in parliament and public life, Downing Street said. She will report directly to the prime minister in the unpaid part-time role.
Earlier, Harman told Sky News that Starmer should continue as prime minister but that he needs to make changes. “More of the same is not acceptable,” she said.
Election results so far
Here are where things stand according to results data from the Press Association:
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After 129 of 136 English councils had declared full results, Labour had lost control of 32 authorities and suffered a net loss of 1,051 seats.
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Reform gained control of 13 councils and added 1,276 seats.
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The Conservatives suffered a net loss of eight councils and 427 councillors.
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The Liberal Democrats won three councils and gained a net 142 seats.
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The Green party gained control of four councils and put on 306 councillors.
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The SNP have 58 Holyrood seats, Labour 17, Reform 17, the Scottish Greens 15, the Conservatives 12 and the Liberal Democrats 10.
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In Wales, Plaid Cymru have 43 seats in the Senedd, with Reform on 34, Labour on nine, the Conservatives on seven, the Greens on two and the Liberal Democrats on one.
The SNP’s Stephen Gethins said Scottish independence should be a priority for the party, saying 73 MSPs out of 129 elected on Thursday supported the move, PA reports.
The SNP won 58 seats while the Scottish Greens, which has long supported independence, won a record 15.
“We’ve got the biggest pro-independence majority that the parliament has ever had, the people have spoken and the weekend after an election is a good time for us all to reflect on that just a little bit,” Gethins said.
Trump congratulates SNP’s Swinney
Donald Trump has congratulated the SNP’s John Swinney, who will return as first minister after a fifth Scottish election victory for the party.
Writing on his Truth Social app, the US president said:
Congratulations to John Swinney on winning his Re-Election for First Minister of Scotland. He is a good man, who worked very hard, along with the King and Queen of the United Kingdom, with respect to Tariff relief for Great Scottish Whiskey — and deserves this Big Electoral Victory!
Lucy Powell: ‘Timetable for leadership change is wrong conclusion’
Peter Walker
Lucy Powell, Labour’s deputy leader, said it was time to end “this incessant speculation” about Stamer’s position.
“What I would say to people is, thinking that setting out some kind of timetable would put to bed the issues of leadership, I think is actually the wrong conclusion here,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“All that would do is fire the starting gun of a, quite honestly, very distracting and ongoing debate about leadership.”
She added: “I don’t want to hear about that any more. I wanted to get on with the job of turning this country around and delivering the big change, the big, bold Labour change that people voted for two years ago. The more we talk about leadership, the less we can do that.”
Powell confirmed that she would want Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, to be allowed to stand for parliament, but said this should not then involve Burnham then challenging Starmer.
“We don’t do hospital takeovers in the Labour party. It’s not what we’re about,” she said.
Growing number of Labour MPs join calls for Starmer to quit
A number of Labour MPs have come out demanding Keir Starmer resigns. A few of them aired their views on social media and on the media round this morning, here’s what they had to say:
Connor Naismith, MP for Crewe and Nantwich, hinted in a post on X that Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham could take the reigns.
Andy is the most popular Labour politician in the country. The suggestion that he wouldn’t be able to win in some of the seats Labour is currently struggling to win is just wrong.
Ironically, this is precisely why we need him back on the front line of national politics.
Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield South East, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme Starmer has to go “in the not too distant future”.
I think there are three scenarios: one is that Keir carries on until the next election and we lose, and we lose badly.
Secondly, that in the end, Keir decides to stick it out, and there is a move to get rid of him, an internal battle, and then the public don’t like parties that fight amongst themselves, so that could lead to an election defeat.
Or in the end, Keir recognises, for the good of the country and the Government, he has to step down at some point in the not too distant future.
Debbie Abrahams, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, also told BBC Radio 4’s Today that Starmer had a “matter of months” to make a decision about his future.
“I hope, as he has said, that he will always put the country first and we have to recognise the dangers that we are in now.
“But on this trajectory it doesn’t look good, not just for locals – I lost some really dear colleagues who worked so hard for their constituency – but it means the prospect of us not just losing an election, but who we would lose to and that makes me really fearful.”
Keir Starmer under pressure to agree exit plan after election mauling
Pippa Crerar
Keir Starmer is under pressure to set out a timeline for his departure after a crushing defeat in elections across Britain prompted senior Labour MPs to call for him to step down within a year.
In a disastrous set of results, Labour had lost control of more than 25 councils and more than 1,000 council seats in England by Friday night, many to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which made large gains across the Midlands and the north as well as taking seats from the Tories in the south.
After more than a century of domination, Labour has faced near-wipeout in Wales, where the party’s first minister, Eluned Morgan, lost her seat. Labour could slump to third place in Scotland behind the SNP and Reform. In London, a Green surge meant Labour lost control of councils it had dominated, including Hackney and Waltham Forest.
While the prime minister appeared to have avoided an immediate coup, there was a furious response to the results among senior MPs and the unions, with some warning him to change course or risk electoral oblivion. By Friday evening, 10 more MPs had called for him to set out a timetable for departure from No 10.
Read more here:
Starmer under pressure as Labour MPs demand he stands down
In the wake of the local election results, Keir Starmer faced calls to stand down after voters handed a damning verdict on the Labour party.
Starmer took responsibility for defeat after Labour lost hundreds of councillors in England and suffered humiliation in Wales, but he made clear that he would not quit, saying “tough days like this don’t weaken my resolve”.
Some Labour MPs have come out demanding his resignation, but members of Starmer’s cabinet have rallied around the prime minister.
Health secretary Wes Streeting, who is widely seen as a likely candidate in a potential leadership race despite publicly denying such ambitions, said Starmer had his “support”.
“I’ll continue putting my shoulder to the wheel as the health and social care secretary, who’s getting the NHS back on its feet and making sure it’s fit for the future,” he said.
Home secretary Shabana Mahmood acknowledged “a devastating night” for Labour but said the prime minister “has rightly said we must do better”.
But several backbench MPs have called on Starmer to set out a timetable to resign. Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield South East, said Starmer has to go “in the not too distant future”, while Sarah Owen, MP for Luton North, said it’s “do or die for the Labour leadership”.
Labour suffered a historic loss in Wales, where the party’s 27 years in power has come to an end with Plaid Cymru winning the largest number of seats, though still short of a majority. In Scotland, the SNP is emerging as the victor.
The Conservative party also lost ground, but there has been no leadership speculation around Kemi Badenoch.
Arguably the biggest winner on Thursday was Reform UK, having gained more than 1,200 seats and control of 12 councils in England, according to the Press Association’s tally of the results. Reform leader Nigel Farage declared he had ushered in “a truly historic shift in British politics”.
The Liberal Democrats and Green party also made gains at the expense of Labour, with Greens leader Zack Polanski announcing the era of two-party politics “is not just dying, it is dead and it is buried”.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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