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Planned fuel duty rise to be scrapped, says Starmer as he defends changes to Russian oil sanctions – UK politics live | Politics
Starmer says planned fuel duty rise for September to be scrapped, and hauliers to get 12-month road tax holiday
Kirsteen Sullivan (Lab) asks about the cost of living.
Starmer says he can today announce a 12-month holiday for hauliers on road tax.
And he says the government will not go ahead with the planned increase in fuel duty.
Key events
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, asked Starmer to rule out further aid cuts.
Starmer said the government was committed to overseas aid.
Davey said he could not tell from that if Starmer was ruling out further cuts or not.
He asked if Starmer was relieved about agreeing with Andy Burnham about not joining the single market or the customs union during this parliament.
Starmer said, if he followed Davey’s policy, he would not be able to have the trade deal with the US that has saved jobs in the UK.
Badenoch says she was talking about Starmer blocking new licences.
She goes on:
[Starmer is] importing sanctioned Russian oil. He’s nationalising steel. He is imposing price controls in the supermarket. It’s like the Soviets won.
Starmer says Badenoch has missed what is happening.
She may have overlooked the fact that last week [it was announced] we’ve got the fastest growing economy in the G7.
Last week we had the biggest fall in NHS waiting list for 17 years.
Today, inflation has come down more than expected.
And if you’d offered me that and Arsenal becoming Premier League champions, I’d take it every day of the week.
Badenoch says she’s not playing politics.
It’s not playing politics. It’s speaking up for the people who are out there.
The fact is, more people are buying Russian oil because British oil isn’t being drilled.
He’s sanctioning British oil, but not Russian oil. And he should be ashamed.
Starmer says Badenoch said there was no drilling in the North Sea. She will have to refer herself to the privileges committeee, he says.
There is drilling. It’s 24/7 and oil and gas are coming out. And that will be important for many, many years to come. We are we are supporting those existing oil and gas fields throughout their lifespan.
Badenoch says Starmer should be ashamed of his policy.
Let me make it clear. I know it hurts him to hear it. He is now choosing to buy dirty Russian oil. That money will be used to fund the killing of Ukrainian soldiers. Isn’t he ashamed?
Starmer accuses Badenoch of misunderstanding and misrepresenting the policy.
And he says Russia is the only country that benefits when a party plays politics with Ukraine like this.
Badenoch claims Labour is helping Russia make money, Reform UK takes money from Russia, and the Tories are the only party standing up to them.
Starmer says this is a serious issue, and he accuses Badenoch of misrepresenting the policy.
He says:
These are new sanctions putting more pressure on Russia. And I think if she’d done her homework she should actually support us on this.
Starmer insists existing oil sanctions on Russia remain in place, and new, tougher measures involve ‘phase-in’ exemptions
Badenoch asks why oil from Russia is acceptable, but oil from Aberdeen is not.
Starmer says the package yesterday involved new sanctions, going well beyond what was there before.
And he says there were two orders to phase these sanctions in.
He says the last government did the same thing when new sanctions were being phased in. And Labour backed them at all.
He goes on to say this is not about reducing existing sanctions at all.
Kemi Badenoch says it was the Tories who called for the fuel duty freeze to be continued.
She asks why Labour voted against more drilling in the North Sea last night.
Starmer says Badenoch likes to claim credit for things nothing to do with her.
In her mind, she won the Eurovision on Saturday and scored the winning goal in the FA Cup final. But she’s never takes any responsibility for what they did for 14 long years.
Starmer says planned fuel duty rise for September to be scrapped, and hauliers to get 12-month road tax holiday
Kirsteen Sullivan (Lab) asks about the cost of living.
Starmer says he can today announce a 12-month holiday for hauliers on road tax.
And he says the government will not go ahead with the planned increase in fuel duty.
Keir Starmer starts by expresssing his condolences to the family of a solider killed in a tragic incident on Friday.
He says it would be remiss of him not be comment on one of Manchester’s great heroes moving on after a decade. So he will congratulate Pep Guardiola.
And he congratulates Arsenal on their win too.
Ben Quinn has an article in the Guardian today on how Nigel Farage seems to have vanished from the public eye over recent days, as Reform UK continues to dodge questions about his £5m donation from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne – and how Farage paid for a £1.4m home.
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, seems to have been reading this. He said today the Reform UK leader’s “silence” suggested “he might realise he might get thrown out” of the Commons.
Davey told reporters:
The fact that Nigel Farage – he’s never been afraid of getting in front of the camera before, has he – has now disappeared, suggests that he might realise he’s guilty, he might realise that he has committed an offence, and that he might get thrown out by parliament.
But a Reform UK spokesperson said Farage would be appearing on camera later on Wednesday and had addressed the “non-issue” previously.
Starmer facing Badenoch at PMQs
PMQs is not far off.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Minister to respond to urgent question on some sanctions on Russian oil being lifted
There will be an urgent question after PMQs on the government’s decision to relax some sanctions on Russian oil. It has been tabled by Andrew Bowie, the shadow Scottish secretary.
A business minister should be replying.
Labour mayor Burnham and former minister Streeting were responding to the former PM’s 5,600-word essay.
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Key events
The pre-match ceremony/music/dancing is almost complete, not that the two sets of supporters have required much pepping up, given their teams are in a European final for the first time. The trophy is out and the players will follow soon.
This email from Peter Oh contains slightly less mascot-based doom-mongering and sums up most neutrals’ feelings about tonight’s game:
It’s refreshing to see a Madrid club other than Real and Atlético in a major final, and a London outfit other than the big fancy ones too numerous to mention.
“I note that Rayo Vallecano has a bolt of lightning on its club crest,” emails Justin Kavanagh, “while the Londoners have a bald eagle proudly flying over … the Crystal Palace. If you’re a Palace fan looking for omens, this is not good: Eagles’ nests can be destroyed by lightning, and, as we all know, the cause of the fire that destroyed the famous old glass palace located near Croydon was never confirmed. Careful now!”
It’s important to remember tonight’s winners will be granted an automatic spot in next season’s Europa League. Which is no small prize for the eighth-placed finishers in Spain (Rayo) and the team that finished 15th in the Premier League (Palace), neither of whom would be getting European football next season otherwise.
The two clubs have played just one appearance in the Europa League (or Uefa Cup, its predecessor) between them – when Rayo Vallecano qualified for the 2000-01 Uefa Cup courtesy of their fair play record.
Palace, of course, were kicked out of this season’s Europa League and demoted to the Conference League after a Uefa ruling on multi-club ownership. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Half an hour until kickoff. I would ask how the nerves are among you Crystal Palace supporters, but the messages below suggest to me the fingernails are already being bitten …
And just like that some Palace fans have found my inbox and given their pre-match thoughts …
Paul Pateman: “Riad hasn’t strung games together because he was injured just after he arrived in summer 2024, and then again on his return. Since he returned he has been excellent but outshone a bit by Canvot’s breakthrough. Since he got back to fitness he has been in the squad and provided great cover for the regular three of Richards, Lacroix and Canvot.”
Jonathan Rendall: “Nervously watching the Palace game from home. I’m feeling a tense 1-0 to the Eagles, which I’ll take!”
Anne Patterson: “Getting very excited in southern Patagonia. Got the mate going and have made biscuits. Hope that if Wharton scores he doesn’t do a double flip on that ankle. Pino to score the winner.”
It seems half of south London has descended on Leipzig tonight but any Palace fans not out in Germany (or even if you are and you can get internet/signal), send me your predictions for the game.
My personal prediction? A comfortable Eagles’ win: 2-0.
For the Rayo Vallecano view please look no further than Sid Lowe’s piece on the third Madrid club, “the last team from another time, special for what they fight for and what they fight against”.
Here’s another corking quote from the same article. “We’re like kids gifted a toy: desperate to open it, to play, enjoy it.”
The big injury news for Palace is that Adam Wharton is fit enough to start, despite a scare in that final league game of the season against Arsenal, but Chris Richards – deemed ‘touch and go’ before the game – is only on the bench. If you search Adam Wharton’s name on your social media platform of choice, you’ll see his mum is in attendance in Leipzig and seemingly enjoying the experience.
The absence of Richards from the starting lineup means it’s a huge night for Chadi Riad in the back three. He’s yet to fully convince and string together a run of games for the Eagles. What better night to step up than tonight?
Team news
Crystal Palace: Henderson; Muñoz, Riad, Lacroix, Canvot, Mitchell; Wharton, Kamada; Pino, Sarr, Mateta.
Subs: Benítez, Matthews, Lerma, Johnson, Clyne, Hughes, Strand Larsen, Sosa, Richards, Guessand, Devenny, Cardines.
Rayo Vallecano: Batalla; Ratju, Lejeune, Ciss, Chavarría; López, Valentin, Palazón; Garcia, Alemao, De Frutos.
Subs: Cárdenas, Díaz, Trejo, Camello, Akhomach, Gumbau, Balliu, Espino, Molina, Mendy.
Some news from police in Leipzig overnight: They say 60 Crystal Palace fans classed as “known troublemakers” were ordered to leave the city centre on Tuesday night after two arrests were made following clashes with Rayo Vallecano fans.
Saxon State Police revealed clashes between fans “suddenly broke out” with bottles, glasses and furniture thrown as well as “physical altercations”.
The fan fest in the market area of Leipzig is said to have stayed peaceful, with around 2,000 fans from each of the two clubs in that area of the city.
It’s already linked at the top of this page but allow me to nudge you in the direction of Richard Foster’s scene-setting final preview from a Palace perspective. Try saying that after you’ve had a few …
Preamble
This is it. The big one. For Crystal Palace, and for Oliver Glasner, in his final game in charge of the Eagles, all roads lead to Leipzig and the Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano. Can Glasner guide Palace to a first piece of European silverware in their history and finish with two trophies in his two full seasons in south London? It would be some way to bow out.
Spanish side Vallecano, who finished eighth in La Liga and overcame Gary O’Neil’s RC Strasbourg over two legs in the semi-finals, stand in their way. The team from the Madrid district of Puente de Vallecas are not flush with big fancy names, and Palace are most certainly favourites, but this is a European final. Palace will hope to join West Ham and Chelsea on the list of English winners of the Conference League since its inception in 2022, and Aston Villa as an English winner of a Uefa pot this season. Arsenal could even make it a clean sweep for Premier League clubs in Europe in 2026 …
Let’s get going with the buildup, including team news, before the 8pm BST (9pm local time) kickoff in Germany. Looking forward to it.
The Menai Suspension Bridge, in Anglesey, is closed for the third time in about 24 hours.
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