Starmer says he will campaign for Burnham in Makerfield byelection
Keir Starmer has said that he will campaign for Andy Burnham in the Makerfield byelection.
Speaking to reporters at an event this afternoon, Starmer was asked if he would campaign personally in the contest. He replied:
Yes, and I’ve said to the whole Labour movement that I want everybody to be involved in the campaign, whatever other discussions are going on, it’s really important – that’s a straight fight between Labour and Reform.
It’s about the values that we take into politics, and it’s really important that we all pull together and fight in that byelection, as we will do.
This answer is more notable than a normal declaration from a party leader saying they would campaign for their candidate would be because it is widely assumed that, if Burnham wins, it won’t be long before he replaces Starmer as PM.
Referring to the measures announced by Rachel Reeves today, Starmer said the government had “a very good story to tell”. And that “has only been possible because of the steps we took on the budget”, he said.
Key events
-
Afternoon summary
-
Green party re-opens nominations in Makerfield after candidate withdraws for ‘personal and family reasons’
-
Government publishes long-awaited updated EHRC guidance on single-sex spaces
-
Starmer says he will campaign for Burnham in Makerfield byelection
-
Foreign-born people now account for almost one in five of UK population, highest share ever, latest figures show
-
Emily Thornberry accuses government of ‘evasive and waffly’ response to report saying its EU reset policy vague
-
Bryant says there was ‘absolutely nothing’ in Andrew documents to suggest ministers knew of his friendship with Epstein
-
Bryant says late queen was ‘very keen’ for Andrew to be given job by government
-
Trade minister Chris Bryant gives statement to MPs about release of Andrew trade envoy documents
-
UK summons Israel’s chargé d’affaires over video of minister taunting activists
-
Polanski defends Greens fielding byelection candidate against Burnham, saying ‘in democracy people must have choice’
-
Andy Burnham to back electoral reform if he becomes prime minister
-
Lib Dems say it’s ‘deeply troubling’ Andrew was not vetted before being given trade envoy role
-
London mayor Sadiq Khan blocks £50m Met police deal with Palantir
-
Reeves announces £350m support for chemicals sector, and £120m for ceramics
-
Reeves claims British farmers won’t be affected by tariff cuts on food items
-
Treasury gives example of how its ‘Great British summer savings scheme’ could help families
-
VAT on attractions like theme parks and zoos, and on meals and cinema tickets for children, to be cut over summer, Reeves says
-
Reeves says CMA to get new powers to stop firms making excessive profits
-
Reeves says tariffs to be cut on more than 100 food items, to reduce supermarket prices
-
Reeves says tax changes for energy companies will raise hundreds of millions, to fund measures announced today
-
Reeves announces 10p per mile increase in tax-free mileage rates
-
Reeves restates her belief that war in Iran ‘a mistake’
-
Rachel Reeves starts statement to MPs on cost of living saying UK had fastest growing economy in G7 in first quarter of 2026
-
Business department publishes documents with 41 pages of paperwork relating to Andrew’s trade envoy appointment
-
Former Tory home secretary James Cleverly claims he deserves credit for fall in net migration figures
-
Economists query whether Streeting’s capital gains tax plan would really raise up to £12bn, as he claims
-
Late queen was ‘very keen’ for Andrew to take on trade envoy role, memo reveals
-
Trade minister Chris Bryant to make Commons statement later on release of Andrew trade envoy documents
-
Starmer says fall in net immigration shows government ‘is delivering’
-
Latest figures suggest ‘excessively tough’ policies proposed by Labour for legal migration no longer needed, says thinktank
-
Number of asylum seekers housed in hotels down 35% in March on previous year, at 20,885, figures show
-
Tories claim net immigration still ‘far too high’ after ONS figures show it almost halved in 2025
-
Reform UK and Tory supporters most likely to wrongly think net immigration has been rising, report says
-
Net immigration into UK fell by almost half in 2025, down to 171,000, ONS says
-
Desmond Swayne tops list of MPs selected to bring in private members’ bills
-
Schools are ‘pipeline’ to joblessness for many people, says ex-Labour adviser
-
Treasury minister Lucy Rigby says rich already being taxed properly, as Wes Streeting calls for ‘wealth tax that works’
Afternoon summary
For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.
The new EHRC guidance on single-sex spaces (see 4.42pm) says;
In separate or single-sex services, a trans man will be excluded from the men-only service because his sex is female, and a trans woman will be excluded from the women-only service because her sex is male.
But it also says:
In the case of services which are necessary for everybody, such as toilets, it is very unlikely to be proportionate to put a trans person in a position where there is no service that they are allowed to use.
If the service provider does not act proportionately, this is very likely to amount to direct or indirect discrimination because of gender reassignment.
Green party re-opens nominations in Makerfield after candidate withdraws for ‘personal and family reasons’
Chris Kennedy, who was chosen by the Green party as their candidate in Makerfield last night (see 2.07pm), is withdrawing “for personal and family reasons”, the party has said.
A Green spokesperson said:
We wish Chris the best and understand that family has to come first.
As a party, we are re-opening nominations now because we believe people in Makerfield deserve a real choice at this byelection, and the Green party will be standing to offer exactly that.
Across the country, more and more voters are turning away from the old parties and looking for politicians who will genuinely stand up for their communities. We will also be redoubling our efforts on campaigning to expose the risk of Reform, a party who seeks to divide our communities.
Government publishes long-awaited updated EHRC guidance on single-sex spaces
The government has now published the long-awaited guidance on single-sex spaces and complying with the Equality Act. The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) had to update the guidance after the supreme court ruling saying that the term “sex” in the Equality Act refers to biological sex, not gender. The updated code of conduct, described as a draft, is here.
The Office for Equality and Opportunity says:
The draft Code is an important supplement to ensure organisations across Great Britain have clear and workable guidance on its implementation, to protect people’s rights across our country. It covers all 9 protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010.
The EHRC updates to the Code reflect changes in the law since 2011, including the supreme court clarification on the definition of sex for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010. Other changes include:
-new protections for women whose menopause has a significant impact on their everyday life
-updates to reflect legislative changes on same-sex marriage
-clarification that women who breastfeed are also protected from harassment
Andy Burnham has welcomed the news that Keir Starmer will campaign for him in Makerfield. A spokesperson for the Greater Manchester mayor said:
Anyone who wants to embrace Andy’s campaign message is welcome on the campaign.
Starmer says he will campaign for Burnham in Makerfield byelection
Keir Starmer has said that he will campaign for Andy Burnham in the Makerfield byelection.
Speaking to reporters at an event this afternoon, Starmer was asked if he would campaign personally in the contest. He replied:
Yes, and I’ve said to the whole Labour movement that I want everybody to be involved in the campaign, whatever other discussions are going on, it’s really important – that’s a straight fight between Labour and Reform.
It’s about the values that we take into politics, and it’s really important that we all pull together and fight in that byelection, as we will do.
This answer is more notable than a normal declaration from a party leader saying they would campaign for their candidate would be because it is widely assumed that, if Burnham wins, it won’t be long before he replaces Starmer as PM.
Referring to the measures announced by Rachel Reeves today, Starmer said the government had “a very good story to tell”. And that “has only been possible because of the steps we took on the budget”, he said.
Foreign-born people now account for almost one in five of UK population, highest share ever, latest figures show
The Migration Observatory, an Oxford University research body, has published its analysis of today’s migration figures. The ONS report includes new estimates for the non-UK-born population, and the Migration Observatory says this figure is now at is highest level ever.
It says:
Net migration fell to 171,000 in 2025, a decline of 82% since the early 2023 peak, asylum claims have fallen by 12% year-on-year, with a fall in small boat arrivals and claims by people who arrived with visas, while the number of migrants in hotels is also down by 32% since December 2025.
The sharp decline in net migration results largely from policy choices taken by the previous government, which liberalised and then restricted migration, leading to a record high followed by a record fall and corresponding increase in emigration. Asylum-related arrivals also fell for the first time since mid-2024 though remained high by historical standards. New estimates released today show that the total foreign-born population increased by 2.4 million since the last census and now makes up 19% of the population (up from 16%).
The decline in immigration since 2023 results primarily from lower non-EU migration for work (down 69% since 2023) and family members of international students (down 87%). Restrictions on both routes came in under the previous government. The current government added further restrictions, most notably to work visas and the partners and children of refugees.
Ben Brindle, a researcher at the Migration Observatory, said: “The sharp increase in net migration after the pandemic has pushed the foreign-born to its highest ever share of the UK population.”
Emily Thornberry accuses government of ‘evasive and waffly’ response to report saying its EU reset policy vague
Lisa O’Carroll
Lisa O’Carroll is a senior Guardian correspondent covering trade and post-Brexit issues.
The government has been criticised for give “evasive” and “disappointing” replies to a report which said Keir Starmer’s UK-EU reset lacking in definition and drive.
The foreign affairs committee said the government’s response to the report offered “truly thin gruel” which only served to reinforce the points the committee was making in its original report in March.
When select committees publish reports, the government always has to give a formal response. Its reply to the March report is out today.
Commenting on what it said, Emily Thornberry, the Labour chair of the committee, said:
Given that the prime minister has promised to place ‘Britain at the heart of Europe’, I was surprised to see just how little effort the government has made in responding to our report on the UK-EU relationship,
Today’s response falls far below the standard parliament expects from government. It fails to engage in any meaningful way with the foreign affairs committee’s recommendations. It is frequently evasive and waffly rather than what we hoped would be thoughtful and substantial policy.
This is truly thin gruel and only serves to reinforce my committee’s conclusions in our report: the government has no clear strategic priorities nor vision for its UK-EU reset, which given it is central to government policy, is very disappointing.
Thornberry said government’s engagement was a vital part of the democratic scrutiny and the committee had hoped it would pick up on key recommendations including the need for an EU white paper and a dedicated committee for scrutiny of EU affairs.
When the UK was in the EU, the Commons had a European scrutiny committee. After 2016 it focused on Brexit issues, but it was scrapped after the UK left the EU in 2020.
Bryant says there was ‘absolutely nothing’ in Andrew documents to suggest ministers knew of his friendship with Epstein
Speaking for the Liberal Democrats, Wendy Chamberlain says Andrew was not vetted. (See 1.34pm.) And she said the lack of documentation in relation to this appointment is “concerning”.
The documents we do have clearly show concerns about the potential for conflicts of interest. It started with golf, but we all know what came next. And why did that not lead to any scrutiny or vetting?
She asks specifically if ministers and officials were aware of Andrew’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Bryant says he thought the police might object to the publication of some material, in the light of the investigation. But the police were very cooperative, and did not object to anything being published, he says.
On vetting, he says:
It has been standard not to vet members of the royal family.
He says he does not think there are plans to appoint a member of the royal family to a trade envoy job in future. He says the king supports the government on visits, and his state visit to the US was a great success. He goes on:
I don’t think we should be vetting his majesty the king, and I don’t think [Chamberlain] is suggesting that either.
Bryant forgots to address the Epstein question, but in response to a later question he remembers the omission and tells Chamberlain he found “absolutely nothing” to suggest ministers were aware of this.
Bryant says late queen was ‘very keen’ for Andrew to be given job by government
Baldwin asked if ministers at the time had any concerns about Andrew being appointed a trade envoy.
Bryant replied:
I have published everything that it relates to that period. There’s nothing else, I think, to be found.
The statements that say that ministers were content, I think is, is the sum total of the response.
And I suppose to some degree that is understandable, bearing in mind that the Palace have made it very clear that Her Majesty, her late Majesty, was very keen that Andrew be given a job, and Andrew was keen to take on the job, and the job had previously been done by another member of the royal family.
Harriett Baldwin, Bryant’s Tory shadow, asks if there are any more papers to be published.
Bryant says he thinks all the relevant documents have been published. But if any more documents are found, they will be released too.
Bryant says he was due to give a longer statment. But he said he kept his opening remarks short because it is late in the day for a statement. He says the longer version was much the same as the written statement he released this morning.
Trade minister Chris Bryant gives statement to MPs about release of Andrew trade envoy documents
Chris Bryant, the trade minister, is making a statement to MPs now about the release of documents about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as trade envoy in 2001.
He says getting the material was hard. Some departments have changed. And the government had to avoid publishing anything that might interfer with the police investigation. He goes on:
I’m glad to say that we have published 11 documents today, including the formal appointment proposal, evidence that ministers were content with the proposal, internal communications, media and press briefings. These documents speak for themselves, of course, and all honourable members can read them.