Kemi Badenoch said the Conservative Party had instructed lawyers to challenge the government over the funding settlement that Tory-run Wandsworth says is forcing a 94 per cent rise in council tax bills, a threat she made in a BBC Newsnight interview on Thursday evening. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government rejected her account, Andy Burnham hosted his first foreign leader at No 10 North in Manchester, and John Healey pressed EU finance ministers in Dublin to let British manufacturers into the bloc's "Made in Europe" scheme. This is UKFCP's 24 hours in politics round-up.
Parliament has risen for the conference season, with the Liberal Democrats opening in Brighton on Saturday and Labour meeting in Liverpool from 27 September, the first such gathering since Burnham took office in July. The Autumn Budget is still to come, and two select committees used the recess to attack the government's handling of Thames Water and British Steel.
Badenoch instructs lawyers over Wandsworth council tax
Wandsworth Council confirmed on Tuesday that a Band D bill will rise by £958 from 2027-28, taking the total from £1,020 to £1,978, unless ministers revisit the Fair Funding reforms. The council says its allocation falls by £84m a year.
Badenoch told Newsnight the government was "taking money from areas that don't vote Labour and giving it to places that do vote Labour". The department said councils set their own tax levels and that an outdated formula was being replaced with transitional protection. The borough's three Labour MPs have refused to sign the council's appeal, saying they will not "rewrite the recent financial history of Wandsworth Council".
Burnham hosts Micheál Martin in Manchester
The Prime Minister welcomed the Taoiseach to No 10 North on Friday, the first visit by an international leader to the Manchester base and the first meeting between the two men since Burnham took office. Downing Street said the talks covered trade, security, Ukraine and EU cooperation during Ireland's Council presidency.
"I'm delighted to be hosting the Taoiseach as the first international leader to visit No10 North," Burnham said.
Reuters reported that a statement issued afterwards said both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the Good Friday Agreement. The visit followed Donald Trump's remarks that he would "love to see" Ireland unified, after which Downing Street said a border poll was "off the table".
Healey asks EU to admit UK to 'Made in Europe'
The Chancellor attended an informal meeting of EU finance ministers in Dublin, his first since taking the job. Treasury sources said he would urge the EU to design the scheme so it deepens ties with the UK "rather than erecting new barriers", and to "learn lessons" from the collapse of talks on UK participation in the SAFE defence loans programme.
Around £15bn of British car exports go to European markets each year, according to Reuters, and suppliers fear exclusion from European supply chains. Healey also met Ukraine's finance minister, Sergii Marchenko, for the first time.
Watson joins Palantir as NHS contract faces pressure
Palantir confirmed that Lord Watson of Wyre Forest, Labour's former deputy leader, has become its UK senior vice president. The company holds a £330m NHS contract that The Times reports left-wing Labour MPs want cancelled, and is suing Sadiq Khan's office over a blocked £50m Metropolitan Police deal.
Watson said some criticism of the firm "is propaganda" while some "raises legitimate questions about large technology companies and sovereign control". The Green MP Sian Berry called it "yet another example of the corrosive revolving door between politics and big business lobbying".
MPs reject Thames Water rescue and question British Steel plan
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee published a report urging ministers to reject the £10bn creditor rescue for Thames Water, widely regarded as the last realistic alternative to a special administration regime.
A separate committee report found the government had not set out how British Steel will become profitable, with the spending watchdog warning of "startling" costs in keeping the publicly owned firm going.
Also in the last 24 hours
- Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood described the anti-asylum activist Daniel Thomas as "a far-right and outright racist" who would face "the full force of the law" if his organisation commits crimes.
- The Guardian reported that Reform UK donor Ben Delo loaned £350,000 to a writer whose social media posts a judge later said had "the whiff of threat and antisemitism".
- An initial investigation found the air traffic control outage that grounded more than 2,000 flights was caused by a software defect, not a "military operation".
- In council by-elections, the Greens lost seats to the Conservatives in Charnwood and Labour in Sheffield, Reform UK gained in Bassetlaw and the SNP gained in South Lanarkshire.
- County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust said around 20 women had undergone unnecessary mastectomies, with hundreds more harmed by excessive surgery.
- Jagtar Singh Johal, detained in India since 2017, was granted bail but must remain in the country to face trial.
The Liberal Democrat autumn conference opens in Brighton on Saturday, with delegates due to debate an anti-SLAPP motion on Monday.
Join the Discussion
Have something to say? Join the conversation!
Sign in to share your thoughts and engage with other readers.
Sign In Create AccountNo comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this article!