McFadden says controversy about PM’s ‘island of strangers’ comment has been ‘way overblown’
Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, was also asked about the controversy about Keir Starmer’s “island of strangers” comment in his speech on immigration on Monday, and its Powellite connotations. He told LBC: “This has been way overblown.”
Asked if he would use the phrase himself, McFadden replied:
Well, it depends on the context. I might, because what the prime minister was talking about was we need a society with rules. We need a society with responsibilities and obligations. And that’s absolutely right. We all believe in that.
China issues warning to UK over terms of US trade deal
China has warned the UK over its new trade deal with the US, accusing Britain of aligning with the US in a move that could compel British companies to exclude Chinese products from their supply chains, Aletha Adu reports.
Major Whitehall buildings to be shut to shed 12,000 civil servant jobs in London
Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, has been giving interviews this morning to talk about government plans to get rid of 12,000 civil service jobs in London. Rowena Mason has the details here.
Some of the 12,000 London jobs will be relocated elsewhere in the country, and some will go for good. But, in interviews this morning, McFadden was not able to say how many of the jobs would be retained outside London. He told Times Radio:
The precise number will be dependent on the demands in the future. We’re also trying to get more productivity out of the civil service because it’s grown by about 120,000 people over the last 10 years. That was a situation we inherited. And I want the civil service to be more productive as well.
But I think there’s a real opportunity here because people can work and contribute in different parts of the country now.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden Minister shrugs off criticism of Trump visit by Canada’s Carney
Good morning. For the last two days the immigration white paper, and the row generated by Keir Starmer’s use of Powellite language to defend it, has dominated Westminster politics, and we may well hear more of that today at PMQs. But there is quite a lot of foreign policy on the table too: the Ukraine negotiations with Russia due to take place in Turkey tomorrow, the crisis in Gaza, and next week’s summit with the EU (an issue of particular interest to Kemi Badenoch). And, of course, Donald Trump remains a ubiquitous news presence, impossible to ignore.
This morning we’ve had an insight into the extent to which the US president caused a rift between the UK and Canada, two countries that for the most part are very strong allies. In an interview with Sky News, Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, admitted that Canadians were unhappy about Keir Starmer’s decision to offer Trump an unprecedented second state visit to the UK when he visited the White House in February. At the time, Trump was still threatening to annex Canada. Asked how Canadians reacted to state visit invitation, Carney replied:
To be frank, they [Canadians] weren’t impressed by that gesture. Quite simply, given the circumstance, it was at a time when we were being quite clear, some of us were being quite clear about the issues around sovereignty. I was not yet prime minister, but I was being clear on the campaign trail and it cut across some of those messages.
Asked if a state visit for Trump was appropriate, Carney replied:
Well, that’s a judgment for the government of the United Kingdom and the palace.
Asked if he had a personal view, Carney said:
I have opinions on many things, some of which I keep to myself.
This was one of those interviews where there was no surprise in the substance of what Carney said; it has been widely known that Canadians were unhappy about the state visit. But what was notable was that Carney was willing to talk about it.
Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, has been giving interviews this morning, and he claimed to be “completely relaxed” about Carney’s comments. Asked about them on Sky News, he replied:
We’ve got free speech in the world. Prime Minister Carney is entitled to his view. He’s got to decide how Canada conducts its relationships with the United States, and by the same token, so do we.
So I’m completely relaxed about the comments, but I’m glad that President Trump is coming on a state visit, and I’m particularly glad that we’ve conducted a trade deal that saves thousands of automotive jobs in this country and is a platform for future trade which can benefit the United Kingdom economically more in the future too.
The government is not going to rescind the state visit offer. But that does not mean all the difficult decisions associated with it are now settled. Trump is expected to visit Windsor Castle in September to meet King Charles, but this has not been confirmed as a state visit, and suggestions that Trump could be invited to address parliament are generating strong opposition.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, is due to speak to broadcasters during a visit to a charity in south Lanarkshire.
11am: Tim Davie, the BBC director general, gives a speech where he is due to call for call for a “bold collective choice to take on the trust crisis”.
Noon: Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.
Lunchtime: Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester mayor, and Steve Rotheram, Liverpool metro mayor, are due to speak to the media at Westminster about their call for a Liverpool-Manchester railway line.
After 12.30pm: MPs will vote on Lords amendments to the Great British energy bill, and then on Lords amendments to the data (use and access) bill.
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