Knife crime technique must deal with stopping provide in addition to possession, says policing minister – UK politics dwell

Shadow international secretary Priti Patel has added her voice to a refrain of Conservative disapproval of Labour’s financial insurance policies after figures confirmed inflation had risen.

In a submit to social media she stated:

Labour’s funds gave the nation larger taxes, larger prices and stress on family incomes which all spurs inflation. Inflation is without doubt one of the greatest destroyers of business, jobs, financial savings and livelihoods.

Earlier shadow chancellor Mel Stride stated “Today’s figures mean further pain for family finances – and it’s thanks to the Labour chancellor’s record tax hikes and inflation-busting pay rises.”

The buyer costs index (CPI) measure of inflation rose to three% in January, the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics (ONS) reported, up from 2.5% in December.

Kiran Stacey is a political correspondent primarily based in Westminster

Leftwing activists in Britain are much less more likely to work with their political opponents than different teams and extra more likely to assume these holding totally different views have been misled, a examine has discovered.

The examine by the polling group Extra in Widespread finds that 8-10% of the inhabitants, whom they classify underneath the heading “progressive activists”, maintain strikingly totally different views on a spread of points than the remainder of Britain.

The analysis additionally exhibits the group is extra more likely to dislike and criticise those who disagree with them than different voting blocs, a trait the report’s authors argue has contributed to the repeated failure of progressive campaigns and the rise of the worldwide far proper.

Luke Tryl, an government director at Extra in Widespread and co-author of the examine, stated: “Progressive activists are the backbone of many of the UK’s campaigning organisations and have often been the drivers of social change in the UK. However, their political outlook and approach to bringing about change makes them outliers from much of the wider public and those they are trying to win over.

Read more of Kiran Stacey’s report here: Leftwing activists less likely to work with political rivals than other UK groups, study finds

Labour will permanently scrap peak fares for travellers on Scotland’s railways if it wins next year’s Holyrood election, the party has announced.

The Scottish government previously scrapped peak-time fares for a year-long pilot project which has now come to an end.

PA Media reports Labour transport spokesperson Claire Baker said “We need to end the spiral of decline on ScotRail services and get more people on trains – and that means making rail affordable. A Scottish Labour government would end the era of rip-off rail fares and scrap peak-time fares for good.”

Policing minister Diane Johnson stated this morning that the UK would “play our part” on safety ensures for Ukraine.

Refraining from straight criticising US president Donald Trump, who claimed that Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in 2022, a number of years after a earlier Russian navy marketing campaign in 2014 illegally annexed Crimea, “should never have started” the struggle, Johnson stated Britain was clear that Russia’s invasion had been “an act of war against a sovereign state.”

She instructed listeners of Occasions Radio:

We’ve additionally been very clear to say that Ukraine must be a part of any negotiations and yesterday the secretary of state Marco Rubio was saying that European nations and naturally Ukraine must be a part of any negotiations. So I believe the British place on that is very clear.

The Conservative shadow defence secretary, Mark Francois, has additionally been on the airwaves speaking about Ukraine. He instructed viewers of GB Information:

These negotiations ought to contain the Ukrainians, they shouldn’t be excluded.

They clearly weren’t within the room and after every thing that Ukraine has been by means of, it’s nearly precisely three years now because the invasion, it’s not proper to have negotiations about the way forward for their nation above their head.

They need to be within the room, not least as a result of any settlement that is perhaps agreed between Trump and Putin isn’t going to work until the Ukrainians are on board.

We within the opposition could be open minded concerning the potential of deploying some British troops, however it’s essential know what number of, the place, for a way lengthy and what precisely is the mission?

It could rely what number of you have been deploying, and the way usually you have been rotating them; it could all rely on the construction and nature of the deal, after which what different nations needed to contribute.

My colleague Jakub Krupa is protecting the most recent developments within the Trump-Putin Ukraine peace plan over on our Europe dwell weblog.

The common UK home value elevated by 4.6% to £268,000 within the 12 months to December 2024, in line with Workplace for Nationwide Statistics (ONS) figures, PA Media reviews.

Common home costs elevated in England to £291,000 (4.3% annual progress), in Wales to £208,000 (3.0%) and in Scotland to £189,000 (6.9%), within the 12 months to December 2024. The common home value for Northern Eire was £183,000.

Liberal Democrat chief Ed Davey has stated that the Labour authorities’s insurance policies are inflicting the price of residing disaster began underneath the Conservatives to “drag on”.

Response to the rise in inflation, Davey stated:

The chancellor’s misguided insurance policies are placing us prone to a brand new period of stagflation. The economic system nonetheless isn’t rising, and now individuals are being hit of their pockets too.

The Conservative authorities plunged Britain into a value of residing disaster, and Labour’s failures are simply making the distress drag on and on.

The federal government urgently wants to vary course and take actual motion to get our economic system rising strongly and produce down the price of residing, beginning by cancelling their disastrous jobs tax and securing a significantly better commerce cope with Europe.

Policing minister Diana Johnson additionally appeared on the BBC Radio 4 Right this moment programme this morning, the place she described the jail scenario in England and Wales that the Labour authorities inherited from Rishi Sunak’s Conservative authorities as a “disgrace”.

Johnson was challenged over plans to extend sentences for these supplying knives, and was requested “You are talking about quadrupling sentences for selling knives to under-18s. At the same time, our prisons [in England and Wales] are literally full to bursting, and your own sentencing review warned against kneejerk decisions to issue longer sentences. Are you falling into the same trap?”

The minister instructed listeners:

Properly, look, we inherited a horrible scenario from the earlier authorities, and their failure to guarantee that adequate jail locations have been constructed. It’s a shame. And sadly, that’s the inheritance we had.

The lord chancellor needed to take some actually tough choices due to that. We’re dedicated, clearly, to constructing the 14,000 further locations that we want. That’s coming on-line.

However what I’d say is, I’m not going to, because the Police Minister, cease making the case for these particular person offences the place we have to have stiff penalties connected, and promoting knives to underneath 18-year-olds, we have to enhance [the sentence] from six months to 2 years to indicate the severity of how we regard that. That must be acknowledged as one thing that could be very fallacious.

Yesterday, David Gauke printed the interim findings of his sentencing pointers overview, which discovered successive governments’ overreliance on jail sentences and want to appear “tough on crime” has pushed the justice system in England and Wales to the brink of collapse.

Policing minister Diana Johnson has defended authorities plans to extend sentences for these concerned in knife offences amid a disaster in jail capability in England and Wales, and stated that the federal government must focus not simply on possession of knives by younger individuals, however on their provide.

Showing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain Johnson stated “There is not one thing that you can do to solve this problem with knives” including “We’re going after the suppliers.”

Johnson stated:

Previously, there’s been this deal with possession of knives, and that’s completely proper, however we additionally now must deal with the provision of knives, notably to under-18s, and that’s why we’re placing the sentences up.

And we’re additionally placing ahead various different necessities round on-line gross sales the place there’s bulk buying or suspicious buying that must be reported into the police.

Johnson stated the federal government additionally wanted to do “preventative work”, saying:

It’s good to get alongside these younger people who find themselves on the verge of getting concerned in knife crime, and put the help in. They should perceive that carrying a knife is just not about defending your self. We’re going to arrange prevention partnerships, figuring out these younger individuals most in danger and placing within the help that they want.

Policing minister Diana Johnson has described the rising inflation figures as a “bump in the road”.

Talking on Sky Information, she stated:

That determine going up clearly exhibits there’s a bump within the street. I’m going to say to you that we’ve solely been in energy seven months. We’ve had 14 years of financial stagnation, so I believe there’s clearly work that’s underneath approach with the Chancellor, however I do know that the IMF and the OECD are saying that we’re going to have the fastest-growing economic system in Europe, so a bump within the street, and I believe the Financial institution of England have recognised that yesterday.

Figures launched yesterday confirmed that annual progress in real-terms pay, after considering inflation, was 3.4%, the very best stage since 2021.

Conservative shadow chancellor Mel Stride repeated his phrase that Rachel Reeves is “out of her depth, and we’re all paying the price”, saying:

Right this moment’s figures imply additional ache for household funds – and it’s because of the Labour chancellor’s document tax hikes and inflation-busting pay rises.

Labour have been warned that their tax spending and borrowing spree would drive up inflation. It means larger costs within the retailers and rates of interest staying larger for longer, inflicting mortgage distress for tens of millions.

This chancellor is out of her depth, and we’re all paying the value.

UK inflation has largely been on a downward trajectory since hitting a peak of 11.1% in October 2022, simply on the level the place the short-lived Liz Truss administration was being changed by Rishi Sunak in authorities.

UK inflation accelerated quicker than anticipated at the beginning of this 12 months, reducing the prospect of an rate of interest minimize subsequent month.

The buyer costs index (CPI) measure of inflation rose to three% in January, the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics reported, up from 2.5% in December.

The ONS stated a leap in the price of meat, bread and cereals pushed up meals payments, whereas a leap in personal faculty charges after the federal government’s withdrawal of a VAT exemption pushed up the price of schooling providers.

Airline tickets fell in value, however not as a lot as typical, and mixed with an increase in gasoline prices, pushed up the speed of inflation within the transport sector to its highest stage since February 2023.

Learn extra from Phillip Inman right here: UK inflation jumps to three%, decreasing odds of early rate of interest minimize

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling UK politics protection for Wednesday. Listed here are the headlines …

• The federal government has introduced plans to extend sentences for individuals convicted of supplying knives to the under-18s. Policing minister Diane Johnson stated “In the past, there’s been this focus on possession of knives, and that’s absolutely right, but we also now need to focus on the supply”

• Transport, meals prices and personal faculty charges are amongst rising prices which have pushed UK inflation as much as 3%, additional decreasing odds of an early rate of interest minimize

• Senior attorneys have condemned the “venomous” and “deeply personal” assaults on the lawyer normal, Richard Hermer, saying they have been inflicting “immense and untold damage” to society and the rule of legislation

• Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour chief, has admitted his social gathering faces a big problem to win the subsequent Holyrood elections after its recognition slumped within the polls

• Elected politicians in Wales who intentionally lie might be pressured from workplace underneath proposals urged by the Welsh parliament requirements committee

• A overwhelming majority of councils in England have signalled they may apply a most council tax enhance of at the very least 4.99% this 12 months

It’s Martin Belam with you once more immediately. You’ll be able to attain me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.