Labour’s 1st week LIVE: ‘Tough’ test for new Government as junior doctors push for massive 35% pay rise in crunch talks
WES Streeting is "optimistic" ahead of talks this afternoon with junior doctors aimed at ending their long-running dispute over pay.
Speaking at the Tony Blair Institute’s Future of Britain Conference, this morning, Streeting, the new health secretary, said: "I'm seeing the junior doctors this afternoon, they are coming into the Department of Health.
"I know they’re coming in not just from my diary, but from the army of cameras and journalists currently stationed outside the department."
Asked if he was optimistic about the talks, he said: "Optimistic? Yes.
"This is an important reset moment in the relationship between junior doctors and their Government."
It comes after Keir Starmer chaired his cabinet this morning as Labour ministers prepare to return to the front benches for the first time since 2010 at the opening of parliament this afternoon.
The on-going junior doctors strike is likely to be the first real test for the new Government with the bitter dispute having the potential to reveal cracks in the new administration.
Follow our live blog below for the latest news and updates...
Whose sofa is that? All change in Downing Street after Tories lose their, er, seats ...
The removal teams are out in full force this morning as the Tories depart No 10 and 11 - and Labour move in.
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Credit: EPA Reeves to make statement to MPs on 'spending inheritance'
In her first major speech as chancellor, Rachel Reeves announced that before the summer recess she will make a statement to MPs about the government’s spending inheritance.
She said what she has seen in her first 72 hours confirmed that the economic situation was as bad as she thought.
She said: "I have repeatedly warned that whoever won the general election would inherit the worst set of circumstances since the second world war.
"What I have seen in the past 72 hours has only confirmed that. Our economy has been held back by decisions deferred and decisions ducked. Political self-interest put ahead of the national interest. A government that put party first and country second.
"We face the legacy of 14 years of chaos and economic irresponsibility."
Emily Thornberry "very sorry and surprised" not to be in new cabinet
Thornberry - a high-profile and regular figure on the media rounds for Labour - does not seem to be getting an alternative job after missing out on being appointed attorney general, a position she shadowed in opposition.
She has released a statement this morning saying that she is “very sorry and surprised” not to be attorney general, but that Richard Hermer KC - who is taking over and who has been given a peerage so he can serve in government from the House of Lords - is a “much more accomplished lawyer” than she is.
In pictures: Rachel Reeves preparing and delivering her first major speech as chancellor
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Credit: GETTY New changes to planning decisions across UK
Planning decisions for major infrastructure projects in Britain will be made nationally rather than locally in a bid to stop important projects becoming tied up in years of red tape, new chancellor Rachel Reeves said on Monday.
She also said in a speech that mandatory house-building targets would be restored and an effective ban on onshore wind developments would be scrapped.
'No time to waste'
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has finished her speech by insisting she will make kickstarting economic growth a "national mission" with major changes to speed up infrastructure projects and unlock private investment.
In her first major speech as chancellor, Ms Reeves vowed to take "difficult decisions" because there is "no time to waste" with boosting growth.
Labour will "fix the foundations" of the British economy, she said, arguing that 14 years of Tory rule had cost £140 billion in lost growth.
Rachel Reeves makes first major speech amid new date for budget
Rachel Reeves has started to deliver her first major speech as Chancellor - and has said she will reveal the new date for the budget "in due course".
The speech is focusing on growth. She says that previous governments had been unwilling to make the “difficult decisions to deliver growth”.
“I will not hesitate,” she said.
Follow us for more on this speech ...
In case you missed it ...
Here is the official first picture of Keir Starmer's new cabinet. Key appointments include chancellor Rachel Reeves, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, home secretary Yvette Cooper, foreign secretary David Lammy and Wes Streeting as health secretary.
'This means the world to me'
David Lammy has met his Canadian counterpart, in his first engagement as Foreign Secretary.
Mr Lammy met with Melanie Joly, Canada's minister of foreign affairs, this morning.
"Can I thank you so much for being my first official visitor as Foreign Secretary here in the UK," he said.
"I have known Canada all of my life, it is a country I love, I have family in Canada, so this means the world to me."
Mr Lammy replaces Lord David Cameron, the former prime minister, in the foreign office following last week's Labour landslide in the general election.
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'The adults are back in the room'
A senior figure in Keir Starmer's new government has taken a pop at the other political parties.
Asked if a lengthy Tory leadership contest would leave Labour with no opposition, Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the treasury, told the BBC: “I expect that we will be challenged in the House of Commons.
“Of course the Conservatives suffered a historic loss, but that doesn’t mean there’s no opposition in the House of Commons and of course, we have the House of Lords to get any legislation through as well.
“And the key thing that you’ll see from this Labour Government is that we’re going to return both to the service of the British people, but also to the norms. The adults are back in the room."
Farage claims a 'member a minute joining the Reform party'
Nigel Farage has claimed the Reform party is already making huge progress across the UK - with one member joining the party every minute.
"Opposition isn't just what happens in the House of Commons," he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "It's what happens out there in the country."
What can we expect from the new parliament today?
Parliament officially opens tomorrow but all parties will be looking to set their stalls out today. Here is a run-down of what is planned:
8am: Keir Starmer visits Northern Ireland.
9.30am: Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, gives a speech on growth.
11.30am: Downing Street holds its first lobby briefing since Starmer became PM.
1pm: Reeves visits a building site in London with Angela Rayner, the levelling up secretary.
1.30pm: Rhun ap Iorwerth, the Plaid Cymru leader, holds a press briefing at Westminister with the party’s four MPs.
2pm: The Green MPs Carla Denyer and Siân Berry hold a press briefing at Westminster.
Afternoon: Starmer meets Vaughan Gething, the Welsh first minister, in Cardiff.
And at some point today Wes Streeting, the health secretary, is due to meet with the British Dental Association to discuss changes to the dental contract.
In pictures - Starmer's Northen Ireland visit
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Credit: getty What do we know about Rachel Reeves?
Reeves, the first female chancellor of Britain, was born February 13, 1979, in London.
She is married to Nicholas Joicey, a former journalist at The Observer newspaper.
The couple have two children together, Anna and Harold.
What will Reeves say in speech?
According to excerpts released by her Treasury department, she will say: ";Last week, the British people voted for change. And over the past 72 hours I have begun the work necessary to deliver on that mandate."
"Where governments have been unwilling to take the difficult decisions to deliver growth or have waited too long to act I will deliver. It is now a national mission. There is no time to waste."
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Palestine flags - first protest for Starmer as PM
Sir Keir Starmer has arrived at Parliament Buildings at Stormont following his meeting with Northern Ireland's political leaders at nearby Stormont Castle.
He was greeted at the foot of the steps of the landmark building by Assembly speaker Edwin Poots.
Sir Keir was accompanied by Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn.
Four pro-Palestine protesters shouted and waved Palestine flags as the Prime Minister arrived.
Tories threatened with 'extinction'
The Tories are heading for extinction unless they stop Nigel Farage in his tracks, Suella Braverman insists.
The ex-Home Secretary, who has not ruled out a run to be next party leader, argues it faces a threat to its very being from Reform UK.
