National security comes first, minister says amid reports Chinese embassy in London nearing approval – UK politics live | Politics
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UK households face surprise rise in energy bills from January
Jillian Ambrose
energy bills There will be a rise for millions of households in Great Britain from January after the industry regulator announced a surprise rise in gas and electricity costs.
energy regulator, ofgemIn his statement on Friday, he said that the three-month ceiling price covering January-March will be as follows: 0.2% increase The average annual dual-fuel energy bill rose from £1,755 to £1,758 this quarter.
Adjusting for inflation, the cap is 2%, or £37, lower than in the same period in 2025, Ofgem said.
The change to the cap, which sets the maximum amount suppliers can charge 29 million household customers for each unit of gas and electricity, means an increase of 28p per month for the average household.
Tim JarvisOfgem’s chief markets officer said:
Although energy prices have fallen in real terms over the last two years, we know that people may not feel it in their pockets.
A price cap helps prevent households from overpaying for energy. But this is just a safety net, and there are practical ways customers can pay less for their energy.
Bills for this winter are expected to remain approximately 50% higher than before the invasion. Ukrainian It triggered a price increase in the energy market, triggering a cost of living crisis.
The unexpected increase came after experts Cornwall Insight They stated that they expected prices to decrease by 1% due to the decrease in wholesale energy prices.
Ofgem said wholesale prices were currently stable, falling 4 per cent in the last three months, but conditions remained “variable”.
It said the cap was increased following a change in average bill calculations based on customer usage and “temporary” increases in associated costs. warm home discount plan.
Starmer says UK will ‘robustly’ protect national interests amid rumors of China trip
Keir Starmer He insisted he would “robustly” protect Britain’s national interests in response to speculation he would visit Chinese early next year and the country’s controversial embassy London It will be confirmed, according to the PA news agency.
The Prime Minister stated that any visit to China has not yet been confirmed, while officials refused to comment on speculation about a planned embassy near China. Tower of London. But Starmer defended his approach to dealing with the problem. Xi JinpingIt had to “cooperate wherever possible and challenge where we must, especially on national security.”
The decision on the embassy will be made next month and The Times reports that the decision has been approved. MI5 And MI6. The newspaper reported Home Office And Ministry of Foreign Affairs There will be no formal objections to the plan, provided “mitigations” are put in place to protect national security.
Starmer is there G20 summit inside South AfricaWhere China will be represented by the prime minister Li Qiang. Asked if he would meet the Chinese prime minister during the summit, Starmer said:
The meetings I will hold at the G20 have not been finalized yet. No visits have been confirmed yet.
Our approach is the same as we have always taken; to cooperate where we can and to challenge where we must, especially on national security.
This week you saw us make a statement explaining the government’s action with MI5 on espionage, because we will always vigorously protect our interests.
China’s critics fear a proposed new embassy in a large area close to China. city of london and important data cables will be used as bases for espionage.
The decision on whether to approve or not will be made as follows: Steve Reed‘s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Following a quasi-judicial process that is expected to end on December 10.
Approval of the embassy will remove one of the diplomatic obstacles to Starmer’s long-awaited visit to China, which aims to establish business ties with the world’s second largest economy.
Today’s agenda
According to the PA news agency, the day’s agenda is as follows:
Friday: Keir Starmer came Johannesburg for G20 summit inside South Africa. The Prime Minister is expected to buy tickets at 9.20am, then meet with business leaders and visit the railway station at 11.55am.
10am: third reading animal welfare (importation of dogs, cats and ferrets) bill will take place in House of Lords. It is also the second day of the committee phase in the Chamber. assisted dying law.
15.30: Starmer will host Global Fund Summit with the president of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa.
Liz Kendall The shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is on a media tour on behalf of the government in the morning Alex Burghart It’s obvious to conservatives.
National security ‘will always come first’, cabinet minister says, amid reports government may approve new Chinese embassy
Good morning and welcome to Friday’s UK politics blog. National security ‘always comes first’, science secretary Liz Kendall he said this morning amid reports that the government may approve a new law chinese embassy inside London.
Kendall declined to comment directly on the reports, saying decisions regarding the embassy “will be made through the appropriate process.” But he told Sky News:
We have a clear view on our relationship with China and national security will always come first. This is absolutely indisputable.
But wherever we can work safely with China, whether in areas such as economics or research, we will do so because we want to get the best outcome for the British people.
Question asked about reports Keir Starmer can visit Chinese The next year he said:
I don’t know the Prime Minister’s day-to-day plans for the new year, but what I do know is that he takes all these issues extremely seriously.
On the other hand, according to official figures, the latest snapshot of public finances shows that the UK government borrowed more than expected in October. Rachel ReevesThe budget is in a difficult situation.
Office for National Statistics He said the government borrowed £17.4bn last month. Although this was lower than the same month last year, it was still the third-highest deficit recorded in the public finances in October. This is also higher than the £15 billion predicted by City economists.
Undersecretary of the Treasury speaking during the morning media tour James Murray He said next week’s budget will set out how Reeves plans to “cut the debt” and that money spent on the national debt should instead go to “our schools, our hospitals, our police and our armed forces.”
Meanwhile, household energy bills will increase by 0.2% since January 1 ofgem The next ceiling increased its price. The regulator said energy bills for the average dual-fuel household would rise by around 28p a month. England, Scotland And Wales.
Shadow energy secretary responding to news Claire Coutinho criticized Ed MilibandHe claims his “plans will lock us into paying higher bills for decades.” Coutinho said:
Ed Miliband has promised to cut everyone’s energy bills by £300 but more and more experts are sounding the alarm that his plans will leave us paying higher bills for decades to come.
Despite gas prices falling, independent experts, energy suppliers and academics say it is the extra costs of Ed’s net zero targets that are putting upward pressure on bills.
This week we received a report that green taxes on bills will increase by a further £260 by 2030. We cannot afford this; Cheap energy must come first.
I will bring you updates on the above and more as they become available. But first, here are some other developments:
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Keir Starmer has defended his decision to travel to South Africa for the G20 summit, days before the budget and despite Donald Trump’s absence. The Prime Minister arrived in South Africa on Friday morning for two days of summit discussions and bilateral talks on issues such as sustainability and economic growth.
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Starmer accused Nigel Farage of being “spineless” on tackling racism in his party after the Guardian revealed allegations he made xenophobic and anti-Semitic comments while at school. The Prime Minister said the Reform England leader had “questions to answer” about the alleged comments and hymns, which included songs about the Holocaust and accusations of bullying against ethnic minority students.
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A damning official report into the handling of the pandemic has concluded the UK’s response to Covid was “too little, too late”He said starting the lockdown a week earlier could have saved more than 20,000 lives. One written parliamentary declarationStarmer touched on the shortcomings identified in the previous government’s report.
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Rachel Reeves has been called on by 40 Labor MPs to abandon plans to fund NHS buildings through private finance initiatives (PFI); These plans will put the health service in debt. Labor MPs, including Cat Eccles, Clive Lewis and Rebecca Long-Bailey, pressed the chancellor to invest in the NHS without using private capital and warned that a return to New Labour-era private funding for public projects would undermine confidence in the government.
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The Liberal Democrats are pushing parliament to vote on creating a new customs union in a bid to pressure Labor MPs to take a more pro-EU stance. Ed Davey’s party is calling on all Labor MPs to back a new bill in favor of a customs union with the EU, believing it is the best way to boost growth and raise revenue rather than tax rises.
