Starmer highlights green measures on Welsh visit and attacks Tories’ ‘incoherent’ energy policies – UK politics live

4.57pm BST

Closing summary

• Keir Starmer visits Wales to highlight Labour’s plans to make Britain an “energy superpower” and to address what he termed the “incoherent energy policy” his party inherited from the Tories. The prime minister and new first minister, Eluned Morgan , will travel to a site in West Wales today as part of their first official visit together. The pair, who held talks on Monday in Cardiff, are expected to pledge to work closely on realising the benefits of a publicly owned energy company. The Welsh government previously launched Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru while the UK government is developing Great British Energy with £8.3bn of funding over the next five years.

• Starmer has vowed to do “everything we can” to preserve jobs at the steelworks in Port Talbot, south Wales. Asked whether he risked giving “false hope” to workers in the town, the prime minister replied: “No. We’re working really hard on this, both the first minister and myself jointly on this, because it’s so important that we do everything we can to preserve those jobs.”

• The Labour government will invest “unprecedented levels of funding” in cycling and walking as a critical part of plans to improve health and inequality, the new secretary for transport has said. A national network of safe cycle routes could cut GP appointments “by hundreds of thousands, if not millions a year”, Louise Haigh said.

• Ministers will struggle to prepare for next month’s early release of thousands of prisoners, a union has warned, after the latest figures showed a drop in the number of probation officers. Ministry of Justice data shows there were 178 fewer probation officers over the last quarter, as the service gets ready to monitor another 5,500 prisoners released over the next year despite deepening concerns over increased workloads for staff.

• The Liberal Democrats have been fined a total of £3,600 by election authorities for 22 offences linked to the late reporting of donations. The Electoral Commission said the five fines were paid by 2 August. Meanwhile, the Richmond Park Constituency Labour party in south-west London was fined £1,000, which it paid on 26 July. The Electoral Commission probed the local party’s “failure to deliver its 2022 statement of accounts by the deadline”, and found one offence.

• Ministers have launched a pension credit publicity campaign to minimise the impact of the government’s decision to radically restrict winter fuel payments. The government hopes its pension credit awareness drive will help identify households not claiming the benefit and encourage pensioners to apply by 21 December, which is the last date this year for people to make a backdated claim for pension credit in order to receive the winter fuel payment.

• Scotland’s external affairs secretary said he has not considered resigning his position after significant criticism over his meeting with an Israeli diplomat, PA reported. Angus Robertson told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland (GMS) programme that he believed it was “right” to communicate the Scottish government’s opposition to the conflict in Gaza.

• Scottish ministers will reintroduce peak rail fares across the country after an experiment with flat rate fares failed to significantly increase passenger numbers. Trade unions and opposition parties condemned the decision, and accused the Scottish government of presiding over a shambolic rail service and of failing to adequately tackle the climate crisis.

• A former Conservative minister has called for an end to the demonisation of train drivers and said he understood why the new Labour government had “decided to cut a deal” with unions. Huw Merriman, who served as the rail minister for the entirety of Rishi Sunak’s premiership, apologised for failing to bring in workplace reforms and his inability to reach an agreement to end the strikes.

• The prime minister has looked at Wales’s natural resources and shallow seas as part of his plan to accelerate the green energy transition, he has suggested. Starmer told journalists: “The election of a Labour government in Westminster is a gamechanger. So, for the first time, you’ve got a Welsh government that has a Westminster government that wants to work with and collaborate, after 14 years of having a Westminster government that basically didn’t want to collaborate and cooperate in that way.”

• Scotland’s drug deaths remain the worst in Europe, as ministers pledged to intensify efforts to deal with the problem after a “hugely concerning” 12% increase in fatalities last year. The health secretary, Neil Gray, said the Scottish government was also “working hard to respond to the growing threat from highly dangerous, super-strong synthetic opioids like nitazenes”, which were involved in 23 deaths.

• Ministers have approved London City airport’s application to expand, in a decision that has disappointed climate campaigners. The airport submitted a proposal to increase capacity from 6.5 million to 9 million passengers a year by putting on more weekend and early morning flights. Local campaigners and Newham council opposed the move, arguing the air and noise pollution would affect people living nearby and that it could increase carbon emissions.

• Douglas Ross has said he would have been ousted as Scottish Tory leader even if he did not stand for a Westminster seat. The current Scottish Tory leader – who will be replaced next month – told a fringe audience he would not have stood for the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat if he knew he “wasn’t going to win”.

That’s all from me, Tom Ambrose, and indeed the UK politics live blog for today. Thanks for following along.

4.22pm BST

Scotland’s drug deaths remain the worst in Europe, as ministers pledged to intensify efforts to deal with the problem after a “hugely concerning” 12% increase in fatalities last year.

The health secretary, Neil Gray, said the Scottish government was also “working hard to respond to the growing threat from highly dangerous, super-strong synthetic opioids like nitazenes”, which were involved in 23 deaths.

Figures released on Tuesday show a 12% rise in deaths, with drugs claiming the lives of 1,172 Scots in 2023 – up 121 on the previous year.

Gray said: “My heartfelt condolences go to all those affected by the loss of a loved one through drugs.

“This level of deaths remains hugely concerning and underlines why we will continue to do all we can to reduce harm and deaths caused by drugs.”

Agencies working with addicts said the “measurable failures” driving this ongoing public health emergency remained the same.

Related: Scotland’s drug deaths remain worst in Europe amid ‘concerning’ 12% increase

3.43pm BST

Union warns of probation officer shortage ahead of prisoners’ early releases

Ministers will struggle to prepare for next month’s early release of thousands of prisoners, a union has warned, after the latest figures showed a drop in the number of probation officers.

Ministry of Justice data shows there were 178 fewer probation officers over the last quarter, as the service gets ready to monitor another 5,500 prisoners released over the next year despite deepening concerns over increased workloads for staff.

Up to 2,000 prisoners are expected to be released in the second week of September as part of an early release scheme, called SDS40 , which will allow many prisoners to walk from prison after serving 40% of their sentences.

A second tranche of up to 1,700 prisoners, all jailed for more than five years, are expected to be freed in late October after the law was changed by the lord chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, to relieve pressure on overcrowded prisons.

Related: Union warns of probation officer shortage ahead of prisoners’ early releases

3.04pm BST

2.27pm BST

Douglas Ross has said he would have been ousted as Scottish Tory leader even if he did not stand for a Westminster seat.

The current Scottish Tory leader – who will be replaced next month – told a fringe audience he would not have stood for the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat if he knew he “wasn’t going to win”.

However, Ross, who has faced criticism from within his own Holyrood party in recent weeks, said he did not think the “final outcome would have been any different”, PA reported.

Stating that MSPs within his own party were often “briefing against him”, he said: “I’ve known since I became leader that some people didn’t want me to become leader four years ago and throughout that time people have continued to hold that view, and for some that view will have strengthened.”

However, he said: “If I’d known I wasn’t going to win the seat (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) then I wouldn’t have gone forward with that seat.

“Even if I hadn’t of gone for that seat as the candidate I think would have been in the exact same situation.

“I would no longer have been an MP, I would still have been an MSP and we would still have had roughly the same vote share across the country; therefore there would have been calls – which I would have accepted – for me to stand down.

“So yes, there is personal and reputational damage, people speaking about me and making comments, some of which are legitimate, others I think are wrong.

“But I don’t think the final outcome would have been any different.”

1.58pm BST

Enjoyable gig/photo op for Tom Tugendhat today (if you like whisky) as he takes his bid for the Tory leadership to a Scottish distillery.

The former security minister earlier tweeted that “Unionism is indivisible from conservatism. I want to be leader for all of our party, for across the whole of the UK. In Scotland, that means getting Conservative MSPs and MPs elected.”

The Tories currently have just five MPs in Scottish seats in Westminster and 31 MSPs, with its Scottish arm mired in infighting .

In his latest tweet, Tugendhat is at the Glenkinchie distillery near Edinburgh.

1.25pm BST

Scottish ministers to reintroduce peak rail fares

Scottish ministers will reintroduce peak rail fares across the country after an experiment with flat rate fares failed to significantly increase passenger numbers.

Trade unions and opposition parties condemned the decision, and accused the Scottish government of presiding over a shambolic rail service and of failing to adequately tackle the climate crisis.

The year-long pilot scheme to abolish peak fares was introduced as part of the Scottish National party’s power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens. It was designed to encourage people to cut their car usage and mitigate soaring living costs.

Data from the government agency Transport Scotland shows that vehicle ownership hit a record level of 3.09m in 2022, of which 82% were cars; 75% of Scottish households had access to one or more cars.

You can read the full story here

Related: Scottish government under fire as it brings back peak rail fares

1.00pm BST

Summary

• Keir Starmer visits Wales to highlight Labour’s plans to make Britain an “energy superpower” and to address what he termed the “incoherent energy policy” his party inherited from the Tories. The prime minister and new first minister, Eluned Morgan , will travel to a site in West Wales today as part of their first official visit together. The pair, who held talks on Monday in Cardiff, are expected to pledge to work closely on realising the benefits of a publicly owned energy company. The Welsh government previously launched Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru while the UK government is developing Great British Energy with £8.3bn of funding over the next five years.

• Starmer has vowed to do “everything we can” to preserve jobs at the steelworks in Port Talbot, south Wales. Asked whether he risked giving “false hope” to workers in the town, the prime minister replied: “No. We’re working really hard on this, both the first minister and myself jointly on this, because it’s so important that we do everything we can to preserve those jobs.”

• The Labour government will invest “unprecedented levels of funding” in cycling and walking as a critical part of plans to improve health and inequality, the new secretary for transport has said. A national network of safe cycle routes could cut GP appointments “by hundreds of thousands, if not millions a year”, Louise Haigh said.

• The Liberal Democrats have been fined a total of £3,600 by election authorities for 22 offences linked to the late reporting of donations. The Electoral Commission said the five fines were paid by 2 August. Meanwhile, the Richmond Park Constituency Labour party in south-west London was fined £1,000, which it paid on 26 July. The Electoral Commission probed the local party’s “failure to deliver its 2022 statement of accounts by the deadline”, and found one offence.

• Ministers have launched a pension credit publicity campaign to minimise the impact of the government’s decision to radically restrict winter fuel payments. The government hopes its pension credit awareness drive will help identify households not claiming the benefit and encourage pensioners to apply by 21 December, which is the last date this year for people to make a backdated claim for pension credit in order to receive the winter fuel payment.

• Scotland’s external affairs secretary said he has not considered resigning his position after significant criticism over his meeting with an Israeli diplomat, PA reported. Angus Robertson told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland (GMS) programme that he believed it was “right” to communicate the Scottish government’s opposition to the conflict in Gaza.

• A former Conservative minister has called for an end to the demonisation of train drivers and said he understood why the new Labour government had “decided to cut a deal” with unions. Huw Merriman, who served as the rail minister for the entirety of Rishi Sunak’s premiership, apologised for failing to bring in workplace reforms and his inability to reach an agreement to end the strikes.

• The prime minister has looked at Wales’s natural resources and shallow seas as part of his plan to accelerate the green energy transition, he has suggested. Starmer told journalists: “The election of a Labour government in Westminster is a gamechanger. So, for the first time, you’ve got a Welsh government that has a Westminster government that wants to work with and collaborate, after 14 years of having a Westminster government that basically didn’t want to collaborate and cooperate in that way.”

• Ministers have approved London City airport’s application to expand, in a decision that has disappointed climate campaigners. The airport submitted a proposal to increase capacity from 6.5 million to 9 million passengers a year by putting on more weekend and early morning flights. Local campaigners and Newham council opposed the move, arguing the air and noise pollution would affect people living nearby and that it could increase carbon emissions.

Updated at 2.34pm BST

12.25pm BST

The prime minister has looked at Wales’s natural resources and shallow seas as part of his plan to accelerate the green energy transition, he has suggested.

Keir Starmer told journalists: “The election of a Labour government in Westminster is a gamechanger. So, for the first time, you’ve got a Welsh government that has a Westminster government that wants to work with and collaborate, after 14 years of having a Westminster government that basically didn’t want to collaborate and cooperate in that way.

“So that is a gamechanger because it means the first minister and I can deliver together for Wales, and that’s our joint work.

“That’s what we will be absolutely focused on. What we’re doing in relation to the transition on energy is crucial to that.

“We’re here today looking at a particular project which is very successful in the energy that it generates but also in what it does for local communities - the work that it’s doing for communities near here is hugely important. That’s a model that we want to build on.

“GB Energy will sit alongside that. That’s a UK-wide entity and already we’re able to talk about what we can do offshore with the deal that we did with the crown estate just a few weeks ago, so there’s a huge opportunity here for Wales which has got the resources, it’s got the natural resources, it’s got the shallow seas, and it’s got the skilled people here in Wales that can operate this.

“This is a massive opportunity and we intend to work together to take that opportunity on behalf of everybody living in Wales.”

11.47am BST

Keir Starmer has vowed to do “everything we can” to preserve jobs at the steelworks in Port Talbot, south Wales.

Asked whether he risked giving “false hope” to workers in the town, the prime minister replied: “No. We’re working really hard on this, both the first minister and myself jointly on this, because it’s so important that we do everything we can to preserve those jobs.

“We were working on this when I was in opposition – we’ve turbocharged that since we’ve been in power.

“Of course it’s difficult, I think everybody understands that.

“We’ve been able to put some money down just in the last week or so, particularly with the supply chain side of it, but we will do everything we can to preserve those jobs.”

11.26am BST

Updated at 11.41am BST

11.00am BST

Ministers have launched a campaign to urge those who still qualify to secure winter fuel payments as government plans are expected to strip away the energy benefit from millions of elderly people.

Pensioners are being urged to check if they are eligible for pension credit, which qualifies them for the winter fuel payment worth up to £300, PA reported.

They would need to apply by 21 December, the last date for making a backdated claim for pension credit, to receive the fuel payment.

About 1.4 million pensioners are already receiving pension credit but the Department for Work and Pensions estimates up to 880,000 further households are eligible for the support.

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall will work with local authorities and charities for a “pension credit week of action” in September and aim to identify eligible households yet to claim.

Kendall said: “The £22bn black hole in the public finances we have inherited has required us to take difficult decisions, but I am determined to ensure low-income pensioners are supported.

“That’s why I urge any pensioner, or their loved ones, to check if they could get pension credit.

“This government remains completely committed to pensioners which is why we’re protecting the income of over 12 million pensioners through the triple lock.”

10.25am BST

Scotland’s external affairs secretary said he has not considered resigning his position after significant criticism over his meeting with an Israeli diplomat, PA reported.

Angus Robertson told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland (GMS) programme that he believed it was “right” to communicate the Scottish government’s opposition to the conflict in Gaza.

The senior minister apologised on Monday for meeting with Israel’s deputy ambassador Daniela Grudsky two weeks ago, with Robertson admitting the meeting should have been limited to calling for an immediate ceasefire. However, he said issues which did not relate to the war were raised by Grudsky, including energy, tourism and economic cooperation.

He told the radio programme: That meeting was not an appropriate space or time for that meeting to take place.

Robertson has faced criticism from within his own Holyrood party, with veteran MSP Christine Grahame describing his position as a “liability”.

Meanwhile, SNP MP Ruth Maguire told the Herald on Monday she shared the “anger” felt by party members in relation to the meeting.

Robertson was asked if he had considered his position in the cabinet after the backlash. He told GMS:

No, I haven’t because I think it was right to communicate the message that we did. But I have reflected very strongly on the impact that it has created and the impression that was created, which is why I issued the apology yesterday.

I most certainly did not want to create an impression that there was a normalisation of relations between the Scottish government and the Israeli government when there is not.

The Scottish government has suspended any further meetings with the Israeli government until peace progress has been made in the conflict with Hamas.

10.00am BST

The Liberal Democrats have been fined a total of £3,600 by election authorities for 22 offences linked to the late reporting of donations.

The Electoral Commission said the five fines were paid by 2 August.

Meanwhile, the Richmond Park Constituency Labour party in south-west London was fined £1,000, which it paid on 26 July.

The Electoral Commission probed the local party’s “failure to deliver its 2022 statement of accounts by the deadline”, and found one offence.

Jackie Killeen, electoral administration and regulation director at the watchdog, said in a statement: “The laws we enforce are there to ensure there is transparency over the money spent and received by political parties, and to increase public confidence in our system.

“It’s important that parties comply with the requirements, and report to us in a timely fashion.”

9.36am BST

Welsh secretary Jo Stevens said Keir Starmer’s visit to an onshore windfarm in Carmarthenshire on Tuesday is an example of an energy project that will save local residents money on their bills.

She told GB News:

We haven’t had a ban on onshore wind in Wales, where there had been in England under the previous Conservative government.

We have lifted the ban in England, and today’s visit is about showing how two Labour governments – one in Wales, one in Westminster – can work together to deliver that energy security, to bring down bills and to create new jobs through green energy.

She said the government will focus on “all types of renewable energy” and projects like those in Wales where local communities that host infrastructure are directly rewarded, adding:

So they will get an additional discount on their bills as a result of hosting the infrastructure that is helping to deliver renewable energy, clean power by 2030 across the United Kingdom.

What the project that the prime minister and the first minister are seeing today in Carmarthenshire is exactly one of those projects where the local community are benefiting through discounts to their bills.

9.32am BST

Opening summary

Good morning and welcome to our rolling coverage of UK politics. My name is Tom Ambrose.

Keir Starmer visits Wales to highlight Labour’s plans to make Britain an “energy superpower” and to address what he termed the “incoherent energy policy” his party inherited from the Tories. The prime minister and new first minister, Eluned Morgan, will travel to a site in West Wales today as part of their first official visit together.

The pair, who held talks on Monday in Cardiff, are expected to pledge to work closely on realising the benefits of a publicly owned energy company. The Welsh government previously launched Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru while the UK government is developing Great British Energy with £8.3bn of funding over the next five years.

Starmer said before the visit:

We have inherited an incoherent energy policy that has left homes up and down the country vulnerable to rocketing energy bills.

Last month, he said it will “take time” to reap the benefits of clean power initiatives but stood by a claim that the UK government’s plans will eventually drive down household bills by £300-a-year.

Conservative shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho previously said the public have been “sold a lie” by Labour that their energy bills will drop by that amount.

In other news:

• The Labour government will invest “unprecedented levels of funding” in cycling and walking as a critical part of plans to improve health and inequality, the new secretary for transport has said. A national network of safe cycle routes could cut GP appointments “by hundreds of thousands, if not millions a year”, Louise Haigh said.

• Ministers have launched a pension credit publicity campaign to minimise the impact of the government’s decision to radically restrict winter fuel payments. The government hopes its pension credit awareness drive will help identify households not claiming the benefit and encourage pensioners to apply by 21 December, which is the last date this year for people to make a backdated claim for pension credit in order to receive the winter fuel payment.

• A former Conservative minister has called for an end to the demonisation of train drivers and said he understood why the new Labour government had “decided to cut a deal” with unions. Huw Merriman, who served as the rail minister for the entirety of Rishi Sunak’s premiership, apologised for failing to bring in workplace reforms and his inability to reach an agreement to end the strikes.

• Ministers have approved London City airport’s application to expand, in a decision that has disappointed climate campaigners. The airport submitted a proposal to increase capacity from 6.5 million to 9 million passengers a year by putting on more weekend and early morning flights. Local campaigners and Newham council opposed the move, arguing the air and noise pollution would affect people living nearby and that it could potentially increase carbon emissions.