Deputy PM ‘welcomes the news’ that the Assad regime has fallen
Rebel forces in Syria have captured Damascus, and Bashar al-Assad has reportedly fled the capital, ending a regime that begin in 2000. On Sky News this morning, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told Trevor Phillips she ‘welcomes that news’, but stressed that a political resolution is needed that protects civilian lives and infrastructure. Rayner said a plan had been in place to make sure any UK citizens were evacuated from Syria ahead of the weekend’s developments.
Priti Patel: ‘The Turkish footprint is relevant here’
Trevor Phillips also asked Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel about Syria, and the wider implications for the region. Patel said there was no question that Turkey has ‘equities’ in the situation, and would be an influential voice, although she wouldn’t speculate on whether Turkey knew in advance about the rebel push. Patel said it was clear that Russia had been ‘consumed with Ukraine’ and had scaled back their presence in Syria. She also stressed that the UK and its allies had to deal with the ‘longstanding issue of Iran’ and its proxies in the region.
Angela Rayner: ‘We are determined… to deliver the housing we desperately need’
The deputy prime minister also spoke about Labour’s plans to build 1.5 million more homes by 2029. On the BBC, Rayner admitted that the government’s plans are a ‘stretch target’ which would require a scale of house building not seen since the 1950s, but she said she is determined to deliver the changes needed to make that goal possible. One of Labour’s proposed changes is to reduce the power that local councils have to block planning applications. Laura Kuenssberg asked Rayner why she thought the government ‘knows better’ than local authorities. Rayner said that mandatory local plans for housing construction would mean local authorities can decide themselves where development should take place, and that combined with the national planning policy framework would mean housing construction doesn’t get ‘stuck in the system for years’.
Shadow Treasury Minister: ‘Labour seem to be saying… local people can be ignored’
Shadow Treasury Minister Richard Fuller told Laura Kuenssberg that the Conservatives were building houses at a rate of 1.2 million houses (if continued for a five year term) in their final year in power, and suggested that Labour’s target of 1.5 million was ‘reasonable’. However, he claimed Labour were ignoring local people, and that it was important that public services were improved in line with additional housing. Fuller did not say the Conservatives would refuse to back Labour’s plans, and suggested it was good news that Labour were looking into deregulation.
Emma Pinchbeck: ‘We have rarely talked about… the costs of not tackling climate change’
This weekend Storm Darragh killed two people and left thousands without power across the country. Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, Climate Change Committee CEO Emma Pinchbeck said the country had to prepare for the worsening effects of climate change, including flood defences and preparing cities for extreme heat. Kuenssberg asked if the country should be spending more on these protections, and Pinchbeck claimed that there isn’t enough discussion about the costs of not tackling climate change. Pinchbeck called for more resources to help advise the government on how to prepare the economy for the impact of climate change.
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