Politics latest: Keir Starmer pressed on extra bank holiday if England win the Euros (2024)

Thanks for joining us on another busy day in Westminster and beyond, as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer kicks off his first week in the top job at NATO in Washington.

There's still plenty more to come tomorrow - and we'll be across it all.

Come back at 6am for all the latest.

Sir Keir Starmer is in Washington this week, busily meeting with a host of world leaders in his very first week as prime minister.

The latest was the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

In a readout, a spokesperson for Ms Meloni said she and Sir Keir "reiterated their intention to strengthen the action to relaunch the strategic partnership".

A statement added: "The two leaders shared the intention to keep in close contact on all the main issues of international interest, and to continue the fruitful exchange at the European Political Community Summit."

This will be hosted at Blenheim Palace next week.

Sir Keir and Ms Meloni also "reviewed the broad spectrum of bilateral relations, reiterating their intention to strengthen the action to relaunch the strategic partnership between the two nations in all sectors of mutual interest, including cooperation in combating irregular migration".

The latest NATO summit in Washington is well under way, and one of the most striking elements is Sir Keir Starmer's debut on the world stage.

He's met world leaders including Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Olaf Scholz - the first of whom welcomed him to the stage before alliance leaders posed for their traditional group photo.

You can watch that moment below:

The UK has launched a multi-billion pound national wealth fund to power green invest and infrastructure development in an effort to grow the economy.

So far £7.3bn in state funds has been allocated so investments can be made "immediately" in areas such as ports, manufacturing and renewable energy.

The move is part of Labour's plans to grow the economy through planning reform, housebuilding targets and the creation of state-owned power company Great British Energy.

Economic growth is a core goal of Labour's time in government - their investment plans are predicated on the increased tax yields a larger economy brings, rather than borrowing to invest.

But what is a national wealth fund?

Sky News explains all in the link below:

Sir Keir Starmer has not ruled out 20,000 prisoners being released early in a bid to ease pressure on the justice system - as the new prime minister told Sky News the last government acted "almost beyond recklessness" on criminals.

The state of the justice system has become one of the first major challengesSir Keirhas to face in charge of the country.

Overcrowding means the government is considering letting prisoners serve only 40% of their sentences, rather than the 50% which is currently in place.

There are reports this could mean up to 20,000 prisoners are released early over "many" months.

Asked about this by Sky News's political editorBeth Rigby, Sir Keir said: "I'm not going to get ahead of the statement [we] will make on this, but, I am not going to pretend it's not a very real problem that's been left to us."

He said the criminal justice system was a "much worse problem" than he thought it would be.

You can read more from Sky News below:

Water bills are to rise by an average of 21% over the next five years, the industry regulator Ofwat has ruled.

But with the impact of the cost-of-living, water companies spilling record amounts of sewage into our waters, and controversialbonuses for senior leaders, do we need a complete overhaul of theindustry?

On this episode, Niall Paterson hears from our business correspondent Paul Kelso in Henley, on the impact for consumers, providersand our water ways.

Niall also speaks to Stuart Colville, deputy CEO of Water UK, which representsthe water companies, asking why they disagree with Ofwat’s plans.

Plus, Feargal Sharkey, campaigner and former lead vocalist of The Undertones,joins Niall to share his reaction and the story behind his efforts to protect our rivers and seas.

👉Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts👈

For further background from Sky News, you can read Paul Kelso’s further analysis of Ofwat's business plansfor Thames Water’s survival here.

Thanks for following our live updates tonight.

The show may be over, but stick with us for the latest updates and analysis from the NATO summit in Washington - and any other political news that catches our eye from closer to home.

Andrew Bowie, the Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, is now joining Sophy Ridge.

He is asked about a Labour plan to ban future oil and gas licences in the North Sea, despite a claim that work had already been halted being rubbished today.

Mr Bowie, the shadow veterans' minister, warns against "driving away investment".

He says this will ultimately drive away jobs, adding: "We need to ensure that we continue to have exploration and drilling in the North Sea."

The frontbencher says this activity will bolster energy security, saying: "We don't want to become reliant on foreign imports."

Sophy now turns to the two-child benefit cap, which now affects around 1.6 million children.

The Conservative governmentintroduced the cap, which prevents parents from claiming child tax credit or Universal Credit for more than two children for those born after April 2017.

Wes Streeting, who is one of seven children, is asked whether he is personally comfortable with the cap.

He says he is not: "That's why I voted against it when it was brought in."

The health secretary says the government is working "at pace" to "make sure we've got a serious cross-government strategy for reducing child poverty in this country".

"What's different now to when we were last in government is so much of that poverty affects families who are both in work and in poverty," he says.

"Now, we said before the election we wouldn't make promises unless we could keep them.

"We wouldn't make promises unless we knew the country could afford them.

"I think people are going to have to bear with the government on a whole range of fronts as we try and clean up the terrible mess the Conservatives have left."

Sophy now turns to talks Wes Streeting held with junior doctors this week, in a bid to resolve a long-lasting dispute over pay and conditions.

Further talks are set to take place next week.

"I said we wouldn't waste time," the health secretary says.

"I rang them on day one.

"We want to keep the momentum up and give junior doctors the confidence of knowing that the government will treat them with respect.

"Unlike the last government."

Sophy asks if the pay rise junior doctors are asking for - of 35% - is realistic.

"They've also said... that they're willing to negotiate," Mr Streeting says.

"And in that spirit, where we're entering this process in good faith, I'm genuinely angry at the way that junior doctors are being treated."

The health secretary points out that the last time a health secretary met with junior doctors was in March.