Starmer hits back at criticism of cost of living crisis response, claiming Labour has been "leading" on the issue Keir Starmer claims Labour has been “leading” on the cost of living crisis following criticism of his response to the national issue. The Labour leader said he will announce further plans to tackle the crisis on Monday. He criticised the Conservative leadership contest and “lame duck” prime minister as he called for a “strategic, credible plan” in the face of the cost of living crisis. He also criticised the government for failing to prepare the UK for drought (see also 14:17). He said during a visit to Scotland: It was nearly 12 months ago now on energy bills that we proposed insulation of homes, a massive project to bring down the costs. In January we said there should be a windfall tax, it took the government five months to catch up with that idea and implement it. We also said that VAT should be taken off energy bills – Rishi Sunak is only just now recognising that Labour got it right again. After trailing plans for pre-payment meters, he added: On Monday I’m going to be setting out a comprehensive set of proposals, a plan for how we handle the upcoming costs in the autumn, while what you’ve had from the Conservative Party is two leadership candidates arguing with each other about just how appalling their record in government has been, and a prime minister who’s a lame duck – he recognises there’s a problem and he’s not prepared to do anything about it. So, for the best part of 12 months, Labour has been absolutely leading on this issue. Here"s a summary of the latest developments... Boris Johnson has told senior officials to plan a “meaningful ministerial meeting” with devolved governments about cost of living support following calls from Nicola Sturgeon. In a letter to the outgoing prime minister on Monday, the Scottish first minister said an emergency meeting scheduled in September could not wait and must happen immediately. Keir Starmer claimed Labour has been “leading” on the cost of living crisis following criticism of his response to the national issue. The Labour leader said he will announce further plans to tackle the crisis on Monday. He criticised the Conservative leadership contest and “lame duck” prime minister as he called for a “strategic, credible plan” in the face of the cost of living crisis. He also criticised the government for failing to prepare the UK for drought. The government claimed that it is “better prepared than ever” after drought was declared in several parts of England. Water minister Steve Double has claimed that action is already being taken by the government and the Environment Agency (EA) after eight areas were moved to “drought” status – including Devon and Cornwall, Solent and South Downs, Kent and South London, Herts and North London, East Anglia, Thames, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, and East Midlands. Liz Truss’s pledge to tackle “woke” civil service culture were condemned as “insulting and abhorrent” by a union representing civil servants. Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA, said: “She provides no evidence for her accusation that many civil servants will find both insulting and abhorrent.” Rishi Sunak insisted he has a “fantastic chance” in the Tory leadership contest – despite the apparent dominance of his rival. Many Conservative party members, he said, “have not made up their mind”. Keir Starmer teased Labour’s package to tackle the cost of living crisis, saying his party would end energy prepayment premiums which he claims would offer 4m households relief on bills. The announcement, which came in what is reportedly his first tweet this month, follows criticism of Labour’s inaction on the cost of living crisis. Tory leadership candidate Liz Truss has pledged to clamp down on “woke” civil service culture that “strays into antisemitism”. The foreign secretary will also boost links between the UK and Israel, with the aim of securing a free trade deal, according to her campaign. Boris Johnson insisted the government is doing everything it can amid cost of living crisis but admitted: “I’m not going to pretend that things are easy for people”. He claimed there is “more money coming” to help people in October and the new year. Boris Johnson admitted that the government’s support package to tackle the cost of living crisis is not enough but claimed that whoever succeeds him as prime minister will ensure there is “extra cash to help people”. Speaking in north Wales, he said the government had already laid out several messages to help people but that not everybody will have received it yet. As Kent battles scorched fields and wildfires, locals are uniting to counter South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay’s dismissal of climate crisis, writes Caroline Davies: Under a cloudless sky in searing sun, Phillip Watts bends down to pick up a broken shell from the parched soil at his east Kent vineyard. “My vineyard is eight metres above sea level, and I’ve got lots of pebbles in my soil because it used to be a beach,” he said, pointing at the shingle strewn around his award-winning vines. “And it’s going to be a beach again!” “It’s scary. No doubt,” he said of the climate crisis. Watts’ Barnsole Vineyard, near Staple, between Sandwich and Canterbury, lies in the constituency of South Thanet, which, according to recent data, had just 4mm of rain in July – making it one of the driest in the UK. It is also the constituency of Craig Mackinlay, MP, a former Ukipper turned Conservative, who has regularly voted against measures to tackle climate change. As leader of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group (NZSC), a group of Tory backbenchers challenging the government’s net zero policies as “uncosted fairytales”, Mackinlay’s strong views are regularly expounded in a blog and in interviews. They include describing net zero as an “elite delusion”. It would, he told the Daily Telegraph, “take this government down”. The rush to net zero”, he has tweeted, created the “madness in the energy market”. He is against a windfall tax on energy companies, and has dismissed the Cop26 summit as a “Glasgow jamboree”. Downing Street has been promoting Boris Johnson’s visit to Airbus’s site in Broughton: Johnson to meet devolved governments about cost of living support following calls from Sturgeon Boris Johnson has told senior officials to plan a “meaningful ministerial meeting” with devolved governments about cost of living support following calls from Nicola Sturgeon. In a letter to the outgoing prime minister on Monday, the Scottish first minister said an emergency meeting scheduled in September could not wait and must happen immediately. PA Media reports that Johnson has now written back, saying: I agree that the response to these pressures will be best served by the UK and devolved governments working collaboratively to navigate these challenges together. He said he has asked his permanent secretary for the union to “continue working with your officials to plan for a meaningful ministerial meeting with heads of devolved governments to consider how best to further support hardworking families”. The date of the meeting is not known. In her letter, Sturgeon wrote: This situation is fast deteriorating and many people across the UK simply cannot afford to wait until September for further action to be taken. I am therefore writing to seek an emergency meeting of the Heads of Government Council and propose that we, as leaders of our respective governments, meet as soon as possible this week to discuss and agree urgent steps to help those in most need now, and also formulate a plan of action for the autumn and winter ahead. It came after Johnson admitted earlier today the government’s cost of living support was not enough and said: “I’m not going to pretend that things are easy for people” (see 11:29). Boris Johnson has acknowledged that the package of support to help people pay surging energy bills is not enough, as the split deepens between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss over how to deal with the crisis. Amid forecasts that energy bills could hit £5,000 a year by next April, the prime minister made clear that he expected his successor to act. Asked if the current package of £400 off bills, rising to £650 for vulnerable households, was enough, Johnson said: “No, because what I’m saying what we’re doing in addition is trying to make sure that by October, by January, there is further support, and what the government will be doing, whoever is the prime minister, is making sure there is extra cash to help people.” Boris Johnson used “rude” words when Douglas Ross called for him to quit, the Scottish Conservative leader has claimed. Ross, who was among the first senior Conservatives to tell the prime minister to step down over partygate before later rescinding his calls in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, told Iain Dale at the Edinburgh fringe “he was not particularly pleased”, reports PA Media. He was angry, one of his MPs was saying they no longer had confidence in him, I think it would be a difficult conversation to have for any party leader to have your MPs telling you that, particularly when you’re the Prime Minister - that ratchets it up a notch. Asked to elaborate on whether the words Johnson used were “Latin words” – a euphemism for swearing – he said: “They were rude, they weren’t necessarily Latin.” After his view became public, Jacob Rees-Mogg, then leader of the House of Commons, repeatedly referred to him as a “lightweight”. This is clearly a line, they wanted to dampen down any potential dissent. When Jacob Rees-Mogg made those comments, I said ‘well, you’re entitled to that view’ - I disagree with it, I’ve never said anything about Jacob Rees-Mogg, I don’t think we’ve actually ever spoken before in the five years that I’ve been in the House of Commons. For someone who prides himself on being very courteous to colleagues, it was a surprise. Heir to Boris Johnson? Liz Truss has shown a Johnson-like tendency to rush into new policies and be vague or inaccurate with facts, write Peter Walker and Jessica Elgot. She truly is the heir to BoJo,” one Sunak-supporting source said. “Her team cut and paste policy, put something out in black and white, claim it’s been misinterpreted, and get Brandon [Lewis, a key ally of Johnson and now Truss] out to poop-scoop the next day. Writing for the Guardian, Caroline Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion said the declaration of drought across much of England is not a freak occurrence but the “consequence of years of inaction on the climate emergency”. This is producing a perfect storm of energy insecurity, food supply chaos and extreme weather that is wreaking havoc on society. Getting a firm grip on this crisis requires both immediate and long-term solutions. Our lame duck government is offering neither. It’s clear that the privatisation experiment for water companies has failed. They’re fit for profit, not for purpose. Nothing could possibly be longer than this Conservative leadership race – not even the final minute of your washing machine cycle. Every promise made in it should be treated with the same deference you’d reserve for the claim that the tab closure on a cardboard cereal box “seals in freshness”. Given the crises raging outside, the contest resembles a Dickensian reality show, in which two grotesques compete to run the workhouse, simply refusing to be thrown off course by the increasingly desperate entreaties of their paupers. Who, as a mark of lavishly sarcastic respect, are these days referred to as “clients”. A drought has been declared across wide swathes of England after a meeting of experts. The prolonged dry conditions, with some areas of the country not receiving significant rainfall all summer, have caused the National Drought Group to declare an official drought. The Environment Agency has moved into drought in eight of its 14 areas: Devon and Cornwall, Solent and South Downs, Kent and south London, Herts and north London, East Anglia, Thames, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, and the east Midlands. Documents seen by the Guardian show the Environment Agency expects a further two areas will move into drought later in August. These are Yorkshire and West Midlands. The Faulkland Inn near Bath has come through recessions, wars and Covid but is being beaten by soaring costs, writes Anna Tims: When the Faulkland Inn first opened its doors, George II was on the throne and Britain was at war with Spain. Since then, the 280-year-old coaching inn has weathered a dozen recessions, two world wars and the Covid pandemic. Now soaring energy bills have proved a battle too far. The village pub near Bath is facing closure with the loss of eight jobs because it can no longer afford to keep the lights on. Our gas and energy bills have doubled since April and we’re facing annual fuel costs of at least £20,000, which will wipe out our profits,” says the landlord, Andy Machen. “Until April we needed to make £2,500 over the four days a week we are open in order to break even; now we’d need to make £4,000 and are paying staff out of our personal savings. A new campaign group urging the government to do more to tackle the cost of living crisis will kick off a series of 50 rallies across Britain with a launch event in London next week. Trade unions, community groups, tenants’ organisations and politicians launched the Enough is Enough campaign this week and it has already received 300,000 sign-ups with the launch video viewed more than 6m times. “There’s always another crisis and it’s always workers who pay the price,” said Dave Ward, the general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) who along with Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), will speak at the first rally on Wednesday evening at the Clapham Grand venue in south London. Like the TUC, Enough is Enough is calling for this autumn’s energy price cap increase to be cancelled as soaring bills push household finances to the brink. There is growing evidence that people are already struggling, with the number contacting Citizens Advice because they cannot afford both food and energy having jumped more than threefold in a year, according to recent figures published by the charity. Enough is Enough is also calling for a “real” pay rise for workers which it defines as a public sector pay increase in line with inflation and a pathway to a £15 minimum wage. The current minimum wage rate for adults aged 23 and over is £9.50. It also wants the government to end food poverty by introducing free school meals for all and reinstating the £20-a-week universal credit uplift.