Sir Keir Starmer positions himself as PM-in-waiting as psychodramas engulf Westminster and Holyrood
As the Conservatives in Westminster tied themselves in knots over whether to back the Privileges Committee condemnation of Boris Johnson and the SNP’s Humza Yousaf sought to revive independence plans with his party still in crisis, Sir Keir Starmer went to Leith in Scotland to set out his mission to turbo-charge renewable energy in the UK should he become PM.
His target is for Britain to produce all its electricity from low-carbon energy sources – nuclear, wind and solar – by 2030. To do it is a bold plan to borrow £100bn+ over the course of the next parliament to transition the country away from fossil fuels to green energy.
By far Labour’s single biggest spending commitment, the party had pledged to borrow £28bn-a-year to fund the flagship green transition programme, but has since scaled back borrowing plans amid growing concerns about taking on debt as the cost of borrowing rises on the back of higher interest rates.
Instead, Labour will gradually ramp up borrowing to that level in the “second half of the parliament” if it wins the next general election.
But the plan is still huge – undoubtedly the single most radical policy of Sir Keir’s Labour government should he win the next election. Labour’s green subsidies amount to more in relative terms than US President Joe Biden’s own green economy plan – the inflation reduction act – which has earmarked $37bn in subsidies.
The money will be used to launch a state-run company GB Energy to invest in renewables, with £2.5bn in direct subsidies to green energy providers who contract to manufacture in the UK – the ‘British jobs bonus’ as Sir Keir puts it. He says it will create nearly 500,000 new direct and indirect jobs.
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Starmer outlines energy plans
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The driving purpose of the plan is to drive down energy bills – with Labour claiming that it will take £1,400 off average bills if it can hit the 2030 target.
It is also about transforming the economy in order to better fund public services.
Sir Keir is clear that this is the sort of “activist industrial policy” Britain needs for the longer term, but for voters looking to Labour to commit money to schools, hospitals and transport in the next election, this could prove a hard sell with the amount Labour is willing to borrow to subsidise green technologies dwarfing other commitments for public services.
“We are going to put money into public services,” explains one senior Labour figure. “But we have to grow the economy as the first step. Being clear about stable finances and sticking to it is the best way to turnaround the country.”
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‘We are doubling down not backing off’
But while the level of borrowing has raised eyebrows, and afforded the Conservatives a “borrowing bombshell” attack line, the plans to block new oil and gas developments in the North Sea as part of the renewables revolution has provoked widespread criticism from industry and union figures fearful of widespread job losses.
Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, on Monday said Labour’s plans put “tens of thousands of Scottish jobs a risk”.
The criticisms have prompted another policy tweak as Sir Keir promised not to revoke any fossil fuel extraction licenses granted before the next general election, even though it could take years before those new fields begin producing.
This allows the Labour leader to insist existing jobs in oil and gas are not at risk, but there’s no doubt that as production is gradually wound down, this will be a momentous shift for a sector that supports nearly 200,000 jobs in the UK.
There is also the question of whether the Labour leader can actually deliver what he is pledging in this five years. Sir Dieter Helm, professor of economic policy at Oxford University, who has advised the government on energy policy over many years, said last week the goal was unlikely to succeed on the current trajectory.
When I pressed Sir Keir in an interview in Leith on Monday if the “clean power by 2030” pledge was a guarantee or a target he demurred, he said it was his “ambition” and he believed to be “doable”. Not an explicit guarantee then, and for good reason.
There is also a question about credibility and commitment after the Labour party U-turned on its promise to borrow £28bn-a-year from the beginning of the parliament in order to scale up renewable industry.
‘Doubling down’
The leadership has insisted it is still totally committed to the plan, but has had to scale back commitments in the near-to-medium term as the high cost of borrowing hits against Labour’s fiscal rules (no borrowing to fund day-to-day spending and net debt must be falling as a percentage of GDP at end of the rolling five-year period).
When I asked Sir Keir on Monday if the U-turn on the financial commitment in the first half of the parliament showed – as with Brexit, tuition fees, and re-nationalisations – that he can’t be trusted to keep his promises, he said it showed the opposite, that he was “doubling down” on the plan.
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“It is a matter of trust,” he told me.
“Rachel [Reeves] – we set out fiscal rules two or more years ago. Inflation is in a completely different place to where it was… but at the same time as we work through our plans and set out what we want to do in years one, two and three, it is clear we can ramp up to that £28bn and when I say to people in the sector, I want clean power by 2030, they don’t say you’re backing down, they say that’s a real challenge.”
On the timing of this announcement, there is of course a risk that Sir Keir’s missions get drowned out by the dramas back in Westminster. There was some discussion about whether to pull the announcement, but in the end Sir Keir decided that he wanted to get on talking about how he might lead Britain than, to quote one ally, get “bogged down in the psychodrama” of what’s going on in Westminster.
“Doesn’t it speak volumes that the Labour Party is today launching a plan for the next generation of jobs, whilst the Tories are squabbling back in Westminster, and the SNP are preaching about promises they’ve broken?” observed the Labour leader when I asked him about the current state of his rivals.
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Sir Keir wants to use these “mission statements” to position himself as a leader-in-waiting as the current prime minister Rishi Sunak finds his agenda hijacked by the failings of his predecessor and party infighting once more.
But the agenda on Monday is very much about parking Labour’s tanks on the SNP’s lawns too, given that there is no route to Number 10 for Sir Keir that doesn’t go through Scotland. Locating GB Energy in Scotland is designed to firmly park his tanks on the SNP’s lawn.
A poll out over the weekend suggested Labour was on course to take 26 seats in the next general election – an incredible change in fortunes from the single seat it picked up in 2019 – as the departure of Nicola Sturgeon and her subsequent arrest (she was released without charge) over the police probe into SNP finance leaves the party battered and bruised.
“Nicola Sturgeon not being first minister obviously provides a space and an opportunity that simply wasn’t there before,” acknowledges one senior figure.
“But there’s no rule that anybody disillusioned with either the Tories or the SNP necessarily swaps columns to us. Anyone who thinks we can flatline is heading for defeat at the next election. We’ve got to go up at the end, which is why we’re going to continue in this way.”
Two Israeli human rights organisations have said the country is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
In reports published on Monday, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said Israel was carrying out “coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip”.
The two groups are the first major voices within Israeli society to make such accusations against the state during nearly 22 months of war against Hamas.
Israel has vehemently denied claims of genocide. David Mencer, a spokesperson for the government, called the allegation by the rights groups “baseless”.
He said: “There is no intent, (which is) key for the charge of genocide… it simply doesn’t make sense for a country to send in 1.9 million tonnes of aid, most of that being food, if there is an intent of genocide.”
B’Tselem director Yuli Novak called for urgent action, saying: “What we see is a clear, intentional attack on civilians in order to destroy a group.”
The organisation’s report “is one we never imagined we would have to write,” Ms Novak said. “The people of Gaza have been displaced, bombed, and starved, left completely stripped of their humanity and rights.”
PHR said Israel’s military campaign shows evidence of a “deliberate and systemic dismantling of Gaza’s health and life-sustaining systems”.
Both organisations said Israel’s Western allies were enabling the genocidal campaign, and shared responsibility for suffering in Gaza.
“It couldn’t happen without the support of the Western world,” Ms Novak said. “Any leader that is not doing whatever they can to stop it is part of this horror.”
Hamas said the reports by the two groups were a “clear and unambiguous testimony from within Israeli society itself regarding the grave crimes perpetrated by the occupation regime against our people”.
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Why are airdrops on Gaza so dangerous?
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Sky News on board Gaza aid plane
Dire humanitarian conditions
Since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the deadly Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, nearly 60,000 people – mostly civilians – have been killed, according to Gaza health officials.
Much of the infrastructure has been destroyed, and nearly the whole population of more than two million has been displaced.
An increasing number of people in Gaza are also dying from starvation and malnutrition, according to Gaza health authorities.
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On Monday, the Gaza health ministry reported that at least 14 people had died from starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, raising the total number of hunger-related deaths during the war to 147.
Among the victims were 88 children, with most of the deaths occurring in recent weeks.
UN agencies say the territory is running out of food for its people and accuse Israel of not allowing enough aid deliveries to the enclave. Israel denies those claims.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said “there is no starvation in Gaza” and vowed to fight on against Hamas.
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Trump: Gaza children ‘look very hungry’
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that many in Gaza are facing starvation and implied that Israel could take further steps to improve humanitarian access.
Israel has repeatedly said its actions in Gaza are in self-defence, placing full responsibility for civilian casualties on Hamas. It cites the militant group’s refusal to release hostages, surrender, or stop operating within civilian areas – allegations that Hamas denies.
The United Nations has condemned airdrops on Gaza, warning they risk killing the starving Palestinians they are intended to help.
Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel parachuted aid packages into the territory for the first time in months at the weekend amid claims a third of the population has not eaten for days.
But Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general for the UN Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), has said they “will not reverse the deepening starvation” and often do more harm than good.
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“They are expensive, inefficient & can even kill starving civilians,” he wrote in a statement on X.
What is an airdrop – and why are they dangerous?
There are several ways humanitarian agencies and international allies can deliver aid to regions in need – by land, by sea, or by air.
While parachuting in supply packages from planes may look impressive, airdrops are “fraught with problems”, Sky correspondent in Jordan Sally Lockwood says, and often used as a “desperate last resort”.
“Foreign nations know airdrops are a deeply flawed way of delivering aid,” she says.
“Palestinian sources tell us the aid that’s been dropped so far is not reaching the most vulnerable. They are an attempt to get something to a few – often viewed as a desperate last resort. Gaza is at that point.”
A plane drops aid over Gaza City on Sunday. Pic: AP
Air drops land over Gaza City on Sunday. Pic: AP
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Military analyst Sean Bell says that delivering aid by air is ideally done when planes can land on a runway – but Gaza’s only landing strip in Rafah was shut down in 2021.
The alternative is “very dangerous”, he warns. “Aircraft flying relatively low and slow over a warzone isn’t very clever. When these parcels hit the ground, there’s a significant danger of them hitting people.”
People in Gaza scramble for aid on Saturday. Pic: @ibrahim.st7 via Storyful
Crucially, they can only deliver a fraction of what lorries can.
“The really big issue is aircraft can only deliver one truckload of aid. Gaza needs 500 truckloads a day, so it’s 0.2% of the daily need,” Bell adds.
They also risk falling into the wrong hands and ending up on the black market.
“Some of it has been looted by gangs and is on the black market already,” Lockwood says.
Air drops land in northern Gaza on Sunday. Pic: AP
Why are they happening now?
Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza at the beginning of March, reopening some aid centres in May, but with restrictions they said were designed to stop goods being stolen by Hamas militants.
Israeli authorities control the only three border crossings to the strip: Kerem Shalom in the south, Crossing 147 in the centre, and Erez to the north.
Since the current conflict with Hamas began in October 2023, humanitarian agencies and world leaders have repeatedly accused Israel of not allowing enough deliveries through.
Mr Lazzarini says the UN has “the equivalent of 6,000 trucks” in neighbouring Jordan and Egypt “waiting for the green light to get into Gaza”.
Israel says it has commissioned a “one-week scale-up of aid”, having conducted its own airdrops on Saturday.
In a statement over the weekend, the Israeli Defence Forces said it will work with the UN and other aid organisations to ensure aid is delivered but no more details were given.
Meanwhile on Sunday, it began daily 10-hour pauses in fighting in three areas of Gaza to address the deteriorating humanitarian situation.
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Baby Zainab starved to death in Gaza
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 133 Palestinians had died of malnutrition by then, including 87 children.
Doctors Without Borders warned on Friday that 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are malnourished.
Israel says there is no famine in Gaza.
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Sky’s Sally Lockwood on the runway in Jordan ahead of Gaza aid airdrop
What are in the airdrops and who is behind them?
Air packages are largely being delivered by C-130 planes. Jordan is reported to be using 10 and the UAE eight.
They can carry eight pallets of goods each, weighing around eight tonnes in total, according to Lockwood, who is on the runway at Jordan’s King Abdullah II airbase.
There are no medical supplies in the packages, she says, only dried food, rice, flour, and baby formula.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK will help with airdrops – but no British aircraft have been seen in Jordan so far.
He will discuss the matter with US President Donald Trump during talks in Scotland on Monday.
The RAF delivered 110 tonnes of aid across 10 drops last year as part of a Jordanian-led international coalition – but it is not clear what level of support will be offered this time.
World
Israel-Hamas war: ‘Vast amounts of aid needed to stave off catastrophic health crisis in Gaza,’ UN warns
Israel has agreed to support a “one-week scale-up of aid” in Gaza – but the United Nations has warned more action is needed to “stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis”.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher made the remarks as Israel began limited pauses in fighting across three areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day to address the worsening humanitarian situation.
Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza’s population from the start of March. It then reopened aid centres with new restrictions in May, but said the supply had to be controlled to prevent it from being stolen by Hamas militants.
A Palestinian man in Beit Lahia carries aid that entered Gaza through Israel. Pic: Reuters
On Saturday, reports referencing US government data said there was no evidence Hamas had stolen aid from UN agencies.
Images of emaciated Palestinian children have led to widespread criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, including by allies who are calling for an end to the war.
Mr Fletcher said one in three people in Gaza “hasn’t eaten for days” and “children are wasting away”.
He added: “We welcome Israel’s decision to support a one-week scale-up of aid, including lifting customs barriers on food, medicine and fuel from Egypt and the reported designation of secure routes for UN humanitarian convoys.
“Some movement restrictions appear to have been eased today, with initial reports indicating that over 100 truckloads were collected.
“This is progress, but vast amounts of aid are needed to stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis. Across the UN agencies and humanitarian community, we are mobilised to save as many lives as we can.”
An aircraft drops humanitarian aid over Gaza on Sunday. Pic: Reuters
The Israel Defence Forces said yesterday that it is halting military operations in Muwasi, Deir al Balah and Gaza City daily from 10am to 8pm local time (8am to 6pm UK time) until further notice.
Combat operations have continued outside of this 10-hour window. Health officials in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 41 Palestinians overnight into Sunday morning, including 26 seeking aid.
In a statement, the IDF said it would also establish secure routes to help the UN and aid agencies deliver food and other supplies.
A map showing the three areas of Gaza where military action has been paused
Israel’s announcement of what it calls a “tactical pause” in fighting comes after it resumed airdrops of aid into Gaza.
While the IDF reiterated claims there is “no starvation” in the territory, it said the airdrops would include “seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar and canned food to be provided by international organisations”.
Palestinian sources confirmed that aid had begun dropping in northern parts of the territory.
Palestinians in Beit Lahia carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel. Pic: Reuters
Sabreen Hasson, a Palestinian mother who travelled to an aid point near the Zikim crossing to collect supplies, said: “I came to get flour for my children because they have not tasted flour for more than a week, and thank God, God provided me with a kilo of rice with difficulty.”
But Samira Yahda, who was in Zawaida in central Gaza, said: “We saw the planes, but we didn’t see what they dropped… they said trucks would pass, but we didn’t see the trucks.”
Another Palestinian told the AP news agency that some people feared going out and having a box of aid fall on their children.
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Baby Zainab starved to death in Gaza
Gaza is expected to be a focus during talks Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump in Scotland today.
Downing Street said Sir Keir will raise “what more can be done to secure the ceasefire [in the Middle East] urgently”, during the meeting at the US president’s Turnberry golf course in Ayrshire.
Reports also suggest the prime minister is planning to interrupt the summer recess and recall his cabinet to discuss the crisis on Tuesday.
Talks in Qatar over a ceasefire ended on Thursday after the US and Israel withdrew their negotiating teams.
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Mr Trump blamed Hamas for the collapse of negotiations as he left the US for Scotland, saying the militant group “didn’t want to make a deal… they want to die”.
Meanwhile the exiled head of Hamas in Gaza, Khalil al Hayya, has warned ceasefire negotiations with Israel were “meaningless under continued blockade and starvation”.
In a recorded speech, he added: “The immediate and dignified delivery of food and medicine to our people is the only serious and genuine indication of whether continuing the negotiations is worthwhile.”
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Israel intercepts Gaza aid boat
During a meeting with the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen yesterday, Mr Trump emphasised the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants in Gaza.
He said: “They don’t want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision.
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Starmer says UK will help drop aid to Gaza
“I know what I’d do, but I don’t think it’s appropriate that I say it. But Israel is going to have to make a decision,” he said.
Mr Trump also repeated claims, without evidence, that Hamas was stealing food coming into Gaza and selling it.
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