Burnham: ‘Winter of great flooding’ could be on its way
As south west England deals with the aftermath of Storm Austen, Andy Burnham said the United Kingdom could face “a winter of greater flooding”.
The prime minister was asked if the Government was playing catch-up with civil preparedness as he attended a summit organised to learn from the summer’s record wildfires.
A second storm, Storm Boelo will bring disruption across the UK on Saturday.
Burnham told reporters on Friday: “No, we are having the conversation with people about being better prepared because we’re living in a world where unexpected events seem to be becoming more and more common.
“Obviously weather events – and we’re in a situation today where the UK is facing storms, and obviously we feel for the people without power in Cornwall right now – it is just having those supplies in the house to get you through those moments.
“So we are having that conversation about resilience. That’s why we’re holding this summit today, it’s why we’re putting the guidance out to the public.
“We potentially are facing a winter of greater flooding, so it’s about recognising all of those risks and taking action.”
Key events
A DUP minister has said he is confident MP Carla Lockhart will stay in the party despite leaving its main decision-making body amid a row with party leadership over the future of Stormont.
Lockhart is at odds with DUP leader, fellow MP Gavin Robinson, over whether the party should withdraw deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly from the power-sharing executive.
Lockhart has argued that the party should pull Little-Pengelly from her post as it would automatically remove Sinn Féin first minister Michelle O’Neill from her position in the joint office they lead together.
Such a step would effectively collapse the devolved administration in Belfast. However other individual departmental ministers would remain in post and the Northern Ireland assembly would continue to sit for a further six months.
Lockhart believes the party should no longer serve alongside O’Neill after the Sinn Féin vice-president took part in an allegedly unlawful protest on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown last month.
Education minister Paul Given told BBC Radio Ulster: “Carla bleeds DUP just like I do, and of course it’s disappointing that she felt not able to remain as a party officer.
“But I very much welcome her remaining within the DUP because she is a valued member of our party, and I know that she’ll continue to make an important contribution to the party and in leading people in Upper Bann.”
There has been a few lighthearted moments from Andy Burnham’s comments to the press today.
Burnham will appear on Channel 4’s Gogglebox tonight as part of a Stand Up to Cancer fundraiser.
According to the Press Association, when asked about his views on the Celebrity Traitors so far, the prime minister said: “Well, obviously, I would say that politicians have got a lot to offer to those who are looking for tactics in relation to The Traitors.”
Burnham, who seized power from Sir Keir Starmer after plotting to be prime minister for more than a year, added: “I think we can spot faithfuls and traitors a mile off.
“Our profession teaches us to do that, but it’s a great programme.
“It’s a great example of how strong British broadcasting is, and of course the BBC.”
Meanwhile he responded to housing secretary Angela Rayner’s suggestion wine and mascara would be in her emergency supplies kit, after the government recommended people to prepare, Burnham said: “I’m not sure that that’s the top of the list in terms of the advice that we’re giving to the to the public.
“You need to have a clear head when it comes to a challenging situation.
“So yeah, some tins of food, some bottled water. But I’m sure people are allowed a glass or two as well to get them through a difficult situation.”
Burnham: ‘Winter of great flooding’ could be on its way
As south west England deals with the aftermath of Storm Austen, Andy Burnham said the United Kingdom could face “a winter of greater flooding”.
The prime minister was asked if the Government was playing catch-up with civil preparedness as he attended a summit organised to learn from the summer’s record wildfires.
A second storm, Storm Boelo will bring disruption across the UK on Saturday.
Burnham told reporters on Friday: “No, we are having the conversation with people about being better prepared because we’re living in a world where unexpected events seem to be becoming more and more common.
“Obviously weather events – and we’re in a situation today where the UK is facing storms, and obviously we feel for the people without power in Cornwall right now – it is just having those supplies in the house to get you through those moments.
“So we are having that conversation about resilience. That’s why we’re holding this summit today, it’s why we’re putting the guidance out to the public.
“We potentially are facing a winter of greater flooding, so it’s about recognising all of those risks and taking action.”
Britain needs to be on ‘front foot’ on wildfires
Andy Burnham is addressing the wildfire summit in north west England after a summer which saw homes destroyed by fires during the record-breaking heat.
Burnham visited Stourbridge, in the West Midlands, days after fires wreaked havoc in streets on the edge of the Black Country town in August.
He said Britain needs to be on the “front foot” and that the country had been playing “catch up” for too long.
The prime minister said he expected similar summers going forward.
He told the summit: “I think too often in the past we’ve been playing catch up, and today is trying about trying to get on the front foot and recognise that the summer we’ve just had is likely to be a more regular situation going forward. So make ourselves that bit stronger when it comes to the summer of 2027, and then indeed summers beyond.”
He earlier told journalists: “We lived through a summer that we’ve never seen before, with so many wildfires across the country. Fire and rescue services were stretched, firefighters working extremely difficult conditions, and it was right in that moment to commit to this summit, and today we’re making good on that, but also making some initial steps to improve our response because we will have to plan for summers like this going forward.
“So firstly: better equipment for our firefighters, particularly the PPE, more appropriate to working in very hot summer conditions because it’s very punishing work what they did this summer.
“Secondly, aerial support: so we may see on holiday other countries where there are planes putting water from above on the fires. We believe we need that capability. The Ministry of Defence will be equipping aircraft with that capability, so we’ll be better prepared for summers to come.
“Then thirdly: just better management of the land, so that fire doesn’t get the ability to spread. Those are the early commitments, but the summit will give us more as we go through it today, and people can be sure that we will be even better prepared next summer.”
Andy Burnham has said he believes indefinite leave to remain needs to be “earned through contribution”, but stopped short of committing to all of home secretary Shabana Mahmood’s immigration and citizenship reforms.
There has been speculation that Mahmood’s plans to double the amount of time care workers will need to live in Britain before claiming indefinite leave to remain will be watered down under pressure from Labour MPs.
Currently the wait is five years, but Mahmood said it should be raised to ten.
Burnham said: “We’re in a position where we’ve been consulting on those reforms, and we will come forward with our decisions soon.
“But I strongly support the Home Secretary when she says that settlement is a right to be earned through contribution, and that will be the principle that guides our reforms.”
Foreign secretary Ed Miliband is in Turkey today as he is set to join talks on the strait of Hormuz and the situation in Saudi Arabia.
Ministers from Britain, France and Germany as well as Italy, will meet in Turkey to discuss issues in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine.
Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt will also attend.
The UK said this week it would extend its military support for the Saudis, providing British fighter jets to shoot down Houthi drones and missiles fired into the kingdom.
Miliband will use the talks to point to Iranian tactics being replicated, including with Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia putting pressure on the maritime choke points of Bab El-Mandeb and the Suez canal.
Andy Burnham is “determined” to introduce the tourist tax across the country and could overrule councils and elected mayors, the Times has reported.
Burnham told an online meeting of mayors he wanted to counter the “negative” atmosphere around the overnight visitor levy. It has received some opposition from the hospitality sector and some mayors.
According to the Times, the prime minister told the National Economic Council: “If the mayor’s name is linked to a tax, it shouldn’t be the case that they’re not able then to pursue what is a mayoral ambition.
“So I think the rewiring of the state needs to clean out this a bit more as we go forward … We’ve got to get the brakes off growth basically and that’s something I’m determined to do.”
As Wes Streeting and James Murray have been recommending in the last 24 hours, the Government is advising people to stockpile supplies for three days.
Have you been persuaded to follow this advice? The Guardian would like to speak to you about what you have in your cupboard, and what other items you have in case of emergency.
Andy Burnham has been meeting armed forces veterans and Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal collectors to mark the start of the year’s campaign.
Burnham welcomed them to Number 10 North’s office in central Manchester, contrary to the usual convention of making a donation to the cause on the steps of Number 10 in Downing Street.
Good morning from London, where we’re less than a week from Andy Burnham and John Healey’s first budget, and the Government has been telling people to build up 72 hours of supplies in case of a disaster. We’ll be bringing you updates throughout the day. I’m Harry Taylor.
The Government has said that will not be putting together a “shopping list” for the public to buy in anticipation of a disaster, despite launching a campaign on Thursday which told people to stock up on supplies.
Treasury minister James Murray has been on the broadcast round this morning where has been asked about the announcement yesterday that people should assemble three days of supplies.
It’s come after repeated warnings in the last 18 months about cyber-attacks from overseas that could affect key systems.
It’s also timely as 32 Government services were taken offline yesterday after millions of attempts to exploit a weakness in numerous’ websites coding.
However Murray told Times Radio this morning: “This is not about the Government sending out a shopping list to everyone in the country.
“This is about putting the right information there on the government website, having an information campaign so that people are aware about it and then people taking the right choices for themselves about what they need to make sure they have supplies of at home.”
Meanwhile it’s five days until Healey’s budget, and Murray was asked on BBC Radio 4 whether he would be reducing red tape for business.
He said cutting “pointless bureaucracy” was “at the heart of what the Chancellor is going to be thinking about”.
Healey said the Treasury would aim to cut £800m of red tape for businesses at the budget, including reduced reporting requirements.
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