Rishi Sunak news latest: Starmer accused of trying to ‘out-Brexit the Tories’ at PMQs

Junior minister at the Cabinet Office Alex Burghart said Rishi Sunak would appoint an ethics advisor “very soon”.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner pressed the government to appoint a new watchdog for ministerial interests, a job vacant since the resignation of Lord Geidt in June. “How many times have I heard ‘soon’?” she said, before adding: “jam tomorrow, manana, manana”.

“We’re going to have an independent adviser, they’re going to have the powers that they need, and they are going to be appointed very soon,” said Mr Burghart.

Kemi Badenoch rejected a former minister’s criticism of the Australian free-trade deal, but acknowledged that deadlines can be “unhelpful” in negotiations.

Earlier this month former environment secretary George Eustice said the deals negotiated with Australia and New Zealand included provisions that were not in the economic interests of the UK, with the Government giving away “far too much” to secure the post-Brexit agreements.

The new International Trade Secretary said: “I disagreed with what he said about it not being a good deal for the country. That is absolutely not true. I do think deadlines can be incredibly unhelpful in negotiations. We saw this with Brexit.”

“But if the other side knows you have a deadline, they are able then to hold out or be more difficult which creates an incentive to create more concessions.”

Asked if she would have negotiated the same deal with Australia, she rejected the premise of the question that the UK had conceded ground on the deal.

“We haven’t given anything away,” she said, arguing that trade negotiations are not “tit-for-tat” or “zero sum”. “The deal isn’t even in place yet and we’re already talking it down,” she told the International Trade Committee. She said that Australia was an ally and should not be discussed as a country that is “going to ruin our economy”.

The government has already scrapped 140 European environmental regulations since Britain left the EU, Thérèse Coffey has said.

The environment secretary told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday morning that more rules would be scrapped over the coming 12 months, with reducing “bureaucracy” the focus.

Ms Coffey said she was also keen to overturn regulations where the UK government had previously opposed a rule at EU level but then been outvoted by other countries.

Our policy correspondent Jon Stone has more:

Responding to a question about nurses pay, prime minister Rishi Sunak told the Commons: “I have nothing but admiration and gratitude to our nurses for all the work they do. But it is simply unreasonable and unaffordable to have a 19 per cent pay rise.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said there has been an “unacceptable deterioration” in Avanti’s service.

Conservative former minister Esther McVey (Tatton) mentioned the train service between her constituency and London, saying it “was always hourly, direct and took one hour 50”.

She told the Commons: “Now you’d be very lucking if you got a direct train and the journey time is… often double, and that’s not restricted to strike days, that’s day in day out on Avanti trains.” She asked “what the Government’s going to do to sort this out and get the west coast service back to what it used to be because the service at the moment is completely unacceptable”.

Mr Sunak said: “My right honourable friend is absolutely right about the unacceptable deterioration in the quality of Avanti’s service.

“The Transport secretary is rightly monitoring and holding them to account. There is a plan to increase the number of trains… to more than 100 additional drivers, and restoring the full direct service between Manchester and London.”

He added the plan needs “trade union cooperation”.

The Labour leader mocked the prime minister as how “tough” he is going to get with his backbenchers who are “blocking the new homes this country so badly needs”.

Sir Keir Starmer said: “The simple fact is this: every year the age at which people can buy their first home goes up. At this rate under this government, a child born in the UK today wouldn’t be able to buy their first home until they are 45.

“I love my kids, but I don’t want to cook them dinner in 30 years time.

“I’ve heard he is having a relaunch, apparently it’s called operation ‘get tough’. So how tough is he gonna get with his backbenchers who are blocking the new homes this country so badly needs?”

Rishi Sunak replied: “We are delivering record numbers of new homes under this government. He talks about toughness, he’s too weak to stop dozens of his own MPs joining the picket lines. If he wants to support those hard-working families and show some leadership, why doesn’t he confirm right now that no Labour MPs are going to join those picket lines?”

Huw Pill said Britain’s exit from the EU was having an impact on prices, as food inflation surged to 12.4 per cent to hit a new record high during the cost of living crisis.

“Brexit plays a part, but I don’t think it’s the whole story and probably only part of the story. But to my mind it has had some effect,” Mr Pill said on Wednesday.

Our political correspondent Adam Forrest reports:

Sir Keir Starmer has offered to lend Rishi Sunak the Labour votes he needs to pass the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill with mandatory housing targets.

The Labour leader told the Commons: “Every week, he hands out cash to those that don’t need it. Every week he gets pushed around and every week he gets weaker.

“But I can help him with this one, he doesn’t need to do another grubby deal. If he wants to defeat that amendment from his anti-growth backbenchers on national targets for housing, Labour will lend him the votes to do so. Country before party, that’s the Labour way. Why doesn’t he try it?”

The PMr replied: “Too weak to confirm no one on the picket line.

“It’s the same old Labour ideas, more debt, more inflation, more strikes and more migration. He tells his party what they want to hear. I’ll take the difficult decisions to this country and that’s the choice, it’s the politics of yesterday with him or the future of the country with me.”