Politics latest: Foreign secretary heading for talks with Netanyahu (2024)

As we just reported, the foreign secretary is heading to Israel for talks with the country's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Here's a quick catch-up on where we're at.

Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and the US are all currently engaged in ceasefire talks in Doha as they try to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.

While the UK is not directly involved in the talks today in Qatar, Sir Keir Starmer and the Westminster government is still working to try to lower the temperature in the region.

You can read more about the situation in our live blog here.

Over the weekend, Sir Keir picked up the phone and rang Iranian PresidentMasoud Pezeshkian - urging him to "de-escalate and avoid further regional confrontation", according to Downing Street.

But the president rejected that, saying retaliation against Israel is a "right", according to an Iranian news agency, with Israel an "aggressor".

Starmer's top ministers on diplomatic offensive

Elsewhere, the likes of Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey have both been engaged in diplomatic efforts.

On Wednesday, Mr Lammy met with the Saudi foreign minister in London - where the pair discussed working together towards de-escalation, a ceasefire, and a release of hostages.

While Saudi Arabia and Iran have had sometimes complicated relations, Riyadh still wields significant influence in the Middle East.

Mr Healey, meanwhile, spoke to US defence secretary Lloyd Austin yesterday, with the pair discussing the "urgent need for restraint and de-escalation" in the Middle East.

David Lammy will travel to Israel in the coming hours to holds talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sky News understands.

A diplomatic source described the imminent trip as "an attempt to prevent all-out war in the Middle East".

He will also meet Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz.

The French foreign minister is set to arrive with Mr Lammy, who has described the situation as a "crucial moment for global stability".

It comes amid fears of an Iranian attack on Israel, as talks over a possible Gaza ceasefire take place in Qatar.

Iran has been expected to attack in retaliation for the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month.

Israel's foreign affairs ministry said the talks with Mr Lammy and his French counterpart would reflect efforts to prevent "regional escalation" and "promote a fair deal for the release of Israeli hostages" in Gaza.

As outlined in the previous post, Labour ministers are keen to tout the positive impact they believe government funding will have on any businesses impacted by job cuts at Tata Steel.

Firms affected are getting £13.5m to help, and the money will also help train workers who are made redundant - there are expected to be up to 2,800 people out of work.

The cuts are being made as Port Talbot, the country's biggest steelworks, moves towards a greener form of steel production.

But Jo Stevens, the Wales secretary, has denied it's a case of people paying the price for the shift to net zero.

'We will create jobs and bring bills down'

"We have to reduce emissions," she insisted - and pointed to green initiatives that she says will in fact create new jobs.

This includes Labour's Great British Energy project - a publicly owned firm to generate clean power that will also seek to encourage more private investment in the sector.

"We will create jobs, we will bring bills down, but we will also secure Britain's energy security," she said - pointing to the country's previous reliance upon Russian oil and gas.

Jo Stevens, the Wales secretary, is in Port Talbot in South Wales today.

She has announced a new £13.5m funding package to support business that have been impacted by cuts implemented by Tata Steel.

The plant in Port Talbot is a huge employer in the region.

Eluned Morgan, the new first minister of Wales, is also in attendance.

Ms Morgan says the decision is an "example of where the Welsh government working with the UK government will make a difference", with the cabinet minister adding Welsh steel production is vital for Labour's infrastructure plans.

You can read more about the support package below:

By Alix Culbertson, political reporter

The education secretary has said private schools have themselves to blame for closures - not the government's VAT policy.

Bridget Phillipson said some private schools have failed to balance their books over a number of years as she denied they had closed because the government is making them pay 20% VAT on fees from January.

Two schools in Scotland, Kilgraston and Cedars, this week became the first to close since Labour came into power, citing the uncertainty over the policy as part of their reasons.

But Ms Phillipson dismissed that, telling Sky News: "We have seen private schools in recent years whack up their fees year-on-year, way beyond inflation, and that has priced out lots of people."

You can read the full story below:

Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and the US are all currently engaged in ceasefire talks in Doha as they try to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.

While the UK is not directly involved in the talks today in Qatar, Sir Keir Starmer and the Westminster government is still working to try to lower the temperature in the region.

You can read more about the situation in our live blog here.

Over the weekend, Sir Keir picked up the phone and rang Iranian PresidentMasoud Pezeshkian - urging him to "de-escalate and avoid further regional confrontation", according to Downing Street.

But the president rejected that, saying retaliation against Israel is a "right", according to an Iranian news agency, with Israel an "aggressor".

Starmer's top ministers on diplomatic offensive

Elsewhere, the likes of Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey have both been engaged in diplomatic efforts.

On Wednesday, Mr Lammy met with the Saudi foreign minister in London - where the pair discussed working together towards de-escalation, a ceasefire, and a release of hostages.

While Saudi Arabia and Iran have had sometimes complicated relations, Riyadh still wields significant influence in the Middle East.

Mr Healey, meanwhile, spoke to US defence secretary Lloyd Austin yesterday, with the pair discussing the "urgent need for restraint and de-escalation" in the Middle East.

By Jennifer Scott, political reporter

The government's child poverty taskforce has got to work as ministers begin putting together a strategy to lift families out of destitution.

But despite pressure within Labour and from other parties, it won't be scrapping the controversial two-child benefit cap.

What is the policy?

The two-child benefit cap was announced by the Conservatives in 2015, forming part of their austerity measures.

It means while parents can claim child tax credit or Universal Credit payments for their first and second child, they couldn't make claims for any further children they had.

These are separate payments to child benefit, which has no limit on how many children can be claimed for.

The argument from the Tories limiting the tax credit to two children made the system fairer for taxpayers, ensuring households on benefits "face the same financial choices about having children as those supporting themselves solely through work".

But opposition MPs and campaigners said the measure would drag more children into poverty and hit hard up families.

What is Labour's stance on it?

Labour were strong critics of the policy while in opposition and many expected they would scrap it if they won power.

But last year, Sir Keir Starmer ruled it out due to the public finances.

The Resolution Foundation has said abolishing the two-child limit would cost the government somewhere between £2.5bn and £3.6bn, but the Save the Children charity estimated the move would take half a million children out of relative poverty.

Seven Labour MPs paid the price for trying to force the government to scrap the policy - they were suspended from the parliamentary party for voting against the King's Speech.

Ministers have hinted they don't particularly like the policy - but it's not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

Away from A-level results, and the education secretary has been asked about her work on the government's child poverty taskforce.

The taskforce was viewed as a compromise measure of sorts to satiate Labour MPs keen to scrap the controversial two-child benefit cap, a Tory policy which the government is keeping in place.

It met for the first time yesterday (read this post here), chaired by the work and pensions secretary and the education secretary.

The latter, Bridget Phillipson, said it would be looking at how to "drive down child poverty levels" and tackle the "root causes".

There are around four million children living in poverty in the UK.

In the education sector, she pointed to the introduction of breakfast clubs for primary schools and cutting the cost of uniforms.

"Those are some of the practical changes that we'll get on with delivering," she said, but there's no sign of the two-child cap going anywhere anytime soon.

As outlined in our previous post, the controversial prospect of raising tuition fees has become a question for ministers as many universities grapple with serious financial challenges.

Our business correspondent Paul Kelsosays the picture across the sector right now is pretty negative.

And that's because, anecdotally at least, there's been a 30% fall in how many overseas students are applying for British universities.

"That matters because overseas students underwrite the British university system," says Paul. "They may make up about 26% of the academic population, but provide 46% of the fees."

So why the drop in applications? Britain's top universities have long been extremely popular with international students.

Paul says the sector thinks it's being driven largely by visa rule changes the previous government introduced, which include preventing foreign students from bringing family members with them.

It was a bid by Rishi Sunak to bring down levels of immigration.

The change and subsequent drop in applicants "poses a fundamental threat to the financial health of the university sector", says Paul.

"Domestic fees simply do not cover the cost".

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has congratulated A-level students for their "amazing success".

Today is results day, and the number of youngsters who've achieved top grades has risen again and remains above pre-COVID levels (read more).

Ms Phillipson said they had shown "enormous resilience", and also thanked the "amazing teachers and staff who support them".

Do tuition fees need to rise?

The minister was also asked about comments she made on Sky News earlier today, when she said it'd be "unpalatable" to raise tuition fees for students heading to university amid a cost of living crisis.

With many universities experiencing financial trouble, and some reportedly not safe from possible closure, she suggested it was up to the institutions themselves to "manage their resources".

"Universities are independent institutions that have choices for how they manage their budgets," she said.

Ms Phillipson said she understood "the pressures" many are facing, which some blame on a drop in the number of overseas applicants.

She said she was confident students wouldn't have their studies disrupted despite the financial challenges.