Downing Street defends decision to let pubs stay open until 5am for England match – UK politics live

However, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch seems less excited about Harry Kane and England’s prospects when they take on Mexico this Sunday.

The match, which kicks off at 1am UK time (technically on Monday), will see the Three Lions attempt to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

And while the prime minister’s spokesperson says Keir Starmer will be “doing his best” to watch the game, Badenoch says she will settle for the highlights the next day.

She said:

I don’t think I can go through what we went through in the match with Congo. It was very, very hair-raising, early on.

So I will wake up and watch the highlights.

But my message to the England team is to go for it, score as many goals in the first five minutes, so that everybody watching can relax and maybe even get some sleep.

The Lib Dems reckon England men’s football captain Harry Kane ought to be knighted and have even launched an early day motion calling for it to happen.

Layla Moran, the MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, said her party wants to reward the Three Lions forward for his “World Cup heroics”.

The early say motion, which MPs are able to support by signing, referenced Kane’s two goals against the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday.

It reads:

That this House recognises the efforts of Harry Kane in England’s game against the Democratic Republic of Congo at the FIFA World Cup on Wednesday evening; celebrates the work of the England team in their 2026 World Cup campaign so far; wishes them every success in their next game against Mexico on Monday; notes that Kane has now scored more goals than Pelé at world cups; and believes that Harry Kane should be recognised with a knighthood for these achievements, and for his two outstanding goals in Wednesday evening’s game, which kept England’s World Cup dreams alive.

Downing Street has defended its decision to allow pubs to stay open at 5am on Monday for the England World Cup match against Mexico, after police criticised the government over the “late announcement” (see post at 11:05).

When asked about the timing of the announcement (made yesterday by Keir Starmer), a Downing Street spokesperson said: “Obviously England’s progression in the tournament was confirmed on Wednesday evening and we announced plans as quickly as possible following this.

“And more broadly, we have engaged with policing partners throughout preparations for the World Cup and we are grateful for their flexibility and professionalism throughout.”

You can read more on this story here:

Downing Street said it would continue to use X after the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, announced she would stop using the social media platform.

Nandy said yesterday the culture and media department will also stop using X because the site “now favours abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate”.

When asked about her decision, a spokesperson for No 10 said it was up to individual ministers and their departments whether they continued to use the platform, PA reports.

The spokesperson said No 10 kept its use of social media “under review”, but gave no indication the prime minister would be following Nandy in leaving X.

It is for individual departments to decide what is right for them in this regard.

Our full focus remains on making sure X is following the law, cleaning up its act and ensuring it is safe for women, girls, children and people right across the country.”

Some pictures from Parliament Square in Westminster, where bereaved parents have placed the shoes of their children as part of a campaign for better government support (see post at 10:37):

Burnham’s AMA has attracted more than 3,300 comments so far before it begins at 5pm, here are some of the questions being asked for the Makerfield MP:

• “Is it time to abolish the triple lock? Or at least have that discussion?” (This seems to be the most asked question on the r/UKPolitics subreddit).

• “What are your thoughts on student loans, specifically plan 2 and above, which is now affecting working families? Freezing repayment thresholds at their current level until 2030 seems unfair given that interest rates on these loans will remain high and income tax bands are not moving appropriately with inflation in recent years.”
  

• “Will you support a land-value tax as part of your touted business rates reforms? We need a tax system that rewards work not wealth, and this is the perfect time to push for it, especially given your party’s commitment not to touch the big three taxes.”
  

• “What do you think about the legalisation of cannabis I really think it’s a no brainer with the tax it would raise and taking the power from the gangs.”
  

• “Youth unemployment is getting ridiculous, young people can apply for hundreds of jobs and not even get an interview. Companies appear to not want to train people anymore and want the finished article from the offset. What, if anything, are you looking to do about this?”
  

• “Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized Kier Starmers, or 1 Kier Starmer sized duck?”

Kemi Badenoch has accused Andy Burnham of dodging media scrunity ahead of his “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) event on Reddit this afternoon.

“I don’t need to use Reddit because I’m happy to take questions from the media,” the Conservative leader told reporters on a visit to Thirsk, North Yorkshire, according to PA.

“Andy Burnham, I’m amazed was running away from being asked questions. Reddit is easy, he can filter which ones he wants to answer, just look at the easy questions.”

Hollie Ridley, Labour’s general secretary, is to step down this autumn after two years in the job, she has announced to party staff.

Ridley, an ally of Keir Starmer who ran Labour’s field operations in the 2024 general win election, said in an internal email she would stand down after the party’s annual conference in September.

Saying this was in part for personal reasons, Ridley said it was also the right thing to allow Labour’s ruling national executive committee to pick a new general secretary “to work alongside a new leader once they are elected”.

Starmer announced in June that he was stepping down as prime minister, with Andy Burnham expected to replace him later this month.

The party general secretary is a highly influential role, and like Starmer, who oversaw Ridley’s appointment to the job shortly after becoming prime minister, Burnham will want a close ally in the post.

In a statement, Starmer called Ridley “one of the most formidable campaigners the Labour party has ever produced”, adding: “She built and led the ground campaign that delivered our general election victory and allowed us to start changing Britain, and as general secretary she has served our party with distinction.”

Read more:

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has criticised the timing of the government’s decision to let pubs stay open until 5am for England’s World Cup match against Mexico.

Keir Starmer announced yesterday that pubs across England and Wales will be able to stay open late for the match, which kicks off at 1am on Monday.

The government had initially rejected calls to relax licensing laws beyond what it has already allowed. The Home Office granted pubs special dispensation to stay open until 1am for England matches in the knockout stages that kick off between 5pm and 9pm, and until 2am for games that start between 9pm and 10pm.

In a joint statement, chief constable Mark Roberts, NPCC lead for football policing, and acting chief constable Scott Green, NPCC lead for alcohol licensing and harm reduction, said the U-turn on pub opening times meant officers were having to adapt their plans and take officers away from communities.

The statement said:

We recognise there will be significant public interest in England’s match on Monday morning and that many of the public will want to come together in pubs and licensed venues to enjoy the occasion.

We also know from previous tournaments the knock-out games sadly see an increase in violent incidents particularly in the night-time economy and an increase in domestic abuse. This is directly linked to alcohol consumption.

The likely route for England progression has been known for a considerable time yet this late announcement leaves policing having to adapt our plans seeing officers working extended shifts which in turn takes them away from communities.

From a policing perspective, our priority is to support people to enjoy the match safely and responsibly. We therefore ask those watching the game to be considerate – drink within sensible limits, and behave in a way that keeps you, your friends, staff, officers and the wider public safe.

We will continue to work with partners and venues to support a safe and enjoyable evening for everyone.”

Hundreds of children’s shoes are being laid out in Parliament Square today in a display urging the government for better support for bereaved parents.

The event has been organised by the charity It’s Never You, which was set up by Ceri Menai-Davis in memory of his six-year-old son Hugh Menai-Davis who died in 2021 after suffering from cancer.

Menai-Davis and his wife, Frances, are also behind the campaign for Hugh’s Law, which proposes paid leave for parents of seriously or terminally ill children.

The government is consulting on both paid leave for parents in such circumstances and for unpaid carers – who are currently only entitled to unpaid time off work, PA reports.

“Each pair of shoes represents a child gone too soon and a family learning to live with an unimaginable loss,” Menai-Davis said.

“Faced with impossible choices, many parents reduce their hours, take unpaid leave, leave work altogether, or are forced out of employment because they simply cannot balance work with being by their child’s side through treatment, hospital admissions, emergencies and end-of-life care.

“The result is a cruel paradox. By the time a child dies, many parents are no longer in employment and therefore cannot meet the qualifying criteria for statutory bereavement pay and leave.”

The UK’s culture and media department will stop using X because the site “now favours abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate”, Lisa Nandy has announced.

The culture secretary’s department is the UK’s second to quit the Elon Musk-owned platform over increasing concerns about the way it highlights and prioritises often inaccurate far-right and racist content and is used to incite violence and division.

Two weeks ago the Guardian revealed that Richard Hermer, the attorney general for England and Wales, had told his office to no longer post on X, a decision prompted in part by the platform’s role in stoking disorder in Southampton and Belfast earlier in June.

In a statement on her own X account, Nandy said: “I’ve decided to leave this platform and my department will too. A platform originally designed for free speech and expression now favours abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate. It isn’t healthy for our democracy or our communities and I don’t want to support it.”

Read more:

Keir Starmer’s decision to cut billions of pounds of infrastructure spending to pay for more defence equipment will end up costing the UK 10,000 jobs, according to an analysis of the government’s own figures.

The prime minister announced this week he was putting an extra £15bn into defence investment to revamp the country’s armed forces and boost British manufacturing.

The long-awaited defence investment plan (Dip) was designed to cement Starmer’s legacy in foreign policy and security as he prepares to depart Downing Street. But it also raised questions about where the funding would come from, given £6.8bn is being raised by unidentified cuts to departmental investment programmes and another £4.7bn is entirely unaccounted for.

The analysis, by researchers at the Transition Security Project, shows that while the extra defence investment will generate about 10,000 jobs by 2029-30, taking the money away from other sectors will cost nearly double that.

The findings cast doubt on claims by Starmer and his chancellor, Rachel Reeves, that they are boosting British jobs by reallocating large chunks of government spending to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Read more:

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics.

Andy Burnham, the lead contender to succeed prime minister Keir Starmer, has hinted at some of his tax proposals as he draws up plans to revitalise Britain’s high streets.

In his first interview since being elected MP for Makerfield, Burnham told LBC there is “some room” in the Labour manifesto for “movement on tax”. While he reaffirmed his commitment to “stick” to the promises made by the manifesto of not raising income tax, VAT or national insurance personal contributions, he suggested there was flexibility for other taxes to rise, such as business rates on warehouses.

“I stick by the manifesto and the promises that it made. So, let me be absolutely clear about that, but there is some room within that manifesto for movement on tax,” he said.

“So if you take business rates, for instance, I believe there is a case for higher business rates on warehouses and the major developments we see on the outskirts of our cities, so that we can cut business rates for pubs, and I’ve proposed a 20 per cent cut and lift some high street businesses out of business rates altogether.”

He added that he wanted to prioritise and reward businesses that “bring social benefit and bring people together”, listing bars, restaurants, coffee shops and hairdressers.

“The high street really needs to get more of our attention,” he said.

Also in the interview last night, he promised to ease the cost of living if he becomes prime minister, saying he would look at bringing down water and energy costs by de-privatising companies and making bus travel free for 16- to 18-year-olds.

You can read our write-up of that interview here:

Burnham is expected to answer more questions today from the public in a “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) on Reddit. The AMA event on the r/UKPolitics subreddit is scheduled to start at 5pm.

Users have written in with some questions ahead of the AMA, a number of them asking whether he would scrap the state pension triple lock. Others have asked about his plans to “re-instil [the] hope so many of us had back in 2024”, his thoughts on the “future with our relationship with the US”, and his “favourite flavour of crisps”.