Politics latest: Foreign secretary holds meeting with Israeli president following calls for ceasefire (2024)

By Faye Brown, political reporter

Rishi Sunak has been urged to stay on as Conservative leader until November amid divisions within the party over how long the contest to replace him should take.

Shadow foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell said the former prime minister's instinct "is almost certainly to go" but more time was needed for potential successors to make their case.

The view is at odds with other senior figures who fear a protracted contest would leave a vacuum for Labour and Reform UK to capitalise on.

Mr Mitchell told Times Radio on Monday: "An interim leader is not, in my view, the best option.

"The best option is to seek to persuade Rishi to remain. It's not an enormously long time in the scope of things. It's probably 'til mid to end November."

He added: "I think his instinct is almost certainly to go. I hope that he won't."

Read the full story here:

Here's a little bit more from the massive More in Common analysis that came out earlier today.

The work relied on surveys and interviews with more than 10,000 people.

The group found that - by a huge margin - voters of every persuasion attributed the Conservative Party's loss to incompetence,rather than being too right wing or left.

The report said that Mr Sunak's U-turn on net zero went down badly - as did axing the northern leg of HS2.

This compounded with the former PM failing to stop the boats or cut NHS waiting lists, as he pledged to do.

By Tomos Evans, Wales reporter

Drink refills could be banned in Wales, under plans currently the subject of a consultation.

The regulations, if approved, would prohibit retailers from offering free refills or top-ups of sugary drinks.

Multi-buy offers, such as buy-one-get-one-free, will also be prohibited under the proposals.

But there will be a 12-month window for the packaging of products to be updated, before the restrictions come into force next year.

The Welsh government says it wants to help people in Wales "make the healthy choice" when shopping and dining out.

If businesses do not comply, they would face an improvement notice and failure to act could lead to a criminal penalty under the Food Safety Act.

Enforcement would be down to local councils, the Welsh government confirmed.

Read the full story here:

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Jack Blanchard are here with their guide to the day ahead in politics.

On day 10 of the new Labour government,Jack and Sam cover the fallout from the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, preparations for the King's Speech, and if one Tory beast has ambitions to be interim leader.

Email Jack and Sam: jackandsam@sky.uk

👉Tap here to follow Politics at Jack and Sam's wherever you get your podcasts👈

This morning's More in Common report - which we reported on earlier - looked into the attitudes of voters and why they switched.

One area they examined was who went to Reform UK - and the implications of the switching.

According to the research, less than a third (31%) of people who voted Reform said they would have chosen the Tories otherwise.

Some 33% of people said they would not have voted for another party, while the rest said they would have picked Labour (12%), Lib Dem (9%), Green (6%), another party (9%), and then the don't knows were on 6%.

The research also found that Conservatives who left to vote Reform are the most likely to never want to vote Tory again.

The report said: "If the Conservative Party is to recover, it will have to start with restoring its reputation for economic competence and selecting a leader who can bring back voters who deserted the party to the left and the right.

"Rather than either or, voters who would back the Conservatives suggest a preference for a leader who can merge the appeal of both David Cameron and Boris Johnson."

The report suggested that if Reform had not stood, the Tories would only have won an extra 40 seats - leaving Labour still with a majority of more than 100.

In our previous post, we reported on how people want to see change from Labour quickly - with a "honeymoon" period unlikely.

Well a separate piece of research - this time from More in Common and UCL - has shown what issues are the key tests for Labour.

The surveyors asked more than 10,000 people for their opinions.

The most important issue people will judge the new government on is how much they reduce NHS waiting - with the second issue being how much the cost of living goes down.

In third place is lowering immigration, followed by tax cuts.

You can see the full survey in the chart below.

When a new government is elected, it is usually thought they can enjoy a "honeymoon" period where the public gives them time to enact change.

However, a survey of 20,000 people byIPPR and Persuasion shows this may not be the case for Sir Keir Starmer.

According to the research, voters expect most policy areas to improve in the next two or three years.

The survey also found that most constituencies think Labour should borrow extra money to invest in the economy and public services.

There is also broad support for improving workers' rights, accelerating housebuilding and a closer relationship with Europe.

And most areas of the UK also want to see greater action on climate change.

Harry Quilter-Pinner, director of policy and politics at IPPR, said: "This coalition that came together to give Labour its landslide expects bold and tangible change.

"The good news for Labour is that this coalition is more united than many think, and they are clear they want to see action on the economy, climate change and workers' rights.

"If the government can deliver on the things that matter the most, it will have a better chance of turning this temporary coalition into a permanent one, and winning a second term."

Foreign Secretary David Lammy is currently on a visit to the Middle East.

Today, he met with Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel, as well as the family of someone who was murdered on 7 October, with the body still being held in Gaza.

Mr Herzog said he had "great appreciation" for Mr Lammy making one of his first trips to Israel and the region.

Over the weekend, Mr Lammy called for an immediate ceasefire, having met with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority leader Mohammad Mustafa on Sunday.

According to Mr Herzog's spokesperson, the president told Mr Lammy that Israel is "at war with an empire of evil that wants to undermine the stability of the world and is rushing to the bomb, undermining international trade, blocking trade routes which were laid down hundreds of years ago, actually, by the British Empire as part of the world order".

He added that the main issue is hostages - and the Israeli government is working "tirelessly" to get hostages "back home".

Mr Lammy said he met with families of UK hostages last night, and he hoped to see a deal emerge in the "coming days".

The foreign secretary added that he wanted to see a ceasefire "soon".

First lady Michal Herzog also raised the issue of the "severe sexual violence" carried out by Hamas.

Mr Lammy met with the family of Tamir Adar, who was killed by Hamas, and whose body is being held in Gaza.

Sir Keir Starmer has already said he wants to "reset" the UK's relationship with the European Union.

In the wake of Brexit, the Conservative UK governments had a strained relationship with Brussels.

But the new prime minister seems to want to change that - and also appears to have the support from across the Channel too.

Today, Europe minister Nick Thomas-Symonds is heading to Brussels as part of the "reset" - and to "build closer cooperation on shared issues".

He will meet with the commission's executive vice president, Maros Sefcovic.

Mr Thomas-Symonds said: "The EU and member states are among the UK's closest friends and allies. With war in Europe, and shared global challenges, in areas such as climate change and illegal migration, a strong UK - EU alliance is vital.

"I am looking forward to meeting the executive vice president in Brussels today, it was a pleasure to speak to him immediately after my appointment last week.

"I expect to be engaging with him and EU colleagues much more in the coming months, as we work together to help make our continent safer and more prosperous."

Mr Sefcovic said: "The EU and the UK are close neighbours, partners, and allies, sharing values as well as challenges that are global in nature.

"I am looking forward to receiving minister Thomas-Symonds to discuss ways to strengthen our cooperation, while making the most of our existing agreements that form the cornerstone of our partnership."

Following the maelstrom of activity over the past several weeks during the election, things have started to return to their usual cadence in Westminster.

For example, parliament is not sitting today - so there are no debates or committees to report on.

The Commons will be back on Tuesday - and new MPs will continue to swear the oaths to the King as they take their seats.

Then on Wednesday, it's the state opening of parliament and the King's Speech.

This mixes a big ceremonial set piece - with the monarch taking their seat on the throne in the House of Lords - with legislation and agenda setting.

The speech King Charles will make is written by the government, and will set out what the new administration wants to achieve in the next year or so.

MPs will continue to debate the speech until at least Thursday next week - and with 35 bills set to be included, there's a lot of ground to cover.

But on Thursday of this week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is hosting a summit of theEuropean Political Community on 18 June.

The EPC, which first met in October 2022, will gather at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.

The group was created following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and is separate to the European Union.

Around 50 leaders from around the continent will gather at Winston Churchill's birthplace, with Sir Keir already saying he wants a closer relationship with Europe than his predecessor.