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       Tony Blair ‘deserves the honour’ of knighthood, says Keir Starmer

       Keir Starmer will attack Boris Johnson as a “branch of the entertainment industry” in his first large speech of 2022, while setting out a vision of “security, prosperity and respect” for the UK.

       The Labour leader’s address in Birmingham at 11am on Tuesday comes as his party leads the Conservatives in the polls, following the sleaze scandals that gripped the government at the end of last year.

       Mr Starmer is expected to say that the Tories are “unworthy” of the public’s trust, given its “incompetence” in dealing with issues such as the cost of living crisis.

       "I am well aware that just because the Tories lose the public’s trust, it doesn’t mean Labour simply inherits it. Trust has to be earned. I am confident but not complacent about the task ahead,” he will add.

       Ahead of the speech, Oliver Dowden, the Conservative party chairman, dismissed Mr Starmer’s anticipated remarks as "out of touch".

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       Key Points Starmer to dismiss PM as ‘branch of entertainment industry’ in New Year speech Tony Blair knighthood ‘right’, says Tory minister Labour promises better country through ‘security, prosperity and respect'

       Show latest update 1641291670 Plan B working, says minister

       The government’s coronavirus “plan B” is working and new restrictions are not necessary, a minister has said.

       Vaccines minister Maggie Throup said: “As you can see from the number of hospitalisations – it’s far, far fewer than this time last year. The vaccines are working. The measures to get people working from home are working.”

       “There will be a cabinet meeting today, and I don’t see any reason why we need to change,” she told Sky News.

       Her upbeat message contrasted with a letter sent by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to health secretary Sajid Javid, which urged him to take a “cautious” approach to restrictions like other countries in the UK.

       Plan B is working in England, insists minister ‘I don’t see any reason why we need to change’, says vaccines minister ahead of cabinet meeting

       Rory Sullivan 4 January 2022 10:21

       1641290815 Britons hold negative view of government’s performance

       Except for the country’s swift vaccine rollout, the British public hold negative views of the government’s performance, a new Ipsos Mori poll has found.

       The electorate felt that ministers had failed most significantly with the NHS and immigration, with 70 and 73 per cent of respondents saying the government had done a “bad job” in these areas.

       The survey was carried out between 3 and 10 December and involved 1,005 British adults.

       Rory Sullivan 4 January 2022 10:06

       1641289811 Watch: Tony Blair ‘deserves’ knighthood, Starmer insists

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       Tony Blair ‘deserves the honour’ of knighthood, says Keir Starmer

       Rory Sullivan 4 January 2022 09:50

       1641288828 Blair did ‘lots of good things’, says Tory minister

       A Tory minister has said that Tony Blair deserves to be knighted, amid a public backlash about the accolade.

       Responding to a question about the knighthood, Tory vaccines minister Maggie Throup said the former Labour leader “did lots of good things – and I think it’s only right that we do honour our previous prime ministers”.

       Rory Sullivan 4 January 2022 09:33

       1641287818 Starmer defends Blair knighthood

       Keir Starmer has insisted that Tony Blair deserves to be knighted for his services to the country, as a petition calling the former prime minister to be stripped of the honour gained more than 500,000 signatures.

       Speaking about the knighthood on Tuesday, the opposition leader told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I don’t think it’s thorny at all – I think he deserves the honour. Obviously I respect the fact that people have different views.”

       While acknowledging that people have strong views about the invasion of Iraq, Mr Starmer maintained that Mr Blair’s policies had “vastly improved our country”.

       My colleague Adam Forrest reports:

       Tony Blair ‘deserves the honour’ of knighthood, says Keir Starmer Former PM ‘vastly improved our country’, says Labour leader

       Rory Sullivan 4 January 2022 09:16

       1641287218 Labour promises better country through ‘security, prosperity and respect'

       A “serious” Keir Starmer will lay out Labour’s vision of “security, prosperity and respect” for the country in a speech in Birmingham later this morning.

       The Labour leader is also set to take aim at the prime minister, saying: “I don’t think politics is a branch of the entertainment industry. I think it’s the serious business of getting things done.”

       Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has more details:

       ‘Serious’ Keir Starmer to attack Boris Johnson as ‘branch of entertainment industry’ ‘I don’t think politics is a branch of the entertainment industry. It’s the serious business of getting things done’

       Rory Sullivan 4 January 2022 09:06

       1641287005 Welcome

       Good morning, and welcome to The Independent’s live politics coverage, which will focus on Keir Starmer’s speech in Birmingham today.

       Rory Sullivan 4 January 2022 09:03

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