Government calls on union to accept deal and end Birmingham bin strike
The government has reiterated its call for the Unite union to accept a deal being offered by Birmingham city council to end the strike which has left the city with masses of uncollected refuse. The union has accused the council of repeatedly “shifting the goalposts”.
Business and trade minister Sarah Jones said “Fundamentally what needs to happen now is the strike needs to be called off. Unite need to accept the offer that’s on the table. It’s a good offer and that is what we are asking them to do.”
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, national lead officer at Unite Onay Kasab said “The fact is that the council have shifted the goalposts on several occasions. I think different political decisions need to be made. Why should working people be forced to pay the price for austerity? Why should our members pay the price for cuts to local authorities?”
He accused the council of attempting to harmonise pay downwards, and in an interview on Times Radio said “The offer from the council would still lead to a sharp, cliff edge drop in pay, up to £8,000 a year, for our members. They have told us in negotiations that they’re looking to cut the pay of drivers from around £40,000 to £32,000 a year.”
Speaking to the Birmingham Live website, one local resident who wished to remain anonymous said the union “keep rejecting stuff but nobody knows what they are rejecting”, adding “It’s not like they’re doing it on purpose, they probably live around here themselves. They can see it themselves. Their streets aren’t getting cleaned either.”
Another resident, Adam Yasin, said “It has been really bad, especially where I live, there are a lot of restaurants there. Today they collected the rubbish that was on the floor, so the bags that were on the floor, but the bins are still left. It’s more to do with hygiene on the streets. It’s annoying, and when the kids are there they like to touch things as well.”
Key events
Scotland’s deputy first minister has commented on the latest unemployment data, which shows that employment and unemployment rates have both increased in the country.
Kate Forbes said there was still work to do to improve the resilience of the Scottish economy. She said:
These figures indicate that Scotland’s unemployment rate remains relatively low despite a challenging economic environment. However, difficulties persist for those who are economically inactive.
With the world changing around us, the UK Government needs to change, too, by revisiting its budget and taking action to create jobs and unleash Scotland’s economic potential.
The UK government can boost growth by pursuing closer trade ties with the EU and reversing the decision to raise employers’ national insurance contributions.
To build a more resilient economy, the first minister and I are working with business leaders to develop measures which create jobs and drive growth. These will be included in our forthcoming programme for government, which publishes on 6 May.”
Government calls on union to accept deal and end Birmingham bin strike
The government has reiterated its call for the Unite union to accept a deal being offered by Birmingham city council to end the strike which has left the city with masses of uncollected refuse. The union has accused the council of repeatedly “shifting the goalposts”.
Business and trade minister Sarah Jones said “Fundamentally what needs to happen now is the strike needs to be called off. Unite need to accept the offer that’s on the table. It’s a good offer and that is what we are asking them to do.”
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, national lead officer at Unite Onay Kasab said “The fact is that the council have shifted the goalposts on several occasions. I think different political decisions need to be made. Why should working people be forced to pay the price for austerity? Why should our members pay the price for cuts to local authorities?”
He accused the council of attempting to harmonise pay downwards, and in an interview on Times Radio said “The offer from the council would still lead to a sharp, cliff edge drop in pay, up to £8,000 a year, for our members. They have told us in negotiations that they’re looking to cut the pay of drivers from around £40,000 to £32,000 a year.”
Speaking to the Birmingham Live website, one local resident who wished to remain anonymous said the union “keep rejecting stuff but nobody knows what they are rejecting”, adding “It’s not like they’re doing it on purpose, they probably live around here themselves. They can see it themselves. Their streets aren’t getting cleaned either.”
Another resident, Adam Yasin, said “It has been really bad, especially where I live, there are a lot of restaurants there. Today they collected the rubbish that was on the floor, so the bags that were on the floor, but the bins are still left. It’s more to do with hygiene on the streets. It’s annoying, and when the kids are there they like to touch things as well.”
The byelection for the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse seat left vacant after the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie will take place on 5 June, Holyrood’s presiding officer has announced, PA Media reports.
McKelvie was on medical leave for treatment for secondary breast cancer when she died last month. The SNP has already announced councillor Katy Loudon as its candidate.
Just back on speculation about UK-US trade deal prospects for a second, earlier on the Today programme the BBC’s economics editor Faisal Islam described the UK as being in a “paradoxical” position with regard to US trade, and being on the receiving end of “two quite different messages” from the Donald Trump administration.
He said:
You’ve got the very warm message there from the US vice-president JD Vance about the prospects of a deal with the UK. But remember that the one sector, or one of the two sectors, where there are significant tariffs that have already been applied, 25% has been on automotives, and then the next in its sights is pharmaceuticals. And in terms of the data from last year, those were the two big goods exports from the UK to the US.
He then pointed out that where it had initially looked like the UK had been spared the worst of Trump’s unilateral tariffs – you will recall some people pointed to the rate being lower than that applied to the EU being described in some quarters as a “Brexit dividend” – that is no longer the case. The rowing back and pausing on tariffs for most countries means pretty much everybody is on the same base rate of a 10% tariff.
He told listeners:
So what is actually being negotiated in any talks between the UK and US? That 10% baseline tariff that now applies across the entire world, apart from China. Is that actually up for grabs in any way?
There are reasons to think it isn’t up for grabs. Because one of the reasons why you set a universal tariff is that you don’t want different countries to become areas where you could channel and then not pay the tariff.
The other thing just to watch out for is the UK is also engaged with the EU in a negotiation over things like food standards, and if, as the mood music seems to be, we align, we have a high alignment, high ambition deal … that is precisely the sort of thing that they [the US] notice in trying to do a deal.
Green party of England and Wales co-leader Adrian Ramsay is among politicians who this morning have called for the government to act more swiftly in passing its proposed Hillsborough law, as the 36th anniversary of the disaster is commemorated.
In a post to social media, Ramsay said “Today marks 36 years since the Hillsborough disaster. The inhumanity with which the state handled it was abominable. This government must keep its promise and deliver the Hillsborough law.”
Keir Starmer had initially said the legislation would be in process before today’s anniversary. Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby Ian Byrne has also posted to social media campaigning on the topic, reproducing the front page of today’s Liverpool Echo, where families of the victims have called on the government “Don’t let us down”.
The prime minister himself posted to social media to mark the occassion, reiterating that the government still intended to go forward with legislation. Starmer said:
Thirty-six years ago, we saw one of the greatest disasters in our history. A disaster that led to 97 people tragically losing their lives. Today, I pay tribute to them. In the years since, their families and loved ones have campaigned tirelessly to get justice. Despite all the challenges they have faced, they have kept fighting.
I promised to bring a Hillsborough Law before parliament, with a legal duty of candour for public authorities and public servants, and criminal sanctions for anyone who fails to comply. I will deliver on that promise.
After decades of injustice, we must get this legislation right. We must make sure it achieves what the people of Liverpool have spent the past thirty-six years fighting for.
Appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Margaret Aspinall, whose son James, 18, was killed at Hillsborough, said she could not “knock” the prime minister’s ambition for the legislation, even if she was “disappointed it’s not come out for the anniversary”. PA Media reports she added she did not want to see the legislation “watered down” in a rush to get it passed.
Shadow chancellor Mel Stride, recently granted a knighthood in Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list, has used social media this morning to criticise Rachel Reeves’ approach to government borrowing.
In a series of posts, the Central Devon MP said:
We are spending over £100bn a year on debt interest. It’s almost double what we spend on defence. That is totally unacceptable. People’s taxes are being poured down the drain on interest payments.
Before Covid debt was falling, but government had to spend huge amounts supporting the economy during the pandemic. And post-Covid, interest rates have risen due to inflation. That’s why the Conservatives left a plan in place to stop debt rising and start bringing it down.
Rachel Reeves said before the election that she would stick to that commitment to get debt falling.
He then criticised her for adjusting the definition of government “debt”, and suggested that she had put the government in a position where it was “vulnerable to even small changes in markets” which he described as “completely irresponsible”.
He finished by quoting Reeves saying “The responsible choice is to reduce our levels of debt and borrowing in the years ahead”, adding “I agree with Rachel. The problem is she doesn’t seem to agree with herself”. Stride was a government minister from 2015 until 2024.
Alison McGovern, minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, has commented on those latest job statistics, which showed that the number of payrolled workers in UK fell by 78,000.
The Labour MP for Birkenhead said:
We’re determined to get Britain working again as part of our plan for change by overhauling job centres, creating good jobs, transforming skills, transitioning to net zero and delivering the biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation.
This month, local areas are also starting to roll out their plans to tackle the root causes of inactivity as we get Britain back to health and back to work – backed by a share of £125m of investment.
Real wages are continuing to rise, and the “National Living Wage” is also coming into effect this month – boosting working people’s payslips and improving living standards as part of our plan for change.
The ONS figures shows wages rising 5.9% in the three months to February, while unemployment remained at 4.4%.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey is out campaigning in Cambridgeshire today ahead of local elections in May in some regions of England, and has continued to apply pressure to the UK government after Wera Hobhouse was refused entry to Hong Kong by authorities there.
In a statement last night, Davey said statements from Chinese officials indicate that “no explanation for the appalling treatment of my colleague and friend Wera Hobhouse is going to be forthcoming”. Davey said “We cannot simply let this slide.”
He continued:
Refusing a British Parliamentarian entry to Hong Kong for a private family visit, without reason, is an affront to UK-China diplomatic relations and will have a chilling effect on all UK politicians who speak up for freedom and democracy. That is why it is so important that we secure a statement setting out the Chinese authorities’ motivations for this act.
It’s now clearer than ever that the Chinese authorities aren’t going to play ball here. The foreign secretary needs to urgently take the exceptional step of summoning the Chinese ambassador in person to provide a clear and comprehensive account of why Wera was refused entry.
Minister: government preference is for another ‘private sector partner’ for British Steel
Business and trade minister Sarah Jones has said it is the government’s preference to involve another private firm in the running of British Steel, rather than permanently nationalise it.
Appearing on Sky News, she said that “we’re being really careful to do this correctly because we don’t want to be spending taxpayers’ money in a way that would be in any way wasteful”, adding “that’s why our preference is for a private sector partner to come in.”
Jones did not rule out the involvement of a different Chinese firm, despite senior Labour figures urging the government to review Chinese investment in UK infrastructure.
She told viewers:
At the moment, I’m not going to say yes or no to anything that isn’t at the moment on the table or being looked at.
Whatever the future for Scunthorpe, we want to make sure we can keep primary steel-making, we can keep steel-making in our country and we can grow that industry, not see the continued decline that we’ve had over recent years.
Minister: cost of rescuing British Steel already budgeted for
Business and trade minister Sarah Jones has insisted that funds to rescue the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe has already been budgeted for, and is “within the existing fiscal envelope”.
Speaking on Tuesday morning on Times Radio, the Labour MP for Croydon West said:
We have been really clear on steel that securing the future of the site in Scunthorpe is not just important for the 2,700 people who work there, but also because we know that demand for steel in the UK is growing. We know there’s a market there.
We need more steel for the 1.5m homes that we want to build, for the clean energy, for the railway, for Heathrow, I could go on. So we know that there is an industry there that we need to support, but that can be viable into the future.
What we set out in the manifesto was a £2.5bn investment in steel in the UK through our plan for steel, so we have a fund that we want to use to make sure the steel industry can thrive well into the future, and that is all within the existing fiscal envelope and Government departmental rules.
Unite official: Birmingham city council has ‘shifted goalposts’ during bin dispute
Onay Kasab, national lead officer at Unite, has accused Birmingham city council of “shifting the goalposts on several occasions” in the dispute which has seen large amounts of uncollected refuse piled up on the streets.
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Kasab said:
The fact is that the council have shifted the goalposts on several occasions. At some points they’ve said it’s about equal pay. Other points, they’ve said it’s about a better service. Quite how you get a better service by cutting people’s pay, I don’t know.
I think different political decisions need to be made. Why should working people be forced to pay the price for austerity? Why should our members pay the price for cuts to local authorities?
When it was put to Kasab that part of the problem was historical liabities over equal pay, the union official said:
Well, the Council have talked about equal pay liabilities. However, we have seen no details about that liability. And the challenge is, when talking about equal pay, we are not talking about harmonizing upwards and improving the pay of women. Nobody wins as a result of this type of equal pay, which is harmonizing downwards. Different political choices that need to be made about how local authorities are funded.
In a combative exchange, presenter Nick Robinson put to Kasab an anonymous briefing that had previously been reported by the BBC, accusing Unite’s national leadership of prolonging the dispute, claiming that the leadershiop was “in the grip of people for whom disruption, disputes and revolution are their priority.”
Kasab replied:
Well, I think that’s purile, to be perfectly frank with you. What we are engaged in is defending our members, pay and conditions, and we will make no apology for doing that time and time again. I’m not going to get into sort of mud slinging about personalities, but that type of briefing is purile. What we need to concentrate on is resolving this dispute.
Minister renews call for bin dispute in Birmingham to end
After the Unite union voted yesterday to reject a pay offer from Birmingham city council, business and trade minister Sarah Jones this morning reiterated the government’s call for the dispute to end.
Appearing on the BBC Breakfast programme, she said:
Fundamentally what needs to happen now is the strike needs to be called off. Unite need to accept the offer that’s on the table. It’s a good offer and that is what we are asking them to do, and that is the way we’re going to get back to normal in Birmingham.
Now I know that other councils are sort of coming in to support, that there is logistical support from the Army and that some private sector support is already there, but of course, it’s completely unacceptable, the images are awful and people have enough to worry about in their lives without having to worry about rubbish collection alongside it.
So our message loud and clear is Unite need to call off the strike, accept the deal, and let’s get back to normal, which is what people expect and what people deserve.
Government ministers today will be taking stock of some not great economic news, as the number of workers on UK company payrolls has fallen at the fastest pace since the height of the Covid pandemic, and UK business confidence appears to have fallen to its lowest level in over two years.
My colleage Richard Partington writes:
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the number of people employed in at least one job paid through pay as you earn fell by 78,000 in March after a revised fall of 8,000 in February.
Reflecting a slowdown in the jobs market, the latest snapshot showed annual pay growth rose slightly in the three months to February and remained at historically high levels. Regular pay, excluding bonuses, rose to 5.9%, from a revised 5.8% in the previous rolling three-month period to the end of January.
Despite the drop in the number of workers on company payrolls, the ONS said its official unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.4% in the three months to February.
It should be noted here is currently a caveat around ONS labour market data, with the validity of some of its data being questioned.
Minister welcomes ‘positive’ comments on possible UK-US trade deal from JD Vance
Business and trade minister Sarah Jones has welcomed comments from US vice-president JD Vance that the US is “working very hard” with the UK on negotiating a trade deal.
Appearing on LBC radio, the Labour MP for Croydon West said:
The conversations are ongoing, I can’t update more than that. We know we’re in a good position. We are having good conversations.
The secretary of state [Jonathan Reynolds] has been having good conversations with his partners, and there is a deal there to be done.
But as to when that will be done I wouldn’t be able to tell you, but it’s positive that the vice-president is positive about our negotiations.
JD Vance: ‘good chance’ of UK-US trade agreement with Trump administration
JD Vance has said the US is optimistic it can negotiate a “great” trade deal with the UK.
In an interview with online outlet Unherd, the US vice president told Sohrab Ahmari:
We’re certainly working very hard with Keir Starmer’s government. The president really loves the UK. He loved the queen. He admires and loves the king. It is a very important relationship. And he’s a businessman and has a number of important business relationships in [the UK].
But I think it’s much deeper than that. There’s a real cultural affinity. And of course, fundamentally America is an Anglo country. I think there’s a good chance that, yes, we’ll come to a great agreement that’s in the best interest of both countries.
The comments come just weeks after the Trump administration imposed a blanket 10% tariff on imports from the UK, with higer rates on specific sectors like automobiles.
Welcome and opening summary …
Good morning, and welcome to our live UK politics coverage for Tuesday. Here are your headlines …
Parliament isn’t sitting, but campaigning for local elections in some regions of England in May continues – Ed Davey will be in Cambridgeshire and Nigel Farage will be giving a campaign speech in the north east.
It is Martin Belam with you here today again. You can reach me at martin.belam@theguardian.com if you have spotted typos or what you consider to be errors or omissions.
