Voters support cutting aid budget to fund higher defence spending, poll suggests – UK politics live

Downing Street has said that “intense” work is now taking place to work to develop the proposals to help Ukraine that were discussed at yesterday’s summit in London.

Speaking at the No 10 lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson said:

The summit yesterday agreed some important steps forward, and the prime minister outlined a four-step plan there, both in terms of keeping military aid flowing to Ukraine and increasing the economic pressure on Russia, that any lasting peace must ensure Ukraine’s sovereignty and security, third, in the event of a peace deal we will keep boosting Ukraine’s own defensive capabilities, and finally that we will go further to develop a coalition of willing to defend a deal in Ukraine and guarantee the peace.

There’s now obviously intense work going to take forward that work. We will obviously update as we get any further news on that.

As the PM also said yesterday, we obviously want to keep up this momentum. There’s going to be various options on the table which are now subject to further discussions with both US and European partners. The defence secretary will be travelling out to the US this week.

Asked about the French proposal for a one-month ceasefire, the spokesperson said this was one of several options on the table. But he said he would not be proving commentary on the various plans that have been floated.

Asked if it was helpful for Peter Mandelson to be saying that President Zelenskyy should be giving his unequivocal backing to President Trump’s plan, the spokesperson said Luke Pollard covered this in his interview this morning. (See 9.12am.) He said Keir Starmer has been clear about wanting to see a “durable peace”.

Britons support Keir Starmer’s decision to cut the aid budget to fund a larger defence budget by a margin of more than three to one, polling from YouGov suggests.

The proposal is especially popular with Reform UK supports, according to the polling. But even Labour and Liberal Democrat supporters are overwhelmingly in favour.

When Kemi Badenoch first became Conservative party leader, the Tories were inclined to ignore Reform UK as much as possible. But with Reform UK ahead of the Conservatives in most recent polls, Badenoch’s party is fighting back more aggressively.

In response to Nigel Farage’s LBC phone-in (see 11.48am), Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, has described his stance on President Zelenskyy as “morally wrong”. She also compared him to Jeremy Corbyn because of his stance on Russia. She said:

Nigel Farage is completely wrong. President Zelenskyy is a hero, who has stood up to Putin’s aggression, and led his country’s defence against their barbaric and illegal invasion over the last 3 years – and it is troubling to not hear the Leader of Reform say that.

For Nigel Farage to sit there pointing the finger at Zelenskyy is both morally wrong and diplomatically counterproductive. At this uncertain and dangerous time, one would hope that MPs of all stripes would be putting our national interest first, rather than playing politics.

But sadly, it is not surprising. Like Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Reform UK seems to have history equivocating over Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.

Here are some more detailed quotes from Nigel Farage’s LBC phone-in covered earlier.

• Farage, the Reform UK leader and President Trump supporter, claimed that “good” was going to come out of Trump’s shouting match with President Zelenskyy in the White House of Friday. He said:

What is interesting is that before Zelenskyy had left the White House, he realised that he had overplayed his hand … Before Zelenskyy even left the White House, he was willing to go back in and sign the minerals deal …

I actually think good is going to come of Friday. Zelensky is going to sign the deal.

I think President Zelenskyy was very unwise to tell the Americans what would happen to them if they didn’t back him. I think it was unwise. Sure, Vance and Trump bit back. But I think in diplomatic terms Zelenskyy played it very badly.

Even Peter Mandelson, the British ambassador, is making very, very similar points. [See 9.12am.]

Asked if Trump and JD Vance were right to treat Zelenskyy in the way they did, he replied:

I wouldn’t expect a guest to be rude to me in my own house, absolutely not. I would expect a guest to treat me with respect. Doesn’t mean for a minute that Vance and Trump – I’m not defending what they did.

You know what? If I turned up on the White House. I’d make sure I was wearing a suit and that my shoes were clean, absolutely.

Our prime minister was briefed and briefed and briefed as to how to deal with the visit to the White House. If Zelenskyy wants to bowl in and show no respect to a man who we all know is incredibly old fashioned about this stuff … if you are going in with a positive mindset, maybe Zelenskyy should have thought about that.

And he defended criticising Zelenskyy for not wearing a suit in the Oval Office but not Elon Musk.

Musk isn’t negotiating with Trump, and Musk isn’t asking for billions of dollars from Trump, and Musk isn’t asking for military support from Trump.

• Farage said he was “surprised” that Trump told Starmer he was inclined to support the Chagos Islands sovereignty deal. For weeks Farage has been saying that, from his contacts with people inside the Trump administration, he believed Trump was opposed to it. Asked why he got this wrong, Farage said that Trump only said he was “inclined” to support the deal last week.

Trump said he was inclined to support it. Maybe he would just be nice to Keir Starmer, who was there in the Oval Office. He can be nice to people in the Oval Office.

I have to say, I’m very surprised, having spoken to some people who are cabinet members there.

Asked why he thought the US had changed its mind, he said.

They probably think the Brits are going to do this anyway, that the Brits are desperate to get rid of the Chagos islands for some sort of student politics-type reason. And that if Britain is going to get rid of it anyway, then this is the best of a bad job.

What I’ve also been told by senior Americans is they will not be paying a penny. So they probably think, if we’ve got use of the base for a long time, if the Brits are going to pay the bill, then OK, fine.

• He defended saying Andrew Tate is an important influence for young men. That did not mean he was saying this was a good thing, he said. He was describing a phenomenon, not supporting it, he claimed.

Tate has become a powerful voice for many young men. I am not saying that is a good thing. But I’m not surprised in some ways that some of these things are happening.

When we were playing football in Germany recently, England fans were told don’t sing, don’t chant and don’t drink more than two pints. We’re telling young men not to be men. We’re almost emasculating young men. And so they’re looking for other role models.

• He defended the Trump allies Elon Musk and Steve Bannon over claims they have both performed Nazi salutes at rallies. Asked specifially about the more recent Bannon salute, he said:

As for Musk and Bannon – both of whom I know, Steve, I know very well – I think what Bannon was doing was, frankly, taking the mickey out of Musk because Musk had done something similar to that just after the inauguration. Are they Nazi salutes? I don’t think they are for a moment.

Asked what they were if they were not Nazi salutes, Farage replied “very unwise”. Asked if they were attempted Nazi salutes, he replied:

Well, they’re not really Nazi salutes because they’re out to the side, not in front. Look, we could we could drill down … Do I think Musk’s a Nazi? No.

In his interview on the Today programme this morning, Luke Pollard, the defence minister, was asked if if the UK is still sharing intelligence with the US, given that Tulsi Gabbard is President Trump’s director of national intelligence. Gabbard is so sympathetic to Russia that she has been described by Democrats as a possible Russian asset.

Asked by Justin Webb if the UK could be sure that intelligence given to the US would not get to the Russians, Pollard replied:

Yes. We have a deep and serious relationship, both on intelligence, security and defence matters. This is a daily and continuous relationship. It keeps the UK safe. It keeps America safe from us having this deep relationship, and it’s one that we are planning to continue.

(This was one of those questions where what was most surprising was not the answer, but the fact that it was asked in the first place.)

Pollard also said the government is confident that the US remains committed to Nato’s article 5, which says that an armed attack on any Nato country should be considered an attack on all of them, triggering a collective response. He said President Trump confirmed this at his press conference with Keir Starmer on Thursday.

As Jakub Krupa and Martin Belam report on our Europe live blog, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, is floating proposals for a month-long ceasefire in Ukraine covering air, sea and attacks on critical infrastructure.

In interviews this morning, Luke Pollard, the defence minister, played down reports that this is a plan that Britain is formally backing. Asked about French government claims to this effect, he replied:

No agreement has been made on what a truce looks like, and so I don’t recognise the precise part you mentioned there. But we are working together with France and our European allies to look at what is the path to how … we create a lasting and durable peace in Ukraine.

Asked again about the peace plan being discussed, Pollard replied:

You wouldn’t expect me to get into the details of what that plan looks like, because at the moment, the only person that would benefit from those details being put in the public domain before any plan is agreed would be President Putin.

The nation’s press has dubbed the prime minister a “peacemaker” and “statesman” for his efforts in leading the charge for increased European support for Ukraine, following last week’s tense meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump, PA Media reports. PA says:

Keir Starmer convened an emergency defence summit of European leaders at the weekend, telling European powers they must realise it is “time to act”, and warned they stand at a “crossroads in history” as he committed £1.6bn in support for Ukraine.

The Times praises the PM’s call for a “coalition of the willing” from Ukraine’s European allies, but warns the power of any peacekeeping force would be limited without US firepower.

The paper says: “The risk is that Sir Keir is talking himself into a deployment that could result in Britain’s threadbare army fighting with no US help. After decades of freeloading on defence, Europe would be hard put to field anything but a token force in Ukraine. Sir Keir must try to lower the temperature and re-establish unity. At the same time he must tread carefully on an openended commitment. Britain’s forces should not be asked to write cheques they cannot cover.”

The Daily Telegraph agrees with the PM’s remarks that Europe is “at a crossroads”, writing in a leading article that the continent “needs to adapt” to US “disengagement”.

However, the paper says Vladimir Putin will ultimately benefit from the evolving schism between the US and Europe.

Those sentiments are echoed by the Daily Mirror, which writes in a leading article: “It is worth trying to pull Trump back from the brink to stop any sweetheart deal with Putin to the detriment of Ukraine. But Starmer recognises Britain and Europe must hope for the best, while preparing for the worst.”

The Daily Express lauds the PM’s role in showcasing “Britain’s reputation and clout on the world stage”. “Fair play to Sir Keir Starmer, he has acted with the calmness of an international statesman in dealing with a crisis,” the paper’s editorial states.

Meanwhile, the Independent says the prime minister has “adopted the role of peacemaker and… bridge-builder between America and Europe to resolve the latest crisis over Ukraine”. The paper’s editorial adds: “The framework for a peace plan created by Europeans for Europeans is being created – a crucial initiative and one that should give fresh momentum after the debacle at the White House on Friday.”

The Sun calls on European nations who have not yet offered their full support to Ukraine to do so, writing: “Europe needs to act decisively now in Ukraine’s defence — and its own — if there is to be a chance of seeing off the threat from Putin and securing a just and lasting peace.”

The Daily Mail says the PM is about to enter “the ultimate test” of his statesmanship. An editorial states: “His principal mission is to keep the US within Nato. Without American military might, guaranteeing European security will be infinitely harder. Equally, he can’t allow Ukraine to be sold down the river. It is a delicate diplomatic balance.”

The next caller asked about President Trump’s meeting with President Zelenskyy, and whether Russia should be prosecuted for war crimes.

Farage described the Oval Office meeting as a spat.

He said there have been a million casualties from the war. The longer it goes on, the more that suits Russia, he said.

He said, before President Zelenskyy left the White House, he realised he had “overplayed his hand”. Zelenskyy wanted to go back and sign the mineral deal.

Farage claimed good would come from the meeting.

Q: Do you think Trump and JD Vance bullied Zelenskyy?

Farage said Zelenskyy played it “very badly”. He said he was “very unwise to tell the Americans what would happen to them if they didn’t back him”.

Q: Was it right for a journalist to ask Zelenskyy why he was not wearing a suit?

Farage said that if he was turning up at the White House, he would wear a suit.

Q: What about Churchill?

He was not dealing with Trump, said Farage.

Q: Did anyone from Starmer’s team speak to you ahead of the meeting with Trump?

No, said Farage.

But he said Starmer was respectful towards Trump. Trump is “quite old fashioned” in matters like this, Farage said.

And he said the Ukraine situation showed that Starmer is now exploliting the benefits of Brexit. In a statement at the weekend, Starmer said that the UK was in a unique position to mediate between Europe and the US, he said.

UPDATE: See 11.48am for a fuller version of the quotes.

Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has been taking questions in an LBC phone-in.

The first question was about the Chagos Islands.

Q: Why were you so wrong on the Chagos Islands? You said President Trump would not back it, but he said last week he would.

Nigel Farage said Trump only said he was “inclined” to back the plan.

And he said he was “very surprised” by what Trump said.

He went on to say that he he had spoken to some administration insiders about this. He said the US won’t pay a penny towards the deal.

Q: But you got this wrong?

Farage said he thought that Trump might change his mind.

UPDATE: See 11.48am for a fuller version of the quotes.

Good morning. Domestic politics has not gone away, but it is all being eclipsed at the moment by the Ukraine crisis, and the efforts Keir Starmer is leading to develop a Europe-led peace plan and – crucially – to keep the US and Europe at least broadly aligned. The stakes are enormous. Labour is very proud of the role the Attlee government played in creating Nato, but now its future as a funtioning alliance is in doubt. In his press conference yesterday Starmer said he did not accept the US was now an “unreliable ally”. But many Europeans who watched President Trump and JD Vance bully and belittle President Zelenskyy on camera in the Oval Office on Friday will have come to a different conclusion.

Starmer is expected to make a statement to MPs about his visit to the White House, and yesterday’s summit in London, and that should start after 3.30pm.

Here is our overnight story about yesterday’s summit.

Luke Pollard, the defence minister, has been giving interviews this morning, and one issue he has had to address is a comment from Peter Mandelson, the former Labour cabinet minister and new UK ambassador to Washington, which implied that London is siding more with Trump than Zelenskyy. In an interview with ABC yesterday, Mandelson said:

We need a very radical reset. The reset has to consist of the US and Ukraine getting back on the same page. And President Zelenskyy giving his unequivocal backing to the initiative that President Trump is taking to end the war and to bring a just and lasting peace to Ukraine.

And the Europeans too need to back the calls for a ceasefire. And by the way, I think that Ukraine should be the first to commit to a ceasefire and defy the Russians to follow.

This provoked an angry backlash in the UK. James Cleverly, the Conservative former foreign secretary, posted this response on social media.

The UK ambassador to Washington isn’t meant to communicate his own opinion, he is meant to communicate the UK government opinion.

Lammy and Starmer need to grip this.

And Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, posted this.

What is Mandelson up to? You cannot square what the Prime Minister said this morning with this. What is the Government’s actual position?

Our man in DC should be securing US protection for our brave Ukrainian allies, not telling President Zelensky what to do.

In an interview with Sky News this morning, asked if Mandelson’s comments reflected government policy, Pollard replied:

No. It’s certainly right that Ukrainians want peace. I think of all the people on our continent that want peace, the Ukrainians want it the most.

But we’re still in discussions, diplomatic engagement with our European, US and Ukrainian friends as to the shape of that deal.

But it’s certainly right that the war could stop tomorrow if President Putin stopped his illegal and unprovoked aggression. He could stop this war.

Asked if Mandelson misspoke, Pollard replied:

That’s not government policy and you wouldn’t expect me to commentate on every ups and downs in negotiations.

According to Politico’s London Playbook, Mandelson believes his comments have been wrongly interpreted. The ambassador “was reflecting government policies to an American audience, and any suggestion otherwise is hair-splitting nonsense”, a Washington embassy insider told Playbook.

I will be covering UK aspects of this story, but its ramifications go well beyond this country. Martin Belam is covering events from an international perspective on our Europe live blog.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9am: Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, holds a phone-in on LBC.

10.30am: The Covid inquiry’s module dealing with PPE procurement opens with statements from counsel.

11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

Lunchtime: Keir Starmer and John Healey attend a lunchtime event to promote a government initiative to help small businesses bid for defence contracts.

2.30pm: Angela Rayner, the deputy PM and housing secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

After 3.30pm: Keir Starmer is expected to make a Commons statement about Ukraine, and his attempts to develop a Europe-led peace plan.

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