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Politics latest: Keir Starmer asked if he's a 'Tory in disguise' - as Labour leader accuses Rishi Sunak of 'bottling' calling election

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner launch Labour's local elections campaign in the West Midlands. Listen to the latest Electoral Dysfunction podcast as you scroll.

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Starmer: It is up to the government to ensure Thames Water is viable

Wrapping up the interview, our political editor Beth Rigby asks Sir Keir Starmer what the government should be doing to respond to the deepening Thames Water funding crisis.

Sir Keir said he was "very concerned" by the situation, "as anybody who is a customer will be".

"It's for the government in place at the moment to look at this and make sure that Thames Water is viable and provides the water that people need," he said.

He said that should Labour win the next election, they will look at this issue themselves, adding "I would have accountability to the top of these organisations".

Thames Water has refused to rule out bill increases of up to 40% for customers as the troubled company tries to secure its future (more here).

It comes as the business, which serves nearly a quarter of the UK's population, struggles with more than £15bn of debt and the huge interest payments required to service it.

When asked earlier about the prospect of 40% bill increases, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said the "leadership of Thames Water has been a disgrace" (more here).

The leadership team should "ask themselves why they're in this difficult situation, and of course the answer is because of serial mismanagement, for which they should carry the can".

Asked if the government could take Thames Water into special administration, the senior minister replied that the decision is one for Environment Secretary Steve Barclay.

"But I don't think we rule anything out," he added.

Starmer rules out lump cash injection for councils facing bankruptcy

The Labour leader has told Sky News that he will not provide a "lump sum cash injection" to shore up the financial positions of local councils.

Many face a serious financial crunch, with one in five council bosses saying they are likely to go bankrupt in the next 15 months, and £4bn needed to keep basic services afloat.

But speaking to our political editor Beth Rigby, Sir Keir Starmer said that although he is "very concerned about councils of all political colours struggling as much as they are", he "can't turn on the spending taps".

In the long term, Sir Keir said the funding settlement for councils should last three years instead of one, the economy could be stabilised to reduce inflation which has been "a big drag for councils", and also banning no-fault eviction to reduce housing pressures on councils.

He added: "At the end of an incoming Labour government, councils will be better funded, more sustainable, and able to deliver their services than they are now."

Pushed on the more immediate funding crisis and how he will solve that, he said: "What it means is not a lump sum cash injection, but it does mean reducing the burden on councils who are spending money on things like homelessness, spending money on interest rates, spending money inefficiently. We can do that straight away."

But he said this issue of councils on the brink is "the central problem in politics at the moment", saying that after 14 years of Tory government, "almost everything is broken".

Asked why he won't raise taxes to bring in the money needed to fix public services, the Labour leader told Beth: "We've already got the highest tax burden since the Second World War, and we have to grow our economy.

"But you could equally put to me the broken state of our health service, the broken state of social care, the broken state of childcare, the broken state of all of our public services, all of which after 14 years are on their knees."

His party's job, he said, will be to "not make promises we can't keep" and "build these institutions, public services up".

Starmer says he has not seen legal advice given to Rayner over tax affairs

We reported earlier this morning that Angela Rayner has said she will not publish the "personal tax advice" she received on the sale of her council house.

This is despite police confirming they are "reassessing" their initial decision not to investigate allegations made about her living arrangements.

Labour's deputy leader told BBC Radio 4's Today programme she was "confident" she had done "absolutely nothing wrong" with regards to the sale of her council house and whether she should have paid capital gains tax on it (more here).

Sir Keir Starmer gave his deputy his full support earlier today, saying he is "satisfied" that she has "not broken any rules" (see post at 10.58).

But speaking to our political editor Beth Rigby following that statement, the Labour leader revealed he has not seen the legal advice given to Ms Rayner, saying there's "no need to" and it is "not appropriate" for him to ask to see it.

"She answered no end of questions from the media on this," he said.

"And she's been very clear - should the authorities want any more information, she's more than happy to provide it for them. I have full confidence and full support in her."

Sir Keir said both his and Ms Rayner's team have seen the advice, and he is not worried about offering her his full backing without having seen it.

"I have faith in Angela Rayner's answers," he said.

"My team has looked at it. Her team's looked at it. There is no need for me personally to look at it, nor is it appropriate to do so."

He added: "But I do think, standing back, it's a sign of how desperate the Tories have got that they want to make this the issue in a local election, which should be about their failure of delivery."

Starmer reveals 'frustration' at Johnson's 'unforgivable' failure to deliver levelling up

 Sir Keir Starmer has told Sky News of his "frustration" with Boris Johnson for not delivering on levelling up, and has accused Rishi Sunak of having "strangled levelling up at birth".

Speaking to our political editor Beth Rigby, the Labour leader said it is "unforgivable" the ex-PM "failed to do the hard yards" of delivering on his promise, which is "why people feel even more let down".

He was speaking to Beth following the launch of his party's local elections campaign in the West Midlands, where he unveiled plans for much more devolution of powers to local authorities, and hit out at the Tories for not addressing regional inequalities.

After his keynote address, the Labour leader told Sky News: "I think Rishi Sunak strangled levelling up at birth because he wouldn't put the funding behind it, and we know what the consequences are."

He said the "idea of levelling up" and eliminating regional inequalities has been "around for years" - but achieving it requires "a viable plan".

"I'm afraid neither Boris Johnson nor Rishi Sunak have had either a viable plan or put in the hard yards."

Sir Keir continued: "My frustration with him is I actually think the idea of levelling up that was put before the electorate in 2019 by Boris Johnson was right. I will say that."

But he accused the Conservatives of "preying on people's hopes" that levelling up would be delivered, saying: "What's unforgivable about Boris Johnson is having made that the focus, he then didn't do the hard yards of delivery, and that's why people feel even more let down."

He said Mr Johnson "wasn't prepared or didn't have the wherewithal to see it through".

Pledge tracker: Is Sunak keeping his promises?

Over a year ago, Rishi Sunak made five pledges for voters to judge him on.

The prime minister met his pledge to halve inflation by the end of 2023.

However, as evidenced by the latest figures on small boat crossings (more here), and the fact that the UK economy is in recession (see post at 7.06), he is faring less well with his other pledges.

With the general election approaching, how is Mr Sunak doing on delivering on his promises?

You can see the progress for yourself below.

Electoral Dysfunction: Royals' cancer diagnoses put struggling NHS in the spotlight

By Beth Rigby, political editor

There is an edict in our democracy that politics and royalty must not mix.

Sure, we live in a "constitutional monarchy" where King Charles is head of state, wading through government papers and meeting the prime minister weekly.

But when it comes to the task of setting the political direction and framing our nation's political debate, the Royal Family has to zip it and remain entirely neutral.

And just as the royals don't stray into political territory, political editors like myself and politicians don't talk much about the Royal Family.

In fact, politicians actively swerve any questions inviting them to comment on the latest tabloid drama around the royals.

But this week on Electoral Dysfunction, we've broken with our own conventions to discuss the Princess of Wales's announcement that she has cancer, and ask whether this might be a moment when the cultural and social role the Royal Family play in our national life takes a more political tilt.

Read more below - and listen to Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts.

Email Beth, Jess, and Ruth at electoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444. 

This family's terrifying journey across the Channel wasn't their first choice - it was their last hope

By Siobhan Robbins, Europe correspondent

In a hostel in northern France, the atmosphere was tense.

A father and his family were waiting for a call, a sign sea conditions were right and it is finally time to go.

After fleeing from Kurdistan, they've paid around €8000 (£6,850) to cross the Channel on a dinghy provided by smugglers who value money over life.

"We don't have any other option except this dinghy. The surveillance for the trucks [crossing the Channel] is very strong and that is why we have to take this journey. We will either die or succeed," Mohammed said ahead of the journey.

To tell their story safely, all the family's names have been changed.

The UK wasn't their destination of choice; for years Germany was their home but then, after a failed asylum bid and threatened with deportation last month, they ran.

If they stayed, Mohammed says they would have been sent back home where he fears he could be killed.

But after years of making friends and plans, overnight his family's lives changed.

Read the full story here:

Johnson's former ethics adviser broke House of Lords rules

By Jennifer Scott, political reporter

A former ethics adviser to Boris Johnson broke the rules in the House of Lords by "assisting an outside organisation in influencing" government officials at the Ministry of Defence, a watchdog has ruled.

A report from the Lords Commissioner for Standards said Lord Geidt - who advised the former prime minister between April 2021 until he quit in June 2022 - gave introductory remarks at a meeting in May 2021 between the officials and Theia Group Inc, which employed him as an adviser.

Despite claims from the peer that his only role had been to make sure the firm's contact with the department "were conducted properly" and that he had been hired to advise them due to his previous experience, rather than his seat in the Lords, the commissioner said he had gone against a rule stopping peers providing "parliamentary services" in return for payment.

Lord Geidt appealed against the decision, but it was dismissed by the Lords Conduct Committee, which said while they accepted the peer "sought at all times to behave honourably and to comply with the rules", he had still broken them.

Read the full story here:

The small boats crisis deepens - and so do Tory woes

The first three months of this year have seen the highest number of small boat arrivals ever at 4,644, according to provisional Home Office figures.

Not by very much. The number for the first three months of 2022 was 4,548 - 96 fewer.

A few days of poorer weather could have swung it the other way, but the point is it's moving in the wrong direction for a prime minister who promised to "stop the boats".

If you promise to reduce the numbers as one of your key pledges, then you get blamed for every failure to do so.

Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who resigned from the government last year, described his party's immigration policy in a tweet as "the triumph of hope over experience".

As Tories head off on the local election campaign trail in glum spirits, the message from Downing Street is that this "migration emergency" can only be solved by getting flights to Rwanda.

And the legislation which might - possibly - allow that to happen won't be debated again until after Easter following a string of defeats by peers.

Time is ticking down.

Read Tamara's full analysis here:

Dame Esther Rantzen hails 'historic' assisted dying legislation at Holyrood

Dame Esther Rantzen has hailed "historic" assisted dying legislation that has been introduced at Holyrood on Thursday.

The veteran broadcaster, who has revealed she is considering travelling to Switzerland for an assisted death after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, said those who are terminally ill should have the "right to choose".

Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur has published a bill at the Scottish parliament that, if passed, will allow people living in Scotland with a terminal illness to be given help to end their life.

Dame Esther said: "I want to congratulate the Scottish parliament for prioritising this debate so that they can carefully consider this crucial issue and scrutinise this historic assisted dying bill.

"The current law is cruel, complicated and causes terrible suffering to vulnerable people."

Read her full comments here: