Some new towns in England to be built on greenfield sites, housing minister says
Good morning. At PMQs yesterday Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said that 80 years ago “British, Canadian and American soldiers were fighting shoulder to shoulder to defeat fascists” but that President Trump “seems to have forgotten all that” as he takes foreign policy decision.
It turns out that Davey was wrong. Trump has a very strong sense of who was on America’s side during world war two. “We both reflected on the Great History of our Nations, and the fact that we fought so successfully together in World War II, remembering, that Russia lost tens of millions of people,” Trump said yesterday, in his readout of his call with President Putin.
That was the call with ominious implications for Ukraine, as America in effect called time on the era when it used to guarantee the security of western Europe. Keir Starmer is doing a visit this morning and, as is normal at these events, he is expected to take brief questions from broadcasters on the main stories of the day. Stories don’t get any more “main” than this one.
We will be covering the Starmer interviews here, but this is primarily an international story and Jakub Krupa is leading the coverage of it on his Europe live blog.
Starmer may also be asked about the economy, and the growth figures out this morning, showing that the economy grew by a modest 0.1% in the final quarter of 2024. That’s not gangbusters territory, but it is an improvement on the previous quarter, when the economy was flat. There were fears they economy might even shrink in the final three months of the year.
Graeme Wearden is leading on this on his business live blog.
There is a slight chance that Starmer may even be asked a question about the government’s plans for new towns, which is ostensibly the reason for the visit. As Pippar Crerar reports, the government is announcing that up to 12 new towns will be under construction in England by the next election after 100 potential locations were identified for them.
Full details of the announcement are here. Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister, has been giving interviews about the plans this morning, and he told Sky News that some of the new towns will be build on greenfield sites.
Asked whether some of the construction would be on greenfield land, Pennycook replied:
There will be some, I’m sure, recommended standalone greenfield sites.
There will be a number of other, what are called urban extensions, but big expansions of existing towns and cities where that is appropriate.
There’s got to be sustainable places, as I say, they’ve got to be well-connected, well-designed.
We’ll see what the taskforce recommend in its final report in the summer … ministers will then take the final decision on which ones go forward.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: NHS England publishes its monthly performance figures.
9.30am: Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
Morning: Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner are on a visit in the south-east England to promote the government’s plans for new towns.
Morning: David Lammy, the foreign secretary, has a meeting in London with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Also, Nato defence ministers are meeting in Brussels today. John Healey is there for the UK and he is due to speak to reporters this afternoon.
If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.
I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
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Updated at 09.47 GMT
Key events
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Eagle says she is glad support for Ukraine remains cross-party after Tory spokesperson broadly backs government’s stance
James Cartlidge says all MPs want to see peace.
He says President Trump wants to see an end to the war.
But Cartlidge says his party, like the government, stands by Ukraine.
We remain 100% steadfast in our support for Ukraine, in our backing for the government, in delivering that as they did when in opposition.
And we agree in principle with them that, as we also stressed repeatedly in government, it is for the Ukrainians to decide the timing and terms of any negotiations on any war.
Cartlidge says Trump is right to say Europe needs to spend more on defence.
He says that, if President Putin is seen to win, “that may bring a temporary end to the conflict, but it will not make the world a safer place”.
And he says the case for higher defence spending is stronger than ever.
In response, Eagle welcomes the fact that the Tories are backing the government and that support for Ukraine remains a cross-party position.
(In some aspects of policy, the Conservatives are saying the UK should align with the US and not Europe. But, on Ukraine, that does not seem to be happening.)
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Defence minister Maria Eagle answers Commons urgent question on Ukraine
In the Commons James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, is asking his urgent question about Ukraine.
Maria Eagle, a defence minister, is responding.
In her opening statement, she says the UK will “step up” its support for Ukraine. It wil spend £4.5bn on military support for Ukraine – more than every before.
And only yesterday new firepower was announced, she says.
She says Ukraine’s security matters for all countries, because if one country’s borders can be redrawn by force, everyone will be affected.
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NHS England hospital waiting list falls for 4th month in row
The NHS England hospital waiting list has fallen for the fourth month in a row, PA Media reports. PA says:
An estimated 7.46m treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of December, relating to 6.24m patients – down from 7.48m treatments and 6.28m patients at the end of November.
These are the lowest figures since April 2023.
The list hit a record high in September 2023, with 7.77m treatments and 6.5m patients.
This chart, from an NHS England news release, shows the trend over the past decade.
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Defence secretary John Healey says there must be ‘no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine’
John Healey, the defence secretary, won’t be responding to the urgent question on Ukraine because he is in Brussels for the meeting of Nato defence ministers. As Jakub Krupa reports on his Europe live blog, Healey told reporters this morning that there must be “no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine”. He said:
(Ukraine) are the frontline of freedom, and our job is … to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position for any talks.
We will be continuing these discussions as Nato allies, and you will see new announcements of support for Ukraine through Nato.
We have seen the calls from president Trump overnight. We all want to see a durable peace and no return to conflict and aggression, and let’s not forget. Russia remains a threat well beyond Ukraine.
My message will be there can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine, and Ukraine’s voice must be at the heart of any talks.
Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters
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Updated at 09.56 GMT
There will be an urgent question on Ukraine in the Commons at 10.30am. It has been tabled by James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, and a defence minister will respond.
Later, after the business statement, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister, will make a statement on progress on compensation payments to victims of the infected blood scandal.
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The Conservatives have used the new towns announcement to criticise Labour over immigration. In the CCHQ response to the overnight announcement from the governmnent about new towns, Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow housing secretary, said:
By voting against Kemi Badenoch’s plan to double the amount of time it takes to get indefinite leave to remain and get British citizenship, Labour’s housebuilding plans will do nothing to address the shortage of housing because immigration will just keep piling on the pressure.
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UK economy grows by 0.1% in unexpected boost for Rachel Reeves
Britain’s economy unexpectedly picked up in the final three months of 2024, official figures have shown, easing pressure on the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, after flatlining during the summer. Richard Partington has the story.
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Some new towns in England to be built on greenfield sites, housing minister says
Good morning. At PMQs yesterday Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said that 80 years ago “British, Canadian and American soldiers were fighting shoulder to shoulder to defeat fascists” but that President Trump “seems to have forgotten all that” as he takes foreign policy decision.
It turns out that Davey was wrong. Trump has a very strong sense of who was on America’s side during world war two. “We both reflected on the Great History of our Nations, and the fact that we fought so successfully together in World War II, remembering, that Russia lost tens of millions of people,” Trump said yesterday, in his readout of his call with President Putin.
That was the call with ominious implications for Ukraine, as America in effect called time on the era when it used to guarantee the security of western Europe. Keir Starmer is doing a visit this morning and, as is normal at these events, he is expected to take brief questions from broadcasters on the main stories of the day. Stories don’t get any more “main” than this one.
We will be covering the Starmer interviews here, but this is primarily an international story and Jakub Krupa is leading the coverage of it on his Europe live blog.
Starmer may also be asked about the economy, and the growth figures out this morning, showing that the economy grew by a modest 0.1% in the final quarter of 2024. That’s not gangbusters territory, but it is an improvement on the previous quarter, when the economy was flat. There were fears they economy might even shrink in the final three months of the year.
Graeme Wearden is leading on this on his business live blog.
There is a slight chance that Starmer may even be asked a question about the government’s plans for new towns, which is ostensibly the reason for the visit. As Pippar Crerar reports, the government is announcing that up to 12 new towns will be under construction in England by the next election after 100 potential locations were identified for them.
Full details of the announcement are here. Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister, has been giving interviews about the plans this morning, and he told Sky News that some of the new towns will be build on greenfield sites.
Asked whether some of the construction would be on greenfield land, Pennycook replied:
There will be some, I’m sure, recommended standalone greenfield sites.
There will be a number of other, what are called urban extensions, but big expansions of existing towns and cities where that is appropriate.
There’s got to be sustainable places, as I say, they’ve got to be well-connected, well-designed.
We’ll see what the taskforce recommend in its final report in the summer … ministers will then take the final decision on which ones go forward.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: NHS England publishes its monthly performance figures.
9.30am: Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
Morning: Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner are on a visit in the south-east England to promote the government’s plans for new towns.
Morning: David Lammy, the foreign secretary, has a meeting in London with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Also, Nato defence ministers are meeting in Brussels today. John Healey is there for the UK and he is due to speak to reporters this afternoon.
If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.
I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
Share
Updated at 09.47 GMT
