LONDON: Keir Starmer has a daunting in-tray when his Labour party gets to work governing Britain after almost a decade and a half in opposition.
“It’s more a gigantic trunk of problems,” political scientist Karl Pike told AFP, listing issues ranging from ending strikes in the state-run health service to negotiating a new post-Brexit deal with the European Union.
Starmer, 61, has six priorities to “change” the United Kingdom following 14 years of largely chaotic Conservative rule dominated by Brexit, a crippling cost-of-living crisis and fratricidal infighting.
But implementing his so-called “first steps” will be far from easy due to a battered economy, public services that are on their knees and widespread disillusionment with the political establishment.
“Even the simpler, more straightforward commitments in the manifesto could still actually turn out to be harder to execute,” Patrick Diamond, a former Downing Street policy adviser, told AFP.
When Diamond worked for the New Labour government of the early 2000s, then-premier Tony Blair and finance minister Gordon Brown benefitted from healthy economic growth, boosting public coffers while keeping taxes low.
It allowed them to hit the ground running with several wide-ranging reforms at the same time as the charismatic Blair rode a wave of euphoria toward him and his center-left party.
Today, growth is anaemic, with Labour’s victory arguably more born out of frustration with the Tories than overwhelming enthusiasm for Starmer’s party, making his job harder.
“It’s a very different environment,” said Diamond. “The objective of having growth, low taxes and more public spending is just not going to be available to this Labour government.”
Labour has committed to the Conservatives’ spending plans and fiscal rules restricting debt to a share of GDP, limiting the amount it can borrow.
It has also ruled out raising the main taxes paid by Britons, meaning investment will be heavily reliant on spurring unguaranteed economic growth.
“Although tax and borrowing are at historically high levels, and Labour’s pledges will constrain its room for maneuver, that will not prevent a new government from making significant changes to policy over time,” Peter Sloman, a politics professor at Cambridge University, told AFP.
Starmer’s top three priorities are to deliver economic stability, cut waiting times in the state-run National Health Service (NHS) and launch a new border security force to tackle record levels of irregular migration.
His other main pledges are to set up a publicly owned body investing in clean power called Great British Energy, crack down on antisocial behavior and recruit 6,500 new teachers.
“The ‘first steps’ are deliberately modest,” said Sloman, noting that the promise on teachers and the pledge to create an extra 40,000 NHS appointments a week are “carefully worded to ensure they can be delivered.”
“I think the bigger challenge for a Labour government will be dealing with growing crises in other parts of the public sector — such as prisons, higher education, social care, and local government — where a decade of austerity has created serious problems,” he added.
Starmer will also have to contend with a number of pressing foreign policy concerns, most notably continuing the UK’s lead of rallying Western support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion.
The PM’s first full week in the job next week will see him travel to Washington to attend a NATO leaders’ summit.
His trip comes as some polls predict that Donald Trump could win November’s US presidential election, raising questions about America’s commitment to Kyiv and NATO.
Pike noted that Starmer’s desire to negotiate a new trade deal with the EU, seen as crucial to his pro-growth plans, will be complicated by “potentially significant political uncertainty” among some of the major European countries, notably France.
Diamond warned that “not getting completely blown away by events and creating the space to deliver on the manifesto” will be key to Labour’s start.
In that vein, Starmer’s chief of staff Sue Gray has reportedly drawn up a list of crises the new government could face early on.
It includes bankrupt local authorities, the potential collapse of a major water provider, overcrowding in prisons and universities going bust.
The challenges threaten the honeymoon period that new administrations normally enjoy, but Diamond reckons the electorate will cut Labour some slack in its early months.
“If Starmer can end the drama and create some stability, people will give it the benefit of the doubt,” he said.
‘Gigantic’ to-do list awaits UK’s Labour
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‘Gigantic’ to-do list awaits UK’s Labour
2024 ‘virtually certain’ to be hottest year on record: EU monitor
- Copernicus said 2024 would likely be more than 1.55 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 average — the period before the industrial-scale burning of fossil fuels
- Scientists say the safer 1.5C limit is rapidly slipping out of reach, while stressing that every tenth of a degree of temperature rise heralds progressively more damaging impacts
PARIS: This year is “virtually certain” to be the hottest in recorded history with warming above 1.5C, EU climate monitor Copernicus said Thursday, days before nations are due to gather for crunch UN climate talks.
The European agency said the world was passing a “new milestone” of temperature records that should serve to accelerate action to cut planet-heating emissions at the UN negotiations in Azerbaijan next week.
Last month, marked by deadly flooding in Spain and Hurricane Milton in the United States, was the second hottest October on record, with average global temperatures second only to the same period in 2023.
Copernicus said 2024 would likely be more than 1.55 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 average — the period before the industrial-scale burning of fossil fuels.
This does not amount to a breach of the Paris deal, which strives to limit global warming to below 2C and preferably 1.5C, because that is measured over decades and not individual years.
“It is now virtually certain that 2024 will be the warmest year on record and the first year of more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels,” said Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) Deputy Director Samantha Burgess.
“This marks a new milestone in global temperature records and should serve as a catalyst to raise ambition for the upcoming Climate Change Conference, COP29.”
The UN climate negotiations in Azerbaijan, which will set the stage for a new round of crucial carbon-cutting targets, will take place in the wake of the United States election victory by Donald Trump.
Trump, a climate change denier, pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement during his first presidency — and while his successor Joe Biden took the United States back in, he has threatened to do so again.
Meanwhile, average global temperatures have reached new peaks, as have concentrations of planet-heating gases in the atmosphere.
Scientists say the safer 1.5C limit is rapidly slipping out of reach, while stressing that every tenth of a degree of temperature rise heralds progressively more damaging impacts.
Last month the UN said the current pace of climate action would result in a catastrophic 3.1C of warming this century, while all current climate pledges taken in full would still amount to a devastating 2.6C temperature rise.
Global warming is not just about rising temperatures, but the knock-on effect of all the extra heat in the atmosphere and seas.
Warmer air can hold more water vapor, and warmer oceans mean greater evaporation, resulting in more intense downpours and storms.
In a month of weather extremes, October saw above-average rainfall across swathes of Europe, as well as parts of China, the US, Brazil and Australia, Copernicus said.
The US is also experiencing ongoing drought, which affected record numbers of people, the EU monitor added.
Copernicus said average sea surface temperatures in the area it monitors were the second highest on record for the month of October.
C3S uses billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations to aid its calculations.
Copernicus records go back to 1940 but other sources of climate data such as ice cores, tree rings and coral skeletons allow scientists to expand their conclusions using evidence from much deeper in the past.
Climate scientists say the period being lived through right now is likely the warmest the earth has been for the last 100,000 years, back at the start of the last Ice Age.
US, China must ‘get along’, Xi tells Trump
- Trump’s crushing presidential victory heralded a possible shift in US-China relations
- Both Republican Trump and his Democratic rival Kamala Harris had pledged to get tougher on Beijing
BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday said Beijing and Washington must find a way to “get along” in a message to US president-elect Donald Trump, state media said.
Trump’s crushing presidential victory heralded a new era of uncertainty in the United States and the world.
It also heralded a possible shift in US-China relations, frayed in recent years by tensions over everything from trade to the status of the self-ruled island of Taiwan.
In a congratulatory message to Trump, Xi “pointed out that history has shown that China and the United States benefit from cooperation and suffer from confrontation,” state broadcaster CCTV said.
“A stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship is in the common interest of both countries and is in line with the expectations of the international community,” Xi said.
He called for Washington and Beijing to “strengthen dialogue and communication” and “properly manage differences.”
The two countries must “find a correct way... to get along in this new era, to benefit both countries and the world,” Xi said.
Both Republican Trump and his Democratic rival Kamala Harris had pledged to get tougher on Beijing.
But Trump upped the ante, vowing to slap 60-percent tariffs on all Chinese goods entering the United States.
That proposal could hit $500 billion worth of Chinese exports, asset managers PineBridge Investments have suggested.
In his first message to Trump since the former president secured a second term in office, Chinese leader Xi said he hoped “that both sides will uphold the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.”
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng also sent a message to vice president-elect JD Vance, CCTV said.
Record drought in Amazon impacts 420,000 children: UNICEF
RIO DE JANEIRO: More than 420,000 children in the Amazon basin are being badly affected by a drought parching much of South America that is impacting water supplies and river transport, UNICEF said Wednesday.
The record-breaking drought is taking a toll on Indigenous and other communities in Brazil, Colombia and Peru reliant on boat connections, the UN agency said.
“We are witnessing the devastation of an essential ecosystem that families rely on, leaving many children without access to adequate food, water, health care and schools,” UNICEF chief Catherine Russell said in a statement.
The resulting food insecurity increased the risk of child malnutrition, the agency said, while less access to drinking water could spur a rise in infectious diseases.
In Brazil’s Amazon region alone, more than 1,700 schools and more than 760 medical clinics had to close or became inaccessible because of low river levels.
In Colombia’s Amazon, lack of drinking water and food forced 130 schools to suspend classes. In Peru, more than 50 clinics were inaccessible.
UNICEF said it needs $10 million in coming months to help the stricken communities in those three countries, including by providing water and sending out health brigades.
Weather observation agencies such as NASA’s Earth Observatory and the EU’s Copernicus service say the drought across the Amazon basin since the latter half of last year was caused by the 2023-2024 El Nino climate phenomenon in the Pacific.
Brazilian experts said the climate crisis was also to blame.
The insufficient rain and shrinking of the vital rainforest’s rivers exacerbated forest fires, disrupted hydroelectric power generation and dried out crops in parts of Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
Thousands ordered to evacuate as powerful wind-fed wildfire burns homes in Southern California
CAMARILLO, California: California was lashed by powerful winds Wednesday that fed a fast-moving wildfire, which destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands of residents to flee as forecasters warned of the potential for “extreme and life-threatening” blazes.
Northwest of Los Angeles, the Mountain Fire exploded in size and prompted evacuation orders for more than 10,000 people as it threatened 3,500 structures in suburban communities, ranches and agricultural areas around Camarillo, according to a statement from Gov. Gavin Newsom. He said he has requested federal assistance for the area east of the Pacific coast city of Ventura.
The blaze was burning in a region that has seen some of California’s most destructive fires over the years. A thick plume of smoke rose hundreds of feet into the sky Wednesday, blanketing whole neighborhoods and limiting visibility for firefighters and evacuees. The fire grew from less than half of a square mile to 16 square miles (62 square kilometers) in little more than five hours.
Ventura County Fire Captain Trevor Johnson described crews racing with their engines to homes threatened by the flames to save lives.
“This is as intense as it gets. The hair on the back of the firefighters’ neck I’m sure was standing up,” he said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
At one spot, flames licked the burning remains of a home. Its roof was reduced to only a few charred shingles.
Two people suffered apparent smoke inhalation and were taken to hospitals, fire officials said. No firefighters reported significant injuries.
The erratic winds and limited visibility grounded fixed-wing aircraft, and gusts topped 61 mph (98 kph), said weather service meteorologist Bryan Lewis. Water-dropping helicopters were still flying.
First responders pleaded with residents to evacuate. Deputies made contact with 14,000 people to urge them to leave as embers spread up to 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) away and sparked new flames.
“This fire is moving dangerously fast,” Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner said.
Aerial footage from local television networks showed dozens of homes in flames across several neighborhoods as embers were whipped from home to home. Other footage captured horses trotting alongside evacuating vehicles.
Jade Katz, who said she is disabled and does not drive, waited for a friend to pick her up near her Camarillo Heights home with a suitcase full of medication and Bella, her Great Dane service dog. But the friend couldn’t reach her, so first responders sent a squad car to escort her to safety as she watched the neighborhood burn.
Officials said they were using all resources, including water-dropping helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft dropping fire retardant, but it was still burning out of control Wednesday afternoon. Andrew Dowd, a Ventura County fire spokesperson, said he did not have details of how many structures had been damaged.
Gus Garcia, who owns a ranch south of the fire, said he’s waiting to see whether conditions will change to decide if he should evacuate his horses and cattle. Around 12:30 p.m., his animals were still safe and he was trying to stay out of the way as others got their livestock out.
His ranch is surrounded by others with horses and alpaca, and Garcia said his neighbors in the canyon did not seem panicked.
“The horse community, they prepare for this because it’s always a possibility up here,” he said.
Meanwhile to the south, Los Angeles County Fire Department crews scrambled to contain a wildfire near Malibu’s Broad Beach as authorities briefly shut down the Pacific Coast Highway as flames burned near multimillion-dollar properties. Residents were urged to shelter in place while aircraft dropped water on the 50-acre (20-hectare) Broad Fire. It was 15 percent contained around 12:30 p.m. with forward progress stopped. Fire officials said two structures burned.
The National Weather Service office for the Los Angeles area amended its red flag warning for increased fire danger with a rare “particularly dangerous situation” label, and officials in several counties urged residents to be on watch for fast-spreading blazes, power outages and downed trees amid the latest round of notorious Santa Ana winds.
With predicted gusts between 50 mph (80 kph) and 100 mph (160 kph) and humidity levels as low as 8 percent, parts of Southern California could experience conditions ripe for “extreme and life-threatening” fire behavior into Thursday, the weather service said.
Forecasters also issued red flag warnings until Thursday from California’s central coast through the San Francisco Bay Area and into counties to the north, where strong winds were also expected.
Utilities in California began powering down equipment during high winds and extreme fire danger after a series of massive and deadly wildfires in recent years were sparked by electrical lines and other infrastructure. On Wednesday, more than 65,000 customers in Southern California were without power preventatively, and upwards of 20,000 in Northern California.
Wednesday’s fires were burning in the same areas of other recent destructive fires, including the 2018 Woolsey Fire, which killed three people and destroyed 1,600 homes near Los Angeles, and the the 2017 Thomas Fire, which destroyed more than a thousand homes and other structures in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Southern California Edison has paid tens of millions of dollars to settle claims after its equipment was blamed for both blazes.
Control of the US House hangs in the balance with enormous implications for Trump’s agenda
- A few individual seats, or even a single one, will determine the outcome and Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the House “remains very much in play”
- If House Speaker Mike Johnson’s slim four-seat majority were to shrink any further, governing could come to a standstill
WASHINGTON: The US House majority hung in the balance Wednesday, teetering between Republican control that would usher in a new era of unified GOP governance in Washington or a flip to Democrats as a last line of resistance to a Trump second-term White House agenda.
A few individual seats, or even a single one, will determine the outcome. Final tallies will take a while, likely pushing the decision into next week — or beyond.
After Republicans swept into the majority in the US Senate by picking up seats in West Virginia, Ohio and Montana, House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted his chamber would fall in line next.
“Republicans are poised to have unified government in the White House, Senate and House,” Johnson said Wednesday.
President-elect Donald Trump, who won the Electoral College and the popular vote against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, has consolidated growing power around his MAGA movement, backing newcomers to Washington and setting the stage for his own return to the White House.
Johnson said Republicans in Congress are preparing an “ambitious” 100-day agenda with Trump, who he has said is “thinking big” about his legacy.
Tax cuts, securing the southern border and taking a ”blowtorch” to federal regulations are at the top of the agenda if the GOP sweeps the White House and Congress. Trump himself has promised mass deportations and retribution against his perceived enemies. And Republicans want to push federal agencies out of Washington and to restaff the government workforce with the help of outside think tanks, Johnson has said, to bring the federal government “to heel.”
But Johnson, after just a year on the job, has had difficulty governing the House, and the new Congress would be no different. Hard-liners led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rep. Matt Gaetz and others have often confronted and upended their own GOP leadership in what has been one of the most chaotic sessions in modern times.
If Johnson’s slim four-seat majority were to shrink any further, governing could come to a standstill.
Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the House “remains very much in play.”
With Democrats having defeated two House Republicans in Jeffries’ home state of New York, he said the path to the majority now runs through pickup opportunities in Arizona, Oregon, Iowa and California that are still too early to call.
“We must count every vote,” Jeffries said.
The House contests remained a tit-for-tat fight to the finish, with no dominant pathway to the majority for either party. Rarely, if ever have the two chambers of Congress flipped in opposite directions.
Each side is gaining and losing a few seats, including through the redistricting process, which is the routine redrawing of House seat boundary lines. The process reset seats in North Carolina, Louisiana and Alabama.
Much of the outcome hinges on the West, particularly in California, where a handful of House seats are being fiercely contested, and mail-in ballots arriving a week after the election will still be counted. Hard-fought races around the “blue dot” in Omaha, Nebraska and in far-flung Alaska are among those being watched.
Trump, speaking early Wednesday at his election night party in Florida, said the results delivered an “unprecedented and powerful mandate” for Republicans.
He called the Senate rout “incredible,” and he praised Johnson, saying he’s “doing a terrific job.”
From the US Capitol, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, privately a harsh Trump critic, called it a “hell of a good day.”
Senate Republicans marched across the map alongside Trump, flipping the three Democratic-held seats and holding their own against Democratic challengers who failed to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas and Sen. Rick Scott in Florida.
In West Virginia, Jim Justice, the state’s wealthy governor, flipped the seat held by retiring Sen. Joe Manchin. Republicans toppled Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio with GOP luxury car dealer and blockchain entrepreneur Bernie Moreno. And Republican Tim Sheehy defeated Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in Montana.
Democrats avoided a total wipeout by salvaging seats in the “blue wall” states. Rep. Elissa Slotkin won an open Senate seat in Michigan, and Sen. Tammy Baldwin was reelected in Wisconsin. Pennsylvania’s race between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick was still undecided.
In other developments, Democrats made history by sending two Black women, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, to the Senate. Just three Black women, including Harris, have served in the Senate, but never two at the same time.
All told, Senate Republicans have the potential to achieve their most robust majority in years — a testament to McConnell, who made a career charting a path to power, this time aligned with Trump whom he has privately called “despicable” in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
During a news conference Wednesday, McConnell declined to answer questions about his past stark criticism of Trump and said he viewed the election results as a referendum on the Biden administration.
He told reporters at the Capitol that a Senate under Republican control would “control the guardrails” and prevent changes in Senate rules that would end the filibuster.
“People were just not happy with this administration and the Democratic nominee was a part of it,” McConnell said.
What’s still unclear is who will lead the new Republican Senate, as McConnell prepares to step down from the post.
South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who previously held that post, are the front-runners to replace McConnell in a secret-ballot election scheduled for when senators arrive in Washington next week.
