Holocaust Memorial Moves Closer as Labour Reaffirms Commitment to Remembrance
Labour has reaffirmed its commitment to remembrance and education as the Holocaust Memorial Bill received Royal Assent, paving the way for a new memorial and learning centre next to Parliament.
To mark Holocaust Memorial Day, the Prime Minister invited Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich MBE to address Cabinet and share her powerful testimony.
The memorial will honour the six million Jewish people murdered in the Holocaust, while the learning centre will ensure future generations understand the lessons of history and the consequences of hatred and intolerance.
Labour is determined to deliver the National Holocaust Memorial – not only to remember the past, but to educate, confront antisemitism, and stand up for humanity today.
Dear Ibrahim,
Welcome to your update from the Political Office in Number 10, keeping you up to date with everything the Labour government is delivering for working people in Britain.
GORTON AND DENTON BY-ELECTION
We’ve made a flying start in the Gorton and Denton by-election, with hundreds of activists out on the doorstep over the last few days.
Yesterday, both Bridget Phillipson and Steve Reed were in the area talking about free breakfast clubs and Pride in Place funding to improve the local area and ensure that all children get the best start to their day in school. Elsewhere, Lucy Powell and Connor Rand were on the doors with activists in Burnage.
If you would like to learn more about the work we are doing in Gorton and Denton and how you can support this By-Election, please contact [email protected] <[email protected]?subject=By-Election+Support>
SPOTLIGHT ON
Progress towards a simpler, unified rail system
This weekend, we will mark a significant step towards creating an integrated rail network, as two further operators return to public ownership under Great British Railways.
On Sunday, London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway services join the fast-growing family of operators owned by the public, for the public.
More than 8,500 publicly owned rail services are now running daily, helping over 660 million passengers get where they need to go each year.
Combined with the first rail fare freeze in 30 years, Labour is cracking on with delivering a rail system that relentlessly focuses on securing improved services for passengers and better value for money for taxpayers.
WHAT WE'VE DONE THIS WEEK
A new model for policing
We kicked off the week by announcing the largest reforms to policing since forces were professionalised two centuries ago.
The measures include:
- Force mergers – We will launch a review to dramatically reduce the number of police forces in England and Wales, creating a less fragmented and more cost-efficient system
- National Police Service - A new nationwide police force will be established to fight the most complex and serious crimes – lifting the burden on overstretched local forces so they can focus on catching local criminals
- Accountability and standards – Ministers will have new powers to sack failing chief constables and intervene directly in failing forces, sending in specialist teams to turn them around
- Neighbourhood policing - New targets will ensure that all forces provide the same level of police response. Officers will be expected to reach the most serious incidents within 15 minutes in cities and 20 minutes in rural areas
- Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee expansion – Every council ward in England will have its own named, contactable officers
- Police Now programme – Graduate recruitment programme modelled on Teach First
- Technology - £140 million investment in new technology including live facial recognition vans and Police.AI to free officers from paperwork
We are introducing a new model of policing in this country – with neighbourhood policing to protect our communities, and national policing to protect us all.
Read more White paper sets out reforms to policing
From local to national: a new model for policing
BBC News: 'British FBI' will free up forces to tackle everyday crime, home secretary says
Capping ground rent
Ground rent will be capped at £250 a year – benefitting millions of leaseholders across England and Wales.
New leasehold flats will be banned, while a new process making it easier for existing leaseholders to convert to commonhold will be introduced.
And after 40 years, ground rent will be reduced to a peppercorn cap.
This change delivers on another manifesto promise. Promise made, promise kept.
Read more PM: "We're capping ground rents at £250"
Something to share Own a flat or looking to buy? Here’s what the new leasehold shake-up means for you
The Express: What Labour’s new £250 leasehold shake-up means for you
Free AI training for all
The Government is offering free AI training courses for every adult in the UK.
Open to all UK adults online, and taking as little as under 20 minutes, the courses will give people the skills needed to use simple AI tools effectively in the workplace for tasks like drafting text, creating content and completing administrative tasks, freeing up time to focus on other work.
"Change is inevitable, but the consequences of change are not. We will protect people from the risks of AI while ensuring everyone can share in its benefits. That starts with giving people the skills and confidence they need to seize the opportunities AI brings, putting the power and control into their hands." -Liz Kendall, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The courses can all be found here AI Skills Hub
Read more Free AI training for all, as government and industry programme expands to provide 10 million workers with key AI skills by 2030
LBC: Free AI training for all adults launched as Government seek to teach Brits to use tech
Representing British interests in China
This week, the Prime Minister has made a historic visit to China, accompanied by a delegation of nearly 60 representatives from British business, sport and culture.
Our relationship with China is important to everything from prices on supermarket shelves, to national security.
The visit has achieved:
- Better market access for British businesses to grow sales in China - Relaxed visa rules for British citizens visiting China – including visa-free travel for business and tourism - Steps to disrupt the supply chain of small boats used in Channel crossings
The PM also raised the appalling case of Jimmy Lai and the plight of the Uyghurs directly with the President.
Having that relationship allows us to make our voice heard forcefully at the most senior levels of the Chinese government.
Read more Prime Minister to promise a consistent, pragmatic partnership with China to make UK better off
Prime Minister unlocks new opportunities for British businesses in China
UK-China border security deal to help disrupt small boat supply lines
LBC: Starmer announces UK-China border security deal in bid to disrupt small boat supply chain
Holocaust Memorial Day
To mark Holocaust Memorial Day, Keir Starmer invited Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich MBE to address Cabinet and share her testimony.
Last week, the Holocaust Memorial Bill received Royal Assent, helping to pave the way for a memorial and learning centre in Victoria Tower Gardens next to Parliament.
The memorial will honour the six million Jewish people murdered in the Holocaust, while the learning centre will ensure that the memory and lessons of their stories are preserved for generations to come.
Read more Holocaust Memorial one step closer as Bill receives Royal Assent
Keir Starmer for The Jewish Chronicle: I will deliver the National Holocaust Memorial
SHAREABLE
Here’s eight things Labour’s Plan for Change has delivered in England this week:
Labour is backing British pubs with a 15% cut to business rates, a two-year real-terms freeze, licensing reform and a new High Streets Strategy to help local hospitality thrive
Ground rents are being capped at £250 a year and new rights for over 5 million leaseholders
Labour is extending the £150 Warm Home discount for millions of families to help ease the cost of living
The largest investment in police technology in history will roll out Live Facial Recognition nationwide, backed by over £26 million to help put serious criminals behind bars
A new National Police Service, a British equivalent of the FBI, will tackle national and international crime so local forces can focus on neighbourhood policing
AI tutoring tools are being trialled in schools, supporting up to 450,000 disadvantaged pupils a year with safe, one-to-one learning support
Lung cancer pilots under the National Cancer Plan will catch the disease earlier, while bowel cancer screening is being strengthened by increasing test sensitivity
Free AI training for every adult will upskill 10 million workers by 2030, delivered with leading tech firms to boost skills and opportunity
Find more local and national shareable content on Labour Social .
