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Politics latest: Starmer takes questions from students; Reeves announces 拢14.2bn for new nuclear power station

The government has committed more than 拢14bn to build a new nuclear plant, Sizewell C, in Suffolk, to improve Britain's energy security. The prime minister is taking questions from students following the announcement.

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Watch live as Keir Starmer holds a Q&A with students
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Watch live: Sir Keir Starmer speaks with students ahead of spending review

The prime minister is speaking to students at a college in Suffolk.

It follows the chancellor formally announcing billions of pounds of funding for Sizewell C nuclear power station, which is being built in the county.

Sir Keir Starmer is taking questions from pupils and will also speak to the media. 

It comes ahead of the spending review tomorrow, the much-anticipated speech by Rachel Reeves that will set out funding for each government department.

Watch and follow live here.

Reeves says Labour is 'launching a new era of nuclear power' as she unveils 拢30bn of investment

Rachel Reeves has turned to her focus on growth and pledges that her spending review will deliver investment in every part of the UK. 

The chancellor says the government backs British innovation and formally unveils the funding for Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk, which we've been reporting on earlier today. 

The announcement is met with cheers and clapping. 

Reeves says that together with announcements coming tomorrow in the spending review as well as what has been revealed today, the government is investing 拢30bn in nuclear power in total. 

"This Labour government is launching a new era of nuclear power here in Britain", the chancellor says.

She goes on: "Today's announcements are another step towards that Great British nuclear ambition. To make sure that 70% of its future fleet is made here with homegrown content."

Reeves concludes by saying that Labour promised "a government in the service of working people". 

She says: "A government backing Britain's industry, backing Britain's jobs and backing Britain's workers. 

"Consider that a promise made, and a promise kept."

That's the end of Reeves speech is met by applause among those gathered in the venue in Brighton.

Reeves takes aim at Reform UK, saying Farage is 'tough on workers and soft on Putin'

Rachel Reeves is setting out how her government is helping workers by improving their rights and introducing measures to tackle child poverty, such as extending free school meals.

But now the chancellor turns to tackling on Reform. 

She says that they might tell people they are on the side of working people, but that they actually opposed the worker's rights bill. 

The chancellor also say Nigel Farage's party wants to privatise the NHS, and is "not on the side of the heroic people of Ukraine - they're on Russia's side instead".

She adds: "That's Reform: Tough on workers, tough on patients but soft on Putin."

Watch live: Rachel Reeves speaking following nuclear announcement

The chancellor is now speaking at the GMB union conference, following the unveiling of more than 拢14bn for a new nuclear power plant in England.

Rachel Reeves will formally announce plans to commit 拢14.2bn to build Sizewell C nuclear plant.

It comes ahead of her spending review tomorrow. 

You can watch live in the stream above and of course, we will bring you her comments and all the reaction right here on the Politics Hub.

'We're back to the 1970s' - Kemi Badenoch hits out at Labour as unemployment rises

Kemi Badenoch has reacted to unemployment figures out this morning, showing the number of people out of work has risen.

The Tory leader has firmly placed the blame on the chancellor's strategy, after the ONS data showed unemployment has risen and the number of job vacancies has fallen.

Badenoch said: "Jobs are disappearing. Businesses are closing, blaming Labour's jobs tax and more regulations from the unions. 

"We're back to the 1970s."

The 'jobs tax' refers to Rachel Reeves' decision to hike employers national insurance contributions (NICs) earlier this year.

The former business secretary added: "Remember we still have four more years of Labour to go."

She concluded that only her party "can clean up the mess they're leaving behind".

Unemployment in the three months to April rose to the highest level since July 2021.

A little earlier today, Ed Miliband defended the government's record, telling Sky News that unemployment remains "historically, relatively low".

The energy secretary added that the UK has the fastest growing economy in the G7, while the government is making "big investments... for the future of this country", which is "good for jobs".

We're expecting to hear from Reeves herself in the next half an hour or so.

High salary thresholds to curb immigration could breach ECHR

Increasing salary thresholds for immigrants has been touted in political circles as a way to reduce immigration and make it harder for people to bring their families with them.

But a government-commissioned review has said that could put the UK in direct breach of people鈥檚 human rights.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has produced a report on family visas, requested by Yvette Cooper, to advise government on setting the income threshold for people in the UK wanting to bring family members over from another country.

The MAC said an income threshold of 拢38,700 鈥� proposed by the Conservatives 鈥� for those on a skilled worker visa to be able to bring a family member to the UK was too high.

The committee argued it could "conflict with international law and obligations", such as Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR): the right to private and family life.

Despite admitting that a higher salary threshold would reduce migration numbers, it instead recommends the threshold ought to be much lower at 拢23,000-拢25,000 - an income it says is achievable by a full-time worker on minimum wage.

It also warns against raising the threshold for families with children, despite them having higher living costs, as this would impact the children in those families.

However, Sky News understands the home secretary is poised to reject the committee鈥檚 recommendations and push ahead with tougher immigration rules regardless.

Reducing migration numbers is one of the key pledges from Labour and with persistent criticism of their Tory predecessors for huge annual migration figures, Yvette Cooper will be aware she will look hypocritical if she fails to make a significant dent in the numbers.

If immigration figures don鈥檛 come down enough to placate voters, Cooper and Sir Keir Starmer will be in the unenviable position the Tories found themselves in - being forced to defend a poor record at the next general election.

Ignoring the MAC鈥檚 advice on salary thresholds may be politically expedient, but if it leads to legal challenges using Article 8,  Starmer - a former human rights lawyer - could be in a very uncomfortable position. 

Tories to introduce bill to block government's 'surrender' deal over the Chagos islands

The Conservatives are set to introduce a bill that would block the government's deal over the Chagos islands. 

Last month, the prime minister announced that a deal had been agreed with Mauritius to give them control of the Chagos Islands. 

In exchange, the UK would be allowed to lease a military base in the territory for the next 99 years for an average of 拢101m a year. 

The whole deal was estimated to cost the UK around 拢3.4bn, though other people have estimated it could cost as much as 拢30bn - something the government disputes. 

Now, Priti Patel will introduce a bill to parliament today, which aims to stop this deal from happening. 

The bill will specify that the Chagos Achipelago falls under British sovereignty and cannot be negotiated away without parliamentary approval. 

It will also seek to prevent any money being given to foreign governments unless authorised by parliament.

The Tories have accused Labour of refusing to grant a debate in the Commons on the deal during the treaty ratification process, which they have called a "desperate attempt to avoid scrutiny and subvert democracy".

The bill is being introduced before the government's own legislation on the deal - and will also require British Chagossians to be consulted. 

The government's deal was briefly held up after Chagossians sought an emergency injunction in the courts, which was later dismissed. 

Currently, the UK has agreed to pay 拢40m a year as part of a Chagos Devlopment Fund, though the Conservatives say this is at Mauritius' discretion. 

Surrender deal has betrayed British Chagossians

The shadow foreign secretary said: "Labour鈥檚 Chagos surrender deal undermines our national security, will cost British taxpayers 拢30bn and has betrayed British Chagossians. 

"Keir Starmer and David Lammy have been too busy cosying up to their left-wing lawyer friends and activists to defend our national interests."

Patel added that "parliament must put a stop" to the deal and "legislate to protect our sovereignty".

Politics at Sam and Anne: Meltdown? Labour goes nuclear

Today's episode of Politics at Sam and Anne's has now dropped. 

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy discuss the day's agenda. On Tuesday's edition:

Negotiations for the spending review are complete - with reports Chancellor Rachel Reeves has refused to meet Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's demand for extra police funding. We won't have heard the end of this.

Reform UK hold (another!) news conference, and the government announces its intentions to go nuclear - "ushering in a new golden age of nuclear [power]".

You can listen to the episode below or wherever you get your podcasts.

Greens criticise nuclear power as 'expensive and slow', and call for more cash for solar panels

There's been broad support for the government's announcement that it is putting billions into building the Sizewell C nuclear power plant.

Ed Miliband has said it hails the beginning of the "golden era" of nuclear power.

The energy secretary told Sky News construction would also be "faster and cheaper" than previous projects such as Hinkley Point C, and that the new cash is the "biggest investment in nuclear for half a century".

The announcement has also been welcomed by Conservatives, though they have called for its delivery to be sped up through regulatory reform.

However, one party that's definitely not happy with the news is the Greens.

The party's co-leader, Adrian Ramsay, said: "Nuclear power is hugely expensive and far too slow to come online. 

"The only thing delivered by EDF so far at Hinkley Point in Somerset is overspend and delay. Electricity was promised by 2017 with a price tag of 拢22bn but this has mushroomed to 40bn and Hinkley is still producing no power."

Nuclear not 'genuinely green power'

Instead, the Greens would rather the money was spent on insulating and retrofitting homes to bring down energy bills.

Ramsay said the government should also be focussing more on "genuinely green power" such as solar and tidal power. 

"All this would create many more jobs than nuclear ever will", he added.   

Top tory calls for regulatory reform to speed up construction of new nuclear power station

Andrew Griffith has joined his Conservative colleagues in welcoming the government's announcement that it is putting more than 拢14bn into building the Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk.

But the shadow business and trade secretary says "the key thing is not to lose any more time".

He tells Sky News: "We've lost almost a year on things like Sizewell C. The government has got to get on and do it. 

"We all know this is going to take between nine and 12 years. That itself is too long. If there are reforms to regulations and planning processes that would speed that up, that would be helpful."

Griffith says the UK has almost the most expensive industrial energy costs of any developed nation, which "is making our businesses uncompetitive".

He is then challenged on why the Conservative government did not reform regulation at the time and why the construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant in Somerset has taken so long. 

Griffith responds that it took "a long time to restart a programme", citing how all forward-looking nuclear programmes were cancelled in the late 1990s. 

He says that the "energy crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine" has "produced a new consensus", which he hopes will speed up the embrace of nuclear power.