Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will shortly fly out to Saudi Arabia, where he will meet with Mohammed bin Salman before talks between Ukrainian and American officials begin.
Monday 10 March 2025 08:14, UK
Ministers plan to give people living near power infrastructure hundreds of pounds off their bills a year as part of an overhaul of planning rules.
Housing and planning minister Alex Norris told Sky News Breakfast that “communities needs to share the benefits” of the UK’s move towards clean energy.
“And if you know, if you’re making that sacrifice of having some of the infrastructure in your community, you should get some of the money back. So we’re making that commitment, £250-a-year if you are near those pylons,” he says.
“So we think that’s a fair balance between people who are making that commitment to the country themselves, well they should be rewarded for that.”
Ministers are also looking to slash the number of official bodies that get a say in planning decisions in a drive to cut red tape.
The Times reported that government plans will set out that households living within half a kilometre of new or upgraded power systems such as pylons could get access to a bill discount scheme equivalent to an annual payment of £250 over 10 years.
It comes as officials are set to consult on removing Sport England, the Theatres Trust and the Garden History Society from the list of bodies legally required to be consulted on planning decisions, while the scope of others who get to give input is set to be narrowed.
Angela Rayner has said reforms are needed to ensure the system is “sensible and balanced” as the government has pledged to build 1.5 million homes this parliament.
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Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy have their guide to the day ahead in British politics.
With Zelenskyy heading to Saudi Arabia to join US sponsored peace talks in Saudi Arabia, Sam and Anne assess the UK’s response to any concessions Ukraine might be made to make to Russia.
And with Mark Carney waiting in the wings to take over from Prime Minister Trudeau in Canada, how will his premiership differ and how will he respond to Trump’s threat of tariffs?
Domestically, Labour’s wish for economic growth is well known, but do their planning reforms go far enough to get it?
And speaking of Reform – as their internal rows rumble on, Anne and Sam discuss what the latest intervention from an unnamed KC means for the party.
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Alex Norris, the housing minister, just joined Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast to discuss reports the UK is advising Ukraine on peace talks.
We understand that Jonathan Powell, Sir Keir Starmer’s national security adviser, travelled to Ukraine this weekend to brief Volodymyr Zelenskyy before talks with the US on Tuesday.
Norris says: “Our role in this is to make sure that Ukraine is in the strongest position possible.
“Peace will only be secured through that strength, that’s why we did the aid package that we did last week, and then alongside that we’ve been doing significant diplomatic efforts with our European counterparts.”
The minister says he is “pleased to see” what’s happening in Saudi Arabia this week, describing it as a “big step forward”.
Zelenskyy will shortly fly out to Saudi Arabia, where he will meet with Mohammed bin Salman before talks between Ukrainian and American officials begin.
“We collaborate as the UK government with the Ukraine government at lots of levels, and so I don’t think it’s a surprise that our people are talking to their people.
“I think that’s the right thing to do.”
The UK is advising Ukraine on handling peace talks with the United States, it is understood.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will shortly fly out to Saudi Arabia, where he will meet with Mohammed bin Salman before talks between Ukrainian and American officials begin.
President Zelenskyy himself will not attend these talks – weeks after a fiery Oval Office exchange with US President Donald Trump – but his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, will.
We understand that Jonathan Powell, Sir Keir Starmer’s national security adviser, travelled to Ukraine this weekend to brief Zelenskyy before talks with the US on Tuesday.
Powell is understood to be advising Zelenskyy to make clear he is “responding to American requests in order to highlight to Trump that Russia is the main obstacle to peace”, The Times reports.
Zelenskyy said talks with Powell were “highly productive”.
Starmer is also trying to convince Trump to resume intelligence sharing with Ukraine, after this was closed off suddenly last week.
The UK is also said to believe this is a more feasible request to make to the US than the resumption of military aid to Ukraine.
By Tim Baker, political reporter
Phone centre waiting times for public services could be cut in half by using AI, a minister has suggested.
Speaking to Sky News, Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said the technology was “win-win” as it will save the taxpayer money and make the public experience better.
“I am determined to drive this technology through the government,” he added.
Long waiting times has long blighted those trying to access services like Citizens Advice, HMRC and the DVLA.
But with the government talking of an AI revolution, one trial has used the tech to drastically reduce the volume of minutes spent on hold.
The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) teams in Stockport, Oldham, Rochdale and Trafford have managed to cut the average phone call length from eight minutes to four in a months’ long trial.
A Labour MP has warned ministers against “draconian cuts” ahead of expected changes to the welfare system.
Rachael Maskell, the MP for York Central, said she had detected “deep, deep concern” from colleagues in the Commons, amid risks of a rift between the government and the backbenches.
Reforms to the welfare system are expected ahead of the spring statement at the end of this month, as Chancellor Rachel Reeves will likely look to make a raft of public spending savings given tighter fiscal headroom.
Speaking to the BBC, Maskell said she has had a “flurry of emails” from people who are “deeply concerned” about the prospect of changes to the system.
She said: “We recognise the economic circumstances that we’re in and the hand that we were given and of course it is right that the chancellor has oversight over all those budgets but not at the expense of pushing disabled people into poverty.
“There’s got to be a carrot approach not a stick approach.
“We’ve got to make the right interventions and that doesn’t start with the stick.”
She said she had “picked up […] deep deep concern” from colleagues and called for a “compassionate system and not taking just draconian cuts”.
Good morning!
Welcome back to the Politics Hub for the start of another week in Westminster.
Reaction will likely continue on Monday after Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe was reported to the police over alleged threats of physical violence against the party’s chair.
On Friday, party chairman Zia Yusuf and chief whip Lee Anderson MP disclosed accusations that two female workers had complained of “serious bullying” in Mr Lowe’s offices, and said he had been reported to police over allegations he threatened Mr Yusuf with physical violence.
Mr Lowe, who has been suspended by the parliamentary party, denied the claims.
Meanwhile, a Labour MP is today warning of “draconian cuts” ahead of expected changes to the welfare system.
Rachael Maskell says she has detected “deep, deep concern” from colleagues in the Commons, amid risks of a rift between the government and the backbenches.
Labour will also today set out new reforms to strip out processes holding back the planning system, in a bid to deliver the government’s 1.5 million homes target.
And this evening, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is due to address the weekly meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
We’ll be discussing all of that and more with…
Follow along for the very latest political news.
Another week of Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips has come to an end.
Join us again next week at 8.30am.
The Latvian president has urged European countries to “absolutely” introduce conscription, as he conceded the continent was “quite weak” militarily.
Edgars Rinkevics told Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that European countries should increase defence spending amid the “ups and downs” in relations with the US.
Latvia introduced conscription for men in 2023 and has pushed defence spending to 4% of the country’s GDP.
“Seeing what is happening in the world, the decision that we took – many other European countries need to follow that,” Mr Rinkevics said.
“A lot of people are a little bit nervous. People are following the news. Of course strong reassurances [are] one thing, but another thing is other European governments [have] to make sure that we all get stronger.”
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, is speaking to Trevor Phillips this morning on behalf of the Conservatives.
He reiterates his party’s position that they want to see government spending come down on the back of civil service cuts and reducing welfare bills.
On the latter, Trevor asks if there is a “danger here of a rather cruel race between you and the government, to see who can be more cruel to disabled people?”
Philp says that people who are “genuinely disabled” and unable to work should be “looked after”, but the number of people getting welfare is “far, far too high”, and the thresholds to make claims are “too low and too easy”.
On the civil service, Philp says the Conservative plan is to reduce the size of the bureaucracy to the size it was before the pandemic, rather than taking back to the “ice age”.
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