Starmer to unveil new UK emissions target as vote on assisted dying Bill splits ministers – UK politics live

The UK has pledged an 81 per cent cut to emissions by 2035, Sir Keir Starmer said at the Cop29 conference in Azerbaijan.

Critics have previously argued that lifestyle changes will be required to meet strict emissions reduction targets, as Labour promises to move towards electriciy generation by 2030.

ScottishPower has also awarded a £1 billion turbine contract for its East Anglia Two offshore wind farm to Siemens Gamesa, including blade production at its Hull blade factory. It will employ more than 1,300 people in Humberside.

Opening his speech at the Cop29 conference in Baku, Sir Keir Starmer has said there are two possible paths to address the escalating crisis of climate change.

He said the first is one of inaction and decay, while the second offers greater economic stability.

He added that invesment opportunities to tackle climate action offers opportunities, better jobs and ensures the prosperity of nations for the future.

An assisted dying law would offer people a choice “at their darkest hour”, a Westminster gathering has heard.

Nathaniel Dye, a man who has previously shared his experience of terminal cancer at Labour Party events, criticised suggestions that improvements to palliative care were the answer at an assisted dying press conference.

“Imagine I am dying and palliative care hasn’t improved. Well, I have no choice whatsoever: I die in pain or I die in pain,” he said.

He added: “I see this as a chance just to act with kindness and a choice for people at their darkest hour.

“I am not a doctor, I am not a lawyer, but I would just implore MPs and peers to really carefully consider these safeguards because I think it is the best phrase I have got: my very death depends on it.”

It comes as leaders of Britain’s biggest business organisations accused the Labour government of “betrayal”.

Economists at the bank said the policy would cause real incomes to take a hit, as companies pass on the cost of the levy through lower pay rises and higher prices. This, they said, will leave people feeling poorer as prices rise faster than wages.

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A supporter of Mr Trump, Mr Milei celebrated his election win with a fireworks display and posts on social media.

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Mentally competent adults with a life expectancy of six months or less who have a settled wish to die that has been approved by two doctors and the High Court would be able to do so under the proposed legislation for England and Wales.

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Sir Keir Starmer has said he will not be “telling people how to live their lives” as part of plans to reach the UK’s new emissions reduction target.

He will set the emissions goal out at Cop29 later on Tuesday but it has been reported that the UK will pledge to reduce its emissions by 81% compared with 1990 levels by 2035, a goal in line with the recommendation of the Climate Change Committee.

The Prime Minister was asked if he was prepared to get more people to change their heating systems and tell them to take fewer flights and eat less meat to reach that target.

“I’ll set out our goal later on today, but look, it will be ambitious, and that’s measured not by telling people what to do,” the Prime Minister told broadcasters in Baku.

“It’s measured by making sure that we get to clean power by 2030 – that’s the single most important target on the way to the emissions.

The Labour MP behind the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill said hers is the only Bill in the world with “three layers of scrutiny” in the form of sign-off by two doctors and a High Court judge.

She said the proposed legislation for England and Wales would offer the “safest choice” for mentally competent adults at the end of their lives and is capable of protecting against coercion.

The Bill, which was published on Monday night, runs to almost 40 pages, with around 20 pages of explanatory notes.

Critics say the Bill is being “rushed with indecent haste” and that MPs will not have adequate time to scrutinise the legislation before the November 29 debate and vote.

But Ms Leadbeater rejected this argument, saying almost three weeks is “plenty of time to look at the Bill” and is normal within parliamentary timeframes.

She also suggested any new law would not take effect for another two to three years, with “even more consultation to make sure we get it right”.

The UK will seek to find “common ground” with Donald Trump on climate change, Ed Miliband has said.

The Energy Security Secretary suggested the US president-elect, who has described climate change as a “hoax”, could be swayed by the economic arguments for shifting to green power.

Mr Miliband told BBC Breakfast: “It’s our job to work with the duly-elected US president. He has his own views.

“I think what’s interesting about this – and you will see what decisions the new administration makes – is that the economics now point in the direction of clean energy.

“If you think about lots of the decisions that companies and countries are making, they recognise this is the single biggest job creator of our era, and so people want to be ahead in that race.

“So, we will seek to find common ground with Donald Trump, he will make his own decisions about what he wants to do. I obviously want him to stay in the Paris Climate Agreement, but that’s his decision.”