Starmer ‘very interested’ in Italy’s plan to offshore asylum applications in Albania, says Meloni – as it happened

Keir Starmer is “very interested” in the Italy-Albania migration agreement, according to the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. The UK has pledged £4 million to support Italy’s controversial efforts to combat illegal migration.

As Aletha Adu reports, while the Prime Minister concurred with Meloni on the significance of their deep relationship, Starmer expressed interest primarily in Italy’s approach to preventing migrants from reaching the country, rather than the Albania deal, which Meloni stated is nearing completion. The discussions prioritised migration, also encompassing topics on economic growth, and concluded with the leaders being photographed in the Villa Doria Pamphilj gardens in Rome. The substantial financial contribution from the UK is intended to support the Rome process, an initiative by the Italian government to address the root causes of irregular migration.

Keir Starmer should abandon the pursuit of Italy’s “costly and ultimately ineffective” migration deterrence policies if the UK aims to prevent fatalities in the Channel, a global charity led by David Miliband has warned.

A doctor from Pakistan who feared he would be compelled to leave his position at a GP surgery in east London is celebrating a Home Office reversal on a decision that would have separated him from his family.

Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, has refrained from stating whether he perceives his party as more left-wing or right-wing than Labour. In an interview preceding his concluding speech at the Liberal Democrat conference, Davey also asserted that he aims for his party to serve as a better opposition to Labour than the Conservatives. (See 3.39pm.) (See 5.15pm.)

Leading economists have stated that Labour will fail to initiate a ‘decade of renewal’ unless Treasury fiscal rules are relaxed to permit increased investment. (See 12.29pm.)

Lib Dems renew their commitment to PR and electoral reform

The Liberal Democrats voted for an updated version of their PR/electoral reform policy at conference this morning. There is a summary here, and the full motion that was approved is here.

The Lib Dems summarise the policy like this:

Liberal Democrats have a comprehensive plan to build a better politics, starting with a fair voting system so no one’s vote is wasted:

-Replace first past the post with proportional representation via STV for UK General Elections and local elections in England.

-Ensure that the UK has an automatic system of inclusion on the electoral register.

-Protect and strengthen the Electoral Commission, including by repealing the Government’s power to designate a strategy and policy statement for the Commission.

-Scrap the Conservatives’ Voter ID scheme.

-Enable all UK citizens living abroad to vote for MPs in separate overseas constituencies, and to participate in UK referendums.

-Give young people the right to vote in the first election after their 16th birthday, for UK general elections and referendums, and local elections in England.

There is a full list of the conference motions passed today on the @LibDemConf feed on X. Wordings for the motions are in the conference agenda.