The leader of the UK’s opposition party, Sir Keir Starmer, will meet the US President Joe Biden face to face later today in the White House. The prime minister arrived in the US overnight to attend the 75th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) summit. In an interview on the plane journey, Sir Keir expressed hope that the bilateral meeting would provide a unique opportunity to discuss Nato and the UK-US special relationship.
He told journalists that the UK had made a “cast-iron commitment” to spend 2.5% of national income on defence; however, he refrained from putting a deadline on when that commitment would be fulfilled. Nevertheless, he assured reporters that a government-ordered review of the defence capabilities would outline a roadmap toward meeting the target.
Sir Keir was accompanied by Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Minister for European Relations Nick Thomas-Symonds, and the trio had the chance to consolidate relations with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky. Time constraints meant that he had to leave behind more than 300 newly elected MPs to be sworn in at Westminster.
The size and purpose of the House of Lords have been under question recently, with Sir Keir suggesting an elected second chamber. The Lord Leader who plans to make such changes to the House of Lords is set to be formally announced next week. The size of the House has ballooned to include over 784 sitting members. Labour peer Lord Alf Dubs, who is 91 years old, has expressed concern that the age restrictions the government plans to introduce will detrimentally affect him and his constituency, and Sir Keir has expressed his apprehension that the House is simply too large and needs to be reduced
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