Good morning. Monday is often the busiest day of the week at Westminster but, with the Commons still enjoying a mini November recess, today is looking a bit quiet. Andy Burnham is on a visit to a hospital this morning and he wants to talk about a £40m programme in England to try to keep vulnerable patients out of hospital. The Department of Health and Social Care has the details here, and Andrew Gregory explains it all here.
But Burnham may find he ends up taking more questions from the media on another Guardian story, Kiran Stacey’s scoop about the government being on course to water down electric vehicle (EV) targets.
With Burnham attending the Cop climate crisis summit later this week, the revelations won’t boost Burnham’s credentials with environmentalists.
The final EV decision has not yet been taken, but the Greens are already outraged. These are from Zack Polanski, the Green party leader.
This week leaders meet for the UN climate summit.
The context? A summer of heat deaths. Scientists saying 2026 will be the hottest year ever.
Our Government’s contribution?
To bend over backwards to the car industry, and scrap plans for rapid electrification.
This Government is building up a shocking record of backsliding and bad decisions on climate issues.
At a time when we desperately need leadership, they bend to the will of polluters by slashing key rules and pushing ahead with fossil fuel extraction.
And this is from the former Green leader Caroline Lucas.
A truly terrible decision at a truly terrible time. The shift to electric vehicles is government’s single biggest decarbonisation policy. Cutting EV targets would send a message on eve of #COP31 that UK is no longer serious about #climate action.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Andy Burnham is visiting a hospital in Hertfordshire.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
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