Minister says Starmer is ‘listening’ but refuses to say if PM will stay on ahead of critical cabinet meeting – UK politics live

Darren Jones says the prime minister is ‘listening to colleagues’, and does not rule out PM announcing resignation timetable

• Starmer on the brink as cabinet ministers urge him to quit

Tomorrow King Charles is coming to parliament to deliver the king’s speech at the state opening of parliament. It is the event that marks the start of a new session of parliament (lasting about a year, normally), and the speech sets out all the bills the government is planning to pass.

The king delivers the speech on behalf of what he describes as “my government”. The speech does not normally mention the PM by name, but it is delivered on the assumption that the PM (who has to listen to the speech standing with other MPs near the entrance to the Lords chamber, and who has to give a speech defending it in the Commons later) will remain in office to implement it.

As far as I’m aware, the king’s speech is going ahead tomorrow.

We’ve been working very hard to bring together a programme of bills for the next session that meet the challenges that we face as a country and it’s important that we get on with that work.

- Crunch cabinet this morning. Will be first time Streeting will see PM.

- leading soft left figures been trying to ‘stop people losing their heads so we can have a less fraught response’ but one admitted late last night ‘it feels like it’s unstoppable now though’ Continue reading...