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Labour’s National Executive Committee refused permission for Andy Burnham, currently Mayor of Greater Manchester, to stand in a by-election at Gorton and Denton. The decision was made by ten people, including Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, with only Lucy Powell, Labour’s deputy leader, voting for Mr Burnham. Mr Burnham winning the seat had been seen by some as a route for him to become prime minister after Andrew Gwynne, its MP (who was suspended from the Labour party for bad jokes), left the Commons by applying for the office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead. The by-election will be on 26 February. Fifty Labour MPs signed a letter to Sir Keir calling the decision ‘a real gift’ to Reform. Suella Braverman MP, home secretary under Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, joined Reform. ‘The Conservatives did all we could to look after Suella’s mental health, but she was clearly very unhappy,’ a statement said before it was withdrawn. Local elections due in May were cancelled for 4.5 million people.

Sir Keir found it hard to stay friends with President Donald Trump of the United States. After Mr Trump’s remarks about the ‘great stupidity’ of Britain giving the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, Sir Keir pulled from the Lords the bill enabling it. Mr Trump said of Nato allies: ‘They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan… and they did. They stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.’ In response, Sir Keir said: ‘I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly appalling.’ Mr Trump then posted: ‘The great and very brave soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America. In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors.’ Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, said that Britain would not yet sign up to Mr Trump’s inchoate Board of Peace, because of the possible participation of President Vladimir Putin of Russia.

The government is to reduce the number of police forces in England and Wales, perhaps by 2034. A new National Police Service would take over responsibility for counter-terrorism, fraud and organised crime. Philip Young, 49, a former Conservative councillor in Swindon, pleaded guilty to 48 offences between 2010 and 2023, including multiple counts of rape and administering a substance with intent to stupefy his former wife; five men appeared alongside him charged with sexual offences. The government gave pubs a discount on business taxes for a year, followed by a two-year freeze. An NHS survey found that a quarter of adults in England don’t drink alcohol. From 1 April, VAT will be imposed on repairing architecturally listed places of worship. Britain has sent back 281 migrants to France under its ‘one in, one out’ scheme since September, and accepted 350 people from France. All schools in England must be phone-free, Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, said. Sir Mark Tully, the BBC correspondent in India, died aged 90. David Abulafia, the historian, died aged 76. A storm brought down part of Teignmouth Pier, built in 1867.

Abroad

Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators held discussions in the United Arab Emirates. During the two days of talks Russia bombarded Kyiv, leaving 6,000 buildings without heating. Mr Trump said that he and Mark Rutte, the secretary general of Nato, had formed the framework of an agreement over Greenland. The body of the final missing hostage in Gaza was found and brought back to Israel.

The United Nations said it would take over management of al-Hol camp in Syria, holding thousands of people with links to the Islamic State group, after Kurdish forces withdrew as Syrian government forces advanced. A fire at Gul Plaza, a shopping centre in Pakistan with 1,200 shops on several floors, killed at least 79.

In Minneapolis, thousands protested in freezing temperatures against operations by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which then shot Alex Pretti, 37, dead in the city. Tim Walz, the Governor of Minnesota, called for the withdrawal of federal agents. Zhang Youxia, China’s highest-ranked general, was purged, leaving Xi Jinping, the country’s ruler, in control of the armed forces. Sir Keir flew in to meet Mr Xi. TikTok agreed to operate in the United States under a new entity separate from its Chinese owner ByteDance. Japan returned a pair of pandas to China. India and the EU signed an agreement on free trade in goods. Gold rose above $5,100 an ounce.   CSH