While Prime Minister's Questions continue, we have more detail on the postponement of the 5p per litre fuel duty rise that was due to kick in between September and March.

As a reminder, the 5p cut was first introduced in 2022, and has been "frozen" since then.

In a press release, the government now says:

• The "freeze" for drivers will be extended until 31 December
• In addition, the fuel duty rate on red diesel - used by farmers and rail freight - will be cut by over a third from 10.18p to 6.48p per litre from 15 June until the end of the year
• For the haulage sector, there will also be a "a holiday for their HGV VED [vehicle excise duty] for 12 months"
• The government says: "This means when hauliers renew their HVG VED they will pay just £1, saving £600 for a typical heavy lorry and £912 for the HGVs with the highest VED liability"

Image source, House of Commons

Badenoch accuses the prime minister of choosing to buy "dirty Russian oil", which she claims is being used to fund the killing of Ukrainian soldiers.

Starmer replies by saying Badenoch is misunderstanding and misrepresenting what he is saying, and repeats that these are new sanctions that are being introduced and similar methods are being used by other countries.

The prime minister accuses the opposition leader of playing "party politics" on the topic of Ukraine, adding that the only person who benefits from British politicians doing so is Vladimir Putin.

Image source, House of Commons

Next, Badenoch says Starmer "doesn't know what he is talking about" and accuses Labour of giving money to Russia, while Reform takes money from Moscow.

"There's only one party that's standing up to Russia and that is the Conservative Party," she says, to cheers from her benches.

In March, when the US eased sanctions on Russia, Starmer said partners should maintain pressure on Vladimir Putin, Badenoch continues, before asking: "What has changed since then?"

Starmer repeats that the new licences on Russian oil is part of a new package of sanctions. "None of the existing sanctions are being lifted in any way," he stresses, adding that pressure on Russia is only increasing.

"Similar methods are used by other countries," he adds, explaining that they are used to protect the market and UK consumers.

Image source, House of Commons

Badenoch says the UK is "losing a thousand jobs a month in oil and gas" and turns to the to government's decision to loosen some sanctions on Russian oil products.

She asks the PM to explain why "oil from Russia is acceptable, but oil from Aberdeen is not".

Starmer says the sanctions announced yesterday were a "new package" of sanctions that went "well beyond existing sanctions".

He says two "short-term licences" were issued to phase the new sanctions in, which he says is how the both his government and the previous Conservative and done so previously, adding: "It's not a question of lifting existing sanctions in any way whatsoever."

• For context: Plans to impose a ban on UK imports of diesel and jet fuel made from Russian oil in third countries have been watered down due to concerns over supplies and price rises. The government will now "phase in" some new sanctions over the coming months due to the effective blockade of the key Strait of Hormuz waterway since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran.

Image source, House of Commons

Keir Starmer responds on fuel duty, first, saying Labour inherited plans from the Conservatives for fuel duty to go up 5% in April.

"We stopped that and they voted against it," he says repeating that Labour is extending the freeze due to events in the Middle East.

On oil and gas, he says it will be "important" for years to come.

The PM adds that families are "fed up" of bills going up and down - adding the only way to "take control" is with renewables.

Image source, House of Commons

Kemi Badenoch is up and begins her first question to the prime minister by saying she welcomes "some" of what the prime minister has said on fuel duty.

She then says her party, the Conservatives, asked him about the topic in March, adding: "Thank you for the U-turn."

Badenoch then asks why Labour MPs voted yesterday to ban new British oil and gas licences.

Starmer now gives more detail on extending the fuel duty freeze "for the rest of the year".

Fuel duty was initially cut by 5p in the Spring Statement in March 2022, under the Conservative government. It was supposed to last 12 months, but has been repeatedly extended.

It was due to rise by 5p between September this year and March 2027.

Starmer says he's extending the freeze because of events in the Middle East.

The decision follows reports that the average price of petrol hit its highest level since the start of the Iran war on Monday - reaching 158.52p a litre, according to the RAC.

Ahead of questions from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, the PM says he's extending a "fuel duty freeze" for the rest of the year.

We'll have more in our next post.

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the House of Commons

Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting is on Labour’s backbenches for PMQs, following his resignation last week.

I can see him chatting to his new backbench colleagues.

Keir Starmer is up in the House of Commons, meaning PMQs is officially under way.

To follow along, hit the watch live button at the top of the page. We'll bring you all the key comments and analysis here, too.

This could be a brutal half hour for Starmerpublished at 11:54 BST 20 May

11:54 BST 20 May

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the House of Commons

The prime minister will no doubt begin with a reference to his beloved Arsenal being crowned Premier League champions, but it is likely to be all downhill from there, with Kemi Badenoch likely to get stuck in to Labour’s leadership turmoil, as well as the government’s response to the cost of living crisis.

The Tory leader has already road tested her attack lines in her response to the King’s Speech, when she accused the PM of being “in office, but not in power”.

But that was before the extraordinary events of the past week, with Wes Streeting resigning as health secretary, with a stinging attack on the PM’s leadership, and Andy Burnham’s by-election bid to return to Westminster.

Streeting is due to make a resignation speech in the Commons later, which could be equally explosive.

Keir Starmer will seek to get on the front foot on cost of living and insist that he is getting on with the business of government.

The speaker may have his work cut out to keep order, but how full-throated will Labour MPs be in their defence of the prime minister?

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, Reuters/ PA

It is now likely, perhaps highly likely, that we will have another new prime minister, possibly within weeks, or perhaps within months.

Things are considerably less fraught, noisy and wildly unpredictable than they were last week. However the politics that will shape who is most likely to replace Keir Starmer is playing out before us.

But hang on a minute. As supporters of the prime minister like to point out, there has been no formal challenge to him yet, and he is making clear, for now at least, that he is getting on with the job.

Some Labour MPs are exasperated that he hasn't set out a timetable for his departure.

Others ponder that it might be helpful to Andy Burnham, in his forthcoming by-election contest in Makerfield, if the prime minister hasn't announced a plan to step down, so Burnham can make the argument that a win for him would ensure Starmer was forced to.

And there is another curiosity here: not only is this a shadow contest rather than a formal one, but Burnham has that by-election to win while his potential rival, the now former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, does not.

• As a reminder, here's a full list of the candidates who've, so far, been announced for the Makerfield by-election

Image source, PA Media

Wes Streeting resigned from his position as health secretary last week, before announcing on Saturday that he intends to run in any future leadership contest.

As a reminder, no leadership contest has been launched yet and Streeting would need to have the backing of 81 MPs in order to trigger a contest.

It is not clear whether he has this yet, though Streeting said: "I do have support in the parliamentary party".

In a speech, he said the May elections were "unprecedented" in terms of the "scale of the defeat" and its "consequences".

He argued that for the "first time in history", Labour's biggest opponent is Reform UK and Nigel Farage, not the Conservative Party, and that "unless we change course", Labour stand to lose a general election to Nigel Farage.

Image source, PA Media

We've just seen Keir Starmer leaving Downing Street to head to the House of Commons.

You can follow along when he's questioned by MPs from noon - just tap watch live at the top of the page.

We'll have all the key comments and analysis from our reporters in Parliament here too.

Image source, Reuters

Yesterday, the Labour Party officially confirmed Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, as its Makerfield by-election candidate.

The poll was triggered by the resignation of Labour MP Josh Simons, who stepped down to clear the way for Burnham to contest the seat and - if successful - return to Parliament. If he were to return, it is believed Burnham would seek a leadership challenge.

After Labour's election losses in May, Burhnam called on his party to acknowledge it "has not been good enough".

The Makerfield by-election is due to take place next month. Three other candidates have been officially announced:

• Alan "Howlin" Laud Hope, The Official Monster Raving Loony Party

• Robert Kenyon, Reform UK

• Rebecca Shepherd, Restore Britain

The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Greens are yet to officially announce their candidates for the by-election.

As a reminder, no leadership challenge has been triggered. Burnham would need to win the by-election and then secure the support of 81 Labour MPs to trigger a contest.

Image source, EPA

When Keir Starmer faces MPs' questions in the House of Commons, he might be quizzed on the government's plans to change some sanctions on Russian oil.

The government will now "phase in" some sanctions over the coming months. The delay - which applies to Russian oil refined into diesel and jet fuel in third countries - reflects growing supply concerns over certain fuels due to the effective blockade of the key Strait of Hormuz waterway since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran.

The Foreign Office denied the shift in policy could be described as a "waiver" on sanctions aimed at hurting Russia's economy, but admitted extra flexibilities were required.

According to motoring firm the RAC, the average price of unleaded petrol reached 158.52p a litre on Monday, the highest since the start of the war.

• Our news story, which you can read here, has more detail

Image source, Reuters

Today's PMQs session comes after the Office for National Statistics published the latest data on the UK inflation rate, which fell to 2.8% in the year to April - down from 3.3% in the year to March.

That's more of a drop than analysts were expecting, and it's partly down to lower electricity and gas prices after the government's energy bill support package came into force, according to the ONS.

Following the release of the figure, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the decisions taken in her Budget last year "have kept inflation down as we deal with global instability".

Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride said the fall in inflation was welcome, "but prices are still rising far too fast and Labour", while the Lib Dems' Daisy Cooper said the figures "will provide little comfort to households and businesses struggling to make ends meet". The BBC also approached Reform and the Greens.

Analysts expect inflation to rise and reach about 4% by the end of the year, as the impact of the Iran War continues to add pressure on global prices.

• For more analysis on the latest figures read our news story

Image source, EPA

Some fresh political news that came in late on Tuesday - supermarkets are being urged by the government to limit food prices in return for easing regulations, the BBC understands.

It's thought the policy would be voluntary and apply to key groceries - such as eggs, bread, and milk - according to retail industry sources with knowledge of the plans.

It's understood the Treasury had asked retailers to freeze price rises on certain products in exchange for an easing of packaging policies and a potential delay to rule changes around healthy food.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents supermarkets, says the policy would "force retailers to sell goods at a loss". A Treasury spokesperson says it "will set out more detail in due course".

The proposals were first reported by the Financial Times and follow a Scottish National Party (SNP) pledge to introduce a similar policy in Scotland last month, without a voluntary cap.

• We've more reaction to these proposals in our news story

• 7-8 May - Labour suffers heavy losses in elections in Wales, Scotland and some parts of England, prompting public questioning of the prime minister's approach within Labour. Starmer says he will not "walk away" and "plunge the country into chaos"
• 9 May - Backbench MP Catherine West tells cabinet ministers that she would challenge Keir Starmer if a senior figure in the party doesn't

• 12 May - Four government ministers quit, including Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips
• 14 May - Wes Streeting becomes the first - and, so far, only - cabinet minister to resign, saying he's "lost confidence" in Starmer's leadership. Later that day, Makerfield MP Josh Simons says he'll stand down, paving the way for Burnham to attempt to return to Westminster
• 15 May - Labour's ruling body confirms Burnham can stand if selected by the local party as their candidate

• 18 May - Starmer says he'll support Labour's candidate in Makerfield, "whoever they are"
• 19 May - Labour officially confirms Burnham as its candidate to stand in the Makerfield by-election - here's a list of the candidates who've, so far, been confirmed

Wales (national election)

• Plaid Cymru are now the biggest party in the Senedd with 43 seats, falling short of the 49 needed for a majority. The party's leader and new Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth was sworn in on 12 May
• Reform UK won 34 seats, having previously had none, with the Green Party up two seats and the Lib Dems on one
• Labour, who had been in power in the Senedd for 27 years, are 35 seats down on their previous performance and now have just nine seats
• It was also a big loss for the Conservatives, who lost 22 seats in this election, leaving them with just seven

Scotland (national election)

• The SNP won for a fifth consecutive time with 58 seats - down six from last time - but failed to achieve the 65 needed for a majority government. John Swinney, the SNP leader, was officially re-elected as first minister on Tuesday
• Elsewhere, Labour lost four seats bringing them to a total of 17, tying with Reform UK - they gained 17 seats having had no MSPs in the last Scottish Parliament
• The Scottish Greens and Lib Dems both gained six, bringing them to 15 and 10 respectively, while the Conservatives lost 19, leaving them with 12 seats

England (local election)

• Reform UK was the biggest winner, gaining 1,454 council seats
• Labour - in second place - is down 1,493 councillors from the last set of local elections, with the Lib Dems third after picking up 155 new councillors and the Conservatives left with 801 council seats after losing 563
• Successful local elections for the Greens saw them picking up 438 new council seats, bringing their total to 584, while independent parties made some gains too, as 43 more councillors took places on councils
• In terms of London's mayoral races, the Tories, Lib Dems and Labour held onto seats in Croydon, Watford and Newham respectively - with the Greens gaining Hackney and Lewisham from Labour