Iran war truth-telling in government seems to be spreading. After Rachel Reeves described Donald Trump’s war as “folly”, Keir Starmer made a point of saying that it was helping Vladimir Putin.

The comment came in the readout issued by Downing Street of Starmer’s meeting yesterday with his Dutch counterpart, Rob Jetten. Normally these readouts are bland to the point of meaningless, but on this occasion someone decided to include a line about who is gaining most from Trump’s folly.

A No 10 spokesperson said:

Turning to recent events in the Middle East, the prime ministers updated on their recent diplomatic meetings, including Prime Minister Starmer’s visit to the Gulf, and Prime Minister Jetten’s meetings in Washington.

The summit on the strait of Hormuz on Friday would be a vital moment to continue to drive diplomatic, military and economic work, the leaders underlined.

Both also reiterated their deep concern at the situation in Lebanon and the need for deescalation. On Ukraine, the prime minister thanked Prime Minister Jetten for The Netherlands’ unwavering support and reflected on Ukraine’s momentum on the battlefield.

Putin was benefiting from the events in the Gulf, and it was vital partners looked at how they could step up pressure on Russia to mitigate that, the prime minister added.

This article by Simon Goodley last week explains why Russia is doing so well from the war.

Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is in Washington where later she will be meeting the US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent. Yesterday he defended the war against Iran, saying “small bit of economic pain” was worth the long-term security benefits. He told the BBC:

I wonder what the hit to global GDP would be if a nuclear weapon hit London… I am saying that I am less concerned about short-term forecasts, for long-term security.

Reeves, who is in charge of an economy that will suffer more than any other in the G7 as a resut of the war, according to the IMF, is unlikey to agree. Yesterday she called the war “folly”.

It shoud be a lively meeting.

Graeme Wearden has more on this on his business live blog.

Good morning. Wes Streeting, the health secretary, is publishing a revised women’s health strategy for England today. As Andrew Gregory reports, the strategy implicitly accepts that women have been let down by a (largely male) medical establishment which has not always taken their health concerns seriously.

But, for Labour, this is not just a health announcement. The English local elections are just over three weeks away, and Labour is using this announcement as a platform to attack Reform UK, saying that Nigel Farage’s party can’t be trusted to stand up for women.

Labour HQ has sent out a briefing note backing up this claim with this list of 10 reasons why is says Reform are not on the side of women. For the record, here is the list in full.

1. Reform want to reopen the debate on abortion limits

Nigel Farage has described the current 24-week abortion limit as “utterly ludicrous” and called for Parliament to revisit it – raising concerns about rolling back long-established reproductive rights.

2. Reform figures have questioned women’s bodily autonomy

Senior Reform figure, Danny Kruger MP, has argued that women do not have an “absolute right” over their own bodies in the context of abortion, undermining a fundamental principle of women’s healthcare and rights.

3. Reform would scrap the Equality Act

Suella Braverman MP, Reform’s equalities spokeswoman, has pledged to repeal the Equality Act – removing key legal protections against sex discrimination in workplaces, services and public life.

4. Reform have links to anti-abortion campaigns

Farage has accepted payment to speak at events linked to anti-abortion groups, while candidates with similar views are standing for the party – raising concerns about the direction of travel.

5. Reform would roll back workplace protections

Plans to scrap the Employment Rights Act would put at risk protections for maternity leave, workplace discrimination and job security – undermining progress made for women at work.

6. Reform would bring back the two-child benefit limit

This policy disproportionately impacts women, particularly single mothers, pushing families into poverty and limiting financial support for children.

7. Reform figures have made regressive comments about women at work

Farage has previously backed claims that employers avoid hiring women because of maternity rights – echoing outdated attitudes that penalise women for having families.

8. Reform figures have criticised breastfeeding in public

Farage has suggested women should not breastfeed in a way that is “openly ostentatious” – policing women’s behaviour in public spaces.

9. Reform has platformed and defended controversial figures

Farage has described Andrew Tate as an “important voice for men”, despite widespread concern about misogyny and the impact of such views on young people.

10. Reform’s record on violence against women raises serious concerns

The party is considering bringing back former MP James McMurdock, who was jailed for assaulting his then-girlfriend.

Commenting on this, Anna Turley, the Labour chair, said:

Today Labour is taking action to fix a system that has too often ignored women – cutting waiting lists, improving care and putting women’s voices at the centre.

But Reform’s record speaks for itself. From attacking reproductive rights to undermining protections at work, they simply can’t be trusted to stand up for women.

Reform UK has been approached for a comment. I’ll post it when I get a reply.

Farage is probably more interested in the Telegraph splash. It reports the findings of a poll by JL Partners which, as well as saying Labour is on course to lose power in Wales (no surprise), also says “Labour is also facing a Reform rout across England, with the near-total collapse of the Red Wall and the loss of stronghold councils held since the 1970s.”

James Johnson, the co-founder of JL Partners, told the Telegraph:

If these results come to pass, we will be looking at a major political earthquake across Britain.

It could be the worst local election ever for Labour in England, a collapse for the Conservatives in their historic Blue Wall heartlands, and a brutal third place for Starmer’s party in Wales.

One cannot overstate how seismic that result in Wales would be – it is a place that has stayed Labour even in the party’s darkest days. Plaid Cymru, the SNP, and the Greens are all contributing to this, but it is Reform that looks set to be the real story, potentially moving into opposition in Wales and securing England councils across the country.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9.30am: Russell Findlay, the Scottish Tory leader, holds a campaign event on postal voting. Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, is doing a separate event at 10am on maternity services, and John Swinney, the first minister and SNP leader, is campaigning in South Ayrshire at 2pm.

10am: Wes Streeting, the health secretary, is on Radio 4’s Women’s Hour speaking about the government’s women’s health strategy, ahead of speaking at a formal launch at 11am.

11am: Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, speaks at a Green event about ending the “normalisation” of food bank use.

Noon: Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.

3.15pm (UK time): Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, speaks at a CBNC event in Washington, where she is attending IMF spring summit meetings. She also has a meeting at some point with her US counterpart, Scott Bessent.

3.45pm (UK time): John Healey, the defence secretary, is expected to speak at a press conference in Berlin after a meeting of fellow defence ministers from the Ukraine Defence Contact Group.

If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (between 10am and 3pm), or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.

If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.

I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.