Starmer and Brown lead tributes after former chancellor Alistair Darling dies – business live

Theresa May, former UK prime minister, describes Alistair Darling as an asset to politics and our national life.

May says:

Sad to learn of the death of Alistair Darling, whom I will remember as a committed public servant, a proud Unionist and a calm, kind and decent man.

He was an asset to our politics and our national life. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Severin Carrell

Alex Salmond, who was first minister of Scotland while Alistair Darling was UK chancellor, has also paid tribute, saying:

“This is very sad news. Alistair Darling was a hugely significant figure in UK politics. I always found him an effective politician. He became Chancellor at an extremely difficult period but he presented as a calm and authoritative figure during the financial crisis.

During the referendum campaign he was a formidable opponent on behalf of the Better Together Campaign. However, outwith the political debates I can say we did not ever exchange a cross word. Alistair was an extremely courteous man.

Condolences go out to his family.”

Brown: Alistair will be remembered as a statesman of unimpeachable integrity

Severin Carrell

Gordon Brown, Darling’s predecessor as Labour chancellor, said he was “deeply saddened” by news of his death.

Brown says:

“Alistair will be remembered as a statesman of unimpeachable integrity whose life was defined by a strong sense of social justice and who gained a global reputation for the assured competence and the exercise of considered judgement he brought to the handling of economic affairs.

“He was held in the highest esteem by me and all who worked with him for the way in which he handled the fall of the major banks and negotiated international agreements with fellow finance ministers. I, like many, relied on his wisdom, calmness in a crisis and his humour.”

“Alistair’s family were central to everything he did. I send my deepest condolences to his loving wife Maggie and their children Calum and Anna. He will be missed by all who knew and respected him and benefited from the great work he did.”

As well as his time as chancellor, Darling also led the cross-party anti-independence campaign Better Together during the referendum campaign of 2014, famously clashing with his rival Alex Salmond in televised debates.

Widely expected to lose to Salmond in those debates, Darling won the first with a caustic put-down of the then first minister’s uncertainties about which currency Scotland would use after independence, and denouncing the prospectus for independence as being based on “guesswork, fingers crossed or his blind faith.”

Darling, educated at fee-paying Loretto’s boys school in Musselburgh, was also furious about the attacks on Better Together’s alliance with the Conservatives, which led pro-independence campaigners to brand Labour as “red Tories.”

That label cost Labour votes across urban Scotland; left wing Labour activists and MSPs were also embarrassed, but Darling insisted that since referendum law only allowed one no campaign and one yes campaign, a coalition with other pro-union parties was unavoidable.

Keir Starmer has paid tribute to Alistair Darling, following the former chancellor’s death.

The Labour leader said Darling lived a life devoted to public service, and that he would be missed by all those whose lives he touched, saying:

I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Alistair Darling. My heart goes out to his family, particularly Maggie, Calum and Anna, whom he loved so dearly.

Alistair lived a life devoted to public service. He will be remembered as the chancellor whose calm expertise and honesty helped to guide Britain through the tumult of the global financial crisis.

He was a lifelong advocate for Scotland and the Scottish people and his greatest professional pride came from representing his constituents in Edinburgh.

I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have benefited from Alistair’s counsel and friendship. He was always at hand to provide advice built on his decades of experience – always with his trademark wry, good humour.

Alistair will be missed by all those whose lives he touched. His loss to the Labour party, his friends and his family is immeasurable.

That’s via our Politics Live blog, here.

Some very sad news: Alistair Darling, the former chancellor, has died, aged 70.

Darling was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2007 to 2010, steering the UK economy through the financial crisis and the global recession that followed it.

A statement issued on behalf of the family of former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling said:

“The death of Alistair Darling, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer and long-serving member of the Labour cabinet, was announced in Edinburgh today.

“Mr Darling, the much-loved husband of Margaret and beloved father of Calum and Anna, died after a short spell in Western General Hospital under the wonderful care of the cancer team.”

In August 2008, shortly before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Alistair Darling gave a precient warning to The Guardian that economic conditions were “arguably the worst they’ve been in 60 years”, and would be “more profound and long-lasting” than people recognised.

Later that year, Darling announced a 2.5 percentage point in VAT to support the economy, and followed it up in his 2009 budget with a £1.7bn job creation scheme and a new 50p income tax band for the highest paid.

Here’s our news story:

Back in the energy sector, the Financial Times is reporting that Saudi Arabia has won provisional backing for further oil production cuts by the Opec+ group.

Under this provisional plan, to be discussed at today’s meeting, other members of the cartel would also contribute.

The FT says:

People familiar with Saudi Arabia’s thinking have said an additional group-wide production cut of about 1mn barrels a day — about 1 per cent of global supply — has gained support, though the number has not been finalised and could be higher or lower.

The kingdom would also extend its existing temporary voluntary curbs — also of 1mn b/d — that are due to expire at the end of this year, while Russia has also made smaller voluntary cuts to exports.

This chimes with Reuters’ report that there is preliminary agreement about an Opec+ output cut.

More here.