22 hours ago Employment rights bill will cost firms £5bn per year but benefits will justify costs, government says – UK politics live

Analysis from business and trade department says bill will significantly strengthen workers’ rightIn the past the weirdest budget tradition was the convention that the chancellor is allowed to drink alcohol while delivering the budget speech. But since no chancellor has taken advantage of the rule since the 1990s (and no one expects Rachel Reeves to be quaffing on Wednesday week), this tradition is probably best viewed as lapsed.But Sam Coates from Sky News has discovered another weird budget ritual. On his Politics at Jack and Sam’s podcast, he says:Someone messaged me to say: ‘Did you know that over in the Treasury as they’ve been going over all these spending settlements, in one of the offices, its full of balloons. And every time an individual department finalises its settlements, o...

Economics

23 hours ago Mandatory euthanasia, appoint Tony Blair as health chief... and cinema tickets for all! As Labour launches a public consultation on NHS reform, the website is deluged with not

The online consultation website, which immediately publishes all responses, has seen Brits flood the site with not-so-serious suggestions.

Sport

24 hours ago Free energy drinks and ‘mandatory euthanasia’ among tips submitted as NHS public consultation mocked

Government launches major consultation on the future of the NHS, promising to put patients and staff at the heart of its 10-year health plan

Politics

25 hours ago No 10 says Starmer won’t offer reparations or apology over Britain’s role in slavery at Commonwealth summit – UK politics live

Government opposed to idea of paying reparations for Britain’s historic role in slave trade and will not issue apology at Commonwealth meetingIn the past the weirdest budget tradition was the convention that the chancellor is allowed to drink alcohol while delivering the budget speech. But since no chancellor has taken advantage of the rule since the 1990s (and no one expects Rachel Reeves to be quaffing on Wednesday week), this tradition is probably best viewed as lapsed.But Sam Coates from Sky News has discovered another weird budget ritual. On his Politics at Jack and Sam’s podcast, he says:Someone messaged me to say: ‘Did you know that over in the Treasury as they’ve been going over all these spending settlements, in one of the offices, its full of balloons. And every time an indivi...

Politics

26 hours ago Streeting revives claim that some patients face avoidable ‘death sentence’ due to current state of NHS – UK politics live

Health secretary says NHS is going through the ‘worst crisis in its history’In the past the weirdest budget tradition was the convention that the chancellor is allowed to drink alcohol while delivering the budget speech. But since no chancellor has taken advantage of the rule since the 1990s (and no one expects Rachel Reeves to be quaffing on Wednesday week), this tradition is probably best viewed as lapsed.But Sam Coates from Sky News has discovered another weird budget ritual. On his Politics at Jack and Sam’s podcast, he says:Someone messaged me to say: ‘Did you know that over in the Treasury as they’ve been going over all these spending settlements, in one of the offices, its full of balloons. And every time an individual department finalises its settlements, one of the balloons is ...

Politics

29 hours ago Starmer and Streeting invite ‘entire nation’ to contribute to consultation on reforming NHS – UK politics live

Labour invite the public to share their experiences, views and ideas on fixing the NHS in a nation-wide consultationGood morning. When the Labour government came into power, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, declared on his first day in office “the policy of this department is that the NHS is broken”. The government is going to published a 10-year health plan to fix it, and it is due to be published next spring.Streeting has said the plan will involve three main elements: moving from analogue to digital; more focus on primary care, not hospital care; and more focus on prevention. Keir Starmer explained them in a speech on the NHS in September.Members of the public, as well as NHS staff and experts will be invited to share their experiences views and ideas for fixing the NHS via the o...

Politics

32 hours ago Labour insists Holyrood set for public spending boost despite £40bn Budget gap

A Scottish Labour minister has insisted Rachel Reeves’ Budget next week will see a boost to public spending for the SNP government.

Economics