52 m. ago Starmer delays tackling child poverty leaving tens of thousands on the brink

Labour prime minister facing calls to scrap the controversial two-child limit, brought in as part of former Conservative chancellor George Osborne’s ‘austerity’ policies

Politics

1 hour ago The Guardian view on billionaire Britain: tax wealth fairly or face democratic unravelling | Editorial

Without bold reform which makes the rich pull their weight, rising inequality risks eroding public trust and fracturing social stabilityBritain for the last decade has experienced a bleak paradox: rising child poverty alongside a dramatic increase in billionaire wealth. This inequality has been tolerated partly because greed has been rehabilitated as virtue. The Billionaire Britain report, published this week by the Equality Trust, reveals what many instinctively feel but few in parliament will admit: the UK economy has become a machine for the upward redistribution of wealth.Using Sunday Times Rich List data, the report found that the 50 wealthiest UK families now own more than the poorest half of the population combined. Their opulence is no accident. It’s largely built on the labour and consumption of those 34 million other Britons. The gains of society are being hoarded by those least in need. There’s a lexicon that sells it all as “entrepreneurial spirit” and bus...

Economics

2 h. ago Ministers delay flagship child poverty plan until the autumn

The child poverty strategy, originally due to be published this spring, was expected to include a recommendation to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

Politics

2 h. ago Keir Starmer's child poverty strategy delayed in major setback

Charities raise alarm that thousands more children risk being pushed into poverty as a result of the decision to delay the child poverty strategy until the autumn

Politics

4 h. ago No 10 delays child poverty strategy with tens of thousands more facing hardship

Exclusive: Flagship policy put back until at least autumn amid fears cost of scrapping two-child limit will outweigh political benefitLabour’s flagship child poverty strategy has been delayed until at least the autumn amid concerns at the top of government that the financial cost of key proposals outweighs the political benefit, even though tens of thousands more children will fall into poverty as a result.The strategy, which is being led jointly by Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, and Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, was due to be published in the spring and had been expected to include a recommendation to scrap the controversial two-child limit. Continue reading...

Politics

20 h. ago Labour 'determined to follow in footsteps of Blair and Brown' on child poverty, Liz Kendall says

The Work and Pensions Secretary refused to be drawn on the future of the two-child benefit limit - but said reducing child povety was a 'top priority' in an interview with The Mirror

Society

20 h. ago Kendall vows to give young people ‘chances and choices’ for a better life

The Work and Pensions Secretary was speaking at the launch in Liverpool of a programme to get young people into education, work and training.

Politics

38 h. ago Jimmy Thelin hoping Aberdeen can join Europe's underdog cup final victors in Hampden showdown with Celtic

The Dons are bidding to follow in the footsteps of Crystal Palace and Bologna who have upset the apple cart in recent weeks

Politics

49 h. ago Gordon Brown urges Keir Starmer to fix 'child poverty emergency' with major plan

Labour former PM Gordon Brown said Keir Starmer must act to help 'austerity's children' as rising levels of child poverty could see 4.8 million kids living in hardship by 2029

Politics

56 h. ago Child poverty rate among rural Dumfries and Galloway communities hits record high

New figures show there has been a huge increase in rural poverty rates over the past 15 years.

Events

56 h. ago Kendall says welfare reforms will address ‘economic and social crisis’

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall insisted changes were necessary to get people off benefits and into work.

Economics

57 h. ago Over 40 with a bad back? Labour's coming for your benefits! Liz Kendall says welfare crackdown MUST go ahead despite revolt

Liz Kendall is to use a speech today to defend plans to tightening the eligibility criteria for the main disability benefit in England, the personal independence payment (Pip).

Politics

59 h. ago Disability claimants with back problems to lose most in Labour’s welfare changes

Liz Kendall will argue her benefit cuts are necessary to save the welfare state

Politics

68 h. ago £5 billion welfare cuts needed to ‘save’ system, Kendall to say

The Government appears intent to press ahead with the plans amid mounting opposition.

Economics

4 d. ago Starmer and his allies spent so long attacking Labour’s left, they forgot how to govern | Owen Jones

Rehashing 20-year-old Blairite ideas that were stale then will inspire nobody. Britain is crying out for bold, transformative policy-makingJust why has Keir Starmer’s government proved such a catastrophe? This is a question that must be posed to his cheerleaders, or at least those who were at one time cheerleaders: the road from the last general election is lined with silently discarded pompoms. The idea here is not to rub their faces in a political project that is now both electorally toxic and morally bankrupt, but to determine what happens next.First off, the failure should be considered absolute. It is projected that a Labour government will drive more than a million Britons into – or more deeply into – poverty through an assault on disability benefits. The same government imposed hardship on many pensioners by stripping away the winter fuel payment, and it refuses to reverse the Tories’ two-child benefit cap, the UK’s biggest single generator of child poverty. Not content with ...

Events

4 d. ago Poirot star David Suchet opens up on 'extraordinarily emotional' Agatha Christie series

David Suchet opened up about his new series, Travels with Agatha Christie and Sir David Suchet, which will follow in the footsteps of the iconic novelist

Politics

5 d. ago Labour DWP chief Liz Kendall refuses to rule out winter fuel payment u

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has defended the decision to take winter fuel payments from 'millionaire pensioners', but did not rule out changes to eligibility thresholds

Politics

5 d. ago Kate Winslet’s daughter Mia Threapleton reveals the one piece of acting advice her mum gave her

Winslet was ‘caught off guard’ when her daughter wanted to follow in her footsteps

Politics

7 d. ago Somerset coach Jason Kerr backs James Rew to follow in Jos Buttler’s footsteps

The uncapped 21-year-old will be part of England’s squad for next week’s one-off fixture against Zimbabwe.

Politics

8 d. ago Supporting young families and tackling child poverty in South Lanarkshire

The Family Nurse Partnership is designed to support young parents early in life.

Society