2 h. ago Keir Starmer warned of 'two tier' benefit system as he says U

Keir Starmer said the Government's welfare reforms 'strike the right balance' after he made major concessions to Labour rebels to avoid a potential Commons defeat

Events

3 h. ago BBC 'WILL show Kneecap at Glastonbury' despite calls for the outspoken Irish rappers to be banned from nation's screens

The broadcaster has been under mounting political pressure to deplatform the Irish rappers - with both Kemi Badenoch and Sir Keir Starmer critcising their upcoming set.

Events

4 h. ago Starmer ‘must hike taxes’ to plug £4.5bn black hole after welfare U

Sir Keir Starmer’s U-turn now leaves the government with a choice between raising taxes or cutting spending elsewhere

Economics

5 h. ago Starmer says welfare concessions are ‘common sense’ but dodges funding question – UK politics live

No 10 has offered significant concessions to the rebels amid fears over Tuesday’s voteNo 10 climbs down over welfare billStephen Kinnock, the care minister, was the government voice on the airwaves this morning. Here are the main points he made about the welfare bill U-turn.Kinnock rejected claims that the U-turn was a sign of weakness. When it was put to him on the Today programme that this move, coming after the U-turns on winter fuel payments and a national inquiry into grooming gangs, showed that if Keir Starmer was pushed, he would give in, Kinnock replied:I think if you talk to people out there in the country, they respond very positively to politicians listening, engaging, recognising that you don’t get everything right from day one every time, and making the adjustments and the changes that are needed.And this prime minister will always put the country first. He puts country before party, and he does the right thing for the country.He defended having a “staggered” approach t...

Politics

6 h. ago Reeves 'set to raise taxes' to fund Starmer benefits surrender: PM says he is 'pleased' after Labour revolt forces guarantee that NO

Keir Starmer claimed he had 'listened' in making major concessions to rebels threatening to kill flagship legislation on health and disability benefits.

Economics

7 h. ago Suspend UK from oil oversight body over protests crackdown, say campaign groups

Groups question UK membership of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative after actions of successive governmentsA coalition of civil society groups is calling for the UK government to be suspended from a key global body that oversees how oil and gas companies are run.The campaigners say Keir Starmer’s Labour party has overseen a “fossil-fuel sponsored crackdown” on peaceful protest and direct action in the UK since it came to power last year. Continue reading...

Events

7 h. ago I'm NOT a huge lefty! Attorney General Lord Hermer dismisses claims he 'defends those who hate Britain' and hits out at 'two

Lord Hermer, who was hand-picked to be the Government's chief legal adviser by Sir Keir Starmer, defended himself from Tory attacks over his past client list.

Events

8 h. ago Keir Starmer admits he 'deeply regrets' his 'island of strangers' immigration remark

Keir Starmer said he and his advisors were unaware of similarities between his words and Enoch Powell's vile Rivers of Blood speech - saying he said it hours after his family home was targeted by arsonists

Politics

8 h. ago Labour in ‘good place now’ on welfare, Kendall insists after Government U

Number 10 offered concessions in a late-night climbdown to head off Sir Keir Starmer’s first Commons defeat.

Politics

8 h. ago What benefit claimants need to know about Labour’s welfare U

The climbdown will provide welcome relief to many disability benefit claimants – but cuts stay on the table

Politics

9 h. ago Voices: Starmer’s welfare humiliation is a turning point for his government

The prime minister had no choice but to give in to Labour rebels on disability benefits – but this rebellion has been handled particularly badly, and I doubt he will see out this parliament, says John Rentoul

Politics

9 h. ago Keir Starmer says he 'deeply regrets' his 'island of strangers' warning about risks of uncontrolled immigration

Keir Starmer made the jibe in a speech last month, seen as marking a tough new approach to combat the political threat posed by Reform.

Events

9 h. ago All PIP and Universal Credit cuts being scrapped as Keir Starmer makes huge U

The government has made an offer to rebel Labour Party MPs over its controversial welfare reforms - and these are the likely changes that are expected to be made

Politics

10 h. ago Starmer says he ‘deeply regrets’ using ‘island of strangers’ phrase

The Prime Minister said he had been ‘really shaken up’ after an alleged arson attack on his family home hours before the speech.

Politics

10 h. ago Putin warns Keir Starmer 'I majored in law' as he claims UK has 'robbed' Russia

Russia President Vladimir Putin is seemingly playing a game of 'I'm a bigger lawyer than you' with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, despite not actually doing anything law-related for decades

Events

10 h. ago All the Labour MPs who forced PIP change as PM warned welfare fight isn't over

Keir Starmer has been warned he still faces a showdown to push through controversial welfare changes as critics warned a string of concessions are 'nowhere near enough'

Events

11 h. ago If Britain is broken, what is to blame – big money and big tech, or graffiti on your train? | Tom Whyman

A new cadre of agit-prop campaigners has been cleaning the London underground, but there is more to the political stunt than meets the eyeBritain, let’s face it, is crap. Crap, I mean, in quite a specific sense: we might not be teetering on the brink of civilisational destruction, as the post-Brexit right can often seem to think. But there nonetheless remains a vast, ambient sense of rubbishness. Everything is expensive but nothing works. Our streets are full of potholes; our houses are full of mould. All the shops are shut, except for a Tesco Express, where there are security tags on the eggs. It takes about a million years to build a railway line.Up to now, the response to Britain’s enshittification has, by and large, seemed remarkably fatalistic: Keir Starmer spent the first year in government repeatedly insisting that there just wasn’t any money, and so really nothing could be done. Thank God then, one might think, for Looking for Growth, a new campaign group led by young (well,...

Politics

13 h. ago Reeves 'set to raise taxes' to fund Starmer benefits surrender that will not strip ANYONE of their handouts and blows another hole in UK finances

Keir Starmer has handed major concessions to rebels in a desperate bid to salvage flagship legislation on health and disability benefits.

Economics

13 h. ago No 10 climbs down over welfare bill in move to win over Labour rebels

Compromises include exempting those currently receiving disability benefits and increasing health element of universal credit in line with inflationDowning Street has announced major changes to the welfare bill in an attempt to win the support of more than Labour 120 rebels who had threatened to vote against it next week and hand Keir Starmer a damaging first defeat as prime minister.Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, wrote to Labour MPs on Thursday night to lay out the concessions, which were thrashed out over 24 hours of negotiations between senior rebels and government officials. Continue reading...

Economics

14 h. ago Keir Starmer caves in to Labour rebels with huge welfare cuts climbdown to avert humiliating Commons vote defeat

In a letter to MPs, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall revealed personal independence payments will be protected

Politics