56 h. ago Further benefits cuts planned as Rachel Reeves forced to find extra £1.6bn

Chancellor risks wrath of Labour backbenchers with spring statement set to confirm deeper cutsRachel Reeves will make additional welfare cuts in her spring statement on Wednesday after the Office for Budget Responsibility rejected her estimate of savings from the changes announced last week.The chancellor hoped to shift the focus from the benefits cuts, which appalled some Labour backbenchers, to promising to “secure Britain’s future” with a £2.2bn increase to defence spending. Continue reading...

Economics

4 d. ago The Labour Government must scrap its damaging plans for social security cuts

Writing for the Record, SNP Cabinet Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville says UK Government welfare plans have created "real uncertainty and widespread worry".

Politics

5 d. ago DHS closes office that advocated for migrants calling it a ‘roadblock’ to immigration reform

The Department of Homeland Security is making cuts to three key offices that oversee civil rights protections

Events

6 d. ago Homeland Security makes cuts to offices overseeing civil rights protections

The Department of Homeland Security is making cuts to three key offices that oversee civil rights protections across its broad mission, suggesting that they were impeding immigration enforcement efforts

Society

1 week ago Democrats train fire on Musk as unelected billionaire dips in popularity

Leaders on left bet on Musk’s bravado to pull party out of political weeds as CEO eyes social security and health cutsFor most of the 17-minute interview, Elon Musk stuck to a script. He was just a tech guy on a mission to “eliminate waste and fraud” from government.His slash-and-burn cost-cutting crusade was making “good progress actually”, he told Fox Business commentator Larry Kudlow on Monday, despite sparking a backlash that has reverberated far beyond Washington. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago If even Germany is embracing higher spending, why on earth can’t Labour? | William Keegan

Russia has pushed Europe into a quasi-Keynesian approach to the defence budget. Only Britain insists on cutting help to the sick to pay for securityAs the president of the US provokes trade and economic chaos at home and abroad, an American tells a British friend of mine: “At least your political system removed Truss; we are landed with Trump for four years.”Unfortunately, when it comes to the worldwide damage being wreaked by Trump and his cronies, the “we” applies to all of us. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Musk’s entitlement remarks show Trumpworld can’t keep its story straight | Austin Sarat

The billionaire foreshadows cuts to Medicare and social security – despite Trump’s campaign pledgesThe Trump administration is setting records and shattering norms in many ways, including in its almost daily policy flip-flops and rhetorical missteps. The latest started on Monday, when Elon Musk torched Trumpism by trumpeting the need to make cuts in federal entitlement programs.He did not clearly say whether or how those cuts would affect Medicaid, Medicare and social security benefits. But he was clear that those programs will be on his target list. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Elon Musk backs off reported plan to cut Social Security phone service after furious pushback

Elon Musk backed off his reported plot to cut off phone service for the public to the Social Security Administration following a hot cascade of criticism from Americans and their lawmakers.

Events

2 w. ago Elon Musk backs off reported plan to cut off Social Security phone service after furious pushback

Elon Musk backed off his reported plot to cut off phone service for the public to the Social Security Administration following a hot cascade of criticism from Americans and their lawmakers.

Events

2 w. ago Head of Social Security admits he doesn’t know what ‘DOGE kids’ have been doing with Americans’ data, bombshell audio reveals

Social Security acting commissioner Leland Dudek confirmed that Musk’s DOGE techies have ‘broad access’ to personal data, according to a report

Events

2 w. ago Amazon cuts 50% off 'fantastic' security camera leaving shoppers 'highly impressed'

"With the panel attached the battery always stays above 95% even on cloudy days."

Events

3 w. ago Is Rachel Reeves about to fix Britain’s public finances on the backs of the poorest members of society?

Editorial: As the chancellor prepares to present her plans for social security reforms she must assess whether her cost-cutting measures are unnecessarily punitive, or indeed realistic

Politics

3 w. ago Keir Starmer, you claim huge and damaging cuts are vital so we can buy arms and defend ourselves. Prove it | Owen Jones

Splurging the cash is not the answer to Europe’s security jitters. Let’s ignore the hyperbole and decide what’s actually neededBritain is now on a “war footing”, we are told. Earlier this year, Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, demanded that European nations start hiking defence spending at the expense of pensions, health and social security. Fail to do so, he warned, and the only recourse would be to “get out your Russian language courses or go to New Zealand”.In this increasingly feverish atmosphere, it becomes ever more difficult to ask for a bit of perspective, but it is necessary. European elites are panic-stricken after Donald Trump hit the accelerator away from US hegemony, a trend already long under way. Meanwhile, Labour figures openly brief that this could be Keir Starmer’s “Falklands moment”, using Ukraine’s agony to transform the government’s calamitous polling, speaking to a grubby political opportunism. Britain’s current trajectory could raise a much graver menace ...

Politics

3 w. ago Israel prepares Gaza ‘hell plan’ to pile pressure on Hamas – reports

Israel may cut off electricity to try to secure more hostage releases, as both sides prepare for war to restartThe Israeli government is reportedly planning to ratchet up its blockade on Gaza as part of what it has called a “hell plan” to pressure Hamas into further hostage releases without a troop withdrawal from the Palestinian territory.With the six-week-old ceasefire in limbo, and no sign of movement towards a second phase that was due to start last weekend, both sides were taking contingency steps to return to a war footing. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago International aid is as vital as defence spending – cutting either undermines British security | Emily Darlington

When funding to support vulnerable countries is withdrawn, the risk of war and global destabilisation increasesNational defence and international development are two sides of the same coin. Our long-term security requires us to invest in both. European nations need to fill any vacuum left by America’s new administration as we ensure there can be no victory for Vladimir Putin in Ukraine and Donald Trump’s decision to shut down USAid.Before being elected as an MP, I lived in Kenya and saw the vital work done by local charities that help families of children growing up in informal settlements on the outskirts of Nairobi. I met teenagers working on social media projects to tackle disinformation and prevent post-election violence. And I talked to women about the ever-present threat of rape and sexual violence. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Keir Starmer faces backbench rebellion over ‘shortsighted’ cuts to aid budget

MPs ask ‘what will be left of Labour programme?’ amid calls for rethink and plan to speak out against decisionLabour MP Emily Darlington: ‘International aid is as vital as defence spending – cutting either undermines British security’Keir Starmer is facing a backbench revolt by Labour MPs this week as anger mounts over the government’s decision to cut the international development budget by almost half in order to pay for an increase in defence spending.The Labour chair of the all-party select committee on international development, Sarah Champion, who has already called on the government to rethink the decision, has secured a debate in the Commons on Wednesday at which dozens of Labour backbenchers are considering intervening to express their dismay. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Social Security Administration could cut up to 50% of its workforce

The Social Security Administration is preparing to lay off at least 7,000 people from its workforce of 60,000 — and the final reduction in force number could be as high as 50%, according to two people familiar with the agency’s plans who are not authorized to speak publicly

Events