9 h. ago Up to 1.2m people could lose between £4,200 and £6,300 per year from changes to Pip, Resolution Foundation says

Work and pensions secretary says Benefits crackdown will save £5bn by 2030 but disability charities say cuts are ‘immoral’Q: Why have you changed your mind on this?Badenoch says she has not changed her mind. As a member of the government, she abided by collective responsibility. She says in government she regularly questioned the case for net zero.The person who’s been consistent in all this is me.I’m not going to pretend that I won’t have critics This is politics. Being a politician is about being criticised.What I’m asking people to do is listen to what I’m saying. I am not doing what all the other parties are doing. We are changing the way we do things.That’s not how it works. You can’t just pull [a date] out of the air. And what we did was pick a target and then start thinking of how to get there.We need to start thinking about it in a different way. How does this impact families? How is business going to help us deliver? And that’s what the policy commissions are going to do. C...

Economics

12 h. ago Benefits crackdown ‘to save £5bn by 2030’, claims Liz Kendall as disability charities say cuts are ‘immoral’ – UK politics live

Work and pensions secretary says one in 10 people of working age are claiming sickness or disability benefitQ: Why have you changed your mind on this?Badenoch says she has not changed her mind. As a member of the government, she abided by collective responsibility. She says in government she regularly questioned the case for net zero.The person who’s been consistent in all this is me.I’m not going to pretend that I won’t have critics This is politics. Being a politician is about being criticised.What I’m asking people to do is listen to what I’m saying. I am not doing what all the other parties are doing. We are changing the way we do things.That’s not how it works. You can’t just pull [a date] out of the air. And what we did was pick a target and then start thinking of how to get there.We need to start thinking about it in a different way. How does this impact families? How is business going to help us deliver? And that’s what the policy commissions are going to do. Continue readin...

Politics

12 h. ago Liz Kendall unveils UK benefits cuts set to leave many sick and disabled worse off

Welfare secretary announces changes aimed at cutting bill by up to £5bn in face of opposition from Labour MPsUK politics live – latest updatesLiz Kendall, the welfare secretary, has faced down angry Labour MPs to unveil drastic cuts to the UK’s benefits system that will leave many sick and disabled claimants worse off.The measures, which the government argues are needed to “fix the broken benefits system” and balance the nation’s books, are expected to cut £5bn from the benefits bill by the end of the decade. Continue reading...

Politics

13 h. ago Liz Kendall says benefits system ‘holding our country back’ and claims plan to crack down on it will save £5bn by 2030 – UK politics live

Work and pensions secretary says one in 10 people of working age are claiming sickness or disability benefitQ: Why have you changed your mind on this?Badenoch says she has not changed her mind. As a member of the government, she abided by collective responsibility. She says in government she regularly questioned the case for net zero.The person who’s been consistent in all this is me.I’m not going to pretend that I won’t have critics This is politics. Being a politician is about being criticised.What I’m asking people to do is listen to what I’m saying. I am not doing what all the other parties are doing. We are changing the way we do things.That’s not how it works. You can’t just pull [a date] out of the air. And what we did was pick a target and then start thinking of how to get there.We need to start thinking about it in a different way. How does this impact families? How is business going to help us deliver? And that’s what the policy commissions are going to do. Continue readin...

Politics

26 h. ago UK politics live: Labour to unveil plan to slash billions from benefit bill amid backbench backlash

Work and pension secretary Liz Kendall set to unveil plans to slash welfare bill by £5bn in benefits overhaul on Tuesday

Politics

33 h. ago David Lammy says G7 considering further moves to pressure Russia into agreeing Ukraine ceasefire – UK politics live

‘We have more cards we can play,’ foreign secretary tells MPs as he says G7 foreign ministers found ‘common ground’ when meeting last weekThe Reform UK press conference is about to start. There is a live feed here.Nigel Farage is going to announce that 29 councillors have defected to his party, according to the Guido Fawkes website. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago NHS England abolition shows ‘we have to take difficult decisions’, says Starmer – UK politics live

PM says he is ‘bringing management of the NHS back into democratic control by abolishing the arms length body NHS England’Starmer is now talking about regulatation, and giving examples of where he thinks it has gone too far.l give you an example. There’s a office conversion in Bingley, which, as you know, is in Yorkshire. That is an office conversion that will create 139 homes.But now the future of that is uncertain because the regulator was not properly consulted on the power of cricket balls. That’s 139 homes. Now just think of the people, the families, the individuals who want those homes to buy, those homes to make their life and now they’re held up. Why? You’ll decide whether this is a good reason because I’m going to quote this is the reason ‘because the ball strike assessment doesn’t appear to be undertaken by a specialist, qualified consultant’. So that’s what’s holding up these 139 homes.When we had those terrible riots what we saw then, in response, was dynamic. It was str...

Politics

5 d. ago Starmer announces NHS England will be abolished, with central government back running health service – UK politics live

PM says he is ‘bringing management of the NHS back into democratic control by abolishing the arms length body NHS England’Starmer is now talking about regulatation, and giving examples of where he thinks it has gone too far.l give you an example. There’s a office conversion in Bingley, which, as you know, is in Yorkshire. That is an office conversion that will create 139 homes.But now the future of that is uncertain because the regulator was not properly consulted on the power of cricket balls. That’s 139 homes. Now just think of the people, the families, the individuals who want those homes to buy, those homes to make their life and now they’re held up. Why? You’ll decide whether this is a good reason because I’m going to quote this is the reason ‘because the ball strike assessment doesn’t appear to be undertaken by a specialist, qualified consultant’. So that’s what’s holding up these 139 homes.When we had those terrible riots what we saw then, in response, was dynamic. It was str...

Politics

5 d. ago Keir Starmer to outline reforms of ‘overcautious, flabby state’ in civil service speech – UK politics live

PM will give a speech shortly, followed by a Q&A with the mediaThe decision not to classify Axel Rudakubana as a terrorist following the Southport murders was right because it would be unhelpful to stretch the definition of terrorism to cover all extreme violence, Jonathan Hall KC, the UK’s terror watchdog, has concluded. Rachel Hall has the story.The Times today is running a story saying that Peter Kyle, the science secretary, “has described himself as a ‘disruptor’ with similarities to Elon Musk or Dominic Cummings” because he wants to use AI to modernise the delivery of public services.I aspire to be a disruptor in a positive way that takes people with us and excites people for change.The issue about disruptors and disruption – in the past, it’s been used in a fearful way, in a threatening way, in a way that actually creates circumstances where people are fearful of change. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Starmer highlights UK’s war record in implicit rebuke to Vance as Lib Dems mock Badenoch for defending him – UK politics live

Interventions follow US vice president’s comments about ‘20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 40 years’In response to a question about intelligence cooperation with the US, Sir David Manning, a former ambassador to Washington, said he thought this would become “more difficult” because there was a problem of trust. He explained:If you have some of Trump’s appointees in these key jobs who have very strange track records, and have said very strange things about Nato allies, the Nato alliance and so on, and you have people in the administration who seem to be, let’s say, looking for ways of appeasing Russia, then you have a problem on the intelligence front, because these are not the values that we have. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Starmer highlights UK’s war record in implicit rebuke to Vance as Badenoch says she does not approve of ‘Twitter pile

Interventions follow US vice president’s comments about ‘20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 40 years’In response to a question about intelligence cooperation with the US, Sir David Manning, a former ambassador to Washington, said he thought this would become “more difficult” because there was a problem of trust. He explained:If you have some of Trump’s appointees in these key jobs who have very strange track records, and have said very strange things about Nato allies, the Nato alliance and so on, and you have people in the administration who seem to be, let’s say, looking for ways of appeasing Russia, then you have a problem on the intelligence front, because these are not the values that we have. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago UK politics live: Labour deny Trump is reason for Starmer’s defence spending boost

UK will increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent by 2027

Politics

3 w. ago UK defence spending to rise to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 with aid budget slashed to help fund move

Keir Starmer says now is the time to deepen European security, as he announces move in the CommonsThe rightwing historian Niall Ferguson is in the audience for Badenoch’s speech, according to James Heale from the Spectator.Niall Ferguson spotted at Kemi Badenoch’s big speech on foreign affairs hearing we might get some policy tooTractors’ horns interrupt Badenoch’s speech shortly after she begins speaking. Attendant spinner heard swearing furiously Continue reading...

Economics

3 w. ago Starmer to make surprise announcement on ‘defence and security’ in Commons, ahead of meeting with Trump – UK politics live

Starmer is to give a statement to MPs at 12.30pm the Commons authories have announcedThe rightwing historian Niall Ferguson is in the audience for Badenoch’s speech, according to James Heale from the Spectator.Niall Ferguson spotted at Kemi Badenoch’s big speech on foreign affairs hearing we might get some policy tooTractors’ horns interrupt Badenoch’s speech shortly after she begins speaking. Attendant spinner heard swearing furiously Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Russia has learned nothing’ over Ukraine war, says David Lammy – UK politics live

UK foreign secretary criticises Russia over Ukraine war, saying it ‘faces a test’ over Ukraine war as he speaks at G20 foreign ministerial meetingAs well as appearing on the airwaves this morning to promote Labour’s £270m Arts Everywhere fund, culture secretary Lisa Nandy also supplied some quotes for the press release accompanying the launch.She said:Arts and culture help us understand the world we live in, they shape and define society and are enjoyed by people in every part of our country. They are the building blocks of our world-leading creative industries and make a huge contribution towards boosting growth and breaking down barriers to opportunities for young people to learn the creative skills they need to succeed.The funding we are announcing today will allow the arts to continue to flourish across Britain, creating good jobs and growth by fixing the foundations in our cultural venues, museums, libraries and heritage institutions [and] will ensure that arts and cultural ins...

Politics

3 w. ago UK and Norway negotiating ‘ambitious’ new defence pact – UK politics live

Downing Street says the two leaders spoke overnight, after Donald Trump accused the Ukrainian president of being a ‘dictator’As well as appearing on the airwaves this morning to promote Labour’s £270m Arts Everywhere fund, culture secretary Lisa Nandy also supplied some quotes for the press release accompanying the launch.She said:Arts and culture help us understand the world we live in, they shape and define society and are enjoyed by people in every part of our country. They are the building blocks of our world-leading creative industries and make a huge contribution towards boosting growth and breaking down barriers to opportunities for young people to learn the creative skills they need to succeed.The funding we are announcing today will allow the arts to continue to flourish across Britain, creating good jobs and growth by fixing the foundations in our cultural venues, museums, libraries and heritage institutions [and] will ensure that arts and cultural institutions truly are f...

Politics

4 w. ago Nigel Farage says Tories ‘not on the right in any measurable way’ and calls Labour government ‘miserable’ – UK politics live

Leader of Reform UK criticises Conservatives and ‘declinist’ Labour government in new attacksGood morning, defence secretary John Healey has finished speaking, so I can take a quick pause and actually welcome you to our rolling coverage of UK politics for Tuesday. Here are the headlines Defence secretary John Healey has announced what he described as the most significant defence reform for 50 years, in which reporting lines and budgets will be simplified, and a new “quad” of four senior leaders reporting directly to the minister appointedHealy said there were extraordinary people in the UK’s defence forces, but too often they were hampered by process, and there was a lack of direct accountability. He suggested his changes might bring about up to £10bn in savings to the taxpayer over the next decadeTransport secretary Heidi Alexander has said the UK should not rule out sending troops to Ukraine as part of any future peacekeeping forceThe rate of UK unemployment remained unchanged at ...

Politics

4 w. ago Starmer warns UK faces ‘generational’ threat to security as PM to meet Trump in Washington: UK politics live

Badenoch claimed Western civilisation was in crisis as she spoke to global right-wing leaders on Monday

Events

4 w. ago Lib Dems say Badenoch is echoing Trump’s ‘dangerous rhetoric’ as she claims ‘some cultures better than others’ – UK politics live

Conservative leader of the opposition speaks at right-wing conference in LondonKeir Starmer’s announcement via the Telegraph that he was prepared to put British peacekeeping troops on the ground in Ukraine was also described by Conservative MP and shadow cabinet spokesperson Alicia Kearns as not the right priority. She told viewers of Sky News “his priority should be today talking about defence spending.”It was put to her that by Sky’s Wilfred Frost that “you’re trying to criticise the state of defence spending six months into their government, when this is a long-term issue, after 14 years [of Conservatives being] in power.”I’ve always been very clear. I was critical of my own government. But what I’m saying is, since July, a decision was made to side with the Treasury, to not give the increase in defence spending. We needed to continue to replenish stocks. Replenishing stocks should be the priority so that we are ready if we do need to provide peacekeeping services, if we do need ...

Politics

4 w. ago Badenoch slams UK’s failure to spend more on defence as Starmer set for emergency Ukraine summit: Live

Badenoch claimed Western civilisation was in crisis as she spoke to global right-wing leaders on Monday

Politics