Related: Matt Hancock sings Ed Sheeran on I’m a Celebrity
Rishi Sunak is set to face a fresh wave of pressure to provide more help during the winter period to people struggling due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford will use the British-Irish Council summit on Thursday to reinstate “constructive dialogue with the prime minister” following a breakdown in communication between the two countries under former premier Liz Truss.
A Welsh government spokesperson said: “The first minister will raise the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis and the additional actions that are required to help people deal with the very difficult challenges over the winter period.”
It comes after Sir Iain Duncan Smith warned of a swell of “deep concern” within the Conservative party ranks if Rishi Sunak announces tax rises in next week’s Autumn Budget.
The former Tory leader told Sky News that it is now “pretty clear” there will be a reccession in Britain, but cautioned ministers that should they “try and hammer us too hard with tax rises, they will actually drive us deeper into recession” – simultaneously hurting the party’s chances at the next general election.
Good afternoon. We are pausing our live politics updates for the day. Join us again tomorrow morning for all the latest from Whitehall and beyond.
Exclusive: Poll shows voters do not trust Sunak and Braverman to deal with migrant boats
Voters do not trust Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman to deal with the problem of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats and have little faith that their flagship Rwanda policy will work, according to a new poll for The Independent.
Campaigners urged the prime minister to “press the reset button” on his plans to deport asylum-seekers to the African country for processing, after the research by Savanta ComRes found that significantly more voters believe the crisis can be resolved by the provision of safe and legal routes to the UK.
And polling guru Sir John Curtice said the survey showed the extent of the electoral problem facing the Conservatives, as Keir Starmer’s Labour was found to be more trusted on what has traditionally been a strong suit for the Tories.
Our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports:
PCS: 100,000 civil servants vote for strike action in row over pay and pensions
Tens of thousands of civil servants have overwhelmingly voted to strike in a row over pay and pensions.
Some 100,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union backed taking industrial action over pay, pensions, jobs and redundancy terms.
The union warned that unless it receives “substantial proposals” from the government, it will announce a programme of “sustained industrial action” next Friday.
Jane Dalton reports:
Watch: NI secretary reveals that parliament is voting for Matt Hancock to do I’m a Celeb trials
Mortgage repossessions up 90% as families warned of ‘ticking time bomb’
Families have been warned of a “ticking time bomb” ahead as new government figures show a staggering rise in home repossessions amid the deepening cost of living crisis.
Repossessions, court claims and warrants have all “increased significantly” for both homeowners and tenants in the latest quarter, according to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
Mortgages repossessions soared 91 per cent compared with the same period last year, while the number of orders to seize property are up 103 per cent.
Adam Forrest reports:
Minister won’t say if nurses deserve to be paid as much as MPs
Nurses’ pay rise demands have been dismissed as “remarkably high” by a cabinet minister who warned that looming strike action will “completely disrupt” vital NHS services.
Chris Heaton-Harris said it was “very difficult” to say whether nurses get paid enough, and refused to say whether they deserved to be paid as much as MPs.
The Northern Ireland secretary told Sky News: “I think that’s an unfair question … we’re in completely different places”, adding: “Some people wouldn’t want to pay politicians anything.”
Adam Forrest has more:
Rishi Sunak to face calls from Wales for more winter support
Rishi Sunak is set to face a fresh wave of pressure to provide more help during the winter period to people struggling due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Mark Drakeford will use the British-Irish Council summit on Thursday to reinstate “constructive dialogue with the prime minister” following a breakdown in communication between the two countries under Liz Truss.
A Welsh government spokesperson said: “The first minister will discuss a range of issues with the Prime Minister later this afternoon.
“In particular, the first minister will raise the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis and the additional actions that are required to help people deal with the very difficult challenges over the winter period.
“The first minister also welcomes the return of constructive dialogue with the Prime Minister.”
‘Not the Brexit I wanted’ – Next boss says UK needs more overseas workers
The boss of retail giant Next has called on the Government to let more foreign workers into the UK as he warned Brexit immigration policies were hurting the economy.
Lord Simon Wolfson, who was a prominent Brexit supporter, told the BBC that it was “not the Brexit that I wanted” given the immigration clampdown that has compounded worker shortages in Britain.
He said: “We have got people queuing up to come to this country to pick crops that are rotting in fields, to work in warehouses that otherwise wouldn’t be operable, and we’re not letting them in.
“And we have to take a different approach to economically productive migration.”
Matt Hancock takes on ‘Tentacles of Terror’ in latest ‘I’m a Celebrity…’ trial
Matt Hancock is seen trapped inside a cage partially submerged underwater water as he dives down to collect stars in his latest I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! trial.
The former health secretary, who was seen on screen for the first time in the ITV show on Wednesday night, was voted to do Thursday’s Tentacles of Terror Bushtucker Trial.
In a preview of the challenge, the 44-year-old hunts for stars to earn meals for the camp while avoiding the pincers of small crayfish.
Hosts Declan Donnelly and Ant McPartlin watch as Hancock tackles the trial, with Donnelly commenting: “You’ve got to hold your breath for a long time…”
He later adds: “Good going this, down we go again, your air hole gets smaller…”, to which McPartlin quips: “What did you call him?” and Donnelly replies jokingly: “Air hole…”
UK failing to do its bit to tackle global hunger crisis, David Miliband warns
The world has looked away from the spiralling global hunger crisis for too long, David Miliband has warned, as the “telltale signs” of famine loom in East Africa.
Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are facing the longest-running drought in 40 years. Water sources are drying up, crops are failing and cattle are dying in a place where agriculture and small-farm holders are the norm.
Louise Boyle has this exclusive report:
