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Sir Keir Starmer has hinted at tax rises in the government’s first budget warning it is “going to be painful”.
In his first keynote speech from Downing Street, Sir Keir said he will “make big asks” of people in Britain, warning they will have to accept “short term pain for long term good”.
The prime minister said those with the “broadest shoulders” will carry the heaviest burden insisting taxes on “working people” including national insurance, VAT and income tax will not be increased in the 30 October budget.
He claimed things are “worse than we ever imagined”and suggested the riots showed “the cracks in our society after 14 years of populism and failure”.
On winter fuel payments, the PM admitted removing the measure for pensioners was difficult citing that the government inherited a £22billion black hole in public finances from the Tories.
Reacting to his speech, general secretary of the Unite union Sharon Graham criticised the “bleak vision” Sir Keir delivered in his first keynote speech as prime minister.
Rishi Sunak also hit out at the PM claiming that his keynote speech this morning was an indication of Labour’s plan to “raise taxes”. Laura Trott also accused Labour of “rolling the pitch” to increase taxes, warning “working families are next in line”.
Downing Street draws up plans for announcing death of Larry the cat
Downing Street officials are preparing a “media plan” to announce the eventual passing of Larry the cat, The Independent understands.
Larry has become a widely loved fixture of Downing Street and is often seen outside the door to Number 10 during major political events and news broadcasts.
The 17-year-old ‘chief mouser’ is thought to be in his final years, having already outlived the average lifespan for a tabby cat.
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke has the full story:
Cleverly accuses Starmer of ‘rolling out dishonest policies’
Shadow home secretary James Cleverly has accused Sir Keir Starmer of “rolling out dishonest policies”, following the Prime Minister’s speech earlier today.
Mr Cleverly, who is running to be leader of the Tory Party, said: “More meaningless drivel from Keir Starmer today as he tries to distract from his latest cronyism row.
“He says he wants to serve people; all he is serving them are tax rises.
“The Conservatives left Labour with low inflation, falling migration, and the highest growth in the G7. Yet the Labour government have waged war on pensioners, caved to their union paymasters and splurged millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on unaffordable pay rises for strikers.
“Keir Starmer was elected on a manifesto that he won’t stick to, and he is now rolling out a series of dishonest policies for which he has no democratic mandate.”
Child in wheelchair among migrants arriving in UK after crossing English Channel
A child in a wheelchair appears to be part a group of migrants who were brought ashore in Dover after crossing the English Channel.
Pictures show men, women and children wearing life jackets and blankets disembarking from a Border Force vessel at the Kent port on Tuesday.
They are the first arrivals in a week since 206 people made the journey on 19 August, according to Home Office figures.
A total of 19,294 people had arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel as of August 26, two per cent lower than the same point in 2023 (19,741) and 20 per cent lower than in 2022 (24,153).
Starmer warns ‘things worse than we ever imagined’ in first key speech as prime minister
Starmer warns ‘things worse than ever imagined’ in first key speech as prime minister
Sir Keir Starmer admitted that things are “worse than we ever imagined” as he warned of the government’s forthcoming Budget in his first key speech as prime minister on Tuesday, 27 August. The PM said his warning came due to a £22bn “black hole” in public finances, claiming to have found out last week that the Conservatives had borrowed almost £5bn more than the Office for Budget Responsibility expected. Sir Keir also defended his decisions to release some prisoners early and means-test the pensioners’ winter fuel allowance as “tough actions” are needed to fix the country’s foundations.
What did Starmer say about far-right riots and prison overcrowding?
Sir Keir Starmer said the government had to revise prison overcrowding numbers “literally every day” to “arrest, charge and prosecute” those involved in recent riots across parts of the UK.
During his keynote speech in Downing Street this monring, he said: “Not having enough prison places is about as fundamental a failure as you can get and those people throwing rocks, torching cars, making threats, they didn’t just know the system was broken, they were betting on it, gaming it.
“They thought ‘Ah, they’ll never arrest me and if they do, I won’t be prosecuted, and if I am, I won’t get much of a sentence’.
“They saw the cracks in our society after 14 years of failure and they exploited them.”
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood previously unveiled plans to release prisoners after having served 40 per cent of their sentence instead of 50 per cent to ease prison overcrowding.
Boris Johnson longest serving PM and Liz Truss shortest serving one since 1900
Liz Truss considered scrapping all NHS cancer treatment after crashing economy, book claims
The former prime minister considered scrapping all cancer treatment on the NHS in a desperate bid to repair the damage caused by her disastrous economic policies, according to a new book.
The extraordinary claim is made in a new biography of Ms Truss by Sir Anthony Seldon.
Sir Anthony, who is Britain’s leading political biographer, also states that Ms Truss’s allies feared her team could be targeted with a “cocaine” smear by unnamed figures at Tory HQ who wanted to stop her from becoming prime minister.
Sir Anthony’s book, Truss at 10: How Not to Be a Prime Minister, is deeply critical of Ms Truss, who was forced to resign in 2022 after she triggered an economic crisis by proposing the introduction of £45bn of unfunded tax cuts. She spent only 49 days in office.
Read the full story below:
SNP: Westminster choices will fundamentally damage Scottish public services
Choices made by the UK government will “fundamentally damage” the ability of the Scottish government to deliver public services, the country’s Finance Secretary has said.
During the recent general election campaign, the SNP was one of the loudest voices warning of a black hole in UK public finances which would likely result in service cuts or tax rises, as a result of projections from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
In a statement, Shona Robinson said: “The prime minister’s speech this morning is a watershed moment in UK politics.
“Before Labour entered office, we and many others repeatedly warned that they were concealing the significant cuts they would have to make as a result of sticking to the Tory fiscal rules – and now, they are no longer able to hide from the reality.
“The political choices being made by the new UK government will fundamentally damage our ability to deliver public services in Scotland.
She added: “While clearly the legacy of the Tory government, Labour must accept at least some of the culpability for the mess that the UK is now in.
“In opposition, they rowed in behind many of the Tory decisions that have damaged the economy and hurt living standards – whether that is Brexit, austerity spending cuts or attacks on the welfare state.”
Bahraini crown prince congratulates Starmer for keynote speech
The Crown Prince and prime minister greeted each other in front of Number 10 before stepping inside.
The pair shook hands again in front of the Bahraini and UK flags, as Sir Keir Starmer welcomed Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa to Downing Street.
“Obviously, there’s a long, very important history between our countries which we’re very proud of and very keen to build on,” Sir Keir said.
The crown prince replied: “Thank you for taking the time to see myself and my delegation.
“I would like to congratulate you on your speech today, laying out a very ambitious roadmap for the future.”
IFS warns Labour government faces ‘difficult and complex choices’
The director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said the Labour government has given itself “deep problems” afrer ruling out so many potential tax increases.
Speaking to the BBC, Paul Johnson said the government has been left with “difficult and complex choices”. Labour promised it will not increase income tax, National Insurance or VAT during the general election campaign.
But Mr Johnson siad direct taxes on working people are “the lowest they’ve been in fifty years”.
He added: “Trying to significantly increase taxes without impacting that group of people will be very complex and potentially have some negative economic consequences,” he adds.
The economist said the “overall picture” over the next four or five years is “very similar to what we knew”.
