Sir Keir Starmer has spoken to US President Donald Trump about an economic prosperity deal as the threat of tariffs looms over the UK.
A Downing Street representative said the UK was working with the US on an “economic prosperity deal” to build on “our shared strength of that commitment to economic security.”
While he confirmed “the UK will only do a deal in the national interest”, the spokesperson refused to be drawn into saying whether scrapping the digital services tax, which impacts US tech giants, was part of the discussion.
“The Chancellor this morning said that the digital services tax is hugely important,” he said, adding it brings in around £800 million a year.
This comes as Sir Keir told BBC Radio 5 Live that the government were looking to make savings “across the board” ahead of the spring statement on Wednesday.
While Rachel Reeves mooted a cut of 10,000 jobs in the civil service,The Times reported that the cuts are likely to reduce the civil service size by up to 50,000 jobs
Watch: Keir Starmer reveals talks with Gareth Southgate on toxic masculinity ‘crisis’ facing young men in UK
BBC presenter hits out at ‘incredibly dumb’ decision to axe long-running show
Read the full story by my colleague Maira Butt here:
Nadia Whittome pens letter to government pledging to vote against welfare cuts
Left-wing Labour MP Nadia Whittome has written to work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall to express “deep concerns” about the proposed welfare cuts announced by the government last week, warning they will cause “immense harm”.
Vowing to vote against the cuts, the MP for Nottingham East said: “I must oppose measures that will make disabled people poorer and widen inequality in this country.”
She added: “I sincerely hope that the government listens to the deep concern and distress of disabled people, and the warnings from experts on disability and poverty”.
It comes amid growing discontent among Labour MPs after the announcement of sweeping cuts to the welfare bill, which will primarily impact disabled people.
Reform launch campaign for by-election
Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage has joined the party’s newest parliamentary candidate, Sarah Pochin as she launches her campaign.
Ms Pochin has announced her candidacy for the upcoming by-election in the Cheshire constituency of Runcorn and Helsby, after incumbent MP Mike Amesbury announced he would stand down following his conviction earlier this year for assaulting a constituent.
Starmer discusses deal with Trump
Sir Keir Starmer has spoken to US President Donald Trump about an economic prosperity deal as the threat of tariffs looms over the UK.
Asked if the digital services tax would be axed, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “Firstly, just taking a step back, the UK is working with the United States on an economic prosperity deal, building on our shared strength of that commitment to economic security.
“As part of those discussions, the Prime Minister and President Trump discussed progress made in those discussions last night.
“The UK will only do a deal in the national interest, which reflects this Government’s mandate to deliver economic stability for British people.”
Starmer denies he will change government fiscal rules
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will not be changing the Government’s fiscal rules.
Asked by the BBC whether he was considering changing the Government’s fiscal rules or measures on income tax, the Prime Minister said: “No.”
He went on: “Because we had to stabilise the economy, which is what we did with the Budget.
“As a result of that, we’re able to invest in the NHS record amounts of money and I’m really pleased to say that for the fifth month in a row, even during winter waiting lists have come down because we stabilised the economy”.
He also pointed to the state pension increase and added: “So we took the right decisions, they were tough decisions.
“I think the difference is that the global situation has changed. I think most people would understand in the last few weeks and months the international insecurity has got very real.
“That does impact domestically and we’ve just got to make sure that we stick to our fiscal rules, make sure that we carry on with a stabilised economy and invest where we need to in our public services, in our NHS.”
Downing Street denies Trump and Starmer discussed US envoy’s criticism of UK peace plan
A Downing Street spokesperson has claimed that the focus of last night’s conversation between Starmer and Trump was the “economic prosperity deal”.
When asked by a reporter if they discussed Steve Witkoff’s comments, the spokesperson simply said: “[The] focus last night was on the economic deal,” the spokesman said.
“We are engaging with the US at all levels on Ukraine.”
Mr Witkoff previously said that the Labour leader’s idea of a peacekeeping force made up of the ‘coalition of the willing’ was based on a “simplistic” notion of thinking “we have all got to be like Winston Churchill”.
MPs get inflation-busting pay rise as they prepare to slash benefits
The increase comes as MPs prepare to vote on moves that will see an estimated million disabled people will lose their benefits, after Labour took an axe to the UK’s ballooning welfare bill.
Kate Devlin reports:
What does Trump’s global tariff expansion mean for the UK?
Albert Toth reports:
Lib Dems: ‘Labour in danger of losing its moral compass’ over digital services tax
The Liberal Democrats have warned that Labour is in “danger of losing its moral compass”.
They said cutting the digital services tax on US tech giants would be “tantamount to robbing disabled people to appease [Elon] Musk and Trump”.
Rachel Reeves confirmed ongoing discussions about the digital services tax, which hits major US tech firms including Meta and Amazon.
The 2 per cent levy, which was introduced in 2020, raises about £800 m a year for the UK.
