Markus Andrews

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is poised to advocate for the end of the windfall tax on oil and gas firms and the ban on new licences in a major speechInitially established by the prior Conservative administration but extended upon Labour’s ascent to power, the energy profits levy was intended to finance initiatives aimed at reducing household expenses. However, the policy has faced criticism from within the industry.Addressing the Scottish Conservative conference in Edinburgh on Friday, Ms Badenoch is anticipated to champion the oil and gas sector, accusing the UK Government of “killing” it. She is expected to assert that “renewing our party and our country means standing up for our oil and gas industry”.She will add: “When the oil and gas windfall tax, the energy profits levy, was brought in, the oil price was near a historic high, at the exact time as energy bills for the British people were sky-rocketing.“But there is no longer a windfall to tax. It has long gone. And the longer this regressive tax on one of our most successful industries remains, the more damaging it becomes.Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch More

Jonathan Reynolds has mocked Nigel Farage for wanting to reopen the coal mines in Wales, dubbing him an “absolute parody”. The business secretary, whose grandfather was a coal miner, admitted that Reform UK are Labour’s biggest opponents – but said Mr Farage fails to understand “the pride in where we’re from and what we represent, but also the aspiration for the future”. Speaking at a media lunch in parliament, Mr Reynolds also defended the UK’s plan for closer trade ties with the US, saying: “We might have different views but we have to engage with them”. Business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds More

Radical reforms could see hospitals taking over GP surgeries and family doctors running hospitals, under new plans to reform the NHS in England.The health secretary, Wes Streeting, said the forthcoming 10-year plan would also see “much of what’s done in a hospital today, will be done on the high street”.He stressed that the government was “not embarking on another top-down reorganisation” of the health service.The plan is expected to be published in July.Speaking at the NHS ConfedExpo conference in Manchester, Mr Streeting said: “The NHS should not be bound by traditional expectations of how services should be arranged.”I am open to our strongest acute trusts providing not just community services, as many already do, but also primary care.”Whatever services will enable them to meet the needs of their patients in a more integrated and efficient way.”Indeed, I would hope that those old-fashioned labels – acute, community – become increasingly meaningless.”Likewise, there is no reason why successful GPs should not be able to run local hospitals, or why nurses should not be leading neighbourhood health services.”Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves meet staff in the outpatients department during a visit to St Thomas’ Hospital in London More

People with anorexia could be allowed to die by assisted death under a proposed bill, more than 250 campaigners have warned, urging MPs to vote down the legislation when it returns to the Commons.A letter to MPs, signed by 268 people who have suffered with eating disorders, warned: “If this bill had been law during the years many of us were struggling, we would have used it to end our lives.” Campaigner Chelsea Roff, the founder of the eating disorder organisation Eat Breathe Thrive, warned that the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill contains “dangerous loopholes that have enabled suicidal women with anorexia to die by assisted death” in other countries. Kim Leadbeater speaking during the debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill More

The influential Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned Rachel Reeves that any more bad economic news will “almost certainly” spark fresh tax rises. Council tax will already have to rise at its fastest rate in a generation, the IFS said, as it added to concerns the chancellor has left herself with little room for manoeuvre a day after she unveiled her spending plans for the rest of the parliament. The warning came as the government was hit with the bad news that the economy had shrunk by 0.3 per cent, sparking fears of a potential recession.Ms Reeves came into office with a pledge to grow the economy, but it has been sluggish at best in her first year.Paul Johnson, the outgoing director of the IFS, said council tax is set to rise at its fastest rate for 20 years as local government tries to close its funding gaps with annual increases of up to 5 per cent. More councils could also reach a “tipping point” unless demands on their resources fall, the think tank warned. Rachel Reeves insisted she would not need to increase taxes on the same scale as in her first budget, but declined to rule out rises altogether More

Former defence secretary Ben Wallace has branded Labour’s claims that it has boosted military spending “a con” after concerns were raised over how the figures are being calculated.The row has exploded following Rachel Reeves’ spending review on Wednesday where she boasted that defence spending would be 2.6 per cent of GDP. But this included wrapping in security and intelligence spending for the first time.Earlier this year prime minister Sir Keir Starmer controversially slashed international aid to boost defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, two years ahead of schedule. At the time he also promised it would rise to 3 per cent by 2034.Sir Ben Wallace (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More

The UK economy has shrunk by more than expected in a major blow to Rachel Reeves, just one day after she unveiled her spending review. The chancellor, who set out record investment in the Commons on Wednesday, acknowledged that the latest GDP figures, released on Thursday, were “clearly disappointing” but insisted her plan for the economy would help deliver growth.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.3 per cent in April, compared with growth of 0.2 per cent the previous month and marking the biggest contraction since October 2023. It was also worse than the 0.1 per cent contraction expected by most economists.Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivering her Government’s spending review to MPs in the Commons (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA) More