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    ‘Levelling up, my a***’: Andy Burnham blasts government for eyeing cuts to HS2 northern phase

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Northern leaders have reacted with fury after revelations that Rishi Sunak is considering making further cuts to HS2 north of Birmingham. Greater Manchester Andy Burnham accused ministers of “making the north pay for […] More

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    Steve Barclay says government invested ‘significantly on RAAC’ amid claims Sunak blocked hospital rebuilding

    The government has invested “significantly” on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), Steve Barclay has said amid claims that Rishi Sunak blocked plans to rebuild hospitals affected by crumbling concrete in 2020.A report by The Guardian said that only two of seven hospital rebuilding projects were approved by the Treasury at the time when the now-health secretary was Mr Sunak’s chief secretary.“We’ve been following the institute for structural engineers’ advice which is that not all Raac has to be replaced,” Mr Barclay said.“This government has the biggest ever in the history of the NHS investment in the NHS estate,” he added. More

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    Tories warned by MI5 that MP candidates could be Chinese spies as ex-security chief says row is ‘wake-up call’

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email The Conservatives are understood to have dropped two potential candidates to become MPs after MI5 warned that they could be Chinese spies. It comes as a former National Security Adviser told The Independent […] More

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    Keir Starmer to meet Emmanuel Macron in Paris in break with protocol

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Sir Keir Starmer is expected to meet Emmanuel Macron in Paris next week as the Labour leader attempts to woo the French president in a charm offensive. No 10 tried to play down […] More

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    Government is committed to pensions triple lock, insists Sunak

    The government is committed to the triple lock on pensions, Rishi Sunak insisted at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, 13 September.The triple lock guarantees an increase in line with average earnings, inflation or 2.5 per cent, whichever is highest – meaning that pensioners would have been in line for a rise linked to wages from April.However, pensioners may not get an 8.5 per cent increase in the state pension next year as ministers try to limit the cost to the taxpayer. More