Markus Andrews

Scrapping the two-child benefit cap has been made harder by Sir Keir Starmer’s climbdown over last week’s welfare cuts, Bridget Phillipson has said. The education secretary said future spending decisions had been squeezed by the £5bn U-turn over reforms to personal independence payments (PIP), the main disability benefit. It means a change in the controversial cap, introduced when George Osborne was chancellor, is now less likely. Ms Phillipson told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that ministers are “looking at every lever and we’ll continue to look at every lever to lift children out of poverty”.Pushed on whether the chances of the benefit cap going are now slimmer, Ms Phillipson said: “The decisions that have been taken in the last week do make decisions, future decisions harder.Keir Starmer will face pressure from MPs if Labour keeps the cap More

Sir Keir Starmer’s approval rating has hit an all time low, with voters blaming him for the chaotic £5bn U-turn on his benefit cuts. The prime minister’s support among the public reached fresh depths after the climbdown and in the wake of Rachel Reeves being seen crying in the Commons, a new poll shows. Conducted in the hours after Wednesday’s PMQs, the More in Common survey found Sir Keir’s approval rating at -43. Sir Keir Starmer’s approval ratings have tanked More

Rachel Reeves must U-turn on her manifesto pledge not to raise taxes for working people or Sir Keir Starmer’s government will be forced to abandon other key priorities, one of the chancellor’s former top advisers has warned. Jim O’Neill, a former Goldman Sachs chief turned Treasury minister who quit the Conservatives and later advised Ms Reeves, said she faces no choice but to abandon key parts of her economic policy – including her commitment not to raise income tax, national insurance contributions for employees or VAT.Questioning whether that promise was now sustainable, he told The Independent: “Without changing some of the big taxes, welfare and pensions, they [Labour] can’t commit to things like Northern Powerhouse Rail, small modular nuclear reactors, and various other things that will make an investment and growth difference.”His comments come in the wake of a disastrous week for Sir Keir’s government as ministers were forced to abandon key parts of welfare reforms to stop a rebellion by Labour MPs, leaving a £5bn black hole in its spending plans.Jim O’Neill is a former Goldman Sachs chief and economist who coined the acronym Brics More

David Lammy has brought a team of Britain’s elite diplomats home in a bid to finally kickstart economic growth and combat the global impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs.Senior ambassadors and high commissioners have come back to the UK to take part in a roadshow around the country to encourage businesses to export more and link up with the countries they are posted in.It comes as the E-Commerce Trade Commission recently reported that 70,000 businesses in Britain which are ready to export are still not exporting.The commission estimated that £7bn of growth could be unlocked in the economy if UK businesses fulfil their potential by linking up with foreign markets.With economic growth in the UK at a mere 0.7 per cent for the first quarter and concerns that a failure to hit potential has left an unwelcome £18bn hole in chancellor Rachel Reeves’s budget, the government is desperate to use all its resources to turn things around.Ambassador to Belgium Anne Sherriff visiting Belgian brewing group AB InBev, Budweiser UK&I in South Wales More

Reform UK is under fire for letting teenagers run vital public services after storming to power in councils across the country in May’s local elections. The party has been criticised for letting 18-year-old George Finch run Warwickshire County Council, which has a budget of around £500m and assets of £1.5bn. Now, some two months after it took over 10 councils in the local elections, it has emerged a slew of other high profile roles have been taken on by teenagers. Charles Pugsley, left, and Joseph Boam, have been appointed to major jobs at Leicestershire county council More

A Reform UK MP has resigned the party whip pending an investigation into allegations of business impropriety before he was elected, the party’s chief whip has said. James McMurdock will sit as an independent while a probe takes place over the allegations, which he said are likely to emerge in the press this weekend. Reform’s chief whip Lee Anderson said: “At Reform UK, we take these matters very seriously and James has agreed to cooperate in full with any investigation.” James McMurdock voluntarily gave up the whip More

Rachel Reeves is set to announce an overhaul of the pensions regime when she delivers a speech at Mansion House this month. The chancellor is due to appoint a commission to look at the adequacy of the pensions system, including the level of savings among the self-employed, the state pension and auto-enrolment rates. The proposal was announced last July after Labour won the general election, but put on hold after the chancellor’s brutal tax-hiking Budget created anger at the pressure piled on businesses.Rachel Reeves is set to announce a planned overhaul of the pensions system More

The police have warned protesters against demonstrating in favour of Palestine Action after it was proscribed as a terrorist group by the government. Protesters are planning to gather in Parliament Square on Saturday holding signs supporting Palestine Action, according to campaign group Defend Our Juries.In a letter to Yvette Cooper, protesters said: “We do not wish to go to prison or to be branded with a terrorism conviction. But we refuse to be cowed into silence by your order.”A ban against Palestine Action has come into effect (Lucy North/PA) More