Markus Andrews

The most senior civil servant in government is on the verge of being sacked, it is understood, adding to a growing image of turmoil in Sir Keir Starmer’s Downing Street operation. Cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald is understood to be at risk of being ousted in the new year, amid growing concerns about his performance in the role. It comes despite the prime minister reorganising his top team just last month, conducting a full cabinet reshuffle, days after replacing the top civil servant in his No 10 team, Nin Pandit, who previously served as Sir Keir’s principal private secretary. One senior Labour source told The Times that Sir Chris is now seen to be the “embodiment of Whitehall groupthink”, with ministers privately criticising the civil servant for a lack of dynamism and an excess of caution. There are growing concerns about Chris Wormald’s performance as cabinet secretary More

Lawyers, GPs and accountants will reportedly face higher taxes as Rachel Reeves looks to top up the Treasury’s coffers by targeting the wealthy.In her Budget next month, Ms Reeves is expected to announce a charge on workers who use limited liability partnerships, raising £2 billion as she tries to fill a hole in the public finances estimated at between £30 billion and £50 billion.The UK has 355,760 partnerships, with 86,030 of them having employees, according to Money.co.uk. They are particularly common in the legal world. Partnerships do not pay employer’s national insurance of 15 per cent because partners are treated as self-employed. Partners also pay a lower rate of employee NI.But Ms Reeves is preparing to announce changes to the system in her Budget, as reported by The Times.She will impose a new charge on partnerships in an effort to “equalise the tax treatment”. But the charge is expected to be levied at a slightly lower rate than employers’ rate of national insurance.Lawyers commonly work in partnerships so escape employer NI More

There’s an old phrase in south Wales: “A one-legged donkey could run for Labour and people around here would still vote for it”. But on a rainy morning in the former mining town of Caerphilly, it is clear that the saying no longer rings true. Two days before a crucial by-election, there is no doubt that Sir Keir Starmer will struggle to retain this constituency, which has been considered a Labour stronghold since 1918. Polls currently show the governing party is heading for a total washout, with a two-horse race emerging between Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform party and the Welsh nationalists, Plaid Cymru. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage with candidate Llyr Powell during a visit to Caerphilly More

It is 731 years since the Welsh constituency of Caerphilly has seen a siege by insurgents attempting to seize power from the established rulers.Back in 1294, Madog ap Llywelyn attacked the great 13th-century castle which stands in the midst of Caerphilly in a bid to end the previously unchallenged authority of Edward I.Where Madog failed, Nigel Farage’s Reform now expect to succeed. The siege by insurgents in 2025, though, looks set to mark the dramatic collapse of Labour’s previously unassailable hold on Wales, with Plaid Cymru also expected to be a serious challenger to the incumbent party.Nigel Farage has been out on the campaign trail for the Caerphilly Senedd by-election, using the opportunity to spread the party’s plans ahead of the Welsh elections next year More

Robert Jenrick has been accused of “anti-British” comments after he suggested he would ban the burqa in Britain. The shadow justice secretary, tipped as a potential successor to the struggling Kemi Badenoch, pointed to Italy where prime minister Giorgia Meloni had recently proposed outlawing the traditional Muslim dress in public places.Labour MP Sam Rushworth hit back, denouncing the comments that put Mr Jenrick at odds with Conservative Party leader Ms Badenoch as “anti-British” and going “against what our nation stands for”. Robert Jenrick’s comments on the traditional Muslim dress are at odds with his party leader More

Brexit had an even bigger impact on Britain’s economy than critics predicted, Rachel Reeves has said, as ministers become increasingly bold in blaming the dire state of the nation’s finances on the decision to leave the European Union. Speaking at the government’s regional investment summit in Birmingham, the chancellor said Brexit “needlessly” added costs to UK businesses, saying ministers are now “unashamedly rebuilding our relations with the European Union”. It comes with just over a month to go until the Budget, where the prime minister and the chancellor are expected to blame Nigel Farage and Brexit for Britain’s ailing economy. In the upcoming Budget the chancellor and the PM are expected to blame Nigel Farage and Brexit for Britain’s ailing economy More