Markus Andrews

Diane Abbott rejects idea of disability benefit cutsDowning Street has rejected claims that the government is overhauling the welfare system because of the difficult fiscal situation.Work and pension secretary Liz Kendall is expected to set out plans for welfare reform on Tuesday to get more people back to work and cut the cost of a benefits bill.The reforms have been met with fierce criticism from Labour backbenchers, with veteran left-winger Dianne Abbott branding the plans “not a Labour thing to do”.The prime minister’s official spokesperson said there is a moral and economic case to overhaul the benefits system.“I think the Prime Minister has been clear there is both a moral and an economic case for fixing our broken social security system that’s holding our people back, and our country back,” he said.Asked if the reforms were being carried out because of the UK’s fiscal backdrop, the spokesman replied: “No, I think when you look at the fact that we have the highest level of working-age inactivity due to ill health in western Europe, we’re the only major economy whose employment rate hasn’t recovered since the pandemic, there is a duty to fix the broken system that is letting millions of people in this country down.”How much does the UK spend on welfare as government set to announce cutsThe UK’s welfare budget is forecast to rise sharply in the next few years, driven by higher spending on pensioners and an increase in the number of people receiving health and disability benefits.But tomorrow, work and pension secretary Liz Kendall is expected to set out plans for welfare reform in an effort to get more people back to work and cut the cost of a benefits bill.How much does the UK spend in total?The government spent £296.3 billion on welfare in 2023/24, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). This is the equivalent of 10.9% of UK GDP.The OBR forecasts total spending on welfare to reach £377.7 billion in 2029/30, or 11.1% of GDP.Spending on disability benefits, which includes disability living allowance and personal independent payments, is forecast to rise from £36.3 billion in 2023/24 (accounting for 12% of the total welfare budget) to £59.4 billion in 2029/30 (16%).Government expenditure on all health and disability benefits across all age groups, including pensioners, is forecast to rise from £67.4 billion in 2023/24 to £100.7 billion by 2029/30, a jump of 56%.Jabed Ahmed17 March 2025 14:32Kemi Badenoch touts ‘biggest programme of policy renewal in a generation’Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has touted the announcement of what she claimed would be “the biggest programme of policy renewal in a generation”.Since being elected Tory leader in November, Ms Badenoch has faced criticism over a lack of clear policy, as her party faces a challenge on the right from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK following a bruising general election defeat in July.Andy Gregory17 March 2025 14:05Mike Amesbury ‘devastated’ to stand down as MP todayMike Amesbury has said that he is “devastated” to stand down as an MP today, telling GB News that “as from today I will no longer be the Member ofParliament for Runcorn and Helsby after nearly eight years as being an MP”.The former Labour MP said last week he would quit the Commons after he was given a 10-week prison term for punching a constituent which was reduced to a suspended sentence following an appeal.He said he was “sad” and “devastated”, adding: “Not only for me, but … my staff as well, because, course, it goes beyond me, for my family. This is a result of something that I did on October 26.”Asked about the incident, Amesbury said “I should have walked away” and “I don’t recognise myself”, adding: “But it is me, and it’s very important that I’ve owned that through the legal process … a plea of guilty”He continued: “I’ve paid a price, I’ve been punished and rightfully so, and I hope that I learn from this.”Apologising to the constituent he punched, he said: “I’m so sincerely sorry to Mr Fellows, his family, my own family”, and described reliving the moment as “like a living nightmare”.Runcorn and Helsby MP Mike Amesbury (centre) leaving Chester Crown Court after he had his 10-week prison sentence for assault suspended for two years (Peter Byrne/PA) More

Rachel Reeves’s mission to grow the UK economy has taken yet another knock, as the country’s economic forecast has been slashed as a result of a mounting trade war sparked by Donald Trump’s global tariffs. Experts warned of rising inflation and a hit to world growth, dashing Labour’s hopes of reviving Britain’s spluttering economy, central to the party’s mission for government. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) cut its predictions for UK growth to 1.4 per cent in 2025 and 1.2 per cent in 2026, down from 1.7 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively from its previous predictions. ‘A changing world means Britain must change too,’ says Rachel Reeves More

The former head of Ofsted has lashed out at the education secretary, accusing her of caring more about the interests of unions than schoolchildren. In a scathing broadside at Bridget Phillipson’s education reforms, Amanda Spielman accused her of bowing to the “demands of unions”.And Ms Spielman, who stood down as the head of the schools watchdog in 2023, called for her to abandon the plans “before the damage is done”.But a government source hit back at Ms Spielman, saying she should “spend less time criticising the reforms this government is bringing and more time reflecting on her failure at Ofsted and on a teaching profession that entirely lost confidence in her as chief inspector”. Amanda Spielman urged Ms Phillipson to drop her plans More

More details on the rumoured billions in welfare cuts Labour plans to announce this week have been revealed as reports indicate ministers are looking to shave £6 billion from disability benefits claimed by millions of people.Reforms to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are now widely expected, with Labour MPs understood to be divided on the cost-cutting policy package. The payment is designed to help people with extra costs incurred by their disability, whether they are working or not.The changes will include making it harder to qualify for PIP, as around £5 billion of the floated £6 billion in cuts focuses on the disability benefit claimed by 3.6 million people.Ministers had also reportedly been looking at freezing PIP payments to prevent the payment levels from rising with inflation, as all benefits do, in 2026. However, it is understood that pressure from backbench MPs over the plans has led to this idea being taken off the table.Reforms to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are now widely expected More

A minister has defended Labour’s planned welfare cuts after Diane Abbott warned reducing benefits is “not a Labour thing to do”. Treasury minister Emma Reynolds vowed there will “always be a safety net for the most vulnerable” amid a growing backlash among MPs at Sir Keir Starmer’s plans. She said Labour is “the party that created the welfare state back in 1945” and that it will “maintain that crucial safety net for the most vulnerable”. Emma Reynolds vowed there will “always be a safety net” for the most vulnerable More

People in the UK are likely to believe that fictional heroes like Harry Potter and Gandalf would share their political views, while villains like Darth Vader and Cruella de Vil would vote for opposing parties, new research shows.The University of Southampton researchers behind the study say this tendency, for people to project their own views onto fictional characters, is fuelling political polarisation.The tendency also extended beyond fiction. When presented with news stories about politicians engaging in charitable or corrupt behaviour, participants tended to associate the “good” politician with their preferred party and the “bad” politician with the opposition.Dr Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte of the University of Southampton explained the implications of these findings: “If we see ‘villains’ as belonging to the other side, then we also tend to associate more and more negative attributes with that group. “This is not only bad news for polarisation, but also makes us more easily susceptible to misinformation that confirms the existing biases we hold about the voters of certain parties.”The first of two studies, conducted by researchers from the University of Southampton and the University of Vienna, surveyed 3,200 individuals in the United Kingdom and United States. Participants were asked which political party they believed various fictional characters from popular franchises, including Marvel, Disney, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and Star Wars, would support.Cruella de Vil, the villain of the 101 Dalmatians movies, was thought by many respondents to vote for opposing political parties More

Two British women born on the Chagos Islands are set to bring legal action against the UK Government, saying the territory should remain in UK hands and not be given over to Mauritius.Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe, who were both born on Diego Garcia, have launched legal action against the Foreign Office, contesting the proposed transfer agreement.Central to their case is the right to return to their birthplace. Chagossians were forcibly removed from the islands by 1973 to make way for a US-UK military base, and there is currently restricted access to the islands, with permits required for travel.The proposed agreement includes a lease-back arrangement for the base on Diego Garcia, funded by British taxpayers.While seemingly endorsed by US President Donald Trump, the deal faces resistance from the Conservative party. Lawyers representing the two women have sent a pre-action letter to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), asserting that the Chagossian people have shut out of the conversation about the future of the islands, despite being the native inhabitants.Bertrice Pompe is one of two women launching legal action against the UK government over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands More