UK Politics

Rachel Reeves has said she is “sick of people mansplaining how to be chancellor” to her, days before she unveils her make-or-break Budget. Hitting back at critics amid growing concern over sweeping tax rises that are expected next week, the chancellor said she is “not going to let them bring me down by undermining my character or my confidence”. Ms Reeves also admitted the government has “made a couple of unforced errors” but insisted it is “fighting to win”. But the chancellor failed to give any detail on what she will unveil in the Budget or how she will improve Britain’s ailing public finances, nor did she address the leaks and briefings that have dominated the media landscape in the lead-up to next week’s fiscal event. It comes as the chancellor scrambles to fill a £20bn black hole in the public finances after weeks of speculation about her tax rise plans and growing criticism of the Treasury for what the Commons speaker dubbed a “hokey-cokey Budget”, after the department briefed out plans to raise income tax and then appeared to row back on it. The chancellor is now widely expected to look at other ways to raise cash to tackle the shortfall and ensure she remains on track to meet her fiscal rules.The chancellor will lay out her make-or-break Budget next week More

The Government has announced plans to create thousands of new jobs through artificial intelligence-linked investment.Areas including Wales, Bristol and London will benefit, with ministers promising new opportunities for AI firms to grow.The initiative includes a new AI growth zone in South Wales, backed by companies including Vantage Data Centers and Microsoft, which will create more than 5,000 new jobs over the next decade, including at the former Ford engine plant in Bridgend.Scientists will be backed to use AI, with up to £137 million aimed at driving breakthroughs and develop new drugs, cures and treatments, the Government said.Liz Kendall, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, said: “We’re announcing a package of measures that ensure we seize the opportunities to get jobs and growth in every part of the country.“The backing by international investors today is a vote of confidence in the UK and we’re determined to do even more to ensure we are backing British businesses, workers and researchers to benefit from the opportunities AI brings.“This is about bringing jobs, opportunities and hope to the people and places that need it most, delivering on our promise of change.”Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “This Government promised to unlock growth and that is exactly what we are doing.“Today’s confirmation of our fourth AI growth zone is our plan for change in action – creating thousands of jobs and unlocking new investment for local communities in the industries of the future, cementing our position as Europe’s leading tech sector.”Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said: “Wales will now have two brand-new AI growth zones bringing thousands of jobs to both North and South Wales, and driving economic growth across the country.“South Wales is already the home of a growing tech industry and this major investment in the region will help cement the UK’s place as a global leader in AI.” More

Chaos at the heart of Boris Johnson’s government and his failure to take Covid seriously led to 23,000 deaths, a damning report into pandemic decision-making has found.The UK Covid-19 Inquiry also found the then prime minister and his chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, presided over a “toxic and chaotic culture” at the heart of No 10, which saw the views of women ignored.The report found that more than 20,000 lives could have been saved in England if the lockdown had been implemented just a week earlier, in March 2020.Westminster and the three devolved nations were all found to have done “too little, too late” as the virus spread.Children were ordered home from school, and families missed out on the chance to say a final goodbye to dying relatives, when measures were finally introduced.From 16 March 2020, self-isolation and social distancing came into effect, with schools and pubs closed later that week, before ministers took the unprecedented step of ordering the first full lockdown on 23 March.“Had more stringent restrictions short of a ‘stay at home’ lockdown been introduced earlier than 16 March […] the mandatory lockdown that was imposed might have been shorter or conceivably might not have been necessary at all,” the report said. Boris Johnson pictured with Professor Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, at one of the daily coronavirus briefings More

Former Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle has defected to the Greens – the party’s biggest defection to date. Mr Russell-Moyle represented the Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven constituency from 2017 to 2024, which neighbours the longstanding Green seat of Brighton Pavilion. In a statement, he took aim at the direction of his old party, saying it had “left behind millions of people who want hope and want to see change in their lives”. Lloyd Russell-Moyle More

This story has been updated as the Covid Inquiry is set to reveal its findings into the government’s handling of the pandemic.Boris Johnson and his senior advisers are set to discover the conclusions of an inquiry into the government’s decision-making before and during the pandemic. Key players, including the former prime minister and his then health secretary Matt Hancock, gave evidence to the inquiry into what they were thinking in 2020, including before the first lockdown was announced in March.During a series of hearings, they were questioned over government measures introduced during the pandemic, such as Covid testing, social distancing and the Eat Out to Help Out scheme designed to support businesses.Mr Johnson was also heavily criticised over the lockdown rule-breaking in Downing Street, which saw multiple gatherings take place in breach of Covid guidelines. Here is a look at the events that took place and what Mr Johnson told the Commons about them while he was prime minister:15 May 2020: Cheese and wine in the Downing Street gardenMr Johnson was photographed sitting with his wife Carrie and staff at a table with wine and cheese in the No 10 garden.At the time, people could not legally leave their home without a reasonable excuse and could only meet one person from another household.20 May 2020: Bring your own booze partyThe same restrictions applied when No 10 staff gathered for a “bring your own booze” event in the Downing Street garden.The couple have dismissed any suggestions they broke Covid rules as “totally false” More

This story was first published in October 2023 and has been republished as the Covid Inquiry is set to reveal its findings into the government’s handling of the pandemic.A series of scathing WhatsApp messages sent between Boris Johnson’s top team accused the former prime minister of making it “impossible” to tackle Covid, as he created chaos and changed direction “every day”. The extraordinary messages sent between the likes of Dominic Cummings, Lee Cain and Simon Case reveal the strong disquiet among Mr Johnson’s advisers, with Mr Case, the cabinet secretary and top civil servant, at one point declaring: “I am at the end of my tether.”The ex-PM’s top officials also branded him “weak and indecisive” and referred to him as a “trolley”. Chief scientific advisor Sir Patrick Vallance, meanwhile, said Mr Johnson was “all over the place” and “so completely inconsistent”.The WhatsApp messages and diary entries, shown to Mr Johnson’s former principal private secretary Martin Reynolds at the official Covid inquiry, laid bare the chaos behind Downing Street’s response to Covid.In a bombshell three hours of testimony about his time as Mr Johnson’s PPS, Mr Reynolds was asked about everything from the government’s preparedness for the pandemic to his own role in the Partygate scandal of lockdown-busting events.The ex-top civil servant, since dubbed “Party Marty”, apologised “unreservedly” for sending an email to more than 100 Downing Street staff inviting them to a “bring your own booze” garden party during lockdown.Martin Reynolds, former principal private secretary to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves the UK Covid-19 Inquiry (James Manning/PA Wire) More