UK Politics

Wes Streeting has called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack those responsible for “self-defeating” rumours about a Labour leadership challenge in an extraordinary attack on Downing Street.The health secretary demanded change at the top of No 10 following reports that unnamed aides had accused him of plotting to oust Sir Keir.Mr Streeting denied the reports, and he turned the tables on his unnamed No 10 critics, accusing them of “picking on him” and delivering an incendiary public denunciation of Sir Keir’s Downing Street.Mr Streeting said it showed that deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell, an earlier reported victim of hostile Downing Street briefings, had been right to criticise the “culture” in No 10.He categorically denied that he was plotting to oust Sir Keir, comparing suggestions he would do so to conspiracy theories.Streeting, pictured in London on Wednesday morning, laughed off suggestions that he is behind a plot to oust Starmer as leader More

One of Britain’s richest men, who donated £1m to Brexit campaigns, says he’s considering moving permanently to Australia after delivering a damning assessment of a UK “in chaos”.Lord Edmiston was ranked 187th on the Sunday Times Rich list this year with an estimated wealth of £855m, after making his fortune through his IM Group empire, which started by importing cars and later expanded into property and finance.In 2011 he was made a Conservative life peer before he retired from the House of Lords four years later to focus on his evangelical charity, Christian Vision, where his donations make him one of the UK’s biggest philanthropic donors. The devout Christian has also donated £1m to pro-Brexit campaigns, including £850,000 to Vote Leave through his company before the 2016 EU referendum. But with his son, Andrew, taking a bigger hand in running the West Midlands-based business, Lord Edmiston told The Independent he is spending more time out of the UK, having semi-retired to Portugal in 2016 and built a property in Australia.Now, he has revealed that he and his wife Lady Edmiston are considering going a step further by applying for permanent residency in Australia. He put it down to family reasons and a warmer climate, but also fired off criticism of the NHS and the country’s tax system. Lord Edmiston’s company IM Group donated £850,000 to Vote Leave, which had Boris Johnson as one of its figureheads More

Watch live as Sir Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (12 November).It comes as rumours swirl of a plot to oust the prime minister from Downing Street, circulated by senior aides during anonymous briefings on Tuesday (11 November).Among those touted as replacements are health secretary Wes Streeting and home secretary Shabana Mahmood, and one aide said that as many as “four leadership campaigns” are already active.Mr Streeting said that reports that he has a group of some 50 Labour frontbenchers ready to walk away from Government should the Budget land badly are “categorically untrue”.He accused the senior aides behind the anonymous briefings of engaging in “self-defeating and self-destructive behaviour” and called for them to be fired.Speaking to broadcasters this morning, he said that those launching the rumours have been “watching too much Celebrity Traitors”.The prime minister could also be grilled on the wrongful release of 91 prisoners in the past seven months. On Tuesday (11 November), David Lammy told the Commons that three were still on the loose.Of the three confirmed cases, two were released in August and December last year and a third in June this year. One is a foreign national. More

IT companies that provide services for the NHS, as well as the UK’s energy, water and transport infrastructure, will face tough new security standards in a new law introduced by ministers to mitigate the threat of cyber attacks.The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will be introduced on Wednesday in a move that ministers hope will strengthen national security by boosting cyber protections for the services that people and businesses rely on. The aim is to keep taps running, lights on and the UK’s transport services moving as businesses, transport hubs and government organisations continue to be targeted by cyber attacks. Liz Kendall, as technology secretary, will get new powers to instruct regulators and the organisations More

A panicked Downing Street briefing about Keir Starmer’s plans to fight off any attempts to oust him has fuelled speculation about who could replace him as leader. The clock has been ticking for some time now on a prime minister who has seen terrible polling ratings get progressively worse in his 16 months in power.Sir Keir was being given until the crucial elections next May – and potential calamities in Scotland, Wales and London – before MPs would consider a move against him, but if the Budget in a fortnight’s time lands badly then his demise could come sooner.Sir Keir Starmer’s senior political aides are said to have warned against attempts to oust him (Jack Taylor/PA) More

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has set the scene for tax rises in her autumn Budget on 26 November and everyone from homeowners to pension savers could be in her sights.High inflation and an estimated £30bn fiscal shortfall are putting pressure on the government and ultimately the nation’s finances.Reeves said in a speech in Downing Street earlier this month that “each of us must do our bit for the security of our country and the brightness of its future”.This has been seen as a sign of tax rises to come, especially as the chancellor suggested that she had to “deal with the world as I find it, not the world as I might wish it to be”.The rumour mill has been running for months and with just two weeks to go until the latest fiscal update, here are the key policy changes expected in the Budget and how they might impact your finances.Income tax riseLabour’s main manifesto pledge when it came to power last year was that it wouldn’t raise national insurance (NI), income tax or VAT.Reeves already raised employer NI contributions in her 2024 Budget and it is now expected that an income tax hike is coming.There are rumours that the Treasury is considering an idea from the Resolution Foundation to increase income tax by 2p and reduce employees’ NI by the same amount, which the think tank says could raise £6bn and hit higher earners more than what Labour describes as “working people”.But Sarah Coles, head of personal finance for Hargreaves Lansdown, said it would also hit self-employed people who pay income tax, but not employee NI.Get a free fractional share worth up to £100.Capital at risk.Terms and conditions apply.Go to websiteADVERTISEMENTGet a free fractional share worth up to £100.Capital at risk.Terms and conditions apply.Go to websiteADVERTISEMENTShe said: “They do pay NI, but a different class at a different rate, so they pay 6 per cent on profits over £12,570 up to £50,270 and 2 per cent on profits over £50,270. By only cutting NI for employed people, the system would put more of a burden on the self-employed.”Commentators have also speculated that the chancellor could instead add 1p to the basic rate of tax, increasing it from 20 per cent to 21 per cent.There are rumours that the Treasury is considering a 2p income tax increase More

A senior member of the British government on Wednesday denied he’s plotting to oust Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a sign of deep anxiety in the Labour Party over its dire poll ratings less than 18 months after a landslide election victory.Health Secretary Wes Streeting said talk of a leadership challenge by Labour officials and lawmakers is “self-defeating and self-destructive.” He spoke after aides to the prime minister preemptively told British media outlets that Starmer would fight any leadership challenge.“It’s totally self-defeating briefing, not least because it’s not true,” he told Sky News. He said “whoever’s been briefing this has been watching too much ‘Celebrity Traitors’,” referring to the hit reality TV show that pits faithful members of a group against conniving enemies within.The 42-year-old health secretary is one of the government’s most effective communicators and is widely tipped as a future party leader.A challenge this early in a government’s five-year term would be highly unusual. But Labour lawmakers are gloomy about opinion polls that consistently put Labour well behind the hard-right Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage – though ahead of the main opposition Conservative Party, which faces crises of its own.They are nervous about the annual budget statement on Nov. 26, which is expected to include income tax hikes, breaking an election promise.Since being elected in July 2024, Starmer’s government has struggled to deliver on its pledges to get the economy growing, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living. Inflation remains stubbornly high, unemployment has risen and the economic outlook subdued. Latest figures released Tuesday showed that the jobless rate has gone up to 5% in the three months to September from 4.8% in the previous three months — the highest since 2016 once the COVID-19 pandemic years were factored out.Under Labour Party rules, a lawmaker can mount a leadership challenge if they have the support of 20% of their colleagues, a threshold that currently stands at 81 members of Parliament.Britain’s parliamentary political system allows a governing party to change prime minister without the need for an early election, though unelected prime ministers face pressure to demonstrate their legitimacy by going to voters.The U.K. had three Conservative prime ministers – Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak – between the last two elections in December 2019 and July 2024. More

A group of wealthy Britons are calling for increased taxes on the rich, claiming that such measures could “lift kids out of poverty” and significantly contribute to rebuilding public services. The campaign group, Patriotic Millionaires, believes Chancellor Rachel Reeves could generate up to £36 billion annually through reforms to capital gains tax and the introduction of a new wealth tax. This appeal comes ahead of Ms Reeves’s upcoming Budget announcement in Westminster later this month.Group member Phil White said: “It’s time for the wealthiest – people like us – to pay a fairer share, so we can help lift these kids out of poverty and begin rebuilding our public services and communities right across the UK.”Speaking as Patriotic Millionaires began a tour to take its message to key cities across the UK, Mr White added: “We all want to live in a society where everyone has a decent shot at life – but at the moment that just isn’t the case.“The gap between the super-rich and everyone else grows by the day.“In Scotland, around one in five children live in poverty, while the country’s five richest families own a combined £19.3 billion – more wealth than a quarter of the population put together.”Patriotic Millionaires, believes Chancellor Rachel Reeves could generate up to £36 billion annually through reforms to capital gains tax and the introduction of a new wealth tax More