UK Politics

There are moments in politics where the situation has spun so badly out of control that somebody has to step in quickly to end the chaos.Most famously in recent history it was former 1922 committee chairman Sir Graham Brady’s visit to Liz Truss in Downing Street to force her to resign after the mini-budget fallout. But last night Keir Starmer had reached such a moment. His government was in meltdown.A brutal 48 hours had seen him apparently lose control of his government’s policy agenda after the welfare reform rebellion by Labour backbenchers. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (right) crying as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister’s Questions (UK Parliament/PA) More

Welcome to an exclusive Ask Me Anything session with me, John Rentoul, The Independent’s chief political commentator.Keep scrolling for more. If you want to jump straight to the Q&A, click here.Recent attempts by Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership to tackle welfare reform have exposed deep tensions within Labour, shaking its identity to the core.The standoff over disability benefits, with dramatic rebellions from both loyalist and Corbynite MPs alike, laid bare the struggles Labour faces in balancing fiscal responsibility with social justice. Starmer’s handling of the crisis has damaged his standing – and it seems that only deputy leader Angela Rayner emerged stronger, prompting whispers about the future leadership of the party.But the question remains: can Labour survive this identity crisis? Can the party reconcile its historic commitment to working people with the tough policy decisions required in today’s political climate – and craft a credible alternative to austerity without alienating its own members?What about Rachel Reeves, Liz Kendall, and Angela Rayner? Will these recent developments change the balance of power within the party – or push one of them out entirely?Join me live at 2pm BST on Friday, 4 July to discuss Labour’s internal battles, the challenges facing Starmer’s government, and what the future holds for the party.Submit your questions in the comments below. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments section to participate. For a full guide on how to comment, click here.Don’t worry if you can’t see your question right away – some may be hidden until the Q&A starts. See you at 2pm! More

A distressed Rachel Reeves shed tears in the House of Commons on Wednesday as Sir Keir Starmer dodged a question over her future on a day when the government appeared to be spiralling out of control.Following a damaging rebellion over welfare cuts by 49 Labour MPs, the prime minister floundered at Prime Minister’s Questions and refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the £5bn funding gap created by his welfare U-turns.A senior Labour figure said the backbench revolt – and the last-minute concessions that hollowed out the welfare bill – were “terminal” for the prime minister’s political prospects.The PM is facing pressure to sack Ms Reeves and his controversial chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, both of whom have been held partly responsible for the welfare fiasco, and there have been renewed calls for a wealth tax to balance the books.And after the Institute for Fiscal Studies revealed that the watered-down welfare reforms would end up costing money rather than saving billions as originally planned, the bond markets also became uneasy.Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (right) cries as Keir Starmer speaks at PMQs yesterday More

MPs have backed the government’s move to ban the direct action group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, despite warnings that this would have a “chilling effect” on protest.Legislation passed in the Commons yesterday, as MPs voted 385 to 26, a majority of 359 in favour of proscribing the group under the Terrorism Act 2000.While security minister Dan Jarvis told MPs that Palestine Action as not a “legitimate protest group”, others criticised the move and described it as “draconian overreach” and likened the group to the Suffragettes. Zarah Sultana, the independent MP for Coventry South, told the Commons: “To equate a spray can of paint with a suicide bomb isn’t just absurd, it is grotesque. It is a deliberate distortion of the law to chill dissent, criminalise solidarity and suppress the truth.”The motion is expected to be debated and voted on by the House of Lords today before it becomes law.Meanwhile, pro-Palestine demonstrators have hit out at the government, accusing it of “hypocrisy” as it prepares to ban an activist group under anti-terror law.The decision to proscribe the group comes after two planes were vandalised at RAF Brize Norton on June 20. Pro-Palestine protesters demonstrating outside parliament More

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said Wednesday that Treasury chief Rachel Reeves is secure in her job after a series of government U-turns dented her revenue-raising plans.Speculation about Reeves’ future mounted after she appeared to be in tears Wednesday in the House of Commons, the day after an embarrassing reversal for the government over its plans to cut welfare spending. Many viewers observed that Reeves looked exhausted and upset as she sat behind Starmer during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session.The Treasury said Reeves was dealing with a “personal matter.” It would not elaborate.Starmer initially declined to say, when asked by opposition leader Kemi Badenoch, that Reeves would still have her job when the next election is called, likely in 2029.But Starmer’s press secretary later said Reeves “is going nowhere. She has the prime minister’s full backing.”On Tuesday, Starmer’s government was forced to water down plans to curb welfare spending in order to quell a rebellion by lawmakers from his own party.In something of a hollow victory, the bill passed its first big House of Commons hurdle after the government appeased Labour Party rebels by softening and delaying cuts to welfare benefits for disabled people. Even so, 49 Labour lawmakers voted against the bill.The result is a major blow to Starmer’s authority as he approaches the one-year anniversary of his election on Friday, reckoning with a sluggish economy and rock-bottom approval ratings.It also leaves the Treasury short of money it had counted on to invest in public services, making tax increases more likely. The government has promised not to raise key levies including income tax and sales tax.The government estimated that its welfare reforms would save 5 billion pounds ($7 billion) a year, but after the changes it’s unclear whether they will save any money at all.The reversal follows a decision in May to drop a plan to end winter home heating subsidies for millions of retirees, which Reeves had also counted on to raise money. More