UK Politics

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is heckled as he announces benefits will be stopped during his autumn statement.After announcing £1.3 billion of funding to help 300,000 people who have been unemployed for a year, Hunt said the Government will “ask for something in return”.He said: “If after 18 months of intensive support jobseekers have not found a job, we will roll out a programme requiring them to take part in a mandatory work placement to increase their skills and improve their employability. And if they choose not to engage with the work search process for six months, we will close their case and stop their benefits.” More

Rishi Sunak has defended his interview with Elon Musk at the UK’s AI summit earlier this month, after a Labour MP criticised his “fawning welcome”.Daniel Zeichner said the “world cringed” over the prime minister’s discussion with the tech billionaire, and questioned what he has learnt from “an unelected, super-rich individual who had taken over a once successful organisation and plunged it into a death spiral.”Mr Sunak hit back by saying it was “extraordinary” that Mr Zeichner did not “understand the importance of technology sectors and companies to the growth of our economy”.“What the rest of the world saw was the UK playing a lead in defining the regulations and approach to a technology that is going to transform how we live.” More

Jeremy Hunt made a jibe at shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves during his autumn statement on Wednesday (22 November).Hunt told the Commons: “Let’s start with inflation. The shadow chancellor didn’t mention it in her conference speech. My conference speech was before hers so all she had to do was a bit of copying and pasting which I’ve heard she’s good at.”On Ms Reeves’ Labour’s conference speech, he added: “It speaks volumes that during the worst global inflation shock for a generation, it didn’t even get a mention.” More

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer suggested the Government had forgotten the NHS in unveiling five new pledges.Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir said: “This week the Prime Minister unveiled the latest version of his five pledges for the country.“Let’s hope he has more success with these than the last ones – did he forget the NHS?”Rishi Sunak replied: “Just weeks after becoming prime minister, we injected record funding into the NHS and in social care. “We also unveiled the first ever long-term workforce plan in the NHS’s 75-year history.” More