UK Politics

Plaid Cymru have won a key seat in the Senedd after a Reform UK surge allowed Welsh nationalists to snatch the traditionally Labour seat away from Sir Keir Starmer’s party. Lindsay Whittle, a long-standing councillor in the Penyrheol ward and leader of the group on Caerphilly Council, won the seat with 47.38 per cent of the vote. In second place was Reform UK’s Llŷr Powell on 35.9 per cent, while Welsh Labour’s Richard Tunnicliffe came third with just 11 per cent – in a humiliating defeat for the party. Labour has run the Welsh Parliament since the devolved administration was first established in 1999 and Caerphilly has been one of its strongholds.But opposition parties hoping to form the next Welsh Government have run fierce campaigns in the South Wales constituency, with many seeing this week’s byelection as a bellwether for the Senedd election next May. The by-election also comes in the run-up to a vote on the next Welsh Government budget, which has heaped even more pressure on the Labour campaign.When passing its last budget in March, the Government needed the help of an opposition member to get it through by a tight margin.While Labour is the largest party in the Senedd, it does not have a majority, and the next budget vote in January is likely to be even more difficult after losing the Caerphilly seat.The by-election was called following the death of Hefin Wyn David, a Labour politician who was first elected in Caerphilly in 2016.There will be an inquest into his death in April next year. More

A long-awaited inquiry into grooming gangs may now not take place until next year.Government sources have told The Times that it could take months to find a new chair after both contenders to oversee the probe – former police officer Jim Gamble and Annie Hudson – pulled out this week.The government is taking urgent steps to find new candidates after the exit of “leading” option Mr Gamble – but ministers will “take the time, likely months”, to appoint the right chair, the source said. The inquiry has been thrown into disarray after the loss of the two candidates to chair the probe, as well as the departure of five women from the victims liaison panel.Four of the women who quit have said they would be prepared to return if safeguarding minister Jess Phillips resigns, while five of those still on the advisory panel have said they would only stay if she remains in post.The five backing Ms Phillips said in a letter to Sir Keir Starmer and home secretary Shabana Mahmood that her retaining her role is one of the conditions for their continued participation. They wrote that the minister has “remained impartial” and “we want her to remain in position for the duration of the process for consistency”. Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips is facing calls to resign (PA) More

Rachel Reeves is reportedly considering raising income tax in her Budget next month in what would be a major break of one of Labour’s main manifesto pledges.Sources have told The Guardian that she may raise income tax to fill a hole in the public finances estimated at between £30bn and £50bn. The paper reported the Chancellor is “nervous” about breaking such a major pledge, but some advisers in the Treasury and No 10 believe it may be the only way to raise enough money to make sure she does not have to raise taxes again this parliament.Before the election, Labour’s pledged no tax rises on working people.But one source said the Treasury is considering adding 1p to the basic rate, which would raise more than £8 billion. Another believes she will likely raise higher or additional rates, which would bring smaller sums of £2bn and £230m at rates beginning at roughly £50,000 and £125,000 a year.A senior official said there have been discussions about how much headroom Ms Reeves wanted to give herself, with some saying she wants more than the £10bn she accounted for at the spring statement.A senior official said there have been discussions about how much headroom Reeves wanted to give herself, with some saying she wants more than the £10bn she accounted for at the spring statement More

Nearly two thirds of Brits believe Brexit has been a failure – and they mainly blame Boris Johnson, a survey has revealed.Despite slogans on Leave campaign buses claiming £350million was being sent each week to the European Union, most also believe the UK’s exit has failed because of the damage it has done to the economy.The new figures, part of a major report to be unveiled on Friday, come just days after Rachel Reeves warned Brexit had an even bigger impact on the economy than critics predicted. ( More

Sir Keir Starmer has said that the public will never need a digital ID to access a hospital, but admitted that the full cost of the new scheme is still not known. The prime minister reiterated on Thursday that digital IDs will only be mandatory when it comes to the right to work. The scheme was first announced last month, and has been highlighted as a way to prove a person has the right to work in the UK as part of the government’s bid to cut illegal migration. Asked whether a digital ID would be needed to access a hospital, Sir Keir told the BBC on Thursday: “Absolutely not”.“Apart from the right to work and having a digital ID, it won’t be mandatory,” he said. “You’ll never need ID to get into a hospital or anything like that.” However, he admitted officials are not clear on how much the scheme will cost overall.Some experts have expressed concerns that a digital ID card system could leave the country vulnerable to data security breaches More

Reform UK’s Doge team has been accused of doing little more than “photocalls” at councils that it vowed to “save a lot of money” for when it was set up four months ago.The Elon Musk-inspired cost-cutting team, set up by Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf, pledged to work with Reform-controlled councils across the UK after the party’s big wins at local elections in May.The party promised councils a free team of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors to “visit and analyse” their finances to “identify wasteful spending and recommend actionable solutions”.Doge has not identified specific targets but Reform has pledged to cut spending on things such as diversity and inclusion programmes.However, The Independent has found that the unit has only visited three of the 12 councils since the May elections – and has been met with barriers preventing them from making much progress.Of the 12 Reform-controlled councils, only Kent, West Northamptonshire and Worcestershire have hosted Mr Yusuf and his team for talks.The cost-cutting team, set up by Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf, pledged to work with Reform-controlled councils across the UK More

Wes Streeting has hit out at the doctors’ union after it announced a fresh round of strikes, warning it is a “slap in the face” for NHS staff and will play directly into the hands of Nigel Farage.The health secretary accused the British Medical Association (BMA) of trying to “wreck” the NHS recovery with a “rush to industrial action” after it announced resident doctors in England would strike on five consecutive days next month in an ongoing row over jobs and pay.The association claims doctors are left unemployed and struggling to find jobs, while shifts in But Mr Streeting, writing exclusively in The Independent, said the strike “flies in the face of the wishes of their patients who have consistently opposed these disruptive walkouts”. Resident doctors have been in a pay dispute since March 2023, and next month’s industrial action will be the 13th strike since it began. They were awarded a 28.9 per cent pay rise over the last three years, but the BMA says wages are still around 20 per cent lower in real terms than in 2008.Junior doctors protested outside Downing Street over the summer in their ongoing dispute over pay More

Doctors are set to go on strike for five days in row over jobs and pay, the British Medical Association (BMA) has announced.Resident doctors in England will strike on five consecutive days from 7am on November 14 to 7am on November 19.The BMA claims doctors are going unemployed and “struggling to find jobs” – while “shifts in hospitals go unfilled” and patients stay on waiting lists. Resident doctors, previously named junior doctors, make up around half of all doctors in the NHS and the BMA is arguing better pay will stop them leaving.”This is not where we wanted to be,” Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee (RDC), said announcing the strikes.Junior doctors protested outside Downing Street over the summer in their ongoing dispute over pay (Jordan Pettitt/PA) More