UK Politics

Jeremy Hunt was unable to tell Martin Lewis whether the public should save or spend money to help the economy.The chancellor was grilled by the MoneySavingExpert founder on his eponymous ITV show broadcast on Tuesday (9 January).Mr Lewis pressed Mr Hunt on whether a “good citizen” should spend money to boost the economy or save to keep inflation down.“I pride myself on always giving people direct answers to questions, but I’m not going to answer that one… that is very, very individual,” Mr Hunt responded. More

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailJeremy Hunt has hinted that further tax cuts could be on the cards following the recent reduction in national insurance. The Chancellor, who will deliver a spring Budget in March, told the Martin Lewis Money Show Live on Tuesday evening that taxes will not return to pre-pandemic levels in “one go”. However, Mr Hunt did not give any timetable for when further cuts could take place. “After a period in which taxes have gone up in order to pay for the costs of the pandemic or the £3,500 of help we gave people in the cost of living crisis to a typical family, we now want to bring that tax burden back down,” Mr Hunt told the presenter. “Now we can’t get all the way back to where we were pre-pandemic in one go, but we can make a start. And this is about £1,000, just under £1,000 for a typical two-earner family. But we would like to go further as and when it’s affordable and responsible to do so.”It comes after a two percentage point cut in national insurance, from 12% to 10%, took effect last Saturday.Several economists have pointed to the fact that despite the national insurance cut, many households are still facing the burden of high taxes. Labour also branded the move a “raw deal”.There is speculation in Westminster that further tax cuts could be announced in the spring budget on 6 March, with a general election expected in the second half of the year. Some Tory MPs are lobbying the Chancellor to push ahead with tax cuts in a bid to woo voters.In the same interview, Mr Hunt also said that the carer’s allowance of £76.75 a week was never meant to be a replacement for income.He said: “We keep all the benefits under review. What I would say is the carer’s allowance was never meant to be income replacement. It’s meant to be support for people doing caring duties. But lots of people do caring duties for members of their family and people they know well.“But I don’t think it’s possible for the state to fully replace income. But we have increased the carer’s allowance and we will continue to keep it under review.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailTwo British nationals are being held hostage by Hamas, David Cameron confirmed in his first full questioning by MPs since returning to government late last year. The foreign secretary also said he had concerns that Israel may have acted in breach of international law in the Middle East conflict, but that it was not his job to make a “legal adjudication” about the country’s actions.During a tense exchange with SNP MP Brendan O’Hara, Lord Cameron said he had seen information in respect of the crisis that is “deeply concerning” but would not say whether he had received legal advice suggesting that laws had been breached.The former prime minister told the Commons foreign affairs select committee: “If you’re asking me am I worried that Israel has taken action that might be in breach of international law, because this particular premises has been bombed or whatever – yes, of course I’m worried about that, and that’s why I consult the Foreign Office lawyers when giving this advice on arms exports.”Lord Cameron also called on Israel to restore the water supply in Gaza, and confirmed that the two hostages were still being held along with others who are “very connected to Britain”.He said the government is doing “everything we can” to relieve suffering. An estimated 240 people were taken prisoner in Gaza after Hamas’s 7 October attacks against Israel. Some 105 were released during a ceasefire in November.Pressed on whether it is a breach of international law to turn water off in an occupied territory, Lord Cameron refused to answer. His permanent under secretary in the Foreign Office, Sir Philip Robert Barton, said it is a breach of international law.Foreign secretary David Cameron confirmed the number of British hostages still being held in Gaza Tory chair of the committee Alicia Kearns pressed Lord Cameron on whether he had received any advice saying that Israel is in breach of international law. “I can’t recall every single piece of paper put in front of me,” he said.But, in a bid for caution on the part of the Israeli government, he added that he “would have differences” with how Israel has responded to the Hamas attacks on 7 October.More than 22,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its attack on the territory, with the vast majority of victims being women and children, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry.Speaking after the committee hearing, Ms Kearns said that she did not think Lord Cameron had provided clear answers to MPs on the issue of Israel and international law. She told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme that she believed Israel, as an occupying power in Gaza, had breached international humanitarian law.“The reality is that it is not always for courts to make determinations,” she said. “On issues such as international humanitarian law, and whether or not it has been broken or not, I made the point to him [that] he has previously made those determinations from the despatch box as prime minister.”Relatives of a man killed in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday prepare for his burial The foreign secretary also that said a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine is possible, as the conflict in Gaza rages on. “Out of a crisis should come some opportunity,” Lord Cameron said.Asked if the two-state solution, which would see Israel remain alongside an independent Palestinian state, is “remotely feasible” after the bitter war, he replied: “Yes, you’ve got to hope that it’s feasible.”Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson was asked whether the prime minister shares Lord Cameron’s concerns that Israel may be violating international law. He replied: “It’s an issue we continue to keep under review, and obviously we have made our views clear to the Israeli government at a number of levels on this.”It came as US secretary of state Antony Blinken urged Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet to maintain a path towards the creation of a Palestinian state.Mr Blinken, who toured Israel’s Arab neighbours for talks on plans for the future governance of Gaza and integration in the Middle East, said earlier that he would be discussing the “way forward” for the war during the meetings.He met one-on-one with Mr Netanyahu at Tel Aviv’s Kirya military base, and then with the war cabinet that was formed in the wake of the attacks by Palestinian Hamas militants.Antony Blinken, left, meets with Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz, second right, on TuesdayRepeating the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s right to prevent a repeat of the attacks, Mr Blinken “stressed the importance of avoiding further civilian harm and protecting civilian infrastructure in Gaza”, US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.As well as trying to damp down regional tensions, Mr Blinken has been discussing plans for the future governance of Gaza, which could involve Israel’s Muslim-majority neighbours.Mr Blinken earlier met with Israel’s president Isaac Herzog and foreign minister Israel Katz. He told Mr Katz there were opportunities for regional integration and connectivity “but we have to get through this very challenging moment”.In the meeting with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Blinken “reiterated the need to ensure lasting, sustainable peace for Israel and the region, including by the realisation of a Palestinian state”, Mr Miller said.Mr Blinken was also set to meet with families of hostages taken by Hamas, and discuss the “relentless efforts” to bring them back.Several dozen protesters gathered outside the hotel where Mr Blinken was having meetings and called for a ceasefire to secure the release of hostages. More

Michael Gove appeared to have an injury to his face as he arrived at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 9 January.The housing secretary also appeared on BBC News with a mark visible on his forehead.It came as the government announced proposals to bring in a strict time frame for landlords to fix problems under legislation named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in his home in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.Landlords will have to make emergency repairs within 24 hours under the proposals. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch as Labour MPs question the government on the costs of its Rwanda plan during an Opposition Day Debate on Tuesday, 9 January.The debate came as Rishi Sunak faces a showdown with MPs over the legislation when it returns to the Commons next week.Penny Mordaunt has announced that the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill’s committee stage will take place on 16 and 17 January.The legislation is aimed at overcoming the Supreme Court’s objections to the stalled plan to deport some migrants to the African country.It seeks to enable Parliament to deem Rwanda “safe” generally but makes limited allowances for personal claims against being sent there.Critics of the bill on the right want the controversial legislation to be tightened, while more centrist Tories have said they could oppose the bill if it risks breaching international law.Mr Sunak was forced to defend the plan after leaked documents suggested he held significant doubts about the controversial scheme and argued for it to be scaled back. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar investment in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI could trigger a European Union merger investigation, the bloc’s executive branch said Tuesday. The European Commission said it’s “checking whether Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI might be reviewable” under regulations covering mergers and acquisitions that would harm competition in the 27-nation EU.The review could lead to a formal investigation into whether the deal should be unconditionally cleared, allowed with concessions from the companies or blocked. Britain’s antitrust watchdog opened a similar review last month. Antitrust enforcers in the U.S. also have signaled concerns about competition in the AI industry. The Federal Trade Commission in November approved new measures enabling it to more easily investigate AI products and services, noting that “AI can raise competition issues in a variety of ways, including if one or just a few companies control the essential inputs or technologies that underpin AI.”OpenAI has received several rounds of funding from Microsoft, including an initial $1 billion in 2019 and a multibillion-dollar investment last year. OpenAI’s generative AI chatbot ChatGPT has captured world attention with its advanced capabilities, catapulting the San Francisco-based startup to the top ranks of AI companies. Generative AI systems like ChatGPT can spit out new text, images, videos or audio recordings based on prompts from users. The European Commission, the bloc’s top antitrust enforcer, is asking businesses and experts for input on any competition issues that they see in generative AI and has asked “several large digital players” — which it didn’t identify — for information. The commission is “also closely monitoring AI partnerships to ensure they do not unduly distort market dynamics,” the EU’s antitrust enforcer, Margrethe Vestager, said in a press release. Vestager is due to meet with OpenAI executives on a trip this week to the U.S., as well as Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch live as David Cameron faces questions from the Foreign Affairs committee for the first time in his new role as foreign secretary on Tuesday, 9 January.The former prime minister is appearing before the committee at Portcullis House, which is likely to explore Lord Cameron’s approach to his new role, his broader vision and strategy for the UK’s foreign policy, and scrutinise his long-term priorities for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).It comes after Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell warned that the risk of famine in Gaza is “stark” amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.Mr Mitchell said: “UK ministers are lobbying the government of Israel hard and regularly to allow more aid in and reduce the numerous constraints that are hindering many aspects of our and others’ efforts to help Gazan civilians.“Nevertheless the risk of famine is stark and the foreign secretary and other ministers throughout the Government are pushing the need to address this with the Israeli government.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour has increased its huge poll lead over the Conservatives, with the latest YouGov survey putting Sir Keir Starmer’s party on more than double the support of the Tories.The opposition has received a five-point poll bounce, increasing its lead over Rishi Sunak’s party to a mammoth 24 points.YouGov puts Labour on 46 per cent – more than double Tory support on 22 per cent. Sir Keir also has a big lead over Mr Sunak on who will make the best PM, with 30 per cent backing to 18 per cent.It comes as Sir Keir warns Labour MPs that the Tory prime minister could still call a surprise general election in the spring.The Labour leader told his troops to get ready to campaign within months, despite Mr Sunak saying he wanted to go to the polls later in the year.Speaking to his MPs at the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) on Monday night, Sir Keir also warned of a potentially dirty election campaign – having vowed to fight “fight with fire”.Keir Starmer has warned his MPs that Tories will fight dirty campaign Sir Keir said: “In their desperation, they will attempt anything. We will be prepared for any eventuality, ready to take them on whenever they find the courage to give the public a say.”The Labour leader also said Mr Sunak’s party would “unleash a gauntlet of fear and doubt” – arguing that Tories know that “belief that things can be better” is their biggest threat.Sir Keir also made a joke about Mr Sunak’s meetings with former No 10 strategist Dominic Cummings at the gathering in parliament.“We’ve even learned he is trying to get the old gang back together by getting Dominic Cummings involved,” he said. “Sadly for Sunak, Cummings’ eyesight seems to have improved enough that he can spot a car crash when it’s presented to him and he turned them down.”Mr Sunak raised the prospect of a lengthy and bitter campaign when he said last week that it was his “working assumption” that he would call the election in the second half of the year.Rishi Sunak under pressure to release Rwanda plan documents Meanwhile, Labour will table a vote in parliament on Tuesday calling for the release of documents relating to the Mr Sunak’s Rwanda deportation policy.The vote – which will be part of a humble address on the opposition day debate in the Commons – will ask for any documents that show the cost of relocating each individual asylum seeker to Rwanda, as well as a list of all payments made or scheduled to be made to the country’s government.It will also ask for the government’s internal breakdown of the more than 35,000 asylum decisions made last year and an unredacted copy of the confidential memorandum of understanding ministers reached with the East African country.Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the government’s refusal to “come clean” on the cost of the Rwanda scheme is “totally unacceptable”.It comes after the BBC said it has seen No 10 papers from March 2022, a month before the Rwanda plan was announced by then prime minister Boris Johnson, which showed that Mr Sunak had doubts over the impact of deporting migrants to Kigali. More