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In a latest U-turn after months of backlash, Sir Keir Starmer’s government has announced that more pensioners will receive the winter fuel allowance this winter. Rachel Reeves confirmed a change on the controversial cuts would be in place in time for this winter, but said the government would not set out details of exactly how the payment will be restored until the autumn Budget. There remains confusion over who will be affected by the changes, when they will be introduced and what they will entail, but pensions minister Torsten Bell has said that the payment would not be reinstated for everyone. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said how the changes will be paid for will be made clear in the October budget More

Watch live as Sir Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs on Wednesday (4 June), days after unveiling the UK’s defence strategy for the next decade.On Monday (2 May), the prime minister announced his Strategic Defence Review with the aim to move the UK to “warfighting readiness”.The government said that it will increase defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product from April 2027.Sir Keir also announced plans to build up to 12 new attack submarines which will replace the current fleet from the late 2030s onwards, and also confirmed that £15billion will be spent on its nuclear warhead programme.As the Labour government hikes up defence spending, opposition leaders will likely challenge the Prime Minister over what funding areas will have to be slashed in order to compensate.He will face questions in the Commons at noon, the majority from the Conservative leader who trivialised the plans as “just an announcement” as “a lot of the things they’ve announced in this strategic defence review require money”.Badenoch could also press the prime minister on the increasing numbers of small boat crossings.On Saturday (31 May), more than 1,100 migrants arrived in the UK, the highest number recorded on a single day so far in 2025. More

Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton has been chosen to be the next head of all three armed forces, The Independent understands.Sir Keir Starmer is understood to have picked the head of the RAF to lead the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as chief of the defence staff from this autumn.The appointment has not yet been officially announced, although it is expected to be confirmed soon, amid what has been billed as the most transformative period for the MoD in decades. It comes a day after the prime minister vowed to make Britain “a battle-ready, armour-clad nation” as he unveiled his strategic defence review (SDR), which included an army boosted to 100,000 personnel, 12 new submarines, drones and a rollout of Artificial Intelligence.Sir Richard, 56, is a career engineer who has been described as a “defence bureaucrat” as well as the “money guy” due to his ability to handle finances, with previous experience controlling the RAF’s budget. He is known as a safe pair of hands and has also rolled out personnel reform in the service.Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer (left) speaks with Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton (second right) last month More

Watch live as Sir Keir Starmer launches the landmark Strategic Defence Review in Glasgow, unveiling new measures as the country moves to “warfighting readiness”.The prime minister will announce that the UK plans to build up to 12 new attack submarines which will replace the current fleet from the late 2030s onwards, during his speech on Monday (2 June).He is also expected to confirm that £15billion will be spent on its nuclear warhead programme.The review, led by former Labour defence secretary Lord Roberston, will make an 60 additional recommendations, which the Labour government is expected to agree to in full.Speaking on BBC’s Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday (2 June), Sir Keir could not rule out the possibility of sending forces to Nato’s eastern border.Asked by Nick Robinson if British troops could be sent “risk their lives” and “possibly die”, the prime minister said he “hopes not”, though stressed the only way to stop this was to “prepare”.On Sunday (1 June), German’s chief of Defence, General Carsten Breuer, told the broadcaster that Russia would attack again within the next four years.Sir Keir also said earlier that while he wants to reach spending of 3% of GDP on defence, he would not “indulge in the fantasy politics of simply plucking dates from the air”. More

Britain will build up to 12 new nuclear-powered submarines, Sir Keir Starmer will announce as he unveils his much-anticipated defence review. In a bid to “ensure the UK rises to the challenge” of growing global security threats, the prime minister will say that the 130-page review is a “radical blueprint” signalling a “wave of investments” into military infrastructure and weaponry. An extra £15bn will be spent on new nuclear warheads for the UK’s nuclear deterrent.Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and defence secretary John Healey visit a Vanguard-class submarine off the coast of Scotland More

Britain will build up to 12 new nuclear-powered submarines, Sir Keir Starmer will announce as he unveils his much-anticipated defence review. In a bid to “ensure the UK rises to the challenge” of growing global security threats, the prime minister will say that the 130-page review is a “radical blueprint” signalling a “wave of investments” into military infrastructure and weaponry. An extra £15bn will be spent on new nuclear warheads for the UK’s nuclear deterrent.Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and defence secretary John Healey visit a Vanguard-class submarine off the coast of Scotland More

Demand for help from baby banks from parents struggling to feed their children has surged by more than one-third in a year, The Independent can reveal, amid record-high levels of child poverty.As the cost of living continues to rise, a growing number of families are having to turn to baby banks, with new data showing that more than 3.5 million essential items were handed out in 2024, including nappies, clothes and cots – an increase of 143 per cent on the previous year.Describing the rising need as “absolutely shocking”, actor and podcast host Giovanna Fletcher questioned how this is happening in the UK as she joined forces with MPs and children’s charities to urge the government to take action.The new figures come after Labour delayed until autumn its flagship plan to cut child poverty, although it insists its strategy is “ambitious”. Meanwhile, ministers are debating whether or not to scrap the two-child benefit cap as the cost of living crisis continues to bite, and statutory maternity pay remains equivalent to less than half of the 2025 national living wage. Parents including Adam Coggins (left) and Kirsty-Louise Fulford (right) speak with Giovanna Fletcher (second from right) at Bicester Baby Bank More

Almost one in 20 Tubepassengers are dodging fares – at a cost of £130m a year – amid a surge in violence against the staff who try to stop them. Almost 5 per cent of fares now go unpaid, new Transport for London (TFL) figures show, pushing up prices when many Londoners are already feeling the pinch of the cost of living crisis. It comes as shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick took to the London Underground himself to catch fare dodgers on camera. He said: “It’s annoying watching so many people break the law and get away with it.”A video posted on X (Twitter) showed him questioning passengers who barged past barriers without paying for a ticket. He was met with verbal abuse and one warning from a man who claimed he was carrying a knife. Many of those stopped for fare evasion are already wanted for other crimes, with knives and drugs seized when suspects are stopped and searched. Now, as part of a new clampdown, TfL has drafted in 500 enforcement officers to try to reduce the number of Tube travellers who are not paying, but many are subjected to violent and racial abuse. Almost 10,500 reports of work-related violence and aggression were made by TfL staff in 2023/24 – a 5 per cent increase on the previous year. About half of these incidents were linked to fare dodgers. Just under 5 per cent of people using the underground did not pay over the past year More