UK

Downing Street is preparing to defend the prime minister from any attempt to remove him in a coup, with a number of ministers being proposed as a possible successor.Sir Keir Starmer has been subject to months of rumours that he could be replaced as Labour continue to tank in the polls under his leadership. Several reports on Tuesday evening suggested the prime minister’s position could be challenged after the Budget later this month or next year’s local elections in May.Sources claimed health secretary Wes Streeting has made moves to replace Sir Keir and loyalists within No 10 are said to fear his job could be under threat.Mr Streeting, who is due to appear on the morning media round for the government on Wednesday, has denied the claims, but other names are also said to be in the frame.One senior figure told The Independent that the highly respected defence secretary John Healey is being put forward as “a continuity candidate” and “safe pair of hands”.Meanwhile, home secretary Shabana Mahmood is another name in contention, while the left of the party is looking for former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner to make a comeback or energy secretary Ed Miliband to have a second go as leader.Under pressure: Starmer with the chancellor Rachel Reeves More

The chancellor has been urged to introduce measures to “shame” companies that are increasing the price of their products while decreasing their size at the upcoming Budget.This phenomenon – known as ‘shrinkflation’ – has become pronounced during the ongoing cost of living crisis, with food prices remain high for many despite inflation recently slowing.Supermarkets should be empowered to put labels on offending products, the Institute For Public Policy Research (IPPR) has said, forcing greater transparency on food prices.It forms a suite of recommendations made by the think tank ahead of the fiscal event on 26 November. Its researchers have called on the chancellor to declare a “war on bills”, making the cost of living central to her economic agenda.Other measures put forward include forcing smaller convenience supermarkets to stock cheaper non-brand items, and ensure the same deals are available in these locations as in larger stores. Supermarkets should be empowered to put labels on ‘shrinkflated’ products, the IPPR says More

More than one hundred organisations have called on Labour to scrap the two-child benefit cap in full, as ministers reportedly consider ways to tweak – rather than fully remove – the controversial policy.Writing to Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, groups including the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), Citizens Advice and the British Medical Association (BMA), say it is “not the time for half-measures” in response to the reports.“Now is the moment for the prime minister and chancellor to hear the voices of the UK’s children and take this vital opportunity to do the right thing,” they said in a joint letter.“Abolishing the two-child limit in full will set millions of children’s lives on a path to a brighter future, and help to rebuild a stronger, fairer country and economy”.The two-child benefit cap prevents parents from claiming universal credit or tax credit for their third child. It was introduced by the Conservatives and came into place in April 2017. It only applies to children who were born after 6 April 2017.The chancellor has hinted she will act on the two-child benefit cap (Justin Tallis/PA) More

The departing boss of the BBC has warned staff against the “weaponisation” of criticisms of the corporation as it faces a $1bn (£760m) legal threat from Donald Trump.Tim Davie admitted the organisation had “made some mistakes that have cost us”, but hit out at the BBC’s “enemies” and urged colleagues “to fight for our journalism” as he addressed staff for the first time since resigning over the way a speech by the US president was edited in an episode of Panorama.His comments came amid growing pressure on the team behind the programme, with two former culture secretaries calling for sanctions against more senior staffers days after Mr Davie and Deborah Turness, the chief executive of BBC News, revealed they would be standing down.Deborah Turness speaks to the media outside BBC Broadcasting House in London on Monday after her resignation More

The UK has announced it will axe £150 million from Britain’s contribution to the international fight against Aids, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria – putting some 250,000 lives at risk, many of them children. Charities say the cut will force officials into “impossible, life-or-death decisions.” The UK has pledged £850m towards the Global Fund’s work over the next three years – down from £1bn in 2022, itself a cut from £1.4bn in 2019. It comes as part of plans to shift money away from foreign aid to pay for defence. The Independent revealed the cut of 15 per cent on Friday, with seven Labour MPs who served as ministers under Keir Starmer also having written to the prime minister warning the cut would be a “moral failure”. In a statement to parliament, international development minister Jenny Chapman said: “I am proud to announce that we will invest £850 million in the Global Fund for 2026-2028 to deliver lifesaving prevention, testing and treatment services. “This commitment is not only a moral imperative, it is a strategic investment in global and national health security and in wider economic growth and stability.”She added, “The decision on the UK’s pledge to the Global Fund has been taken in the context of the difficult decision this government has made to reduce spending on development assistance from 0.5 per cent of [national income] to 0.3 per cent to fund increased spending on our defence and national security”.The Global Fund aims to raise $18bn (around £14bn) to save an estimated 23 million lives between 2027 and 2029. Worldwide NGO the ONE campaign calculates that a £1bn commitment by the UK would save 1.7 million lives, so a £150m drop could see more than 250,000 lives lost. Labour MP Fleur Anderson was one of those who wrote to Sir Keir. Despite the rosy statement from government, she told The Independent that concerns remained: “It’s important to be leading as a country,” she said. “We are taking our place on the global stage and this is one of the ways in which we can make sure that our actions back up our words.“Defence funding is going up but there has to be balance with our diplomacy and development funding in order to ensure our security”.The Global Fund uses contributions from richer governments including the UK to pay for a significant chunk of the world’s programmes to fight HIV, TB and malaria. Ms Anderson said she was concerned aid cuts were making successful funders of drugs and vaccines compete with each other for funding. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The UK’s new support for the Global Fund is an investment in our shared security and prosperity.“No nation can tackle global health threats alone. As we co-host this vital funding replenishment with South Africa, we call on all partners to join us in building a safer, healthier world for everyone.”Chair of the international development committee, Sarah Champion, said she was, “deeply disappointed that our new contribution is 15 per cent lower in cash terms than at the last replenishment, while global inflation means that our new pledge counts for far less than it did a few years ago”. Adrian Lovett, UK executive director of the ONE Campaign, which advocates for investment in Africa, said this pledge could help save around 1.4 million lives in the next three years. “But if the government had matched the UK’s previous commitment, it could have helped save 255,000 more lives, many of them children,” he added. “Labour’s devastating 40 per cent cut to the overall budget for international assistance has forced officials into impossible, life-or-death decisions.”The UK’s pledge announcement comes ahead of the fund’s official fundraising event on 21 November which Sir Keir Starmer is co-hosting along with South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa. Given the UK’s role, “it would have been very embarrassing not to have been as generous as we possibly can,” Catherine West, another Labour MP to write to the prime minister on Friday, told The Independent. Ms West said she welcomed the figure, which she had feared could be lower – especially in light of the “tough budget that we’ve got in two weeks’ time”. “I am really pleased that both Jenny Chapman and also the prime minister have all decided that this is a really worthwhile and important fund”. But chief executive of UK-based HIV charity STOPAIDs, Mike Podmore, said the UK’s reduced pledge, “puts at risk the real possibility of ending AIDS by 2030. “While still a major contribution, a reduction may also limit the Global Fund’s ability to maintain existing progress and deliver its life-saving work,” from prevention work to medicine access. Labour MP Kerry McCarthy said she stood by the fears laid out in Friday’s letter to the prime minister. “I am concerned about the commitment being reduced,” she said.”We know that spending is finite,” she added, but the Global Fund was an area where, “we could put our money and just know that it’s having a really good impact. I think the important thing about it is it also feeds down to the governments in these countries. It’s not just handouts. It’s facilitating these governments taking control of…the HIV, TB, and malaria in their own countries”.Chief Scientific Officer of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Dr Kavindhran Velen, said: “Now is not the time to cut funding and engagement in the fight against TB – we can do that once the job is done” adding that the “devastating impact” of the US cuts had created a moment for the UK to “step up, not retreat”. Malaria No More UK’s managing director, Gareth Jenkins, said: “This is a disappointing step-back from the UK’s long-held leadership in the fight against malaria. “Letting our guard down now could scar Africa’s next generation by claiming tens of thousands more children’s lives. The economic consequences could also be severe with billions wiped from sub-Saharan African economies and weaker trading partnerships denting the UK’s own growth prospects”. The government had said the fund would receive a larger share of the aid budget for health, indicating the depths of the pain to come for those areas in line for much deeper cuts.In order to cut 40 per cent of the aid budget overall, Baroness Chapman has previously said that other recipients of UK aid money, including services specifically supporting women and girls, would lose more or all of their funding. Mr Lovett, of the ONE Campaign said: “In the context of deep cuts to the overall budget for international assistance, this investment in the Global Fund is a welcome commitment to collective efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria – but ministers must go further.“Investing in the fight against these deadly diseases has the wide support of the public. They recognise it is not only the right thing to do, but that it is in our own interests. Viruses and diseases do not stop at borders – so when we invest in healthier lives abroad, we make ourselves safer here at home too.”This article has been produced as part of The Independent’s Rethinking Global Aid project More

Sir Keir Starmer has hinted that he could scrap the two-child benefit cap at the Budget, saying he is “determined” to drive down child poverty. The prime minister said that the government will be “taking a number of measures” to tackle the issue, amid speculation that the cap will be altered or scrapped entirely following pressure from Labour MPs. It is the latest hint that the cap could be removed after Rachel Reeves said on Monday that there are “costs to our economy in allowing child poverty to go unchecked”. In a clip broadcast on ITV’s Lorraine programme on Tuesday, the prime minister said: “I can tell you in no uncertain terms I am determined to drive child poverty down. It is what the last Labour government did, and that’s one of the things we were proudest of. “I am personally determined that is what we’re going to do. You won’t have to wait much longer to see what the measures are.” Pushed on whether that would involve getting rid of the cap, the PM added: “We won’t have to wait much longer. But I wouldn’t be telling you that we’re going to drive down child poverty if I wasn’t clear that we will be taking a number of measures in order to do so.”Rachel Reeves has said that there are ‘costs to our economy in allowing child poverty to go unchecked’ More

Sir Ed Davey has called for Sir Robbie Gibb to be ousted from the BBC board. The Liberal Democrat leader said that Sir Robbie – who served as Theresa May’s director of communications – should have “no role in appointing the new director general” following the departure of Tim Davie. It follows claims that Sir Robbie “led the charge” in claims over systemic bias in the corporation, which was followed by the resignation of Mr Davie and the head of BBC News, Deborah Turness.Writing in The Guardian, the Lib Dem leader said that “to ensure the BBC’s independence, impartiality and trust, Sir Robbie should have no role in appointing the new director general”.He wrote: “The government should remove him from the board immediately – and end the practice of political appointments, which so badly undermines the BBC, altogether.” Davie and culture secretary Lisa Nandy ahead of the concert celebrating the 80th anniversary of VE Day, London, May More

Labour is reportedly considering scrapping the two-child benefit cap following pressure from backbenchers, campaign groups and political opponents.Ahead of the Budget on 26 November, Rachel Reeves has given the strongest hint yet that Labour could abolish the controversial policy, saying she does not think it is right that children are “penalised” for being part of large families.Speaking on BBC 5Live, the chancellor said it was important not to let the “costs to our economy in allowing child poverty to go unchecked”. She added: “In the end, a child should not be penalised because their parents don’t have very much money.”The chancellor’s comments suggest that action will be taken on the cap, likely either at the Budget or as part of the government’s delayed child poverty strategy, which is due before the end of the year.Rachel Reeves said it was important not to let the ‘costs to our economy in allowing child poverty to go unchecked’ More