UK Politics

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorRachel Reeves has confirmed that Labour’s first autumn Budget will bring fresh tax rises as she says more needs to be done to fill the government’s shortfall in public finances.Her statement comes after she recently announced a slate of cost-cutting measures to grapple with the issue. These included scrapping the Winter Fuel Payment for millions of pensioners, alongside halting several in-progress infrastructure projects.The chancellor revealed that a Treasury report at the start of the week that showed the government is facing a £20bn ‘black hole’ in public finances.She has put the blame squarely on the previous Conservative administration, accusing her predecessor Jeremy Hunt of lying about ‘true state’ of government money.Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to explain the financial challenges the country faces More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorChancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned that her plans to means test winter fuel payments will not be possible because of ageing computer systems.Former pensions minister Guy Opperman, who ran benefits for pensioners between 2017 and 2022 and looked at means testing winter fuel payments, has issued a warning that the system in the Department for Workm and Pensions cannot cope with the changes Ms Reeves has proposed.The chancellor announced that she would save almost £3 billion by ending winter fuel payments of £200 for over-70s and £800 for over-80s who are not on pension credit.That means around 10 million out of the 11.5 million pensioners who received the payment will no longer get it and 7 milion of the 8.5 million households which received will no longer be entitled to the payment.Rachel Reeves has cut winter fuel payments More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorRachel Reeves has said she is unable to have a urinal removed from her office toilet because it is listed and cannot be altered.After the general election it was reported that work was set to take the urinal out of the Ms Reeves’s private office in Whitehall. But weeks later the chancellor, the first woman to hold the post since its creation a thousand years ago, said the facility is “still is in there” and cannot be replaced.Appearing on an episode of the News Agents podcast, Ms Reeves invited host Emily Maitlis into the bathroom to see the urinal still standing.Rachel Reeves said there is a urinal in her toilet More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorTaxes will have to rise in October to plug a £22bn hole in the public finances, Rachel Reeves has warned.Ahead of her first budget, the chancellor refused to rule out hiking capital gains and inheritance tax and pursuing pension reform to fill the gap.And, setting the scene for a brutal financial statement, she said: “I think that we will have to increase taxes in the budget.”Rachel Reeves warned taxes will rise in October More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorTaxes will likely be raised in the Budget, Rachel Reeves has said.The Chancellor said Labour would stick to its election manifesto promises not to raise national insurance, income tax or VAT, but left open the possibility for other tax hikes at the Budget on October 30.“I think that we will have to increase taxes in the Budget,” she said while speaking to The News Agents podcast.Ms Reeves‘ admission comes a day after she scrapped a series of infrastructure projects, and announced the winter fuel allowance for pensions would be means-tested, among a series of measures aimed at filling a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.Ms Reeves did not state what taxes would be raised when asked on the podcast whether Labour would stick to its manifesto promises, and instead raise inheritance tax or capital gains tax, or undertake pension reform.She said: “We had in our manifesto a commitment to fiscal rules to balance day-to-day spending through tax receipts, and by the end of the forecast period, to get debt down as a share of GDP.“Those are sensible fiscal rules to keep a grip of the public finances. We also made other commitments in our manifesto, not to increase national insurance, VAT or income tax for the duration and we’ll stick with those.”Pressed again about which taxes could go up, she added: “We will have a Budget on October 30 and ahead of that Budget, we will have a forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility on this occasion, based on accurate numbers.”On Monday, the Chancellor said she was making “difficult decisions” as she accused the previous government of leaving £21.9 billion of unfunded commitments that it had “covered up from the country”.In a statement to Parliament, she set out “immediate action” to address the shortfall by £5.5 billion, with the rest of the gap to be addressed at the Budget.But her predecessor Jeremy Hunt claimed around half of the “black hole” in spending was down to her deciding to give above-inflation pay rises to millions of public sector workers.Ms Reeves announced during the statement she would agree recommendations by a raft of public sector pay review bodies, while also agreeing to hike junior doctors’ pay by around 20% over two years.In a hint that taxes may have to increase, Ms Reeves said the Budget will “involve taking difficult decisions to meet our fiscal rules across spending, welfare and tax”.Ms Reeves‘ statement to the Commons came after she ordered Treasury officials to undertake an audit of public spending when Labour came to office.Among the spending commitments cancelled by the Chancellor are plans for the Stonehenge Tunnel, and to restore some previously closed railway lines, ending the Rwanda migration scheme, and abandoning Rishi Sunak’s “Advanced British Standard” in education, arguing the former prime minister “didn’t put aside a single penny to pay for it”.A Treasury spokesperson said: “As we said yesterday, there will be further difficult decisions on tax and spending at the Budget on October 30.“The Chancellor has not committed to any tax rises not already in the manifesto and has committed to not increasing national insurance, VAT or income tax.” More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorThe UK’s renewable energy budget has been increased to a record £1.5 billion, Ed Miliband announced on Wednesday.Of that, £1.1 billion will be allocated for offshore wind, which the government described as “the backbone of the UK’s clean energy mission”.The funding uplift represents more than a 50 per cent increase on the budget previously set in March. The renewable energy industry will bid for the sum in order to deliver clean energy projects in the UK. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the higher budget will “boost energy security, secure cheap power for families, and unlock economic growth and jobs for the country”. It will “accelerate the delivery of clean, cheap, low-carbon electricity to families and businesses, generated by renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines and solar panels”, the department added.( More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorKemi Badenoch has dismissed accusations that she bullied civil service staff while serving as business secretary as “smears”.The Conservative MP, now shadow communities secretary, is alleged to have created an intimidating atmosphere at the Department of Business and Trade in a report by the Guardian newspaper.“Let’s be clear: these allegations are smears from former staff who I sacked after they were accused of bullying behaviour, lying about other colleagues to cover up their own failures and general gross incompetence,” Ms Badenoch wrote on X, formerly Twitter.“Intolerable behaviour I would not stand for,” she added.The Tory former minister, among those running to be the party’s next leader, also claimed the Department of Business and Trade had confirmed there were no complaints and no investigations against her.She said the accusations would not “stop me or my campaign” and claimed her bid to be the next Conservative leader following the party’s general election rout had “spooked the lefties and now they’re coming for the one person they know can beat Keir Starmer”.Ms Badenoch, the MP for North West Essex, added: “The renewal of my party and the country is too important to let the Guardian, acting for the Labour Party, disrupt.”A spokesman for Ms Badenoch added that she has “high standards and expectations, and she has cultivated high-performing civil service teams who enjoy working with her”.The Guardian article claimed Ms Badenoch was responsible for behaviour that traumatised staff, leading at least three of them to leave their jobs at the Government department.A Department of Business and Trade spokesperson said: “We cannot comment on individual HR matters. However, there have never been any formal complaints or investigations into the previous secretary of state’s conduct at this department.“It is common for Government departments to seek the views of civil servants and to discuss the results of those surveys in routine meetings with staff. We do not tolerate abuse or bullying of any kind.” More

Rachel Reeves accuses Jeremy Hunt of lying over £22bn spending holeSupport trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorDeputy prime minister Angela Rayner has declared that the UK is living the “most acute housing crisis in living history” as she announced a radical reform to the country’s housing planning system. Addressing the Commons, the housing secretary has promised to fix the Tories’ legacy by bringing back mandatory housing targets of 370,000 a year on councils. Under the plans, Ms Rayner announced a review of the green belt if councils do not meet the housebuilding targets. It comes as Rachel Reeves  warned “more difficult choices” are coming after axing winter fuel payments for many pensioners in a bid to help plug a £22bn black hole in the public finances.The chancellor unveiled plans to tackle the projected overspend, including cuts to infrastructure projects and an end of winter fuel payments for people not in receipt of means-tested benefits.Following her speech, Ms Reeves doubled down on accusations that Jeremy Hunt “lied” to the public and to MPs during the election campaign about the state of public finances. Show latest update 1722350781Abbott leads Labour rebellion over Reeves’ spending cuts Diane Abbott has led criticism of Rachel Reeves’s spending plans labelling them “renewed austerity”.It comes as the chancellor unveiled a raft of brutal cuts to deal with a £22bn black hole in the country’s finances. But her set of measures to save up on funding has sparked criticism among members of her own party. The veteran MP for Hackney has accused Ms Reeves of presiding over an era of “renewed austerity”.Ms Abbott is leading a left-wing backlash over the chancellor’s move to scrap winter fuel allowance payments, cancel transport projects and Boris Johnson’s plan to build more hospitals. Britain PoliticsSalma Ouaguira30 July 2024 15:461722350265Cleverly attacks Labour over London housebuilding targetJames Cleverly has criticised the government’s housebuilding plan after Angela Rayner set out a target of 80,000 new homes a year for London.He tweeted: “We need to build more homes in urban areas like London, massively increasing densification.“Labour would rather concrete over the greenbelt than make Sadiq Khan do his job.”Salma Ouaguira30 July 2024 15:371722349829British nationals in Lebanon urged to leave amid escalating tensionsBritish nationals in Lebanon risk “becoming trapped in a warzone” if they fail to leave, the foreign secretary has warned.In a House of Commons statement on Lebanon and a conflict between Israel, Lebanese Hezbollah and other non-state actors, David Lammy told MPs: “The prime minister chaired a Cobra meeting this morning and I’m working with Foreign Office consular teams to make sure we are prepared for all scenarios, but if this conflict escalates, the government cannot guarantee we’ll be able to evacuate everyone immediately.“People may be forced to shelter in place and history teaches us that in a crisis like this one, it is far safer to leave while commercial flights are still running rather than running the risk of becoming trapped in a warzone.“My message, then, to British nationals in Lebanon is therefore quite simple: leave.”It comes as tensions have been escalating after Isreal’s military said it struck several targets in neighbouring Lebanon linked to Hezbollah.Smoke billows from a site targeted by Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese border village of Khiam amid ongoing clashes More