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 ThomasEditorWatch as Rachel Reeves holds a press conference after outlining Labour’s economic plan in a speech on Monday 29 July.The chancellor warned of “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 a Budget on 30 October.Public sector workers are in line for a pay rise but 10 million pensioners will lose out on winter fuel payments in an attempt to fill the hole, Ms Reeves announced.In a hint that taxes may have to increase, she said: “I have to tell the House that the Budget will involve taking difficult decisions to meet our fiscal rules across spending, welfare and tax.”Ms Reeves added it will be “a budget to fix the foundations of our economy and it will be a budget built on the principles that this new Government was elected on”. 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 said there was a £22 billion black hole in the public finances as she accused the Tories of covering up the scale of the problems.In a statement to Parliament she set out “immediate action” to address the issues she said had been uncovered by the audit ordered by Labour when it took office.The chancellor said her aim was to “expose the scale of what has been uncovered” after Labour came to power. She then set out Labour’s “immediate action” to deal with it, including cancellation and delays of major infrastructure projects, before turning to the government’s longer-term plans to fix “the foundations of our economy”.Ms Reeves cancelled or postponed road and hospital building projects, restricted winter fuel payments to just the poorest pensioners and warned that “difficult decisions” on tax would be required in her first budget on 30 October. Follow The Independent’s live coverage. Here are the key takeaways from her speech and some of the key infrastructure cuts Ms Reeves announced:£22 billion spending black holeMs Reeves told the Commons that Labour had inherited “a projected overspend of £22 billion” beyond what the previous government had planned for, which she said the Tories had “covered up”.She said the Government would aim to recoup £5.5 billion this year, and £8 billion next year.Budget date set with tax rises on the way30 October will be the date of the new government’s first budget, the chancellor said.She added it will involve taking “difficult decisions” to meet Labour’s fiscal rules, and said this would include decisions on spending and tax.Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves in the House of Commons More

Chancellor Rachel Reeves hints at giving public sector workers above-inflation pay risesSupport 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 said the previous government “covered up” things in the public finances and that Labour has inherited a projected overspend of £22 billion from the previous Tory administration.In a speech in the House of Commons, the chancellor has accused the previous Conservative government of “covering up the true state of the public finances” as she revealed the results of the Treasury spending audit she commissioned. Ms Reeves will reportedly cancel some road and rail projects, and also make alterations to the hospital building programme.A new Office of Value for Money, a Labour manifesto pledge, will start work right away to identify and recommend areas where the government can save money in the current financial year, she said.The office is expected to announce public cuts worth billions to plug the gap in the public finances that could see the cancellation of projects including the road tunnel near Stonehenge and Boris Johnson’s New Hospital programme.But the long-waited announcement comes with Show latest update 1722264963Chancellor cancels ‘unfunded transport projects’ including Stonehenge tunnel Rachel Reeves has announced that a £150m investment fund announced by Jeremy Hunt last year has been scrapped as no projects were supported. On leveling up, she claimed her Treasury audit found £1billion of “unfunded transport projects” from the Tories that will now be reviewed. Ms Reeves claimed these include the Stonehenge tunnel on the A303, and the A27 Arundel bypass.The restoring our railways scheme will also be stopped as there was no money for them.She added the sale of the government’s owned NatWest shares will be stopped by 2025/2026.Salma Ouaguira29 July 2024 15:561722264733Pictured: Jeremy Hunt reacts to Rachel Reeves announcement ( 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 ThomasEditorWatch live as Rachel Reeves sets out her plan for economic growth in a speech on Monday 29 July.The chancellor will announce “very tough decisions” to address a public spending black hole of around £20 billion – but no tax rises should be expected, a senior minister has said.Cabinet office minister Pat McFadden said Labour’s election promise not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT would “still hold” ahead of the statement.Ms Reeves will lay out the spending inheritance left by the previous government – and announce the date of her first autumn Budget – as she pledges to “restore economic stability”.In the House of Commons, she will say that a Treasury spending audit she commissioned shows that the previous government overspent this year’s budgets by billions of pounds after making a series of unfunded promises.She will also accuse the previous Conservative administration of “covering up the true state of the public finances” while cuts and delays to major infrastructure projects are expected.The Conservatives, meanwhile, have sought to suggest Labour is attempting to build a narrative which could lay the ground for future tax rises at its first budget. 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 Labour Party lost almost a third of its support from Black and Asian communities in the run-up to the general election, according to exclusive polling from Ipsos.Among ethnic minority voters, Sir Keir Starmer’s party led the Conservatives with 46 per cent of ballots to 17 per cent, and among white voters, Labour clinched 33 per cent compared to 26 per cent for the Tories.However, Labour’s support among ethnic minority voters was higher during the last general election in 2019 under Jeremy Corbyn at 64 per cent and has fallen by 18 percentage points.Jabeer Butt, chief executive of the Race Equality Foundation, said: “Some have marvelled at the efficiency of Labour, securing a huge majority based on lower share of the vote in comparison to 2019.“Nevertheless, it should concern Labour that they have not only lost votes from Asian communities, but they have lost seats. How Labour addresses the concerns of these communities, such as a disproportionate experience of poverty, excess deaths during the pandemic and now Palestine, is likely to be crucial in whether this is a blip or becomes a trend.”The “mega-poll” by Ipsos of 15,234 adults, carried out just after the general election, found significant variation in Labour support among different ethnic minority groups with younger people from these groups less likely to rally behind Sir Keir.Grassroots Black Left, a socialist organisation backed by former frontbencher Clive Lewis, said the polling reflects Labour’s recent race rows, its fragmented relationship with Black and Asian communities and disappointment around its position on Gaza.“It’s not surprising that disenchanted former loyal Labour supporters, especially younger ones, are increasingly voting for the Green Party and radical independent candidates,” a GBL spokesperson said.In an interview last year, Sir Keir made comments which suggested he thought Israel has a right to limit water and electricity in Gaza. He later said that Israel has a right to self-defence but not to withhold aid. This earlier statement put off voters, the GBL spokesperson said. Labour lost 22 per cent of support among young people in the July election – more than any party in that age group 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 will outline her plans to grapple with the government’s £20bn “black hole” in public finances on Monday as she lays out a Treasury report into the state of the nation’s finances.Laying the blame squarely with previous Conservative administrations, the chancellor is expected to accuse Rishi Sunak’s government of “covering up” spending shortfalls before “running away”.She will also announce “immediate action” on the issue in her speech, with experts predicting that several cost-cutting measures are likely to be announced.It is also expected that the chancellor will reveal some tax rises in her first autumn statement to tackle Labour’s spending gap. While the party has pledged not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT, there are other routes they could take.Ms Reeves will also share plans to drive “efficiencies” in departmental spending, likely meaning some budget cuts. This will come alongside a pledge to reduce “non-essential spending” on consultants and sell off “surplus” government property which is not in use.But it is infrastructure cuts that are most likely to boost Labour’s finances in the short-term. These are likely to include the scaling back or halting of projects related to roads, railways and building projects.Here are some of the key infrastructure cuts Ms Reeves could reveal:HS2’s last leg in LondonHS2 has seen several major setbacks since first being announced (Jonathan Brady/PA) 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 ThomasEditorFormer deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine quietly had the Tory whip restored earlier this month after five yearsHe was suspended in May 2019 after saying he would vote for the Liberal Democrats at the European elections.On July 9 2024, the Conservative Party restored the whip to Lord Heseltine, public records show.Lord Michael Heseltine has the whip removed in 2019 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 Conservatives’ latest leadership contest is underway after Rishi Sunak led the party to its worst election defeat in history. A string of senior figures have thrown their hats in the ring to succeed the former PM and lead the party through the next five years in opposition. Candidates must win the support of 10 Conservative MPs before the Monday deadline in order to make it onto the ballot paper. With the shortlist to be whittled down gradually until a final four are paraded in front of the party faithful at October’s Tory conference, The Independent looks at the runners and riders to take the reins from Mr Sunak. Who has officially declared? James Cleverly Former home secretary James Cleverly avoided losing his seat, unlike many of his cabinet colleagues More