UK Politics

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged by his own MPs to “act now” to reverse the cut to winter fuel payments as backlash over the move grows.There has been growing public anger over the policy after Labour suffered a disastrous result at last week’s local elections, which saw Reform pick up 10 councils and more than 600 seats. The Red Wall group of Labour MPs, made up of around 45 MPs from Red Wall constituencies, warned that Sir Keir’s response that he would “go further and faster” in delivering his plans had “fallen on deaf ears”. They warned that voters across the UK had told the Labour Party “loudly and clearly that we have not met their expectations”.Sir Keir Starmer is coming under increasing pressure from his own party (Henry Nicholls/PA) More

Cyber attacks on major UK retailers in recent weeks should be a “wake-up call” for firms across the country, a Cabinet minister will warn, as the Government unveils measures aimed at ramping up protections for British organisations.Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden will tell tech experts and business chiefs that cybersecurity is “not a luxury but an absolute necessity” as he announces a £16 million package to boost defence at home and abroad.Harrods became the latest high-profile UK retailer to fall victim to hacking last week, after a serious ransomware attack on Marks & Spencer forced the company to suspend online orders and halt recruitment.The Co-op Group was also targeted, prompting it to shut down parts of its IT infrastructure.In a speech at the CyberUK conference in Manchester, Mr McFadden will say: “Cyber attacks are not a game. Not a clever exercise. They are serious organised crime. The purpose is to damage and extort.“The digital version of an old-fashioned shakedown, either straight theft or a protection racket where your business will be safe as long as you pay the gangsters.“What we have seen over the past couple of weeks should serve as a wake-up call for businesses and organisations up and down the UK, as if we needed one, that cybersecurity is not a luxury but an absolute necessity.”The Government is expected to unveil measures aimed at reinforcing systems against attack, including driving investment into CHERI, a “magic chip” that builds advanced memory protections in microprocessors.Some £4.5 million will be spent helping firms bring the technology, which can block up to 70% of common cyber attacks, to market, the Cabinet Office said.A new software security code of practice will also be published on Wednesday, outlining essential steps the Government believes every organisation developing or selling software should be taking to secure their products.An extra £7 million for Britain’s Laboratory for AI Security Research will be confirmed, along with investment of £8 million in Ukrainian cyber defences and more than £1 million to “protect Moldovan elections”.Mr McFadden will say: “Ukraine has put up an incredibly brave fight against (Vladimir) Putin’s cyber warfare, and we have vowed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine for as long as it takes to defend their sovereignty.“And so we are going to invest £8 million in the Ukraine Cyber Programme over the next year to continue to counter the Kremlin’s cyber aggression.”The senior Cabinet minister will say cyber will be a prime target for economic growth in the Government’s upcoming industrial strategy.“There is enormous potential for cyber security to be a driving force in our economy – creating jobs, growth and opportunities for people. It’s already a sector on the up – with over 2,000 businesses across the UK,” he will say.“It is going to be a significant commitment, a vote of confidence in your sector, and one that will tell the world: the UK plans to be a global player in cybersecurity for decades to come.” More

Sir Keir Starmer has struck Britain’s biggest post-Brexit trade deal, hailing a “landmark” agreement with India that will boost trade with the country by £25.5bn. In what the prime minister is billing as a major coup, he said the agreement, which focuses on whisky, gin, cars and cosmetics, will boost the economy and cut prices for consumers.The opening up of international trade with one of the world’s biggest and fastest-growing economies comes as the prime minister attempts to deal with Donald Trump’s latest moves in the battle over tariffs on imports to the US.The most recent row came after the US president announced his intention to impose 100 per cent tariffs on films from outside the US – a policy that, if implemented, threatens to destroy the British film industry.Prime minister Keir Starmer hosts a meeting of Indian investors last year More

Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out a U-turn on his government’s decision to strip the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners.Labour faced a backlash to the move at last week’s disastrous local elections, with backbenchers complaining it played a decisive role in the party losing one of its safest parliamentary seats as well as 187 councillors.But the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “There will not be a change to the government’s policy.”He added that the decision “was one that we had to take to ensure economic stability and repair the public finances following the £22 billion black hole left by the previous government”.Health Secretary Wes Streeting defended the government’s cuts More

Keir Starmer has been warned that he must prioritise saving the UK’s billion pound film industry from Donald Trump’s tariffs or risk it being “wiped out”.Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Commons select committee for culture, has said MPs will be putting pressure on ministers over UK-US trade talks to rescue an industry that is worth billions to the British economy.The prime minister is already under pressure from the US to accept lowering food standards to allow chlorinated chicken as well as repeal hate laws in the name of free speech over getting a deal.But with blockbusters including the recent Disney Snow White live action movie, the Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter and James Bond franchises, as well as streaming success stories such as Game of Thrones filmed in the UK, the 100 per cent tariffs threatened by Trump could serious harm the industry.Dame Caroline Dinenage (Dominic Lipinski) More

The ex-Labour MP who drunkenly punched a constituent has blamed Sir Keir Starmer‘s winter fuel cuts for the party’s loss of the once safe seat he held. Mike Amesbury, who quit parliament after being convicted of assault, said Labour’s loss in Runcorn and Helsby last week was due to “some big political mistakes from the government”.“I sincerely hope Keir Starmer, the Labour prime minister, and the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, not only listen, but learn and respond,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Asked whether he felt responsible for having sparked the by-election by attacking 45-year-old constituent Paul Fellows, he pointed to Labour’s losses elsewhere in what was a disastrous set of local election results. As well as losing Runcorn to Reform by just six votes, Labour lost 187 councillors across England. Mr Amesbury said: “The constituents of Durham or up and down the country did not vote how they did because of my mistake.” But the ex-MP expressed regret for the incident, saying: “I live that moment every day of my life. Of course I regret that, and if I could turn back the clock and change things that evening I would have done the right thing and walked away.” He added: “I’ve paid a price and I will learn from those mistakes. And politically I want this government to succeed.” And he warned the government must not continue making “political mistakes”, citing Sir Keir’s winter fuel cuts and cuts to disability benefits. In a plea to his former colleagues, Mr Amesbury added: “People on those benches, now is the time to say, you are not being disloyal, but say ‘come on now’ to the leadership, ‘just think again on this’.“If we are serious about having two terms of a Labour government transforming this country for the better, we have got to listen to the electorate and do the right thing.” Nigel Farage celebrated his party’s victory in Runcorn More

The fallout from last week’s bruising local elections has ignited fierce debate over Labour’s decision to cut winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners – a move many insiders believe played a decisive role in the party’s poor showing at the polls.Labour lost nearly two-thirds of its councillors and even surrendered one of its safest parliamentary seats in Runcorn and Helsby to Reform UK. On doorsteps across the country, the means-testing of winter fuel payments surfaced repeatedly as a key issue.Chancellor Rachel Reeves introduced the cuts shortly after Labour came to power, arguing they were necessary to help plug a £22bn black hole in the public finances. The government says the savings are being redirected to the NHS and schools, but critics warn the policy risks pushing over 100,000 pensioners into poverty.Now, pressure is mounting on Sir Keir Starmer to rethink the cuts, with Wes Streeting hinting at a U-turn. Other senior Labour figures, backbench MPs and local leaders have previously called for a reversal of the cuts, warning the party risks alienating core voters.So we’re asking: what should happen next with the winter fuel payments?Vote in our poll and share your thoughts in the comments below. More

Romania’s interim president appointed a new prime minister on Tuesday, a day after Marcel Ciolacu stepped down following the failure of his coalition’s candidate to make the runoff in a rerun of the presidential election.Ilie Bolojan signed a decree to appoint the serving interior minister, Catalin Predoiu of the National Liberal Party, to helm the government until a new one can be formed. The interim post can be held for a maximum of 45 days, during which they have limited executive powers.The shake-up comes after the coalition’s candidate, Crin Antonescu, came third in Sunday’s first round presidential vote, far behind top finisher hard-right nationalist George Simion and pro-Western reformist Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan.After casting his ballot on Sunday, the 56-year-old veteran politician Predoiu said he voted for a presidency that “will ensure balance, cooperation and dialogue in political life” and called it an “important moment for the whole country.”Romania held the rerun months after a top court annulled the previous race following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow has denied. The unprecedented decision plunged Romania into its worst political crisis in decades.Sunday’s vote underscored strong anti-establishment sentiment among voters and signaled a power shift away from traditional mainstream parties. It also renewed the political uncertainty that has gripped the European Union and NATO member country.Ciolacu, who came third in last year’s voided presidential race, told reporters Monday outside the headquarters of his Social Democratic Party, or PSD, “Rather than let the future president replace me, I decided to resign myself.”He added that one aim of forming the coalition last December — after the failed election — was to field a common candidate to win the presidency. After Sunday’s result, he said the coalition now “lacks any credibility.” It is made up of the leftist PSD, the center-right National Liberal Party, the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party and national minorities.Sunday’s vote was the second time in Romania’s post-communist history, including the voided election cycle, that the PSD party did not have a candidate in the second round of a presidential race.As in many EU countries, anti-establishment sentiment is running high in Romania, fueled by high inflation, a large budget deficit and a sluggish economy. Observers say the malaise has bolstered support for nationalist and far-right figures like Calin Georgescu, who won the first round in the canceled presidential election. He is under investigation and barred from the rerun.Simion, the 38-year-old frontrunner in Sunday’s vote and the leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, will face Dan in a runoff on May 18 that could reshape the country’s geopolitical direction.In 2019, Simion founded the AUR party, which rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election by proclaiming to stand for “family, nation, faith and freedom.” It has since become Romania’s second-largest party in the legislature.Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician and former anti-corruption activist who founded the Save Romania Union party in 2016, ran on a pro-EU platform. He told the media early Monday that “a difficult second round lies ahead, against an isolationist candidate.” More