UK Politics

A Labour MP has voiced strong opposition to his party’s proposed devolution bill, warning that its provisions could forge an “unholy alliance” between Cornwall and Devon.Perran Moon, who represents Camborne and Redruth, argued that any plan for a mayoral strategic authority spanning both regions constitutes “blatant discrimination” and disregards Cornwall’s national minority status. He cautioned that such a move would severely damage trust between Cornwall and Westminster for generations, potentially fuelling Cornish nationalism.Mr Moon, elected in last year’s general election, also questioned the willingness of Devonian taxpayers to fund Cornish language lessons and road signs under the suggested arrangements.Mr Moon said: “Because of our national minority status, Cornwall will never, Cornwall cannot ever, join a mayoral combined authority.“No matter what ministerial pressure is applied.“Whether through the withdrawal of economic development funding, or the prevention of access to social housing funding.“None of this will make us compromise our national minority status, because frankly it is discriminatory to do so.”The MP, who served on the Bill Committee debating potential changes to the proposed legislation, said he was upset Labour had brought it forward.Perran Moon is the MP for Camborne and Redruth More

Kemi Badenoch has defended the Tory chair, Kevin Hollinrake, after a row erupted within her own party over his jibe comparing the logo of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK to a Nazi badge. The clash was sparked after Mr Hollinrake posted a link to a Wikipedia entry about a badge handed out to members of Adolf Hitler’s party in response to a social media post from Nigel Farage showing a Reform emblem.Suella Braverman, the former Tory home secretary, hit out, saying, “Comparing Reform and their supporters to Nazis is wrong, irresponsible and highly counter-productive… Kevin does not speak for me.”Reform’s new logo and the Nazi badge More

A member of the Labour leadership has warned that the chancellor needs to use her Budget to restore trust in the party.Writing exclusively for The Independent, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the Budget on Wednesday “is a moment to restore confidence and put this Labour government back on track”.The intervention comes at a dangerous moment for Labour – less than two days before Rachel Reeves gets on her feet to deliver a make-or-break Budget and six months before a set of elections which could decide Sir Keir Starmer’s future as prime minister.The elections include those for the Scottish Parliament where Mr Sarwar is hoping to lead Labour back into power against the SNP for the first time since 2007.Read our live Budget updates HEREAnas Sarwar (Andrew Milligan/PA) More

More than two thirds of voters would rather Rachel Reeves cut government spending than increase taxes in the Budget, new polling this week has revealed.Data from More in Common also points to a majority of people thinking that Sir Keir Starmer is doing a bad job, while fewer than one in five think he is doing well. Sir Keir and his chancellor Rachel Reeves are facing a make-or-break Budget this week, with the chancellor expected to increase taxes to plug the gaps in the public finances. According to More in Common, the prime minister has a poll rating of -51, one of the worst in recent history. This is made up of 68 per cent of Britons who think that Sir Keir is doing a bad job, compared to just 17 per cent who think he is doing a good job.Meanwhile, just days before the Budget, the chancellor Rachel Reeve’s approval rating is even worse at -52, also the lowest More in Common has recorded for her.Elsewhere, 68 per cent think former PM Rishi Sunak would have done a better job in the Treasury, and a similar number, 65 per cent, believe that former chancellor Jeremy Hunt, would have also done a better job than his Labour successor.The same data indicates that two thirds (67 per cent) of people would rather ministers cut spending rather than raise taxes on working people.Among Labour voters, the split was 56 to 44 per cent in favour of spending cuts, while among Reform UK voters the split was 82 per cent to 18 per cent.Conservative voters opted 75 per cent in favour of spending cuts, while Lib Dem voters were 61 – 39 per cent split.Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is to deliver her Budget on Wednesday (Lucy North/PA) More

Two prominent members of the House of Lords are facing suspension after being found in breach of parliamentary conduct rules related to potential financial gain. Separate inquiries concluded that Lord Dannatt, a former head of the British army, and Lord Evans of Watford violated regulations prohibiting the provision of parliamentary services for “payment or reward”.The independent Commissioner for Standards’ findings and recommendations were subsequently upheld by the Lords Conduct Committee. This led to Lord Dannatt receiving a four-month suspension, while Lord Evans faces a five-month exclusion from the chamber. Neither peer challenged the Commissioner’s conclusions or the proposed sanctions. Both suspensions are pending agreement by the House of Commons before they officially take effect.The investigations were launched in response to comments made by both peers to undercover journalists.Lord Dannatt was found to have showed a “clear willingness to undertake activity that would have amounted to paid parliamentary services” during his conversations, but no money was exchanged.The suspensions of Lord Dannatt (pictured) and Lord Evans are pending agreement by the House of Commons before they officially take effect More

Sir Keir Starmer ducked raising the legal challenge between Donald Trump and the BBC when he spoke to the US president on Sunday.The 30-minute call between Mr Trump and the prime minister focused on Ukraine, according to the readout, with sources admitting he did not discuss the BBC.Sir Keir had been under pressure to intervene over the row between the White House and the BBC after the broadcaster had apologised for the presentation of the US president’s 6 January speech in a Panorama programme and Newsnight report.However, with senior figures at the BBC, including chair Samir Shah, set to give evidence in the Commons today over the fiasco, the president has made it clear he intends to go ahead with suing the corporation for $1bn.Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey had urged Sir Keir to intervene to protect the BBC and a call between the president and prime minister had been expected for more than a week.But sources now admit that the subject of the BBC was not raised, as Sir Keir instead tried to press the president on his controversial plans for Ukraine.It comes as the BBC chair is set to join BBC board member Sir Robbie Gibb and former editorial adviser Michael Prescott in facing questions from MPs on Monday. They will be quizzed about the corporation’s editorial standards guidelines in the evidence sessions with the culture, media and sport committee, set to begin at 3:30pm. The recent call between Donald Trump and Keir Starmer focused on the US president’s Ukraine plans More

Britain is locked in a “growth emergency”, a senior cabinet minister has admitted, just hours after Rachel Reeves was dealt a fresh blow over the UK’s economic outlook. Two days before the chancellor stands up to deliver her second Budget, the government has been hit by revelations that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the leading economic watchdog, will downgrade the country’s prospects and reduce its estimates for economic growth for every year until 2029.The projections are expected to be the most pessimistic since the OBR was set up 15 years ago in the wake of the financial crisis.The news could not come at a worse time for the chancellor whose own job is believed to be on the line in a make or break Budget – just 18 months after she arrived in the Treasury with a “no 1 mission” of growing the economy.Experts have also piled on the pressure, warning that measures expected in Ms Reeves’ Budget on Wednesday – including a form of mansion tax on high-value properties as well as a bank levy – will harm economic growth.Follow our live updates on the Budget hereSpeaking to business leaders at the CBI conference in Westminster, business secretary Peter Kyle admitted that the UK was in a “growth emergency”.“We inherited a situation when we came into office where we [were] stuck in this buy-slight grip of high taxes and low growth, and we are not going to break out of this cycle unless we do some pretty profoundly different things”, he said in a bid to blame the Labour government’s inheritance. “I really think we have inherited [a] growth emergency, and we are still in it, and we will be in it for as long as we are unable to get our way out of this situation without increased economic productivity.”Experts are warning that the chancellor’s imminent Budget will harm economic growth More

Three decades ago, Christopher Broadbent bought an old farm worker’s two-bedroom cottage in the East Sussex countryside.The founder of a consultancy firm carried out a “Damascene conversion” of the house, doubling its size, and bought 50 acres of farming land around it for a nature reserve and a glamping business. But now, with his farmhouse and land thought to be worth around £2m, the 75-year-old fears he and his wife could be placed in a “profoundly uncomfortable” position by a so-called mansion tax, expected to be announced at Wednesday’s Budget.“I’m not saying we couldn’t afford it,” said the Labour voter, “but there would be a deep sense of unease and unfairness.”Mr Broadbent, who plans to retire next year, already pays £3,600 a year in council tax on the four-bedroom home, which sits within the top three council tax bands (F, G and H). Being within the high-end bands, under Rachel Reeves’ expected plan, it could be revalued to check if the property meets a £2m threshold for the mansion tax.The tax, as reported by TheTimes, would see the average “mansion” paying around £4,500 a year, raising up to £500m for the Treasury.For updates ahead of the Budget – click here to read our live blogChristopher Broadbent fears says a so-called mansion tax was ‘politics of the envy’, as he said income tax would be a fairer way for Rachel Reeves toraise money More