UK Politics

The impacts of the government’s welfare cuts are likely to push tens of thousands more people into poverty than previously predicted, a major foodbank charity has warned.Trussell said 340,000 more people in disabled households could face hunger and hardship by the end of the decade.It comes as more than 150 Labour MPs expressed concern over the plans last month, which include a tightening of the eligibility criteria for personal independence payment (Pip) – the main disability benefit in England – and cutting the sickness-related element of universal credit (UC).The proposals also include delaying access to the health element of UC to those aged 22 and over, with the aim of reinvesting savings to support young people into work or training.The package of measures is aimed at reducing the number of working-age people on sickness benefits, and the government hopes they can save £5bn a year by the end of the decade.Sir Keir Starmer More

Kim Leadbeater has been warned by a Labour colleague that an article she promoted on assisted dying has only served to sway undecided MPs against her end of life legislation.The shot across the bows from former political journalist-turned Labour Rochdale Paul Waugh has come just days ahead of the final stages in the Commons of Ms Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.Ms Leadbeater had tweeted and quoted an article by Sharnee Rawson in The Guardian highlighting how her grandparents in Australia ended their lives together not long after their 70th wedding anniversary.Kim Leadbeater led the debate on her Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill More

Secondary school pupils will be taught skills in artificial intelligence (AI) as part of a drive to put the technological power “into the hands of the next generation”, Sir Keir Starmer will announce.Some on million students will be given access to learning resources to start equipping them for “the tech careers of the future” as part of the Government’s £187 million “TechFirst” scheme, Downing Street said.Meanwhile, staff at firms across the country will be trained to “use and interact” with chatbots and large language models as part of a plan backed by Google and Microsoft to train 7.5 million workers in AI skills by 2030.The TechFirst programme will be split into four strands, with TechYouth – the £24 million “flagship” arm – aimed at giving students across every secondary school in the UK the chance to gain new AI skills training over three years.The other strands are:– TechGrad, backed by £96.8 million in funding and designed to support 1,000 domestic students a year with undergraduate scholarships in areas such as AI and computer science.– A £48.4 million TechExpert scheme aiming to give up to £10,000 in additional funding to 500 domestic PhD students carrying out research in tech.– TechLocal, backed by £18 million, will offer seed funding to small businesses developing new tech products and adopting AI.The Prime Minister is also launching a new Government partnership with industry to train 7.5 million UK workers in essential skills to use AI by 2030.Tech giants including Google, Microsoft, IBM, Nvidia, BT and Amazon have signed up to make “high-quality” training materials widely available to workers free of charge over the next five years, Number 10 said.It comes as research commissioned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) showed that by 2035, AI will play a part in the roles and responsibilities of around 10 million workers.The Prime Minister said: “We are putting the power of AI into the hands of the next generation – so they can shape the future, not be shaped by it.“This training programme will unlock opportunity in every classroom – and lays the foundations for a new era of growth.“Too many children from working families like the one I grew up in are written off. I am determined to end that.”Sir Keir hosted a private reception at Chequers on Sunday with leading technology bosses and investors, including former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, Faculty AI co-founder Angie Ma, Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis and Scale boss Alex Wang.On Tuesday, he will invite industry figures to Downing Street, including 16-year-old AI entrepreneur Toby Brown, who recently secured 1 million dollars in Silicon Valley funding for his startup, Beem. More

Employers should be able to ban burqas in the workplace, Kemi Badenoch has argued, further inflaming the row over the issue ignited by Reform UK last week. The Conservative leader also claimed she wouldn’t let people into her constituency surgeries if they wore face veils, saying she has “strong views about face coverings”. However, she argued there were bigger issues around integration in Britain that should be addressed before legislating on face coverings. ( More

The sound of England football fans chanting against Keir Starmer at Saturday night’s otherwise tedious match between England and Andorra is something which should be greatly worrying Labour strategists.It is very rare that politicians become the subject of chants at matches and when politics enters the discourse of sports fans it is almost always a sign of a wider problem.Science and technology secretary Peter Kyle’s suggestion that it is just “football chanting, part of the spirit of the game” does not really cut it as an answer. ( More

Sir Keir Starmer’s foreign aid cuts have put Britain’s international reputation and credibility at risk, the government has admitted. The prime minister’s decision to slash development spending from 0.5 per cent of GDP to 0.3 per cent – around £6bn – has sparked alarm among leaders in Africa and around the world, a Foreign Office document has revealed. Responses to David Lammy’s “new approach to Africa” consultation show among high commissioners and ambassadors in 51 countries – including 40 in Africa – concerns were raised about the implications of international aid cuts “on the UK’s reputation and credibility”. Keir Starmer cut international aid spending to boost the defence budget More

The father of Molly Russell has warned “sticking plasters” will not be enough to strengthen online safety measures after the Technology Secretary indicated he was considering an “app cap” for children.Ian Russell, whose 14-year-old daughter took her own life after viewing harmful content on social media, urged the Prime Minister to “act decisively” in toughening legislation to protect young people online.It comes after Cabinet minister Pete Kyle signalled he was looking at measures to restrict the amount of time children spend on their phones, including through a possible 10pm curfew.Mr Russell, who is chairman of the Molly Rose Foundation set up in his daughter’s memory, said: “Every day the Government has delayed bringing in tougher online safety laws we’ve seen more young lives lost and damaged because of weak regulation and inaction by big tech.“Parents up and down the country would be delighted to see the Prime Minister act decisively to quell the tsunami of harm children face online, but sticking plasters will not do the job.“Only a stronger and more effective Online Safety Act will finally change the dial on fundamentally unsafe products and business models that prioritise engagement over safety.”The Online Safety Act has passed into law, and from this year will require tech platforms to follow new Ofcom-issued codes of practice to keep users safe online, particularly children.Hefty fines and site blockages are among the penalties for those caught breaking the rules, but many critics have argued the approach gives tech firms too much scope to regulate themselves.Mr Kyle was asked on Sunday morning whether he would look at limiting the time children spend on social media to two hours per app after the Sunday People and Mirror reported the measure was being considered by ministers.“I’ve not been able to talk publicly about what the Labour approach is because we have the legacy legislation that has to go through first,” he told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show.“This year we’ve had illegal content that needs to be taken down, but in July age-appropriate material must be supplied by platforms otherwise there’ll be criminal sanctions against them.“And in this time, I’ve been looking very carefully about what we do next.”Pressed on whether he was looking at an “app cap”, Mr Kyle said: “I’m looking at things that prevent healthy activity, I’m looking at some of the addictive nature of some of the apps and smartphones.“I’m trying to think how we can break some of the addictive behaviour and incentivise more of the healthy developmental… and also the good communicative side of online life.” More

The UK has paid migrants £53 million to leave the country over the past four years, The Independent can reveal. Under a voluntary return scheme run by the government, migrants can receive up to £3,000 as an incentive to return to their home country, as part of what are known as “assisted returns”. They also have their flights paid for as part of the deal. Assisted returns have been on the rise in recent years, with 2,179 people travelling home this way in 2022 compared to 6,799 people in 2024. Between 2021 and 2024, 13,637 people have taken an assisted return, according to Home Office data. In the UK, a person can qualify for this money if they are returning to a developing country, are a failed asylum seeker, are a confirmed victim of modern slavery, are sleeping rough or have a medical condition. In 2024, over half of the foreign nationals who accepted assisted returns were from Brazil, with 3,573 taking up the offer. The second highest nationality was India, with 915 people returning in 2024, and then 271 going back to Honduras. The Home Office said assisted voluntary returns are more cost effective than funding accomodation for those awaiting enforced deportaiton More