UK Politics

The UK economy contracted by 0.1 per cent in January in a blow to Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer’s growth mission, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).Just weeks before the chancellor delivers her spring statement setting out the government’s spending plans, the ONS said the economy started the year shrinking. The fall in gross domestic product (GDP) was a shock, with most economists expecting it to have risen by 0.1 per cent in the first month of the year. Responding to the fall, the Conservatives branded Labour “growth killers”The slowdown is a blow to chancellor Rachel Reeves More

Reform UK is on course for a major upset in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, according to the latest poll, despite a week of bitter infighting in the party.The first poll of the constituency since MP Mike Amesbury quit after being convicted of attacking a constituent, forecasts Nigel Farage’s party will take the North West seat from Labour. It comes after more than a week of rows in the insurgent right-wing party, with Mr Farage suspending one of its five MPs, Rupert Lowe.In July’s general election, Mr Amesbury won the seat for Labour with 22,358 votes, with Reform UK a distant second on 7,662. Labour is facing an uphill battle after its former MP quit the seat in disgrace More

As Labour announces the end of NHS England to “cut bureaucracy” and bring the health service “back into democratic control”, all eyes are on the hundreds of other quangos which could face a similar fate.Funded by billions in government spending, NHS England is Britain’s largest quango and makes decisions on the running of the national health service. Carrying out an administrative function, it is largely run by managers and officials.The change will result in the loss of 9,000 jobs as this control is moved away from NHS England and folded into the Department for Health and Social Care. Health secretary Wes Streeting said the move will end a “complex bureaucracy with two organisations doing the same jobs”.Health secretary Wes Streeting said the move will end a “complex bureaucracy” More

The minister responsible for artificial intelligence (AI) turned to ChatGPT for policy advice, it has emerged. Science and tech secretary Peter Kyle asked the AI chatbot why small businesses in the UK were slow to adopt the technology, records show. Mr Kyle also asked the software which podcasts he could appear on to reach the widest audience possible, and for definitions of terms such as “quantum” and “digital inclusion”. Records obtained under freedom of information laws by the New Scientist magazine show Mr Kyle asked ChatGPT: “I’m secretary of state for science, innovation and technology in the United Kingdom. What would be the best podcasts for me to appear on to reach a wide audience that’s appropriate for my ministerial responsibilities?” Peter Kyle, secretary of state for Science, Innovation and Technology, said he uses ChatGPT “often” in an interview More

Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget triggered a rush to pull cash out of pension funds which has led to six-week delays for savers withdrawing money. The chancellor’s October inheritance tax raid has sparked a surge in people seeking to take their cash out of retirement pots in a bid to avoid paying the levy, after Ms Reeves scrapped an exemption on them.One person was left waiting two months for their payment, it has emerged.Currently, the levy is charged at 40 per cent on assets over £325,000, with those passing on their main homes eligible for an extra £175,000 allowance meaning couples can pass on up to £1 million tax free.Rachel Reeves’ Budget sparked a rush in savers trying to access their pension pots More

Ministers are ploughing £1.3bn into army recruitment to bolster the UK’s depleted armed forces and tackle a crisis of staff retention, The Independent can reveal. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) last month announced the creation of a new body, the Armed Forces Recruitment Service (AFRS), to streamline the hiring process and ensure the British military “remains ready to face emerging threats”. It is set to launch in 2027 and will replace individual schemes run by the Royal Navy, British army, and Royal Air Force. John Healey said ‘deep-set problems’ were plaguing the armed forces’ ability to recruit and retain staff More

Sir Keir Starmer has announced that NHS England will be abolished to free up more money for frontline services and bring management of the health service “back into democratic control”. The prime minister said the independent body which runs the NHS would go in a move to slash red tape and dramatically reduce costs by cutting duplication. Ministers said the plans, which will mean more than 9,000 job losses, would help deliver savings of hundreds of millions of pounds a year, which would be used to cut waiting times. The Tories tepidly welcomed the move, warning Labour it had to deliver, while health think tanks said that another reorganisation of the NHS risked diverting “time and energy” away from improving care for patients. Ministers have pledged more money for frontline services (PA) More

Slashing billions from the benefit bill and cutting the size of the civil service does not mark a return to austerity, Sir Keir Starmer has insisted, vowing that “we are not going down that route”.There is mounting unease at the prime minister’s plans to cut welfare spending by up to £6bn but Sir Keir said “part of the problem we’ve got with our public services is what was done to them a decade or so ago” by David Cameron and George Osborne. “We are not going down that route, none of our plans go down that route,” the PM vowed. Sir Keir Starmer has vowed no return to austerity under Labour More