UK

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 ThomasEditorNigel Farage has been condemned for his response to the Southport stabbings, with the husband of murdered MP Jo Cox accusing the Reform leader of “inciting a riot”.Three young girls were killed on Monday in an attack which took place during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. Eight other children suffered stab wounds and at least two are still in a critical condition, alongside two adults who are also still in hospital.In the wake of the attack, rioting broke out in Southport, resulting in 27 police officers being taken to hospital. Police have said they believe the men involved are part of the far-right English Defence League.Nigel Farage posted a video to social media responding to the attack, questioning why the incident not being treated as terror-related 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 has confirmed that Labour’s first autumn Budget will bring fresh tax rises as she says more needs to be done to fill the government’s shortfall in public finances.Her statement comes after she recently announced a slate of cost-cutting measures to grapple with the issue. These included scrapping the Winter Fuel Payment for millions of pensioners, alongside halting several in-progress infrastructure projects.The chancellor revealed that a Treasury report at the start of the week that showed the government is facing a £20bn ‘black hole’ in public finances.She has put the blame squarely on the previous Conservative administration, accusing her predecessor Jeremy Hunt of lying about ‘true state’ of government money.Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to explain the financial challenges the country faces 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 been warned that her plans to means test winter fuel payments will not be possible because of ageing computer systems.Former pensions minister Guy Opperman, who ran benefits for pensioners between 2017 and 2022 and looked at means testing winter fuel payments, has issued a warning that the system in the Department for Workm and Pensions cannot cope with the changes Ms Reeves has proposed.The chancellor announced that she would save almost £3 billion by ending winter fuel payments of £200 for over-70s and £800 for over-80s who are not on pension credit.That means around 10 million out of the 11.5 million pensioners who received the payment will no longer get it and 7 milion of the 8.5 million households which received will no longer be entitled to the payment.Rachel Reeves has cut winter fuel payments 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 has said she is unable to have a urinal removed from her office toilet because it is listed and cannot be altered.After the general election it was reported that work was set to take the urinal out of the Ms Reeves’s private office in Whitehall. But weeks later the chancellor, the first woman to hold the post since its creation a thousand years ago, said the facility is “still is in there” and cannot be replaced.Appearing on an episode of the News Agents podcast, Ms Reeves invited host Emily Maitlis into the bathroom to see the urinal still standing.Rachel Reeves said there is a urinal in her toilet 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 ThomasEditorTaxes will have to rise in October to plug a £22bn hole in the public finances, Rachel Reeves has warned.Ahead of her first budget, the chancellor refused to rule out hiking capital gains and inheritance tax and pursuing pension reform to fill the gap.And, setting the scene for a brutal financial statement, she said: “I think that we will have to increase taxes in the budget.”Rachel Reeves warned taxes will rise in October 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 ThomasEditorTaxes will likely be raised in the Budget, Rachel Reeves has said.The Chancellor said Labour would stick to its election manifesto promises not to raise national insurance, income tax or VAT, but left open the possibility for other tax hikes at the Budget on October 30.“I think that we will have to increase taxes in the Budget,” she said while speaking to The News Agents podcast.Ms Reeves‘ admission comes a day after she scrapped a series of infrastructure projects, and announced the winter fuel allowance for pensions would be means-tested, among a series of measures aimed at filling a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.Ms Reeves did not state what taxes would be raised when asked on the podcast whether Labour would stick to its manifesto promises, and instead raise inheritance tax or capital gains tax, or undertake pension reform.She said: “We had in our manifesto a commitment to fiscal rules to balance day-to-day spending through tax receipts, and by the end of the forecast period, to get debt down as a share of GDP.“Those are sensible fiscal rules to keep a grip of the public finances. We also made other commitments in our manifesto, not to increase national insurance, VAT or income tax for the duration and we’ll stick with those.”Pressed again about which taxes could go up, she added: “We will have a Budget on October 30 and ahead of that Budget, we will have a forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility on this occasion, based on accurate numbers.”On Monday, the Chancellor said she was making “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 the Budget.But her predecessor Jeremy Hunt claimed around half of the “black hole” in spending was down to her deciding to give above-inflation pay rises to millions of public sector workers.Ms Reeves announced during the statement she would agree recommendations by a raft of public sector pay review bodies, while also agreeing to hike junior doctors’ pay by around 20% over two years.In a hint that taxes may have to increase, Ms Reeves said the Budget will “involve taking difficult decisions to meet our fiscal rules across spending, welfare and tax”.Ms Reeves‘ statement to the Commons came after she ordered Treasury officials to undertake an audit of public spending when Labour came to office.Among the spending commitments cancelled by the Chancellor are plans for the Stonehenge Tunnel, and to restore some previously closed railway lines, ending the Rwanda migration scheme, and abandoning Rishi Sunak’s “Advanced British Standard” in education, arguing the former prime minister “didn’t put aside a single penny to pay for it”.A Treasury spokesperson said: “As we said yesterday, there will be further difficult decisions on tax and spending at the Budget on October 30.“The Chancellor has not committed to any tax rises not already in the manifesto and has committed to not increasing national insurance, VAT or income tax.” 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 UK’s renewable energy budget has been increased to a record £1.5 billion, Ed Miliband announced on Wednesday.Of that, £1.1 billion will be allocated for offshore wind, which the government described as “the backbone of the UK’s clean energy mission”.The funding uplift represents more than a 50 per cent increase on the budget previously set in March. The renewable energy industry will bid for the sum in order to deliver clean energy projects in the UK. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the higher budget will “boost energy security, secure cheap power for families, and unlock economic growth and jobs for the country”. It will “accelerate the delivery of clean, cheap, low-carbon electricity to families and businesses, generated by renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines and solar panels”, the department added.( 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 ThomasEditorKemi Badenoch has dismissed accusations that she bullied civil service staff while serving as business secretary as “smears”.The Conservative MP, now shadow communities secretary, is alleged to have created an intimidating atmosphere at the Department of Business and Trade in a report by the Guardian newspaper.“Let’s be clear: these allegations are smears from former staff who I sacked after they were accused of bullying behaviour, lying about other colleagues to cover up their own failures and general gross incompetence,” Ms Badenoch wrote on X, formerly Twitter.“Intolerable behaviour I would not stand for,” she added.The Tory former minister, among those running to be the party’s next leader, also claimed the Department of Business and Trade had confirmed there were no complaints and no investigations against her.She said the accusations would not “stop me or my campaign” and claimed her bid to be the next Conservative leader following the party’s general election rout had “spooked the lefties and now they’re coming for the one person they know can beat Keir Starmer”.Ms Badenoch, the MP for North West Essex, added: “The renewal of my party and the country is too important to let the Guardian, acting for the Labour Party, disrupt.”A spokesman for Ms Badenoch added that she has “high standards and expectations, and she has cultivated high-performing civil service teams who enjoy working with her”.The Guardian article claimed Ms Badenoch was responsible for behaviour that traumatised staff, leading at least three of them to leave their jobs at the Government department.A Department of Business and Trade spokesperson said: “We cannot comment on individual HR matters. However, there have never been any formal complaints or investigations into the previous secretary of state’s conduct at this department.“It is common for Government departments to seek the views of civil servants and to discuss the results of those surveys in routine meetings with staff. We do not tolerate abuse or bullying of any kind.” More