UK

China will be blocked from investing in the new Sizewell C power station, the energy secretary has said. It comes as the chancellor announced plans to pump billions of pounds into Britain’s nuclear energy sector, putting £14.2bn towards the new plant’s construction. Asked whether China would be able to invest in the new power station, in Suffolk, Ed Miliband told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “No”. But he declined to rule out investment from other foreign governments, saying: “I’m not going to go into who the private bidders are. We’ve got a process at the moment. Ed Miliband said new nuclear power capacity was needed to deliver a ‘golden age of clean energy abundance’ (Kin Cheung/PA) More

Rachel Reeves has agreed to pump billions of pounds into Britain’s nuclear energy sector, putting £14.2bn towards construction of the new Sizewell C nuclear power station. The multi-billion pound investment will be confirmed by the chancellor at the GMB union’s annual congress on Tuesday, just days before she is expected to make sweeping cuts to unprotected departments at Wednesday’s spending review. The Suffolk plant, which ministers said would power the equivalent of six million homes, is expected to take around a decade to complete, with officials hoping it will be operational before the end of the 2030s.Investment aims to boost clean energy and create 10,000 jobs, but critics warn of spiralling costs More

Rachel Reeves has approved £14.2 billion in funding to support construction of the new Sizewell C nuclear power station, as part of her first major spending review.The investment will be confirmed by the chancellor at the GMB union’s annual congress on Tuesday, in a move aimed at boosting the UK’s energy security and cutting carbon emissions.Energy secretary Ed Miliband said the new plant was central to delivering a “golden age of clean energy abundance” and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.Trade unions welcomed the move, which the Treasury said would go towards creating 10,000 jobs, including 1,500 apprenticeships.But campaigners criticised the move, warning that the full cost of the development remains unclear and could far exceed the initial investment.Nuclear plants are seen as increasingly important electricity sources as the government tries to decarbonise Britain’s grid by 2030, replacing fossil fuels with green power.The last time Britain completed one was in 1987, which was the Sizewell B plant.Investment aims to boost clean energy and create 10,000 jobs, but critics warn of spiralling costs More

Labour backbenchers are urging the Government to reconsider planned disability benefit cuts following the restoration of winter fuel payments to the majority of pensioners by Rachel Reeves.The chancellor’s £1.25 billion initiative, revealed on Monday, will provide automatic payments of up to £300 to pensioners with an income below £35,000 annually.This decision reverses last year’s removal of the universal scheme for pensioners, which was reinstated for those claiming specific benefits like pension credit.Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, cautioned ministers against repeating a “similar mistake” by tightening eligibility criteria for Personal Independence Payments (PIP).Richard Burgon, MP for Leeds East, implored pensions minister Torsten Bell to heed the concerns of backbenchers, offering their assistance to help the Government “get it right.”Pensions minister Torsten Bell More

Nato chief Mark Rutte has called for a 400 per cent boost to air and missile capabilities – and his demand to raise defence spending across the alliance to 5 per cent has raised the voices of doom to a scream.A return to Cold War levels of defence spending is not, however, a hysterical plea from a lackey of the military-industrial complex.It is a sad acknowledgement that the peace dividend that came with the collapse of the Soviet Union has been squandered by the West in a pointless war in Afghanistan and a criminal conflict in Iraq which expanded the list of peoples with a good reason to hate democracy.But there were plenty around already. Vladimir Putin is one of them, Xi Jinping is another – Donald Trump is rushing to their ranks. Autocracy is on the rise around the world while democracies have been consumed by complacency.“Wishful thinking will not keep us safe,” said Rutte, who called for Nato to become a “stronger, fairer and more lethal alliance”.Russian soldiers ride an Akatsiya self-propelled gun in an undisclosed location in Ukraine More

British people “better learn to speak Russian” if Sir Keir Starmer does not massively ramp up defence spending, the Nato secretary general has warned. Mark Rutte said he was “really impressed” by the prime minister’s strategic defence review unveiled last week. And he called for Nato countries to set a “credible path” towards spending 5 per cent of their national incomes on defence amid the growing threat from Russia. Speaking at London’s Chatham House, Mr Rutte said it is “not up to me” whether that means Rachel Reeves should consider tax hikes to pay for the commitment. He added: “I mean, what I know is that if we want to keep our societies safe… look, if you do not do this, if you would not go to the 5%, including the 3.5% core defence spending, you could still have the National Health Service, or in other countries their health systems, the pension system, etcetera, but you had better learn to speak Russian.” Sir Keir Starmer welcomed Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte to Downing Street (PA) More

As the government hikes the winter fuel payment threshold to £35,000, many Independent readers say the means test was too low last year – and is now far too high. The sudden shift has sparked frustration, confusion and claims of political opportunism.Many readers criticised the move as politically motivated, coming just days before a crucial spending review and following electoral losses and pressure from Reform UK. Several argued the new threshold is too high, with one pointing out that a £35k salary should not warrant government support, especially when many working-age families and the unemployed receive far less help. Others echoed the IFS and Resolution Foundation’s concerns that the policy is poorly targeted and administratively messy, potentially creating unfair outcomes for households just above the income line.Some welcomed the return of payments for lower-income pensioners but questioned why the government scrapped them in the first place without a clear plan. Pensioners themselves weighed in too – some said they managed perfectly without the payments and felt younger families in poverty needed the support more. One commented: “We are mortgage-free and have enough – give it to those who really need it.”The overall feeling from our community was that the government had acted too late and without transparency. The move was described as a “headless chicken” reaction, lacking clarity on implementation, repayment, and future policy direction.Here’s what you had to say:Both parties wanted means testing beforeI expect both the Tories and the Lib Dems are hoping everyone’s forgotten that they have both, at one time or another, called for either means testing the WFA or restricting it to pension credit claimants only.It was, in fact, in the Conservatives’ 2017 election manifesto. For the Libs, it was one Paul Burstow MP, who had served in the coalition government. In both cases, the money saved was to be diverted to social care reform, which was a pretty good idea, I think.RickCWhat are your views on the winter fuel payment? Have your say in the commentsNot a U-turn, just a high thresholdIt’s not a U-turn. They brought in the concept of means testing the WFA and now they’ve raised the limit. A U-turn would be going back to universal WFA. Personally, I think they’ve set it far too high. I know plenty of families that would love to be earning £35k and getting guaranteed pay rises every year, plus money towards their fuel bill.KrakenUKMeans test still not rightMeans test was too low before and is too high now – and should be based on household income.We’re both pensioners with a joint income of close to £50k, no dependent kids, no mortgage. Added to this, we’ve got the protection of the triple lock. There is no way we need this money, whereas many young families do.WokeUp4,000 lives at riskThe enduring problem is that the government’s own estimate said that 4,000 people would die of the cold if this policy was introduced. The excess deaths figures will not be published for another year and, in any case, are now very complicated. The question for me is: would I ever vote for people who were prepared to allow 4,000 old people to die because they don’t understand economics?MrBishiWe manage, give it to those who need itI’ve always said the same. We are mortgage-free, I’m on a state pension and get a small private pension. My wife, who is younger, still works part-time and gets around £600 per month. We manage perfectly. We know a lot of younger people who work and struggle with rents, children to keep, etc. Give it to them. Some pensioners out there are just plain greedy and want every penny piece they can grab.IanWhy should wealthy pensioners get it?I barely earn £35K as a 45-year-old professional in the NHS and certainly won’t get that kind of money for a pension. Why should so many get a £300 handout when they’ve more than likely paid their mortgage and don’t have to spend money on children, etc., any more?OnlyFishLeftSocial care funding was the original pointI expect both the Tories and the Lib Dems are hoping everyone’s forgotten that they have both, at one time or another, called for either means testing the WFA or restricting it to pension credit claimants only.It was, in fact, in the Conservatives’ 2017 election manifesto. For the Libs, it was one Paul Burstow MP, who had served in the coalition government. In both cases, the money saved was to be diverted to social care reform, which was a pretty good idea, I think.RickCHelp paying the gas bill on £35k?Thirty-five grand coming in a year and you get help paying your gas bill?Truly outrageous.This suggests a person needs £35k a year, minimum, to live. So how about getting disabled people and the unemployed up to that rate then? Because they are far, far below.BigDogSmallBrainA compromise, but poorly communicatedThis sounds a more sensible compromise rather than going back to the old universal payment, but the government should have made this announcement last year so people would have been prepared for it, and it wouldn’t have looked so much as if they were frightened of Farage.ruthmayjellingsWhat if one earns over the limit?I suppose we will have to wait for the detail, but what happens if a couple claim the WFA (one per household) through the non-earning spouse, while the other has income over £35,000? That’s not very clear.SteveHillWhy not last year?Last year there was no money so they cut WFA and they can blame it on the Tories. This year the economy is in an even worse mess and they reinstate it, against all logic, and then they put the level far too high.No details as to how it will be paid for, how it will be recouped, nor how they will ID those who can get it and those who will have to pay it back. And if they suddenly found a system, why did they not use it last year?And I do not suppose the shellacking they got in May has anything at all to do with it, has it?Headless chickens, the lot of them — especially Reeves and Starmer.ListenVeryCarefullySome of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity.Want to share your views? Simply register your details below. Once registered, you can comment on the day’s top stories for a chance to be featured. Alternatively, click ‘log in’ or ‘register’ in the top right corner to sign in or sign up.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here. More

Last week’s exclusive weekly polling for The Independent is perhaps the biggest indication of why Rachel Reeves has performed a huge U-turn on winter fuel.The breakdown of theTechne UK weekly tracker poll revealed that 36 per cent of pensioners now plan to vote for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK — a full 20 points ahead of Labour’s 16 per cent.As any political analyst or experienced campaigner will know, the group of voters most likely to vote are pensioners. Which may explain why pensioners with a joint income of £75,000 will now get the winter fuel payment — but hard up younger voters who cannot even get a mortgage are left to struggle.The same logic has applied to the increasingly unaffordable triple lock on the state pension rise each year while the government looks to slash benefits for the disabled and says it cannot afford to expand child benefit to more than two children per family.Farage reads out a front page article on his words on winter fuel More