UK

Sir Keir Starmer has warned backbench Labour MPs against future rebellions as he seeks to restamp his authority on the party after a series of setbacks.The prime minister suffered the biggest rebellion of his premiership over his plans to cut benefits by billions, climbing down at the last minute amid fears his majority could be overturned. In the end, 47 Labour MPs voted against the welfare bill at its final Commons hurdle.And chief whip Sir Alan Campbell wrote to rebels on Wednesday to remind them of their votes against the measures. Sir Keir Starmer has warned rebels as he seeks to restore his authority over his party More

Liz Kendall announced this week that she is reviving the pension commission as the government tries to tackle what she described as a looming “tsunami of pensioner poverty”.The work and pensions secretary said the government is setting out to “tackle the barriers that stop too many saving in the first place” after her department found that people retiring in 2050 are on track to be poorer than those retiring today, expecting to get £800 less in private pension income. Currently, just 55 per cent of working age adults in the UK are contributing to a pension pot, and MPs have said that a UK-wide strategy is needed to address pensioner poverty.But the UK’s pension dilemma is not unique. Countries across the world are grappling with similar looming crises, driven by a combination of factors including demographic shifts, low interest rates and economic instability. Here, the Independent takes a look at what action other governments are taking to stave off the impending crisis.United States In the United States, half of all private-sector workers are unable to get a retirement plan through their jobs, according to a survey published in June by Pew Charitable Trusts. The US’s most common workplace retirement plan is a 401(k), which allows employees to voluntarily put money aside for retirement which is typically matched by their employers. The total employee and employer contributions to a 401(k) cannot exceed $70,000 per year. Around 27 per cent of Americans over the age of 59 have no savings to rely on in their retirement, according to a survey by financial services firm Credit Karma in 2023. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration was expected to sign an order that would open up 401(k)s to the private markets. It would order the US Labor Department and Securities and Exchange Commission to create guidance for employers on including private assets in 401(k) plans, which could, in turn, create more investment opportunities for them. Currently, the key challenge for many countries remains the low rate of pension saving. More than half (59 per cent) of working Canadians do not believe they will have enough money to retire, according to a survey conducted this year by Canadian pension fund HOOPP, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. However, Canada is tackling this through rate increases within their savings system.The government has expanded the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), a monthly benefit that replaces a percentage of a person’s income after they retire.Between 2019 to 2025, it has increased the percentage of how much of a worker’s earnings are replaced from 25 per cent to 33.33 per cent. It has also increased the maximum level of earnings protected by the CPP by 14 per cent over 2024 and 2025. Australia is recognised as having one of the world’s top pension schemes where employers are required to pay a percentage of their employees earnings into an account which that employee can then access once they have retired. As of this month, employers are now required to contribute 12 per cent to employees’ retirement savings accounts, up from 11.5 per cent. They are also taking steps to close the gender pension pay gap with the Labor Government introducing a superannuation top up for parents taking time off to care for a newborn. The CityUK CEO Miles Celic said: “total contributions will have to rise if we are to emulate the successes of, for example, Australia and Canada. “This will involve difficult political choices alongside technical changes to policy and regulation.” In 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron raised the age of retirement from 62 to 64, which sparked massive public backlash and protests. Macron’s administration argued that the reform was essential to prevent long-term deficits in the pension system. At the time, Macron said he did not enjoy passing the reform but called it a necessity, saying “the longer we wait, the more (the deficit) will deteriorate.” As well as increasing the age of retirement, France has also hiked the minimum contributory requirements by 2 per cent this year across all bands.The minimum contribution applies to retirement pensions under its Pension Insurance scheme. In Germany, the retirement age is gradually being raised from 65 to 67. Like many governments across Europe, it is trying to reduce pressure on the pension system created by aging populations. Last year, it approved pension reform and its new government has set out a series of policies that include maintaining the amount paid to retirees each month – which is 48 per cent of the average monthly salary. More

Ministers should ensure a retired people have a minimum level of income to prevent a surge in pensioner poverty, MPs have warned. It comes after the work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said Britain faced a “tsunami of pensioner poverty” without major reform to the system as she opened the door to an increase in the state pension age. Age UK has found that two million pensioners are already in poverty, with the number expected to rise. Now MPs on the Commons Work and Pensions Committee say a new national strategy to tackle the problem among older people is needed. They have urged the government to set and deliver a minimum level of retirement income, enough for a “dignified, socially acceptable standard of living” in later life. The UK’s Pension Insurance Corporation has agreed to be bought for £5.7 billion (Lucy North/PA)The report also warns that, as people age, the health and social care systems risk becoming unsustainable if ministers fail to tackle the effect poverty has on ill-health. Among the worrying long-term trends that “threaten to undermine pension adequacy”, are people renting into later life, the report adds.It also calls for ministers to ensure those entitled to pensions credits of up to £4,000 a year receive them. Current take up is under 70 per cent, with an estimated 700,000 households missing out. Labour MP Debbie Abrahams (Jeff Overs/BBC/PA) More

Sir Keir Starmer is set to sign one of his landmark trade deal with India prime minister Narendra Modi which has already unleashed billions of investment in the UK.The signing of the trade deal with India after years of negotiation marks a triumph for Sir Keir, who has also achieved a Brexit reset agreement with the EU and a deal with Donald Trump to tackle the US president’s new tariffs.It comes as the India prime minister visits the UK on a trip aimed to build relations between the two countries.According to the government, the deal which was agreed in May, has already resulted in £6 billion in investment for the British economy.The prime minister and his Indian counterpart also agreed ahead of their meeting on Thursday to ramp up joint efforts to tackle illegal migration and organised crime.Sir Keir Starmer (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA) More

Protesters surrounded an empty hotel in London’s finance district after false rumours online suggested it was being used for migrants from another hotel, where riots have broken out. The Home Office has earmarked more than 400 beds at the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf, which it says it will use to house migrants at £81 per night per person. Protesters gathered at the site on Tuesday after social media posts claimed migrants were being moved there from the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, which has been the scene of violent protests over the past few days. So far, 10 people have been arrested in connection with that disorder, which was sparked when an asylum seeker was charged with sexual assault. Tommy Robinson, the far-right activist, is among those who claimed online that migrants were being transferred to the London hotel from Epping. The rumours sparked protests and counterprotests, with police drafted to the scene on Tuesday, despite the hotel currently sitting empty. Police attended as demonstrators gathered outside the hotel More

At least three times now, Angela Rayner has given a major TV interview where she has insisted she does not want to be prime minister.The problem for the deputy prime minister, however, is that her rejections of the crown are not very convincing.And if there is a reason why nobody in Westminster really believes the deputy prime minister in regards to her own ambitions, the intervention on Tuesday during the final cabinet meeting before the summer recess underlined it.Her warning about a summer of riots, linking them to economic woes and failures on controlling migration appeared to be a masterclass of political timing and messaging. At the same time, though, there is surprise among her allies that the normally dull cabinet briefing used her “spicier language” in a way which has drawn criticism of her.But whether Ms Rayner was happy with the reporting of it or not, there was no doubt that the intervention revealed a politician who has now emerged as one of the most powerful figures in government. There is widespread speculation among Labour MPs that the deputy prime minister is now positioning herself as the lead option to replace Sir Keir should he fall – and at the same time offer a different type of Labour government to the Starmerite project.In terms of political timing, Ms Rayner’s intervention worked because it put a full stop to the end of a deeply troubled first year for Sir Keir.Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner England (Lucy North/PA) More

Children could face a limit on using social media apps to help youngsters “take control of their online lives”, the Technology Secretary said.Peter Kyle said he wanted to tackle “compulsive behaviour” and ministers are reportedly considering a two-hour limit, with curfews also under discussion.The Cabinet minister said he would be making an announcement about his plans for under-16s “in the near future”.He told Sky News: “I am looking very carefully about the overall time kids spend on these apps.“I think some parents feel a bit disempowered about how to actually make their kids healthier online.“I think some kids feel that sometimes there is so much compulsive behaviour with interaction with the apps they need some help just to take control of their online lives and those are things I’m looking at really carefully.”Sky reported that a two-hour cap per platform is being considered, while night-time or school-time curfews have also been discussed.Mr Kyle said: “We talk a lot about a healthy childhood offline. We need to do the same online.“I think sleep is very important, to be able to focus on studying is very important.”He said he wanted to “tip the balance” in favour of parents so they were “not always being the ones who are just ripping phones out of the kids’ hands”.Mr Kyle also said it was “total madness” that some adults were able to use apps or gaming platforms to contact children online.He said “many of the apps or the companies have taken action to restrict contacts that adults, particularly strangers, have with children, but we need to go further”.“At the moment, I think the balance is tipped slightly in the wrong direction.“Parents don’t feel they have the skills, the tools or the ability to really have a grip on the childhood experience online, how much time, what they’re seeing, they don’t feel that kids are protected from unhealthy activity or content when they are online.”In a separate interview with parenting site Mumsnet, Mr Kyle said he was “deeply concerned” about addictive apps being used by children.Speaking to Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts on Monday, the Technology Secretary said he would be “nailing down harder on age verification”.He said: “I think we can have a national conversation about what healthy childhood looks like online.“We do it offline all the time. Parents set curfews and diet and exercise as part of a language and a vocabulary within families.“We haven’t had that national debate about what health looks like and a healthy childhood looks like online yet.”Schools in England were given non-statutory Government guidance in February last year, intended to stop the use of phones during the school day.But the Conservatives have been calling on the Labour Government to bring in a statutory ban on smartphones in schools.Mr Kyle said: “Smartphones should not be used routinely in schools.“Now, there might be some classes where they are brought in because of a specific purpose in the class, but that has to be determined and it should be the exception not the norm.”He added: “If we need to nail down hard on it, we will nail down hard on it.“But please think very carefully about asking politicians to pass a law which criminalises by definition.“Because if you pass a law that doesn’t criminalise it’s not a law that means anything”.A series of already-announced measures to protect children will come into effect from Friday.The codes of practice set out by Ofcom include requiring firms to ensure that any algorithms used to recommend content on their platforms must be configured to filter out harmful content from children’s feeds.In addition, the riskiest platforms, such as those hosting pornography, must have effective age checks to identify which users are children.The checks could be done using facial age estimation technology, asking users to provide photo-ID for verification or a credit card check. More