Winter fuel vote latest: Labour rebels to face action as Starmer accused of hiding effect of cuts

Conservative shadow health secretary has claimed Labour “has missed an opportunity” to reform the NHS ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s speech.

In his keynote address, the prime minister will unveil the findings of the Darzi report pointing the finger of blame for the current state of the health service at the Tories, saying it is “unforgivable”.

But the Conservatives have hit back, with Victoria Atkins urging Sir Keir to move from “rhetoric to action”.

She added: “We will review this report carefully but it appears that Labour have missed an opportunity to put together meaningful plans for reform.

“We Conservatives recognise that investment has to be married with reform, this is why we brought forward long-term plans for productivity, tech, Pharmacy First, virtual wards, attracting pharmaceutical research and training and retaining staff.

“We did this whilst boosting investment in the NHS in real terms every single year.

“The Labour government will be judged on its actions. It has stopped new hospitals from being built, scrapped our social care reforms and taken money from pensioners to fund unsustainable pay rises with no gains in productivity.

“They need to move from rhetoric to action.”

As the House of Commons debates the government’s plan to withdraw the winter fuel payment from the majority of pensioners, economist Jonathan Portes says those decrying the benefit cut would be better off defending the triple lock.

The NHS must reform or die, Sir Keir Starmer will say, as a major report on the health service is published.

The prime minister will set out his plans for tackling long waiting lists, improving the nation’s health and shifting the focus towards community services after a damning report from Lord Darzi found the NHS is “in serious trouble”.

The rapid review, completed in nine weeks, diagnoses the problems in the NHS and sets out themes for the government to incorporate into a 10-year plan for reforming the health service.

The study argues the NHS is facing rising demand for care as people live longer in ill health, coupled with low productivity in hospitals and poor staff morale.

Speaking at an event in London today, the prime minister will say: “The NHS is at a fork in the road, and we have a choice about how it should meet these rising demands.

“Raise taxes on working people to meet the ever-higher costs of an ageing population – or reform to secure its future.

“We know working people can’t afford to pay more, so it’s reform or die.”

Sir Keir will pledge to work on three fundamental areas of reform to make the NHS fit for the future.

The government should review legislation that restricts protest based on “knee-jerk public opinion”, a think tank has said.

Cross-party think tank Demos said it had found “overwhelming support” for the right to protest, saying the public’s views were “more nuanced” than simply being concerned about disruption.

In a report published on Thursday alongside civil rights campaigners Liberty, Demos called for a “wide-ranging” independent review of protest legislation and the policing of protest.

The report followed a series of deliberative workshops held by Demos, which the think tank said gave members of the public more time and information to reach “properly considered judgements” that saw concerns about disruption become “less prominent”.

Polly Curtis, chief executive of Demos, said: “Too often, politicians have relied on knee-jerk public opinion, itself based on limited knowledge of the protest landscape.

“However, by providing people with balanced information and exposing them to different viewpoints, it’s clear that people’s views are far more nuanced and there is more consensus than recent clampdowns account for.

“The public recognises protest as a fundamental right, and strongly believes it should be protected.”

The report follows a series of laws passed by the previous government that created a new offence of intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance, with a maximum sentence of 10 years.

The previous government also gave the police new powers to crack down on noisy protests and those causing “serious disruption” amid anger at ongoing protests by environmental groups such as Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain.

Labour MPs claimed more than £400,000 of taxpayers’ money to heat their own homes over the last five years, as the party voted to cut Winter Fuel Payments for millions of pensioners this month.

Official figures reveal how much members who claim expenses for their London accommodation have been awarded over time, with some taking thousands.

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House prices are showing signs of increasing for the first time in nearly two years as market activity picks up, according to surveyors.

Price growth moved into positive territory last month for the first time since October 2022, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said.

A net balance of one per cent of professionals reported prices rising rather than falling in August – and a balance of 14% expect a steady increase over the next three months.

Many lenders have made cuts to their mortgage rates in recent weeks, with the Bank of England also recently cutting the base rate.

August’s survey results also indicated a rise in the number of house hunters, with a net balance of 15% of professionals noticing an improvement in this survey indicator, up from a balance of 4% in July.

On the supply side, the number of new property listings has also shown an increase, with a balance of seven per cent of professionals seeing a rise in August, up from three per cent in July.

In the rental market, demand from tenants is continuing to rise, although the pace of growth has slowed compared with previous months, Rics said.

It added that the supply of rental properties remains sluggish, with new landlord instructions falling.

The ongoing shortage of rental properties is expected to keep pushing rents higher. A net balance of 39 per cent of professionals predict that rents will increase in the months ahead.

Rics chief economist, Simon Rubinsohn, said: “The latest Rics survey captures an improvement in sentiment over the past month in the wake of the modest decline in mortgage rates with buyer interest improving, albeit from a relatively low base, and stock levels edging up.

Sir Keir Starmer has refused three times to say whether he will publish an impact assessment of his decision to withdraw winter fuel payments from millions of pensioners.

It came as the prime minister also failed to give a guarantee on continued support for pensioner discounts for council tax, telling MPs they will have to wait for the Budget on 30 October. During PMQs he refused to guarantee bus passes and discretionary travel would be protected but a spokesperson later confirmed they are safe.

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The UK’s new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme will apply to the vast majority of overseas arrivals – even those merely changing planes – by 2 April 2025.

The new government says: “Everyone wishing to travel to the UK – except British and Irish citizens – will need permission to travel in advance of coming here. This can be either through an Electronic Travel Authorisation or an eVisa.”

Our travel correspondent Simon Calder has the full story:

The PM’s position is now stronger so he can now follow through with his strategy of things getting worse before they get better, writes John Rentoul: