Rachel 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 announced a slate of cost-cutting measures to grapple with the issue in July. These includedContinue Reading
Sir Keir Starmer is under fresh pressure to lift the two-child benefit cap in Labour’s first budget in October. The prime minister is facing renewed calls to scrap the austerity-era policy after a senior party figure suggested it would not be removed by chancellor Rachel Reeves in the statement thisContinue Reading
Yvette Cooper is facing backlash over plans to reopen two troubled detention centres as part of a crackdown on immigration. On Wednesday, the home secretary announced a series of measures aimed at tackling illegal migration and improving border security, including a pledge to return the number of failed asylum seekersContinue Reading
Transport secretary Louise Haigh said she plans to support local authorities who want to introduce 20mph speed limits, despite polling showing that 70 per cent of people are opposed to the policy. She said she wants to move on from the “culture wars” that made transport policy so controversial underContinue Reading
Government borrowing surged by more than expected in July in a blow to Rachel Reeves as she prepares to deliver her first budget. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector net borrowing stood at £3.1bn last month, £1.8bn more than a year ago and the highest July borrowingContinue Reading
Labour will not use its first budget to scrap the two-child benefit cap, a member of Sir Keir Starmer’s government has said. Torsten Bell, parliamentary private secretary to the influential Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden, predicted the measure would not be repealed in the October 30 statement. The former chiefContinue Reading
The UN special rapporteur on torture has intervened to urge Sir Keir Starmer to review the cases of thousands of people trapped in prison indefinitely under long-discredited IPP sentences “without further delay”. Lambasting the scandal which has left thousands of people to “languish without hope” in prison as “a terribleContinue Reading
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has suggested the UK could rejoin the EU in “the medium to long term”, in a departure from Labour’s stance on Brexit. Last month, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said he wants to “reset” relations with European allies. But he also noted negotiations on tradeContinue Reading
Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick has admitted he previously used the Ozempic weight-loss jab but “didn’t particularly enjoy it”. The former immigration minister confirmed he took the medication for around six weeks last autumn to shed some pounds. Mr Jenrick was addressing rumours about his sudden weight loss over theContinue Reading
Staff who are consistently contacted by bosses outside of normal working hours could be in line for thousands of pounds of compensation under Labour plans. The government’s plans to introduce a right to switch off, establishing a barrier between workers’ professional and home lives, could see staff securing bumper payoutsContinue Reading
