High borrowing costs and public sector pay rises have given chancellor Rachel Reeves a £6.7bn headache ahead of next week’s Budget. Borrowing in the first six months of the year stood at £79.6bn, £1.2bn higher than a year earlier and almost £7bn higher than the Office for Budget Responsibility watchdogContinue Reading
Rachel Reeves’ Budget is a make-or-break moment for Sir Keir Starmer’s government, potentially sparking a decade of national renewal – or sowing the seeds of Labour’s downfall. The prime minister’s poll ratings are at rock bottom after just over 100 days in charge, and the much-hyped “tough choices” to beContinue Reading
Former Conservative minister Richard Holden is leading a campaign to secure protected status for traditional pie and mash as a celebration of the “original fast food”. Mr Holden and producers have made representations to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) about an application for Traditional Speciality GuaranteedContinue Reading
AI-powered “nudifying” apps which can create non-consensual explicit images of people, including children, should be banned, an online safety charity has said. Internet Matters has called on the Government to strengthen the Online Safety Act to ban tools which can create deepfake nudes after a study from the group estimatedContinue Reading
The government is to go ahead with the early release of around 1,000 more prisoners despite calls for the second tranche to be suspended. A source close to justice secretary Shabana Mahmood has insisted that the second wave of early releases will go ahead with some criminals only serving 40Continue Reading
The government has closed the door to a tax on workers with six-figure salaries amid confusion over what Labour’s definition of “working people” means. In its manifesto, the party promised not to raise “taxes on working people” – specifiying national insurance, income tax and VAT. But, ahead of next week’sContinue Reading
Michael Gove has said personal attacks on his ex-wife Sarah Vine were the thing that “really hurt most” during his political career. He said Ms Vine, who is a columnist for the Daily Mail, was “portrayed as a sort of Lady Macbeth figure” when he was weighing up lending hisContinue Reading
Starmer refuses to rule out national insurance rise at PMQs Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email The health secretary has declined to rule out extending the freeze on income tax thresholds as speculation aboutContinue Reading
Fears have been raised that Wes Streeting’s inflation-busting funding deal for the NHS will not be enough for him to pay for the reforms he wants to drive through. Sources have told The Independent that the Department for Health and Social Care is set to get about 4 per centContinue Reading
Starmer refuses to rule out national insurance rise at PMQs Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email The health secretary has declined to rule out extending the freeze on income tax thresholds as speculation aboutContinue Reading
