Several factors restrict the Labour government’s room for manoeuvre in its agenda for growth
The economic outlook is improving, but a recovery from last year’s recession will be long and arduous without a boost to public investment.
Continue reading...Chancellor attempts to plug £20bn hole in spending but will commit to above-inflation public sector pay rise
Rachel Reeves is to delay a number of “unfunded” road and hospital projects on Monday as part of the Treasury’s anticipated plans to plug an apparent £20bn hole in spending left by the Conservatives, while committing to an above-inflation public sector pay rise.
The chancellor is expected to argue she has inherited capital projects that are “unfunded with unfeasible timelines” as part of her Treasury audit report to the Commons. The audit will be seen as an indication of the government’s early commitments and priorities.
Continue reading...Labour government announces its biggest step yet in overhauling the UK’s approach to the Middle East
Labour has announced its biggest step yet in overhauling the UK’s approach to the Middle East, dropping its opposition to an international arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu despite pressure from Washington not to do so.
Downing Street announced on Friday that the government would not submit a challenge to the jurisdiction of the international criminal court, whose chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, is seeking a warrant against the Israeli prime minister.
Continue reading...Former work and pensions secretary joins James Cleverly, Tom Tugendhat and Robert Jenrick in announcing he will stand
The cost of England’s four biggest killer diseases could rise to £86bn a year by 2050, prompting calls for a crackdown on alcohol, junk food and smoking.
The ageing population means the annual cost of cancer, heart disease, dementia and stroke combined will go from the £51.9bn recorded in 2018 to £85.6bn in 2050 – a rise of 61%.
More importantly, you must now come clean on where the axe will fall under your plans and whether you intend to cut public services, raise taxes or both – having previously denied you would do either.”
The excuses currently being lined-up will set alarm bells ringing that the Labour government plans to continue Tory cuts and public services will be starved of the cash they need – just as we have seen with the failure to scrap the two-child benefit cap this week.
The SNP is ready and willing to work in cooperation with the Labour government to deliver the change voters in Scotland were promised – but we also have a duty to stand up for Scotland’s interests and hold the Labour government to account where real change isn’t forthcoming.”
Continue reading...Bank left with costs from Sir Trevor McDonald-fronted campaign after early election halted rollout
NatWest was forced to spend £24m on the former Conservative government’s aborted “Tell Sid”-style campaign featuring Sir Trevor McDonald, which would have resulted in a chunk of the bank’s state-owned shares being sold to the general public in a highly anticipated privatisation drive.
The price tag emerged when the bank released its second-quarter results and announced it was snapping up a number of mortgages from the smaller rival Metro Bank for £2.4bn.
Continue reading...Health secretary’s comments follow finding that Care Quality Commission struggling to identify performance issues in hospitals and care homes
Wes Streeting has called England’s healthcare watchdog “not fit for purpose” after an interim report found significant failings were hampering its ability to identify poor performance at hospitals, care homes and GP practices.
The health and social care secretary promised to “grip the crisis” at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) by taking immediate action to increase oversight of the body and giving patients more confidence in their care.
Continue reading...Study predicts overall economic cost of cancer, heart disease, dementia and stroke will rise by 61%
The cost of England’s four biggest killer diseases could rise to £86bn a year by 2050, prompting calls for a crackdown on alcohol, junk food and smoking.
The ageing population means the annual cost of cancer, heart disease, dementia and stroke combined will go from the £51.9bn recorded in 2018 to £85.6bn in 2050 – a rise of 61%.
Continue reading...Chancellor may raise some taxes in the autumn due to what Labour describes as its ‘shocking inheritance’ from Tories
Rachel Reeves is expected to reveal a £20bn hole in government spending for essential public services on Monday, paving the way for potential tax rises in the autumn budget.
Labour sources said the blame lay with the Tory government, describing it as a “shocking inheritance” and accusing the former chancellor of “presiding over a black hole and still campaigning for tax cuts”.
Continue reading...Ed Miliband said GB Energy would be a crucial tool to tackle the UK’s energy security concerns
The former Lib Dem leader Vince Cable is testifying at the inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal today. My colleague Mark Sweney will be sharing updates on that in the live blog here:
“The days of government ministers waging culture wars against civil servants are over,” chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, has said.
Yesterday I met the civil service unions together with my colleague, the new minister [Georgia Gould]. We had a very positive discussion covering a whole range of issues.
I made it clear that the days of government ministers waging culture wars against civil servants are over. Instead, we want a civil service that’s motivated, valued and helps the government deliver its priorities. And on this specific issue of pay, the government will have more to say on civil service pay before the summer recess.”
We do value civil servants, and of course we want all public servants to be properly and fairly rewarded, and, like any public expenditure, what’s spent on pay has to be balanced against other priorities and fair to taxpayers as a whole.”
Departments do have flexibility on pay, they can direct pay towards the needs of their own workforces.”
Continue reading...Cable was business secretary from 2010-15 when the government privatised the Post Office
Cable has agreed with a description of Post Office management as “thugs in suits”, and had a goal of rebalancing the relationship between bosses and subpostmasters during his time in post.
He recounted a story about challenging 8 Post Office closures in his constituency, before he entered government, and being treated poorly by the organisation’s “middle management”.
Mr Bates has, I believe, described them as ‘thugs in suits’ and I recognise the description,” said Cable in his witness statement. “And [the Post Office] dealt with us in an arrogant way when we campaigned against closures.
In my first meeting with Paula Vennells [Post Office chief executive] I suggested this is what the Post Office should do,” he said. “We perhaps should have been more modest and had postmasters on the board, which would have achieved some of our aims, which I think has now happened.
Problems with Horizon barely came across my desk,” he said. “When they did it was usually in a very uncontroversial way and not drawn to my attention as an issue I should focus on. General reason is that the officials who were briefing me and ministers on the subject hadn’t seen it as a particular problem.
In hindsight, I should have been told at the outset what Horizon was,” he said. “That competent people … were suggesting there was a risk factor and I should have been told about Mr Bates and the justice group. I never heard his name until I’d been in the job five years. I wasn’t briefed on them.
Continue reading...Former minister becomes third MP to formally join race after James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat threw hats into the ring
Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister who quit Rishi Sunak’s cabinet over the prime minister’s failure to take a tougher approach to immigration, has entered the race to become Conservative leader.
The Tory MP’s campaign manager, Danny Kruger, said he was best placed to win back voters who deserted the party for Reform at the general election. He is the third MP, after James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat, to join the contest.
Continue reading...Morgan was only candidate to put herself forward to replace Vaughan Gething as Welsh Labour leader
Eluned Morgan has been confirmed as the new leader of Welsh Labour and is to become the first female first minister of Wales.
Lady Morgan, 57, the health secretary in the Labour-led Welsh government, was the only candidate to put herself forward to replace Vaughan Gething.
Continue reading...Labour leader quizzed by SNP on benefit cap after suspending seven Labour MPs over their stance on the issue
Cabinet secretary, Simon Case, is reportedly being advised to step down permanently from his role for health reasons at the end of this year, writes Politico.
The outlet reports:
According to people familiar with the matter, Case is likely to need to step down in the new year on the advice of doctors, who are continuing to treat him for a neurological condition diagnosed more than a year ago.
Case is currently working at full capacity, but the condition is affecting his mobility and he now walks with the aid of a stick.”
Continue reading...Whitehall sources say it could be a more open competition than in past as Simon Case prepares to step down
Simon Case is expected to step down as cabinet secretary early next year on medical advice, after taking time off for health reasons last year.
The former royal aide, appointed by Boris Johnson to the top job in the civil service during the pandemic, has overseen Whitehall departments through the Partygate scandal as well as the premierships of Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.
Continue reading...Report warns of crisis of poverty and mental health which ‘casts a shadow’ over young people’s wellbeing
Ministers have been urged to reform the benefits system to tackle child poverty, after a report found it to be a major cause of mental illness that “casts a shadow” over young people’s wellbeing.
The report, by the Centre for Mental Health, Save the Children UK and the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, found that the number of children living in poverty in the UK had increased to 4.3 million, while one in five children and young people aged between eight and 24 had a diagnosable mental health problem.
Continue reading...Shadow home secretary says he is ‘best placed’ to unite party and that he aims to become prime minister
James Cleverly has become the first candidate to throw his hat into the ring for the leadership for the Conservative party.
The shadow home secretary said he was “best placed” to unite the Tories and overturn Keir Starmer’s “loveless landslide” to re-enter government.
Continue reading...Gen Sir Roly Walker says west faces ‘axis of upheaval’ with increasing threats from Russia, China and Iran
Britain must be prepared to fight a war in three years’ time and double the lethality of its army as the separate threats of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea come to a head, the new chief of the army has warned.
Gen Sir Roly Walker, the chief of the general staff, told reporters that the west faced “an axis of upheaval” with increasing military ambition and that a conflict involving one of the countries could lead to “a significant detonation” in another theatre.
Continue reading...Shadow home secretary says he has ‘thought about personal contribution’ to the Tories and the UK as nominations open on Wednesday
James Cleverly has warned Tory leadership rivals not to “divide up and factionalise”, responding to Suella Braverman words that the Tories must not become “a collection of fanatical, irrelevant, centrist cranks”.
Cleverly told Sky News: “Trying to carve up and divide up and factionalise … is the wrong way of thinking.”
Continue reading...Ex-Labour leader initially planned to sell personal and political documents to Canadian university for £212,500
The former UK prime minister Harold Wilson agreed to sell his archive of private papers to help fund his care, official documents have revealed.
Papers released by the National Archives and identified by the BBC show Lord Wilson initially planned to sell the collection to McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, for £212,500 – the equivalent of about £700,000 in today’s money.
Continue reading...Jonathan Reynolds says he expects Royal Navy ships will continue to be built at the struggling Belfast yard
The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, has said he is confident that the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast will continue to build ships for the Royal Navy, despite ruling out government support for the struggling company.
Harland & Wolff is part of a consortium on a £1.6bn contract to build three naval fleet solid support ships to supply the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers. However, it has faced months of uncertainty over its future.
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