Category Archives: Politics

Rachel Reeves expected to scrap £300m in tax breaks for Motability scheme

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Plan to remove relief from scheme that helps provide cars for disabled people likely to concern some Labour MPs

Rachel Reeves is expected to press ahead with scrapping about £300m in tax breaks for the Motability scheme that helps provide cars for disabled people, in a move likely to spark concerns among some Labour MPs.

The Treasury was reported to have been considering axing tax breaks up to £1bn but savings will not be as high as that figure, with concerns among ministers that some policy options could have led to Motability’s collapse.

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Reeves’s plan to cut cash Isa limit could raise mortgage rates, say finance bosses

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Building societies fear consumers will be put off from saving if chancellor’s budget announces a 40% reduction

Rachel Reeves’s plan to slash the annual cash Isa limit by 40% could lead to higher mortgage rates and deter consumers from saving, finance bosses have said.

The chancellor is expected to cut the maximum amount people can put into tax-efficient cash individual savings accounts from £20,000 a year to £12,000 in Wednesday’s budget.

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University students in England get two-thirds of funding of a decade ago, analysis finds

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University leaders says planned levy on international student fees will leave many institutions even worse off

University students in England get just two-thirds of the funding they would have received a decade ago, after inflation and government cuts have reduced the resources available for teaching, according to vice-chancellors.

University leaders said the situation was likely to get worse if the government went ahead with a new levy on international student fees in Wednesday’s budget.

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Theresa May and Cate Blanchett to guest edit BBC Today programme

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Former PM to examine issue of trust in politics and Oscar-winning actor’s show will discuss AI

The former prime minister Theresa May is to guest edit Radio 4’s Today programme and use it to explore the issue of dwindling trust in politics.

May, who resigned in 2019 with a tearful statement about the honour she felt in holding the office, will edit Today on New Year’s Eve.

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Rachel Reeves promises to ‘grip the cost of living’ in autumn budget

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Chancellor admits economy ‘feels stuck’ for many as she signals intention to freeze income tax thresholds

Rachel Reeves has promised to “grip the cost of living” in the budget as she prepares to scrap the two-child welfare limit and freeze rail fares, while putting forward a multibillion-pound tax-raising package.

The chancellor is preparing to give her second budget on Wednesday after weeks of uncertainty about the scale of the tax rises she will need to impose to plug a financial hole of about £20bn.

Freezing income tax thresholds for an extra two years to 2030, bringing more people into higher tax bands as wages rise.

Making salary sacrifice schemes less generous, including those for pension contributions.

Bringing in higher tax on the most expensive properties, including a surcharge on the highest-value houses.

A pay-per-mile scheme on electric cars to help fill the tax gap from petrol duty as more people opt for green vehicles.

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Lord Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover strengthens UK media’s rightwing tilt

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Many fear competition and diversity will be diminished as Daily Mail owner wins race to buy newspaper

As the dust settles from the battle for the ownership of the Daily Telegraph, one man has been left standing: Lord Rothermere, whose family have been a mainstay of British newspapers for more than a century.

“This is a very British stitch-up,” said Lionel Barber, the former editor of the Financial Times. “Lord Rothermere has played a very astute poker hand, he’s shown patience and he’s the big winner.”

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Iqbal Mohamed becomes second MP to quit Your Party

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Mohamed says decision to leave was after ‘many false allegations and smears’ against him and others

A second MP within a week has quit Your Party in acrimonious circumstances, throwing yet more doubt on the viability of the leftwing group co-led by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.

In a statement on X, Iqbal Mohamed, who was elected as the independent MP for Dewsbury and Batley last year, said his decision to leave was after “many false allegations and smears” against him and others, which he did not explain.

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Farage’s views on Russia likely to be further tested after jailing of Nathan Gill

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It would be expedient for Reform to take Labour’s advice and disavow ‘Putin talking points’

The discovery of a pro-Russian asset, Nathan Gill, at the heart of a British political party reads like the plot of a John Le Carré novel.

Russia was long known to have been trying to interfere in foreign politics with online bots and cyber-disinformation over the past decade.

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Reeves ‘not even sure what the popular path is’ on the budget – UK politics live

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Chancellor says ‘We can’t just carry on like this and muddle through. We have to make some decisions to get on a different path’

Prime minister Keir Starmer had a bilateral meeting with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Friday.

The two leaders discussed the 11-hour flight from London to Johannesburg in brief remarks in front of reporters, according to the PA news agency.

Energy bills are still far higher than five years ago, on top of sky-high mortgages and rents and prices in the shops.

The government has pledged time and time again to bring down energy bills – it is time for them to live up to their word and stop tinkering, committing to a real long term plan.

Liberal Democrats have a plan: we would slash energy bills in half by removing the renewables levy from bills, creating new energy loans for homeowners to insulate their homes and boosting renewables – the cheapest, cleanest and most popular form of energy.

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Reform UK’s former Wales leader jailed for taking bribes for pro-Russia speeches

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Police say Nathan Gill received at least £40,000 while he was an MEP from Oleg Voloshyn, an alleged Russian asset

Reform UK’s former leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, has been jailed at the Old Bailey for 10 and a half years for taking bribes to make statements in favour of Russia when he was an MEP.

Gill, a member of the Ukip and Brexit party blocs led by Nigel Farage in the European parliament, had pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery between 6 December 2018 and 18 July 2019.

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UK government borrows more than expected in setback before budget

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October figures represent final snapshot of public finances before Rachel Reeves’s tax and spending statement

Rachel Reeves was urged to use next week’s budget to create significantly more headroom against her fiscal rules, after official figures showed the UK government borrowed almost £10bn more than forecast in the year to October.

In the final snapshot of the public finances before the chancellor’s crunch budget, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said borrowing – the difference between public spending and income – was £17.4bn last month.

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Andy Burnham calls on Labour to rethink plans to make it tougher for asylum seekers to settle permanently – UK politics live

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The home secretary’s plans ‘may leave people in a sense of limbo and unable to integrate’, Burnham said

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, is giving a speech in Salford this afternoon where he will set out details of his “good growth” plans, but he has already explained much of it overnight in a news release.

Explaining what his “new model of economic growth” is, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (the body Burnham runs) says:

Over the past decade, the city region has become the fastest growing part of the UK economy, driven by a high-performing centre unrecognisable from even 15 years ago.

Our trailblazing devolution deals and unique partnership approach have fuelled annual growth of 3.1 per cent – more than double the rate of the country as a whole. A recent report from Oxford Economics praised Greater Manchester’s growth journey, calling us a “trailblazer for local devolution.”

A new strategic partnership between GMCA and GMPF [Greater Manchester Pension Fund] – the first of its kind in the country – will prioritise local investment and align the GMPF’s investment to our integrated pipeline. Projects in the integrated pipeline will be able to access patient capital that aims for sustainable growth and long-term impact.

We’ll invest in a way that makes the most of every pound, delivering social as well as economic benefits.

Our Greater Manchester baccalaureate is transforming technical education, giving young people a clear line of sight to high quality jobs in our growing economy, and we’re helping residents to live healthier, happier lives and access new employment and training opportunities through our Live Well approach.

Underpinning all this is the Bee Network – our safe, green and affordable public transport system, which is seamlessly connecting people and places like never before. Next year eight rail lines will be brought into the network, which already includes bus, rail, tram, and active travel routes.

I appreciate the support, but I couldn’t have brought forward a plan of the kind I brought forward today [his Manchester “good growth” plan] without being fully focused on my role as mayor of Greater Manchester.

And I’m providing leadership on growth, which is what I think the country needs, and is helpful to the government right now.

And we’re doing this in advance of the budget, I hope, to really bring to life the growth story for the government.

I would just finish by saying this; I think part of the country’s problem is the political culture of Westminster, which is playing out in front of us right now. You go to Manchester, and we’ve built a new economy, and a new way of doing politics, and more of that is what the country needs.

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Thursday briefing: What fresh claims of racism and antisemitism at school mean for Nigel Farage

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In today’s newsletter: With the Reform leader now a serious contender for PM, we look at the impact the allegations about his behaviour as a schoolboy could have on Britain

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Good morning. For more than 30 years, Nigel Farage has been one of the most disruptive figures in British politics, known for building a brand on outrage and polarisation. He presents himself as the everyman, cigarette hanging out of his mouth or a pint in hand.

Now that several polls suggest he is a serious contender to be the next prime minister, it feels high time to ask: what’s the background of this supposed man of the people? The latest Guardian exclusive digs deep into just that question, where allegations from more than a dozen school contemporaries of Farage recount incidents of deeply offensive behaviour throughout his teenage years. This is not the whole picture. Others who knew Farage then remember he was bumptious, rude, provocative and enjoyed being the centre of attention, and do not recall the alleged behaviour.

US news | Donald Trump has signed a bill directing the justice department to release files from the investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, surrendering in the face of joint pressure from Democratic opponents and the president’s conservative base.

UK news | Up to 50,000 nurses could quit the UK over the government’s immigration proposals, plunging the NHS into its biggest ever workforce crisis, research suggests.

Middle East | Israel used widely banned cluster munitions in its recent 13-month war in Lebanon, photos of munition remnants in south Lebanon seen by the Guardian suggest.

Ukraine | US and Russian officials have quietly drafted a new plan to end the war in Ukraine that would require Kyiv to surrender territory and severely limit the size of its military, according to reports.

Health | The world’s largest study into key substances in the bloodstream has paved the way for a swathe of pinprick tests that can detect early signs of disease more than a decade before symptoms appear, researchers say.

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Up to 50,000 nurses could quit UK over immigration plans, survey suggests

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Exclusive: union leaders say proposed changes are immoral and could threaten patient safety if there is staff exodus

Up to 50,000 nurses could quit the UK over the government’s immigration proposals, plunging the NHS into its biggest ever workforce crisis, research suggests.

Keir Starmer has vowed to curb net migration, with plans to force migrants to wait as long as 10 years to apply to settle in the UK instead of automatically gaining settled status after five years.

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Allegations about Farage’s conduct as schoolboy ‘disturbing’, says No 10 – UK politics live

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The Guardian spoke to more than a dozen contemporaries of Farage at Dulwich college, a public school in south London

Healey is now taking questions.

Q: How close are are we to war?

It is Labour that is the party of defence.

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Mahmood and Lammy breached human rights law over segregation of prisoner, judge finds

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Treatment of terrorist with known mental health needs said to have contravened prohibition on inhuman or degrading treatment

Shabana Mahmood and David Lammy have been found to have breached a prohibition on inhuman or degrading treatment with respect to a prisoner who spent months segregated from other inmates, in what is believed to be a legal first.

Sahayb Abu was confined to his cell at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes, for 22 hours a day and prevented from associating with other prisoners for more than four months after Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, allegedly attacked prison officers at HMP Frankland.

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Wes Streeting defends asylum system shake-up despite his unease

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Health secretary says he is not comfortable with some elements of policy but that it is the right thing to do for the country

Wes Streeting has admitted he is not comfortable with forcibly deporting families under the home secretary’s migration plans, while maintaining it is still the right thing to do.

The health secretary said he thought the number of forced removals would be low under the proposed model, which is similar to Denmark’s, because there would be an increased financial incentive for people entering the UK illegally to return to their country of origin.

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Watch out for online contact with Chinese spies, UK defence minister warns public

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After MI5 issues China espionage alert to parliament, Luke Pollard says message should be heeded by all citizens

Ordinary UK citizens need to watch out for online contact with Chinese spies, the defence minister has said, after MI5 issued an espionage alert to parliament.

Luke Pollard said a warning given to parliamentarians on Tuesday that China was attempting to recruit individuals with access to sensitive information should also be heeded by the public at large.

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Reform’s plan to cut EU citizens’ benefits would risk trade war with Europe, Labour claims – UK politics live

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As Reform announces what it claims are £25bn in savings through cuts, Labour says ‘Farage’s fantasy numbers don’t add up’

Alf Dubs, the Labour peer and former MP who came to the UK on Kindertransport in 1939 and who campaigns on behalf of migrants, told the Today programme this morning that he was “depressed” by the asylum politicies announced by the government yesterday. He explained:

I find it upsetting that we’ve got to adopt such a hard line – what we need is a bit of compassion in our politics, and I think that some of the measures were going in the wrong direction, they won’t help.

The hard line approach will not, in fact, deter people from coming here – at least on the basis of people I spoke to in Calais, for example – I don’t think it will deter them.

I think there is a proper case for children, there’s a proper case for family reunion – when there are children who are on their own and who’ve got family in this country, then I think the right thing to do is to have family reunion and bringing children over here.

But to use children as a weapon, as the home secretary is doing, I think is a shabby thing – I’m lost for words, frankly, because my concern was that if we remove people who come here, what happens if they’ve had children in the meantime?

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Tuesday briefing: What Labour hopes to learn from Denmark’s hardline asylum stance

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In today’s newsletter: Shabana Mahmood is pitching radical new limits on whether asylum seekers can ever gain settled status – but it may come with political consequences

Good morning. In September, Nigel Farage floated a Reform UK policy of ending indefinite leave to remain that critics said would eject hundreds of thousands of people from the country. In October, the Conservatives began talking about deporting large numbers of people previously considered legally settled. Now, the Labour government is preparing to impose radical new limits on whether asylum seekers can ever gain settled status. The Overton window on immigration keeps marching implacably rightwards.

In a document published by the government yesterday afternoon, the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, described the plans as “the most sweeping asylum reforms in modern times”. The prime minister, Keir Starmer, said that having an asylum system at all depends on “social confidence” that it is “fair, effective and humane”. A lot of Labour MPs look set to disagree with the approach, causing yet another political headache for No 10.

Society | More than two in five sexually active under-18s in the UK have either been strangled or strangled someone during sex, research has found, despite the serious dangers of the practice.

Jeffrey Epstein | The Harvard professor and economist Larry Summers said he would step back from public life after documents released by the House oversight committee revealed email exchanges between him and Jeffrey Epstein, who called himself Summers’ “wing man”.

Cop30 | Jamaica has led calls from vulnerable nations at the Cop30 climate summit to urge immediate action on climate breakdown as the conference entered its second week.

Gaza | The UN security council has endorsed proposals put forward by Donald Trump for a lasting peace in Gaza, including the deployment of an international stabilisation force and a possible path to a sovereign Palestinian state.

Poland | Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk has described an explosion along a section of railway line used for deliveries to Ukraine as an “unprecedented act of sabotage” that could have led to disaster.

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