MPs due to have free vote on proposal but some in party have privately expressed concerns it goes too far
Senior Labour figures want to water down proposed legislation to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales ahead of a historic Commons debate on the issue.
Later this spring, MPs are due to have a free vote on a proposal by the Labour MP Diana Johnson to abolish the criminal offence associated with a woman ending her own pregnancy.
Continue reading...Lords back amendments saying bill must comply with international law, on classifying Rwanda as a safe country and independent monitoring
Yesterday I covered quite a lot of comment on the Rachel Reeves’ Mais lecture based on a three-page press release sent out by Labour with advance extracts. The full speech runs to 8,000 words and it is certainly worth a read. Here is some commentary published after the full text was made public.
Paul Mason, the former economics journalist who is now an active Labour supporter, says in a blog for the Spectator that Reeves is proposing an approach that should make it easier for the government to justify capital investment. He explains:
Reeves effectively offered markets a trade-off. She set out the same broad fiscal rule as the government: debt falling at the end of five years and a deficit moving towards primary balance. She will make it law that any fiscal decision by government will be subject to an independent forecast of its effects by the OBR. But, she said: “I will also ask the OBR to report on the long-term impact of capital spending decisions. And as Chancellor I will report on wider measures of public sector assets and liabilities at fiscal events, showing how the health of the public balance sheet is bolstered by good investment decisions.”
Why is this so big? Because the OBR does not currently model the ‘long-term impact of capital spending decisions’. It believes that £1 billion of new capital investment produces £1 billion of growth in the first year, tapering to nothing by year five. Furthermore, since 2019 it has repeatedly expressed scepticism that a sustained programme of public investment can produce a permanent uplift in the UK’s output potential.
George Eaton at the New Statesman says the Reeves speech contained Reeves’ “most explicit repudiation yet of the model pursued by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s governments”. He says:
In her 8,000-word Mais Lecture, delivered last night at City University, the shadow chancellor offered her most explicit repudiation yet of the model pursued by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s governments. Though she praised New Labour’s record on public service investment and poverty reduction, Reeves warned that the project failed to recognise that “globalisation and new technologies could widen as well as diminish inequality, disempower people as much as liberate them, displace as well as create good work”.
She added that the labour market “remained characterised by too much insecurity” and that “key weaknesses on productivity and regional inequality” persisted. This is not merely an abstract critique – it leads Reeves and Keir Starmer to embrace radically different economic prescriptions.
Mais lecture is the most intellectually wide-ranging speech Rachel Reeves has given. Worth reading for takes on Lawson, austerity, New Labour, link between dynamism & worker-security, and how geo-politics changes our national growth story (& more besides)
Continue reading...Charities and education providers say young carers should be eligible for welfare when they study more than 21 hours a week
Young carers in England and Wales are being blocked from staying in education and going to college or university by benefit rules that unfairly penalise them, according to a coalition of charities and education providers.
The group of more than 200 organisations and representatives is lobbying ministers to exempt young carers – those aged 16 to 24 who often look after relatives – from the rule that makes them ineligible for the government’s carer’s allowance if they study for more than 21 hours a week.
Continue reading...Train maker Alstom plans fast service skirting Birmingham as Ryan Reynolds’ football club takeover reaps in ever more benefits
Direct trains could next year connect Wrexham to London, with a new service capitalising on the town’s Hollywood-meets-football mini-boom.
The train manufacturer Alstom is bidding to set up the Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway with a promise of cheaper, more comfortable trains straight to London.
Continue reading...Cardiff’s finance minister says her 2023 budget could be redundant if the chancellor makes radical tax changes
The Welsh government has warned it could be forced to redraw its budget only one day after it is approved by the assembly should Jeremy Hunt make tax and spending policy changes that affect Wales in his budget in March.
Cardiff’s finance minister, Rebecca Evans, said she was concerned that her budget, which was published as a draft in 2023 for discussion and will be completed on 5 March, could become redundant if Hunt adopts radical measures in his budget the following day.
Continue reading...Demonstration against Welsh Labour policy included No Farmers No Food campaign calling for end to climate measures, and Welsh Tory leader
Rishi Sunak attended a protest alongside a group which has posted conspiracy theories about climate change, and which campaigns against net zero, the Observer can reveal.
The prime minister has been accused of “pandering to extremists” by farmers and wildlife groups, who have asked him to “listen to reason and logic” rather than conspiracy theories.
Continue reading...Amendment by Labour MP Diana Johnson would end prosecutions for terminations after 24 weeks
MPs are expected to get a free vote on decriminalising abortion when a Labour backbencher lays an amendment that would end the prosecution of women who terminate pregnancies after the 24-week limit.
Diana Johnson is expected to lay an amendment to the Criminal Justice Act next month that would stop the possibility of women being jailed for going ahead with abortions after the time limit.
Continue reading...Met Office issues amber weather warnings with up to 25cm of snow forecast to fall on higher areas
The Met Office has issued two rare amber weather warnings, with heavy snow and ice forecast to hit the UK on Thursday.
One warning is in place from 8am-3pm covering large parts of north Wales and Shropshire. The second runs from noon-6pm and covers the Peak District and southern Pennines.
Continue reading...‘Shameful’ backlogs in cases are causing severe mental health problems, says victims commissioner
Victims of crime are dying waiting for justice as they face delays of up to six years for their cases to be dealt with in court, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales has said.
As a new law to enshrine victims’ rights is scrutinised in the House of Lords, Baroness Helen Newlove warned that the wider justice system was “on its knees”, with “shameful” backlogs leaving victims suffering acute mental health problems.
Continue reading...Irish foreign minister says he does ‘not anticipate any particular difficulties in respect of the EU side’
Back at the home affairs committee James Daly (Con) asks why so few police investigations end up in people being charged.
James Cleverly, the home secretary, says the Crown Prosecution Service is independent. He wants to make sure investigations are as professional as possible.
Continue reading...Labour criticises government ‘dithering’, after Vishay deal last autumn to buy chip maker Newport Wafer Fab stalls, putting jobs at risk
Labour has criticised “dither and delay” from the government over a decision on a proposed takeover of the UK’s largest semiconductor facility by a US company, warning that it could lead to further job cuts at the Welsh factory.
The fate of Newport Wafer Fab in south Wales has been unclear for nearly two years since the UK government first indicated it had concerns over a 2021 takeover by the Chinese-owned Nexperia firm. The national security concerns related to the ownership of semiconductor technology by a company with links to China.
Continue reading...Women losing ‘everything’ after being accused of illegal abortion in England and Wales, even if not charged, says Dr Jonathan Lord
Women in England and Wales accused of having illegal abortions have been held in custody after pregnancy loss, had their children taken into care and been saddled with debt, an expert has said.
Dr Jonathan Lord, a co-chair of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) abortion taskforce, said he was aware of up to 30 “deeply traumatic” cases where women had been investigated by the police, with some suffering “life-changing harm”.
Continue reading...Rightmove says average advertised price outside London is up 9.2% on a year ago despite fall in some regions
Average private rents in Great Britain have climbed to new record highs, though in some regions there has been a small fall in the amount new tenants are being asked to pay, data shows.
The typical advertised private rent outside London for new properties coming on to the market rose to a record £1,280 a calendar month in the final quarter of 2023, according to the property website Rightmove. That is £2 higher than the £1,278 figure recorded in the third quarter – a sign that rental growth is slowing.
Continue reading...Former Scotland first minister used expletives in private messages about former UK PM’s handling of pandemic
At the Covid inquiry hearing in Edinburgh Liz Lloyd, Nicola Sturgeon’s former chief of staff, was asked about her wanting a row with the UK government. (See 11.35am.)
Asked if she was looking for a spat, Lloyd replied:
I was looking for a spat with a purpose.
It had been shown in the past that they would sometimes change their mind if they felt that pressure and I wanted them to change their mind.
Sturgeon said his address was “fucking excruciating” and that the UK communications were “awful”. Sturgeon also told Lloyd: “His utter incompetence in every sense is now offending me on behalf of politicians everywhere.”
Lloyd said she was “offended” on behalf of special advisers everywhere. Sturgeon replied: “He is a fucking clown.”
Continue reading...ONS figures, which include civil partnerships, spark calls for changes in laws for cohabiting couples
The proportion of people aged 16 or older in England and Wales who are married or in a civil partnership has fallen below 50% for the first time.
The figure dropped to 49.4% in 2022, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Continue reading...Owner says shutting Welsh blast furnaces will cut emissions, but it is opening a new one in India
The owner of the Port Talbot steelworks has been accused of “gross hypocrisy” as it prepares to open a new blast furnace in India, while citing a cut in carbon emissions for its decision to close two blast furnaces in south Wales, costing thousands of jobs.
Tata announced last week that up to 2,800 jobs would be cut under plans to close Port Talbot’s two huge blast furnaces and replace them with an electric arc furnace.
Continue reading...Disruption expected on Monday as cancellations and delays issued for rail, sea and air with heavy rain and high winds forecast
Train services in Scotland are expected to be suspended until around noon after “a wild night”, Network Rail says.
The railway has recovered quickly this morning following Storm Isha with trees and debris cleared across routes in England and Wales, and route proving trains reporting lines clear.
Passenger and freight services have restarted and a good service is expected in most areas. Passengers should still check before they head out for the latest travel news on trains operators’ websites.
Between 3.30pm on Sunday, 21st January and 2am on Monday, 22nd January, officers dealt with over 1,300 calls from the public, approximately 600 of these related to the storm.
“There is also a continued risk of significant debris on the road network as wind speeds remain high throughout Monday.
Continue reading...Forecasters warn of life-threatening gusts in coastal areas as weather causes travel disruption across country
A tornado warning has been issued across parts of Britain as Storm Isha takes hold, with potentially life-threatening gusts and travel disruption expected into Monday.
A “tornado watch” zone was issued for Northern Ireland as well as parts of Scotland and northern England by the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (Torro) on Sunday afternoon. That means a “strong tornado” is possible in those regions.
Continue reading...Damage to buildings and flying debris expected as country set to be battered by wind and rain
Storm Isha is set to batter “everybody” in the UK with wind and rain during a “rare” weather cycle, forecasters say.
Winds of up to 80mph will swoop in later on Sunday, potentially causing power cuts and loss of mobile phone signal, while roads and bridges are likely to be shut and transport services could face delays and cancellations in some areas.
Continue reading...Union representatives protest over ‘crushing blow’ to workers and industry, with 3,000 jobs at risk
The owners of the Port Talbot steelworks are expected to confirm the shutdown of its blast furnaces on Friday morning, putting almost 3,000 jobs at risk.
Trade union representatives have gathered outside the gates of the works in south Wales to protest against the decision, which members have said will be a “crushing blow” to workers and UK steelmaking.
Continue reading...