Junior doctors threaten further strikes after NHS pay rises as Reeves reveals when taxes may go up – live

The head of the junior doctors’ union has suggested there could be a “long sustained” fresh strike despite securing a 22 per cent pay deal this week.

Co-chairman of the British Medical Association Robert Laurenson claimed the “window of opportunity [for strikes] is about 12 months away” because Labour is in a “honeymoon period”.

It comes as Rachel Reeves has been accused of using the attack towards Jeremy Hunt that he lied about a £22bn hole in the public finances to justify tax rises.

The chancellor admitted the increases will come in the autumn Budget and insisted the government would stick to its promise not to hike national insurance, income tax or VAT.

But former Tory chancellor Lord Hammond said Ms Reeves’ fierce accusations on her predecessor could be “preparing the pitch” for ditching Labour manifesto pledges.

Angela Rayner has set up a new towns taskforce to local recommend sites will “to help decide on the right places for these new towns, delivering more homes, jobs and green spaces” as part of her radical reform to the country’s housing planning system.

Key Points

• Junior doctors could strike again next year despite NHS pay rise

• Rayner appoints expert taskforce to plan fresh generation of new towns

• Angela Rayner plays down Labour rebellion against housing plan

• Chancellor admits taxes will rise in first Labour budget

• Jeremy Hunt says Labour is plotting ‘great tax betrayal’

• Reeves accused of using £22bn black hole attack to justify tax rises

Braverman blasts ‘the beginning of the end of Brexit’ as Labour axes EU committee

12:40 , Salma Ouaguira

Suella Braverman has slammed Labour’s decision to scrap the European Scrutiny Committee as the government seeks reset of ties with EU.

On Tuesday evening, MPs agreed to scrap the European Scrutiny Committee which was previously tasked with assessing the legal or political importance of EU documents and directives lodged with the Westminster Parliament pre and post-Brexit.

Reacting to the move, former home secretary said: “Anti-democratic, lacking transparency and a disservice to the millions of British people who voted to deliver Brexit in 2016 and 2019. This is the beginning of the end of Brexit.”

Exclusive: Peer accused of Islamophobia over ‘disgusting’ House of Lords speech

12:30 , Salma Ouaguira

A peer has been accused of Islamophobia after giving a “disgusting and outrageous” speech in the House of Lords.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch claimed “radicals” plan to “take us over through the power of the womb and the ballot box” after discussing government plans to improve counterterrorism measures at public venues following the King’s Speech.

“The sharia allows Muslim men to have four wives at a time, most of whom are having at least two children, so the Muslim population is going up 10 times faster than our national average,” he told the House of Lords last Thursday.

Our race correspondent Nadine White has the full story:

Outrage as peer claims Muslim ‘radicals will take us over through power of the womb’

Pensioners can still get winter fuel payments by claiming benefits

12:26 , Salma Ouaguira

Angela Rayner has called pensioners at risk of missing out on winter fuel payments to check whether they are eligible for pension credit.

The advice comes after chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the policy, which is currently worth up £300 to all pensioners, would be scrapped and become means-tested.

The deputy prime minister told ITV: “There’s thousands of people that are eligible for pension credit that are not currently receiving it.

“So my plea to people who are listening to this is check out whether you’re available for pension credit because there’s so many people that won’t, and those people will continue to get the winter fuel payment.”

Council waste workers set for eight-day strike in August, union confirms

12:19 , Salma Ouaguira

Council waste workers in Scotland are to walk out on strike next month, with union leaders warning the action will be “disruptive”.

Leaders of the GMB confirmed its members will take action over eight days in August, with staff at Edinburgh City Council walking out during the capital’s busy summer festival period.

Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow, will also be affected by the action, which is due to start at 5am on Wednesday August 14 and last until 4.59am on Thursday August 22.

GMB members in 18 of Scotland’s 32 local authority areas will strike, and the union said the action will mean bins are not emptied “from the smallest villages to the biggest cities”.

It comes amid a dispute over council workers’ pay, with the three unions involved – Unison, Unite and the GMB – having all rejected a 3.2% pay rise offered by local government body Cosla.

While talks between the unions, Cosla leaders and Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison took place on Tuesday, a deal to end the dispute has not yet been reached.

Union chiefs have already warned of the prospect of a “stinking summer” as rubbish builds up uncollected, and the GMB has now confirmed the strike dates for its members, which it said will go ahead unless councils and ministers “urgently identify the money needed to make a fair and acceptable offer”.

A similar dispute, which saw rubbish pile up on the streets of Edinburgh during the festival season in 2022, only ended when the Scottish government provided extra funds to councils for workers’ pay.

Hunt accuses Labour of plotting a ‘great tax betrayal’

12:08 , Salma Ouaguira

Jeremy Hunt has accused Labour of plotting a “great tax betrayal” after Rachel Reeves accused the former chancellor of “lying” about the state of public finances.

Mr Hunt claimed the Sir Keir Starmer’s government were planning to raise taxes “all along” but “they just didn’t have the courage to tell you”.

Writing for the Conservative Home, he said: “The statement by the Chancellor on Monday was an exercise designed to cover up the great tax betrayal coming in the Autumn Budget.

“This week they revealed how they are planning to get away with it. We will not let them.”

It comes as the chancellor announced brutal saving measures to plug the £22billion black hole in public spending. Ms Reeves also confirmed she will have to raise taxes in the Budget in October.

How Labour could raise taxes as Reeves confirms changes coming in budget

11:59 , Salma Ouaguira

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 recently announced a slate of cost-cutting measures to grapple with the issue. These included scrapping the Winter Fuel Payment for millions of pensioners, alongside halting several in-progress infrastructure projects.

With it now confirmed that the government will look to new ways to raise revenue, here are some of the key measures they could implement in the October Budget:

How Labour could raise taxes as Reeves confirms changes coming in October budget

Rayner defends controversial decision to cut winter fuel payments for pensioners

11:49 , Salma Ouaguira

Angela Rayner has defended the government’s decision to scrap winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners as growth and GB Energy will “bring people’s bills down”.

Asked about the impact of the means-tested payment, she told ITV’s This Morning: “The frustration is what we inherited. It was horrendous when the Chancellor looked at the books.”

The deputy prime minister added: “So there was some really difficult choices and what the Chancellor set out with the winter fuel payments was about people on pension credit. Now there’s thousands of people that are eligible for pension credit that are not currently receiving it.

“So my plea to people who are listening to this is check out whether you’re available for pension credit because there’s so many people that won’t and those people will continue to get the winter fuel payment.”

Ms Rayner said: “That’s why we’ve put growth central as well because we’ve got to pay for our public services, bring people’s bills down.

“So Great British Energy, and the work we’re doing there will eventually mean that we will have our own energy efficiency, security, so we’re not at the mercy of dictators like Putin.”

Planners will need to ‘release elements’ of green belt to meet housing targets

11:40 , Salma Ouaguira

Local authorities may need to “release some elements” of green belt land to meet housing targets, housing minister Matthew Pennycook has said.

Mr Pennycook also revealed that local plans are expected to be in place next year, or the government will put in place plans to “ensure targets are met” in its bid to meet Labour’s manifesto commitment of 1.5 million new homes over this Parliament.

It comes as the government announced that an expert taskforce has been launched to spearhead plans for a fresh generation of new towns.

The towns, which the Labour says will create communities of at least 10,000 homes each, are billed as a part of the largest housebuilding programme since the post-war period.

Deputy prime minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has asked two experts – Sir Michael Lyons and Dame Kate Barker – to lead the independent New Towns Taskforce.

Mr Pennycook said new housing will be prioritised on brownfield or greyfield sites but that some green belt may need to be “released”.

Kemi Badenoch dismisses accusations she bullied civil service staff

11:29 , Salma Ouaguira

Kemi Badenoch has dismissed accusations that she bullied civil service staff while serving as business secretary as “smears”.

The Conservative MP, now shadow communities secretary, is alleged to have created an intimidating atmosphere at the Department of Business and Trade in a report by the Guardian newspaper.

Kemi Badenoch dismisses accusations she bullied civil service staff

Angela Rayner fell asleep on her Red Box

11:21 , Salma Ouaguira

Angela Rayner has revealed she fell asleep on her ministerial Red Box as her busy life of “eat, sleep, work, repeat” in government takes a toll on her.

The deputy prime minister told ITV’s This Morning programme: “I did fall asleep on the Red Box the other night, that’s a rite of passage.

“It’s just eat, sleep, work, repeat at the moment.”

Rayner: ‘People are not like nimby for nimby reasons’

11:18 , Salma Ouaguira

Angela Rayner has said improving infrastructure such as roads and access to GP appointments is “critical” for the government meeting housing targets as she said people are not “nimby (not in my back yard) for nimby reasons”.

The deputy prime minister told ITV’s This Morning: “I think the first thing is that the reason why I’ve said local plans have to be for every local authority, and at the moment, we’ve only got about 30 that have got up to date local plans, means they have to consult.

“They have to identify what the housing need is under our formula, and then they have to consult with local people and then when you’ve got the plans, it’s about making sure that infrastructure is there, so the planning is the crucial bit of getting the infrastructure.”

She added: “There isn’t a family that hasn’t got a housing need that isn’t met in the UK at the moment so people are not like nimby for nimby reasons.

“They’re saying ‘well hang on a minute our roads are already congested, we can’t get a GP appointment and now you want to build more houses here?’ so infrastructure is critical.

“And that’s why our rules will make sure that we get that infrastructure as well, because I’ve heard what people have said on that ‘we need these homes, but we need the infrastructure in place’.”

Poll: Six in 10 convinced Labour will hike inheritance tax and capital gains

11:09 , Salma Ouaguira

Six in 10 voters are convinced the Labour government will put up capital gains tax and inheritance tax, according to a new poll.

Political research director at Savanta Chris Hopkins said it was clear that “much of the public don’t necessarily think they will be personally paying more taxes” under the new government.

“They think it’s more likely that capital gains and inheritance tax will be going up – comparatively narrow taxes that few people pay, next to VAT and National Insurance,” he said.

Labour denies new housing targets for councils are politically motivated

10:56 , Salma Ouaguira

Housing secretary Matthew Pennycook has rejected claims that Angela Rayner’s new housebuilding targets for local authorities are politically motivated.

It comes as the deputy prime minister said the government will reform the system to calculate local housing targets and the figures will now be based on each authority.

But the change has sparked speculation that Tory-voting communities will be forced to accept more homes.

Asked to explain why the figures were changing Mr Pennycook said: “What we’re proposing in the consultation that was released yesterday is to change the methodology about how housing targets are calculated.

“At the moment, they’re calculated on an outdated population-based projection, figures from 2014. And what that means is the areas of the country that have not grown a lot, but need to, including some of those you’ve mentioned, have very low housing targets. We’re changing the method. We’re saying that every part of the country needs to grow by at least 0.8% of its existing housing stock. We’ve got an adjustment for affordability.”

Pressed on whether the target increase for Fareham seemed unreasonable, he replied: “We simply don’t have enough homes. That is why we got a housing crisis. That’s why we got 150,000 people housed in temporary accommodation. More than a million on the housing register etc. We’ve got to tackle the crisis. We were elected on a very clear mandate to build those homes and more parts of the country are going to have to do more.”

HMRC figures show house sales increased by 8% annually in June

10:51 , Salma Ouaguira

The number of home sales taking place across the UK in June was 8% higher than in the same month a year earlier, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) figures.

An estimated 91,370 transactions were made, which was 8% higher than June 2023 but slightly lower (less than 1%) than in May 2024.

Although the month-on-month fall was only marginal, it marked the first monthly decrease since December 2023, HMRC said.

Iain McKenzie, chief executive of the Guild of Property Professionals, said: “Transaction numbers have been steadily growing for some time now, and a month-on-month decrease is nothing but a fly in the ointment.

“The market still shows strength when compared to the previous year, with June’s figures 8% higher than the same time last year.

“It’s important to consider these figures in the broader context of the market’s recovery.

“The overall trend for 2024 remains positive, and higher transaction levels compared to last year suggest that buyer confidence is gradually returning to the market.”

Jason Tebb, president of website OnTheMarket, said: “The housing market appears to have been largely treading water in June ahead of the General Election, with transaction numbers slightly down on the previous month.”

Renewable energy budget boosted to £1.5bn as record funding allocated

10:42 , Salma Ouaguira

Renewable energy budget boosted to £1.5bn as record funding allocated for clean power

Rees-Mogg urges next Tory leader to be more conservative

10:31 , Salma Ouaguira

Jacob Rees-Mogg has urged the next Tory leader to be more conservative to counter the threat of Reform.

Refusing to back someone to replace Rishi Sunak, he told Times Radio this morning: “I know and like all the candidates.”

Asked whether the next leader should counter Reform, Sir Jacob said: “Look at where the votes went. We lost roughly seven million votes, about four million went to Reform, it seems about 2.3 million stayed at home.

“Therefore you’ve got 6.3 million of the seven million who left because they didn’t think we were being a properly conservative party, we weren’t doing what the Conservative Party is meant to do.”

Farage accused of ‘deliberately inflaming tensions’ after Southport riot

10:22 , Salma Ouaguira

Former MP Tobias Ellwood has accused the MP for Clacton of “deliberately inflaming tensions” following the riots after the Southport stabbings.

The Reform UK leader posted a video questioning why the incident was not being treated as terror-related and asking whether the “truth is being withheld from us”.

But hitting out at the right-wing politician’s response, Mr Ellwood said: “I lost my brother to terrorism. To ramp up hatred online by claiming the Southport attack was terrorist related (culminating in riots, a mosque damaged and 27 police injured) is not just reprehensible but needs addressing. Otherwise it will happen again.

“Disgusted how a sitting MP deliberately [inflames] tensions without any justification. Farage should delete this tweet.”

Nigel Farage condemned for response to Southport stabbings as Reform MP accused of ‘inciting a riot’

10:12 , Salma Ouaguira

Nigel Farage has been condemned for his response to the Southport stabbings, with the husband of murdered MP Jo Cox accusing the Reform leader of “inciting a riot”.

Three young girls were killed on Monday in an attack which took place during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. Eight other children suffered stab wounds and at least two are still in a critical condition, alongside two adults who are also still in hospital.

Mr Farage had posted a video to social media responding to the attack, questioning why the incident was not being treated as terror-related and asking whether the “truth is being withheld from us”. He also asked whether the suspect, who is 17 and has not been identified, was being monitored by the security services.

In a statement the same day, Merseyside Police had stressed the “incident is not currently being treated as terror-related”.

Our political correspondent Millie Cooke has the full story:

Farage condemned for response to Southport attacks as MP accused of ‘inciting riot’

In full: Rachel Reeves confirms taxes will rise in her first budget in October

10:03 , Salma Ouaguira

Taxes will have to rise in October to plug a £22bn hole in the public finances, Rachel Reeves has warned.

Ahead of her first budget, the chancellor refused to rule out hiking capital gains and inheritance tax and pursuing pension reform to fill the gap. And, setting the scene for a brutal financial statement, she said: “I think that we will have to increase taxes in the budget.”

The warning comes after she scrapped a series of infrastructure projects and announced the winter fuel allowance for pensioners would be means-tested in a bid to address the black hole left by the Conservatives.

Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell has the full report:

Rachel Reeves confirms taxes will rise in her first budget in October

Sunak should have called election after BoE rate cuts announcement, says former minister

09:55 , Salma Ouaguira

Lord Hammond has said Rishi Sunak made a mistake by calling a July election as he should have waited for the Bank of England to cut interest rates.

The Bank’s monetary policy committee is expected to meet tomorrow to discuss whether to cut interest rates.

Lord Hammond told Sky News: “I am pretty sure we will get rate cuts this year and therefore I have never quite understood why the previous prime minister decided to go early to the country when I think there would have been an increasingly good economic story.

“Rate cuts means mortgage cuts for people and that matters to voters.”

Junior doctors could strike again next year despite pay rise

09:46 , Salma Ouaguira

The head of the junior doctors’ union has suggested there could be fresh strikes next year despite securing a 22 per cent pay deal this week, LBC reports.

Co-chairman of the junior doctors committee of the British Medical Association (BMA) Robert Laurenson claimed the “window of opportunity [for strikes] is about 12 months away” because Labour is in a “honeymoon period”.

The BMA recommended that members should accept Wes Streeting’s offer, which included a pay rise of 4.05 per cent and an increase between 8.8 and 10.3 per cent.

But Mr Laurenson said that the union could consider a “long sustained” strike in the next months.

He said: “Now the last two years the strategy was based on a general election and trying to extract a deal from a desperate chaotic government in decline.

“I think the only way to extract a better deal would be to take long sustained action for probably the next 12 months.”

He added the BMA’s strategy was “based on a general election and trying to extract a deal from a desperate chaotic government in decline.”

The union leader said: “I think the only way to extract a better deal would be to take long sustained action [strikes] for probably the next 12 months.”

Defence minister calls for de-escalation in Lebanon

09:39 , Salma Ouaguira

Defence secretary John Healey has called for the de-escalation of the conflict in Israel, Lebanon and Iran.

In a statement, Mr Healey said: “De-escalation must be our primary focus as this region stands at a crossroads. The loss of innocent life in recent weeks and months is unbearable. This has to end.

“All sides must step back from conflict and step-up diplomacy. We will work with important partners like Qatar as our government leads a renewed push for peace.”

It comes as Israel assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil as clashes with Hezbollah escalate in Lebanon.

First female chancellor Rachel Reeves reveals she is stuck with a urinal in her office toilet

09:30 , Salma Ouaguira

Rachel Reeves has said she is unable to have a urinal removed from her office toilet because it is listed and cannot be altered.

After the general election it was reported that work was set to take the urinal out of the Ms Reeves’s private office in Whitehall. But weeks later the chancellor, the first woman to hold the post since its creation a thousand years ago, said the facility is “still is in there” and cannot be replaced.

Appearing on an episode of the News Agents podcast, Ms Reeves invited host Emily Maitlis into the bathroom to see the urinal still standing.

Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell has the full story:

First female chancellor Rachel Reeves says she is stuck with urinal in office toilet

Ex-chancellor says Reeves ‘boxed herself in’ on tax rises

09:22 , Salma Ouaguira

Lord Hammond has claimed Rachel Reeves had “boxed herself in” on tax rises by ruling out hikes to income tax, VAT or National Insurance.

The senior Tory told Sky News: “The problem Rachel Reeves has got is that she has boxed herself in by ruling out changes to the big taxes.

“That will leave her looking at secondary taxes like inheritance tax and capital gains tax. I think everybody expects that an incoming Labour government will make some changes in those areas.”

He said there would not be any “no-go areas” for raising taxes but he advised Ms Reeves to “tread extremely lightly and carefully around the taxes that impact on investment and entrepreneurship”.

Ministers should reconsider UK-EU scrutiny from ‘sunbeds’ this summer, says MP

09:11 , Salma Ouaguira

Reform UK’s deputy leader has urged ministers to reconsider “from the sedentary position of our sunbeds” their move to ditch the Commons European Scrutiny Committee.

Richard Tice suggested the committee should be kept in place to scrutinise UK-European Union (EU) negotiations which take place in the future.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he wants to “reset” relations with the UK’s European allies, while also noting negotiations on trade arrangements will not involve re-joining the EU or freedom of movement.

On Tuesday evening, MPs agreed to scrap the European Scrutiny Committee which was previously tasked with assessing the legal or political importance of EU documents and directives lodged with the Westminster Parliament pre and post-Brexit.

Before the vote, Mr Tice said: “We’ve heard from the Government before the election, during the election and since the election about the importance of our relations with our friends in the European Union and how negotiations may take place on a whole range and raft of important issues.

“And surely the whole point of our debate about our relationship with the European Union, people will remember – do you remember that slogan, ‘take back control of our borders, our money and our laws’?

“And this, of course, is the place where we debate and legislate for laws on behalf of the people.

“So if we’re going to take back control of our laws, then surely, those laws, those negotiations proposed by this Government on behalf of the people, should be scrutinised in detail and in earnest.”

He urged the government to reconsider its proposal to scrap the committee and “to reflect on it from the sedentary position of our sunbeds over the next month, and then bring it back to the House in September”.

Reeves accused of using £22bn black hole attack to justify tax rises

09:01 , Salma Ouaguira

Former Tory minister Lord Hammond has suggested Rachel Reeves’ attack on Jeremy Hunt that he lied about the £22billion black hole in public finances was paving the way for tax increases.

The ex-chancellor said Ms Reeves’ fierce accusations on her predecessor could be “preparing the pitch” for ditching Labour manifesto pledges.

It comes as the chancellor admitted she will have to raise taxes in the October Budget.

Asked about Ms Reeves claiming Mr Hunt had “lied” about the state of the public finances, Lord Hammond told Sky News: “Firstly, Labour has won a huge victory and the first golden rule is usually magnanimity in victory.

“I don’t really see the point of attacking the outgoing chancellor unless Rachel Reeves is preparing the pitch for some manifesto commitment breaking tax increases in October.”

Home Secretary outlines ‘new approach’ to legal migration and skills shortages

08:54 , Salma Ouaguira

A “new approach” to legal migration aimed at boosting the UK workforce’s skills before recruiting abroad will be taken by the incoming government, Yvette Cooper has said.

In a swipe at the previous Conservative government, the Home Secretary said rising levels of legal migration in recent years reflected a “failure over many years to tackle skills shortages and other problems in the UK labour market”.

In a ministerial statement published as MPs left Westminster for the summer, she pointed to a rise in non-EU long-term migration from 277,000 in the year to December 2022 to 423,000 in the year to December 2023.

The number of work visas in the 12 months to March 2024 was, meanwhile, 605,264, or “over three times that of 2019”, she said.

“That reflects a failure over many years to tackle skills shortages and other problems in the UK labour market, meaning too many sectors have remained reliant on international recruitment, instead of being able to source the skills they need here at home,” Ms Cooper said.

Yvette Cooper added: “This is why we are setting out a different approach – one that links migration policy and visa controls to skills and labour market policies – so immigration is not used as an alternative to training or tackling workforce problems here at home.

“This approach will be important to enabling delivery of the government’s broader agenda.”

Under Labour, the Migration Advisory Council – which provides advice to the government on where skills shortages can be filled by migration – will work alongside Skills England and other bodies as part of a new “coherent approach to skills, migration and labour market policy”.

The agencies will also work alongside the devolved governments in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales towards the same end.

Foreign Office undertaking ‘concerted effort’ to reduce Israel-Hezbollah tensions

08:47 , Salma Ouaguira

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said cabinet colleagues at the Foreign Office are undertaking a “concerted effort” to reduce tensions after Israel targeted a Hezbollah commander in a strike on a Beirut suburb.

Mr Pennycook told Sky News: “I know our Foreign Office ministers are engaged in a concerted effort to do what the UK can do to reduce tensions in the region. You’re right that they are at a very high level.

“We’ve advised British nationals in Lebanon to leave now on commercial flights and for British nationals not to travel to the region. It’s extremely tense.

“All the effort has to be on de-escalating the situation and getting both parties, the Israelis and the Lebanese, to engage with that US-led process on the diplomatic front and reduce tensions.”

Lord Hammond: Michael Gove gave in to ‘Nimbys’ on housebuilding

08:43 , Salma Ouaguira

Former minister Lord Hammond has accused Michael Gove of allowing “Nimbys to temporarily own the pitch” on the housing issue.

The ex-chancellor told Sky News this morning: “There has been a lot of politics for sure. There are a lot of Conservative supporters and indeed others, not just Conservatives, who are very much opposed to development in their own backyards.

“Many of them understand the principle that we need to build homes somewhere and somehow this logjam has to be broken.

“And I am afraid that the last communities secretary decided to bow out from that debate and allow the Nimbys to temporarily own the pitch.”

Former Tory chancellor claims UK needs foreign builders to meet 1.5m housing target

08:41 , Salma Ouaguira

Lord Hammond has warned Labour’s plan to build 1.5million more houses will not be materialised unless the government allows more builders to come to the UK.

The Tory former chancellor said there is “social pressure for new housing” as well as an “urgent economic need to regenerate the housebuilding sector”.

He told Sky News: “But I think it is not just about planning reform. You can’t build houses without builders and if the government thinks relaxing the planning rules while tightening the migration rules is going to get houses built I think they are going to have another thing coming.”

In the ‘battle of the budgets’, who’s being economical with the truth?

08:40 , Salma Ouaguira

Amid a furious war of words between Rachel Reeves and Jeremy Hunt over the £22bn black hole in Britain’s finances, a clear winner has emerged, says Sean O’Grady:

In this ‘clash of the chancellors’, who’s being economical with the truth?

Reeves faces Labour backbench rebellion over winter deaths with fuel payment cuts

08:30 , Salma Ouaguira

The chancellor has been tackled by their own side over how many more elderly people will die of cold as a result of stripping 10 million pensioners of their winter fuel payments.

In response to the red-on-red criticism in Parliament, the government frontbench said it understood the “disappointment”, but insisted it was the right, if tough choice, given the state of the public finances inherited from the Tories.

The new administration was also accused of “picking” on pensioners with the move, which it was claimed would wipe out the benefits of the triple lock, which guarantees state payouts rise each year in line with inflation, earnings or by 2.5% – whichever is higher.

Challenging the government, Labour peer Lord Sikka argued the move was “taking away” £300 from pensioners by “a measure that was not in our manifesto”.

He told the upper chamber: “I have received already many messages where pensioners are very, very concerned about this.

“The government could have introduced a taper to lessen the pain to help many pensioners. Would the minister give a commitment that he would have another look at that?”

He also pointed out a document produced by the Treasury “has lots of financial numbers but there is no mention of any human whatsoever”.

Lord Sikka said: “Last year, 5,000 pensioners died because of cold and were unable to afford heating. Has the minister made any estimates of how many more will die because £300 will be taken away from them?”

UK delays ban on some arms sales to Israel amid conflict escalation in Lebanon

08:26 , Salma Ouaguira

As Israel launches airstrikes on Lebanon to target Hezbollah, the UK has delayed its decision to ban some arms sales to Israel after it faces legal challenges to define arms exports used for offensive purposes, the Guardian reports.

A final decision will now be postponed for several weeks after 12 children were killed in a rocket attack in the Israel-occupied Golan Heights. In response, foreign secretary David Lammy called for an immediate deescalation and advised against all travel to Lebanon.

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, he added: “We support Israel’s right to defend itself in line with international humanitarian law. They are in a tough neighbourhood threatened by those that want to annihilate it.”

It comes as Israel’s war on Palestine took a major turn after Hamas’ political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed by Israel in Teheran, Iran.

Abbott leads Labour rebellion over Reeves’ spending cuts

08:20 , Salma Ouaguira

Diane Abbott has led criticism of Rachel Reeves’s spending plans labelling them “renewed austerity”.

It comes as the chancellor unveiled a raft of brutal cuts to deal with a £22bn black hole in the country’s finances.

But her set of measures to save up on funding has sparked criticism among members of her own party.

The veteran MP for Hackney has accused Ms Reeves of presiding over an era of “renewed austerity”.

Ms Abbott is leading a left-wing backlash over the chancellor’s move to scrap winter fuel allowance payments, cancel transport projects and Boris Johnson’s plan to build more hospitals.

Rayner’s ‘revolution’ slashes London house building target

08:10 , Salma Ouaguira

Angela Rayner’s planning “revolution” will see London’s housebuilding target slashed by 20,000 homes, despite a wider push to boost the number of houses being built each year.

The deputy prime minister and housing secretary unveiled a major overhaul of the planning system today, which will see all councils in England given new, mandatory housing targets as part of a plan to deliver 1.5 million more homes in the UK.

She warned that Britain is facing the “most acute housing crisis in living memory”, claiming that the number of new homes is set to drop below 200,000 this year – something Ms Rayner dubbed “unforgivable”.

Our political correspondent Millie Cooke has the full story:

Angela Rayner’s planning ‘revolution’ slashes housebuilding target for London

Farage not voting for ‘cruel’ plan to scrap winter fuel payments

08:02 , Salma Ouaguira

Nigel Farage has said he will not back Rachel Reeves’ plan to scrap winter fuel payments for pensioners labelling the Labour decision “cruel and cynical”.

The MP for Clacton told GB News: “I have to say I think it’s rather a cruel thing to do, and I certainly won’t be voting for it as and when I get the opportunity.

“There were times in the past where maybe the argument was that it wasn’t necessary and it had been given as a bribe. But it’s almost like Labour are saying, ‘well, we don’t care about the pensioners, because they’re not going to vote for us anyway’.

“That money that could have gone to pensioners has gone for massive public sector pay rises, including over 22 per cent for junior doctors. This is a very cynical thing she did.”

Angela Rayner plays down Labour rebellion against housing plan

07:56 , Salma Ouaguira

The deputy prime minister has played down a Labour backbench rebellion against the government’s housebuilding plan.

The housing secretary announced a radical reform to housing plans to lay out the foundations for 1.5 million new homes over the next five years. The minister also set out an annual target of 370,000 homes for local authorities.

But she has dismissed suggestions that she could face MPs opposing the mandatory housebuilding targets on councils if found unpopular in local areas.

Asked by reporters on Tuesday whether she was “gearing up for a fight” with Labour MPs and councils over the new plans, she replied: “Well, Labour councils and Labour MPs know that we’ve got a housing crisis and they’ve been very supportive of our manifesto pledge, which was 1.5 million homes, and knowing full well that that meant we had to really drive that.

“What we need is all areas [is] to recognise the crisis we have and then do something about it, and we’re going to help them do that by driving through these changes so that we get the houses we desperately need.”

Pressed on the issue again, she added: “I think the biggest challenge when I’ve spoken to communities is that often these houses are not for them.”

Labour to take local plans off councils as ‘final and most extreme’ housebuilding measure

07:47 , Salma Ouaguira

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has said the government would put in place housing plans in local areas as a “final and most extreme” intervention to ensure targets are met.

He told Times Radio: “We are prepared to take local plans off local authorities and ensure they are put in place. That would be the final and most extreme type of intervention that we would contemplate.

“What we’d rather do is encourage and support local councils to get those plans in place. You’re right to refer to them because local plans are the best way that local communities can engage with the planning process, can shape development in their area, in the way that they want to see it take place.”

He added: “We want to see local plans in place by next year, there’ll be a process to drive up coverage across the country.

“But this is right that this is the focus, in the sense we have a local plan-led planning system, and what we’ve inherited from the previous government is only a third up to date local plan coverage.

“So we’ve got a system that is chronically underperforming, that is not functioning as it should as I say, if we boost local plan coverage in the way we want, cities will be able to shape the development in the way that they see fit. But the conversation has to be how it’s done, not whether housing targets and housing need is met.”

Councils will be forced to release green belt land for building

07:45 , Salma Ouaguira

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has confirmed local authorities may be forced to release green belt land to make space for new housing.

Mr Pennycook told Sky News: “If local authorities can’t meet their targets through previously developed brownfield land in the first instance or in co-operation with neighbouring boroughs, they should look to then release low quality greybelt land within the greenbelt. Lots of the package yesterday was focused on the targeted release of that greybelt land.

“But in certain circumstances, certain local authorities may, if they can’t through brownfield or in co-operation with neighbours or through greybelt release, need to release some elements of the greenbelt – that happens already.

“Just to be really clear, we’ve not inherited a situation where the previous government didn’t release any greenbelt land at all. They were releasing it in quantity but in a haphazard, unplanned way, and often in a way that didn’t meet local housing needs.

“So what we’re saying is there’s a smarter way to release the right bits of the greenbelt – greybelt low quality land primarily – and to ensure through our golden rules that when it is released, we get development that meets local housing needs.”

Renewable energy budget boosted to £1.5bn as record funding allocated

07:37 , Salma Ouaguira

The UK’s renewable energy budget has been increased to a record £1.5 billion, Ed Miliband announced on Wednesday.

Of that, £1.1 billion will be allocated for offshore wind, which the government described as “the backbone of the UK’s clean energy mission”.

Our political correspondent Millie Cooke has the full story:

Renewable energy budget boosted to £1.5bn as record funding allocated for clean power

Badenoch dismisses bullying claims as ‘smears’ amid Tory leadership bid

07:29 , Salma Ouaguira

Kemi Badenoch has dismissed accusations that she bullied civil service staff while serving as business secretary as “smears”.

The Conservative MP, now shadow communities secretary, is alleged to have created an intimidating atmosphere at the Department of Business and Trade in a report by the Guardian newspaper.

“Let’s be clear: these allegations are smears from former staff who I sacked after they were accused of bullying behaviour, lying about other colleagues to cover up their own failures and general gross incompetence,” Ms Badenoch wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Intolerable behaviour I would not stand for,” she added.

The Tory former minister, among those running to be the party’s next leader, also claimed the Department of Business and Trade had confirmed there were no complaints and no investigations against her.

She said the accusations would not “stop me or my campaign” and claimed her bid to be the next Conservative leader following the party’s general election rout had “spooked the lefties and now they’re coming for the one person they know can beat Keir Starmer”.

Ms Badenoch, the MP for North West Essex, added: “The renewal of my party and the country is too important to let the Guardian, acting for the Labour Party, disrupt.”

A spokesman for Ms Badenoch added that she has “high standards and expectations, and she has cultivated high-performing civil service teams who enjoy working with her”.

Housing minister condemns ‘absolutely appalling’ Southport riots

07:27 , Salma Ouaguira

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has condemned the “absolutely appalling” scenes of riots in Southport last night.

At least 39 police officers have been injured in clashes outside a mosque in Southport, as angry crowds of suspected English Defence League supporters threw bricks and set off fireworks.

The unrest followed a peaceful vigil for the victims of Monday’s shocking attack in which multiple children were stabbed in a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

He told Sky News: “And to have their space for them to process the trauma, to grieve, overshadowed by this violence and disorder, I think is completely despicable.

“And the home secretary and the prime minister have made clear that those responsible will feel the full force of the law, and rightly so.”

The cabinet minister said he cannot speak about the reason Sir Keir Starmer was heckled by some people but claimed the prime minister was “warmly welcomed” in Southport.

He added the issue behind the riots was ”people coming in from outside Merseyside who aren’t local to try and stir up public disorder”.

Rachel Reeves admits taxes will rise in first Labour budget in October

07:22 , Salma Ouaguira

The chancellor has admitted the government will have to raise some taxes in October’s budget after months of spiraling rumours about Labour’s tax plans.

Asked about how she will raise money to plug the £22bn black hole in public finances, she told the News Agents podcast: “I think we will have to increase taxes in the Budget.”

It comes as Labour insisted there would be no tax rises for “working poeple” during the general election campaign. But the Tories repeatedly claimed the party would increase them if it comes to power.

Ms Reeves repeated the Labour manifesto commitment of no VAT, national insurance, or income tax increases, but did not rule out inheritance tax, capital gains tax, or pension reform.

She said: “I’m not going to write a Budget or start to write a Budget on this podcast.”

The minister added that Labour plans to stick to “sensible” rules in a bid to bring the government’s longer-term debts down.

Peer accused of Islamophobia over ‘disgusting’ House of Lords speech

07:20 , Salma Ouaguira

Outrage as peer claims Muslim ‘radicals will take us over through power of the womb’

Poll: One in three people think university is not worth time and money

07:14 , Salma Ouaguira

Nearly a third of people think a university education is not worth the time and money, a poll has found.

More than three in four people think opportunities for apprenticeships should be increased, according to research by the Policy Institute at King’s College London (KCL).

The public are “more sceptical” that going to university is worth the investment, the report suggested.

The study, which surveyed more than 2,600 British people in May and more than 1,000 in June, found that 31% agreed that university education is not worth the amount of time and money it usually takes.

This is higher than in 2018 when fewer than a fifth (18%) of the public said university was not worth it.

Nearly twice as many people want greater opportunities for apprenticeships (76%) than greater opportunities to go to university (39%), according to the poll which was conducted with Focaldata.

The study, which included a poll of 369 parents of children aged 11-17 in the UK, suggested that nearly two in five (37%) of this group feel degrees are not good value for money compared to 10 years ago.

The findings come after university leaders have warned of significant financial concerns as a result of frozen tuition fees paid by domestic students and a drop in overseas students.

Nearly three in five (59%) parents of children aged 11 to 17 said it is likely their child will apply to university, or that they’ve already applied, which is down on 2014 (65%).

Nearly half (48%) said they would prefer their child to study an apprenticeship, while 40% said they would prefer them to do a degree, according to the poll.

Expert taskforce launched to plan fresh generation of new towns

07:04 , Salma Ouaguira

An expert taskforce is being launched to spearhead Labour’s plans for a fresh generation of new towns.

The towns, which the new government says will create communities of at least 10,000 homes each, are billed as a part of the largest housebuilding programme since the post-war period.

Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, has asked two experts to lead the independent New Towns Taskforce.

Its chair, Sir Michael Lyons, has played leading roles in regeneration development company the English Cities Fund, as well as in local government, and has sat on the board of housing developers.

Deputy chair Dame Kate Barker is a housing economist who also chairs a major universities pension scheme and was an external member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee between 2001 and 2010.

While some of the new communities set to be built through the programme will be separate from existing towns, others will be urban extensions and regeneration schemes of existing places.

Ms Rayner has insisted the taskforce will “work together with local people to help us decide on the right places for these new towns, delivering more homes, jobs and green spaces”.

The communities will be governed by a “New Towns Code”, a set of rules for developers to ensure the towns are well-connected with infrastructure and public services, are well-designed, sustainable and are nice looking places.

The deputy prime minister’s appointment of Sir Michael and Dame Kate comes a day after she announced an overhaul of the planning system to pave the way for 1.5 million new homes over the next five years to tackle England’s acute housing crisis.

VOICES John Rentoul: Sidelined? No – Angela Rayner’s ambitious housing plan may be the making of her

07:02 , Salma Ouaguira

The new deputy prime minister’s first big outing in the Commons was her chance to prove that she has not been pushed to the political margins by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves – and she delivered in spades, says John Rentoul:

Sidelined? No – Angela Rayner’s ambitious housing plan may be the making of her

Labour ‘failed another generation’ with axing of social care reforms

07:00 , Salma Ouaguira

Labour has ‘failed another generation of families’ with axing of social care reforms

Rapid review of environmental plans aim to ‘save nature’ – minister

06:00 , Salma Ouaguira

The Environment Secretary has pledged to “turn the tide and save nature” as he announced a rapid review of improvement plans.

Steve Reed said a review of the environmental improvement plan (EIP) would be completed by the end of the year as part of efforts to deliver legally binding targets.

He said the Government would develop a statutory plan to meet each of the Environment Act targets – which include halting the decline in species by 2030, cleaning up water bodies and cutting air pollution.

He warned that “nature is dying” and England’s “precious landscapes are in decline”, as an annual report showed mixed progress towards goals in the EIP, including deterioration in some measures for helping wildlife, using resources from nature sustainably and delivering clean air.

The EIP was published by the previous government in 2023 to deliver its goals to boost nature and the environment, including protecting and restoring habitats, cleaning up water and air, boosting recycling and improving flood defences.

But earlier this year, the Office for Environmental Protection watchdog warned the government remained “largely off-track” to meet legally binding green targets and the goals of the EIP .

It warned the government had not been clear enough on how its ambitions will be delivered, and must speed and scale up its efforts.

Tory leadership hopeful Jenrick says party must end ‘mass migration’

05:33 , Salma Ouaguira

Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick said his party has been “unable or unwilling” to do what is required to cut the number of people coming to the UK.

The former immigration minister said hundreds of thousands of people “we didn’t need” had arrived legally while “dangerous” immigrants could not be deported.

Mr Jenrick, who backs pulling out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to tackle issues around small boat crossings, said “our people and Parliament must be sovereign”.

In a video to launch his leadership campaign, he said: “When I was minister for immigration, I saw dangerous people coming into our country. I saw us unable to deport them. I saw hundreds of thousands of people we frankly didn’t need coming in legally.

“But our politics was unable or unwilling to deliver what was needed. The new government aren’t going to fix things. They have too many delusions.

“Our party is our country’s best hope. But we have a mountain to climb and real choices to make. We won’t regain people’s trust with platitudes.”

Jacob Rees-Mogg accuses Labour Government of selling a ‘fiscal fairytale’

05:00 , Salma Ouaguira

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has accused Labour of selling a “fiscal fairytale” with the chancellor’s claim that the Tories had left behind a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.

The former Tory MP said the figures had been “invented” and accused the government of being “simply dishonest”.

He told GB News: “When the Labour chief secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne wrote [in 2010] that there was no money left, he was telling the truth.

“But in what has been dubbed the ‘biggest lie in British politics’ Rachel Reeves, the Artful Dodger of 11 Downing Street, takes us for fools in an effort to pick your pocket.

The former business secretary, who lost his seat at the general election, claimed that “inventing a £22 billion black hole and blaming the Tories while spending £8 billion on green energy that won’t cut your bills and £11 billion on overseas climate aid is simply dishonest”.

Sir Jacob added: “Do not be fooled by their fiscal fairytales. Labour has not been in office for a month and already its spin has turned into outright dishonesty.”

New scheme opens for postmasters with overturned convictions

04:30 , Salma Ouaguira

Victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal whose convictions have been quashed can now apply to a new compensation scheme.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he hoped the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme would bring “some relief to postmasters who have waited far too long to get back the money that is rightfully theirs.”

Postmasters with overturned convictions will begin to receive written confirmation of their exoneration this week, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said.

Those eligible for the new scheme can either accept a fixed settlement of £600,000 or, if they believe their losses exceed that amount, can choose a full claim assessment route.

This would mean their application will be fully examined by a team of dedicated caseworkers in the DBT.

Mr Reynolds said: “Postmasters have suffered immeasurably so I hope today’s new redress scheme brings some relief to postmasters who have waited far too long to get back the money that is rightfully theirs.

“Any postmaster who thinks they are eligible for this scheme can come forward and register. We know that every case is different, and this government fully supports the right of every postmaster to choose what is best for them.”

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