Lib Dems accuses Labour of ‘tone deaf response to elections’ after No 10 rules out winter fuel payments U-turn
The Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives have both issued press releases this afternoon about the government’s winter fuel payments policy. But they don’t seem to agree what the policy actually is.
The Lib Dems put out this statement from Daisy Cooper, their deputy leader and Treasury spokesperson, after this morning’s lobby briefing. (See 12.54pm.)
This is a completely tone deaf response to the local elections.
The public are rightly furious at the government’s decision to rip vital support from millions of the most vulnerable yet ministers simply are not listening.
From winter fuel payments to the family farm tax, this government has turned a blind eye to millions of people who can feel the damage that these half-baked polices are doing. It is time to change course.
And this is from Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, who either was not following what the PM’s spokesperson was saying at lobby – or who chose not to believe it. She said:
This Labour government is in a tailspin. After months of defending their winter fuel payment cut, they are finally now realising they might have been wrong.
Unfortunately, this change of heart is far too late for the millions of pensioners who lost their payment this winter. Thousands of the the most vulnerable missed out and hospital admissions soared. The first thing they should be doing is apologising.
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Lib Dems accuses Labour of ‘tone deaf response to elections’ after No 10 rules out winter fuel payments U-turn
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Badenoch claims she is ‘confident’ she will still be leader at time of next election
Kemi Badenoch has said she is “confident” she will still be Conservative leader at the next general election.
Asked about reports that some Tory MPs want to replace her (see 11.53am), she told reporters while on a visit to a school in Putney:
There are always talks of leadership challenges, but we need to focus on the message that the public gave, and that’s that they are not yet ready to trust the Conservatives.”
We do need to change as quickly as possible, we have some time but we don’t have much time.
Asked whether she was confident that she would still be leader at the next election, she said:
Yes, I am confident, but what I really want to do is make sure that I’m delivering for the people of this country.
There’s so much that is going wrong. Throughout that campaign, everywhere I went people were talking about winter fuel payments, about how it had really, really made life difficult. Business owners and even employees were talking about the jobs tax, NI rises, everything getting more expensive and no solution in sight.
This is one of those questions to which a party leader has to reply “yes”, and so Badenoch’s answer is not really interesting at all. What is significant, though, is the fact that a reporter felt it appropriate to ask the question in the first place.
Kemi Badenoch speaking to pupils during a visit to Ashcroft Technology Academy in Putney, south west London. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PAShare
Eluned Morgan says she is ‘losing patience’ with Starmer’s policies
Eluned Morgan, the Welsh first minister, has told the Guardian that she is “losing patience” with UK Labour. She has also made it clear she is “tacking to the left” as she tries to counter a growing threat from Reform UK and Plaid Cymru. Steven Morris has the story.
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Farage confirms he does not want Reform UK councils flying Ukrainian flag on their buildings
Rowena Mason
Rowena Mason is the Guardian’s Whitehall editor.
Nigel Farage confirmed he did not want the Ukrainian flag on Reform-led council buildings, saying today: “I think they should be flying the British flag.”
His party has said it wants local authorities only to fly St George’s, union and regional flags on English council buildings, leading to outrage that Ukrainian flags would have to be taken down.
As he introduced Sarah Pochin, his new MP in Runcorn, to parliament, Farage denied that would fall out with her as he has done with former Reform MP Rupert Lowe.
He said that the other parties were “terrified of us” and no one knew what prime minister Keir Starmer meant when he claimed he would “go further and faster” in reforming the UK in response to the elections.
Pochin said her priorities were public services in Runcorn in Cheshire, and insisted that she would never defect back to the Tories, even if former leader Boris Johnson returned.
Nigel Farage with the new Reform UK MP for Runcorn and Helsby, Sarah Pochin, outside parliament today. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPAShare
Lib Dems accuses Labour of ‘tone deaf response to elections’ after No 10 rules out winter fuel payments U-turn
The Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives have both issued press releases this afternoon about the government’s winter fuel payments policy. But they don’t seem to agree what the policy actually is.
The Lib Dems put out this statement from Daisy Cooper, their deputy leader and Treasury spokesperson, after this morning’s lobby briefing. (See 12.54pm.)
This is a completely tone deaf response to the local elections.
The public are rightly furious at the government’s decision to rip vital support from millions of the most vulnerable yet ministers simply are not listening.
From winter fuel payments to the family farm tax, this government has turned a blind eye to millions of people who can feel the damage that these half-baked polices are doing. It is time to change course.
And this is from Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, who either was not following what the PM’s spokesperson was saying at lobby – or who chose not to believe it. She said:
This Labour government is in a tailspin. After months of defending their winter fuel payment cut, they are finally now realising they might have been wrong.
Unfortunately, this change of heart is far too late for the millions of pensioners who lost their payment this winter. Thousands of the the most vulnerable missed out and hospital admissions soared. The first thing they should be doing is apologising.
Share
UK and India agree trade deal after three years of negotiations
Britain and India have agreed a long-desired trade deal that ministers said would add £4.8bn a year to the UK economy by 2040, Eleni Courea reports.
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Richard Tice says it’s ‘silly’ to suggest Reform UK would put asylum seekers in tents in Calais-type camp
Andrea Jenkyns, the new Reform UK mayor for Greater Lincolnshire, said in her victory speech on Friday that asylum seekers should be housed in tents. In an interview on the World at One, Richard Tice, the party’s deputy leader, and MP for Boston and Skegness in Lincolnshire, was asked if he would be in favour of housing asylum seekers in tents. He said it was at least worth having a debate about.
[Jenkyns] was raising the point that people are furious at the cost of the hotels, taking up housing that should be used for British citizens, and asking the question, if tents are good enough for British soldiers when they’re serving in places like Afghanistan, the question is, why aren’t they good enough for people who’ve crossed illegally into the United Kingdom?
Now, people might find that uncomfortable, they might find that difficult, but at least let’s have a debate, because if we keep creating a magnet of comfortable hotels with everything provided, don’t be surprised if last year’s 35,000 [small boat arrivals] turns into this year’s 50,000.
When the presenter, Sarah Montague, said putting asylum seekers in tents could lead to people living in place like the Jungle in Calais, or the makeshift camps on the edge of Paris, Tice accused her of being “silly” – even though Jenkyns specifically referenced the situation in France when she made the proposal in her speech. Jenkyns said: “Tents are good enough for France. They should be good enough here in Britain.”
Tice said he was not committed to the tent proposal. “I haven’t said I am in favour of tents,” he said. He told Montague:
Look, if you’re going to have a different form of accommodation, of course you would have it in a structured, organised, safe and secure way – which is completely different from your silly suggestion [the reference to Calais, which is what Jenkyns herself seemed to be alluding to in her speech last week].
Interestingly, at the Downing Street lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson did not 100% rule out putting asylum seekers in tents. When first asked about the proposal, the spokesperson at first just gave a generalised answer about how the government keeps its policy in this area under review. But, when pressed, he said he was not aware of any plans to put asylum seekers in tents.
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Updated at 09.33 EDT
The Commons starts sitting today at 2.30pm (not 11.30am, as the agenda said earlier), because it was not sitting yesterday. After health questions, there will be three ministerial statements after 3.30pm: Dan Jarvis, the security minister, on the counter-terrorism arrests; Douglas Alexander, the trade minister, on trade; and Hamish Falconer, the Foreign Office minister, on Israel and Gaza.
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No 10 says Starmer ‘won’t be blown off course’ by election defeats, arguing Labour mayoral wins show ‘delivery’ rewarded
Downing Street has said that the victory of Labour candidates in three mayoral elections last week shows “the importance of delivery” and that, when leaders deliver change, that restores voters’ faith in politics.
At the No 10 lobby briefing, the PM’s press secretary delivered the assessment as he briefed journalists on Keir Starmer’s assessment of the lessons from last week’s elections.
Mostly lobby briefings are conducted by the PM’s spokesperson, a civil servant who does not talk on party political matters. But Starmer chaired a political cabinet this morning, and the press secretary was present to give a political viewpoint.
He said losing the Runcorn and Helsby byelection was “disappointing”. And he said that, while the overall results “can’t blind us to the public’s impatience to change”, the Labour victories in three mayoral elections – in North Tyneside, Doncaster and the West of England – showed that politicians would be rewarded for implementing change.
He said:
There are a lot of opportunities here. Look at where we won last week – West of England, Doncaster, North Tyneside, it shows the importance of delivery, and that when people see … government is delivering, it restores their faith and politics as a force for good.
The press secretary said the government would not be “blown off course”.
We were elected as a stable and serious party after 14 years of chaos and decline …
We won’t be blown off course and it’s that mindset and focus that has allowed us to make the progress we have.
He said people voted for change in July last year and he mentioned a series of government policies announced recently that he said were delivering this, including: rolling out the the NHS app; freezing prescription charges; preventing sex offenders from claiming asylum; speeding up cancer diagnosis in the NHS; refurbishing GPs’ surgeries; and giving victims more rights.
The press secretarty said that there were “encouraging signs” that the government’s Plan for Change is working. He said interest rates have been cut three times since the election, wages are rising and waiting lists are down.
And he said further “major announcements” are coming in the next few weeks, including the spending review, the strategic defence review, infrastructure, industrial and housing strategies, and the legal migration white paper.
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No 10 declines to hit back after Trump proposes 100% tariff on non-US films
Downing Street has declined to comment on Donald Trump’s plan to impose 100% tariffs on non-US films – beyond saying that the introduction of new tariffs generally has been “disappointing”.
Asked about the proposed tariffs on films, the PM’s spokesperson said:
Talks are ongoing with the US on an economic deal, so we are not going to get into a running commentary of the details on that.
As we have said across the board, any introduction of tariffs will be disappointing but we will always take a calm and steady approach to our discussions with the US to put British interests first.
The spokesperson went on to describe the British film industry as “a world-class industry” and “a beacon of talent” that “showcases the best of our creativity and culture”.
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No 10 rules out reversing cuts to winter fuel payments
Downing Street has ruled out reversing the cuts to winter fuel payments.
After the Guardian reported last night that ministers are considering a review of the policy, which was frequently cited by people as a reason not to vote Labour in last week’s local elections, the government just said no “formal” review of the policy was underway. And this morning, giving interviews on behalf of the government, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, pointedly sidestepped questions about whether a rethink was possible. (See 8.41am.)
But since then the government machine has firmed up its line because at the Downing Street lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson said the policy would not change.
Asked if the policy was likely to change, the spokesperson said:
The government has set out his position on means testing winter fuel [payments]. It was was a difficult decision, but it was one that the government had to take to repair our public finances and stabilise the economy.
The government’s priority is ensuring that pensioners receive the financial support they deserve, with millions set to see their state pension rise by over £1,900 pounds over the course of this parliament through our commitments to the triple lock.
And beyond that, we’ve actually boosted the pension credit campaign. We’ve seen over 105,000 extra applications on the previous year. We’ve extended the household support fund with over £400m to ensure local authorities can support vulnerable people and families, which itself ensures around 1.3 million households in England and Wales will continue to receive up to £300 pounds in which fuel payments.
And, beyond that, we’ve announced previous plans to extend the warm homes discount.
Asked if this meant that the policy will not change, the spokesperson said:
The policy is set out. There will not be a change to the government’s policy. We set out the difficult decision. It was one that we had to take to bring about economic stability, repair the public finances following the £22bn black hole left by the previous government.
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Planning bill reforms will boost economy by up to £7.5bn, government impact assessment says
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has today published the impact assessment for its planning and infrastructure bill. It says, over 10 years, the measures in the bill could boost the economy by up to £7.5bn – in addition to bringing other benefits that cannot be quantified in cash terms.
The document runs to 500 pages, but, from the government’s point of view, here is the key extract.
Over the ten year appraisal period, the overall positive impact estimated on society is equivalent to £3.2bn, with a potential high range of up to £7.5bn. We expect this to significantly understate the impact of the combined measures in this bill as there will be wider, un-monetised benefits such as the benefit to society from the quicker delivery of housing and infrastructure, and the macroeconomic contribution of increased development supported by the bill.
Extract from impact assessment for planning bill Photograph: MHCLG
In its report published at the time of the budget, the Office for Budget Responsibility also said the planning reforms would boost the economy. It said they raise GDP by 0.2% by 2029/30 – which would be worth around £6.8bn.
In a news release MHCLG said the impact assessment published today did not take account of proposed changes to the bill that would make it even more pro-growth. It said:
The current assessment also does not account for recent amendments to the bill to overhaul the pre-application stage for critical infrastructure, which government analysis suggests will add another £1 billion over this parliament.
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