UK politics live: Furious Tories accuse Starmer of ‘surrender’ as Britain hands Chagos Islands to Mauritius
Tory leadership candidates criticise Chagos Islands deal despite talks opening under Conservative government
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The Labour government has agreed a deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius to secure the future of a secretive military base in the Pacific Ocean.
But the Tories have condemned the move, with Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick accusing Sir Keir Starmer of “surrendering” Britain’s strategic interests.
Former foreign secretary James Cleverly has also joined the backlash, branding Sir Keir Starmer “weak, weak, weak” despite having kicked off negotiations over the deal when he was in cabinet.
But ministers have defended the decision and claimed the agreement will protect the UK-US base on Diego Garcia and close a potential illegal migration route.
It comes as Boris Johnson revealed how he dismissed warnings over Dominic Cummings and the Barnard Castle row as “lefty journalists angry over Brexit”.
In his new book ‘Unleashed’, the former prime minister explained why he refused to sack his then political adviser despite his infamous trip during the peak of the pandemic.
When a friend advised him to sack his then chief of staff, Johnson wrote he retorted: “The whole thing is a put up job. It’s just a load of lefty journalists who want payback for Brexit.”
Watch: Tobias Ellwood rules out Britain attacking Iran after missiles fired
Former defence secretary rules out Britain attacking Iran after missiles fired
Britain will play no part in attacking Iran, a former defence minister has said after Tehran launched around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday, 1 October. When asked if he expects the US or UK to be part of any Israeli response, Tobias Ellwood - who lost his seat at the 2024 general election - said he was firm about his belief. “The move to actually attack Iran moves us into a very dangerous place indeed,” he said. British forces “played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East” on Tuesday, defence secretary John Healey said. It came as Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tehran will “pay a price” after it fired missiles at Israel following an Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
Two in five parents ‘educate disabled children at home due to lack of provision’
Nearly two in five parents have been forced to educate their disabled child at home because of a lack of suitable provision or funding, a survey has found.
A third (33 per cent) of parents of disabled children have had to go to tribunal to have their local authority agree to fund their child’s education, according to the poll for disability charity Sense.
Parents have been forced to give up their careers because their children’s needs are not being met, while others have had to spend their children’s savings to fight for support, the charity said.
The survey, of 1,001 parents and guardians of disabled children under the age of 18 in the UK, found 46 per cent struggled to get an education, health and care (EHC) plan in place for their child, and a similar proportion (45 per cent) said they had faced difficulties in getting the plan delivered.
The charity has estimated that around 200,000 disabled children in England are having problems getting the right support through an EHC plan.
An EHC plan is for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available through special educational needs support.
These plans identify educational, health and social needs and set out the additional support to meet those needs.
The poll, which was carried out by Censuswide in September, found that 39% of parents said they have had to educate their disabled child at home as there is not the funding or the right education provision available to them.
The charity is calling on the government to set out an improvement plan for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in its upcoming Children’s Wellbeing Bill.
Cleverly refuses to disown Truss tax chaos three times
Tory leadership contender James Cleverly refused three times to disown the economic chaos which took place under Liz Truss’ leadership after his plan to scrap stamp duty on house sales was likened to policies introduced by the former prime minister.
The pledge, which he said would cost £10 billion, was compared in a radio interview to the disastrous tax cuts introduced by Ms Truss’ government.
Mishal Hussain, host of BBC Radio 4 Today claimed the move was “the kind of thing” the former prime minister - who resigned just 49 days after taking office - had done.
You can read the full story below:
Cleverly refuses to disown Truss tax chaos three times
The Tory leadership contender declined to distance himself from Liz Truss’ disastrous economic policies
Councils warn Chancellor of widespread bankruptcies without funding boost
Councils say they are “staring down the barrel” financially, as new analysis suggests they will be limited to being “little more than care services” by the end of this Parliament without a boost to resources.
In another dire warning of the perilous state of local government finances, the study found that without extra funding, ministers will have to “radically rethink” councils’ statutory responsibilities, to prevent potentially six in ten county and unitary authorities in rural areas declaring bankruptcy by 2028.
Ministers have repeatedly warned of difficult choices because of a £22 billion black hole they say officials have discovered in the public finances, leading to concerns that Chancellor Rachel Reeves could stick with spending plans which would provide limited relief for under-pressure councils when she delivers her Budget on 30 October.
In its submission to the Budget and Spending Review, the County Councils Network (CCN) cited analysis showing all local authorities in England combined would experience a cumulative £54 billion funding shortfall over the five-year period of this Parliament, based on current projections.
For the 37 CCN councils, which serve nearly half of the population, the funding gap amounted to £20.3 billion.
The huge shortfall was identified as being largely driven by rising demand and costs in just three service areas: adult social care, children’s services and home-to-school transport for children with special education needs and disabilities (Send).
Together these services were found to account for 83 per cent of the total increase in projected costs by 2030.
Some savers charged at least £11,000 to withdraw cash from Lifetime Isas
The government is being urged to scrap Lifetime Isa penalties for first-time buyers in the autumn Budget as it emerged some savers are being charged at least £11,000 to withdraw their cash.
Lifetime Isas (Lisas) help people to save for their first home – if the property costs £450,000 or less – or their retirement.
Withdrawing cash for any other reason, unless someone is terminally ill, can trigger a penalty. Savers face a charge of 25% for making an unauthorised withdrawal.
Data obtained from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and published by money app Plum showed that in the tax year 2022-23 the average of the top 25 penalties paid for unauthorised withdrawals was £11,000.
The average of the top 25 withdrawals made was £44,000. Figures were rounded to the nearest £1,000.
Data released to Plum by HMRC under Freedom of Information (FOI) rules showed that in 2022-23 15,977 savers had to hand back £1,000 or more in penalties.
Some 6,139 savers were hit with penalties of £2,000-plus, while 851 were hit with penalties of £5,000-plus.
Half Tory members want party to merge with Reform, poll for Liz Truss’s thinktank reveals
A new survey commissioned by a rightwing thinktank has suggested that 53 per cent of Conservative Party members would support a merger with Reform UK.
A huge 70 per cent said they would want a closer relationship with Nigel Farage’s party, the survey showed.
The poll, which was conducted between September 23 and 27, spoke to 470 Tory members by the rightwing Popular Conservatism (PopCon) organisation, which founded by disgraced former prime minister Liz Truss.
Read the full article here:
Half Tory members want to merge with Reform, poll for Liz Truss’s thinktank reveals
The claims by the rightwing thinktank come as Jacob Rees-Mogg calls for the Tories to strike an electoral pact with Reform
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