Labour conference live: Reeves defends winter fuel allowance cut while promising ‘no return to austerity’
Reeves says cutting winter fuel allowance to the poorest pensioners was the right decision ahead of keynote speech in Liverpool
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Rachel Reeves has defended the government decision to cut winter fuel allowance to pensioners at the Labour conference in Liverpool.
The chancellor said “it was right to restrict the winter fuel payment to the poorest pensioners”.
She also promised there will not “be a return to austerity” but that “detailed” spending by department will be “negotiated”.
Ms Reeves is set to make a keynote speech to pledge that the government’s autumn Budget statement will be used to “rebuild Britain”, as ministers seek to move from under the shadow of a row about donations.
Speaking on the BBC’s Today programme, she admitted people might “find it odd” that Labour MPs have received clothes as gifts but defended their decision to accept thousands of pounds worth of freebies.
Her speech will come after Sir Keir Starmer vowed Labour would not return to an austerity agenda to deal with public spending pressures.
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner was the first major speaker on Sunday with an optimistic speech on new rights for workers and renters.
The Independent’s political team will be reporting throughout the week from the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.
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Defence secretary: ‘Gamers, your country needs you’
John Healey has set out his plans to “fix the Tory recruitment crisis” in the UK military.
The minister said he plans to “scrap 100 outdated policies that block people from joining” the Armed Forces.
He told the conference: “You hear some people say that young people today don’t want to serve their country.
“I know this is wrong. Over the last 10 years more than a million applied to join the forces but three in four gave up – just gave up on the process because it takes months and it’s tied up in red tape.
“Today I’m announcing the first steps to start to fix the Tory recruitment crisis.”
Mr Healey also set out plans to provide people with new training starting dates and called gamers and coders to join the military.
He added: “Second, I’m setting new targets for the forces to reject or make a conditional offer within 10 days, and to give people a training start date within 30 days.
“And third, I’m setting up a new direct route for cyber military recruits. Because if you’re a top gamer or a coder, your country needs you.”
‘Everyone in uniform will be paid at least the National Living Wage’ - Healey
The defence secretary has promised to pay military staff “at least the National Living Wage”.
During his speech at the Labour conference this morning, John Healey said the “first duty of this party in government” is to “defend the country, and to keep our citizens safe”.
He said the UK’s Armed Forces are “hollowed out and under funded” and said the “problems the Tories have left are much worse than we thought”.
Mr Healey then promised that “everyone in uniform will be paid at least the National Living Wage”, which currently stands at £11.44 an hour.
Shadow Treasury minister says scrapping winter fuel was a ‘political choice’
Shadow Treasury minister Gareth Davies said the Tories would not have scrapped winter fuel payments for all pensioners.
It’s a “political choice” for Labour to reduce eligibility for the payment, he told GB News.
“They have chosen on the one hand to hand massive pay rises to the unions, while at the same time taking away support for pensioners ahead of winter. That is a political choice.”
Asked how the Conservatives would have plugged the “black hole” in the public finances, he said the opposition was “questioning the validity” of the claimed £22 billion gap and that the Tories had had a plan to “make savings on welfare, to crack down on tax avoidance” that Labour was not taking forward.
“What this is really all about is what they always wanted to do, and that’s roll the pitch for tax rises, which will come in the Budget. They’re now starting to admit that. That will harm growth and I thought this government was all about growth.”
Healey declares ‘defence of the UK starts in Ukraine'
The minister has cited a visit he made to Ukraine just days after taking over the defence department.
During the trip, he met president Zelenskyy and injured soldiers, he added: “They told us about the daily attacks. The destroyed homes, the dead friends. They told us that they were fighting for their country’s freedom, and they were fighting for Europe’s future.”
Mr Healey then told the conference that “defence of Europe” and “defence of the UK starts in Ukraine”.
He added: “Today is day 942 of Putin’s illegal war, and I’m proud Labour has stood with Kyiv from day one, I’m proud the UK has united for Ukraine, and I’m proud this Labour government has stepped up our support for Ukraine.”
Healey: Labour is the party of defence
Defence minister John Healey has kicked off today’s agenda with his speech at the Labour conference.
Speaking to the audience in Liverpool, he said it was “an honour to stand here as defence secretary in our new Labour government.
“A government elated to serve and to deliver for the people - and we will.”
Mr Healey hailed Labour as “the party of defence” and vowed to increase spending.
He added: “Security will be the foundation on which our Labour missions are built, and we will set out a path to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP - a level not matched since 2010, when Labour was last in government.”
Reeves: Donations for clothes were ‘very beneficial’ during election campaign
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that donations for clothes were “very beneficial” to her during the election campaign.
She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that “an old friend” of hers wanted to offer support “during the election campaign”.
“The way that she wanted to support was to help me buy clothes for the campaign trail and for big events and I was very grateful for that support,” Ms Reeves added.
She told the programme: “We declared it in the proper way and we asked the registrar the best way to record it and we did it in the way that was asked of us.”
“I never planned to continue this in government but it was something that was very beneficial to me during the campaign,” Ms Reeves said.
Watch live: Labour’s John Healey urges gamers to sign up to military as he addresses conference
Watch live: Labour’s defence minister urges gamers to sign up to military
Watch live as defence secretary John Healey addresses the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on Monday, 23 September, as he urges gamers to sign up to the military.
Tories launch parody ‘Go Fund Keir’ campaign
The Tories have launched a “Go Fund Keir” campaign to support Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour conference.
Lord Alli ‘attends Labour conference’ amid donations row
Lord Waheed Alli is reportedly at the Labour conference amid a row about his donations to senior figures in the party.
Sky News reported the Labour peer, who has given tens of thousands of pounds worth of clothing to the prime minister and his wife Victoria, was spotted at the Liverpool conference.
Sir Keir Starmer recently faced criticism after it emerged he was late to declare a donation from Lord Alli, although there is no suggestion the peer has done anything wrong.
Pictured: Transport minister Louise Haigh meets Metro Mayors at The Liver Building
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