UK politics live: Downing Street says ‘nothing off the table’ over British troops deployed to Ukraine
In her spring statement next week, the chancellor is expected to try blaming the drop on worsening global economics amid Donald Trump’s tariffs
Downing Street have said that “nothing is off the table” in terms of possible UK troop deployment for Ukraine, as Western military planning is set to intensify in London next week.
Number 10 said “thousands” of personnel would be required to support any operation whether by “sea, on land or in the air” as allies prepare “for all eventualities” amid diplomatic efforts to end the war.
Officials from the so-called coalition of the willing will “accelerate the pace and scale” of work to consolidate proposals for possible troop deployment across land, air or sea to safeguard any peace deal.
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer warned Vladimir Putin would face “severe consequences” for breaching any truce as he met defence planners for the first stage of talks at the UK’s Northwood military headquarters on Thursday.
In another setback for Rachel Reeves, UK Government borrowing soared above forecasts last month as public sector spending rose, putting pressure ahead of the spring statement next week.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector net borrowing was £10.7 billion in February. This was £100 million more than the same month last year and the fourth-highest February on record.
In her spring statement next week, Rachel Reeves is expected to try blaming the drop on worsening global economics amid Donald Trump’s tariffs.
UK Government borrowing overshoots forecasts ahead of spring statement
UK Government borrowing soared above forecasts last month as public sector spending rose, putting pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves ahead of her spring statement.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector net borrowing was £10.7 billion in February.
This was £100 million more than the same month last year and the fourth-highest February on record.
It was also £4.2 billion more than had been forecast by the Government’s official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), and more than some economists had been expecting.
The borrowing figure refers to the difference between what the Government spends on the public sector and what it receives in income from tax and other receipts.
Overall central government spending totalled £93 billion in February, £3.8 billion more than the same month last year, when the Conservative government was in power.
What Labour’s crackdown on government credit cards reveals about its approach to public spending
The dour Scotsman holding the title of chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Cabinet Office minister, Pat McFadden, doesn’t seem much of a space cowboy but he has in common with Elon Musk an apparent zeal to eliminate waste.
Being more sensible and considerably less excitable than his (rough) US counterpart, McFadden has not yet egregiously breached the British constitution but he has summarily abolished almost all of the civil service “credit cards”, a distinctly Doge-like action. It’s more than just a symbolic move…
What’s the problem?
Read the full analysis here:
What Labour’s credit card crackdown says about its public spending approach
Labour’s welfare ‘reforms’ are nothing of the sort – and they don’t go anywhere near far enough
When I resigned from David Cameron’s government as the secretary of state for work and pensions in 2016, welfare stood at £61.6bn. By the end of this parliament, it is projected to be £108.7bn. Sickness benefit alone, which was £19bn back then, is set to rise to £32bn.
So it is with disability benefit, which is set to rise from £11bn to some £31bn. To govern is to choose. Against the backdrop of an increasingly unsafe world, the need to invest significantly more in defence, and a flatlining economy, further reform of welfare is a necessity.
The pandemic response has hit the welfare budget hard. The rise in sickness benefit claims poses a challenge to the government, particularly because some 60 per cent of claims since Covid are from mental health issues. The majority of these are for depression and anxiety.
The health department has declared that the best treatment for depression and anxiety is going back to work. That is why, as sickness benefit moves into universal credit, the possibility of large-scale reform opens up for the government.
Read the full article here:
Iain Duncan Smith: Labour’s welfare ‘reforms’ are nothing of the sort
What the latest interest rates mean for your mortgage, savings and bills
The Bank of England (BoE) have today announced a hold on the Bank Rate - what we might simply call the interest rate - at 4.5 per cent, keeping it the lowest it has been in the UK since mid-June 2023.
Around that time, with inflation rising fast and the BoE seeking to stem it, the base rate jumped from 3.5 per cent at the start of February to 5.25 per cent by August - causing a sharp increase in mortgage repayments, a battle for savers among banks and plenty of other side effects.
With both inflation and interest rates (generally, slowly and not always constantly) on the way back down, February saw the first decrease the BoE (or their Monetary Policy Committee, technically) have applied since November last year, amid an eventual government aim to stem inflation at two per cent.
Read the full article here:
What the latest interest rates mean for your mortgage, savings and bills
Brexit created ‘mind blowing’ 2bn extra pieces of paperwork - enough to wrap around world 15 times
Brexit has created a “mind blowing” nearly two billion extra pieces of paperwork for businesses - enough to wrap around the world 15 times.
If they were all laid end to end they would also reach to the moon and half way back again, an analysis of research by the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade by the Liberal Democrats found.
Lib Dem trade spokesperson Clive Jones said it showed the scale of red tape plaguing British businesses since the UK’s withdrawal from Europe.
Read the full article here:
Brexit has created a ‘mind blowing’ 2billion extra pieces paperwork
Half of Reform UK voters don’t believe in the Covid vaccine, poll shows
Half of Reform UK voters have little or no confidence in Covid-19 vaccines, compared with the general public who overwhelmingly trust the jabs, a YouGov poll has found.
Those who back Nigel Farage’s party have a “distinct” attitude towards the vaccines, with 50 per cent saying they do not trust them.
That compares to 71 per cent of the public who said they trust the Covid jab a great deal or a fair amount, and just 24 per cent of voters who said they do not trust it much or at all. Reform voters are also significantly more likely to not have been vaccinated against Covid during the pandemic, the poll found.
Read the full article here:
Half of Reform UK voters don’t believe in the Covid vaccine, poll shows
Tories facing ‘extremely difficult’ local elections, Badenoch warns
The Conservatives are facing an “extremely difficult” challenge in May’s local elections, Kemi Badenoch warned as she launched the party’s campaign to win town halls.
The Tory leader was also defiant about the threat her party faces from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, urging voters to remember politics is not “showbusiness” and that “you will have to live with what you vote for”.
Voters across a number of county councils and unitary authorities in England will go to the polls on May 1, the first major electoral test since last July’s election.
Read the full analysis here:
Tories facing ‘extremely difficult’ local elections, Badenoch warns
Labour’s welfare ‘reforms’ are nothing of the sort – and they don’t go anywhere near far enough
Iain Duncan Smith: Labour’s welfare ‘reforms’ are nothing of the sort
Starmer backs calls for Netflix’s Adolescence to be shown in schools
Keir Starmer backs calls for Netflix’s Adolescence to be shown in schools
Fresh blow for Reeves as UK's official economic growth forecast 'set to be halved'
The UK’s official economic growth forecast for the year is set to halve, according to reports.
The Telegraph reports the expected growth rate for the 2025 financial year will be downgraded by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) next week.
In a blow to Sir Keir Starmer’s government, which has repeatedly claimed growth is a key priority, the growth rate for April to March 2026 will reduce from 2 per cent to around 1 per cent, the newspaper reported.
Rachel Reeves is expected to attempt to blame the drop on the global economic landscape as it worsens amid Donald Trump’s tariffs. The chancellor is due to lay out her spring statement to MPs on Wednesday.
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