UK politics live: Labour to unveil plan to slash billions from benefit bill amid backbench backlash
Work and pension secretary Liz Kendall set to unveil plans to slash welfare bill by £5bn in benefits overhaul on Tuesday
Labour is set to unveil plans to slash billions of pounds from the UK’s benefit bill amid a growing backlash among the party’s backbenchers.
Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall is expected to set out plans for welfare reform on Tuesday to get more people back to work and cut the cost of the benefits bill by as much as £5 billion.
The proposals have been met with fierce criticism from Labour backbenchers, with veteran left-winger Diane Abbott branding the overhaul “not a Labour thing to do”.
But the prime minister’s official spokesperson said on Monday that Sir Keir Starmer “has been clear there is both a moral and an economic case for fixing our broken social security system that’s holding our people back, and our country back”.
The spokesperson also rejected claims the reforms were being carried out because of the UK’s difficult fiscal situation.
There are fears as many as 1 million people could see their benefits reduced, while charities have warned thousands of disabled people could be forced into poverty.
Leading think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned the disabled and long-term sick could consequently lose as much as £1,200 a year.
David Lammy tells MPs he met JD Vance in Washington last weekend
David Lammy met US vice president JD Vance in Washington over the weekend, he has told MPs.
The foreign secretary said that he discussed the US’s now-ended pause on military intelligence sharing and the prospect of a ceasefire with Mr Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio in recent days.
Following last week's meeting of G7 foreign ministers, Tory shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel had asked Mr Lammy in the Commons to set out his discussions with US counterparts on the suspension and “his assessments of the consequences caused”.
Mr Lammy said in his response: “I’m pleased to say that our assessment is that that pause, as she will know, was for a short period, not an extended period, and therefore it has not had a material effect.
“But we were pleased to see that resume, and we were pleased to see what flowed from Jeddah which was the United States, European allies and President Zelensky of Ukraine absolutely square with the need for that ceasefire, and it is for Putin to unconditionally now accept that ceasefire – the ball is in his court.
“And I was pleased to be able to discuss these matters with Secretary Rubio over the course of the three days at the G7 but also with Vice President Vance yesterday morning at his residence in Washington.”
Farage asked by GB News 'why on Earth' he is talking to Dominic Cummings
Nigel Farage has said he used a dinner with Dominic Cummings to ask the chief aide-turned-nemesis of Boris Johnson about “not being able to do what you want to do” when entering government.
Challenged “why on Earth” he met Mr Cummings, Mr Farage told the broadcaster: “Well, I met him to talk about the blob. And what were the practical problems of coming into government and not being able to do what you want to do.”
The Reform UK chief added: “He and I have never got on. So it’s never a bad thing to sit and talk to someone you’ve not got on with and try and find some sort of peace. But I was interested in what he had to say.”
He added: “He’s not joining the team, or anything like that ... We had a dinner, and we agreed on one thing, which is the Conservative Party’s dead – it’s done, it’s over, and it needs to be replaced.”
Business secretary to make case for UK steel during Washington visit
The business secretary is expected to raise the interests of Britain’s steel industry in talks on a potential UK-US economic deal as he visits Washington after Donald Trump said there would be no exemptions to his metal tariffs.
Jonathan Reynolds will seek to advance “pragmatic and positive” discussions on transatlantic trade as he meets his White House counterpart on Tuesday, the government said.
Mr Reynolds will hold the first in-person talks with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and US trade representative Jamieson Greer to take place under the new Trump administration.
It comes after the US president told reporters aboard Air Force One there would be no exemptions from a 25 per cent tax on global steel and aluminium imports.
The Department for Business and Trade said Mr Reynolds would “represent the interests of key industries including the UK steel sector and will kick off talks on securing a wider economic deal” on the visit.
Civil Service credit cards to be frozen after bill soars to £675m
Civil Service credit cards will be frozen this week under plans to reduce their numbers by 50 per cent and slash government spending.
Days after Sir Keir Starmer vowed to reshape the “flabby” state and slash the cost of bureaucracy, the Cabinet Office will order almost all of the 20,000 procurement cards used by civil servants to be frozen.
The spend on the credit cards jumped from £155m in 2020-21 to £675m in 2024-25.
To regain access to the cards, civil servants will need to reapply and justify why they need them – or they will be cancelled at the end of the month.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said the so-called government procurement cards should only be provided to officials when it is “absolutely essential”. Those used by diplomatic staff in unstable environments will be among a small number exempt from the freeze.
King welcomes Canadian PM Mark Carney
The King welcomed Canadian prime minister Mark Carney to Buckingham Palace on Monday afternoon, in an audience which comes amid Canada’s trade war with the US and Donald Trump’s vow to make the country America’s 51st state.
Charles, who is King of Canada, met with Mr Carney, former governor of the Bank of England, in the 1844 Room of the royal residence in London. The King was pictured grinning as he shook Mr Carney's hand.
They have encountered one another several times before, but this is first time since Mr Carney became leader of the Liberal Party and Canada's prime minister, in place of Justin Trudeau.
Lammy says 'operational detail' of British peacekeeping force to be discussed this week
Foreign secretary David Lammy has said a London meeting this week will be used to discuss the “operational detail” of British troops in Ukraine.
Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel asked about a “peacekeeping initiative” in eastern Europe and said: “What will our contribution to peacekeeping consist of? Over what timeframe would deployment be launched and how will our armed forces be supported?”
Mr Lammy said in his response: “The UK is prepared of course to consider British committing troops on the ground but there must be a US backstop.
“There is a further meeting in London this week to continue to get into the operational detail.”
Watch: Farage addresses Rupert Lowe ‘turbulence’
Runcorn & Helsby: Labour defending near-14,700 majority over Reform
Mike Amesbury has triggered the process that will lead to a parliamentary by-election in Runcorn &, Helsby, a seat he won for Labour at the 2024 general election with a majority of 14,696.
It was one of the 50 largest majorities achieved by Sir Keir Starmer’s party on polling day.
Mr Amesbury took 53% of the vote, with Reform in a distant second place on 18%, followed by the Conservatives (16%), the Greens (6%) and the Liberal Democrats (5%).
Runcorn & Helsby is a new constituency that was fought for the first time at the 2024 election.
Had the seat existed at the previous general election in 2019, notional data suggests Labour would have won but on a slightly lower share of the vote (49%) than Mr Amesbury achieved in 2024, with the Tories in second place.
Based on the 2024 result, Reform would need a swing in the share of the vote of 17.4 percentage points to gain Runcorn & Helsby.
This is the equivalent of a net change of 18 in every 100 people who voted Labour in 2024 switching to Reform.
A date has yet to be announced for the by-election in Runcorn & Helsby, which will be the first such contest since the 2024 general election.
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UK having ‘pragmatic’ discussions with US on trade, says Number 10
The UK is having “pragmatic” discussions with the US on trade, Number 10 has said, after Donald Trump said that there would be no exemptions to metal tariffs.
Downing Street said on Monday it would continue to keep “all options on the table” after the US president was reported to have told journalists on Air Force One that he has no intention of creating exemptions.
Mr Trump has implemented a 25 per cent tariff on global steel and aluminium imports.
Asked about the comments, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said on Monday: “We’re engaged in pragmatic discussions with the US on securing a wider economic deal, when it comes to the global tariffs we’re assessing all options.
“As the Prime Minister said last week we’re keeping all options on the table but we’re going to take a pragmatic approach to this and we’ll be continuing to have these discussions.”
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is expected to fly to the US later this week for talks with representatives in Mr Trump’s government.
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