Government’s welfare plans must be pushed through, Starmer says
The government’s welfare plans have to be pushed through, Keir Starmer has said, indicating that there will be no further concessions in the face of a potentially significant Labour rebellion over cuts to disability benefits,Speaking to reporters on his way to the G7 summit in Canada, the prime minister set out his determination to get the plans through parliament, after ministers warned mutinous MPs about the consequences of voting against the government,Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, has sought to offer some concessions before a Commons vote next month, with a large number of Labour MPs particularly worried about the tightening of eligibility rules on personal independence payments (Pips) for disabled people,“We’ve got to reform the welfare system,” Starmer said when asked about the prospect of a rebellion, with some estimates saying as many as 170 MPs could oppose the plans,“Everybody agrees with that proposition, so we’ve got to do that basic reform,” he said.
“It doesn’t work for those that need support and help into work, and it doesn’t work for the taxpayer.“So, it’s got to be reformed.The principles remain the same; those who can work should work.Those who need support into work should have that support into work, which I don’t think they are getting at the moment.“Those who are never going to be able to work should be properly supported and protected, and that includes not being reassessed and reassessed.
So, they are the principles.We need to do reform and we will be getting on with that reform when the bill comes.”Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionPressed on whether this meant there would be no more concessions, Starmer replied: “Well, we have got to get the reforms through and I have been clear about that from start to finish.The system is not working.It’s not working for those that need support; it’s not working for taxpayers.
Everybody agrees it needs reform.We have got to reform it and that is what we intend to do.”The seemingly tough line follows efforts by ministers to try to reassure possible rebels and, when needed, to warn them against voting down the welfare bill.Some MPs had said there were suggestions the vote could be treated as a confidence issue, with those rebelling facing suspension from the whip or even deselection.No 10 and government sources denied this.
But plans have been drawn up for a possible reshuffle if any ministers resign.The biggest sticking points in the plans, first put forward in March in a welfare green paper and intended to save £5bn a year, are the revised rules on Pip, and on benefits for carers.According to a government response to a Liberal Democrat parliamentary question last month, up to 1.3 million people across England and Wales could lose at least some support under the changes.It showed that under the current proposals, which would come into effect next year, about 1.
1 million standard-rate Pip claimants and 200,000 enhanced-rate claimants could lose at least some of the payment.The government data gave statistics by parliamentary constituency, showing the impact in more deprived areas.The constituency with the most people who could lose support was Liverpool Walton, followed by Blackpool South and Liverpool Riverside.About 5,000 people in each area could lose some Pip payments.
World’s largest banks pledged $869bn to fossil fuel firms in 2024, new report finds
The world’s largest banks boosted the amount of financing given to fossil fuel companies last year, committing $869bn to those involved in coal, oil and gas despite the worsening climate crisis and the banks’ own, fraying, environmental commitments, a new report has found.The report, compiled by a coalition of eight green groups, shows that while the amount loaned by big banks to fossil fuel firms had been declining in 2021, last year saw an abrupt reversal. Two-thirds of the world’s largest 65 banks increased their fossil fuel financing by $162bn from 2023 to 2024.Scientists have been clear that no new fossil fuel project can proceed if disastrous climate impacts are to be avoided, with last year the hottest ever recorded amid a slew of disasters driven by global heating.However, many banks have recently watered down or ditched their own commitments to help reduce planet-heating emissions, amid a changing political dynamic that has seen the US again being led by Donald Trump, who has famously called climate science “a giant hoax” and “bullshit”
Metro Bank sobers up and attracts a suitor | Nils Pratley
Some departures from the shrinking London stock market hurt more than others. It is doubtful that Metro Bank, if it’s about to fall to an approach from a London private equity firm, will be mourned by those shareholders on the wrong end of the wild ride for the shares from £20 at listing in 2016, to £40 two years later, to a plunge and painful recapitalisation at just 30p in 2023.In the overhyped early years, Metro said it was going to revolutionise high street banking via the novel strategy of opening expensive branches while the fuddy-duddy old guard were closing them. The party ended in an arduous tale of an accounting blunder, run-ins with regulators and a need for more capital, factors that inevitably weighed more heavily than the bank’s gimmicks such as giving free dog biscuits to the customers’ canines.But – surprise, surprise – Metro these days is not an enfeebled lender waiting to be put out of its misery
UK government rollout of Humphrey AI tool raises fears about reliance on big tech
The government’s artificial intelligence (AI) tool known as Humphrey is based on models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, it can be revealed, raising questions about Whitehall’s increasing reliance on big tech.Ministers have staked the future of civil service reform on rolling out AI across the public sector to improve efficiency, with all officials in England and Wales to receive training in the toolkit.However, it is understood the government does not have overarching commercial agreements with the big tech companies on AI and uses a pay-as-you-go model through its existing cloud contracts, allowing it to swap through tools as they improve and become competitive.Critics are concerned about the speed and scale of embedding AI from big tech into the heart of government, especially when there is huge public debate about the technology’s use of copyrighted material.Ministers have been locked in a battle with critics in the House of Lords over whether AI is unfairly being trained on creative material without credit of compensation
Hey AI! Can ChatGPT help you to manage your money?
Artificial intelligence seems to have touched every part of our lives. But can it help us manage our money? We put some common personal finance questions to the free version of ChatGPT, one of the most well-known AI chatbots, and asked for its help.Then we gave the answers to some – human – experts and asked them what they thought.We asked: I am 35 years old and want to ensure I have a comfortable retirement. I earn about £35,000 a year and have a workplace pension, in which I have saved £20,000
Dan Evans reproduces form of old to beat Frances Tiafoe at Queen’s Club
Dan Evans opened up the men’s tournament at Queen’s Club with his biggest win for more than two years, toppling Frances Tiafoe – the seventh seed and world No 13 – 7-5, 6-2 to reach the second round.The win was Evans’s first against a top-20 opponent since he defeated Alex de Minaur in the Davis Cup finals in 2023 and a positive step forward after an extremely difficult period in the final stretch of his career.Having spent five consecutive years inside the top 100, Evans is attempting to re-establish himself at the top levels of the game after falling down the rankings in August last year. The 35‑year‑old scaled as high as No 21 less than two years ago but he now sits at No 199 in the ATP rankings. He received a wildcard to compete at Queen’s Club and he will also need a wildcard in order to compete in the main draw at Wimbledon in two weeks’ time
Royal Ascot ready to roll with MPs worried future of racing is ‘on the line’
Hundreds of staff were putting the finishing touches to Ascot racecourse on Monday ahead of the five-day Royal meeting. The champagne is on ice, a variety of crustaceans have been plucked from the seabed and transported to Berkshire and the famous grey horses that lead the royal procession are ready to be harnessed. The most valuable, historic and glamorous show on turf is good to go.So it was a little jarring, to say the least, to spend an hour on Monday lunchtime in the company of assorted heavy-hitters from the racing industry and a pair of racing-friendly MPs from either side of the House, hearing warnings of a “triple whammy of challenges” that, according to a report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Racing and Bloodstock which was published on Monday, “present no less than an existential threat to the sport”.John Gosden, who will saddle the hot favourite Field Of Gold in Tuesday’s St James’s Palace Stakes, the feature event on Royal Ascot’s opening day, was among them
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