Tories would reinstate two-child benefit cap to fund defence, says Badenoch
The Conservatives would reinstate the two-child benefit cap and use the savings for a wide-ranging spending splurge on defence in what Kemi Badenoch said would be “the biggest peacetime programme of rearmament in our country’s history”.Speaking at a defence conference in London, the Tory leader criticised the government for Britain’s “lack of readiness” for war, which has been exposed by recent world events.Badenoch said the UK needed to “reassert” itself as a global power and committed the Tories to “the largest net increase in British troops under any government since the second world war” if they returned to power at the next general election.The pledge would involve recruiting 6,000 full-time soldiers and 14,000 reservists.The Tories say they could raise £20bn towards the venture by reinstating the two-child benefit cap and reallocating money earmarked for net zero projects.
Badenoch said: “We must look beyond this conflict in the Middle East and develop the resources we need to respond to this new era of threats,We have a huge amount of work to do to reassert Britain as a power in the world,“First and foremost, we must rearm,If our military is strengthened, our hand is strengthened,We must undertake the biggest peacetime programme of rearmament in our country’s history.
”Badenoch has been accused by Labour of prematurely stating that the UK should have joined Donald Trump’s war with Iran, which has grown into an international crisis that the president has struggled to end.Speaking of the UK-US relationship, which has become strained owing to Keir Starmer’s unwillingness to play an offensive role in the conflict, Badenoch said she found Trump’s public criticism of the UK prime minister “disconcerting”.She said: “I do find the nature of [Trump’s] public remarks very disconcerting, because everybody’s watching.It’s not just on social media and the citizens of our respective countries.“Iran is watching, China is watching, Russia is watching … what they see, and that is being reinforced, is the weakening of western bonds, and that is not something we should allow.
”Starmer has defended his decision to limit British involvement in the Iran war to “defensive” action, refusing to allow the US access to launch widespread attacks from its bases,The prime minister has said he acted in the national interest by limiting British involvement in the war to “defensive” action, after US-Israeli strikes on Tehran and Iranian retaliation against US allies in the Gulf,The Labour government has said it is committed to spending 2,5% of GDP on defence by 2027, increasing to 3% in the next parliament,However, it is under pressure to publish a defence spending plan, which was first promised last autumn, amid reports of tensions between the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury.
Labour ministers have argued that they have inherited years of underinvestment from the previous Conservative government and have accused the party of “hollowing out” the armed forces.Defence spending under the Conservatives fell by 22% between 2010 and 2017, but rose steadily after this point.It has now returned to 2010 levels.
GSK reports promising early results in ovarian and womb cancer drug trial
GSK has revealed positive results for a treatment for gynaecological cancers as its chief executive, Luke Miels, seeks to speed up drug development at the group.The company said that in an early-stage trial Mocertatug Rezetecan, known as Mo-Rez, shrank or eliminated tumours in 62% of patients with ovarian cancer where chemotherapy had failed, and in 67% of those with endometrial cancer.Based in London, GSK has recently gained plaudits for its work on tackling superbugs, becoming one of just three big pharma companies globally that continue to invest in anti-microbial research.However, commercially GSK has been eclipsed in recent years by its bigger British rival AstraZeneca, which last year outstripped GSK’s near-£33bn turnover by more than £10bn and whose market value is more than twice as high.GSK acquired the Mo-Rez cancer treatment, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), from China’s Hansoh Pharma in late 2023, and has trialled it in 224 patients around the world, including the UK, over the past year
Collapse of US-Iran talks heightens fears of prolonged energy shock
The failure of the US and Iran to reach a peace deal after marathon negotiations has put markets on alert for further oil and gas price rises.With large numbers of oil tankers remaining stuck in the Gulf, the US vice-president, JD Vance, blamed the collapse of the talks on Tehran’s refusal to abandon its nuclear weapons programme, while Iranian sources hit back at “excessive” demands from Washington.Vance, who left Islamabad on Sunday morning after 21 hours of talks with Iranian officials in the Pakistani capital, said his team had been very clear on its red lines as hopes faded of a quick end to the war that began on 28 February with US and Israeli airstrikes on Tehran.A weekend market in US crude oil operated by the broker IG indicated that the oil price was going to rise when trading begins on Sunday night, UK time, to about $98 a barrel, from about $96.50 on Friday night before the peace talks in Pakistan
‘It feels as if I’ve made a new best friend’: my experiment with AI journalling
What’s it like to have a diary that talks back to you, offering comments and advice on your hopes, fears and lunch plans? I spent two months finding outEver since I was a teenager, I have kept some form of diary. These days I favour a paper one for creative brainstorming, and the Journal app on my iPad where I do a speedily typed brain dump every morning. I have always found it a great way to impose some sort of order on my random thoughts, a form of meditation.But I had never even heard of AI journalling until a Google search led me down a rabbit hole where I encountered people enthusing about two apps, Rosebud and Mindsera. It sounded as if Mindsera’s minimalist design was the best for writers
Dr TikTok: patients diagnose chronic illnesses with anonymous commenters’ help
TikTok users increasingly say the app has steered them toward diagnosing medical problems not yet identifiedMalina Lee, a 31-year-old wedding baker based in San Antonio, Texas, joined TikTok during the Covid pandemic lockdowns in 2020. Like many people at the time, she was bored and began using the platform to pass the time and advertise her business. She didn’t expect a cancer diagnosis.Four years after Lee joined the app, a commenter with the username “PickleFart” told her that her neck looked asymmetrical in a way that could suggest she had a goiter – an enlarged thyroid gland – and that she should get it checked out. The anonymous amateur clinician turned out to be right – Lee had thyroid cancer, received treatment quickly, and, less than a year later, was cancer free
The Masters 2026: Cameron Young forges ahead in final round – live
Back-to-back birdies for Tyrrell Hatton at 13 and 14. He’s -8, and if he can make his way home strongly, could post something that would at least ask a question of the players currently above him.Rory McIlroy, having sent his tee shot at the par-three 6th over the back, elects to putt up from the swale. He only just gets the ball up on the putting surface. That’s poor, and he’s left with a 15-footer he can’t make
‘This is not serious leadership’: Donald Trump and Marco Rubio watch UFC in Miami as Iran talks fail
Donald Trump and US secretary of state Marco Rubio attended a UFC event in Miami night on Saturday night as peace talks with Iran failed on the other side of the world.Trump entered the Kaseya Center shortly after 9pm alongside several members of his family and UFC chief Dana White, who has been a supporter of the president since his first term. Seated nearby was Rubio as well as the US ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, the rapper Vanilla Ice and former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino.“The Secretary of State skipped the Iran negotiations in Pakistan to attend a UFC fight. So did the Special Envoy for South and Central Asia, while Pakistan has no confirmed U
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Tories would reinstate two-child benefit cap to fund defence, says Badenoch
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