Labour MPs must realise the welfare system needs reform, Rachel Reeves has said, as more than 40 MPs have written to the prime minister urging him to pause and reassess planned cuts to disability benefits (see 10.33am BST).Asked what her message to Labour MPs worried about the welfare cuts was, the chancellor told broadcasters:I don’t think anybody, including Labour MPs and members, think that the current welfare system created by the Conservative party is working today.They know that the system needs reform.We do need to reform how the welfare system works if we’re going to grow our economy.

But crucially, if we’re going to lift people out of poverty and give more people the chance to fulfil their potential, the focus has got to be on supporting people into work.Of course, if you can’t work the welfare state must always be there for you, and with this government it will be.But there are many people that are trapped on benefits that are desperate to work, that have been cut out of opportunity for too long.That will change under this government.This live blog will be closing shortly.

Thank you for reading the updates and commenting below the line.You can keep up to date with the Guardian’s UK politics coverage here.Here is a summary from today’s blog:Labour MPs must realise the welfare system needs reform, Rachel Reeves has said, as more than 40 MPs have written to the prime minister urging him to pause and reassess planned cuts to disability benefits.Asked what her message to Labour MPs worried about the welfare cuts was, the chancellor told broadcasters: “I don’t think anybody, including Labour MPs and members, think that the current welfare system created by the Conservative party is working today.They know that the system needs reform.

”The prime minister has declined to rule out changes to the digital services tax as part of a future trade deal with the US,Speaking to broadcasters on board HMS St Albans during a visit to Norway, Keir Starmer said: “On digital services, there are ongoing discussions, obviously, on other aspects of the deal, but the important thing to focus on yesterday is the sectors that are now protected that the day before yesterday were very exposed,”The UK-US trade deal was urgently needed to protect as many as 150,000 livelihoods, a senior government minister said, as he insisted the agreement would be “really good for Britain”,Business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, indicated on Thursday night that thousands people were perhaps “days” away from losing their jobs without the deal,In an interview with CNN, Britain’s ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, said the trade deal had immediately prevented job losses at Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) plant in the West Midlands.

The parent company of British Airways struck a $13bn (£9.8bn) deal to buy 32 new planes from the US aircraft maker Boeing, a day after a trade agreement with the US cut tariffs on the industry.The UK-US trade agreement will provide greater market access for the beef industry, a leading food industry executive said.Neil Shand, chief executive of the National Beef Association, said 13,000 tonnes of US and British beef would be eligible to export to either country as part of the agreement but added the industry “remains very nervous” about the current government’s policies.The poultry industry has breathed a sigh of relief that chlorinated chicken from the US will not be hitting British shelves as part of the US-UK trade deal.

The British Poultry Council chief executive, Richard Griffiths, called the move “a clear signal that government backs our standards and the values that underpin them”.The governor of the Bank of England has said he hopes the UK can “rebuild” trade relationships with the EU after striking a trade deal with the US.Andrew Bailey said it would be “beneficial” to reverse the post-Brexit reduction in UK-EU tradeThe NHS has “maxed out on what is affordable”, the new chief executive of NHS England, Jim Mackey, said as he called on the service to “accelerate” improvements and stamp out unacceptable care which has become “normalised”.Speaking at an event for the Medical Journalists Association in London, Mackey expressed concerns over staff being “desensitised” to poor care – such as elderly people facing long waits on trolleys in A&E departments.Sadiq Khan is announcing plans to build on parts of London’s green belt, in a dramatic shift in housing policy aimed at tackling “the most profound housing crisis in the capital’s history”.

In a major speech on Friday, the mayor of London is expected to say the scale of the challenge, which could need about 1m new homes built in the next decade, requires a break from longstanding taboos.Japan’s AESC has announced it will build a second gigafactory in Sunderland to produce electric vehicle batteries, after it secured a £1bn debt funding deal backed by a £680m guarantee from the UK government.The National Wealth Fund and UK Export Finance, both state bodies, will provide financial guarantees that unlock the £680m in financing for the battery maker.The “absolute focus” of leaders of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) is supporting Ukraine and defending values that were hard won during the second world war, Keir Starmer said.He added that earlier in the day, he had announced “our biggest ever sanctions package against the Russian shadow fleet”.

Foreign secretary David Lammy joined talks in Ukraine on Friday alongside other leaders, who expressed their support for a “special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine”.Lammy told reporters: “It is absolutely clear that when this war is over, those who have perpetrated it in Russia must account for their crimes of aggression and their crimes against humanity.”Leaders of the ‘coalition of the willing’ are to travel to Ukraine for further talks, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.The Ukrainian president said in a video address to the JEF summit in Oslo on Friday that he would host leaders of the coalition the following day.Downing Street would not confirm whether Keir Starmer planned to attend Saturday’s meeting.

The conflict in Ukraine arising from Russia’s invasion has been described by the new Reform UK leader of Kent county council as a “foreign war” and a “distraction” as she said that a Ukrainian flag will be removed from the local authority’s chamber.Linden Kemkaran was speaking after her selection as the new council leader from six potential candidates after the party took control of the council on 2 May.A referendum on Welsh independence could “absolutely” be held within “our lifetime”, Plaid Cymru’s leader has said.Rhun ap Iorwerth did not shy away from suggesting his party may be the leading political force in Wales after a YouGov poll which predicts Plaid Cymru will have the largest vote share in the 2026 Senedd elections.Birmingham’s striking bin workers have received backing from the leaders of Aslef and the National Education Union (NEU) at a collective action “megapicket” outside a depot and recycling centre.

About 200 people gathered in Ebury Road, in the Kings Norton area of the city, to hear NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede describe the all-out strike by members of Unite, which began almost two months ago, as a fight against “a race to the bottom” on working people’s wages,One of Labour’s only transgender councillors has resigned from the party, accusing it of “throwing trans people under the bus”,In a post on X on Friday morning, Dylan Tippetts, who has represented Compton ward on Plymouth city council since 2022, wrote: “I cannot continue to represent a party that does not support my fundamental rights,I cannot as a trans person continue to support the Labour party,”The first opening road bridge across the River Clyde could create about 1,400 jobs, according to officials.

The Renfrew Bridge opened to traffic at 12pm on Friday, marking the completion of the Clyde waterfront and Renfrew riverside project.Conservationists are calling for new laws to ensure important trees are “listed” for protection, like historic buildings, after the Sycamore Gap trial.The call by the Woodland Trust to improve protection for thousands of trees that have important ecological, cultural and historical value comes after high-profile felling of landmark trees caused public fury.The UK should double its defence spending to respond to global threats, a former UK defence chief has suggested.Speaking in the House of Lords, Jock Stirrup, who served as head of the armed forces between 2006 and 2010, said the “umbrella of American might” is now looking “somewhat leaky” as he encouraged European members of Nato to “shoulder a much greater share of the burden” for their own security.

Britain’s most senior statistician has stepped down citing “ongoing health issues”, amid criticism over flaws in recent economic data.Sir Ian Diamond confirmed he has resigned as head of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) with immediate effect.The PA news agency reports that Downing Street would not confirm whether Keir Starmer planned to attend Saturday’s meeting in Ukraine.Earlier, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said leaders of the ‘coalition of the willing’ would travel to the country for further talks (see 3.07pm BST).

You wait three years for a trade deal and then two come along at once.As of Monday, the UK hadn’t announced a free trade agreement since 2022, when Boris Johnson’s government signed one with New Zealand, ranked number 52 among global economies.By the end of a week foreshortened by the bank holiday and which began with Donald Trump dropping a tariff bombshell on the British film industry, the government had unveiled a deal with India, as well as a more nebulous framework deal with the US, the fourth-largest and largest economies, respectively.Sandwiched in between the two announcements was an interest rate cut from the Bank of England, making it cheaper for UK businesses to borrow money to invest in the growth that the Labour government is so desperately chasing.Looking forward, opponents of tariff barriers are now crossing their fingers for a thawing of relations between the US and China, which would avert broader ripple effects depressing UK growth.

The US deal also appears to have left the way clear for Starmer to seek stronger economic ties with the EU, another potential lever to boost economic output.Leaders of the ‘coalition of the willing’ are to travel to Ukraine for further talks, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.The Ukrainian president said in a video address to the Joint Expeditionary Force summit in Oslo on Friday that he would host leaders of the coalition the following day.He said there was “serious work ahead”, adding: “We need this coalition and we need it to be strong enough to guarantee security the way we all agree on.”Military officers from about 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for the coalition which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.

Last month, defence secretary John Healey said the plans were “real and substantial” as he hosted a meeting of his counterparts in Brussels,The UK should double its defence spending to respond to global threats, a former UK defence chief has suggested, reports the PA news agency,Jock Stirrup, who served as head of the armed forces between 2006 and 2010, said the “umbrella of American might” is now looking “somewhat leaky” as he encouraged European members of Nato to “shoulder a much greater share of the burden” for their own security,After he outlined the need for European countries to spend “much more” on defence, the independent crossbench peer explained this should be “something of the order of twice what we currently spend”,The UK spent £53.

9bn on defence in the 2023/24 and the government has committed to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence from April 2027, rising to 3% during the next parliament.Nato estimates the UK spent 2.3% of its GDP on defence in 2024.Stirrup, speaking during a debate to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan, told the House of Lords:Aggressive war is once more being waged in Europe.

Meanwhile, the umbrella of American might under which we have sheltered for so long is looking, to say the least, somewhat leaky.We in Europe have for years neglected our own military power relying on others to make up the deficit.Now we’re being measured by events and found wanting as we were in the 1930s.Nato protected our societies through the long testing years of the Cold War and it remains the best, indeed the only credible instrument for ensuring our future security.But it is a different Nato to the one we’ve been used to.

It is a Nato that must recognise the substantial shift of American power from Europe to the Indo-Pacific, a shift that will continue whoever occupies the White House.It is a Nato in which European members must shoulder a much greater share of the burden for their own security than they’ve done for many years.There’s growing acceptance of this truth but we still fail to accept the consequences.The first is the need for us in Europe, particularly those with the larger economies, to spend much more on defence and by much more I do not mean marginal increases, I mean something of the order of twice what we currently spend.The second consequence is the need for a way of funding, developing, procuring and operating the strategic military capabilities which we have for too long been overreliant on the United States.

It cannot be Nato because not all members of the alliance are European, it cannot be the EU because not all members of the EU are in Nato and not all European members of Nato are in the EU.”He went on to highlight a proposal from a thinktank for a “European defence mechanism”, which would be a procurement agency.The UK’s limited trade deal with the US has immediately prevented job losses at Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) plant in the West Midlands, Britain’s ambassador to the US has said.“This deal has saved those jobs,” Peter Mandelson said in an interview on CNN.“That’s a pretty big achievement, in my view, and I’m very pleased that the president has signed it.

”Government sources said JLR had plans for imminent cuts among its 30,000 staff in Solihull but had not informed unions in the hope that a deal with the US could be struck to eliminate the 25% tariffs on exports of cars to the US.Donald Trump’s import taxes had threatened to cripple British high-end carmakers before they were reduced from 27.5% to 10% in a deal announced on Thursday by Trump and Keir Starmer, with JLR only last week resuming exports to the US after a 30-day pause after the US president’s announcement of tariffs last month.Government insiders confirmed the decision to go for a quick deal while they could, announcing what they said was a breakthrough agreement to eliminate tariffs on car and steel exports.“It was important to us to be able to bank the progress that we had made at this stage,” said an insider.

The UK business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, told the BBC’s Newsnight programme on Thursday that the UK was at risk of thousands of people losing their jobs in the automotive sector within days, with one senior government insider indicating the job losses would have been at JLR,Japan’s AESC has announced it will build a second gigafactory in Sunderland to produce electric vehicle batteries, after it secured a £1bn debt funding deal backed by a £680m guarantee from the UK government,The National Wealth Fund and UK Export Finance, both state bodies, will provide financial guarantees that unlock the £680m in financing for the battery maker,A further £320m in debt funding will come from private financing as well as new equity from the business,The £1bn investment will fund building and operating of the new plant in Sunderland, which is expected to employ more than 1,000 people and power up to 100,000 electric vehicles a year.

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, who was in Sunderland for the announcement, said the deal would boost British industries’ resilience and encourage growth.“This investment in Sunderland will not only further innovation and accelerate our move to more sustainable transport, but it will also deliver much-needed high quality, well-paid jobs to the north-east, putting more money in people’s pockets,” she said.The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, described the investment as “yet another vote of confidence in the north-east’s thriving auto manufacturing hub”.The news came just a day after the UK and the US agreed a trade deal that dramatically reduced Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports of cars, aluminium and steel.The “absolute focus” of leaders of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) is supporting Ukraine and defending values that were hard won during the second world war, Keir Starmer said.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended part of the JEF summit virtually on Friday morning, the prime minister confirmed.Speaking to broadcasters during a visit to HMS St Albans navy frigate in Oslo port, Norway, Starmer was asked what the message from leaders was to Russia and China as Chinese president Xi Jinping attended Victory Day celebrations in Moscow.According to the PA news agency, Starmer said:The message of leaders here is very, very clear, and that is that we’re focused on Ukraine.We’ve been with Nato allies here in Norway.[President] Zelenskyy came in virtually to part of that meeting.

So our focus is on Ukraine with our European allies.Of course, today we also announced our biggest ever sanctions package against the Russian shadow fleet.Really important work, again, discussed with our allies this afternoon.And so that’s where our absolute focus is – with Ukraine, defending the values that yesterday at VE Day, we were remembering and commemorating, that were hard-won in the second world war.The prime minister has declined to rule out changes to the digital services tax as part of a future trade deal with the US