Labour MPs must realise welfare system ‘needs reform’, says Reeves – as it happened

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

Two trade deals and a rate cut in one week … are things looking up for UK plc?

You wait three years for a trade deal and then two come along at once.As of Monday, the UK had not announced a free trade agreement since 2022, when Boris Johnson’s government signed one with New Zealand, ranked 52nd 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

Bank of England governor urges UK to rebuild EU trade ties as key summit looms

The governor of the Bank of England has said that the UK now needs to do everything it can to rebuild its long-term trade relationship with the EU, after a breakthrough agreement with the US to reduce some of Donald Trump’s tariffs.Andrew Bailey said that, while he would not pass judgment on the UK’s exit from the EU in early 2020, reversing the trade impact of Brexit would be “beneficial”.The government is in talks with the EU – after moves by the prime minister, Keir Starmer, to “reset” trade relations since Labour came to power last year – before a summit in London in 10 days’ time where a new UK-EU partnership is expected to be unveiled.“Having a more open economy to trade with the European Union … would be beneficial,” Bailey told the BBC, “because there has been a fall-off in goods trade with the EU over recent years.”The EU remains the UK’s largest trading partner, but in sectors such as food and drink exports have fallen by more than a third since Brexit

Trump and Starmer confirm ‘breakthrough’ US-UK trade deal

The UK and US have agreed a “breakthrough” trade deal slashing some of Donald Trump’s tariffs on cars, aluminium and steel and that the prime minister said would save thousands of British jobs.Keir Starmer said it was a “fantastic, historic day” as he announced the agreement, the first by the White House since Trump announced sweeping global tariffs last month.Starmer, speaking to workers at the Jaguar Land Rover plant in Solihull, said the agreement had saved jobs in the car and steel industries that had been under threat.Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, said the deal “takes us back from the brink and many workers will breathe easier as a result”.However critics said it had failed to address many of the high tariffs that remain in place between the two countries

Flattery gets Starmer somewhere as The Donald stays awake to toot tariff deal | John Crace

Three days ago, Donald Trump promised an announcement that would be very possibly the greatest announcement in the whole history of announcements. Come Thursday morning, he said the US and the UK had reached a full and comprehensive trade deal.I guess a lot depends on what you mean by the words “greatest announcement” and “full and comprehensive”. As details of the deal began to emerge, it rather looked as if the UK had managed to negotiate a worse deal with the US than we had even two months ago. One that was hardly transformative

Disability benefit cuts impossible to support, 42 Labour MPs tell Starmer

More than 40 Labour MPs have warned the prime minister that planned disability cuts are “impossible to support” and have called for a pause and change in direction.The letter from parliamentarians spanning the new intake and veterans, and from the left and right of the party, sets Keir Starmer up for the biggest rebellion of his premiership when the House of Commons votes on the measures next month.There has already been widespread concern among Labour MPs about proposed changes including a significant tightening of eligibility for personal independent payments (Pips), saving about £5bn annually.They would also involve cuts or freezes to incapacity benefits for people who apply for universal credit but are judged unfit to work. According to internal Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) forecasts, the planned disability benefit cuts would affect 700,000 families who are already in poverty