“Labour has been accused of “quietly shelving” a law to strip EU judges of their power as Sir Keir Starmer seeks a closer relationship with Brussels. Ministers have cancelled the planned start date for the law, passed by the last government, which would have ended the supremacy of European law in Britain. The Tories said it showed that the Prime Minister was “desperate to rejoin” the bloc and was planning to “unpick Brexit by the back door”. Last year, the Conservatives passed the law designed to free British courts from having to follow legacy EU rules which were passed before Brexit. It was supposed to come into force on Oct 1, but just weeks beforehand Labour amended the legislation to remove the planned start date.” – Daily Telegraph
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>Today:
>Yesterday: Video: Trott declines to say if Lowe would be welcome in the Conservative Party or not
“Nigel Farage has met with Dominic Cummings to discuss the reform of Whitehall, fuelling speculation that the Reform UK leader is serious about positioning himself as a future prime minister. The apparent meeting would mark a remarkable turnaround, given the animosity between the two men during the Brexit campaign and beyond. Mr Cummings, who masterminded the official Vote Leave campaign, was a fierce opponent of Clacton MP Mr Farage, whose separate Leave.EU group was, in effect, sidelined… They also discussed “the catastrophe of the Tory party and what Reform has to do to replace the Tories”. In recent months, Mr Cummings has been increasingly vocal in his criticism of the Conservative Party. Previously, in talks to launch his own political movement, he backed Reform UK.” – Daily Express
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“This runaway bill is not just unfair to the hard-working taxpayers paying it; it’s also unfair to the people consigned to a life of worklessness. Because without work, what hope can anyone have of achieving financial security, of having the satisfaction of paying your own way, or getting somewhere in life? But despite the enormity of the task at hand, Labour arrived in government without a plan to deal with it. They have spent the past nine months talking about the problem without coming up with any answers. Those months of dither and delay while they figure out what to do have already cost the taxpayer £7 billion and counting.” – Daily Telegraph
“Ministers are set to drop plans to freeze a major disability benefit next year in an attempt to quell a growing rebellion by Labour MPs over the UK government’s wider package of reforms to the welfare system. Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall had been considering a plan not to increase personal independent payments (PIPs) in line with inflation in April 2026 as part of a bid to curb benefits spending. But government figures said the proposal was no longer expected after complaints from dozens of Labour MPs. Kendall will, however, push ahead with broader reforms to welfare, including tighter eligibility criteria for PIP claimants, when she sets out on Tuesday a contentious package of measures designed to slash government outlays on health-related benefits.” – FT
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“The Resolution Foundation thinktank warned that cutting Pip by £5bn in 2029-30 by raising the qualifying threshold for support could mean about 620,000 people lose £675 a month on average. It said 70% of these cuts would be concentrated on those families in the poorest half of the income distribution. The sweep of the cuts has greatly alarmed disability rights campaigners as well as Labour MPs, who have been lobbying No 10 this week to change course. But plans to freeze increases in Pip payments are now unlikely – a measure that would have required a parliamentary vote. Cabinet ministers are among those who have raised doubts about the scale of the cuts and private fears about how No 10 has handled the messaging.” – The Guardian
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“Britain is overdiagnosing mental health conditions and people are being “written off”, the health secretary has said as the government prepares to cut disability benefits for a million people. The government will announce plans on Tuesday to overhaul the benefits system so that only the most severely disabled qualify. It is likely to be opposed by scores of Labour MPs, and cabinet ministers have raised concerns. Writing in The Times, Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, said the changes would “trap too many people in poverty”. In an escalation of government rhetoric, Streeting said that mental illness was a “spectrum” and that doctors were too readily diagnosing people with mental health conditions. He said that with the right support the government could give people the “resilience and coping skills” they need in life.” – The Times
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>Yesterday:
“The former head of Ofsted has accused the Education Secretary of putting the interests of unions ahead of children in a scathing attack on her school reforms. Amanda Spielman, who stepped down as chief inspector at the schools watchdog at the end of 2023, calls on Bridget Phillipson to abandon her plans “before the damage is done”. Writing in The Telegraph on the eve of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill returning to Parliament, she accuses the Education Secretary of bowing to the “demands of unions”. Critics have claimed the reforms in the Bill will significantly curb freedoms for academies – state-funded schools able to set their own pay and curriculum that are unpopular with some teaching unions.” – Daily Telegraph
>Today: ToryDiary: Labour’s education policy adds up to teaching those they don’t like a lesson they won’t forget
“Angela Rayner’s plan to build 1.5 million new homes faces a significant obstacle after a new cladding tax was announced, threatening to drive up costs for developers and jeopardising the housing targets. The £3.4bn levy, which is set to take effect in autumn 2025, will apply to all new residential buildings. Already grappling with rising construction costs and regulatory delays, developers have warned that this new tax could cost them between £3,000 and £5,000 per property – a sum that could put large swathes of land across the North and Midlands out of reach for development. Small family-run businesses that have never constructed larger homes or used cladding will be hit hardest as they struggle to absorb these additional costs. The Home Builders Federation (HBF), representing over 50,000 businesses in the construction industry, has expressed deep concern over the potential impact of the levy.” – Daily Express
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>Today: Richard Clewer in Local Government: Community benefits can ensure a fair energy transition
“Rachel Reeves will meet UK regulators on Monday after calling for more action to restrict red tape and spur economic growth. The chancellor argued that government plans would reduce costly delays and disputes, saving businesses billions, and said regulators must accept a more streamlined decision-making process. Reeves is expected to use the meeting to announce more detail on how the government will cut the cost of regulation by a quarter and set out plans to slim down or abolish regulators themselves. High on the chancellor’s target list are the costly hold-ups to major infrastructure projects when environmental concerns are raised. Citing the long battle over a covering for HS2 through ancient woodland, dubbed the bat tunnel, Reeves said wrangling between environmental regulators, councils and government departments needed to stop or time and cost overruns would persist.” – The Guardian
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“Sir Keir Starmer is willing to station thousands of British soldiers in Ukraine for years to maintain a ceasefire and deter another Russian invasion. The prime minister is prepared to make an open-ended commitment to deploy British troops for “as long as it takes” alongside western allies in an effort to keep the peace. Defence chiefs from the “coalition of the willing” will meet in London on Thursday to discuss “in great specificity” where the peacekeeping force should be deployed. About half a dozen countries including the UK, France, Turkey, Canada and Australia are discussing plans to send as many as 30,000 troops to Ukraine. Other countries are prepared to help with weapons and logistics. However, the prime minister has refused to say whether the peacekeeping force will be authorised to open fire against Russian soldiers in the event of an attack.” – The Times
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>Yesterday: Video: ‘Trump is the worst dealmaker in the world’, Portillo claims