NewsBeat
Reeves denies claims she attempting to impose ‘austerity 2.0’ with draconian spending review cuts
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Rachel Reeves has denied that she is imposing a new round of austerity after she ordered departments to find five per cent cuts as part of her spending review.
The chancellor has already raised tax by a record £40 billion in her Budget last month, causing fury among businesses over the national insurance contributions hike. Added to that she has already made swinging cuts to tackle the £22 billion black hole she claims the Tories left behind.
Critics on the left have warned that this latest round of savings amounts to another wave of austerity, which former Tory chancellor George Osborne imposed on the country in the wake of the banking collapse.
But speaking to Matt Chorley on Radio 5 Live, Ms Reeves insisted that she is not repeating the austerity policies of Osborne.
She said: “The difference here is that we’re not asking for cuts because we’ve set real terms increases to government spending. George Osborne cut government spending. Real terms, spending will increase during the course of this parliament, but we need to drive out wasteful spending so that we can redeploy waste to productive things that government do.”
The chancellor also insisted: “I don’t like waste.”
She went on: ”The spending review has got to drive up productivity and efficiency, and it’s got to drive waste out of public services. That’s why we’ve set a 5 per cent target for all government departments to deliver, and I’ve absolutely no doubt that we can achieve that.
“That’s why we’re conducting a zero based spending review, which means looking at every line of government expenditure and judging whether it offers good value for money for taxpayers, and recognise that people are being taxed a lot at the moment, and it is vital that their money is used properly.”
But critics raised concerns that she has appointed bankers to oversee the review.
The Green Party posted on social media: “So called ‘senior bankers’ were responsible for the 2008 financial crash and continue to rake in mind blowing sums in bonuses. And that’s who Rachel Reeves has picked to tell public services to spend less money. The country didn’t vote for Austerity 2.0.”
Fire Brigades Union general secretary and former TUC president Matt Wrack said: “It’s alarming that the Chancellor appears to have adopted a ‘cuts driven’ approach to the government’s spending plans.
“The FBU wants to see any waste reduced to ensure that generous funding is made available for public services and pay.
“However, it’s completely wrong to place wealthy bankers, who played a key role in the financial collapse of 2008, in charge of a review of government spending.
“Labour was elected because voters wanted an end to the decade and a half of Tory austerity, not to continue with a disastrous ‘cuts driven’ approach.”
Downing Street also made it clear that spending will be focussed on the priorities outlined in Sir Keir Starmer’s “Plan for Change”.
The document laid out the six key milestones as priorities including raising living standards, building 1.5 million new homes, ending hospital backlogs, putting 13,000 extra police officers on the beat, helping pre-school education and securing green energy.
This means other areas including mental health, schools, the prisons crisis, getting defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, and other areas not on the priority list could lose out.
This brought a warning from charities over the potential impact to services.
Brian Dow, Deputy Chief Executive of Rethink Mental Illness, told The Independent: “We simply cannot afford corners being cut on mental health in the spending review, with lengthy waits for treatment already pushing many people into crisis.
“We remain concerned that mental health is not a priority for government, and have asked for clarification that safeguards which protect mental health funding will remain in place. Failing to bolster mental health services for the future would be extremely short-sighted and counter-productive, leading to a more unwell nation and directly undermining the government’s plans for growth, as well as other commitments such as reforming the Mental Health Act.”
But defending her position, Ms Reeves said: “I had to make a number of difficult decisions when we came into office, the previous government left a £22 billion black hole in the public finances, public services were on their knees at the budget in October, I wiped the slate clean after the mismanagement and chaos of the previous Conservative government.”
Politics
Reform UK chairman blasts Tories as a group that ‘deal entirely in deception, falsehoods, and betrayal’
Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf has expressed disappointment at Suella Braverman’s suggestion for an electoral pact between the populist party and the Conservatives.
Speaking on GB News, Yusuf firmly rejected any possibility of a deal with the Tories, questioning how Reform could work with a group that “deal entirely in deception, in falsehoods, and betrayal”.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
This is the shocking moment a TV antiques expert was smashed in the head with a “clawhammer” during a robbery at his Chelsea jewellery store.
James Dixon, 43, and Thomas Loring, 41, targeted Bourbon Hanbury, owned by Ian Towning during a “campaign of burglaries in the Greater London area between March and June 2024”, a court heard.
The pair stole up to £365,000 worth of antiques and jewellery from the store. Mr Towning – who has appeared on Dickinson’s Real Deal on ITV, and Channel 4’s Posh Pawn. — was struck multiple times with a hammer.
Dixon was handed a 17-year extended prison sentence and Loring a 14-year prison sentence.
BBCDance class leader Leanne Lucas, who was stabbed in the Southport knife attack, has said she believes the killer “targeted us because we were women and girls, vulnerable and easy prey”.
Speaking at Liverpool Crown Court ahead of the sentencing of Axel Rudakubana, the 36-year-old read out her victim impact statement, and said she had previously worked with teenagers and “never would have considered that they would hurt me or hurt younger children”.
“To discover that he had always set out to hurt the vulnerable is beyond comprehensible,” she said.
She said she had “endured three hospital stays where I undertook multiple surgeries and received treatment”.
“At a time where home comforts may have helped me, I sat staring at hospital walls further impacting my mental health.”
She said the trauma had been “horrendous” and she was “trying to see the goodness in the world”.
Ms Lucas said there were “scars we cannot unsee” and she was struggling with trusting others and herself.
“As a 36-year-old woman I cannot walk down the street without holding my breath as I bypass a person and then glance back to see if they’ve attempted to stab me.
“As a 36-year-old woman I cannot enter a public place without considering how I will get out in the event of an emergency.
“As a 36-year-old woman I cannot give myself compassion or accept praise, as how can I live knowing I survived when children died.”
Ms Lucas said she had considered her work as providing a “safe haven” to help families in Southport by highlighting “goodness and positivity”.
“I never thought this was going to happen to me and now my mindset has been altered to it could happen to you and it will probably happen to you,” she said.
“I feel that I have lost the ability to accept people now as they are.”
She said she felt she had “now lost my role, my purpose and my job as I can no longer provide that guidance and reassurance to anyone”.
Ms Lucas continued: “I feel like I can no longer be trusted again, I know people will disagree and say that is not true however his actions have proven I can never feel that level of responsibility again where there may be dangers to others.”
She concluded her statement by saying: “For Alice, Elsie, Bebe, Heidi and the surviving girls, I’m surviving for you.”
NewsBeat
Micheal Martin voted in as Ireland’s next premier after chaos sees parliament suspended | World News
Micheal Martin has received the backing of the Irish parliament to become the country’s next premier.
The longstanding Fianna Fail leader’s nomination was backed 95 to 76, the day after the Dail was suspended and the process halted due to a chaotic row.
He will formally become Ireland’s taoiseach (prime minister) during a ceremony with President Michael D Higgins at his official residence at Aras an Uachtarain in Dublin.
Mr Higgins will sign the warrant of appointment and hand Mr Martin the Seal of the Taoiseach.
Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin leaves Leinster House following his nomination. Pic: PA
The nomination was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but a disagreement over whether some of the independents would be given opposition speaking time led to proceedings ending without the new Irish leader being officially chosen.
Mr Martin‘s Fianna Fail emerged as the largest party after Ireland’s general election in November.
It agreed to re-enter a coalition with Fine Gael, led by outgoing prime minister Simon Harris.
The two parties combined were just short of a majority in the Dail and will be supported by several independent TDs (MPs) for the five-year government term after lengthy negotiations.
The Dail was suspended amid a row on Wednesday. Pic: PA
Sinn Fein put party leader Mary Lou McDonald forward for the role of taoiseach, but she conceded in her speech that the bid would not be successful.
Mr Martin, 64, served as prime minister in the last coalition government with Fine Gael and the Green Party.
That coalition introduced a “rotating taoiseach” mechanism which saw the top office swapped between the leaders of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael midway through the term.
The arrangement will be repeated, although on a three-to-two-year basis in favour of Fianna Fail in recognition of the party’s 10-seat lead over Fine Gael.
Read more
Ireland delays selection of prime minister
United Ireland ‘a legitimate aspiration’ but ‘not priority’
It continues a partnership which began in 2020 and set aside almost a century of animosity between the two parties, which were forged from opposing sides of Ireland’s civil war of the 1920s.
The son of an Irish international boxer, Mr Martin has held cabinet ministries for health, foreign affairs, defence and education.
Mr Harris will take the deputy premier role of tanaiste. Mr Martin will later nominate members of the next government.
The incoming cabinet members will also travel to the State Reception Room of Aras an Uachtarain to receive their Seals of Office.
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Police have released a photo of a fugitive suspected of killing a woman in the street in Plymouth as armed officers continue hunt.
Paul Antony Butler, 53, is wanted in connection to a fatal incident in West Hoe Road in Plymouth last night.
Detectives warned the public not to approach “armed and dangerous” Butler but call them if he is spotted.
The victim, in her 40s, was found seriously injured in the street on West Hoe Road at 8.55pm on Wednesday 22 January.
She was taken to hospital but sadly pronounced dead in the early hours. Her next of kin have been informed.
A neighbour and close friend of the fugitive urged Butler to hand himself in.
He told The Independent: “I’m still in shock. She was a beautiful woman who recently split up with her husband. She really cared about everyone and looked after herself. She was very easy to talk to.”
The victim is believed to have known the suspect. She was found injured in the street and taken to hospital where she was sadly pronounced dead.
DI Rob Smith said: “Cordons are in place and police units remain in the area.“At this time the suspect remains at large and a major response is underway.
“We have taken the steps of releasing an image of a man we need to identify in connection to the murder investigation.
“We believe that this man could be armed and dangerous, so we are telling the public not to approach him in any circumstances and immediately call 999 if you have seen this man.”
Butler is described as being a white male, around 6ft 5ins tall, of proportionate build with brown/grey hair and blue eyes.
Anyone who see Butler is asked not to approach him, but to call police on 999, quoting log 756 of 22 January.
Politics
Reform UK unveils plan to STOP the boats upon entering No10 as chairman says Royal Navy on standby
Reform UK Chairman Zia Yusuf has revealed how his party would tackle illegal immigration into Britain if it won the keys to Downing Street.
It comes as migrants continue to make their way across the English Channel despite commitments made by the two main parties to bring down the numbers.
More than 1,000 small boat migrants have crossed the English Channel illegally since the beginning of the year, GB News can exclusively reveal.
The milestone figure was reached a week ahead of last year, when 1,000 migrants had crossed by 28 January.
Nigel Farage would call in the Royal Navy to control numbers, says Reform chairman
Getty Images/GB News
Reacting to a new leaked confidential report that found one in 12 – or 6000 – illegal immigrants are currently living in London, Yusuf has revealed how Nigel Farage would attempt to bring down the numbers if he were to win the next General Election.
He told GB News: “We’ve been very clear that if you come here illegally, if your first act on coming is to break our laws, you will be deported. But first of all, you need to stop the tap. So if the bath is overflowing, you need to stop the water from coming in.
“The first thing Nigel will do when he becomes the Prime Minister of this country, is to pick up the phone to the First Sea Lord and issue an order to His Majesty’s Royal Navy to ensure that not a single unauthorised vessel crossing the English Channel makes it to the shores of the United Kingdom.
“It will be a humanitarian mission. I speak to many people at the most senior levels inside of His Majesty’s Navy who say all they need is political clarity. They keep using that word. Give us political clarity. We will ensure those boats stop coming, nobody’s harmed, they are taken back to France.”
Is this doable?
The Navy would face considerable legal and ethical challenges if it deployed forces to take boats back to France.
International maritime laws, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, stipulate that countries must assist any person in distress at sea, which complicates any policy of turning back migrant boats.
There would also be concerns about the humanitarian aspects, where such actions could lead to loss of life or further endanger migrants.
Furthermore, it would require buy-in from the French, who have raised legal and humanitarian concerns about any strategy involving turning back boats and pushed back against unilateral efforts by the UK to control immigration.
However, Reform’s proposal has considerable backing in Britain, polling suggests.
LATEST MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENTS
A whopping 99 per cent were in favour of the policy, while just one per cent disagreed
Getty Images
At the end of last year, GB News Members were asked whether they think Britain should turn boats back to France.
A whopping 99 per cent were in favour of the policy, while just one per cent disagreed.
Proponents point to the continent as evidence that turning back the boats brings down the numbers.
The Italian government recently struck a £90million deal with Tunisia, allowing their border force and coastguard vessels to turn boats around and return them to the Tunisian coast.
This has reduced Mediterranean crossings by more than 60 per cent since taking effect.
GB News has approached the MoD for comment.
Police have named a man wanted in connection with the death of a woman found injured in the street in Plymouth.
Devon and Cornwall Police has warned the 53-year-old could be “armed and dangerous” and has advised members of the public to not approach.
It comes after police were called to West Hoe Road at 20:55 GMT on Wednesday when a woman in her 40s was found injured and later died.
Det Insp Rob Smith said: “We have taken the steps of releasing an image of a man we need to identify in connection to the murder investigation.”
He added: “At this time the suspect remains at large and a major response is under way.
“We believe that this man could be armed and dangerous, so we are telling the public not to approach him in any circumstances and immediately call 999 if you have seen this man.”
NewsBeat
Government rejects call from supermarket giants including Tesco to halt controversial tractor tax plan
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Ministers have rejected calls from supermarket giants including Tesco to halt their controversial ‘tractor tax’ plan.
In a highly unusual move, some of the UK’s largest retailers have backed farmers in their fight against Rachel Reeves’ inheritance tax raid, warning the “UK’s future food security is at stake”.
But Treasury minister James Murray told MPs ministers would not give in to calls to pause and look again. He said the government was “committed to delivering the reforms announced at the Budget”, adding that it was a “fair approach” that would help to fix “the public services we all rely on”.
The row erupted as the chancellor attempted to woo business investment to the UK at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
In a separate blow, a new report by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warned the policy may raise less than the Treasury hopes, with the £500m-a year-revenue forecast given a “high” uncertainty rating and likely to fall after seven years as families use tax planning to avoid the charge.
On Tuesday Tesco’s chief commercial officer Ashwin Prasad said that ensuring farms remained economically sustainable was “essential” not just to food security but so customers “can continue to get the great quality food they want, at a price they can afford”.
The calls have added to pressure on Ms Reeves to U-turn on her tax raid, following a furious backlash over her decision to extend inheritance tax, which critics warn could sound the death knell for family farms in England.
The changes mean that farms valued at £1m or more would be liable for 20 per cent inheritance tax.
The Treasury says that, with tax allowances, in reality, only farms worth £3m would be affected, just 28 per cent of family farms. But official Defra figures appear to suggest as many as 66 per cent could be hit.
Thousands of farmers brought Westminster to a standstill in November when they descended on the capital to voice their opposition to the change.
Mr Murray defended the changes in the Commons, saying that at the Budget ministers had been “very clear” that they had to take “difficult decisions that will have consequences”.
Maintaining a tax “loophole” for farmers is “not fair or sustainable”, he added.
Labour blames the last Tory government for what it says is a £22bn black hole in the public finances.
But shadow environment secretary Victora Atkins accused ministers of letting farmers and pensioners, because of cuts to the Winter Fuel Allowance also announced in the Budget, “pay the price for their economic incompetence”.
She also said the number of farmers taking their own lives should be measured to “understand the human cost” of the government’s changes. She told Mr Murray: “As worrying reports of suicides amongst farmers begin to emerge, will he please do as the Defra (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) Secretary (Steve Reed) has failed to do, which is measure the number of suicides over the next 12 months so that we can understand the human cost of this policy?”
He replied: “I think that one of the confusions on the benches opposite, is to confuse the value of farms with the value of claims under inheritance tax. And the only way to truly understand the impact of changes to inheritance tax policy on inheritance tax claims is to look at the claims data itself.”
BBC News
BBCUnpaid and low-paid internships are “unfair” to working class graduates, students say, as a new study suggests that these opportunities increasingly favour those from a middle class background.
Research from the Sutton Trust, a social mobility charity, says the gap between the two demographics is growing – driven by employers continuing to underpay interns, and giving opportunities to family and friends rather than advertising them.
A poll of more than 1,200 recent graduates shows half have undertaken an internship, an increase of 12% since 2018, but the gap between working class and middle class graduates has widened in that time from 12% to 20%.
Speaking to the BBC, one student says she has had to turn down “potentially wonderful” opportunities as she was not able to afford working for free.
Erin Cruickshank, 20, said one of those was an unpaid internship in London last summer that she ultimately turned down.
The cost of staying in the capital – where she had no family or friends to stay with – would have left her “worse off,” she said.
The 20-year-old, from West Lothian, called the situation “unjust and unfair”.
Unpaid “or unfairly paid” positions are commonplace, Erin said, and many take place in “affluent areas” like London.
“I’ve had to turn down experiences – potentially wonderful ones – because I couldn’t stay in London to have them,” she added.
The proportion of working-class graduates completing an internship is now 36%, compared to 55% for their middle-class peers, the Sutton Trust said.
Graduates in London were significantly more likely to have undertaken an internship than those in the West Midlands, Yorkshire, Scotland and Wales, its research showed.
Around three-fifths of internships undertaken by recent graduates were unpaid or underpaid, the study indicated.
Erin, a French and social anthropology student, decided to take a paid position at a charity in Edinburgh for the summer rather than an unpaid role.
She said: “To others who search for larger internships – from their perspective, maybe that wasn’t the best choice. But for me it was… I had a great experience.”
Since she often funds her own accommodation at the University of St Andrews she only applies for paid positions. She is currently on a year abroad working in France.
“If that means I’m not taking experiences in what others might consider a large name or big business, I take experiences I know will still expand my skillset and help me take steps towards my future.”
In many cases, those undertaking unpaid internships were able to do so because they received money from parents, lived at home or with family or friends, or used savings, the Sutton Trust’s research found.
Chiera Mclaughlin, a fourth year law student at the University of Glasgow, said the decision for many was “balancing whether you want to get experience in the industry you want to work in, or if you have money for food”.
“There’s not that freedom to accept unpaid positions,” she added.
From her experience in the law industry, she said that paid internships were “rare” and “to get any early work experience in law, it’s expected that you wouldn’t get paid for it”.
The Sutton Trust’s research also found that internships were almost twice as likely to have been found through family and friends in an organisation compared to an advertisement, further contributing to the widening access gap.
“If I was trying to get experience in say corporate law or at a law firm of some sort, it seems really difficult to even get your foot in the door if you don’t maybe know someone there,” Chiera agreed.
“I’m the first person from my family to go to uni and I don’t really have any family connections, or anyone in my social circle, that’s in the industry.”
As part of its ‘Make Work Pay’ plan issued before the election, Labour said it wanted to ban unpaid internships, aside from those that form part of an education or training course. Details on when that might happen have not been confirmed.
Politics
Robert Jenrick’s ‘cynical’ call for Attorney General Lord Hermer ‘conflict of interest’ investigation REJECTED
Solicitor General Lucy Rigby has confirmed Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick’s call for an investigation into Attorney General Lord Richard Hermer has been rejected.
Jenrick had penned a letter to Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris Wormald over the weekend demanding answers to the Attorney General’s work with previous clients.
In the letter, seen by GB News, the Shadow Justice Secretary, Lord Hermer’s listed clients included Sri Lankan asylum seekers in the Chagos Islands, ex-Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, Afghan families associated with the ongoing Afghan inquiry and parties interested in Shamima Begum’s citizenship case.
Dismissing Jenrick’s calls for a probe, Rigby told MPs: “I have outlined the rigorous process that exists in the Attorney General’s Office and has existed across administrations of all colours.
Attorney General Lord Richard HermerPA“The House may be aware that the shadow justice secretary [Robert Jenrick] has written to the Cabinet Secretary [Sir Chris Wormald] seeking clarity… on that process and an investigation into it, the Cabinet Secretary has today confirmed by reply that the Attorney General’s Office has a rigorous system in place to ensure that a law officer would not be consulted on any matter that could give rise to a potential conflict of interest.
“He has restated that these arrangements are long standing and part of a standard practice that has applied in successive administrations.”
Rigby also accused the Tories of being “cynical” by linking the Attorney General to his previous clients, including ex-Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.
However, Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty questioned if Lord Hermer’s role as Attorney General remained tenable.
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Robert Jenrick
PA
He said: “The current Attorney General has a track record of taking up multiple cases against the British government. Given his previous work both with regard to Gerry Adams and the families of those making claims against UK special forces, on which matters will the Attorney General recuse himself from advising ministers owing to clear conflicts of interests?
“And if he is not able to fulfil the full scope of his role owing to his prior career, is his position even tenable?”
Rigby replied: “I am afraid I couldn’t be more clear. I have already said that where the Attorney General has conflicts he will recuse himself.”
Today’s row came after the Tories secured an urgent question in the House of Commons.
Attorney General Richard Hermer and Leader of the House of Lords Baroness Smith leave 10 Downing StreetPALord Hermer came under fire last week after it was revealed that Labour’s will repeal a law that blocked Adams from claiming compensation for his detention.
The Attorney General represented Mr Adams in a separate case where the former Sinn Fein president was being sued by the victims of three IRA bomb attacks.
However, Hermer insisted his work with Adams was unconnected to the legislation.
Rigby said: “It is a central and well understood aspect of the British legal system… that barristers are required to accept instructions if they are available and qualified to do so.”
She added: “She will also be very aware that put simply barristers are not their clients.
“As the Bar Council states, barristers do not choose their clients, nor do they associate themselves with their clients’ opinions or behaviour by virtue of representing them.”
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