Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out increasing national insurance for employers in the budget. Elsewhere, former Tory leaders David Cameron and Boris Johnson have differing accounts of a row over Brexit.
Tuesday 15 October 2024 16:18, UK
Ready for it….? It’s another Politics Hub post about Taylor Swift.
Today has seen the prime minister’s spokesman field more questions about the litany of free tickets given out for the star’s Eras Tour at London’s Wembley Stadium over the summer.
The focus this time was on whether Sir Keir Starmer had got his as a “thank you” for Swift being given a taxpayer-funded police escort through the capital while she was here.
Sir Keir’s spokesman rejected that assertion, though seemed alive to the possibility there was a perception of a conflict of interest.
‘Decision was for police’
It comes after reports in The Sun that the home secretary and London mayor were involved in talks with the Met Police about Swift getting a blue light motorcade, and that her mother Andrea Swift had even had direct discussions with the PM’s then chief of staff Sue Gray.
The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, was among those to enjoy free tickets.
The PM’s spokesman said today “operational decisions are for the Met, that’s the bottom line”.
He “completely rejected” the suggestion the freebie Swift tickets were a thank-you present.
But he didn’t deny the PM had met Swift while she was in town.
Asked repeatedly to do just that, he would only repeat the prior lines about the police escort.
Downing Street cited the terror threat faced by Swift in Vienna, which had forced her to cancel gigs on the Austria leg of her Eras tour, as one of the reasons the government was involved in security talks.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “The Met is operationally independent.
“Our decision-making is based on a thorough assessment of threat, risk, and harm and the circumstances of each case.
“It is our longstanding position that we don’t comment on the specific details of protective security arrangements.”
When the next Conservative leader takes over in November, they will undoubtedly shake up the front bench.
It seems like one current member – Oliver Dowden – will not be there.
A long-time ally of Rishi Sunak, he served as deputy prime minister under the last administration and is now both shadow deputy prime minister and shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
But asked in a debate about hereditary peers in the Commons if he was auditioning for the next shadow cabinet, Mr Dowden said the opposite.
He said: “I doubt I have much chance of joining the next shadow cabinet.
“This is my swansong rather than my audition, I think.”
As well as Mr Sunak, Mr Dowden was also previously close to Robert Jenrick – with the three men authoring an article in The Times in 2019 calling for Boris Johnson to become prime minister.
The foreign secretary has announced sanctions against three outposts and four organisations involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Tirzah Valley Farm Outpost, Meitarim Outpost, and Shuvi Eretz Outpost, plus the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva, Hashomer Yosh, Torat Lechima, and Amana groups, have all supported and perpetrated “heinous abuses of human rights” against Palestinian communities in the occupied territory.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said they have “even targeted schools and families with young children”.
He said “inaction” by the Israeli government had allowed violence to flourish unchecked.
“The Israeli government must crack down on settler violence and stop settler expansion on Palestinian land,” he added.
“As long as violent extremists remain unaccountable, the UK and the international community will continue to act.”
It comes after the government warned Israel about its conduct in Lebanon and Gaza – read more on that here.
Sir Keir Starmer chaired a cabinet meeting this morning, and we’ve just had details from Downing Street about what was discussed.
The budget – coming on 30 October – was among the topics of discussion, and the prime minister rolled out his greatest hits on that front.
“Tough decisions” are coming, he told his top team.
But they will allow the government to “invest in the future”.
Sir Keir reiterated his focus on economic growth to push Britain out of a “low-growth, high-tax doom loop it has been stuck in”.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves also spoke, and again pointed to the £22bn “black hole” left in the public finances by the Tories.
She is weighing up a number of measures for the budget – and today the prime minister has refused to deny Ms Reeves could raise national insurance for employers.
A teacher turned Labour MP will be introducing a bill to parliament next week that would make all schools in England free of smartphones.
Josh MacAlister’s bill is designed to protect children from excessive screen time, but the prime minister’s spokesman has indicated the government won’t support it.
“Headteachers already have the power to ban phones in school, and many have chosen to exercise this right,” they said.
“So we don’t have plans to legislate in that particular area.”
Current guidance intended to stop children from excessive use of their phones was introduced by the previous Tory government.
But it’s just that – guidance. Mr MacAlister’s bill would raise the bar, ensuring all schools must follow it by law.
He has compared the bill to a “seatbelt”, saying: “The evidence is mounting that children doom-scrolling for hours a day is causing widespread harm.
“We need the equivalent of the ‘seatbelt’ legislation for social media use for children.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has previously indicated support for the idea, describing the upcoming debate on the bill as “really timely”.
A minister has warned it will take time for the government to address issues with NHS dentistry – notably among children.
Health minister Stephen Kinnock told the House of Commons said there was urgent need to reform services, focusing on prevention of issues like tooth decay, and retaining dentists.
There are 13 million people with unmet needs for NHS dentistry, he said, and most disturbingly of all is the number of young children requiring hospital treatment for tooth decay.
Figures for England show 19,381 children aged five to nine were admitted for tooth decay in 2023/24.
Mr Kinnock said it was “completely and utterly shocking”.
“Truly Dickensian,” he added.
“We cannot fix this overnight. Therefore, we’re committed to reforming the dental contract, working with the British Dental Association to focus on prevention and retention of NHS dentists.
“We’re also working at pace to ensure patients can access 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments.”
The loss of the winter fuel payment for millions of pensioners is arguably the most controversial policy decision the government has made since coming to office in July.
But an assertion repeated by ministers is that thanks to the triple lock, which Labour are maintaining, pensioners will be better off regardless.
What is the triple lock?
Under the so-called triple-lock guarantee, the state pension increases every April in line with whichever is the highest of these metrics:
With inflation running at more subdued levels, it is expected wages will determine next year’s state pension increase.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures released on 15 October found total pay had increased by 4.1% annually.
What does that mean for pensioners?
It means the new state pension, for people who reached state pension age after April 2016, could rise from £221.20 per week in 2024/25 to £230.30 in 2025/26.
The old basic state pension could increase from £169.50 per week currently to £176.45 next year.
Of course, there’s still time for this to change, depending on upcoming inflation figures.
What is the history of the policy?
The measure was introduced by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government after they took office in 2010.
At the time, pensioner poverty was a big problem for the UK.
The then-chancellor, George Osborne, said bringing in the policy would see pensioners “have the income to live with dignity in retirement”.
Since then, it has been a staple of every Conservative manifesto and Labour vowed they’d keep it too.
The only time it has been paused since its inception was in September 2021 due to COVID.
Government minister Anneliese Dodds has been answering an urgent question about the situation in the Middle East.
It comes amid Israel’s continued military bombardments in Gaza and Lebanon, despite repeated calls from Western allies for a ceasefire.
Ms Dodds said the situation risked “spiralling further out of control and into wider regional war, which is in no one’s interest”.
She reiterates the government’s support for Israel’s right to defend itself from threats like Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas, and notes sanctions have been recently expanded in response to the former’s destabilising role.
But she expresses concern about reports of Israel’s conduct.
‘The message is clear’
On Lebanon, she says: “We were gravely concerned to hear five UN peacekeepers have been injured by the Israeli Defence Forces.
“We reiterate that attacks on UN peacekeepers and UN members of staff are unacceptable.”
On Gaza, Ms Dodds says the government is “gravely concerned” by how little aid is being allowed to enter, as the population faces the risk of famine and endures little access to basic services.
“The message from this government is clear: Israel could and must do more to ensure that aid reaches civilians in Gaza,” she adds.
“It is unacceptable to restrict aid.”
The prime minister’s spokesman says he “can’t get into any commentary around future sanctions designations” when asked about two far-right Israeli ministers.
It comes after former foreign secretary Lord Cameron said he was planning to sanction finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir before the Tories left office.
He told the BBC he had been “working up” sanctions as a way of putting “pressure on Netanyahu” to act within international law (read more).
Responding, Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said: “As you would appreciate, I can’t get into any commentary around future sanctions designations.
“As you know, the UK has already sanctioned a number of people responsible for settler violence in the West Bank, and we will obviously continue to take action to challenge those who undermine a two-state solution.”
The introduction of voter ID laws by the previous government became a source of significant controversy before and during the election in which they were defeated.
The new Labour government is now carrying out a general review of the policy, which has prompted widespread criticism.
Indeed, just last month, the Electoral Commission said it “discouraged some people” from casting their ballot.
While the review of the policy has yet to yield any conclusions, ministers have now announced that veterans’ ID cards will be a valid form of identification for upcoming elections.
Forms of ID deemed acceptable currently include passports, driving licences, Proof of Age Standards Scheme (Pass) cards, Blue Badges and some concessionary travel cards.
But in May’s local elections, some veterans were dismayed that their ex-forces ID cards were not included in the list of acceptable forms of identification, which led to an apology from then-veterans minister Johnny Mercer.
‘No veteran should be turned away’
The government today brought forward changes to the law in parliament via a statutory instrument, which will add the veterans’ card to the list of acceptable ID.
Alex Norris, a communities minister with responsibility for elections, said: “No veteran should be turned away from the polling station while trying to use their veteran card as voter ID.
“They are an incredible community who have dedicated their lives to this country, and it is wrong that the exclusion of this card has been a barrier to their ability to vote.”
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