During PMQs, Keir Starmer promised to “keep all options on the table” after the UK was hit by Trump tariffs on steel. The tariffs came into effect at 4am GMT, and raise a flat duty on steel and aluminium entering America to 25%.
Wednesday 12 March 2025 22:30, UK
That’s all from the Politics Hub today
Join us again in the morning for another busy day in Westminster.
By Alix Culbertson and Ben Bloch, political reporters
Labour MPs are speaking out publicly against the government’s impending cuts to benefits, arguing the party should make “different political choices” to the Tories and impose a wealth tax to raise money.
Ministers have been priming their MPs and the public for cuts to a ballooning welfare bill since the start of the year, but with a formal announcement expected in the spring statement on 26 March, Labour politicians are starting to make their opposition known.
It comes as all 404 Labour MPs have been called to Downing Street to attend a “welfare roundtable” to discuss the expected cuts in a bid to win over concerned MPs.
The discussions, taking place on Wednesday and Thursday, are being hosted by Number 10’s policy unit.
Richard Burgon MP raised his concerns during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, telling the House disabled people in his constituency were “frightened”.
“They’re again hearing politicians use the language of tough choices, and they know, from bitter experience, when politicians talk about tough choices it means the easy option of making the poor and vulnerable pay.”
Donald Trump’s approach: making America great again – by pushing up the price of goods and materials from overseas – and getting punters and businesses to buy American instead, deputy political editor Sam Coates writes.
That, at least, is one of the motivations behind his decision to weaponise tariffs, with a trade war now enveloping the UK as well.
From 4am on Wednesday, a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports from anywhere outside the US is being imposed.
A president protecting the Rustbelt. Or is it?
What makes Mr Trump’s approach to tariffs so unusual is he is open – more open than any US president I can remember – that it’s also about the politics.
Tariffs are his negotiating tactic of choice. His most beautiful word. They get lowered if you do deals with him. They get raised if you anger him, like Canada did. Remember that when thinking about the role of the EU over Ukraine days after their retaliation.
Sky News chief political correspondent Jon Craig is quick off the mark to give his analysis of Jonathan Reynolds’ apology.
Jon says the Reynolds has been “pilloried” in recent weeks over the matter.
Reading out the original speech in from 2014, Jon quotes what Reynolds said.
“‘Before the last election, I worked as a solicitor in Manchester city centre’ – well, no he didn’t!” Jon says, “he was a trainee solicitor.”
Jon points out that the announcement was made after a vote when many MPs had left the chamber.
“How sneaky is that?” he says.
Unsurprisingly, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick has been quick to jump on the back of the apology.
He tells Sky News: “Jonathan Reynolds has finally admitted he lied in Parliament about being a solicitor.
“He should apologise for the many other instances, spanning well over a decade, where he deliberately lied about his qualifications.
“As a former Director of Public Prosecutions, Starmer knows Reynolds broke the law. Unless Starmer sacks him, it’ll be another cases of two-tier justice under Two-Tier Keir.”
Reynolds is also being investigated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, as claiming to be a solicitor when you aren’t one breaks the law.
An updated from the SRA is not expected to be coming soon.
Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, has come under criticism for claiming to be a solicitor, when he never qualified and was only a trainee.
He has just apologised in the Commons for doing so, including in a speech in the chamber more than a decade ago.
Reynolds says this was an “inadvertent” error, and he wishes to correct the record.
He adds that he should have made clear that he was a trainee solicitor at the time of the anecdote.
The Speaker accepts the apology from the minister.
In his conversation with Sophy, Labour MP and Business and Trade Committee chair Liam Byrne confirms that his party’s increase to Employer National Insurance contributions has led to hiring freezes.
He says: “I don’t think it’s led to job cuts, but it’s definitely led to a number of businesses thinking twice about the investment plans they’re making for this year and the employment plans that they’re making for this year.”
Asked if he means future jobs, Byrne replies in the affirmative.
He adds that businesses are waiting to make further plans until they see Labour’s industrial strategy.
The MP says that many businesses, unions and consumer groups are in lockstep about what could be done to improve growth in the UK – including procuring more stuff in Britain.
Sophy asks what the goverment should do to raise funds, and Byrne suggests capital gains tax should be higher to bring it in line with income tax – using Rishi Sunak’s earnings as an example.
Liam Byrne, Labour MP and chair of the Business and Trade Select Committee, is speaking to Sophy tonight.
It comes in the wake of the announcement that the US would be imposing tariffs on UK steel early this morning.
Byrne seems to have confidence in his party’s leadership – saying the UK has “definitely got a game plan” to respond.
And he cautions that the UK should not “shoot from the hip” on the policy area.
The committee chair says the UK has a “unique possibility” to get a trade deal with America, compared to the EU.
Sophy asks whether the UK should want a trade deal – especially on food – with the US.
Byrne says it depends on how the deal will look.
An agreement on steel, technology, AI and similar sectors would be really good as they’re where the UK is strong, he says.
But on food, the MP suggests that the UK shouldn’t do a deal there, not least because the UK needs to “start looking after our farmers” – perhaps a warning after last night’s decision to pause subisidies.
Byrne warns against retaliatory tariffs, saying it “risks undermining that bigger prize” of a deal”.
Today saw Taoiseach Micheal Martin in the White House with Donald Trump.
Sky News US correspondent Mark Stone was watching, as he has been for a lot of these moments.
He says it looks like leaders have figured out how to deal with the president.
Mark says the “disastrous” meetings with Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine and King Abdullah of Jordan have shown another way.
He says Martin let Trump speak, and then “gently” corrected the president.
The Irish leader did this “calmly” and “with respect”, but put forwards his country’s view and that of the EU.
He pointed out, for example, that Martin pointed out the amount of money Ryanair spent on Boeing jets.
“Watching Donald Trump’s body language, when these moments come up, when he is corrected on stuff, he either sort of looks surprised, like he didn’t know that this was the case, or he looks like he doesn’t really care,” Mark says.
Our flagship weeknight politics programme is under way.
Watch in the link below or at the top of the page.
On tonight’s episode of the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge, the chair of the Commons Business and Trade Committee Liam Byrne will be discussing tariffs and the UK’s nascent trade war with Donald Trump.
And throughout the show, we’ll be hearing from Sophie’s panel of former Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, and broadcaster Nick Ferrari.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
