The prime minister will promise to slash the cost of regulation when he sets out his plan to reshape the state to cope with an “era of instability” later on Thursday. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has told Sky News the move will “almost certainly” mean government job losses.
Thursday 13 March 2025 08:45, UK
A requirement for a High Court judge to approve assisted dying applications has been scrapped by MPs.
On Wednesday, a committee scrutinising the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill voted to remove a clause which had been hailed as the reason the proposed legislation for England and Wales would be the strictest in the world.
Campaigners opposed to a change in the law said the High Court safeguard was being “ditched in favour of unworkable panels”.
When introduced to parliament last year, the bill proposed terminally ill adults in the two nations with less than six months to live should be legally allowed to end their lives, subject to approval by two doctors and a High Court judge.
But MPs on the scrutiny committee voted 15 to seven in favour of removing the court-approval clause.
Kim Leadbeater, the MP behind the bill, has proposed to instead establish a voluntary assisted dying commissioner – a judge or former judge – and expert panels featuring a senior legal figure, a psychiatrist and a social worker who would decide on assisted dying applications.
These amendments will be voted on at a later stage – possibly later this month – as parliamentary procedure dictates that new clauses are only voted on after amendments to all existing clauses have been considered.
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 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.
By Tim Baker, political reporter
Any court showdown between Apple and the Home Office over customer data must be held in public, MPs have demanded.
It comes after thetech giant announced last month that it would no longer offer UK customers its most advanced, end-to-end security encryption feature for cloud data storage following a row with the government.
The dispute was sparked when ministers reportedly decided to issue Apple with a Technical Capability Notice (TCN) demanding the right to see the user data.
Legally, neither of the parties can publicly confirm the existence of the order.
However, ComputerWeekly and others have reported that Apple has launched an appeal against the TCN, with an initial hearing set to be heard on Friday before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal at the High Court in London.
A court listing document shows a behind-closed-doors application is due to be held before Lord Justice Singh and Mr Justice Johnson.
Veteran Tory MP and civil rights campaigner Sir David Davis told Sky News: “If the Home Office wants to have effectively unfettered access to the private data of the (innocent) general public, they should explain their case in front of the public.”
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Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy have their guide to the day ahead in British politics.
It’s crunch time for Keir Starmer’s government.
With rumours of a cabinet reshuffle rife – when might it take place? And who’s on the chopping block?
This at a time when a rebellion over planned cuts to the welfare budget is brewing. Sam and Anne also explain how the subject of civil service reform is in fact very interesting – Keir Starmer will want to take note.
Today he’ll apparently be announcing changes to defence spending, AI, and radical reform of the state.
WhatsApp on 07511 867 633 or email us: jackandsam@sky.uk
Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has said it is “almost certain” that the civil service headcount “will go down” as the government moves towards digital.
Speaking to Sky News Breakfast, the minister pointed to cost saving measures, which he says could easily be implemented with this transition.
But Wilfred Frost asked how many government employees would lose their jobs.
“We’re not going to set an artificial headcount,” Kyle says.
But, when pressed, he adds: “It is almost certain that the headcount will go down.
“But it’s not going to be an arbitrary overall figure.”
Kyle adds that he doesn’t think disruption “always has to be negative”.
“I think it can be a positive and highly rewarding experience.
“And yes that will mean a leaner, smaller state over time, but it will also mean transforming relationships that people have with their government and their public services.”
A fierce row has emerged in Reform UK in the last week, between the party’s leader Nigel Farage and a now-suspended member, Rupert Lowe.
Lowe has been accused of making threats of physical violence towards the party’s chairman, Zia Yusuf – which he strongly denies.
A statement from Yusuf and Lee Anderson, the chief whip, also said the party had received complaints from two female employees about alleged serious bullying in Lowe’s offices.
Lowe, the Reform MP for Great Yarmouth, lost the party whip over the weekend, meaning he will now sit as an independent MP in the Commons.
But today, he has appealed to Farage once again in a public letter published on social media, asking him to stop a “wicked assault on my character and reputation”.
Lowe adds: “I once considered you a friend. I no longer do, but there remains a better way to resolve this.”
The former Reform MP suggests that a so-called “witch hunt” began after he “raised reasonable concerns about Reform policy, communication and structure”.
“What did you think it would look like? Did you honestly think it would appear reasonable?
“Your real motive was to remove me because I dared to ask questions, and I know you know that.”
You can read Lowe’s letter in full here:
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood will today hold talks with the Sentencing Council after it rejected her remand to change controversial guidance to judges.
The new guidance, which comes into force from April, asks judges to consider a criminal’s ethnicity before deciding their punishment.
Mahmood previously wrote to the independent body to make clear her “displeasure” and call for the changes to be reconsidered.
The Sentencing Council published new principles for courts to follow when imposing community and custodial sentences, including whether to suspend jail time, last week.
The updated guidance says a pre-sentence report would usually be necessary before handing out punishment for someone of an ethnic, cultural or faith minority, alongside other groups such as young adults aged 18 to 25, women and pregnant women.
The body’s chairman, Lord Justice William Davis, warned Mahmood that the Sentencing Council preserves the “critical” position of the independent judiciary in relation to sentencing.
Mahmood will meet the Sentencing Council today as she continues to press for changes to the guidance.
The prime minister will promise to slash the cost of regulation when he sets out his plan to reshape the state to cope with an “era of instability” later on Thursday.
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to argue that global uncertainty means the government must “go further and faster in reshaping the state to make it work for working people”.
Starmer will vow to cut the cost of regulation for businesses by 25%, while promising to create “an active government that takes care of the big questions, so people can get on with their lives”.
He will say: “The need for greater urgency now could not be any clearer. We must move further and faster on security and renewal.
“Every pound spent, every regulation, every decision must deliver for working people.”
The PM will also take aim at a “cottage industry of checkers and blockers slowing down delivery for working people”, continuing his criticism of regulation in the UK.
Also today, Starmer is expected to expand on his plans to overhaul the Civil Service, reducing its size and doubling the proportion of officials working in digital and data roles in an effort to save taxpayers up to £45bn.
He will set out proposals to recruit 2,000 tech apprentices to boost the take-up of AI on Whitehall.
The prime minister told the Telegraph that the changes will “make sure our civil servants are equipped for the challenges of the modern era”.
Good morning!
Welcome back to the Politics Hub on Thursday, 13 March.
There’s a busy day ahead in Westminster, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer due to deliver a speech promising to overhaul the Civil Service – and slash the cost of regulation.
Starmer will set out his plan reshape the state to cope with an “era of instability”, promising to cut the cost of regulation for businesses by 25%.
He is expected to argue that global uncertainty means the government must “go further and faster in reshaping the state to make it work for working people”.
Meanwhile, more MPs will head to Downing Street today for briefings about controversial welfare changes ministers are preparing to announce.
All 404 Labour MPs have been invited to No 10, though some have argued the party should make “different political choices” to the Tories and impose a wealth tax to raise money.
Also today, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood will meet with the Sentencing Council in the wake of a row over new guidelines introduced last week.
They recommend taking a criminal’s ethnic, cultural or minority background into account when handing down a sentence.
Mahmood has been critical of the guidance, and has asked the Sentencing Council to rescind it.
We’ll be discussing all of that and more with…
Science Secretary Peter Kyle at 7.15am
Shadow Treasury minister Gareth Davies at 8.15am
Follow along for the very latest political news.
That’s all from the Politics Hub today
Join us again in the morning for another busy day in Westminster.
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