Downing Street said allied militaries will meet next week to “accelerate the pace and scale” of peacekeeping plans.
Friday 21 March 2025 14:12, UK
By Faith Ridler and Alexandra Rogers, political reporters
The Labour government has unveiled a raft of plans for changes to the UK’s welfare system, which it says will save the UK a total of £5bn.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall detailed the government’s planned reforms to the welfare and benefits system in the House of Commons.
She made clear Labour’s motivation, pointing to the sheer cost of long-term sickness and disability benefits for working-age people, which has risen by £20bn since the pandemic and is forecast to hit £70bn over the next five years.
Below, Sky News looks at all the changes Labour plan to make to the welfare system.
By Faye Brown, political reporter
Ed Miliband said he is “not anticipating” cuts to GB Energy ahead of the chancellor announcing the biggest spending squeeze on Whitehall in years.
The energy secretary told Sky News Breakfast with Anna Jones that his department got the largest funding settlement in the October budget because Rachel Reeves knows clean power “is the root to grow our economy”.
He also accused Tory leader Kemi Badenoch of starting a “culture war on climate” with her recent claim that reaching net zero by 2050 is “impossible” without a decline in living standards.
“She’s completely wrong and I think she’s way out of step with the British people,” said Mr Miliband.
“I don’t think the British people want a culture war on climate, which I think is what she wants.”
Ms Badenoch’s comment creates a big dividing line with Labour, who made setting up a state-owned clean energy company, GB Energy, a flagship promise in their manifesto.
In recent weeks, there have been several meetings of the coalition of the willing as European powers look to step up their support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
These have mainly been among politicians.
However, next week, military leaders from European nations will meet at Northwood in North West London to discuss the more operational aspects of what support for Kyiv would look like.
A Number 10 spokesman said: “We’ve moved into an operational phase now and what that means is … bringing together military planners to look at the potential design of force structures, interoperability and what capability is needed to ensure a sovereign Ukraine is able to defend itself for generations to come.
“That includes looking at everything from aircraft, tanks, troops and intelligence capabilities, and how we can best put them to use to support Ukraine.
“This delivers on the prime minister’s plan to support Ukraine by ramping up delivery of weapons and equipment, boosting Ukraine’s defensive capabilities in the long-term, working with allies to develop robust security assurances and keeping up the pressure on President Putin.
“Next week, we’ll continue to accelerate the pace and scale of operational planning with further meetings at our Northwood headquarters as we look forward more closely at the details and structure of any future force.”
Nothing off the table
There had been reports that the prime minister had watered down his commitment to putting British troops in Ukraine as a peacekeeping force.
But Downing Street denied this.
A spokesperson said: “Nothing is off the table on any of these fronts, so I wouldn’t start ruling anything out, but clearly thousands of troops will be required to support any deployment, whether that is at sea, on land or in the air.”
More than 5,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year.
This comes after 341 migrants made the journey in six vessels yesterday.
The 5,000 person milestone has been passed at its earliest point in the year since data was first reported.
Last year, it took until 31 March for 5,000 people to cross the Channel in small boats.
The cumulative number of arrivals so far in 2025, 5,025, is 24% higher than at this stage in 2024, when the figure stood at 4,043, and 36% higher than at this point in 2023 (3,683).
We’ve finally heard from Sir Keir Starmer on the situation at Heathrow.
The UK’s busiest airport is completely shut today due to a fire at a substation.
Posting on social media, the prime minister said: “I know the situation in Heathrow is causing distress and disruption, especially for those travelling or without power in their homes.
“I’m receiving regular updates and I’m in close contact with partners on the ground.
“Thanks to our emergency workers for keeping people safe.”
By Faye Brown, political reporter
A back-up generator that could have kept Heathrow open was also affected by the fire that shut down the airport, Ed Miliband has revealed.
The energy secretary told Sky News Breakfast with Anna Jones that it is “too early” to know what caused the blaze at a nearby electricity substation, which has left Heathrow without power and impacted more than 1,300 flights.
Asked what this says about the safety of our critical infrastructure, Mr Miliband said he didn’t want to “jump to conclusions” but added: “I understand it from the national grid there was a back-up generator, but that was also affected by the fire, which gives a sense of how unusual and unprecedented it was.
“There is a second back-up which they are seeking to use to restore power, so there are back-up mechanisms in place, but given the scale of this fire the back-up mechanisms also seem to have been affected.”
He said that, as with any major incident, “we will want to understand why it happened and what, if any, lessons it has for our infrastructure”.
The row between the left of the Labour Party and the government over how to best manage government finances is rumbling on.
Cuts to departments are expected as the fiscal picture in the UK worsens.
But Treasury minister Darren Jones yesterday denied this was a return to austerity.
He said the government was not “taking an approach to just blindly cutting spending because we think we should just reduce spending”.
He added that Labour’s plan is about modernising public services.
One of these is improving the way the Treasury interacts with government departments, moving away from using physical letters and Excel spreadsheets to a more up-to-date solution.
Sharing an article with Jones’s words in it, Abbott said: “It is one thing for ministers to say stupid things from time to time. But treating the voters as if they are stupid is unacceptable.
“Of course these fierce cuts are a return to austerity.
“Cuts aren’t austerity if you have a spreadsheet, Reeves deputy says.”
By Alix Culbertson, political reporter
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will update the country on her plans for the economy during the spring statement on 26 March.
Having only committed to holding one budget a year (in the autumn), this was meant to be a low-key affair.
But a turbulent economic climate since October means the £9.9bn gap in her fiscal headroom (the amount she could increase spending or cut taxes without breaking her fiscal rules) has been wiped out.
Some big cuts have already been announced – and there may be more to come…
By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter
Government borrowing last month was £15bn more than last year, with the budget deficit higher than economists predicted.
The gap between what the government takes in and what it spends was £10.7bn in February, according to official figures.
The sum is the fourth highest since records began in 1993 and £4.1bn higher than anticipated by economists polled by the Reuters news agency.
This time last year, the government borrowed £117.5bn but the figure soared to £132.2bn during the current financial year, representing a £15bn increase, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.
It’s unwelcome news just days before Chancellor Rachel Reeves gives an update on the health of the British economy in her spring statement.
In response to the figures, chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said: “We’re refocusing the public sector on our missions and, for the first time in 17 years, going through every penny of taxpayer money line by line, to make sure it is helping us secure Britain’s future”.
“At the core of this urgent mission is sound public finances, based on our non-negotiable fiscal rules. This government will never play fast and loose with the public finances.”
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