Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is facing questions from MPs ahead of expected cuts to the welfare budget tomorrow. Ahead of unveiling her reforms, she promises the social security system will be “there for people who need it now and for years to come”. Watch and follow live.
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Mike Amesbury’s decision to stand down will prevent the drawn-out spectacle of constituents recalling him.
MPs can’t technically resign from the Commons, but they can be appointed to the defunct roles of either crown steward and bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds or crown steward and bailiff of the Manor of Northstead by the Treasury.
By holding these roles, they become ineligible to be MPs and so get removed from the Commons.
In last year’s general election, Amesbury came first in Runcorn and Helsby with 22,358 votes – equating to 52.9% of the electorate.
Reform UK came in second with 7,662 votes – 18.1% – and the Tories in third with 6,756 votes – 16%.
Recent betting odds on the seat suggest Reform could win the seat off Labour in what will be the first by-election since Sir Keir Starmer became prime minister last year.
Former Labour MP Mike Amesbury has stood down today after his 10-week jail sentence for punching a constituent was suspended.
He was jailed last month but upon appeal the sentence was suspended for two years, allowing him to walk free from prison.
Amesbury, who has sat as an independent MP since the incident last October, has now left the Commons.
What happened?
The 55-year-old pleaded guilty in January to beating by assault after punching Paul Fellows, 45, in Main Street, Frodsham, Cheshire, in the early hours of 26 October after his constituent asked him about a bridge closure.
He had been set to serve 40% of his sentence – four weeks – in prison followed by a year on licence.
However, his lawyer launched an appeal shortly after he was sentenced, and after the appeal was heard at Chester Crown Court, the judge said his jail time should be suspended.
Disgraced MP Mike Amesbury has confirmed his resignation as an MP.
This triggers a by-election in his Runcorn and Helsby seat.
Former Labour MP Amesbury was convicted of assault after punching a man in the street in his constituency last October, and was handed a suspended sentence.
In a statement on social media, he said he “made a serious mistake” and is “sincerely sorry” to his victim, family, colleagues, and constituents.
Reform finished second in the seat in last year’s general election, ahead of the Conservatives, and Nigel Farage earlier today urged people to vote for his as yet unnamed candidate instead of the Tories.
We’re still not sure when the by-election will take place.
It could coincide with the local elections in May.
Social security and disability minister Stephen Timms has told the Commons that the government will strike a “balance” between support for those who cannot work and helping those who can find a job.
He told MPs: “We will deliver proper employment support for disabled people, which has been taken away since 2010.
“We will deal with the incentives to inactivity, which the current system presents.
“But there will, of course, always be people unable to work through disability or ill health, and we are absolutely committed to fully supporting them too.”
The work and pensions secretary has taken the unusual step of making a brief statement to the House before answering questions from MPs.
She addressed the very large elephant in the room – the controversial cuts to benefits that the government is expected to announce tomorrow.
Liz Kendall told MPs: “There has understandably been lots of speculation about the government’s reforms to social security.
“And I want to assure the House, and most importantly, the public, that we will be coming forward with our proposals imminently to ensure there is trust and fairness in the social security system, and to ensure that it is there for people who need it, now and for years to come.”
All youngsters should be ‘earning or learning’
She then turned to an MP’s questions about helping young people get into employment, saying: “Almost one million young people are not in education, employment, or training.
“That is terrible for their living standards, future job prospects, and for their health.”
Kendall later said she has concerns about the number of young people not in work due to mental health conditions, which has increased by over 25% in the last year alone.
She says that plans will come into effect from April to “make sure that every young person is earning or learning”.
It’s Monday and it’s just after 2.30pm, which only means one thing – time for a cabinet minister to face questions from MPs in the House of Commons.
Today it is the turn of the works and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, who will face a grilling alongside her ministerial team for an hour.
It is all rather timely with her expected to announce cuts to benefits this week – on which we are expecting plenty of questions from MPs.
Watch live in the stream above, at the link below – and we’ll bring you all the key moments right here in the Politics Hub.
Earlier today, Sky News political editor Beth Rigby went to a Reform UK news conference.
At the event, Nigel Farage unveiled 29 councillors that have defected to the party ahead of May’s local elections.
Beth says while the main event of the speech was the announcement of defections, the row between Farage and his party’s suspended MP Rupert Lowe hung over proceedings.
“They’ve dropped a point or two [in the polls], in the wake of this row,” she says.
“And Nigel Farage was really trying to get back on to the front foot, announcing a string of defections of local councillors to Reform.”
Farage wants to show Reform has momentum
They included people from all the main parties (Labour, the Tories, and the Lib Dems), and some independents.
Beth says Farage was keen to show the party has “momentum” before the elections, with party chairman Zia Yusuf stressing they were going to field candidates in all 1,600 seats up for grabs.
“But there is a shadow over Reform and Nigel Farage,” says Beth, who said the party leader was “quite terse” when answering questions from journalists about the row with Lowe.
By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter
Thames Water has staved off effective government ownership after an unsuccessful legal challenge to its financial restructuring.
The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of a £3bn loan intended to temporarily sort out its finances while the company raises more private investment, dismissing an appeal.
The decision backs the High Court judgment of last month and means the UK’s biggest water supplier is unlikely to be taken into special administration – a form of government control – in the coming days.
Without the loan, Thames Water said it would run out of money on 24 March.
The appeal was launched by Lib Dem MP Charlie Maynard and a small group of Thames Water creditors.
Those creditors had objected to the loan as they faced being wiped out completely in the financial restructuring while Mr Maynard thought special administration would better serve customer interests.
The company is now struggling under a £19bn debt pile. It was unable to secure more investment from existing shareholders over the high fines it faced from regulator Ofwat for rule breaches.
Monday’s decision was met with dismay from campaigners and welcomed by Thames Water, which supplies about 25% of the UK population.
We’ve been hearing from the Downing Street spokesperson today in one of their usual briefings to journalists.
They were asked about the coalition of the willing (that’s the prime minister’s attempt at putting an alliance together to help keep the peace in Ukraine) and who would be a part of it.
The spokesperson said: “The prime minister said over the weekend, there’s going to be different capabilities from different countries, but these are now the operational discussions that are ongoing in relation to what the coalition of willing will be able to provide.
“We’re expecting more than 30 countries to be involved.
“Obviously the contribution capabilities will vary, but this will be a significant force, with a significant number of countries providing troops and a larger group contributing in other ways.”
They added that a US security guarantee was still necessary for a successful plan.
Nigel Farage now turns to a row which erupted between Reform UK and one of its now former MPs – Rupert Lowe – earlier this month.
The Reform UK leader says the party had become “increasingly concerned” about the behaviour of one of its members.
He says that when complaints emerged, he decided “let’s just suspend the whip and let’s find out what the truth is”.
“First, we will get the report from the independent King’s counsel, who has been appointed, I don’t know exactly when that is going to be, but some anticipation that it might happen during the course of this week.”
Later on, he says, “we will hear from the relevant parliamentary committee too”.
‘Serious bullying’ allegations
Farage adds: “Has it caused some consternation? Of course, it has. Any argument that’s seen to happen in the family does.
“But I can promise you that in terms of our progress, and our planning, that upset is very much at the edges.”
Earlier in March, party chairman Zia Yusuf and chief whip Lee Anderson MP disclosed accusations that two female workers had complained of “serious bullying” in Lowe’s offices, and said he had been reported to police over allegations he threatened Yusuf with physical violence.
Lowe, who has been suspended by the parliamentary party, denies the claims.
Need a catch-up? Our political correspondent Liz Bates has all you need to know about the row:
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