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Rachel Reeves has warned “more difficult choices” are coming after axing winter fuel payments for many pensioners in a bid to help plug a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.
The chancellor unveiled plans to tackle the projected overspend, including cuts to infrastructure projects and an end of winter fuel payments for people not in receipt of means-tested benefits.
She accused the previous Tory government of “covering up” the truth about the UK economy as she revealed the results of the Treasury spending audit she commissioned during a speech in the Commons on Monday.
Afterwards, Ms Reeves doubled down on accusations that Jeremy Hunt “lied” to the public and to MPs during the election campaign about the state of public finances.
A new Office of Value for Money, a Labour manifesto pledge, will start work immediately to identify and recommend areas where the government can save money in the current financial year, she said.
The office is expected to announce public cuts worth billions to plug the gap in the public finances that could see the cancellation of projects including the road tunnel near Stonehenge and Boris Johnson’s New Hospital programme.
Key Points
- Labour government scraps winter fuel payments for pensioners
- Chancellor warns ‘more difficult choices to come’
- Reeves accuses Hunt of ‘lying’ about the state of public finances
- Jermey Hunt ‘angered’ by Reeves’ £22bn black hole claim
- OBR announces review into Tories’ spring budget forecast
Tory party installs leadership race ‘yellow card’ to stop in-fighting
The Conservative Party has put in place a “yellow card” system to prevent in-fighting during its leadership race, with the six candidates in the running to replace Rishi Sunak being confirmed on Monday.
Mr Sunak resigned in the wake of his party’s poor result at the general election but will stay on as an interim leader until his successor is decided.
Kemi Badenoch, Priti Patel, Robert Jenrick, Mel Stride, Tom Tugendhat and James Cleverly have all received the 10 nominations necessary to enter the race, chair of the 1922 Committee Bob Blackman confirmed.
Tory party installs ‘yellow card’ system to stop in-fighting during leadership race
Kemi Badenoch, Priti Patel, Robert Jenrick, Mel Stride, Tom Tugendhat and James Cleverly have all received the 10 nominations necessary to enter the race
Salma Ouaguira30 July 2024 09:20 1722327196Government announces pay rises for police, prison staff and judiciary
Police chiefs welcomed a pay rise for officers but warned it will “not be without impact” for forces having to absorb some of the costs.
Police officers in England and Wales are in line for a 4.75% pay rise from September.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said officers of all ranks will receive the extra money this year.
In a written statement to Parliament, she said the Government “values the vital contribution of police officers across the country who work tirelessly to keep us safe every single day” as she confirmed it was accepting recommendations from the Police Remuneration Review Body in full.
The Home Office “will provide £175 million additional funding in 2024-25 to forces to help with the cost of the pay increase”, she said, adding: “While the recommendation for a consolidated award of 4.75% is significantly above what had been budgeted for in the 2021 Spending Review, it is right that we accept it in full.
“Police officers have a crucial role to play in delivering the Government’s manifesto commitments to make Britain’s streets safe and increase public visibility through neighbourhood policing.”
Salma Ouaguira30 July 2024 09:13 1722326716VOICES Andrew Grice: There may be trouble ahead, but the Reeves plan might just work
There may be trouble ahead, but the Reeves plan might just work
With her fury-filled Commons statement on public overspending, the chancellor of the Exchequer accused the previous Tory administration of a cover-up – and may also have secured Labour a decade in power, says Andrew Grice
Salma Ouaguira30 July 2024 09:05 1722326416Exclusive: Councils call for long-term funding to build 200,000 social homes as Rayner to overhaul planning rules
Councils should be given five-year pots of funding by central government in new deals to build homes under Labour, the local government body has said.
The Local Government Association, who represent 317 councils in England, are calling on the government to scrap the current system, which sees councils apply to various specific funds, and give regions more freedom to kick-start building projects.
Analysis for the LGA, and shared with The Independent, estimates that new local housing deals could deliver almost 200,000 social homes over the next 30 years even if funding is not increased.
The LGA want money provided for the Housing Infrastructure fund, the Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land fund and the Affordable Homesprogramme among others to be consolidated into one pot. This single pot of money would then be dished out to councils in five-year deals.
Our social affairs correspondent Holly Bancroft has the full story:
Councils call for long-term funding to build 200,000 social homes
Exclusive: The Local Government Association wants longer-term commitment to house building
Salma Ouaguira30 July 2024 09:00 1722326369Hunt ‘disappointed’ that Reeves accused him of ‘lying to the country'
Shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said he is “disappointed” by Rachel Reeves after she accused him of “lying” to the country about the state of public finances.
Reacting to the accusation, he told Sky News: “I think it’s very disappointing that the new government is choosing to do politics this way. I think it actually discredits politics when people call each other liars.
“I thought more highly of Rachel Reeves. I actually praised her on election night as being a committed civil servant. I think she can do better than that.”
Mr Hunt said he is “of course” angry but is “disappointed more than anything else”.
He added the Tories “had good plans to deal with the pressures in public finances based on productivity in the public sector, welfare reform, and the Rwanda scheme”.
But said Labour reversed those plans and chose to spend £9bn on public sector pay rises instead, which contributed to the financial black hole, he claimed.
Mr Hunt said: “If there’s any black hole here, it is because of choices that the new government has made, because we had good plans in place.
“And that’s why I think people will be very disappointed that she’s trying to pull this stunt in claiming there’s a fictitious black hole.”
Reeves warns ‘this is not the end of the difficult decisions’
The chancellor has warned there are “more difficult decisions” to come at the Budget and Spending Reviewing in October.
Ms Reeves said the state of the economy was not “resolved” despite the multibillion saving plan she announced in the Commons yesterday.
She told LBC: “Across the board, difficult decisions had to be made and this is not the end of the difficult decisions.
“It’s not like after yesterday we can now say everything is resolved. I managed to find £5.5bn savings yesterday out of a £22bn black hole.
“There will be more difficult decisions to come at the Budget and the Spending Review.”
Reeves: Affordability not taken into account in last public sector pay review
Rachel Reeves has claimed the previous Tory government did not notify public sector pay review bodies to take into account what was affordable hen making recommendations.
The chancellor claimed the independent bodies were not provided with an “affordability mechanism”.
Ms Reeves told LBC: “The previous government set the remit for the pay review bodies and in quite an extraordinary omission the previous government did not give an affordability mechanism.
“We were not aware of the remit set to those pay review bodies until I became Chancellor three and a half weeks ago. We didn’t know what the recommendations were of the pay review bodies.
“People want to see an NHS that is actually working and functioning again. We have to get our NHS working again and that is what we’re starting to do with accepting the independent pay review bodies’ recommendations yesterday.”
Scottish minister defends Labour’s £22bn black hole claim
Scottish secretary Ian Murray said it was “completely and utterly wrong” to suggest Labour politicians knew cuts were needed before forming a government.
Asked to respond to public finance minister Ivan McKee’s claims, he told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “He is completely and utterly wrong. He is comparing apples with pears. This is a £22 billion in year overspend by the previous government that they hid from the Office for Budget Responsibility, which is the independent body which measures these things.
“Ivan McKee has got this completely wrong. It has got nothing to do with the arguments we had during the election campaign.”
Pressed on the promise of no austerity, he said: “There’s no wholesale cuts here.”
“There’s no austerity here,” he added.
Salma Ouaguira30 July 2024 08:46 1722325276Chancellor: We do need to treat public sector workers with respect
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has defended her government’s decision to grant junior doctors an inflation-busting pay rise.
Ms Reeves told LBC’s Nick Ferrari: “I think it is important to make sure our NHS is functioning again.
“There’s a wider issue, take our Armed Forces where the previous government was missing their recruitment targets year after year and in part because pay in our Armed Forces had not kept up with pay in the private sector.
“We do need to treat public sector workers with respect. The previous government refused to even negotiate with people in our National Health Service.
“This led to the situation we inherited with the NHS on its knees, on its floor, after 14 years of a Conservative government. I am not prepared to put our economic stability at risk.”
It comes as junior doctor strikes could come to an end after the government offered unions a new 22 per cent pay deal, the government announced.
Salma Ouaguira30 July 2024 08:41 1722324916British nationals urged by foreign secretary to leave Lebanon
British nationals have been urged to leave Lebanon and not travel to the country amid mounting tensions in the region.
David Lammy said events were “fast-moving” and Foreign Office staff are working “round the clock” to help ensure the safety of UK citizens.
Fierce diplomatic efforts are being made to prevent the conflict spiralling into regional war after an escalation in fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
The foreign secretary said on Monday: “We are advising British nationals to leave Lebanon and not to travel to the country. This is a fast-moving situation. FCDO staff are working round the clock to help ensure the safety of British nationals.”
In its travel guidance, the Foreign Office warns events in the region could escalate with “little warning” and leave commercial routes out of Lebanon severely disrupted.
“Do not rely on FCDO being able to evacuate you in an emergency,” it adds.“You should have a personal emergency plan that does not rely on the UK government. This may include the ability to leave quickly or to shelter in place if you judge it necessary and safe to do so.”
Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire almost daily over the border since the war in Gaza erupted in October, but tensions have heightened following a strike in the Golan Heights.
Salma Ouaguira30 July 2024 08:35 Newer1 / 10OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
