Starmer to ‘press forward’ with welfare cuts despite rebellion
Keir Starmer said he would “press forward” with welfare cuts despite a looming rebellion from Labour MPs.
Asked whether he would consider pausing his plans in light of the rebellion, he told reporters in the Netherlands: “We were elected to change what is broken in our country.
“The welfare system is broken and that’s why we will press ahead with our reforms.
“It’s very important that we do so, because the current system is not working for anybody.
“People are trapped in it and I’m not prepared to allow that to happen. So, we will press forward with our reforms.”
He added that there was “a clear moral case” for the changes, with 1,000 people per day going onto personal independence payments (Pip).
Key events
Starmer praises US for ‘bringing about a ceasefire in the early hours of today’
Keir Starmer has defended Donald Trump’s actions in the Middle East, saying the US had alleviated a threat to the Iranians’ nuclear weaponry and brought about a ceasefire.
Asked whether he felt safer with the US president in charge, the prime minister told Channel 5 News:
Look, I think what we’ve seen over the last few days is the Americans alleviating a threat to nuclear weaponry by the Iranians and bringing about a ceasefire in the early hours of today.
I think now what needs to happen is that ceasefire needs to be maintained, and that will be the focus of our attention, our engagement, our discussions, because that ceasefire provides the space for the negotiations that need to take place.
It will have to be negotiations … to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon capability and that is very important for safety and security, not just in the region, but more widely.
Trump insisted in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday afternoon that the ceasefire he had brokered between the Middle East foes was “in effect”, after saying earlier that both Israel and Iran had violated the agreement.
Downing Street declined to explicitly rule out offering further concessions when asked on Tuesday what would be done to reassure uneasy backbenchers before a vote scheduled for next week on the welfare bill, PA Media reports.
A Number 10 spokesperson said:
We’ll talk to them over the next week but the government believes this is a good package of reforms.
We hope that colleagues will engage positively over the next few days.
It declined to say whether it was confident that the bill would make its way through parliament when asked by reporters on Tuesday.
The spokesperson said:
We are focused on delivering last week’s bill and engaging, talking to colleagues … as to why this reform is so important.
Foreign secretary David Lammy went on to say that China will play a “vital” role in the UK’s growth.
Earlier in his statement to the Commons, Lammy said the UK will continue to “call out China’s abuses” and “never shy away from shining a spotlight on human rights”.
Regarding the audit on the UK’s relations with China, he said:
The audit reiterated that our approach to China must stay rooted both in international law and deterrence, we will continue to confront China’s dangerous and destabilising activity in the South China Sea.
The audit made clear that our approach will always be guided by the UK’s long-term economic growth priorities. It provided ample evidence of the extent to which our economies are intertwined.
China is our third biggest trading partner, our universities’ second largest source of international students. China will continue to play a vital role in supporting the UK’s secure growth.
But, over the past decade, we have not had the structures either to take the opportunities or protect us from the risks which those deep needs demand.
Government will invest £600m in intelligence services after audit of relations with China, David Lammy tells MPs
Foreign secretary David Lammy said the government will invest £600m in its intelligence services, after an audit of relations with China.
In a statement, he told the Commons:
I can confirm that following the audit we are investing £600 million in our intelligence services. We are updating our state threat legislation following general review. We are strengthening our response to transnational repression.
We’re introducing training for police and launching more online guidance to support victims. We’re launching, as announced in the industrial strategy, a 12-week consultation on updating the definitions covering 17 central areas under the National Security Investment Act.
He added the UK will be working “bilaterally” with China to “enhance intelligence flows”.
The foreign secretary also said the civil service was looking to deepen its cultural understanding of China, including a lack of Mandarin speakers.
He said:
Businesses told us time and again that they have lacked senior political engagement.
We have already begun to develop new structures, regular economic and financial dialogue with the Chancellor setting us on a course to unlock a billion of economic value for the UK economy.
Keir Starmer insisted the UK’s increase in defence spending was not coming at the expense of welfare.
The prime minister told reporters in the Netherlands: “The commitment we’ve made on defence, to go to 2.5% by 27/28, it’s absolutely clear that we’ve set out where the money comes from, and it’s not coming from welfare, it’s coming from the overseas development aid.
“So, it’s a misdescription to suggest that the defence spending commitment we’ve made is at the expense of money on welfare.
“And, obviously, on the welfare front, we’ve made a huge commitment to the money we’re putting in to get people back to work.”
Starmer to ‘press forward’ with welfare cuts despite rebellion
Keir Starmer said he would “press forward” with welfare cuts despite a looming rebellion from Labour MPs.
Asked whether he would consider pausing his plans in light of the rebellion, he told reporters in the Netherlands: “We were elected to change what is broken in our country.
“The welfare system is broken and that’s why we will press ahead with our reforms.
“It’s very important that we do so, because the current system is not working for anybody.
“People are trapped in it and I’m not prepared to allow that to happen. So, we will press forward with our reforms.”
He added that there was “a clear moral case” for the changes, with 1,000 people per day going onto personal independence payments (Pip).
Downing Street has rejected suggestions the welfare bill was “dead on arrival”.
A Number 10 spokesman told reporters: “I don’t accept that. The welfare system the government inherited is failing people … that is why we’re reforming welfare.”
Downing Street has said it recognises “the strength of feeling” about welfare reform.
Asked what the government could do between now and a scheduled vote to reassure backbenchers opposed to the plans, a Number 10 spokesman said: “We recognise the strength of feeling on this issue.
“The government’s clear position is that we have inherited a fundamentally broken system that does not support people, that does not treat them with dignity and respect, and does not support people to work … that is exactly why we are delivering one of the biggest packages of reforms, including scrapping the work capability assessment, rebalancing Universal Credit, investing £1 billion a year in tailored employment support.”
Starmer told Cabinet ministers ‘we will reform welfare’
The Downing Street spokesperson has said that prime minister Keir Starmer told the Cabinet meeting this morning that the government “will reform welfare”.
PA Media reports the spokesperson said:
The prime minister opened Cabinet by setting out that the government has a clear mission to rebuild Britain, fix what is broken and restore hope, and that requires hard, honest choices.
He said nowhere is that clearer than in the welfare system the government inherited. He said the system is currently failing people, trapping millions, telling them the only way to get help is to declare they will never work again, and then abandoning them without hope and opportunity.
The prime minister underlined that the government does not accept that.
We will reform welfare to provide one-to-one support to help people try work safely, protect people with lifelong conditions from endless reassessments and increase the basic level of support for low-income families.
That means the government will always protect those who can’t work, will provide real opportunity for those who can and will build a welfare system that’s fair, strong and there for the people who need it for years to come.
He underlined this is a part of the government’s plan for change to make life better for working people. That includes building new council homes, expanding mental health support, raising the minimum wage, delivering more free school meals and creating good jobs across Britain.
The Work and Pensions Secretary [Lik Kendall] said these reforms are about creating a society rooted in fairness with strong safeguards to protect the most vulnerable. She said there is nothing responsible about denying disabled people who want to work the opportunity and support to do so.
Speaking in parliament, Pat McFadden has outlined the three core elements of the national security strategy. He says:
First, protect security at home, and we will do that by defending our territory, controlling our borders and making the UK a harder target for our enemies, one that is stronger and more resilient to future threats.
Secondly, promote strength abroad. This means bolstering our collective security, renewing and refreshing our key alliances, and developing new partnerships in strategic locations across the world. It also means a clear eyed view of how we engage with major powers like China.
And thirdly, increase our sovereign and asymmetric capabilities, rebuilding our defence industries, training our people, focusing investment on our competitive strengths, and using our exceptional research and innovation base to build up advantages in new frontier technologies.
