Labour minister Liz Kendall announces review of state pension age
It comes in a major speech where the senior cabinet minister warned that the cost of the triple lock guarantee on the state pension is £31bn a year.
The triple lock, which was introduced by David Cameron's government in 2010, means that the state pension either rises by 2.5 per cent or the highest rate of inflation whichever is higher to keep up with the cost of living.
Speaking in central London this morning where she was relaunching the Pensions Commission, Ms Kendall warned of a growing threat of pensioner poverty unless there was major reform to the system.
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Telegraph
a minute ago
- Telegraph
I was CO of the SAS. Here are four words our Special Forces need to hear from the PM
With war in Europe and new threats to this country around every corner, from autocratic tyrants like Putin, jihadists and deranged activists, we should be supporting and encouraging those who keep us safe not seeking new legal ways to artificially transform their past acts of military necessity into alleged human rights violations. The US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth spoke recently at the US Special Operations Forces (SOF) week outlining his nation's rock-solid support and admiration for those conducting complex counter-terrorist operations alongside their many allies, including the UK. For emphasis, and in recognition of the new threat of state-sponsored 'lawfare' against these guardians of our collective security, he passed on a personal note to their commander from President Trump which simply stated: 'I have your back'. This is exactly the unequivocal message our protectors need to hear as they advance towards a suspected suicide-capable terrorist hiding within a civilian population, without the blessing of perfect intelligence, time and resources. Contrast this to the way that our own leaders – political and military – stand silent as our own Special Forces are pursued by a toxic combination of creative journalists and lawyers, each keen to prove that historical state-directed operations in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan were done in ways that should now be presented to the Crown Prosecution Service. This in many cases not due to any new evidence, incidentally – that would be reasonable – but simply because of a crafty interpretation of international laws created far from our sovereign legislature and sponsored by those that have no respect for either the realities of close quarter combat, or our need to defend ourselves. To the general dismay of potential volunteers to our armed forces and of our American allies, our public or parliamentary debate seems to dismiss the blood-stained experience of veterans as unreasonable or even fanciful. Self-effacing descriptions of the realities of combat are dismissed as mere cartoon stories and trumped by the creative opinions of human rights lawyers who seem to value the lives of our enemies ahead of those of our soldiers sent to defeat them. Energetic, combative and very well paid, these legal professionals demonstrate great skill at retrospectively transforming descriptions of close quarter combat into revisionist suggestions of human rights violations and even war crimes. No wonder recruiting numbers are falling or that our soldiers start to hesitate, fearing the long-term legal consequences of taking decisive action in a combat situation. To the many practitioners within the vital transatlantic counter-terrorism alliance it appears that the UK's application of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to the British way of war is starting to critically restrict its ability to stop terrorists and other bad actors from attacking our citizens or those of our allies. Can these staunch allies of ours still rely on the UK to deal with these common threats or are we becoming that type of fearful partner that simply prefers others to do the dirty work? To them, have we become nothing but a soft, compromised underbelly to be watched rather than the respected, self-sufficient bastion of old; a vulnerability rather than a strongpoint? Have we become a risky partner in sensitive operations, whose participation in joint operations carries the risk of inviting follow-on lawfare back into the courtrooms of our allies, even the USA? Such are the whispered and worried questions being asked in the global targeting rooms when considering UK potential contributions to today's fight. In the confusing and murky world of counter-terrorism where threats fade in and out of view in an instant, hesitation always leads to failure and death. This is a brutal reality known to both enemies and allies alike; exploited by the former, feared by the latter. There are never any second chances, and this is no place for unreliable, indecisive or gun-shy allies. Recognising this, let us hope that our own national leaders can offer the same reassuring support to our forces as shown by the US President in that simple but powerful promise to his team: 'I have your back'. For without it, they risk allowing the effect of this escalating lawfare to weaken the hand and confidence of our very special guardians just when we need them the most.
The Guardian
4 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Beware the blizzard of lies: US advice on how to handle Farage's Trump tactics
Truth, the progressive California politician Hiram Johnson once said, is the first casualty of war. Johnson's oft-cited remark was supposedly made in 1918 in reference to the first world war, which had by then caused millions of human casualties. More than a century later, truth is once again caught in the crossfire, this time as a casualty of 21st-century culture wars. If Donald Trump is the high priest of disinformation, then Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform, is showing signs of being a willing disciple, if his behaviour in the UK this week is anything to go by. Farage has proposed sending prisoners abroad – including to El Salvador, where the Trump administration has sent hundreds of deportees and suggested sending US citizens. He also suggested an extensive police recruitment drive and prison-building programme all while cutting health and education spending. In the US, the parroting of Trump's policies by a UK populist has not gone unnoticed. And for those who have studied the president's modus operandi – there is one particular tactic the British public should be braced for: the blizzard of lies and false statements that frequently overwhelms his opponents. The Trump experience, they say, contains sobering lessons for critics of Farage. US pro-democracy campaigners warn that Trump has become even harder to factcheck since his first term, thanks to a combination of factors including looser social media content moderation and a reluctance among some media owners to stand up to his intimidation tactics. The Washington Post, which tracked more than 30,000 lies or misleading statements from Trump during his presidency, lost subscribers and public trust after its billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos, reportedly vetoed an editorial endorsing the Democratic nominee Kamala Harris for president. 'It's become more difficult because there's less commitment from those who are in the best position to do the factchecking,' said Omar Noureldin, a senior vice-president for Common Cause, a non-partisan group. 'Seeking the truth here comes with costs and risks.' Complicating matters is the loss of trust in institutions, with many consumers relying on social media platforms for news. 'Even the best factchecking can be unpersuasive, because we're not just facing an information crisis here, but also a trust crisis in the American information ecosystem,' Noureldin said. Media watchers say the political environment has become so deeply polarised that factchecking can even have the counter-productive effect of further entrenching misplaced beliefs. 'From a lot of research, we're reaching the conclusion that factchecking hasn't been as effective as one would want,' said Julie Millican, the vice-president of Media Matters for America, a media watchdog. 'One reason is that information and disinformation spreads faster than you can check it. It takes a lot longer to factcheck something than it does for it go viral. 'But the other thing is factchecking can backfire. People so distrust institutions that factchecking can validate the misinformation in their minds and make them more inclined to believe the lie they believed in the first place.' A 2022 report from Protect Democracy suggested this was the result of a deliberate strategy of authoritarian regimes. 'Disinformation is spread through coordinated networks, channels and ecosystems, including politically aligned or state-owned media,' the report said. 'The goal is not always to sell a lie, but instead to undermine the notion that anything in particular is true.' Further compounding the problem in the US has been Trump's appointments of allies to key government agencies that have traditionally served as sources of accurate and reliable data for factcheckers. A case in point is Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has engaged in anti-vaccine theories, Trump's pick for health and human services secretary, putting him in charge of the country's vast health bureaucracy. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'Factchecking wasn't working very well in the first place, but now you can't even get access to the facts that you need be able to factcheck as well as you used to,' said Millican. The outlook seems bleak. Yet that does not make the problems insurmountable, campaigners insist. One answer is to invest in independent, non-partisan research. A prime purpose would be to increase media literacy among young people, who primarily get news from platforms such as TikTok which can be subject to disinformation tools such as AI-manipulated videos. The aim is to teach consumers how to spot doctored footage. 'Media literacy is extremely important and something that should be invested in and taught at a young age,' said Millican. Another solution is the development of 'pre-buttal' strategies to inoculate the public against disinformation, in effect getting the truth out first. Media Matters for America and Common Cause used this approach during last year's presidential election, partly by producing videos designed to counter anticipated false narratives surrounding voting procedures in certain areas. Also important, said Shalini Agarwal, special counsel at Protect Democracy, is calling out the demonisation of vulnerable groups, such as immigrants, as soon as it happens. A crucial role is played by media, even as Trump intensifies his assault on journalists as 'fake news' and tries to exclude certain established outlets from press briefings. 'It's really important when there are opportunities for one-on-one briefings and there are multiple reporters,' Agarwal said. 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Telegraph
4 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Man Utd tour diary: Ratcliffe seeks funding for £2bn stadium and players trialling cooling jackets
Manchester United have been busy exploring potential investment opportunities in the US for their new £2bn stadium project. United want to knock down Old Trafford and build a new 100,000 capacity stadium on surrounding land that co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe hopes will become a landmark to rival the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Ratcliffe is hoping to drum up private investment in the ambitious plan and executives from the club attended a sports investment conference in New York on Friday afternoon. A variety of Wall Street investment banks, pension funds and other US investors in infrastructure were at the Rockefeller Plaza to hear Lord Coe and United chief operating officer Collette Roche spell out the club's vision for a new world leading stadium as the centrepiece of one the UK's biggest ever regeneration projects. Coe, who headed up the Old Trafford regeneration taskforce at Ratcliffe's request and is now chair-designate of the newly established Mayoral Development Corporation for the project, gave a short address at the conference hosted by the British Consulate-General in New York. Roche was a guest speaker during a 40 minute discussion dubbed 'Beyond the Stadium: Placemaking & the Power of Sport in Urban Regeneration' that also involved Everton chief executive Angus Kinnear. Everton have just moved into a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock. The Placemaking: Investing in Sports Real Estate in the UK conference also featured addresses from Stacy Sonnenberg, head of global sports finance at Goldman Sachs, David J. Adelman, a partner at Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and executive vice president and COO of Delaware North Amy Latimer, and opportunities to network. United have drawn inspiration from a number of major US sporting project, including the SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park development in Los Angeles and the Chicago Bears NFL outfit's Burnham Park project. Old Trafford executives are due to meet with counterparts from the Bears later next week before the squad fly to Atlanta for the final leg of their US tour. United remain in discussions with Freightliner about purchasing land adjacent to Old Trafford to unlock the full potential of the site they intend to redevelop. Cooling jacket innovation United are using their US tour to trial new high tech cooling jackets that are expected to be in widespread use at next summer's World Cup. The club's performance department have teamed up with kit suppliers Adidas to test the eye-catching cooling strategy. United's players will wear the silver spaceman style adidas CLIMACOOL system jackets, which insulate the cold inside, after the warm up and at half time of games on their US tour to help them keep cool. Extreme temperatures were a significant concern at the recent Club World Cup in the US and are likely to remain an issue at next summer's World Cup finals in the country. Ways are being explored to protect players from the heat and maximise performance and there is an expectation of the cooling jackets becoming widely utilised at the 48-team tournament where a number of games are likely to kick off in the middle of the day when temperatures are at their highest. They have already been trialled in cycling and Formula 1. United's lead physical performance coach Charlie Owen and head of physical performance Ed Leng showed off the jackets and explained their benefit to the players at the start of their training session at Chicago's Soldier Field on Friday. A heatwave in Chicago saw temperatures exceed 100F in midweek. Adidas said: 'The adidas CLIMACOOL System has been designed to help support athlete endurance and performance in hot conditions. 'After bringing the innovation to elite motorsport earlier this year we will provide the jackets to our key partners in football.' United are due to face West Ham at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium – which will host next summer's World Cup final – on Sunday before returning to Chicago where they are set to face Bournemouth. Temperatures for both games are expected to be high. Their final game of the Premier League Summer Series is against Everton in Atlanta but that will be played at the indoor air-conditioned Mercedes Benz Stadium. Cunha's Cantona vibes It was Omar Berrada, the United chief executive, who suggested there was an air of Eric Cantona, the club's legendary former France forward, about Matheus Cunha. 'He's a player that I think fans are going to love,' Berrada told the United We Stand fanzine last month. 'I think he's going to lift people off their seats. He's got a bit of a swagger about him that people are going to really like. Dare I say, [Eric] Cantona-esque.' Some players cannot cope with the Old Trafford pressure cooker, others thrive off it and if the early impressions of Cunha are anything to go by, the Brazilian appears to have found the right home. The £62.5m signing from Wolves looked non-plussed when asked about the pressure and scrutiny he may face, insisting pressure was a 'privilege' and that he welcomes it. Having the responsibility for helping to 'put the club in the perfect times again' was, Cunha said, 'a challenge that I want to do for my career.' Revamped Carrington has its own barbers United are set to hold an opening ceremony for their newly revamped Carrington training ground on August 8, a week before they kick off the new Premier League season at home to Arsenal. The £50m project has taken a year to complete with the training centre remodelled to maximise the performance environment. There has been a huge emphasis on improving the so-called 'flows' but the facility also includes a barbers. 25 not not for United cameramen Two of United's popular camera operators Noel Grice and Keith Rheade celebrated 25 years of working for the club on Friday. The pair, who both started in the same week in 2000, the year after the club's historic Treble success, have been busy working on the US tour.
