logo
Starmer clashes with senior MP over welfare reform

Starmer clashes with senior MP over welfare reform

Yahoo3 days ago
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer clashed with one of his senior MPs over welfare reform as she said she felt 'ashamed' of the 'poor' legislation the Government had put forward.
Work and pensions committee chairwoman Debbie Abrahams said the welfare bill was 'far removed' from Labour values as she questioned the Prime Minister at the Liaison Committee.
She asked Sir Keir what he would like to say to the disabled people who experienced 'fear and anxiety' before the Government made concessions on its bill.
'Well, it's very important that they feel secure and supported, and that is at the heart of what we are doing in the changes we are making to welfare and related areas,' he said.
Sir Keir said he did not accept that it would take several years before labour market changes allow more disabled people to be employed following Sir Charlie Mayfield's review, due in the autumn.
Mrs Abrahams asked what he would do to mitigate against a potential 50,000 newly disabled people being pushed into poverty.
Sir Keir said: 'I don't accept that everything is going to take years. Some changes do take years, but not all changes take years, and we have to do work in the interim to give that support to those with disabilities.'
Mrs Abrahams said she felt 'ashamed' of the 'poor' welfare legislation the Government put forward.
'This was poor legislation. It was designed to save money for the Treasury by cutting support to sick and disabled people.
'It was so far removed from Labour values of fairness and social justice, let alone compassion and common decency.
'I have to say I felt ashamed.'
After a year in office, Sir Keir was asked what he wanted the UK to look like at the end of his first term in No 10.
He said: 'I want people to feel better off and there has to be a central focus on living standards.
'I want them to feel – as they will – that the health service is working much better, is there for them and their families in a way that it hasn't been for many years.
'And I want them to feel safe and secure, both in their immediate neighbourhood and as a country, both our borders and national security and defence.
'So, they're the three things that I'm focused on more than anything else.'
Sir Keir's drive to improve the NHS could be derailed if resident doctors in England go ahead with strike action, which is due to begin on Friday.
The Tory government faced waves of strike action in the NHS, which contributed to care backlogs.
The Prime Minister has put international co-operation, including a promised one-in, one-out deal to return small boat migrants to France, at the heart of measures to control the borders.
But arrivals are running at record levels for this point in a year, with the latest Home Office showing 23,534 people had crossed in small boats so far in 2025.
The Liaison Committee, a panel made up of senior MPs who chair the various Commons select committees, was focusing on measures to tackle poverty.
The Prime Minister, who is under pressure from within his own party to scrap the two-child benefits cap, said: 'People will not feel better-off or safe and secure if we haven't tackled poverty.'
He said there were four 'limbs' to the Government's strategy: increasing incomes, decreasing costs, strengthening local support, including measures to get people into work and boosting financial resilience.
'I'm very proud of the fact that the last Labour government drove down poverty and I'm determined this Government is going to as well,' Sir Keir said.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Starmer raises case of Briton detained in India during meeting with Modi
Starmer raises case of Briton detained in India during meeting with Modi

Yahoo

time13 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Starmer raises case of Briton detained in India during meeting with Modi

Sir Keir Starmer is believed to have raised the case of a British man detained in India for years, with the country's prime minister. Prime Minister Sir Keir met Narendra Modi on Thursday as the two countries signed a trade deal It is understood that Sir Keir raised the case of Jagtar Singh Johal, a Sikh activist from Dumbarton near Glasgow, who was arrested while in India for his wedding in 2017. Mr Johal's brother Gurpreet had suggested the meeting was a 'golden' chance for the UK Government to seek to secure his release. Thankful to PM Keir Starmer for the warm welcome at Chequers. Our discussions reflect a shared commitment to deepen India-UK ties across sectors.@Keir_Starmer — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 24, 2025 Mr Johan is being held in custody by the Indian authorities, despite having been cleared of one of the cases against him earlier this year. He still faces charges at a federal level, which his supporters, who claim an initial confession he made was as a result of torture, fear could take years to come to a conclusion. Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland on Thursday, Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said the issue was 'complex' but the Government was working to resolve it. 'The Government are doing all we possibly can to get this resolved,' he said. 'There was a recent meeting, just at the start of June, between the Foreign Secretary and his counterpart in India to try and get these issues resolved. 'So it's right at the top of the agenda and we can assure and reassure that we're doing everything we possibly can to get these issues resolved as quickly as possible.' Gurpreet Singh Johal, a Labour councillor in West Dunbartonshire, had earlier told BBC Radio Scotland: 'Raising the case is not enough, it's what we've been saying since day one. 'There's a golden opportunity here for the Prime Minister now, prior to the deal being signed or as the deal is being signed, that he strongly calls for Jagtar to be returned to his family so he can continue his married life.' Mr Murray said: 'The call is for these issues to be resolved and we're all fully on the same page in terms of having to get them resolved as quickly as possible.'

King Charles Gives a Rare Look Inside the Royal Residence Where the Family Celebrates Christmas
King Charles Gives a Rare Look Inside the Royal Residence Where the Family Celebrates Christmas

Yahoo

time13 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

King Charles Gives a Rare Look Inside the Royal Residence Where the Family Celebrates Christmas

King Charles just gave a rare look inside one of the royal family's most beloved residences. On Thursday, July 24, the King hosted President Maia Sandu of Moldova and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India at his Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, located about 100 miles north of London. The leaders shook hands for photos in the saloon, Sandringham House's main reception room. A fireplace is seen in the background along with large plants placed throughout the room, which receives plenty of natural light thanks to large windows. 🇲🇩 The President of the Republic of Moldova visited The King this morning at Sandringham House. — The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) July 24, 2025 The King was given a tree to be planted this autumn, inspired by the environmental initiative launched by the Indian Prime Minister, which encourages people to plant a tree in tribute to their mothers. Sandringham is a beloved estate for the royal family and where they typically spend Christmas and New Year's. The tradition was started by the late Queen Elizabeth in 1988, meaning all of her grandchildren grew up holidaying in Norfolk. However, the house's holiday significance dates back even earlier than that. Sandringham House was where the late monarch delivered her first-ever televised Christmas message in 1957. Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! This afternoon, The King received the Prime Minister of the Republic of India, @NarendraModi, at Sandringham House. 🇮🇳During their time together, His Majesty was given a tree to be planted this Autumn, inspired by the environmental initiative launched by the Prime Minister, 'Ek… — The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) July 24, 2025 These days, the family's holiday traditions are being passed on to a new generation. On Christmas Eve, they gather for a formal, black-tie dinner and to exchange gifts. In his 2023 memoir, Spare, Prince Harry recalled how the royal gift exchange might differ from the average family. 'We were at Sandringham in a big room with a long table covered with white cloth and white name cards. By custom, at the start of the night, each of us located our place, stood before our mound of presents," he wrote. "Then suddenly, everyone began opening at the same time. A free-for-all, with scores of family members talking at once and pulling at bows and tearing at wrapping paper.' On Christmas morning, the family walks together to St. Mary Magdalene Church, a 16th-century parish located on the Sandringham Estate, greeting locals, fans and members of the press along the way. After the service, they walk back to Sandringham House to enjoy the day together. While the holiday gathering this year will almost certainly include King Charles and Queen Camilla, as well as Prince William, Kate Middleton and their children — Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7 — some members of the royal family have split off from the celebration in recent years. Last Christmas, for example, both Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie spent the holidays with their in-laws. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle haven't taken part in Christmas with the royal family since 2018, the year they married. Amid the couple's rift with the royals and Harry's recent declaration that he "can't see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the U.K.," their children — Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4 — have never experienced the holidays at Sandringham. In a few weeks, King Charles and the royal family will likely gather in Scotland at the Balmoral estate, where they traditionally spend time each summer. Read the original article on People

Tony Evers Declines to Run for 3rd Term as Wisconsin Governor
Tony Evers Declines to Run for 3rd Term as Wisconsin Governor

New York Times

time16 minutes ago

  • New York Times

Tony Evers Declines to Run for 3rd Term as Wisconsin Governor

Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin, who led his state through a period of Democratic resurgence, will not seek a third term next year, he announced on Thursday. A battleground-state governor who has never displayed ambitions for higher office, Mr. Evers, 73, presided over the end of Republican dominance of his state and will leave office as his Democratic Party has a chance to win a governing trifecta for the first time in 16 years. 'I'm announcing that I will not be running for a third term,' Mr. Evers said in a video posted to social media. Mr. Evers's political legacy in Wisconsin will be more about measures he blocked than about signature progressive accomplishments. He vetoed hundreds of bills passed by the state's Republican-controlled Legislature, including a package that would have restricted voting access after the 2020 election. During the 2021-2022 legislative session, as he was running for re-election, Mr. Evers vetoed 32 percent of the bills Republicans had passed, a figure about 10 times above what is typical, according to the state's nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau. While Mr. Evers held Republican state legislators at bay, his party won three critical State Supreme Court races that flipped the court's balance of power from the conservatives to the liberals. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store