Watch live: Angela Rayner faces Chris Philp in PMQs as Starmer returns from G7 summit
Watch live as Angela Rayner faces Chris Philp at PMQs on Wednesday (18 June), filling in for Sir Keir Starmer as he travels back from the G7 summit in Canada.
As per convention, the opposition also nominates someone to stand in its leader's place. Chris Philp, shadow home secretary, will be replacing Kemi Badenoch in the dispatch box today.
The deputy prime minister will face down questions from MPs in the Commons, with the grooming gangs national inquiry which was announced on Saturday (14 June) likely to be at the forefront.
She could also be pressed on Labour 's promise to 'smash the criminal boat gangs', as figures show that more than 1,700 migrants arrived in the UK in small boats last week.
This week's PMQs comes ahead of an announcement that HS2 is expected to be delayed by at least a further two years, with transport secretary Heidi Alexander telling MPs that there is 'no reasonable way' to meet the 2033 target.
The government is also publishing its Bill to reduce the welfare budget by £5billion, including controversial cuts to disability and sickness benefits.
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The Sun
17 minutes ago
- The Sun
Millions on Universal Credit to get guaranteed extra pay rises each year under government plans
MILLIONS of households on Universal Credit are set to receive a bumper set of inflation-busting pay boosts, starting next April. Almost seven million households will see their standard allowance rise by £725 more a year in cash terms by 2030, according to a new Bill introduced to Parliament this afternoon. 1 The DWP's Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, which requires parliamentary approval, explains exactly how the standard allowance will change every April for the next four years. The standard allowance is the basic payment for households on Universal Credit. Currently, single people under 25 receive £316.98 a month and couples under 25 get £497.55 a month. Meanwhile, single people over 25 get £400.14 a month and couples aged 25 or older receive £628.10 a month. Normally, benefit payments go up each spring to help people keep pace with the rising cost of living, like food, fuel, and household bills. These increases typically match the consumer price index of inflation from the previous September. But, the government has claimed that the four-year benefit freeze from 2015 to 2019 has caused millions of payments to fall behind rising inflation. As a result, from April 2026, the government is proposing to hike the standard allowance by more than inflation over the next four years. This means that by 2030, the amount a claimant receives will be almost 5% higher than if it had only risen to match inflation. The increases will be worked out by adding the inflation rate from the previous September, plus an extra fixed boost. These extra percentages will be set at: 2.3% for 2026-27 3.1% for 2027-28 4.0% for 2028-29 4.8% for 2029-30 The government wants to help more people return to work and rely less on incapacity benefits, which face huge cuts. To save £5billion a year by 2030, it plans to make PIP assessments stricter and freeze the extra health payments in Universal Credit for those unable to work. The government believes that raising the standard allowance for everyone while reducing the health top-up will make returning to work more financially worthwhile and possible. However, charities disagree. Anela Anwar, chief executive of anti-poverty charity Z2K, said: "We all know that our broken disability benefits system needs reform. "But these reckless plans, which official estimates show will plunge more than one million disabled people into poverty or even deeper into poverty, do not represent meaningful reform. "Government suggestions that these cuts are about helping people into work are entirely disingenuous. "Experts agree that only between 1% and 3% of those who will be hit by the cuts are expected to find work as a result." What is the Universal Credit standard allowance? UNIVERSAL Credit is a welfare scheme which was designed to combine several of the old "legacy benefits The standard allowance is the basic monthly payment provided to individuals or families who qualify. The amount you receive depends on your age and whether you're single or in a couple: Single, under 25: £316.98 Single, 25 or over: £400.14 Couple, both under 25: £497.55 Couple, one or both 25 or over: £628.09 You may also be eligible for additional amounts if you have children, have a disability or health condition, or need help with housing costs. What's happening to Universal Credit health payments? The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill also explains how the government proposes to slash incapacity benefits. For people already on Universal Credit, the current incapacity payment of £416.19 a month for those unable to work will be frozen until 2030. This means the payment will no longer increase with inflation each spring. However, for new claims starting from April 2026, this very same payment will be cut by half, to approximately £208 a month (or £50 a week). This reduced amount will also be frozen until 2030, meaning new claimants will receive significantly less extra support. The changes to Universal Credit payments need to be approved by Parliament and will be voted on soon. The government also plans to get rid of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), which is used to decide if someone qualifies for Universal Credit health payments, at a later date. Instead, the DWP will use the PIP assessment to decide if someone is eligible for these health payments. The DWP aims to make this change by 2028. The plans to reform the benefits system were first unveiled by Secretary of State Liz Kendall in March, alongside the release of the DWP's Pathways to Work green paper. What are Work Capability Assessments? The DWP uses the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) to evaluate a claimant's ability to work when applying for Universal Credit due to a health condition or disability. The WCA focuses on assessing functional limitations rather than specific medical diagnoses. It considers both physical and mental health, awarding points based on how an individual's condition impacts their ability to carry out daily activities. After the assessment, claimants may be placed into one of two groups - Limited Capability for Work (LCW) or Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA). Claimants assigned to the LCW group are recognised as currently unfit for work but may be capable of returning to employment in the future with the right support and assistance. Those in this group are required to engage in work-related activities, such as attending Jobcentre appointments or training courses. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in sanctions, including a reduction or suspension of benefits. Claimants are placed in the LCWRA group if their health condition or disability is considered so severe that they are not expected to be able to work or participate in any work-related activities in the foreseeable future. Those in the LCWRA group receive an additional amount on top of their standard Universal Credit allowance currently worth £416.19 a month.
The Sun
17 minutes ago
- The Sun
Bungling civil servants face major probe over HS2 fiasco – as project delayed yet again and costs spiral out of control
BUNGLING civil servants could face a major investigation over the HS2 fiasco - as the project is delayed yet again and costs spiral out of control. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander today confirmed there is 'no route' to hitting the 2033 target for trains to run between London and Birmingham. 2 2 And she revealed the Prime Minister has asked the Cabinet Secretary to consider whether mandarins and public bodies should face a formal probe for their role in the chaos. A source close to Ms Alexander told The Sun: 'We will make sure this mess can never happen again. 'That's why the Prime Minister has asked the Cabinet Secretary to immediately look at the role of the Civil Service and the wider public sector in HS2 – including whether an investigation is needed.' The high-speed line was originally due to open in 2026 and stretch to Manchester and Leeds - but only the London to Birmingham leg remains, and even that now faces delays of two years or more. Ms Alexander did not confirm a new completion date or cost, which some suggest could exceed £100billion - far above the official £57billion estimate at 2019 prices. She said she was 'drawing a line in the sand' after what she called a 'litany of failure' spanning 15 years, with billions wasted on ineffective contracts, repeated changes, and scrapped designs - including £250million blown on two rejected station plans for Euston. Two reviews published yesterday laid bare the scale of the failure: one by new HS2 boss Mark Wild warned the current scope, schedule and budget were 'unsustainable', while another by infrastructure adviser James Stewart blasted weak oversight and inconsistent ministerial involvement. Ms Alexander said the previous government had pressed ahead with construction contracts despite a 2020 review warning against it, and that a Sunak-era ministerial taskforce for Euston 'never even met.' She promised a reset, with a new 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy, fresh governance boards, and the appointment of former TfL boss Mike Brown - who helped deliver Crossrail - as HS2 Ltd's new chair. She told MPs it would take 'a number of months' to confirm a final schedule and budget. But Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the whole scheme should be scrapped, blasting: 'Let's scrap HS2, let's use the tens of billions of pounds we can save in the next decade to upgrade railway lines across the entirety of the United Kingdom to the benefit of many millions, and spend the rest on other national priorities.' Ms Alexander hit back: 'We are not going to be a country that spends over £30 billion on rail infrastructure but then never sees a train running on it... "
Spectator
24 minutes ago
- Spectator
Rayner's PMQs performance will trouble Starmer
As you might have noticed from the crowds weeping in the streets and the appearance of sackcloth, ashes and rent, er, garments: Sir Keir Starmer wasn't at Prime Minister's Questions this afternoon. Instead we got Big Ange – who absolutely, definitely, doesn't want the job for herself. She'd come dressed in a fetching double-breasted blazer and cream trouser combo which made her look like a judge at Henley or an old-school pub landlord. Or even, perhaps deliberately, Nigel Farage. Ange breezily mentioned Starmer's absence in the way you might mention you'd trod on a slug while gardening Ange breezily mentioned Starmer's absence in the way you might mention you'd trod on a slug while gardening. As part of the Leader of the Opposition's weird 'deputy roulette' policy whereby she never quite commits to having one person filling in for her, the Tories had selected shadow home secretary Chris Philp to ask the questions this week. He did so with the air of a nervous schoolboy requesting an extension on his homework from a particularly sadistic schoolmaster. Ange said she liked his tone – and initially at least, there was something of her previous camp frisson with Oliver 'Olive' Dowden. She eyed up Philp as a Montmartre madam might have looked upon a virginal subaltern. Was this shaping up to be a bit of a love-in? Not so. Things quickly grew spicier. Soon, Ange was backed into a corner of having to defend the Prime Minister. Well sort of: tellingly she didn't quite justify or seek to defend his 'far-right bandwagon' remarks about the grooming gangs. Immigration, naturally, was what really set things on fire. The Tories had 'spivved their opportunity up the wall', said the Deputy Prime Minister, using what I think was a word entirely of her own devising. The pair traded further broadsides. 'He was at the heart of the Home Office when we lost control of our borders,' boomed Ange. 'Goodness me she's got a cheek!' bellowed Mr Philp as Ange protested that the number of migrant hotels were dropping. That's one way of putting it. Behind Ange were a pair of carefully positioned junior flunkies. They spent the whole of the performance rifling through folders and handing pieces of paper to – of all people – Lucy Powell. It brought to mind Operation Mincemeat, when the intelligence services placed important looking documents onto the body of someone who had accidentally eaten rat poison. Anyway, the shuffling continued at a gentle pace until Mr Philp brought up the data on migrant hotels. This sent the general paper-based kerfuffle into overdrive. It was like watching a pair of chimps who had somehow found work as croupiers trying to shuffle a deck of cards. 'Dignity-vacuum of the week' went to Olivia Bailey – the MP for Reading West – who asked the now standard oily suck-up question from the Labour backbenches. Presumably they do this to try and get a place on the safe seat life-raft when the inevitable electoral Gotterdammerung happens. Would the Deputy PM 'confirm that THIS government will finally give my constituents the security they deserve?' gushed Bailey (it would be funny, if just once, the minister would take a stand against nauseating toadiness by replying 'no'). Philp ended with a question about the choice to keep a Zimbabwean paedophile in the country. Ange responded with an old Starmbot favourite: '14 years'. Different hair-style, different mannerisms, but the same reheated tripe. And yet she did far, far better today than Sir Keir normally does. There was a charm and easiness of manner. Her delivery was less scratchy too; Starmer has the perpetual air of an about-to-be punched traffic warden telling an irate motorist to calm down, whereas Ange was more mob-adjacent landlady overseeing a lock-in. I suspect some Labour MPs will be quietly hoping that Starmer stays in Canada for another week.
