Japan to consider buying back some super-long government bonds, sources say
TOKYO, June 9 (Reuters) - Japan's government is considering buying back some super-long bonds it issued at low interest rates, two sources with direct knowledge of the plan said on Monday.
The move would come on top of an expected government plan to trim issuance of super-long bonds in the wake of sharp rises in yields.
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The Independent
15 minutes ago
- The Independent
Labour MPs in call for benefits U-turn after change to winter fuel payment cut
Labour backbenchers have called for a Government U-turn on planned disability benefit cuts, after Chancellor Rachel Reeves restored winter fuel payments to a majority of pensioners. Ms Reeves' £1.25 billion plan unveiled on Monday will see automatic payments worth up to £300 given to pensioners with an income less than £35,000 a year. It followed last year's decision to strip pensioners of the previously universal scheme, unless they claimed certain benefits, such as pension credit. Nadia Whittome, the Labour MP for Nottingham East, warned ministers they risked making a 'similar mistake' if they tighten the eligibility criteria for personal independence payments, known as Pip. Leeds East MP Richard Burgon called on pensions minister Torsten Bell to 'listen now' so that backbenchers can help the Government 'get it right'. In her warning, Ms Whittome said she was not asking Mr Bell 'to keep the status quo or not to support people into work' and added: 'I'm simply asking him not to cut disabled people's benefits.' The pensions minister, who works in both the Treasury and Department for Work and Pensions, replied that the numbers of people receiving Pip is set to 'continue to grow every single year in the years ahead, after the changes set out by this Government'. In its Pathways to Work green paper, the Government proposed a new eligibility requirement, so Pip claimants must score a minimum of four points on one daily living activity, such as preparing food, washing and bathing, using the toilet or reading, to receive the daily living element of the benefit. 'This means that people who only score the lowest points on each of the Pip daily living activities will lose their entitlement in future,' the document noted. Mr Burgon told the Commons: 'As a Labour MP who voted against the winter fuel payment cuts, I very much welcome this change in position, but can I urge the minister and the Government to learn the lessons of this and one of the lessons is, listen to backbenchers? 'If the minister and the Government listen to backbenchers, that can help the Government get it right, help the Government avoid getting it wrong, and so what we don't want is to be here in a year or two's time with a minister sent to the despatch box after not listening to backbenchers on disability benefit cuts, making another U-turn again.' Mr Bell replied that it was 'important to listen to backbenchers, to frontbenchers'. Opposition MPs cheered when the minister added: 'It's even important to listen to members opposite on occasion.' Liberal Democrat MP Mike Martin warned that 'judging by the questions from his own backbenchers, it seems that we're going to have further U-turns on Pip and on the two-child benefit cap'. The Tunbridge Wells MP asked Mr Bell: 'To save his colleagues anguish, will he let us know now when those U-turns are coming?' The minister replied: 'What Labour MPs want to see is a Labour Government bringing down child poverty, and that's what we're going to do 'What Labour MPs want to see is a Government that can take the responsible decisions, including difficult ones on tax and on means testing the winter fuel payment so that we can invest in public services and turn around the disgrace that has become Britain's public realm for far too long.' Conservative former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey had earlier asked whether the Chancellor, 'now that she and the Government have got a taste for climbdowns', would 'reverse the equally ridiculous national insurance contribution (Nic) rises, which is destroying jobs, and the inheritance tax changes, which is destroying farms and family businesses'. Mr Bell said: 'This is a party opposite that has learned no lessons whatsoever, that thinks it can come to this chamber, call for more spending, oppose every tax rise and expect to ever be taken seriously again – they will not.' Labour MP Rebecca Long-Bailey pressed the Government to make changes to the two-child benefit cap, which means most parents cannot claim for more than two children. 'It's the right thing to do to lift pensioners out of poverty, and I'm sure that both he and the Chancellor also agree that it's right to lift children out of poverty,' the Salford MP told the Commons. 'So can he reassure this House that he and the Chancellor are doing all they can to outline plans to lift the two-child cap on universal credit as soon as possible?' Mr Bell replied: 'All levers to reduce child poverty are on the table. 'The child poverty strategy will be published in the autumn.' He added: 'If we look at who is struggling most, having to turn off their heating, it is actually younger families with children that are struggling with that. 'So she's absolutely right to raise this issue, it is one of the core purposes of this Government, we cannot carry on with a situation where large families, huge percentages of them, are in poverty.'
Rhyl Journal
16 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Spending review is ‘settled', says Downing Street
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce funding increases for the NHS, schools and defence along with a number of infrastructure projects on Wednesday, as she shares out some £113 billion freed up by looser borrowing rules. But other areas could face cuts as she seeks to balance manifesto commitments with more recent pledges, such as a hike in defence spending, while meeting her fiscal rules that promise to match day-to-day spending with revenues. On Monday morning, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was the last minister still to reach a deal with the Treasury, with reports suggesting greater police spending would mean a squeeze on other areas of her department's budget. Speaking to reporters on Monday afternoon, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'The spending review is settled, we will be focused on investing in Britain's renewal so that all working people are better off. 'The first job of the Government was to stabilise the British economy and the public finances, and now we move into a new chapter to deliver the promise and change.' The Government has committed to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product on defence from April 2027, with a goal of increasing that to 3% over the next parliament – a timetable which could stretch to 2034. Ms Reeves' plans will also include an £86 billion package for science and technology research and development. Last week the Chancellor admitted that she had been forced to turn down requests for funding for projects she would have wanted to back, amid the Whitehall spending wrangling. Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan's office is concerned that Wednesday's announcement will include no new funding or projects for London. The mayor had been looking to secure extensions to the Docklands Light Railway and Bakerloo line on the Underground, along with the power to introduce a tourist levy and a substantial increase in funding for the Metropolitan Police. A source close to the mayor said on Monday that ministers 'must not return to the damaging, anti-London approach of the last government', adding this would harm both London's public services and 'jobs and growth across the country'. They said: 'Sadiq will always stand up for London and has been clear it would be unacceptable if there are no major infrastructure projects for London announced in the spending review and the Met doesn't get the funding it needs. 'We need backing for London as a global city that's pro-business, safe and well-connected.'
The Herald Scotland
30 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Senior council leader ‘confident' of more spending review support for the poor
Rachel Reeves announced that nine million pensioners in England and Wales will receive the winter fuel payment this winter, in a £1.25 billion U-turn on the Government's previous position. Speaking exclusively to the PA news agency, Sir Stephen welcomed the move and other recent measures such as the extension of free school meals. Sir Stephen Houghton is leader of Barnsley Council (Dominic Lipinski/PA) But he said a broader package of initiatives aimed at supporting low income working families is now necessary and would represent an 'important political statement'. In a statement released by the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (Sigoma) in response to the announcement on winter fuel payments, Sir Stephen said: 'I am confident that the Chancellor will continue in this spirit and use the upcoming spending review to provide further financial support to councils who are working hard to deliver for residents in challenging times.' When asked to explain why he is confident at a time when revenue spending will be limited by factors such as slow growth and high borrowing costs, he said: 'Speaking to ministers (in the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government) and speaking to advisers in the department. 'I have spent 14 years lobbying for this unsuccessfully with the previous government. 'I am confident because (local government minister) Jim McMahon is a former council leader, and he gets it. 'We have got to make sure that he doesn't get overruled by the Chancellor and the Prime Minister who are getting pressure from other parts of the country. 'I think he will hold his nerve.' Sir Stephen identified reducing transport and social rent costs as measures which would benefit the community in Barnsley and elsewhere, adding they should be part of a 'comprehensive' support package. 'That will do the Government good, both politically and by helping the people that need it the most,' he added. On capital investment, Sir Stephen warned of a 'real danger' that the Treasury will prioritise infrastructure spending on big cities to secure a 'maximum return'. 'Civil servants are telling ministers that the problem with that is it provides the least political return because these cities are already voting Labour,' he said. Advocating an alternative approach, Sir Stephen added: 'Left behind communities deserve to have economies that function effectively, and you can get growth there as well if you invest. 'These are the places that have been leaving Labour. 'Why can't you have a decent quality of life if you live in Bolton, Bury, Blyth or Grimsby? 'Those communities are the ones that, for 30-odd years, have seen the big cities be the be-all and end-all. 'That leaves you with Brexit. 'It leaves you with, from a Labour perspective, Boris Johnson majorities in red wall seats. It leaves you with riots last year. 'It leaves you with Reform (gains in the local elections) just a month ago.' 'We need a short-term package of measures to say 'we are bothered' – life is hard,' he added.
