Starmer used Kemi's words to undermine Kemi at PMQs. It worked
Kemi Badenoch tried two ambushes at PMQs. She lambasted Sir Keir Starmer for cutting the winter fuel allowance and leaving old folks to shiver through the coldest months of the year. But Sir Keir claimed that he was merely trying to stabilise the economy. Kemi accused him of balancing the books 'on the backs of pensioners.'
Good start. Kemi has waited a long time to lead on this issue and the clamour of dissent grows daily. She read out a list. The mayor of Doncaster, the Welsh first minister and various grumble-bunnies on Labour's backbenches are united against the cut to pensioners' payments.
'When is he going to listen to his own party,' asked Kemi. 'And change course?'
Sir Keir is probably weighing up his options. For now, he's not budging. If he were replaced, his successor would restore the fuel allowance on Day One.
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South Wales Argus
17 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
'Magor should be priority of five new stations near Newport'
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced nearly half a billion pounds will be made available, over 10 years, for rail improvements in Wales as part of the UK Government's spending review. Labour has said that will allow the Welsh Government to put forward detailed plans for five new stations in South East Wales at Cardiff East, Newport West, Somerton, Llanwern, and Magor and Undy. The Magor and Undy station was first proposed by local campaigners, in 2013, as a 'walkway station' intended to be easily accessible to local commuters on foot and to take the strain off the congested M4 around Newport. The idea was later incorporated into the Burn Commission which proposed the five new stations when it was tasked with finding alternatives to take the strain off the motorway when a relief road was ruled out in 2019. Retired railway man Ted Hand, one of the founders of the Magor Action Group on Rail, or MAGOR, that proposed and campaigned for a new station has welcomed the funding announcement. But he said decision makers still need to be persuaded to give the Magor station, which he said could be delivered before any of the others, priority status. He said: 'It's very good news. It's capital expenditure committed now it is a matter that the battle is perhaps won now we need get on with the war and get Magor done to use Boris Johnson's expression.' Mr Hand said Magor has the rail tracks and space required which could allow a simple station to be put in place at speed. He said the Burns Commission had acknowledged this but had drawn up it own 'more grandiose' designs. 'Magor could be started tomorrow as it's not dependent on upgrading the relief line,' said Mr Hand: 'The spades could go in the ground tomorrow. 'It is very, very welcome capital expenditure is committed they now need to deliver and obviously we want to see Magor done first as it is the easiest to do.' The announcement has also been welcomed across the political divide. Labour's John Griffiths, Member of Senedd for Newport East, said: 'I have heard from constituents again and again that new train stations are needed along the M4 corridor. 'I welcome the news that the Welsh Labour Government, working with the UK Government, will now put forward detailed plans for not one, but two new stations in Newport East, and another one in Magor and Undy.' Laura Anne Jones Conservative MS for South Wales East said: 'The confirmation of a new station for Magor represents a hard fought victory for the tireless campaigners who have worked incredible hard for many years.' She added: 'It is clear that this new station will be transformative for Monmouthshire and the wider South East Wales region.' In the Commons Ms Reeves said the £445 million investment in railways was for schemes including the 'Cardiff West junction'.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
How much could YOUR council tax be going up? The pain looming for households after Rachel Reeves signals 5% rises for next three years
Households are braced for more council tax pain after Rachel Reeves signalled maximum rises over the next three years. As part of the Chancellor's spending plans, the Treasury suggested that local authorities would hike bills by 4.99 per cent a year for the rest of this Parliament. This is the maximum hike allowed, in normal circumstances, before councils are required to hold a local referendum. The 4.99 per cent cap is made up of 2.99 per cent for general spending and a 2 per cent adult social care precept. Ms Reeves said Labour would not be 'going above' the 4.99 per cent cap, but did not deny her spending review - announced yesterday - is based on maximum rises. 'The previous government increased council tax by 5 per cent a year, and we have stuck to that. We won't be going above that,' the Chancellor told ITV. 'That is the council tax policy that we inherited from the previous government, and that we will be continuing.' It means the average Band D property faces an extra £395 in council tax in 2028-29 compared to this year, the Liberal Democrats estimated. Experts warned council tax bills are set to rise at their fastest rate for two decades in the wake of Ms Reeves' spending review. Paul Johnson, of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said local government in England did 'perhaps a little bit better than it might have expected' out of the Chancellor's statement on Wednesday. But he added the 'sting in the tail' is the assumption that 'council tax bills will rise by 5 per cent a year' as part of the funding. The core spending power of councils is set to increase by 2.6 per cent a year from next year. 'If English councils do choose 5 per cent increases – and most almost certainly will – council tax bills look set to rise at their fastest rate over any parliament since 2001 to 2005', Mr Johnson said on Thursday. The Chancellor's spending review was also shown to assume a £14 rise each year in the police precept, the part of the police budget that comes from council tax. Kevin Hollinrake, the Tory communities spokesman, said households faced a tax 'double-whammy'. He warned hikes in council tax bills would also likely be accompanied by further levy rises in Ms Reeves' next budget, as she looks to fund her spending plans. Mr Hollinrake said: 'Rachel Reeves claimed council tax wouldn't have to go up to afford her spending spree, but this tax bombshell shows that you can't trust a word she says. 'Because of Labour's profligate spending plans today, tax and borrowing increases in the autumn are now inevitable. 'This tax double-whammy is just rubbing salt in the wounds, and means hundreds of pounds less in take-home pay for hard-working people.' Liberal Democrat MP Lisa Smart, the party's home affairs spokesperson, said: 'The Government is relying on a hidden council tax bombshell to fund their half-hearted rise in police funding as they pass the buck to local families. 'After frontline policing was neglected for years under the Conservatives, local communities deserve better than this sleight of hand. 'The Government must put more bobbies on the beat, with the proper funding to make it happen. 'Liberal Democrats will keep pushing for the proper neighbourhood policing our communities deserve.' Despite the increases in council tax, local government representatives said there would still not be enough cash to fund services and warned of further cuts. Tim Oliver, chairman of the County Councils Network, said: 'This spending review will not be a silver bullet for councils' financial challenges, and much of the increase in 'core spending power' is derived from the assumption that local authorities will levy maximum 5 per cent council tax rises each year. 'Even accounting for these, the sums today fall well short of filling the projected £2.2billion funding gap faced by county and unitary councils next year and consequently further service cuts will be hard to avoid.'
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Fraser of Allander calls out Labour's Spending Review claim
It came as the Fraser of Allander Institute issued its analysis of the Chancellor's plans, which it summed up as 'largesse in the short-run, followed by pretty steep subsequent cuts in real- (and in some cases cash-) terms'. This pattern, the institute's director Mairi Spowage and deputy director João Sousa said, was visible in Scotland's capital funding – money for investment and long-term projects, rather than day-to-day spending. Fraser of Allander said: 'We are now looking at a one-off boost to investment budgets of 6% in real-terms next year, followed by falls in each year. READ MORE: Scottish Government 'short-changed by £1bn' by Rachel Reeves, Finance Secretary says 'In fact, the figures only get starker once we take into account that so much of the boost to investment is on defence. Non-defence capital spending falls by -0.9% a year in real terms going forward, meaning it's nearly 4% lower by 2029-30 than this year.' The experts then added: 'This pattern is broadly reflected in the Barnett consequentials for Scotland. The Scottish capital block grant increases by £0.6 billion (7.7% in real terms) next year, but then falls back to below 2025-26 levels by the end of the decade.' On day-to-day revenue spending, Fraser of Allander said that budgets other than health, education, and defence were looking at 'a relatively healthy 1.4% increase next year, but this is followed by 1.5% and 1.1% falls in each subsequent year, meaning that their budgets are 1.2% lower in real terms by 2028-29 than this year'. The experts added: 'The UK Government will no doubt argue that its efficiency drive will make it possible to do this while not cutting services, but we'll reserve judgement on that. Similar initiatives in the past have had disappointing results; this one may well succeed, but it will have to buck the trend of history to do so, which would be no mean feat.' They then went on to question claims from Labour MPs and MSPs that the Spending Review meant the Scottish block grant would increase by £9.1bn by 2028/2029, the end of the Spending Review period. Chancellor Rachel ReevesOn Thursday, Reeves pledged the 'largest settlements in real terms since devolution was introduced' promising '£52bn for Scotland, £20bn for Northern Ireland and £23bn for Wales' by 2028/29. In May, the UK Government said the 2025/2026 block grant was worth £50bn, meaning the £52bn pledge would represent an increase of around 4% over four years. Using a baseline of 2023/2024, the Labour have said the Scottish Government will receive 'an average extra £2.9 billion across the duration of this Spending Review'. Fraser of Allander said: 'We have seen some Labour MPs and MSPs describing this event as increasing the block grant by £9.1bn over the Spending Review period. READ MORE: UK economy sees biggest drop since October 2023 in blow for Rachel Reeves 'While it is true that Barnett consequentials add up to this figure (across different periods for resource and capital), this doesn't seem like a particularly transparent or helpful way of describing the changes. 'It essentially assumes that no additional funding would have been made available for the Scottish Government in cash terms relative to that in 2025-26 – which is not a credible baseline. 'A much more insightful – though perhaps less cheery – conclusion from looking at the SFC's [Scottish Fiscal Commission's] forecast is that by 2028-29, funding will be £0.7bn lower than their central estimate published on 29 May.' The £9.1bn claim was shared by Scottish Secretary Ian Murray, Scottish Labour, and MSP Michael Marra, among others. Record investment in Scotland from this UK Labour Government. Investment in the North-East, funding for the Acorn Project, more money for our NHS. That's the difference a Labour Government makes. — Michael Marra MSP (@michaeljmarra) June 11, 2025 Elsewhere, experts have questioned whether Labour will be able to afford to stick to its commitments without raising taxes. The Chancellor has repeatedly said the cost of Wednesday's spending review is covered by the tax rises she brought in last year, saying departments must now 'live within their means'. But on Thursday, Reeves failed to rule out further tax rises in the autumn as new figures showed the economy shrank more than expected in April. Asked on whether she could guarantee there would be no further tax rises, Reeves told LBC: 'I think it would be very risky for a Chancellor to try and write future budgets in a world as uncertain as ours.'
