Latest news with #ALabour
BBC News
30-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
People terrified by benefit reforms, says Labour politician
A Labour politician has said people in his constituency are "terrified" about the chancellor's decision to tighten the criteria for claiming sickness and disability Davies, Member of the Senedd for Blaenau Gwent, said residents affected by disability and poverty were already struggling "in making ends meet". In Wednesday's Spring Statement, Rachel Reeves announced a number of benefit changes, including tightening qualification rules for Personal Independence Payments (Pips) - the main disability benefit - claimed by more than 250,000 people in Wales."It scares the most vulnerable people in our society, and that's deeply distressing to see," said Davies. "What we need to do as a Labour Party is to address the fundamentals in the economy," he told BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement."We're seeing at the moment taxation increasing because the economy is failing."People want to work and people want to live decent lives and it's the role of government, surely, to help people do that," said Davies whose Blaenau Gwent constituency has the highest proportion of disabled people in Wales, according to census data. In her address to MPs on Wednesday, Reeves said "it can't be right" to "write off" an entire generation who are out of work and improperly using are two elements to Pips – a daily living and a mobility component – and under the government's proposals, assessments for the daily living part will be tightened, a move the official forecaster – the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – says will affect around 800,000 chancellor also confirmed health-related universal credit for new claimants - which was already due to be halved from April 2026 under a package announced last week - would be frozen at its new lower level of £50 per week until 2030.A Department for Work and Pensions assessment found 3.2 million families across England and Wales would be worse off as a result of the changes, with 250,000 more people pushed into relative UK government has said the reforms are aimed at modernising the welfare system, and getting many of those reliant on assistance back into Friday, Wales' First Minister Eluned Morgan refused to back the chancellor's welfare cuts, telling the Senedd she wanted to "reserve my position" until she knew what the impact would be on also confirmed she was waiting for a response from Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall to her request for a Wales-specific impact assessment and said she was now seeking a meeting with her.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Government must clean up rivers
A Labour politician has said it is "time we had a government that stood up for people" by addressing high water bills, river pollution and the water companies. Norwich South MP Clive Lewis has introduced a Private Members' Bill on water to Parliament, exploring different ownership models. He spoke at an event in Norwich alongside singer-turned-clean-water campaigner Feargal Sharkey. The government said a full review of the sector was already under way and pointed out that it had introduced tougher legislation last year. Lewis said private companies were using the water sector as a "cash cow" and said: "I personally think it's time we had a government that stood up for people." Anglian Water has been approached for comment. Most water companies in England and Wales are privately owned and regulated by the government. The Norwich MP said he wanted his bill to set government targets for water quality A keen fly fisherman, Sharkey described how he had stood in rivers and watched them "die a slow, agonising death" due to pollution. He claimed that after 35 years of privatisation, customers were waking up to large bills while rivers were still being polluted. "What we can all agree on is this version of privatisation has utterly, utterly failed," he said. The amount of raw sewage entering England's rivers and seas doubled year-on-year in 2023 to 3.6 million hours of spills, according to the Environment Agency. The public, environment groups and investors are being asked for their views about how the water sector can be changed by the government. A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson pointed out it had introduced powers to ban bonuses for bosses of polluting companies, and had brought in tougher criminal charges for breaches. "For too long, water companies have pumped record levels of sewage into our waterways," they said. "We have delivered on our promise to put water companies under tough special measures through our landmark Water Act." They continued: "A full review of the water sector is under way to shape further legislation that will transform how our water system works and clean up our waterways for good." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Public asked for views on how to fix the water industry Anglian Water bosses warned bonuses may be blocked Anti-pollution law to threaten water bosses with jail Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Prosecute ex-Labour minister for sexist and racist WhatsApps, says ex-chief inspector
A Labour minister who was sacked over racist and sexist comments in a WhatsApp group should be prosecuted, a former Scotland Yard chief inspector has said. David McKelvey, who ran investigations into organised crime for 25 years, said the police must act against Andrew Gwynne or risk allegations of 'two-tier policing'. Mr Gwynne was sacked on Saturday night after the publication of his private messages, in which he said he hoped an elderly constituent would die. He has also been accused of racism, sexism and anti-Semitism, in comments that included personal remarks about Angela Rayner and Diane Abbott. Mr McKelvey said police officers had been convicted and imprisoned for similar messages in private group chats, but there was 'currently no indication that Gwynne or any other members of the group are under police investigation or facing prosecution'. 'This raises serious questions about whether the law is being applied consistently,' he said. Police officers have previously been found in breach of the Communications Act, which makes it an offence to send messages that are 'grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing'. Mr Gwynne's comments included a joking response to a constituent who emailed him about bin collections. ''Dear resident, f--- your bins,' he posted in the group chat, named 'Trigger Me Timbers'. 'I'm re-elected and without your vote. Screw you. PS: Hopefully you'll have croaked it by the all-outs [local elections].' He also joked about another constituent being 'mown down by an Elsa Waste HGV while he's cycling,' said that Ms Abbott was only speaking at Prime Minister's Questions because of 'Black History Month' and referred to Ms Rayner performing a sex act while wearing taxpayer-funded headphones. He appeared to mock the Jewish surname of one public figure. When other members of the chat asked if Marshall Rosenberg, a conflict resolution expert, would be present at a local Labour Party meeting, Mr Gwynne reportedly said: 'No. He sounds too militaristic and too Jewish. Is he in Mossad?' The comments were first reported by the Mail on Sunday, prompting Sir Keir Starmer to sack Mr Gwynne and the Labour Party to suspend the whip, pending further investigation. However, Mr McKelvey complained that the matter was 'being dealt with internally by the Labour Party' and that 'no legal action appears to be forthcoming in this case'. He said: 'Is this yet another example of two-tier policing, where ordinary officers face criminal consequences for similar or lesser offences, while politicians and public figures escape legal scrutiny?' On Sunday, the Labour minister Matthew Pennycook said that Sir Keir would 'act to uphold the highest standards in public office' if any member of the Government was found to have acted inappropriately. Mr Gwynne, a former member of Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet who has served as a Labour MP since 2005, said he regretted his 'badly misjudged' comments and would cooperate with the party's investigation. A government spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister is determined to uphold high standards of conduct in public office and lead a Government in the service of working people. 'He will not hesitate to take action against any minister who fails to meet these standards, as he has in this case. 'Andrew Gwynne has been administratively suspended as a member of the Labour Party. We are investigating comments made in this WhatsApp group in line with the Labour Party's rules and procedures. 'Swift action will be taken if individuals are found to have breached the high standards expected of them as Labour party members.'
