Latest news with #ClaireCoutinho
Daily Mail
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Labour restricts civil service internships to the working class - with children of plumbers, receptionists and van drivers among eligible
Labour is to restrict a civil service summer internship programme to working class students, the Government has announced. Applications will be limited to those from 'lower-socio economic backgrounds' - determined by what jobs their parents held when they were 14 years old. Children of plumbers, receptionists and van drivers are among those who will be eligible for the scheme, which replaces the current civil service internship programme. Ministers hope the change will lead to more working class applicants getting a place on the Fast Stream - the main graduate programme for the civil service. They say it will lead to Whitehall better reflecting the country it serves. But the plan was criticised by the Tories. Claire Coutinho, shadow equalities spokeswoman, told the Mail: 'The civil service will decide who will get the opportunity of an internship based on whether they deem their parents' occupation worthy - handing out opportunity based on something completely out of a young person's control. 'We used to call that discrimination, but under these new civil service rules it will be called 'progress'. 'The civil service is too closed but they should do the hard work of fixing their culture, rather than tokenistic identity politics.' Julian Jessop, an economist, tweeted: ''Civil service interns must all be working class, government says'. 'Or maybe you just select on merit and try to address the productivity crisis in public services, rather than use internships as a tool of social engineering and petty class politics…' But Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said getting more people from working class backgrounds into the civil service would help the government make better decisions. 'We need to get more working class young people into the Civil Service so it harnesses the broadest range of talent and truly reflects the country. Government makes better decisions when it represents and understands the people we serve. 'I want to open up opportunities for students from all backgrounds, and in every corner of the UK, so they can take a leading role at the heart of government as we re-wire the state and deliver the Plan for Change.' The internship scheme, which is paid, will give around 200 undergraduates the opportunity to work in a Government department for two months. They will get experience planning events, writing briefing notes for ministers and shadowing senior civil servants. Those who perform well will then be fast-tracked to the final stages of the Fast Stream selection process if they decide to apply for a job after graduating from university. It will open for application in October, with the first cohort starting in summer 2026.
The Sun
31-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Britain must follow New Zealand and ditch war on oil and gas, demand top Tories and Reform UK
BRITAIN must follow New Zealand's lead and ditch the war on oil and gas, top Tories and Reform UK demanded last night. Kiwi ministers have this week torn up their 2018 drilling ban - imposed by ex-PM Jacinda Ardern - blaming it for soaring energy bills and growing blackout risks. 3 3 Climate and energy minister Simon Watts told Parliament: "In times where renewable production decreases, it is clear that we need contingency options to ensure that Kiwis are not left footing a bigger bill, and to ensure that we have sufficient supply.' The move has reignited calls in the UK to scrap Labour's own plans to block new North Sea licenses - with warnings it will cost jobs, raise taxes and wreck energy security. It comes as official figures revealed UK gas imports surged by 20 per cent between January and March 0 just as North Sea output plunged by 6.9 per cent. The fall marks the first signs that Labour's ban on new drilling is beginning to bite - forcing Britain to rely more heavily on foreign gas from Norway, Qatar and the US, often with higher emissions and higher costs. Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said: " Ed Miliband should learn from New Zealand. His plans to shut down the North Sea are economic insanity. "All it will mean is that we pay to import gas from abroad with higher emissions when it could have been drilled in Britain." Reform UK's Net Zero is a mega destroyer of jobs and industries. "Red Ed Miliband should take the hint but sadly his tin ear is full of eco zealots." New Zealand's U-turn comes days after US President Donald Trump has called for a "drill, baby, drill" approach to North Sea oil saying it's a 'treasure chest' for the UK. Leaked docs exposing true cost of Net Zero 'proves what we all knew all along', MPs blast 3
Telegraph
31-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Britain's gas imports surge as Miliband abandons North Sea
Britain's imports of gas have surged as Ed Miliband's shutdown of the North Sea triggers a slump in production. Government figures published on Thursday show imports jumped by 20pc between January and March just as North Sea gas output plummeted 6.9pc. The fall comes as the Energy Secretary's ban on new drilling begins to bite. The revelations come just days after Donald Trump lambasted Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Miliband for imposing a 78pc windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas profits and for banning new drilling. The US president posted on his Truth Social site: 'North Sea Oil is a TREASURE CHEST for the United Kingdom. The taxes are so high, however, that it makes no sense. They have essentially told drillers and oil companies that, 'we don't want you'.' While Mr Miliband is ending new production in British waters, demand for gas remains strong. Consumption jumped by 8.5pc during the first three months of the year as freezing temperatures prompted gas-fired power stations to turn on to help support the country's energy system. Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, said: 'Labour's plans to shut down the North Sea when we're going to need gas for decades is sheer economic insanity. No other country is doing this. It will only make us more reliant on foreign imports.' Mike Offshore Energies UK, which represents the UK oil and gas industry, said the UK would need gas for decades to come both to provide home heating and to generate electricity when renewables failed. He said: 'The UK needs a diverse energy system which offers multiple choices. Wind will provide an increasing share of the mix but intermittency will remain an issue for which gas power generation will provide back-up.' The slump in gas production coincided with a fall in winter wind speeds caused by periods of unusually still weather. Output from Britain's wind farms fell 13pc during the first three months of the year, with windless spells helping push the UK close to blackouts on at least one occasion. 'Near record low wind speeds for the quarter led to a 13pc drop in wind generation,' said the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero report. 'Wind generation provided 28.5pc of the total generation, short of the 38.1pc provided by gas. The increase in gas generation reflected low wind speeds and the result of a drop in net imports of electricity.' Richard Tice, Reform UK's energy spokesman, said: 'Despite extra wind power investment and billions more in subsidies, wind generation fell 13pc over winter. Plus, government policy meant we produced less gas from the North Sea so imports surged. This is the economics of a madhouse.' About 180 of the UK's 280 oil and gas fields are expected to shut down by 2030 in response to the previous government's windfall taxes and Mr Miliband's ban on new drilling. The majority of the gas imports came from Norway, the US and Qatar. Gas from Norway comes via an undersea pipeline, while imports from elsewhere arrive as liquefied natural gas (LNG) on giant shipping tankers. Barnaby Wharton, of Renewable UK, said: 'There is no one who credibly believes we could meet the UK's electricity needs by burning the gas that's left in the North Sea. 'We successfully drilled nearly all of our North Sea oil and gas in the boom years of the 80s and 90s. Now we need to capitalise on our world leading wind resources or we are going to end up importing billions of pounds of foreign gas to keep the lights on.'
The Independent
18-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
MP says allowing 16-year-olds to vote will distract them from GCSE's
A senior Tory, Claire Coutinho, has warned against lowering the voting age to 16, arguing it would distract teenagers from their exams. Ms Coutinho stated that elections often occur during exam season (May-July), adding unnecessary pressure on 16 and 17-year-olds. The government has announced the voting age will be lowered to 16 for the next election, expected by summer 2029, allowing approximately 1.5 million more teenagers to vote. This change will align UK -wide elections with Scotland and Wales and represents the biggest alteration to the electorate since 1969. Keir Starmer has encouraged 16-year-olds to be politically engaged as they can be in the future of their country.
Telegraph
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Votes for 16-year-olds will ‘disrupt exam season'
Sir Keir Starmer's plan to lower the voting age to 16 will disrupt exam season, a Tory shadow minister has claimed. Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, said young people do not need the 'added pressure' of deciding whether to focus on their exams or 'stay up to watch' political debates. Downing Street this week confirmed a proposal that will mean 1.5 million 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote at the next general election and potentially in local elections before then. The GCSE and A-Level exam season usually spans May and the first half of June – traditionally the time of year at which prime ministers have been most likely to call elections. Ms Coutinho, who has recently returned from maternity leave, told Times Radio: 'The thing that I worry about, and I might be speaking as a new mum, is that it's exam season. 'Elections are often in May, June, July and I don't really think 16 and 17-year-olds need this added pressure of being dragged into politics.' She added: 'Can you imagine saying, 'OK, I've got this right, it's a new right, I've got exam season coming up but maybe I should stay up to watch this political debate, maybe I should be out there campaigning.' 'Personally, I think 18 is the right age. I have no problem with politicians wanting to compete for younger votes [...] I don't think you have a massive difference between 18 and 16.' Ms Coutinho went on to say that because most 16 to 17-year-olds would be sitting GCSEs or AS-Level exams, 'I just don't think it is the right thing for them'. Sir Keir's son was taking his GCSEs when the last general election was called. The now-Prime Minister then borrowed an £18 million penthouse flat from Lord Alli, saying this allowed his son to study for his exams without walking past journalists or protesters. He said at the time: 'We had a situation where the election was called. Not what we expected. 'My son happened to be in the middle of his GCSEs. That means there are a lot of journalists outside the front door and in the street. I'm not complaining about that. 'But if you're 13, as my girl is, if you're 16, as my boy is, that's quite hard to navigate when you're concentrating on GCSEs.' Sir Keir's plans to drop the voting age to 16 comes after a surge in the popularity of Reform. Labour, like other Left-wing parties, has traditionally been more attractive to younger people. Downing Street is expected to press ahead with the reform despite it not having been planned for Labour's first parliamentary session, suggesting an element of panic over the next national poll. A Telegraph analysis suggested that giving 16-year-olds the vote will hand nine Commons seats to Labour that would otherwise have gone to Reform. Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, said the plans amounted to 'an attempt to rig the political system' but vowed to give Labour 'a nasty surprise' amid his rising social media popularity.
