Reeves 1) Bigger cuts in civil service jobs planned
“Ministers are drawing up plans to axe up to five times as many civil service jobs as previously planned, as Rachel Reeves puts herself on a collision course with public sector unions. As she looks to balance the books in her spring statement this week, the chancellor announced on Sunday that she would cut up to £2 billion from the government’s running costs by 2030. The cut equates to 15 per cent of the government’s £13 billion-a-year administration budget, of which more than three quarters is spent on staff. The Times understands that the cuts are likely to reduce the size of the civil service by up to 50,000 jobs — five times more than previously mooted by the government.” – The Times
- There’s plenty of fat to cut from the Blob – but does she have the steel? – Leo McKinstry, Daily Mail
- To enable growth, the state must shrink – Leader, Daily Telegraph
- Britain is going into reverse and only massive public sector spending cuts can save us – Leader, The Sun
- Reeves should shock the Left and welcome back austerity – Kamal Ahmed, Daily Telegraph
- 500,000 second-home owners face paying twice as much council tax – The Times
- Chancellor set to increase punishment for late tax returns – Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday: Video: Reeves – ‘I am confident that we can reduce civil service numbers by 10,000’
Reeves 2) Spending is still set to rise
“Sir Keir Starmer is on track to become one of the highest-spending prime ministers in history despite planned budget cuts, new analysis suggests. Research by the TaxPayers’ Alliance think tank has predicted that the Government is expected to spend a total of £6.43 trillion over the course of the current Parliament. This is the equivalent to 45 per cent of GDP and would make Sir Keir the second-highest spending prime minister since the Second World War…Public spending is expected to rise to a record high of £1.27 trillion in 2025-26, which is some £23.2 billion more than spending at the height of the pandemic in 2020-21. This will equate to 45.3 per cent of GDP, a level of state spending that has only been surpassed on a handful of occasions since the war…Public spending per household is expected to rise further under Sir Keir and Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, rising from its current level of £43,670 to £45,184 by 2029-30.” – Daily Telegraph
- National Debt growing by £543 million per day – Daily Express
- New poll shows risks for Keir Starmer over spending choices – Financial Times
- Definition of disability is losing its meaning – Trevor Phillips, The Times
- Local councils in England face financial brink with multibillion-pound funding gap – Daily Express
>Today: Helen Whately on Comment: It’s clear that the Conservatives will have to do the serious thinking on welfare
Yesterday:
Reeves 3) Chancellor challenged over free tickets
“Rachel Reeves has come under fire for accepting an expensive freebie as she prepares to axe thousands of jobs. The embattled Chancellor admitted that she and a family member took £600 seats in a corporate box at a Sabrina Carpenter concert this month…’I do now have security which means it’s not as easy as it would’ve been in the past to just sit in a concert, although that would probably be a lot easier for everyone concerned,’ Ms Reeves told the BBC. Asked if she paid for the tickets, she replied: ‘Obviously I’ll declare the value of them, but they weren’t tickets that you were able to buy.’ But she faced a backlash – including from within her own party – at a time when she is also being accused of ushering in a new era of austerity in order to balance the books.” – Daily Mail
- Rayner asked to go on safari during official trip to Ethiopia – The Times
Reeves 4) Tax rid on family firms “to cost 200,000 jobs”
“More than 200,000 jobs will be lost and £14.9billion wiped from the economy as a result of Labour’s tax raid on family firms, a bombshell report warns today. Changes to inheritance tax reliefs are already forcing businesses to cut jobs, cancel investment and sell up, according to the study by CBI Economics for Family Business UK. More than 4,000 family businesses and farms were surveyed, with experts forecasting a loss of 208,500 jobs and £14.9billion in lost business activity by April 2030.” – The Sun
Reeves 5) Lawson: I’m glad she took down my father’s portrait
“Nor was I in the least bit put out when Reeves removed the portrait of my father from the Chancellor’s office in 11 Downing Street and replaced it with one of ‘Red Ellen’ Wilkinson, a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, who eventually became education secretary in Clement Attlee’s post-war Labour cabinet. It is absolutely right for each Chancellor to be able to choose the portraits of his or her own political heroes looking over them as they work. As I pointed out to Reeves’s predecessor Jeremy Hunt, when he asked me about this, my father would have been much happier not to have his image in the Chancellor’s study, gazing helplessly over her as she proceeded to bring in policies which, far from being ‘the most business-friendly ever’, are doing dreadful damage to the entrepreneurial spirit he had worked so hard to promote.” – Dominic Lawson, Daily Mail
Migrants will be put up in hotels for years yet, Treasury admits
“Migrants will be housed in hotels and other temporary accommodation for years to come, the Treasury has admitted as it ordered the Home Office to find cheaper providers and to prevent private companies “profiteering” from the small boats crisis. Treasury advisers tasked with finding annual savings of £4 billion targeted Home Office spending on migrant hotels in an audit launched earlier this month.” – The Times
- Albanian criminal can stay in the UK as his deportation would cause ‘considerable distress’ to his son who has a learning disability – Daily Mail
>Today: Robert Jenrick on Comment: We are on the brink of two-tier justice under Two-Tier Keir
Lib Dems warn against “appeasing Trump” over digital services tax
“Keir Starmer has been warned against “appeasing” Donald Trump as he considers reducing a major tax for US tech companies while cutting disability benefits and public sector jobs. His chancellor, Rachel Reeves, confirmed on Sunday that there were “ongoing” discussions about the UK’s £1bn-a-year digital services tax that affects companies including Meta and Amazon. She expressed optimism that Trump’s 25% tariffs on British steel could be removed in any deal, but did not deny there could be changes to the digital services tax, which the US has lobbied against. “You’ve got to get the balance right,” she said. While any changes would not take place in this week’s spring statement, the Liberal Democrats warned Labour was “in danger of losing its moral compass” and it would be “tantamount to robbing disabled people to appease [Elon] Musk and Trump”. – The Guardian
- Trump tariffs hang over Reeves’ plan to repair UK public finances – Financial Times
Heathrow ‘had enough power to avoid shutdown’
“Heathrow Airport had enough power to avoid shutting down on Friday, the chief executive of the National Grid has claimed. John Pettigrew, speaking for the first time since a fire at an electricity substation prompted the airport’s closure, said two other substations serving the site were working and could have provided sufficient power to keep it open. His comments came amid a heated blame game over the unprecedented shutdown of Europe’s busiest airport, which led to 1,300 flights being cancelled and around 200,000 people stranded across the globe.” – Daily Telegraph
- Heathrow blame game is not a sign of resilience – Libby Purves, The Times
Scots divided on free university tuition
“Half of Scots support reintroducing tuition fees for students whose families can afford to pay, new research has revealed. The report, published by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, found 48 per cent of Scottish adults would back the idea of charging fees “based on the ability to pay”. Fewer than a third of respondents (29 per cent) said they would not back such a move, according to polling conducted by Ipsos Mori. Although there was widespread support for the taxpayer providing “some form of help” with the cost of fees, Scots were divided over the “extent and scope” of the assistance that should be provided.” – Daily Telegraph
>Today: ToryDiary: The current structure of the university sector makes scandals inevitable
Phillipson suggests end of free school meals for some infants
“Bridget Phillipson has suggested cutting school spending by £500 million and ending universal free meals for infants, as part of negotiations with the Treasury ahead of the spending review. The education secretary has also offered to axe funding for free period products in schools as well as dance, music and PE schemes as part of potential savings.” – The Times
Military raise doubts over ‘coalition of the willing’ ambitions
“Sir Keir Starmer’s plans for a “coalition of the willing” to keep the peace in Ukraine have been dismissed as “political theatre”. The Prime Minister proposed the peacekeeping initiative earlier this month, insisting several countries were prepared to enforce any peace deal. But few concrete details of what troops and equipment would be sent have emerged. On Sunday, senior military sources dismissed the plans, telling The Telegraph that Sir Keir had “got ahead of himself”. – Daily Telegraph
- US envoy dismisses Starmer’s Ukraine plan as ‘posture and pose’ – The Times
- Russian economy meltdown as Kremlin forced to sell state assets amid Western sanctions – Daily Express
Publish pothole plans or lose funding, Starmer orders councils
“Sir Keir Starmer will force town halls to publish their plans to tackle potholes or risk losing crucial funding. For the first time, every council in England will be told they must report the number of potholes filled, with their share of road funding at stake if they fail to comply.” – Daily Telegraph
- Peers to force vote on reinstating local elections cancelled by Rayner – Daily Telegraph
Other political news
- General Election in Canada called for April 28th – BBC
- Only Filipinos more reluctant to go into the office than Britons – The Times
- Miliband ‘to block’ bid to ban government from buying Chinese solar panels feared to have been made with slave labour – Daily Mail
- Fierce protests in Turkey after Erdogan rival jailed – BBC
- Israelis kill another senior Hamas leader – Daily Telegraph
- Critics of UK’s AI copyright proposal must not ‘resist change’, says minister – Financial Times
- Sir Lindsay Hoyle fears cabal of ‘woke’ Labour MPs are plotting to oust him as Speaker after lavish spending on flights, hotels and cars – Daily Mail
- Green Party selects candidate to run for mayor – BBC
- MPs think they may have been targets of ‘disinformation’ over Bangladesh inquiry – The Guardian
- Benefits claimants receive free electric vehicle chargers under taxpayer-subsidised Motability car scheme – Daily Mail
Balls: Badenoch doesn’t want a pact with Farage
“On paper, a mix of supporters of Reform and the Conservatives pointing at the polling and making the point that there could be an argument for the two parties working together isn’t that sinister. However, the reason this poses a threat to Badenoch is that she has come out firmly against a pact and there is no love lost between her and Farage. “If we have to work with Nigel – and the current polls suggest the Reform vote is too sticky to not – you can’t have Kemi as leader,” says a former government adviser. They argue that Badenoch’s leadership style is too abrasive, even if she did change tack. It’s here that a game of fantasy leader tends to happen. Names being floated as Reform-friendly Tory leaders include Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick. Jenrick – who lost to Badenoch in the leadership contest – is these days seen as the most likely successor were Badenoch to go.” – Katy Balls, The Guardian
- Cummings breaks silence after secret dinner with Nigel Farage – The Guardian
- Miliband has either lost the plot entirely or he’s a Reform UK plant – James Whale, Daily Express
News in brief
- Lord Frost floats a 2028 Reform pact – Steerpike, The Spectator
- A day of infamy – Toby Young, Daily Sceptic
- Kemi Badenoch has shown that she has the mettle needed for exceptional leadership – Jacob Rees-Mogg, Substack
- Adolescence is an absolute clunker – Will Solfiac, The Critic
- Is anyone brave enough to fix SEND policy? – Callum Robertson, CapX
