Rachel Reeves seen smiling and laughing in united front with Keir Starmer after Commons tears
Reeves in tears at PMQs after 'altercations with Starmer and Speaker'
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The Herald Scotland
16 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
SNP urge UK Labour rethink over reports scrapping two child cap ‘dead'
The UK-wide policy prevents parents from claiming universal credit or child tax credit for more than two children, with a few exemptions. Senior Labour figures have also reportedly warned that tax hikes are on the horizon after the benefits climbdown. 'My assessment is that is now dead in the water,' a No 10 source told The Sunday Times. A No 11 source added: 'MPs will need to acknowledge that there is a financial cost to not approving the welfare changes, whether that's tax rises or not scrapping the two-child benefit cap. They need to understand the trade-offs.' The Scottish government has already said it will effectively scrap the two-child benefits for those north of the border from March next year. Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the move would help keep 20,000 children out of relative poverty. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has said he will "constructively and in good faith" with the Scottish Government "if they are serious" about lifting the two-child benefit cap. READ MORE: Two-child benefit cap to end in Scotland from March 2026 Herald urges Starmer to scrap two child benefit cap Starmer faces mounting pressure to abolish child benefit cap Commenting on the recent reports, SNP Deputy Westminster Leader Pete Wishart MP said: "Keir Starmer must not punish children for his disastrous mistakes over the Labour Party's cuts to disabled people. "It is utterly shameful that as a direct result of Labour Party austerity cuts child poverty is rising to record levels in the UK - and the Prime Minister is failing to lift a finger to tackle it. "Scrapping the two child benefit cap is the absolute bare minimum - and it should have been done on the Labour government's first day in power. "It's pathetic that senior Labour Party figures now want to keep this punitive welfare cut just to show rebel MPs who's in charge. Saving Keir Starmer embarrassment is not more important than tackling child poverty. "Around 2.3million families are living in poverty because the Labour Party is refusing to match SNP action. "Instead of dragging his feet on abolishing the two child cap, Keir Starmer should be making progress on matching the SNP's Scottish Child Payment UK-wide, which is the kind of bold measure needed to really make a dent in child poverty. "Thanks to SNP action, Scotland is the only part of the UK where child poverty is falling. Unless Keir Starmer urgently follow's Scotland's lead, his lasting legacy will be pushing millions of children into destitution." Asked about the cap this morning, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said 'future spending decisions have been made harder' by the U-turn on Sir Keir's welfare cuts. Ms Phillipson told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that ministers are "looking at every lever and we'll continue to look at every lever to lift children out of poverty". She added: "The decisions that have been taken in the last week do make decisions, future decisions harder. "But all of that said, we will look at this collectively in terms of all of the ways that we can lift children out of poverty." On Thursday, the Prime Minister was asked whether he still wanted to scrap the two-child cap. He responded: 'The last Labour government drove down child poverty and it's one of the proudest things that we did. 'Sadly, the last government allowed child poverty to go back up again. 'I'm determined that this government will drive it down, just as the last Labour government did. 'We've got a strategy and a task force working on this and will lay out the details of that. I personally don't think there's a silver bullet that if you do this one thing, it will deal with child poverty.' The UK Government's Child Poverty Taskforce was due to report in the spring, however, it has now been delayed until the autumn.
Scottish Sun
13 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Chancellor Rachel Reeves rules out raising rates of income tax, National Insurance, or VAT
Treasury sources insisted they were sticking to the 2024 manifesto's pledge on key taxes TAXING TIMES Chancellor Rachel Reeves rules out raising rates of income tax, National Insurance, or VAT Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) RACHEL Reeves has ruled out raising rates of income tax, National Insurance, or VAT. Economists warned the Chancellor might have to break Labour's manifesto pledge not to raise any of those taxes. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up Experts say she may need up to £30billion more in revenue to cover sluggish growth and Labour U-turns. On Tuesday, she told Cabinet ministers that rebels' reversal of planned benefit reforms meant taxes would have to rise. But Treasury sources insisted they were sticking to the 2024 manifesto's pledge on key taxes. It comes after a tough week for the Cabinet minister, who was seen crying in the Commons at PMQs on Wednesday. READ MORE ON RACHEL REEVES TAKING US FOR FUELS Brits face MORE pumps misery as fears mount Reeves will hike fuel duty She later said her tears had been caused by a 'personal issue'. Yesterday The Sun reported that drivers already hammered by soaring motoring taxes could face fresh pain at the pump with a fuel duty hike. Reeves was understood to be 'considering everything' at the next Budget after her welfare U-turn — prompting fears for motorists. Top Tory Dame Priti Patel said a hike would mean a 'betrayal of working people'. The AA said motorists are already being squeezed, with Vehicle Excise Duty rising by £30 since 2022, plus millions more paid in parking charges, tolls and congestion fees. AA boss Edmund King also warned any rise at the pumps 'could be catastrophic' for the UK economy. He added: 'The added danger is increased duty simply fuels higher inflation. The strong message to the Chancellor is 'keep it down'.' Rachel Reeves FINALLY addresses Commons tears after she and Keir Starmer put on awkward show of unity
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Tories warned Labour about Rachel Reeves' tears 17 minutes BEFORE PMQs started
Keir Starmer 's claim that he did not know Rachel Reeves was in tears was branded 'nonsense' last night after the Tories insisted they gave Labour 'early warning' of her distress. Tory MPs revealed they alerted Labour whips to the fact that the Chancellor was weeping in the Commons to ensure she got help. They say that was at 11.43am – 17 minutes before Prime Minister's Questions when Ms Reeves had tears rolling down her cheeks as she sat next to an apparently oblivious Sir Keir. One Tory MP said: 'It simply beggars belief that with that much warning, the PM wasn't told. 'Nearly 20 minutes before PMQs began, we could see Reeves was already tearful sitting on the front bench and we alerted Labour whips to the problem. 'It's nonsense to say Starmer wouldn't have been aware.' Last night Downing Street was still insisting Sir Keir spent the entire half-hour session of questions unaware of her trauma. But amid continued confusion, party sources claimed last night that Labour whips were so worried at Ms Reeves' state of mind, they tried to stop her appearing alongside Sir Keir. They said whips pleaded with Ms Reeves – who had briefly come out of the Chamber – not to go back inside. But sources close to the Chancellor said there was 'no truth' in that claim. Ms Reeves said yesterday she regretted going into PMQs in tears 'after a tough day in the office'. She told The Guardian: 'It was a personal matter but it was in the glare of the camera. 'And that's unfortunate, but I think people have seen that I'm back in business and back out there.' The events – which sparked turmoil on financial markets – began after Ms Reeves was rebuked by Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle as she entered the Commons over taking too long to answer Treasury questions the previous day. She was overheard replying that she was 'under so much pressure' before briefly taking her seat but then leaving afterwards in what appeared to be distress. To the surprise of some Labour MPs, Ms Reeves then reappeared to take her place at Sir Keir's side when he arrived for PMQs. But to the horror of colleagues, the self-styled Iron Chancellor then wept beside the PM. MPs were surprised that Sir Keir was seemingly oblivious to how upset she was, even after Tory leader Kemi Badenoch pointed out how 'absolutely miserable' she looked. Sir Keir also forgot to guarantee that his Chancellor's position was safe after her role in last week's humiliating U-turn on saving almost £5 billion from controversial welfare cutbacks. The Government was forced to deny reports that Sir Keir and his deputy Angela Rayner had rows with Ms Reeves over the benefits fiasco which had upset her. The Treasury insisted her distress was caused by a personal matter, while Ms Reeves sought to bounce back next day with an unexpected appearance at the launch of the Government's ten-year health plan. But questions have remained over how Sir Keir could not have been aware of her state of mind – especially as his parliamentary aide Chris Ward tapped her on the shoulder to check she was OK. Later on Wednesday, Sir Keir told the BBC that Ms Reeves would be Chancellor 'for a very long time to come'. Reeves Paves Way for Tax Rises Rachel Reeves refused to rule out tax rises in the wake of the Government's embarrassing – and expensive – U-turn on welfare reforms. The Chancellor, whose tears in the Commons on Wednesday spooked the financial markets, said: 'I'm not going to apologise for making sure the numbers add up. 'But we do need to make sure that we're telling a story, and a Labour story. We did that well in the Budget and Spending Review, we increased taxes on the wealthiest and businesses.' Asked whether she was prepared to rule out further tax rises, she said: 'I'm not going to because it would be irresponsible for a Chancellor to do that. 'We took the decisions last year to draw a line under unfunded commitments and economic mismanagement. 'So we'll never have to do something like that again. But there are costs to what happened.' Reacting to the welfare U-turn, she said: 'It's been damaging. I'm not going to deny that.'
