Conservatives will look to amend Government welfare Bill
Ministers have warned there will be costs to their backtracking on the plans, as Downing Street and the Treasury will be looking to cover the spending shortfall left by the decision.
The Tories will look to lay amendments to the legislation – set to be renamed the Universal Credit Bill – and party leader Mrs Badenoch is due to deliver a speech on welfare on Thursday.
Among the amendments the Conservatives will propose is a requirement for eligibility for Pip to be determined by a face-to-face meeting, rather than virtually.
As part of the Government's reforms, the Department for Work and Pensions has proposed a new 'severe conditions criteria' for universal credit.
Claimants in this category will be entitled to a higher rate of the benefit, and will not be routinely reassessed to receive money.
Another of the Conservatives' amendments would prevent somebody from being classed as having a severe condition for the purpose of universal credit only by having anxiety, mild depression, or ADHD.
The third amendment would block the increase in universal credit and restrict Pip for some people who are not British citizens.
In her welfare speech, Mrs Badenoch is expected to say that the Conservatives are 'the only party that is prepared to take the tough decisions to get spending under control'.
'I have no doubt that, emboldened by their success in forcing Starmer to U-turn last week, Labour's backbench MPs will now be eyeing up more concessions,' she will say.
The original welfare proposals had been part of a package that ministers expected would save up to £5 billion a year, and economists are now warning that tax rises are likely to plug the gap left by the concessions to rebels.
On Friday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves admitted that the fallout over the Government's welfare Bill had been 'damaging' and did not rule out tax rises in the autumn budget.
It came after images of the Chancellor crying during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday spooked the financial markets and led to questions about her future, although a spokesman said she was upset by a personal matter.
In an interview with The Guardian, Ms Reeves said it would be 'irresponsible' to rule out the idea of tax rises and warned 'there are costs to what happened' with the welfare Bill.
The Sunday Times reported that the two-child benefit cap could be unlikely to be scrapped – as many Labour backbenchers want – as ministers look to balance the finances.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
Starmer joins packed St Paul's memorial service on anniversary of 7/7 London bombings
Update: Date: 11:50 BST Title: Mayor of London reads a passage from the Bible Content: Back inside the Cathedral, we've just finished hearing from the mayor of London. Sadiq Khan stood at the front of St Paul's to read a short passage from the Bible. "So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known," Khan reads. Candles on long sticks were then carried along the central aisle of St Paul's Cathedral as a woman sang. Update: Date: 11:47 BST Title: Badenoch, Khan and Duchess of Edinburgh attend service Content: Before the memorial service got under way, we received a couple more pictures of some of the noteworthy figures joining the packed Cathedral. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, the Duchess of Edinburgh and Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, were all seen a short while ago before taking their seats inside. Update: Date: 11:44 BST Title: Memorial service under way inside St Paul's Cathedral Content: Inside St Paul's a section of music played as people took their seats underneath the Cathedral's famous dome. The Dean of St Paul's Cathedral Andrew Tremlett started the memorial service by saying they are marking the "solemn anniversary of an act of terror inflicted on our city on this day 20 years ago". He adds: "We come to honour the memory of those who died, to stand by the survivors and to give thanks to those who responded with courage and compassion." This was followed by another reading and then more music from the choir. Update: Date: 11:36 BST Title: Starmer and former PM May arrive at St Paul's Cathedral Content: The memorial service is now under way inside St Paul's Cathedral. Let's bring you some of the latest images which have come to us in the last few moments. Former Prime Minister Theresa May is seen arriving at St Paul's Cathedral prior to the memorial service Representatives of the Salvation Army, London Ambulance Service, Metropolitan Police and London Underground line the steps Update: Date: 11:29 BST Title: Bells of St Paul's signal start of memorial service Content: London falls silent with only the sound of the bells of St Paul's Cathedral echoing across the capital. The tolling bells signal the start of the memorial service. A reminder, you can watch live to coverage by clicking Play at the top of this page. Update: Date: 11:28 BST Title: The victims of the Tavistock Square attack Content: The youngest of the bombers, Hasib Hussain, detonated his device on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square, not far from King's Cross. The bombing, the fourth and final attack, took place at 09:47 BST - about an hour after the other explosions. The number 30 bus was torn apart in front of the headquarters of the British Medical Association, where a conference was being held. While medical equipment was lacking, dozens of doctors offered lifesaving expertise. Thirteen people who were on the bus were killed. They were: Click on their names to read their stories. Update: Date: 11:26 BST Title: The victims of the Russell Square attack Content: The most deadly attack occurred on the Piccadilly Line between King's Cross and Russell Square. Germaine Lindsay detonated his bomb next to the rear set of double doors in the front carriage of the packed train, just after it pulled out of King's Cross station at 08:49. Twenty-six people were killed. The victims were: Click on their names to read their stories. Update: Date: 11:25 BST Title: The victims of the Aldgate attack Content: Shehzad Tanweer detonated his device on an eastbound Circle Line train between Liverpool Street and Aldgate at 08:49. The explosion at the rear of the second carriage killed seven people. The victims were: Click on their names to read their stories. Update: Date: 11:23 BST Title: The victims of the Edgware Road attack Content: Ahead of the service we'll take a moment to remember those who died in the attacks. Three of the four bombs went off just before 08:50 BST on Tube trains that had departed King's Cross. Ringleader Mohammad Sidique Khan detonated his device on a westbound Circle Line train heading towards Paddington. The bomb exploded at Edgware Road in the second carriage close to the second set of double doors. It killed six people. The victims were: Click on their names to read their stories. Update: Date: 11:20 BST Title: St Paul's Cathedral fills up ahead of memorial service Content: Anna O'NeillBBC London, reporting from St Paul's Cathedral This it the scene from St Paul's where people have started to arrive for the commemorative service which will be starting shortly. Seen arriving at the church were members of the emergency services including assistant commissioner of London Fire Brigade, Patrick Gouldbourne, Dawn Butler MP, as well as some of the survivors of the attacks and their families. Update: Date: 11:17 BST Title: What's happened so far today Content: Events have been taking place this morning to mark the 20th anniversary of the 7/7 bombings that rocked central London, left 52 people dead and injured more than 700. Here is what has taken place so far: The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will join political leaders in attending the National Service of Commemoration at St Paul's Cathedral which starts at 11:30. Update: Date: 11:14 BST Title: People arrive at St Paul's Cathedral for memorial service Content: Aisling TaylorReporting from St Paul's Cathedral People are arriving at St Paul's Cathedral where the main memorial service is due to start at 11:30. Representatives of Transport for London and the emergency services are lining the steps of the cathedral. The service will be attended by survivors and families of the victims, as well as the prime minister and other leading politicians. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are expected to arrive shortly before the service begins. Update: Date: 11:08 BST Title: 'I hope they realised they weren't alone' Content: Karl MercerPolitical editor, BBC London Craig Cassidy, who has been a paramedic with the London Ambulance Service since 1999, says seeing fatally injured people in the tunnel in Aldgate following the 7/7 bombings is seared into his memory. "You cannot prepare for this kind of thing," he says. "You do what's in front of you, you deal with what you're presented with, knowing that you've never experienced this before, but you've got to get on with it. "I put myself to one side. When I when I'm at work, I'm not Craig. I put my uniform on, I'm a different person, I'm a paramedic." Reflecting on his involvement on the day, he adds: "I hope I did it well. I hope I gave some comfort to some of the people. I hope they realised that they weren't alone at that point. "I've been back to that station many times because I still work in the same area. When I go back in, it's still present with me. "Every one of them was someone's partner, someone's wife, someone's husband, someone's son. Parents should never bury a child, and I knew that was going to be happening." Update: Date: 10:59 BST Title: Londoners displayed bravery and kindness on 7/7, says mayor Content: Sir Sadiq Khan has been speaking to the BBC ahead of the commemoration event at St Paul's Cathedral. The London mayor says he remembers the day of the bombings "vividly" and how he began calling around his family to check they were safe. 'Most of us use the Tube, most of us use the buses. None of us knew whether our family and loved ones were safe. None of us knew if there'd be further attacks that day," he says. "What we did see were remarkable signs of kindness and bravery," the mayor adds. Sir Sadiq praised the emergency services and transport workers who ran towards danger during the attacks, as well as civilians who acted as "guardian angels". 'That's who we are and that's what London is all about. 'What these terrorists hate is our diversity, our way of life. Update: Date: 10:50 BST Title: We will always remember them, says Conservative leader Content: Kemi Badenoch is the latest political leader to pay tribute to the 52 victims and hundreds injured in the 7/7 attacks. "Today, we stand with those who carry the pain of that day, the families, friends and colleagues of those who never came home," the Conservative leader says. "We will remember them always." Update: Date: 10:42 BST Title: 'My sister was killed that day and I'm still angry' Content: The brother of a woman killed on 7/7 says he cannot forgive those behind the bomb attacks, two decades on. On 7 July 2005, 29-year-old Laura Webb was on her way to work in central London when she was killed – one of 52 people who died in co-ordinated attacks on the city. Rob Webb, Laura's older brother, says 7/7 was "an attack on all of us" and should never be forgotten. "I remain angry," says Rob, who lives near Cardiff. "Laura was denied the opportunity of a life that me and my brother have been lucky enough to have - somebody decided to take that away from her. "The pain never goes away - I think of her every day." Read their story here. Update: Date: 10:36 BST Title: 'That should not have been my Tube' Content: James W KellyBBC London As memorial events continue, those who were on the Tube that day continue to share their memories. Sajda Mughal was among the passengers on the Piccadilly line train that left King's Cross. 'I was running late that morning so that should not have been my Tube," she tells BBC Radio 5 Live. 'The Tube leaves King's Cross and it was only 10 seconds into the tunnel, towards Russell Square, it was a massive bang and the train shook as if there'd been an earthquake and it came to a sudden halt." She says the "screams just went on" after what she initially thought was a train derailment. "I never thought it was a bomb." 'My life changed 360 degrees. I went from working in the corporate world - in my early 20s it was my dream to be in London - and then I started working at the grassroots because I wanted to change hearts and minds so that it wouldn't happen again." Update: Date: 10:31 BST Title: 'Amid the horror, we saw the best in people' Content: We hear now from Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, the cabinet minister in charge of counter-terrorism, who says the UK will "always confront the threats facing this country". "Twenty years have passed since 7/7 but the passage of time makes what happened that day no less shocking. It was an appalling attack on our capital city and on democracy itself," she says. "Amid the horror of that day, we saw the best of people, our emergency services, first responders and ordinary Londoners who bravely acted to help one another." Update: Date: 10:23 BST Title: BMA staff lay wreaths at Tavistock Square in emotional tribute Content: Aisling TaylorReporting from Tavistock Square At Tavistock Square British Medical Association (BMA) staff members have been laying flowers under the memorial plaque in front of the BMA building. Some staff members were visibly emotional as they paused to reflect on the events 20 years ago. This is where the fourth and final device detonated on a bus killing 13 passengers onboard. After the blast, doctors inside the BMA building rushed out to help those on the street in front of them. Update: Date: 10:17 BST Title: 'I see the lead bomber's face to this day' Content: Dominic CascianiHome and Legal Correspondent Despite 20 years passing since the 7/7 attack, for Dan Biddle the emotional scarring is as constant a reminder as the physical trauma he was left with that day. The face of the lead suicide bomber, Mohammad Sidique Khan, has never left his memory. "I can be in the kitchen and he is stood in the garden," says Dan, who has complex post-traumatic stress disorder. "He's there, dressed as he was on the day, holding the rucksack, just with his hand above it, about to detonate it again." Even if Dan looks away, the bomber is still there when he looks back. "I saw this guy literally disassemble himself in front of me, and now I'm seeing him again." Read Dan's story here.
Daily Mirror
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Car types to be banned by 2030 as UK motorists face huge changes
The ban will mean the vast majority of manufacturers will not be able to sell certain types of vehicles in less than five years Certain types of car are set to be phased out from UK streets within less than five years. The Government has announced that nearly all new solely combustion petrol and diesel cars will be off the market by 2030 and beyond. This means most leading car makers won't be able to sell any form of petrol and diesel vehicle as we shift towards hybrid and electric engines. But the 2030 ban doesn't stop there as even new fossil fuel mild hybrids are in the firing line. The Conservatives had delayed the petrol and diesel motor ban to 2035, but Labour pledged in their manifesto to revert to the original 2030 deadline. Experts at the Electric Car Scheme said: "For drivers, the 2030 deadline means that anyone looking to buy a new conventional petrol or diesel car will need to do so before that date. "However, hybrids will remain an option until 2035, providing a transitional option for those not yet ready to go fully electric." Which? reports that "new pure fossil fuel cars" and "new fossil fuel mild hybrids" are the only vehicles which will be completely banned from 2030. The Government has made some concessions, with plug-in hybrids getting a reprieve until 2035, reports the Express. At the same time, smaller car manufacturers making fewer than 1,000 vehicles a year now have a get-out clause from the stringent Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate targets. The move grants additional leeway for leading British car manufacturers like Caterham, Aston Martin, and McLaren to continue production of combustion engine models for now. This year, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed the strategy, saying it was an important part of a plan to avoid fossil-fuel dependency. She said: "Our plans will restore clarity for manufacturers, provide renewed confidence for charging infrastructure investors and give confidence to consumers considering making the switch. No new petrol or diesel cars will be sold after 2030. All new cars and vans will need to be 100% zero emission by 2035. "The need to transition away from a reliance on fossil fuels has never been clearer, and the transition to zero-emission vehicles will play a critical role in quickly reducing carbon emissions and improving our energy security." Full list of vehicle types banned after 2030
Daily Mail
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Panic over Labour 'wealth tax' to fill £30bn black hole in government finances - with warning millionaires have ALREADY moved huge amounts of cash out of UK
has been warned that a wealth tax would make her situation even worse as Labour 's Left demands more spending. The prospect of a charge on the assets of the well-off has been mooted as the Chancellor scrambles to fill a potential £30billion black hole in the public finances. Lord Kinnock, who led Labour between 1983 and 1992, fueled speculation yesterday by suggesting ministers were looking at a two per cent levy on assets worth more than £10million. He said the move could raise up to £11billion a year and be popular with a 'great majority of the general public'. Left-wingers and unions have lined up behind the idea, as they knock back tentative efforts to curb spiralling benefits costs. However, the Tories warned that there was already an alarming exodus of wealth-creators from Britain thanks to Labour's policies - saying the only people who would suffer from the raid would be the least well-off. Tories warned that there was already an alarming exodus of wealth-creators from Britain thanks to Labour's policies - saying the only people who would suffer from the raid would be the least well-off. Ms Reeves seems to be backed into a corner as she is adamant about sticking to her strict fiscal rules on borrowing. She has also said Labour will keep the manifesto pledge not to hike taxes on income tax, employee national insurance or VAT. But experts have suggested that the stalling economy together with spending pressures could mean she has a £31billion funding gap to fill at the Autumn Budget. The respected IFS has warned the tax increases might even need to be on a similar scale to the record £41billion hike in the burden imposed last year. Speaking to Sky News yesterday, Lord Kinnock said there was now an appearance the Government was being 'bogged down by their own imposed limitations'. But he added there are 'ways around that', such as the introduction of a wealth tax when Ms Reeves presents her next Budget in the Autumn. 'There are ways around that, ways out of it, pathways that I think people are willing to explore and actually, would commend themselves to the great majority of the general public,' the peer said. 'They include, for instance, asset taxes in a period in which - for the last 20-odd years in the UK, like quite a lot of other Western economies - earned incomes have stagnated in real terms while asset values have zoomed. 'They've just gone through the roof.' He added: 'You wouldn't have to touch assets of under £6million or £7million. So people's houses would be secure obviously. 'But even by going for an imposition of 2 per cent on asset values above £10million, say, which is very big fortune, the Government would be in a position to collect £10billion or £11 billion a year. But Tory shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride condemned a tax on assets over £10million as 'the worst thing to do'. He said Labour's tax hikes had already seen around 10,000 to 15,000 high net worth individuals leave Britain. 'Some people, the socialists, might say 'well, who cares about that?', he added. 'Well, the problem is that the amount of tax that those people have been paying requires about a third of a million people on average earnings to cover that lost tax that's just gone straight out of the door. 'So the last thing we want to be doing now is piling further taxes on the wealth creators. 'We need to be, if anything, getting those taxes down, and empowering them to go out and do what they do best, which is creating jobs, and, you know, creating wealth and prosperity for our country.'
