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Treasury denies Healey plan to cut welfare bill before election, claiming his comments were misinterpreted – UK politics live
Asked earlier if there would be a cut to the welfare bill before the next election, the chancellor said: ‘There will be a reduction in the benefits bill’John Healey has denied postponing difficult decisions on the welfare system, insisting the government is making changes “now”.Thinktanks and opposition parties have made this claim. But, when this was put to Healey in an interview on GB News, he replied:This was a broken system. And two years ago we started putting back in place face-to-face assessments. We’ve changed terms of universal credit, so people don’t have to brand themselves as too sick to work.So, those are changes we’re making now. But in the long run, as I’ve argued, and the prime minister has said, too, we have to bring the cost of benefits down.Robinson: Let’s take welfare if we could. £19bn up in the year ahead. That’s the entire police budget for England and Wales. That’s the entire annual defence equipment budget. And yet in your speech you said, well, we’ve got a couple of reports coming next month, then we’ll have a white paper, which in non-Westminster jargon means a consultation, then you’ll have some legislation, then you’ll have a row in the Labour party. You’re not going to make any of these cuts before the next election, are you?Healey: Well first, I’ve said clearly, the prime minister said as well, we have to bring the benefits bill down. You don’t do that by crude cuts, especially when people are feeling the cost of living pressures. We do have a big report, two big reports being produced next month, that will help us map out the way that we need to change the system for the long run. We are in fact reducing and have been over the last two years the rate of increase in the welfare bill compared to the previous period – I’m afraid to say – of a broken system the Conservatives put in place. We’re bringing back and have brought back face to face assessments which they axed for instance. We’ve been changing universal credits so people aren’t branding themselves as too sick to work in order to make that system work better.There will be. [Direct answer to Robinson’s question.] There will be a reduction in the benefits bill [etc etc – Healey expanding on the answer.]There will be, there will be a reduction in the benefits bill [Healey simply repeating three words as he launches into more general answer, not answering Robinson directly, but just explaining the government’s approach.] Continue reading...
US Judge Who Presided Over Trump, Maduro, 9/11 Cases, Dies At 92
Just two weeks ago, Hellerstein presided over the arraignment of Maduro and Maduro's wife, Cilia Flores, on torture charges
Spain begins mourning period after train crash as search continues for victims in wreckage
Emergency services, drones and dog unit continue to comb carriages as Civil Guard sets up clinics for relatives to provide DNA samplesSpain has begun three days of mourning to commemorate the 68 people who died in a high-speed rail collision as hospitals continue to treat scores of injured passengers and rescuers scour the wreckage of the two trains for victims.The trains – one from Spain’s state-owned Renfe and the other from the private rail company Iryo – were heading from Madrid on Wednesday to the southern region of Andalucía on the same line when they collided just before 9am. After the Iryo train came to a halt, the other slammed into its rear, knocking several carriages off the track near the town of Urda in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha. Continue reading...
‘Scattergun’ budget will still leave Britons facing higher energy bills, says thinktank
Healey’s attempt to provide ‘breathing space’ gives rich almost as much as poor, says Resolution FoundationBusiness live – latest updatesBudget 2026: what it means for your wallet, your mortgage and your payJohn Healey delivered a “scattergun” budget that did little to boost living standards and left Britain facing “a painful second half” of the parliament, a leading economic thinktank has warned.The Resolution Foundation said on Thursday that measures to ease household gas and electricity costs would still leave energy bills higher this year than during the last energy shock. Continue reading...
‘I earn £126,000 – but nothing’s left at the end of the month’: readers react to the budget
From a young chef and a single father to business owners and a pensioner, Guardian readers reveal how John Healey’s measures will affect themWhat the budget means for youLouie, 24, a chef living in London, says a lot of people have “written off the idea of even considering getting a property” in their 20s. Continue reading...
One Nation accuses PM of trying to ‘exert undue political influence’ by offering David Farley an extra staffer
Pauline Hanson says Anthony Albanese made ‘unsolicited’ offer of adviser with $200,000 salary to one of her MPsGet our daily political email, free app or daily news podcastThe prime minister, Anthony Albanese, offered the One Nation MP David Farley an additional staff member in what the party has called an “unsolicited” move, made in an attempt to win over the new politician using taxpayer funds.In a statement posted on social media, Pauline Hanson claimed the move, which would cost taxpayers as much as $200,000 in additional salary, was an attempt to “exert undue political influence” over politicians. Continue reading...
Coroner calls for TGA to review unapproved peptides after death of Australian actor
Richard Norton, 75, went into cardiac arrest in March 2025 after injecting prescribed but unapproved CJC1295 and ipamorelinGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe death of an Australian actor after injecting unapproved peptides could result in tougher restrictions on the substances.Richard Norton, 75, an experienced film industry fight choreographer, stuntman and martial artist, went into cardiac arrest in March 2025 after injecting a prescribed but unapproved peptide. Continue reading...
Lambie scolded by ADF chief over hidden camera revelation – as it happened
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGas reservation policy set for lower house vote todayAustralia’s domestic gas reservation is set to be debated and voted on in the lower house today.Rather than international base companies, determining through algorithms what Australians receive, it empowers people themselves to determine what you receive on your devices, so that you should have that control.This isn’t about government having a greater role. It’s about people having a greater role, having more control themselves, and it’s deserving of support of this parliament. Continue reading...
Cambodian police and soldiers helped guard abusive scam compounds, Amnesty alleges
Survivors tell rights group that serving officers who worked as guards administered electric shocks and beatingsCambodian police and military officers worked as private security guards in scam compounds where thousands were forced to work in the online fraud industry, according to a report by Amnesty International.The global rights group alleged they worked for security companies as part of a system that enabled slavery and rape in the compounds, with some guards using electric batons to keep people trapped. Continue reading...
UN reports a sharp rise in Afghanistan poppy cultivation despite a Taliban ban
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports a sharp rise in poppy cultivation and opium production in Afghanistan over the past year
Chinese student arrested over May pepper spray attack in Tokyo
Japanese police have arrested a Chinese national suspected of a pepper spray attack in an upscale Tokyo shopping district
Outcry after Call of Duty maker uses real footage of deadly Seoul crowd crush in new video game
Bereaved families have urged the publisher of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 to remove a clip from the game that shows a figure performing CPR and bodies lying in the streetBereaved families in South Korea have demanded that the makers of Call of Duty remove harrowing footage of the deadly 2022 Seoul crowd crush from the latest instalment of the video game.The clips, which are seconds-long, appear in the opening moments of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, and are used to represent a scenario of civilian casualties during a fictional North Korean invasion. Continue reading...
