According to reports, plans will be abandoned in light of backlash from southern voters and MPsThe government is reportedly backpedalling on its commitment to overhaul planning laws in order to accelerate infrastructure projects with a target of buildi…
Ending universal credit boost will hit sickest areas the hardest, study shows
New research finds scrapping the £1,000-a-year benefit uplift will ‘trigger mental illness and poorer health’ for thousandsScrapping the £1,000-a-year boost to universal credit next month will trigger mental illness and poorer health for thousands of p…
Churchill Fellowship rejects criticism from Boris Johnson after website rebrand
Churchill’s grandson oversaw change that had almost no complaints until Daily Mail and Sun coverageThe Churchill Fellowship has rejected allegations by Boris Johnson that it has airbrushed out images of Britain’s wartime prime minister from its website…
Universities in England favour cancel culture over quality, says Williamson
Education secretary tells vice-chancellors they risk undermining public confidence in higher education Gavin Williamson has accused some universities of being more interested in “cancelling national heroes” and bureaucracy than improving the lives of s…
Treasury to decide how much of social care levy goes to NHS after 2025
In first three years, less than one pound in six will go to social care sector, then chancellor will allocateThe chancellor will decide what proportion of the £12bn annual proceeds from the health and social care levy will go to the NHS after 2025, leg…
MPs criticise slow pace of dealing with Afghan relocations to UK
Labour and Tory MPs remind Boris Johnson that he had promised immediate action on MondayMPs who have contacted the government about constituents and others trapped in Afghanistan will not even be told what department will deal with the case until a wee…
Tory MPs call it reform, but the elections bill looks more like a heist
Alongside mandating voter ID, the government plans to keep the Electoral Commission – which oversees elections – in checkWhen judging a law that rewrites the rules of democracy, the test is not whether it does what the current government promises, but …
Boris Johnson squeezes working people in national insurance hike
The PM repeats his line ‘But a global pandemic wasn’t in our manifesto, either’ as he announces tax risesThe prime minister, once again, had to level with us. Flanked by his chancellor and health secretary, he kicked off with some truth bombs. NHS wait…
Boris Johnson stakes reputation on £12bn fix for health and social care
MPs likely to pass PM’s healthcare levy on Wednesday, pushing tax burden to record peacetime level MPs are set to usher in a historic £12bn healthcare levy on Wednesday, pushing the tax burden to a record peacetime level as Boris Johnson stakes his pol…