Starmer faces Labour rebellion over winter fuel payment cuts ahead of PMQs – live

Sir Keir Starmer is now as unpopular as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, the latest opinion polling has suggested.

Some 60% of people now hold an unfavourable opinion of the Labour Party, according to pollsters at YouGov, just three months after it swept to power with a landslide majority at the general election.

Sir Keir’s net favourability ratings have dropped to minus 36 with the British public, while Mr Farage is at minus 35.

Two senior Scottish Labour MSPs have defied their party leadership in a significant vote at Holyrood, calling for the government to reverse controversial cuts to winter fuel payments.

The motion, brought by First Minister John Swinney, demands Westminster to scrap its decision to make benefit means-tested.

It passed overwhelmingly, with 99 votes to 14.

Former Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard and Alex Rowley, who recently stepped down from the frontbencher, joined forces with the SNP and other parties to back the non-binding motion.

A Scottish Labour amendment, which sought to remove the demand for a U-turn and instead called on the Scottish government to reinstate the fuel insecurity fund, was defeated.

Party leader Anas Sarwar defended the prime minister’s stance, claiming that while the new criteria for winter fuel payments was “too restrictive”, the move was necessary.

The government’s decision has sparked controversy north of the border, where the Scottish government claims its hands are tied.

Mr Swinney warned that the cuts, combined with rising energy prices, were creating a “double whammy” for vulnerable pensioners.

Welcome back to our live coverage.

The Conservative leadership contest intensifies today, with another crucial vote set to narrow the field from three to two candidates.

Yesterday say Tom Tugendhat exit the race, leaving Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Robert Jenrick to battle it out.

By 3.30pm today, we will know which candidates will go head-to-head in the final round, as Tory MPs cast their decisive votes.

Mr Cleverly, who surged to the top in the latest round, will be looking to maintain his lead, while Ms Badenoch and Mr Jenrick vie for that second spot.

In other political news, Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are set for a fiery exchange during Prime Minister’s Questions at noon. Key issues on the top of the agenda will include Labour’s upcoming tax plans in their budget statement.

Stay tuned for live updates throughout the day, including morning media rounds with culture secretary Lisa Sandy and leadership contender Robert Jenrick.

Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch are locked in a tight race to secure a place in the final round of the Conservative leadership contest, with just one vote separating the two candidates.

James Cleverly appears to have a clear path to the final stage after topping yesterday’s vote with 39 supporters, leaving Mr Jenrick and Ms Badenoch to compete for the remaining spot.

The former immigration secretary received 31 votes, while the shadow business secretary followed closely with 30.

Both are seen as rising figures on the Conservative right. But, with just hours left before MPs cast their votes for the last time, the rivals are scrambling to consolidate support among their parliamentary colleagues.

Ms Badenoch’s team urged MPs to rally behind her as the candidate best suited to unify the party’s right wing, while a spokesperson for Mr Jenrick’s campaign claimed he is still in “prime position” to make the final two.

Renters’ voices are “finally starting to be heard”, a charity has said as Angela Rayner prepares to table her bill to ban “cruel” no-fault evictions.

Anti-homelessness charity Shelter said 11 million renters in England have been “ignored or shouted down” after sounding the alarm about the broken system for years.

Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell has the full story below:

The House of Commons is back in session, and the coming weeks will provide ample opportunities for your parliamentarians to opine, shine, and, of course, whine for personal and party advantage, as well as for the betterment of the British people.

In a still-new parliament with a record turnover of members, all among them, from the new-ish prime minister to the new leader of the opposition, will have much to prove and still more to keep them busy.

Our associate editor Sean O’Grady takes a look at what is in store at Westminster in the weeks to come…

Serious concerns about the record number of investigations launched when information suggests a child is being seriously harmed has prompted councils to call for emergency funding in the forthcoming Budget.

Amid concerns that the “lifeline” provided to young people at risk could be compromised by soaring costs, the Labour-led Local Government Association (LGA) called for the Chancellor to intervene after an 11% increase in costs in the last year alone.

New figures published by the Department for Education show the number of of “Section 47” investigations, which take place when there is reasonable cause to suspect a child is suffering or likely to suffer serious harm, reached 225,400 in 2023.

This is equivalent to 618 cases a day, with inquiries focused on 192 children per 10,000 of the under-18 population, and represents a 77% increase since 2013.

Labour’s polling lead has fallen to just one point after a rocky start to Sir Keir Starmer’s time in government.

The latest polling comes despite the prime minister attempting to draw a line under the disorder by accepting the resignation of his chief of staff Sue Gray.

The survey, conducted by More in Common for Politico, put Labour on 29 per cent and the Conservative Party on 28 per cent.

Reform UK was on 19 per cent, while the Lib Dems were on 11 per cent. The Green Party was at seven per cent, while the SNP was on two per cent.

Boris Johnnson has denied mocking the public for obeying lockdown rules “like a religion” in his new memoir, which saw him question why people “so avidly craved” restrictions.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Johnson said he “totally rejects” the claim he was expressing disdain for members of the public who followed the rules during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a chapter of his book about fighting the second wave of the pandemic, the former prime minister pointed out the “sheer complexity” of the tier system, which saw different parts of the UK placed under varying levels of restriction.

Mr Johnson said: “The real question is why on earth the public so avidly craved these rules and why they were so willing to have their doings circumscribed in such rabbinical detail.”

Our political correspondent Millie Cooke reports: