Labour warned NI hike could torpedo plan to get millions back to work – live

Sir Keir Starmer risks a blow to his pledge to reset relations with the European Union after Brexit amid fears one of his key allies could be ousted in Friday’s elections in Ireland.

The Labour prime minister has built a strong personal rapport with the Irish leader Simon Harris since his election in July.

But a new poll for The Irish Times suggests Mr Harris’s Fine Gael party has slumped from first to third place, after a gaffe which has been compared to Gordon Brown’s 2010 “bigoted woman” comments.

The pub landlord behind the viral petition calling for a general election has revealed why he decided to start it.

Michael Westwood launched the petition – which has now gained over 2.5 million signatures – last week after growing “fed up” with Sir Keir Starmer just four months after Labour won the general election in a landslide.

“I just thought they were being so negative all the time,” he told the MailOnline.

“They were putting the fear of God into people that everything was so bad. They had also gone back on their manifesto promises. I was just frustrated at what I was seeing and hearing it all the time and it really annoyed me.

“I just typed into Google ‘how to change the prime minister’ and it came back with start a petition. So that’s what I did.”

Today’s white paper includes a brief mention of planned changes to disability benefits, and specifically reforms the work capability assessments.

Labour has said they will meet Conservative spending commitments to reform this DWP health assessment – and shave £3bn from the welfare bill.

However, they have not revealed how they intend to do this. The uncertainty is causing a “huge amount of anxiety” says disability charity Scope.

Louise Rubin, Scope’s head of policy, said: “It’s good to see a positive vision for supporting disabled people who want to work, but we know there’s still a huge amount of anxiety about the changes the government is planning to make to the benefits system.

“The government is pressing ahead with the previous government’s planned £3bn cuts. But not everybody can work. Tightening up conditions so that disabled people are forced to look for work when they are unwell will be disastrous.

“We know that disabled people fear being forced into unsuitable jobs, or losing benefits if they engage with employment services. This lack of trust could seriously undermine the government’s plans to boost employment.

“The government must work with disabled people to transform employment support for those who want to work – but fix our broken benefits system for those who can’t.”

…’frightening’, writes James Moore. The government’s review on disability benefit has been kicked into next year. The question on everybody’s lips is: will Labour sell us all out?

The government’s newly announced ‘Youth Guarantee’ has been welcomed by young persons EveryYouth, but it says more must be done.

Under the Labour plan, all 18- 21-year-olds will be ensured apprenticeship, training, or education opportunities to help them find work.

But EveryYouth CEO Nick Connolly says the government must also “explain how training will be made affordable” for disadvantaged young people.

“Young apprentices are being paid as little as £6.40 an hour on the current National Minimum Wage rate, and this will only increase to £7.55 in April 2025,” he points out.

“That’s tragically low for someone who does not have family support to pay their rent or bills.” The charity boss calls on Liz Kendall to consult with youth charities and raise the minimum wage for youth apprentices.

Ministers have been warned that rising taxes and employment costs could hamper their efforts to get people back into work, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said.

Matthew Percival, work and skills director at the CBI, said the government “deserves credit” for seeking to grip the “critical challenge” of long-term sickness preventing people from returning to work.

He added: “Employers have a key role to play in supporting the delivery of the government’s objectives. There’s no doubt that rising taxes and employment costs will make it more difficult for them to do so.

“That’s why it’s so important business and Government work together to join the dots across the policy landscape in order for policy intent to translate into long-term impact.

“The Government can make it easier for businesses to invest in employee health by taking a pragmatic approach to the Employment Rights Bill and expanding tax-free occupational health support.

“CBI analysis shows 49% of businesses would reinvest tax savings into further employee health support, with an additional 26% investing more.

“This could boost the economy by £8.57bn by 2030 and prevent 34,000 people annually from leaving the workforce due to ill health. Businesses are ready to partner with the Government to create a healthier, more productive workforce.”

The assisted dying bill could be axed before it has a chance to be voted on, as a group of MPs have tabled an amendment which could stop it in its tracks.

MPs are scheduled to vote on Kim Leadbeater’s Private Members Bill on Friday, which would legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults if passed.

But a cross-party group of MPs, made up of Conservative MP Ben Spencer, Lib Dem MP Munira Wilson and Labour’s Anna Dixon, have co-sponsored a so-called “wrecking amendment”, which would scupper the bill if enough MPs support it.

It comes after some MPs expressed fears that the legislation has been rushed.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said Liz Kendall has “dodged tough decisions” on welfare as she defended the previous Tory government’s record on employment and welfare.

Ms Whately said the new Labour administration was “rebranding” some of their ideas, also telling the Commons: “Economic inactivity is a problem for our economy and for each and every individual who risks being written off to a life on benefits.

“Knowing that, I am disappointed in the substance of what she is announcing today because far from matching her rhetoric, this appears to be little more than a pot of money for local councils, some disparaging language about the work of Job Centres and a consultation which will be launched in the spring. Given that they’ve had 14 years to prepare for this moment, is that it?

“Where are the reforms to benefits that would actually make material savings to the taxpayer, like the £12 billion we committed to save in our manifesto? Where are the reforms to fit notes, which we had handed over all ready to go? Where is her plan for reforming the workplace capability assessment?”

She added: “The fact is the Secretary of State has dodged tough decisions. Every day she kicks the can down the road costs the taxpayer millions of pounds, at this rate rising to £100 billion on sickness benefits by the end of this Parliament.”

Ms Kendall, in her reply, said: “The only people who dodged difficult decisions on welfare were the party opposite.”