Latest news with #LucyPowell
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
This Government is the most devious and dishonest in Britain's history
I thought this Government of Gaslighters had reached its apogee of untruth with Darren Jones's suggestion that most of the illegal migrants crossing the Channel were ' women, children and babies '. When it was pointed out to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury that the Home Office's own figures showed the crossings since January 2025 comprised 81 per cent adult men, he later conceded he 'could have been clearer'. 'I was telling a story about a visit I had to the border security command where I was shown a number of dinghies which did have women, babies and children in them', he insisted, prompting understandable cries of 'liar' on social media. But he's not the only Labourite who has been taking the public for fools. They're all at it. This week, Leader of the Commons Lucy Powell told the chamber, with a straight face: 'We never ruled out returning to the issue of a national inquiry [on grooming gangs].' Yes, that's the same Lucy Powell who accused Tim Montgomerie, the founder of the ConservativeHome website, of peddling 'dog whistle' politics on Radio 4's Any Questions, merely for asking whether she had seen a recent Channel 4 documentary on the scandal. 'Oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now do we', she sneered. 'Let's get that dog whistle out shall we'. Powell's fib came after Home Secretary Yvette Cooper performed a politically expedient u-turn and announced there would, in fact, be a judge-led national inquiry into the rape gangs scandal – having spent the previous year saying we didn't need one. Had the Government admitted it had got it wrong, and changed its mind, it would have been fine. But instead a succession of MPs insisted that they had always wanted a judge-led statutory inquiry and that it was all Kemi Badenoch's fault that the Conservatives hadn't already held one – even though Sir Keir Starmer had suggested that she would be 'jumping on a far-Right bandwagon' for doing so. Such is the utter hypocrisy of Labour's position that Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, of 'Tory scum' fame, called for the issue to be depoliticised, yet when asked by Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp if she would apologise for the Prime Minister's 'far-Right' slur, attacked the opposition for its inaction. Natalie Fleet, the Labour MP for Bolsover, herself a sexual abuse survivor, then took to the airwaves to attack the Conservatives for failing to do enough, while completely failing to mention all the Labour councillors and MPs who covered it up for fear of inflaming 'community relations'. When Telford MP Shaun Davies was the town's council leader, he opposed a local grooming gang inquiry. In 2016, he wrote to the home secretary and prime minister along with nine other local authority figures, saying: 'We do not feel at this time that a further inquiry is necessary.' Yet in a statement to The Telegraph this week, his spokesman insisted: 'To suggest Shaun Davies attempted to obstruct a local inquiry would be completely incorrect.' Do these people think we are as stupid as they are? And they wonder why trust in politics is at an all time low. Jess Phillips is the kind of self-righteous political narcissist who insists that anyone who disagrees with her is a gaslighter. Yet she too has taken this form of psychological manipulation to new heights with the claim, on Newsnight, that she had 'never turned a blind eye' to what was going on. The Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, who nearly lost her Birmingham Yardley seat to a pro-Palestinian Workers Party opponent at the last general election, rejected Oldham Council's request for national support for the inquiry. She repeatedly refused to acknowledge the racially motivated nature of the crimes and criticised the Conservative MP Katie Lam for raising the ethnicity of the perpetrators and yet told the BBC: 'I would never shy away from calling a problem what it is'. (She also once compared the Cologne sex attacks to 'a typical night out in Birmingham'). These were precisely the politicians who would regularly accuse Boris Johnson of being a liar. Maybe he was economically with the truth. But this Labour government has reached plumbed new depths of dishonesty that make Partygate look like, well, a piece of cake. I've checked the Labour Party Manifesto 2024 (preferable to sleeping pills if you're struggling to bed down in this heat), and there is no mention in there of either assisted dying or changing the abortion laws. Yet both have been ramraided through Parliament without the public even being consulted. So much for Starmer's pledge, on the steps of Downing Street almost a year ago, that: 'My government will serve you.' When he promised a 'return of politics to public service,' I don't think anyone thought it would mean bunging his union buddies huge payrises while the private sector, which employs 83 per cent of the total workforce, is shafted by Rachel Reeves's Budget. That was the biggest deceit of them all, that Labour wouldn't tax 'working people'. In fact, the £25 billion increase to employers' National Insurance contributions has done exactly that. When Rishi Sunak tried to do the same in 2021, the Chancellor personally lambasted the plan as a 'jobs tax'. She's another Labour politician who thinks we haven't kept the receipts. It's as insulting to the electorate as her continual claim that rising inflation and unemployment, combined with record business closures and a millionaires' exodus is absolutely nothing to do with her and all down to Donald Trump. This is weapons' grade gaslighting. Similarly, we are all supposed to believe that she reversed the cuts to the winter fuel allowance because 'the economy is doing better', even though we learnt this week that the UK has suffered the second highest fall in wealth of any major economy. Growth is down, retail sales are down, hirings are down – and despite what they say, it's all of Labour's making. Need we even get started on Starmer's hollow claim that he is 'standing up for Britain's interests' when he can't even seem to decide whether the murderous mullahs of Iran should have nuclear weapons that could wipe out western civilization? Yet again, he's being egged on by his bestie Lord Hermer, who gaslit the electorate by insisting it was a good deal that we paid £30 billion to give away the Chagos Islands to China-backed Mauritius. We're supposed to believe he's a cuddly respecter of human rights…who likens Tories and Reform to Nazis. And these inadequates seriously expect us to believe they are capable of running the country? That's the biggest con of them all.
Daily Record
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Record
New DWP proposed welfare reforms due for debate in Parliament at start of next month
The UK Government needs to have the planned legislation approved by November to implement it next year. Commons Leader Lucy Powell announced on Thursday that proposed legislation to reform the welfare system will be debated by MPs for the first time next month. MPs are also expected to vote on the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill on July 1, when it receives its second reading in the Commons. The UK Government has faced backlash from some Labour MPs over the 'damaging disability benefit cuts', which it has said could save up to £5 billion a year. Vicky Foxcroft resigned as Labour Whip on Thursday, informing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer by letter that she understood 'the need to address the ever-increasing welfare bill' but did not believe the proposed cuts 'should be part of the solution'. Parliament rises for summer recess on July 22 and will not return to the House of Commons until September 1. The legislation needs to be approved by Parliament by this November in order for it to come into force next November. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is scheduled to appear in the Commons on Monday (June 23) for its scheduled oral questions session, where MPs are expected to press Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall and her senior ministerial team on the proposed reforms. The reforms - aimed at encouraging more people off sickness benefits and into work - are set to include the tightening of criteria for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which is the main disability benefit, as well as a cut to the sickness-related element of Universal Credit and delayed access to only those aged 22 and over. Earlier this week, the DWP boss said the legislation 'marks the moment we take the road of compassion, opportunity and dignity'. She added: 'Our social security system is at a crossroads. Unless we reform it, more people will be denied opportunities, and it may not be there for those who need it.' In what could be seen as an attempt to head off some opposition, the legislation will give existing claimants a 13-week period of financial support. DWP said this will apply to those affected by changes to the PIP daily living component, including those who lose their eligibility to Carers Allowance and the carer's element of Universal Credit. But campaigners, including disability equality charity Scope, said the longer transition period, up from an originally expected four weeks, 'will only temporarily delay a cut and disabled people will continue to be living with extra costs when it comes to an end'. The latest DWP figures published on Tuesday, showed that more than 3.7 million people in England and Wales are claiming PIP, with teenagers and young adults making up a growing proportion. PIP is not means-tested and provides financial support of between £29.20 and £187.45 per week to people with a disability, long-term illness, physical or mental health condition who need help doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of their condition. An impact assessment published alongside Wednesday's Bill introduction confirmed previously published estimates that changes to PIP entitlement rules could see around 800,000 people lose out, with an average loss of £4,500 per year. The impact assessment also confirmed a previous estimate that some 250,000 more people, including 50,000 children, are likely to fall into relative poverty after housing costs in 2029/2030, although the UK Government repeated that this does not take into account the potentially positive impact of £1 billion annual funding by then for measures to support people into work. Changes to Universal Credit are expected to see an estimated 2.25 million current recipients of the health element impacted, with an average loss of £500 per year. But the UK Government said around 3.9m households not on the Universal Credit health element are expected to have an average annual gain of £265 from the increase in the standard Universal Credit allowance. While all of the Bill applies to England and Wales, only the Universal Credit changes apply to Scotland. The Scottish Government announced on Wednesday it will not mirror the planned changes to PIP in Adult Disability Payment (ADP). The latest Social Security Scotland figures show that at the end of April there were 476,295 people receiving financial support of up to £187.45 per week through the devolved disability benefit. Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville , said: 'The UK Government's proposed reforms will be hugely damaging to those who rely on social security support, particularly during the ongoing cost of living crisis. These plans have yet to be passed at Westminster, so there is still time for the UK Government to step back from this damaging policy and I strongly urge them to scrap their harmful proposals. 'The UK Government's own analysis highlights how the proposals will push 250,000 more people across the UK into poverty - including 50,000 children. With around half of all children in poverty in Scotland living in a household with a disabled person, the changes threaten to undermine the progress that we are making to reduce child poverty, and the work of the UK Government's Child Poverty Taskforce. 'That the UK Government is prioritising deep cuts to disabled people's support is made even worse by their failure to abolish the two-child limit, which is estimated to have pushed more than 35,000 children into poverty since July last year.' She added: 'The reforms do not reflect the Scottish Government's values. We will not let disabled people down or cast them aside as the UK Government has done. We will not cut Scotland's Adult Disability Payment. 'The UK Government should follow our lead and protect the social security safety system, rather than dismantling it. If they do not, then disabled people can draw no other conclusion than the UK Government remain content to balance the books on the backs of the most vulnerable.'
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
QUENTIN LETTS: Lucy the Leader rabbits away snippily. Can No 10 not find someone better?
Where was Sir Keir Starmer? It used to be customary for PMs, on their return from summits, to hasten to the Commons to make a statement. Downing Street 's gap-year traveller, back from his Canadian G7 jaunt on Wednesday afternoon, was yesterday still absent from Parliament. He was, you see, meeting England's Lioness footballers. Was Sir Keir uninterested in what MPs thought about Iran-Israel and other crises? Did he not want us to see that he was as clueless as the rest of us as to what the White House might do? Or could he simply not be fagged with Parliament? What is the point of the Commons? Does it matter if ministers lie? Was Richard Tice completely sober at 11.15am? These were questions I scratched into my notebook as the mercury rose and the world went spinning towards its destiny. Adrian Ramsey (Grn, Waveney Valley) at least tried. At weekly business questions he raised the reported view of Lord Hermer, Attorney General, that British military involvement in Iran would be illegal. It was 'critical', said Mr Ramsey, that MPs have their say. Lucy Powell, Leader of the Commons, replied: 'Where there is sustained military action in which our troops could be involved, that would of course be a matter for the House to consider.' The Green man, although sometimes a credulous Herbert, appeared to find this answer elastic. Who could blame him? Can Ms Powell be trusted on anything? She sucks on her Mancunian teeth and rabbits away in a snippy fashion that is demeaning for a Leader of the House. I'm not sure I have seen one worse. Commons Leaders in my journalistic time have included John Biffen, Jack Straw, John Wakeham, Margaret Beckett, Robin Cook, George Young, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Penny Mordaunt. All could hold a line with wit and, usually, an acknowledgment of the legitimacy of opposition. Ms Powell is more bludgeon than rapier. On the Government's rape-gangs volte-face she said, with sepulchral piety: 'We never ruled out returning to the issue of a national inquiry.' Yes they did! Often. Sir Keir himself, on January 6, dismissed any inquiry, saying: 'This doesn't need more consultation. It doesn't need more research.' Ms Powell's answer was that of a Little Britain character caught thieving chocolates – 'I never done it, honest' – as contraband Bounty bars clatter to the floor. It was risible. Absurd. Can No 10 not find someone better to fill this velvety berth? Not that business questions at present is up to much. New intake MPs read from scripts as they raised the most parochial issues. The chair, inexplicably, felt obliged to call all these plodders. Richard Tice (Boston & Skegness) had a chance to assert Reform as the party for real people's concerns. Up he rose on his hind legs to ask Ms Powell to congratulate Nigel Farage and Angela Rayner on being named Britain's 'sexiest politicians' on some scuzzy website and to ask: 'Does she recommend that they have dinner together?' Good grief. Later we were treated to Treasury minister Darren Jones. He's the one who made that peculiar claim about small-boat immigrants being mainly women and children. He unveiled a 'ten-year strategy on infrastructure'. Given how the Middle East is going, we might be lucky to last ten days. Mr Jones spoke of efficiency, affordability and 'place-based business cases – I know this will be a huge relief'. He added, with pride: 'We will publish a new online infrastructure pipeline.' His £725billion vision involved, naturally, a new quango, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority. Its birth will be announced on the Court and Social pages and will entail godparent duties for retired mandarins and ministers. How nobly they do these things. Last thing to note was the juxtaposition of two backbench discussions on yesterday's order paper. A debate on incontinence was followed by one on water safety education.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Welfare reform legislation to be debated next month, MPs told
Proposed legislation to reform the welfare system will be debated by MPs for the first time next month, Commons Leader Lucy Powell has announced. MPs are also expected to vote on the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill on July 1, when it receives its second reading in the Commons. The Government has faced backlash from some Labour MPs over the 'damaging disability benefit cuts', which it has said could save up to £5 billion a year. Ms Powell set the date for the Bill's second reading during business questions on Thursday. Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan has accused the Government of 'rushing through' the Bill, adding: 'This isn't something I'm prepared to support.' Ministers are likely to face a Commons stand-off with backbenchers over their plans, with dozens of Labour MPs last month saying the proposals were 'impossible to support'. The reforms – aimed at encouraging more people off sickness benefits and into work – are set to include the tightening of criteria for personal independence payment (Pip), which is the main disability benefit, as well as a cut to the sickness-related element of universal credit (UC) and delayed access to only those aged 22 and over. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said the legislation 'marks the moment we take the road of compassion, opportunity and dignity'. She added: 'Our social security system is at a crossroads. Unless we reform it, more people will be denied opportunities, and it may not be there for those who need it.' In what could be seen as an attempt to head off some opposition, the legislation will give existing claimants a 13-week period of financial support. The Department for Work and Pensions said this will apply to those affected by changes to the Pip daily living component, including those who lose their eligibility to Carers Allowance and the carer's element of UC. But campaigners, including disability equality charity Scope, said the longer transition period, up from an originally expected four weeks, 'will only temporarily delay a cut and disabled people will continue to be living with extra costs when it comes to an end'. As the Bill was formally introduced to the Commons on Wednesday, and the question was asked as to what the next date for debate will be, former Labour MP John McDonnell, who now sits as an independent for Hayes and Harlington, could be heard to say 'Never'. Mr Duncan-Jordan, MP for Poole, is one of the members who has urged ministers to withdraw the cuts, which he has argued will 'make things worse' for disabled people. Speaking to the PA news agency, he said: 'It's clear the Government are rushing through this change before MPs have received all the necessary impact assessments that they need to make a decision. 'The Bill lays out how large numbers of disabled people are going to be made poorer. This isn't something I'm prepared to support.' Earlier this week, Mr Duncan-Jordan had said: 'The Government will only withdraw its damaging disability benefit cuts if Labour MPs make clear they will vote against them. 'The so-called concessions that have been suggested are nowhere near enough to undo the damage that is being proposed. The facts are undeniable: these cuts won't create jobs, they'll only push three million people deeper into hardship.' The latest data, published on Tuesday, showed that more than 3.7 million people in England and Wales are claiming Pip, with teenagers and young adults making up a growing proportion. Pip is a benefit aimed at helping with extra living costs if someone has a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability and difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of their condition. Data for Pip claimants begins in January 2019, when the number stood at 2.05 million. An impact assessment published alongside Wednesday's Bill introduction confirmed previously published estimates that changes to Pip entitlement rules could see about 800,000 people lose out, with an average loss of £4,500 per year. Ms Kendall previously said there are 1,000 new Pip awards every day – 'the equivalent of adding a city the size of Leicester every single year'. The impact assessment also confirmed a previous estimate that some 250,000 more people, including 50,000 children, are likely to fall into relative poverty after housing costs in 2029/2030, although the Government repeated that this does not take into account the potentially positive impact of £1 billion annual funding by then for measures to support people into work. Changes to UC are expected to see an estimated 2.25 million current recipients of the health element impacted, with an average loss of £500 per year. But the Government said around 3.9 million households not on the UC health element are expected to have an average annual gain of £265 from the increase in the standard UC allowance. While all of the Bill applies to England and Wales, only the UC changes apply to Scotland. The Government said there are equivalent provisions to legislate for Northern Ireland included in the Bill.
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
Welfare reform legislation to be debated next month, MPs told
Proposed legislation to reform the welfare system will be debated by MPs for the first time next month, Commons Leader Lucy Powell has announced. MPs are also expected to vote on the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill on July 1, when it receives its second reading in the Commons. The Government has faced backlash from some Labour MPs over the 'damaging disability benefit cuts', which it has said could save up to £5 billion a year. Ms Powell set the date for the Bill's second reading during business questions on Thursday. Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan has accused the Government of 'rushing through' the Bill, adding: 'This isn't something I'm prepared to support.' Ministers are likely to face a Commons stand-off with backbenchers over their plans, with dozens of Labour MPs last month saying the proposals were 'impossible to support'. The reforms – aimed at encouraging more people off sickness benefits and into work – are set to include the tightening of criteria for personal independence payment (Pip), which is the main disability benefit, as well as a cut to the sickness-related element of universal credit (UC) and delayed access to only those aged 22 and over. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said the legislation 'marks the moment we take the road of compassion, opportunity and dignity'. She added: 'Our social security system is at a crossroads. Unless we reform it, more people will be denied opportunities, and it may not be there for those who need it.' In what could be seen as an attempt to head off some opposition, the legislation will give existing claimants a 13-week period of financial support. The Department for Work and Pensions said this will apply to those affected by changes to the Pip daily living component, including those who lose their eligibility to Carers Allowance and the carer's element of UC. But campaigners, including disability equality charity Scope, said the longer transition period, up from an originally expected four weeks, 'will only temporarily delay a cut and disabled people will continue to be living with extra costs when it comes to an end'. As the Bill was formally introduced to the Commons on Wednesday, and the question was asked as to what the next date for debate will be, former Labour MP John McDonnell, who now sits as an independent for Hayes and Harlington, could be heard to say 'Never'. Mr Duncan-Jordan, MP for Poole, is one of the members who has urged ministers to withdraw the cuts, which he has argued will 'make things worse' for disabled people. Speaking to the PA news agency, he said: 'It's clear the Government are rushing through this change before MPs have received all the necessary impact assessments that they need to make a decision. 'The Bill lays out how large numbers of disabled people are going to be made poorer. This isn't something I'm prepared to support.' Earlier this week, Mr Duncan-Jordan had said: 'The Government will only withdraw its damaging disability benefit cuts if Labour MPs make clear they will vote against them. 'The so-called concessions that have been suggested are nowhere near enough to undo the damage that is being proposed. The facts are undeniable: these cuts won't create jobs, they'll only push three million people deeper into hardship.' The latest data, published on Tuesday, showed that more than 3.7 million people in England and Wales are claiming Pip, with teenagers and young adults making up a growing proportion. Pip is a benefit aimed at helping with extra living costs if someone has a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability and difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of their condition. Data for Pip claimants begins in January 2019, when the number stood at 2.05 million. An impact assessment published alongside Wednesday's Bill introduction confirmed previously published estimates that changes to Pip entitlement rules could see about 800,000 people lose out, with an average loss of £4,500 per year. Ms Kendall previously said there are 1,000 new Pip awards every day – 'the equivalent of adding a city the size of Leicester every single year'. The impact assessment also confirmed a previous estimate that some 250,000 more people, including 50,000 children, are likely to fall into relative poverty after housing costs in 2029/2030, although the Government repeated that this does not take into account the potentially positive impact of £1 billion annual funding by then for measures to support people into work. Changes to UC are expected to see an estimated 2.25 million current recipients of the health element impacted, with an average loss of £500 per year. But the Government said around 3.9 million households not on the UC health element are expected to have an average annual gain of £265 from the increase in the standard UC allowance. While all of the Bill applies to England and Wales, only the UC changes apply to Scotland. The Government said there are equivalent provisions to legislate for Northern Ireland included in the Bill.
