A furious row has erupted over the Conservatives’ bid to use Labour’s children’s safety bill to force a vote for a national grooming gangs inquiry, pushed for by billionaire Elon Musk.
After facing Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch will seek an amendment to the Labour’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which is expected to call for ministers to establish a “national statutory inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation, focused on grooming gangs”.
Claiming the Bill is “single biggest piece of child protection legislation in a generation”, education secretary Bridget Phillipson warned that, if successful, the Tory move would “block it and kill it stone dead”, calling the move “absolutely sickening” and urging Conservatives to “put up or shut up”.
Speaking to the Mirror after denouncing Mr Musk’s ongoing barrage of wild claims as “lies and misinformation”, Sir Keir said: “No MP should be voting down children’s safeguarding measures. It’s shocking they are even thinking about this as a tactic.
“It’s the elevation of the desire for retweets over any real interest in the safeguarding of children.”
Key Points
- Furious row erupts over ‘sickening’ Tory bid for grooming gangs inquiry vote
- Sir Keir Starmer to face first PMQs amid Elon Musk row
- Jess Phillips describes fears for her safety after Elon Musk abuse
- Labour opens 2025 with ‘lowest approval ratings to date'
Farage paid £189,000 to be brand ambassador for gold company
10:52
Andy Gregory
Nigel Farage has been paid tens of thousands of pounds to be the ambassador of a gold bullion company, the latest alternate income for the Reform UK leader.
The Member of Parliament for Clacton was paid £189,300 from Direct Bullion for a brand ambassador role in December, according to the latest MP’s register of interests. By comparison, the basic annual salary for an MP is £91,346, plus expenses.
The hefty sum amounts to just four hours of work per month, according to the self-reported register, and includes some work undertaken before Mr Farage was elected in July.
Our data correspondent Alicja Hagopian reports:
Britons desperate to see GPs now believe access to NHS services ‘more important’ then free care, survey says
10:37
Andy Gregory
A thinktank has suggested that voters may be willing to “make trade offs” over paying fees for access to NHS care after a new survey revealed that “free at the point of care” has reduced as a priority.
New Redfield & Wilton Strategies polling for Policy Exchange showed that improved NHS performance for core services, including “improved access to GPs” and “shorter waiting times”, are more important.
The survey appears to reflect growing frustration in the UK with the difficulty in seeing a GP and the so-called dentistry deserts across the country.
Our political editor David Maddox reports:
Education secretary criticises ‘sickening’ Tory bid for grooming gangs vote
10:20
Andy Gregory
The education secretary said the Conservatives’ push for a vote that would halt progress of a Bill aimed at bolstering child safety is “absolutely sickening”.
Bridget Phillipson told Times Radio: “We are looking right across the recommendations that Alexis Jay set out and there are crucial recommendations from the review that she carried out.
“That’s why today we are setting out legislation that addresses many of the wider challenges that we see right across our system. It’s why the Home Secretary announced in the House of Commons the action that we are taking.
“So we are wasting no time in legislating to keep children safe. The question for the Conservatives today is why they are intent on blocking this landmark piece of child protection legislation that would keep the very children safe that they claim they are concerned about.”
She added: “They come along today as we set out legislation to protect the very children they claim to care about and they intend to block it and kill it stone dead. It is absolutely sickening.”
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell has more details on the row here:
Lib Dems accuse Tories of using grooming gang survivors as ‘political football'
10:19
Andy Gregory
The Liberal Democrats have accused the Tories of using survivors of the grooming gangs scandal “as a political football”.
Lib Dem education spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said: “The Conservatives are using the victims of this scandal as a political football.
“The Conservatives alongside Reform, goaded along by Elon Musk will be voting for a motion which will not secure a national inquiry for victims of child sexual abuse, but instead it would kill these crucial child protection measures completely.
“The Liberal Democrats will be putting forward our own amendment to take real action to tackle the child sex abuse scandal, by implementing the recommendations from the national independent inquiry in full.”
Tory MP claims Musk’s purchase of Twitter ‘may have saved humanity'
10:02
Andy Gregory
Tory shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith has claimed that Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter “may have saved humanity”.
In a post on X, where Mr Musk often reposts such statements to his 210 million followers, the Tory frontbencher wrote: “The [Elon Musk] purchase of X may have saved humanity. With X becoming a true freedom of speech platform, the common ground of public opinion is no longer determined by a left-leaning elite.
“Recent political earthquakes in the US, the UK and now Canada are a release of pent up democratic will as citizens regain their ability to speak freely.
“Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press created the preconditions for democracies to replace bad kings or clerics. X is now doing the same for unaccountable and failing bureaucratic states.”
Brewdog boss takes brutal swipe at Starmer
09:51
Archie Mitchell, Political Correspondent
After weeks of dire economic warnings for the prime minister, he has now come under fire from one of Britain’s biggest entrepreneurs.
Brewdog founder James Watt has taken aim at Sir Keir Stamer’s recent letter to regulators urging them to come up with ideas to boost investment and kickstart economic growth.
The Punk IPA tycoon said Sir Keir asking regulators how to boost business growth “is like asking chickens for tips on how to sell more McNuggets”.
Writing on LinkedIn, he added: “Maybe if you want to drive growth, you should ask the people who actually create it… like entrepreneurs, founders and business owners. Just a thought Keir Starmer.”
Musk continues attacks on Starmer over grooming gangs
09:43
Andy Gregory
Elon Musk has continued his conspiratorial attacks on the Labour government, ahead of the Tories’ attempt to table an amendment to Labour’s children’s safety bill to include a symbolic vote on grooming gangs.
With Labour MPs set to back the government’s bill, Mr Musk wrote on X: “Now why would Keir Starmtrooper order his own party to block such an inquiry? Because he is hiding terrible things. That is why.”
Sir Keir was praised in a 2013 parliamentary report for his efforts to bring grooming gangs to justice while director of public prosecutions.
“Mr Starmer has striven to improve the treatment of victims of sexual assault within the criminal justice system throughout his term,” the report said, adding that his “response should provide a model to the other agencies involved in tackling localised grooming”.
Education secretary denies committing ‘educational vandalism’ with new bill
09:18
Andy Gregory
Bridget Phillipson has denied the government is committing “educational vandalism” with its Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Tory shadow education secretary Laura Trott has accused Labour of being set on “tearing up everything that has driven up school standards”, amid fears that academies will lose freedoms that can help to recruit teachers and improve pupil outcomes in challenging areas.
Academies – which are independent of local authorities – currently have the freedom to set their own pay and conditions for staff, and some academies exceed the national pay scales for teachers.
But under the new legislation, all teachers will be part of the same core pay and conditions framework whether they work in a local authority-run school or an academy.
Responding to Conservative criticism, the education secretary told LBC: “I think the only vandals here are the people that today intend to vote down the single biggest piece of child protection legislation. They are the vandals.”
Tory MP says grooming gangs inquiry should be debated ‘without name-calling’
08:57
Andy Gregory
Calls for a national inquiry into grooming gangs should be debated “without calling each other names”, the Tory shadow education secretary has said.
Laura Trott told Sky News that the Conservatives’ calls for a national inquiry followed further details about the issue becoming known after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse had been established.
She said: “There is much more information that has come to light, this is an evolving picture. There is more that we need to understand and, as a result, it makes sense to do a national inquiry alongside taking forward further steps to help support and protect victims.”
Pointing to a report from the grooming gangs taskforce just before the election that showed 550 people had been arrested in the past year, she added: “This is about new information which is coming forward about the extent of what’s happening and us needing more information to take this forward.
“I would like this to be done on a cross-party basis, where we talk about these things, we are able to have policy debates, without people calling each other names.”
Starmer condemns ‘completely shortsighted’ Tory push for amendment on children’s safety bill
08:50
Andy Gregory
Sir Keir Starmer has warned Conservative MPs not to back a Commons push for a new nationwide child grooming investigation, as it prioritises “the desire for retweets over any real interest in the safeguarding of children”.
The prime minister said that Kemi Badenoch’s attempt to garner parliamentary support for a new inquiry, in the form of an amendment to a Bill aimed at bolstering the safety of children, was a “shocking tactic” and “completely shortsighted”.
The amendment is unlikely to be supported by a majority in the Commons, as the government wants to roll out the recommendations of the investigation led by Professor Alexis Jay rather than open a new inquiry.
The non-binding amendment also calls for the Commons to halt the progress of the Bill, which includes measures aimed at bolstering safeguarding for children, such as removing the automatic right for parents to take their children out of school for home education if the young person is subject to a child protection investigation or suspected of being at risk of significant harm.
What is happening in the Commons today?
08:41
Andy Gregory
Here is a brief timeline of events in the House of Commons today:
At midday, Sir Keir Starmer will face his first PMQs of the year amid the row sparked by social media boss Elon Musk over the grooming gangs scandal.
Later in the day, MPs will debate Labour’s children’s wellbeing and schools bill – with the Tories expected to seek an amendment to the bill calling for ministers to establish a “national statutory inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation, focused on grooming gangs”. A vote is expected at around 4pm.
In what is expected to be the final business of the Wednesday’s sitting, Tory MP David Davis will lead a debate on the case of convicted child serial killer Lucy Letby. He believes a retrial would “come to a different conclusion”.
Why has education secretary told Tories to ‘put up or shut up’ on child safety?
08:17
Andy Gregory
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell has more details on the row over Kemi Badenoch’s bid to seek an amendment to Labour’s child safety bill in order to call for a new national inquiry into grooming gangs.
Urging the Conservatives to “put up or shut up” and back Labour’s bill ahead of today’s vote, education secretary Bridget Phillipson warned the Tory amendment would “kill it stone dead”, jeopardising urgent measures to protect vulnerable youngsters.
The amendment has almost zero chance of passing, but due to parliamentary process, if voted for it would stop the overall bill in its tracks and prevent it being brought back before the Commons in the current parliamentary session.
It includes measures that will see parents no longer have an automatic right to take their children out of school for home education if the young person is subject to a child protection investigation or suspected of being at risk of significant harm.
Education secretary tells Tories to ‘put up or shut up’ ahead of Commons vote
08:12
Andy Gregory
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has warned that the Tories should “put up or shut up” ahead of a Commons vote later today which she fears could hijack legislation aimed at bolstering children’s safety.
In a debate this afternoon, the Conservatives will bring forward an amendment to the government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which is expected to call for ministers to establish a “national statutory inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation, focused on grooming gangs”.
Describing the bill as the “single biggest piece of child protection legislation in a generation”, Ms Phillipson said it would ensure coordination across agencies” to ensure that we know where children are in order to “make sure that our children are protected”.
The education secretary told Sky News: “The Conservatives can back this or, as they’re proposing, can kill stone dead this key landmark legislation. They’ve spent the last week or so touring studios like this telling your viewers that they care about keeping children safe.
“Well, they should put up or shut up. Vote for this legislation, and do precisely that. Or is it all about grabbing a cheap headline and political opportunism?”
Elon Musk’s father says Farage ‘not strong enough’ to lead UK
07:53
Andy Gregory
Elon Musk’s father has warned that Nigel Farage is “not strong enough to be the leader that” Britain needs, after his son called for Reform UK to replace him as party leader.
Asked whether he had talked to his son about the breakdown of his relationship with Mr Farage, Errol Musk told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “Yes ... Initially I was the first one to say that I think Farage is certainly not – I don’t think he’s a bad person – he’s not strong enough to be the leader that you need at the moment.
“You need a really strong leader – somebody who’s prepared to ultimately be crucified, not lose the odd cigarette or something because of the pressure on him. You need someone who’s really prepared to put themselves on the line. You’re heading in the wrong direction in your country.
“So initially I just said he’s not a strong enough person, then Elon followed it up by saying that he’s just got to go. And then I was asked and I said, ‘look it is England, after all, we are trying to be fair people’ ... and so we would perhaps give him a second chance and see what he can do.”
'He’s not strong enough to be the leader you need at the moment.' @susannareid100 questions Errol Musk on whether he has spoken to his son Elon about the breakdown of his relationship with the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. pic.twitter.com/keeDoH0ius
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) January 8, 2025
Tories to seek support for new child grooming inquiry in symbolic vote
07:25
Andy Gregory
The Conservatives will seek to garner support for a new nationwide child grooming investigation with a symbolic vote in the Commons later today, amid an ongoing spat between ministers and billionaire Elon Musk.
Sir Keir Starmer’s government has faced a slew of attacks from the X and Tesla owner in recent days, after Home Office minister Jess Phillips declined a request for a nationally led inquiry in Oldham in favour of a council-led investigation.
Ms Phillips said she faced an increased risk to her safety since Mr Musk called her a “rape genocide apologist”, and the prime minister has signalled the businessman crossed a line with his criticism and was spreading misinformation.
The Tories have joined calls by Mr Musk for a new UK-wide inquiry into child sexual abuse, despite a wide-ranging independent probe having concluded its work in 2022.
On Wednesday, Kemi Badenoch’s party will bring forward an amendment to the government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill which is expected to call for ministers to establish a “national statutory inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation, focused on grooming gangs”.
Jon Sopel | Make no mistake, Farage has a real Musk problem
07:00
Andy Gregory
In his latest piece for Independent Voices, Jon Sopel writes:
You know that moment when your child gets home from school and you’re aware something bad has happened? Then, it all comes out: the person your child thought was his new best mate isn’t that nice after all. And he’s worried that his other longstanding friend might side with him, because the other two seem really tight. And you listen attentively, if slightly bewildered, to learn the spat is all the fault of that horrid kid in the class, Tommy.
Well, in this story it’s Nigel Farage who’s fallen out with the school’s Mr Flash – Elon Musk... all because Nige hasn’t shown loyalty to another kid, Tommy (Robinson, of course), who has been expelled. And Farage is worried that his longstanding best friend, Donald Trump, might side with Elon because they seem inseparable – always hanging around the playground together, sniggering at the back of the classroom, Elon letting Don copy his algebra homework.
If it wasn’t so consequential for British politics, it might be easy just to play it for laughs.
But it does matter. Having played an outsized role in the US presidential election in November – and few can doubt Musk’s significance, both in terms of financial muscle and his alleged recalibration of the X algorithm to promote and amplify Trump’s messages – it looks like the world’s richest man is turning to the UK as his next political playground.
Tories accuse Labour of ‘educational vandalism’
06:00
Andy Gregory
The government’s plan for all state schools – academies and those run by councils – to follow the same pay and conditions framework is “educational vandalism”, the shadow education secretary has warned.
Laura Trott accused Labour of being set on “tearing up everything that has driven up school standards” through its Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
The Bill – which is due to have its second reading in Parliament on Wednesday – has prompted fears that academies will lose freedoms which can help to recruit teachers and improve pupil outcomes in challenging areas.
Academies – which are independent of local authorities – currently have the freedom to set their own pay and conditions for staff, and some academies exceed the national pay scales for teachers. But under the new legislation, all teachers will be part of the same core pay and conditions framework whether they work in a local authority-run school or an academy.
ICYMI: Nigel Farage says he won’t sue Kemi Badenoch over Reform membership claim
05:00
Andy Gregory
Nigel Farage has said he will not take legal action against Kemi Badenoch over her claim Reform UK had faked its membership numbers.
He told LBC: “I’m not going to sue over it because, as I said, I do believe in free speech. I was offended by it, I asked for an apology and one wasn’t given so I’m going to go to her constituency on the 31st of this month.
“I’m going to hold a big event for all the Reform members living in her constituency, there are 417 of them when I last checked, paid-up members, bet it’s more than she’s got. There’s another 800 supporters living in the constituency.
“And I’m going to do a big joint photo, Kemi, and say ‘these are all our fake members and we are coming for you at the next election’.”
Musk and Starmer: A history of their relationship from the Southport riots to grooming gang claims
04:00
Andy Gregory
Sir Keir Starmer has begun this year in an explosive row with tech billionaire Elon Musk, which broke out after the Tesla boss criticised the government for rejecting a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal.
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke takes a look at their past interactions here:
Not enough determination to get to bottom of grooming scandals, whistleblower warns
03:00
Andy Gregory
There is still not a strong enough determination to get to the bottom of grooming scandals, a whistleblower has said.
Maggie Oliver, a former detective who resigned from Greater Manchester Police in 2012, believes victims and survivors would have to be “at the centre” of any inquiry.
She told Times Radio: “The question has to be, who would lead it? What would it achieve? Victims and survivors have to be at the centre of this.”
She added: “The 20 recommendations of the national abuse inquiry have still not been implemented - that’s the start.
“Maybe gather together all the evidence we already have from the local inquiries in Rochdale, in Rotherham, in Manchester, and that could be the start of the process, add victims’ voices to that, and have people who are truly knowledgeable analysing it. Well, maybe that’s the way forward.”
Government unable to give timeline for implementing child sex abuse inquiry recommendations
02:00
Andy Gregory
The victims minister was unable to provide a timeline for implementing the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, saying the Government was working “quickly”.
Alex Davies-Jones told Times Radio: “I can’t give you a timeline but what I can tell you is we are working very, very quickly.
“A lot of these recommendations can be implemented quickly. As you heard from the Home Secretary yesterday, we’ve already begun that work and some of those new offences that have been announced will be in our Crime and Policing Bill brought in later this year.”
Adding that the Government would provide “more information soon”, she said: “I want to do this as quickly as possible. It’s very complicated, this is not a quick fix overnight.”
Watch: Elon Musk’s father believes ‘good chance’ Tommy Robinson will be prime minister one day
01:00
Andy Gregory
MPs grill McDonald’s boss on labour rights amid sexual harrassment claims
Tuesday 7 January 2025 23:59
Andy Gregory
McDonald’s is facing fresh claims of widespread harassment across its UK branches as hundreds of young current and former workers join a legal action against the company.
More than 700 people who were aged 19 or younger when working at McDonald’s have instructed law firm Leigh Day to take legal action on their behalf. The claims come as UK chief executive Alistair Macrow faced questions from MPs on Tuesday on employment rights.
UK long-term borrowing costs jump to highest level since 1998
Tuesday 7 January 2025 23:00
Andy Gregory
The UK’s long-term government borrowing costs have lifted to their highest level since 1998, in a potential blow for the Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
The yield on 30-year gilts – the return on Government bonds – increased on Tuesday by four basis points to 5.22 per cent, surpassing the spike seen in 2023.
It ramps up the pressure on the Treasury’s headroom for increased public spending, amid the prospect of higher interest costs.
Henry Saker-Clark has the full report:
Breaking: Conservatives to seek support for new child grooming inquiry in symbolic vote
Tuesday 7 January 2025 22:30
Jabed Ahmed
The Conservatives will seek to garner support for a new nationwide child grooming investigation with a symbolic vote in the Commons, amid an ongoing spat between ministers and billionaire Elon Musk.
Sir Keir Starmer’s Government has faced a slew of attacks from X and Tesla owner Mr Musk in recent days, after Home Office minister Jess Phillips declined a request for a nationally led inquiry in Oldham.
The Tories have joined calls by Mr Musk for a new UK-wide inquiry into child sexual abuse, despite a wide-ranging independent probe having concluded its work in 2022.
On Wednesday, Kemi Badenoch’s party will bring forward an amendment to the Government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill which is expected to call for ministers to establish a “national statutory inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation, focused on grooming gangs”.
The amendment is unlikely to be supported by a majority in the Commons, as the Government wants to roll out the recommendations of the investigation led by Professor Alexis Jay rather than open a new inquiry.
The non-binding amendment could not compel ministers to launch an inquiry and merely gives MPs a chance to voice their opinion on the issue.
A Labour spokesperson claimed the Conservatives were “attempting to block this Government’s plans to keep the most at-risk children in our country safe from harm”.
Wes Streeting acknowledges ‘eye-watering’ social care costs facing families
Tuesday 7 January 2025 22:00
Andy Gregory
Individuals are shouldering an “imbalance” in paying for social care, Wes Streeting said as he was confronted about the sums one family is facing.
The health secretary has faced criticism in recent days for not giving a hard deadline on his plans to create a National Care Service, aimed at tackling the massive costs of social care. An independent commission is expected to begin exploring the future of the service in the spring, but its timeline means proposals for long-term funding and major reform may not be delivered until 2028.
As he took questions from LBC radio listeners, a woman from Leeds told the health secretary she is paying £85,000 a year to provide care for her 97-year-old mother, who has dementia – meaning her family savings and the proceeds from selling her mother’s home are swiftly being eroded.
“It sounds really terrible, but sometimes I even find myself wishing that my mum would pass away soon, before it’s all gone and the family is left with absolutely nothing. And it shouldn’t be about money, but unfortunately, it is,” she said.
The caller added: “I want to know, when will something be done to stop this happening? And I need a real answer, not just the sort of ‘we get it, we have no money’ kind of answer.”
Mr Streeting described the sums as “eye-watering”, adding: “I think that where we’ve got to as a country is a situation where I think the burden on individuals and families and the state is imbalanced, and it’s almost a game of pot luck and chance.”
New duty to report child sex abuse should include teachers and sports coaches, No 10 says
Tuesday 7 January 2025 21:00
Andy Gregory
A new legal duty to report child sexual abuse should apply to people engaged in regulated activities with children, including teachers, healthcare professionals, sports coaches and faith instructors, No 10 has said.
Home secretary Yvette Cooper announced on Monday that ministers would begin implementing the recommendation by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to bring in mandatory reporting.
More details are expected to be set out in the coming weeks.
Watch: Elon Musk's 'disinformation' is endangering me, says Jess Phillips
Tuesday 7 January 2025 20:16
Jabed Ahmed
Watch: Robert Jenrick in heated clash with BBC's Nick Robinson over grooming gangs
Tuesday 7 January 2025 20:00
Andy Gregory
UK ‘must become to wind what Saudi Arabia is to crude oil’, says Labour MP
Tuesday 7 January 2025 19:30
Andy Gregory
The United Kingdom must “become to wind what Saudi Arabia is to crude oil”, a Labour MP has urged.
Henry Tufnell, MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire, told the House of Commons: “In our United Kingdom, one of our biggest and most powerful natural resources is wind. To cut bills, deliver energy security and achieve net zero, we have to become to wind what Saudi Arabia is to crude oil.”
Speaking during a debate on new legislation to give the Crown Estate new borrowing powers, he added: “The population of South Wales and the South West will never forgive us if we don’t seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redevelop their regional economies.”
Liberal Dem energy spokesperson Pippa Heylings had earlier told MPs: “While the new borrowing powers will enable investment in offshore wind, they will also facilitate property development across the 185,000 acres of the Crown Estate, so this Bill must do more to ensure that these developments do not ride roughshod over community concerns regarding planning, infrastructure and environmental standards, both on land and at sea.
“People must have a say in the decisions that affect them, and where infrastructure’s concerned they should also receive the benefits where appropriate.”
What the London Stock Exchange exodus could mean for Britain
Tuesday 7 January 2025 19:01
Andy Gregory
Last year saw the biggest outflow of companies from the London Stock Exchange since the global financial crisis.
According to accountants EY, 88 companies, including Paddy Power owner Flutter, travel group Tui and Just Eat, abandoned the London market for US and European exchanges.
It comes amid fears of the capital’s shrinking relevance as a place to do business following Britain’s exit from the European Union.
The shrinkage of London as a global market has been steady. Twenty years ago, when banks, manufacturers, oil companies and pharmaceutical firms dominated lists of the biggest companies, UK-listed stocks accounted for 11 per cent of the global market. Now it is about 4 per cent.
The trend is as much about America’s growth as it is about London’s shrinkage as the US and its giant tech stocks have dominated world markets.
Howard Mustoe has more analysis here:
Plans to boost Crown Estate borrowing powers will help aid net zero transition, MPs told
Tuesday 7 January 2025 18:32
Andy Gregory
Plans to give the Crown Estate more borrowing powers will help it return more money to taxpayers and aid the transition to net zero, MPs have been told.
Opening a Commons debate ahead of a new Bill’s second reading, Treasury minister Darren Jones said it would change the outdated Crown Estate Act 1961 and bring it into place for the modern age.
He said: “The Crown Estate is a commercial business, independent from government, that operates for profit and competes in the marketplace for investment. Yet it is restricted in its ability to do so by legislation that has not been amended since 1961.
“With less ability to compete and to invest, it is less able to deliver returns for the public purse than it might otherwise be able to do.”
The new Bill will enable the Crown Estate to decarbonise and redevelop land it owns in the West End of London, Mr Jones said, adding that it will be able to seek finance from external partners, including in the City of London, and invest in more schemes with the aim of getting a financial return.
Full report: Jess Phillips worries about her safety after Elon Musk social media attacks
Tuesday 7 January 2025 18:21
Jabed Ahmed
The Independent’s Political Editor David Maddox reports:
Musk’s social media posts are ‘ridiculous’, Jess Phillips says
Tuesday 7 January 2025 18:13
Jabed Ahmed
Elon Musk’s social media posts are “ridiculous” and the social media mogul “knows absolutely nothing” about the subject of grooming gangs, Jess Phillips has said.
Asked about the billionaire, who accused her of being a “rape genocide apologist” after she declined a request for a Whitehall-led inquiry into child sexual abuse in Oldham, Home Office minister Ms Phillips told ITV News: “It’s ridiculous isn’t it? The things that he’s saying are so ridiculous as to initially make me just go what?
“But then you wake up with the realisation that that’s millions of people that he has said that to and you feel immediately like this is going to turn my world upside down and I have to try and limit for how long that is the case.
“But you know, your immediate, my immediate thought was like just, it’s sort of like, what a joke. And then the realisation of what this is probably going to mean for you.”
Asked if it had turned her world upside down, Ms Phillips replied: “Yeah a little bit, a lot. Well, a lot actually it’s… it’s not great.”
She added: “The thing that annoys me the most about it is it takes up so much bandwidth of my time from a man who knows absolutely nothing about the subject he’s talking about, when the only thing I ever want to be doing is being able to use all of my brain power to focus on the hundreds of girls I have supported over the years who have been victims of grooming gangs and what needs to happen to make their lives better and to stop what is still happening today.”
Government savings from winter fuel payment changes falling fast, analysis claims
Tuesday 7 January 2025 18:04
Andy Gregory
Government savings from last year’s changes to the winter fuel payment are already less than planned, new analysis has revealed.
Announcing the cutting back of the cold weather benefit in July last year, Rachel Reeves said the measure would shave £1.4bn from the DWP bill this financial year. This was done by means-testing the payment to make only pensioners claiming pension credit eligible for it.
But research from Policy in Practice shows that the number of new pension credit claims meant the government had been forced to overspend on the change already, in the first week of January. And any more claims made before April will continue to eat into the savings further.
My colleague Albert Toth has more details:
Full report: Farage says he hopes to ‘mend’ relationship with Elon Musk on trip to US
Tuesday 7 January 2025 17:38
Andy Gregory
Nigel Farage has said he hopes to “mend” his relationship with Elon Musk when he travels to the US for Donald Trump’s inauguration, after the two men had a bitter falling out this week.
He also attempted to step up the pressure on Sir Keir Starmer over grooming gangs, claiming his Reform party would be prepared to set up an unofficial “inquiry” within weeks if the government did not.
Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin has more in this report:
Grooming gang survivors being politically exploited, journalist warns
Tuesday 7 January 2025 17:09
Andy Gregory
Journalist Andrew Norfolk, who exposed the Rotherham grooming gang scandal in 2011, has warned that survivors are being “exploited” for political purposes.
He told the News Agents podcast: “As justice secretary, Michael Gove was instrumental in changing the rules on which judges could sit on these complex cases. As director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer changed the rules to enable more prosecutions.
“I genuinely think those individuals got it eventually and did their best to affect change for the better. And in many cases, we still have a very far from perfect system, and of course abuse is still going on and every single child that falls victim to these men is one child far too many.
“But to suddenly have this explosion of interest and calls for inquiries, it just feels all wrong to me.”
Asked if he feels survivors are now being used for political purposes, he said: “100 per cent. But the far right – that’s been the case since day one.”
He added: “It’s being used for the very wrong reasons. These girls .. are being exploited all over again. And for now politicians to jump on the bandwagon again when they’ve been silent for so many years just strikes me as a bit shameful.”
"These girls are being exploited all over again. Politicians jumping on the bandwagon after years of silence is ."
— The News Agents (@TheNewsAgents) January 7, 2025
Andrew Norfolk, who exposed the grooming gang scandal in 2011, condemns the reuse of the abuse for political gain.@maitlis | @lewis_goodall pic.twitter.com/BsAYJODMCs
Minister defends Rachel Reeves’ upcoming visit to China
Tuesday 7 January 2025 16:40
Andy Gregory
The UK must “sometimes be involved” with countries whose values “may not completely align with ours”, Foreign Office minister Catherine West has said, in defence of chancellor Rachel Reeves’s upcoming visit to China.
Referring to arrest warrants issued for pro-democracy activists resident in the UK by Hong Kong police, shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel told the Commons: “Doesn’t this once again show this government’s supposed reset with China is just one way?
“Before meeting President Xi, the prime minister had said he wanted a relationship that is consistent, durable and respectful, and stated that the pair agree that there be no more surprises.”
She added: “Can the minister confirm with a simple yes or no whether the Chancellor is going to be raising these bounties at the highest level when she jets off to China next week to beg for a quick investment for the bailout of her failing economic strategy? She cannot ignore the human rights issues on her visit.”
Ms West replied: “We’re in a position where our economy is quite fragile and whilst we have very clear national security concerns – and today’s a really good example of those – we do have to balance those with being an outwardly facing and globally-trading nation, where we need to sometimes be involved with other countries where their values may not completely align with ours.
“So, I make no apologies for trying to support British business abroad, including in Hong Kong, where British businesses have said it is so lovely to see MPs visit us.”
Starmer backs minister caught up in corruption probe as standards watchdog investigates
Tuesday 7 January 2025 16:12
Andy Gregory
Sir Keir Starmer is standing by his Treasury minister amid a standards watchdog probe into her links with the deposed former prime minister of Bangladeshi.
The prime minister has “full confidence” in Tulip Siddiq, who on Monday referred herself to ethics advisor Sir Laurie Magnus amid questions over her aunt Sheikh Hasina, who was removed from power after protests against her rule last year.
His spokesman repeated Sir Keir’s insistence that he is backing Ms Siddiq, whose job includes the responsibility for tackling financial crime, insisting that it is “now for the independent advisor to establish the facts” about her case.
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:
Voices | Could this be the breaking point for the Trump-Musk bromance?
Tuesday 7 January 2025 15:44
Andy Gregory
In a piece for Independent Voices, Anand Menon and Jonathan Portes write:
Civil war has broken out in the Trump camp. On one side, Elon Musk, unsuccessful presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and other tech entrepreneurs, many of them relatively recent recruits to the Republican Party. On the other, die-hard Maga supporters like Steve Bannon and Laura Loomer.
The casus belli? The “H-1B” visa programme – loosely the equivalent of the UK’s skilled work visa.
For Musk and co, the software engineers and the like who arrive with H-1Bs, they are essential both to the success of their own businesses and the US’s economic future – concepts they seem to view as largely synonymous. For Maga, however, they represent just another element of the plot by elites to flood the US with immigrants, boosting corporate profits, and undercutting American wages, while at the same time “replacing” white Americans of European origin with mostly non-whites.
Read the full analysis here:
