Category: News Story

STORY

Darren Jones has said he will not stand in the Labour leadership contest and has backed Andy Burnham after holding talks with him on economic policy. Jones, who has been closely associated with Keir Starmer’s Treasury operation, said Burnham had reassured him that any additional borrowing would need to be targeted and credible.

Burnham remains the only declared candidate and that Labour expects the leadership process to begin on 9 July. If no other candidate secures enough support, Burnham could enter Downing Street by the middle of July, completing another change of Prime Minister during this Parliament.

The intervention is politically significant because Jones had been viewed as one of the most plausible internal alternatives to Burnham. His support may help Burnham reassure Labour MPs concerned about fiscal policy, bond market reaction and the relationship between the next Government and the Treasury.

STORY

Members of the House of Lords are continuing committee stage scrutiny of the Financial Services and Markets Bill. The legislation would reform areas of financial regulation, including the Financial Ombudsman Service, payment systems regulation, bank ring-fencing and the authorisation of provisional licences.

Peers are considering amendments covering payment systems, anti-money laundering provisions, the long-term strategies of the Financial Conduct Authority and a possible Government review of regulatory principles. Six days have been scheduled for committee stage, with further sittings due in late June and early July.

The bill forms part of the wider post-Brexit reform of financial services regulation. Its progress is being watched by the financial sector, consumer bodies and parliamentarians concerned with the balance between competitiveness, stability and consumer protection.

STORY

The Planning Inspectorate has published a procedure guide for examinations under the new local plan system in England. The system, developed with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, came into force in March 2026 under new planning regulations replacing the 2012 plan-making rules.

The Government expects the new system to support a 30-month end-to-end plan-making process. The guide sets out how gateway assessments and examinations will operate, with local planning authorities also directed to the Government’s Create or Update a Local Plan guidance.

The Planning Inspectorate said it would hold a webinar and live question and answer session on 6 July to explain how examinations will work in practice. The legacy system will continue for authorities adopting plans submitted no later than 31 December 2026, while other authorities may use the new process.

STORY

The Public Accounts Committee has warned that national museums and galleries are being left vulnerable to cyber-attack and other security risks. The committee said the Government’s approach to protecting collections and institutions was too reactive and lacked a clear strategic basis.

MPs said the risks faced by museums and galleries include cyber security, physical security and the protection of nationally important collections. The warning follows growing concern across the public sector about the resilience of cultural institutions and the ability of departments to manage digital threats.

The committee’s findings place further pressure on ministers to set out how cultural bodies will be supported against security risks. It said the Government needed a more proactive approach to protecting institutions that hold public collections and deliver national cultural services.

STORY

The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy has said the Government must answer outstanding questions about its national security plans, including defence spending, policy towards China and sovereign technology. The committee said ministers had not fully addressed concerns raised in earlier scrutiny of the Government’s strategy.

The committee chair has asked ministers to give details of the resilience and security projects expected to be funded within the 1.5% of GDP the Government plans to spend on resilience by 2035. The committee has also asked the Government to confirm that the overseas aid budget will not be cut further to fund defence commitments.

The intervention comes as national security policy remains a major issue in Westminster following recent changes in defence personnel and wider debate over defence funding. The committee said clarity was needed on how the Government intends to protect national resilience and maintain technological capability.

STORY

The Climate Change Committee has warned that the slow pace of electrification is putting the UK’s climate targets at risk. Its 2026 progress report to Parliament said the UK had made substantial long-term progress on emissions but needed faster action on electric vehicles, heat pumps and industrial electrification.

The committee said around 93% of UK emissions are now outside the electricity supply sector, meaning that further progress depends increasingly on transport, buildings, industry, land use and other sectors. It said making electricity cheaper would help households and businesses move away from direct fossil fuel use.

The report said UK greenhouse gas emissions fell by 1.8% in 2025 and are now about 50% below 1990 levels. It also warned that the Government’s current delivery pathway falls short of the UK’s 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution and relies on areas of policy which carry delivery risks.

STORY

The Department for Work and Pensions has brought new powers into force allowing stronger action against people who refuse to repay benefit debts after leaving the benefits system. The measures include the possible use of driving bans and direct deductions from bank accounts where debts remain unpaid.

The Government said updated letters would begin going out to debtors from today, warning them to contact the department and arrange repayment. Ministers said the powers are part of wider work to recover money lost through fraud, error and debt.

The DWP has said the measures form part of a programme intended to deliver £14.6 billion in savings over five years from fraud, error and debt activity. The department has presented the powers as a way to pursue people who can pay but refuse to do so, rather than those unable to meet repayment demands.

STORY

Nigel Farage is facing renewed questions over a £5 million gift from a Reform UK backer after a series of broadcast interviews in which he declined to give detailed answers about how the money had been used. The Reform UK leader has said the payment was an unconditional private gift and has rejected suggestions that he is required to explain his spending.

The matter is being examined by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, with questions focused on whether the gift should have been declared under the rules applying to MPs. Farage has offered different explanations for the payment, including that it was linked to personal security and that it recognised his work on Brexit.

Labour has also asked the police and the National Cyber Security Centre to examine Farage’s claim that information about the gift became public because of a Russian-linked hack. Farage has not reported the matter himself and has accused critics of intruding into a private financial arrangement.

STORY

Andy Burnham’s economic plans are facing scrutiny from investors and economists as he moves closer to the Labour leadership. Bond market figures have warned that a new prime minister would inherit constrained public finances and would face pressure if he appeared to be preparing a major increase in borrowing.

Burnham has previously spoken about the need for a different approach to economic policy, including greater investment in infrastructure and support for public ownership in some sectors. During his Makerfield campaign he also committed to Rachel Reeves’s fiscal rules and Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, VAT or national insurance.

The choice of chancellor is expected to be one of the first signals of the direction of a Burnham Government. Names being discussed include Wes Streeting and Ed Miliband, with observers watching whether the new administration would prioritise reassurance to markets, public investment or a wider change in economic strategy.

STORY

Keir Starmer has authorised civil service access talks for prospective Labour leadership candidates as Andy Burnham prepares for the possibility of entering Downing Street. Starmer and Burnham held an hour-long off-site meeting, their first since Burnham won the Makerfield by-election and returned to the House of Commons.

The talks are intended to allow Burnham, and any other qualifying candidate, to receive briefings on the work of Government before the leadership process is complete. Starmer told ministers that he wanted an orderly transition and that he would try to make the handover as smooth as possible.

Burnham is now the front-runner to replace Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister. If no rival emerges with sufficient parliamentary support, he could take office before Parliament rises for the summer, although the formal leadership process still needs to run through its scheduled stages.