Smiles all round: World leaders hold hands in the traditional group photo at the conclusion of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Tuesday © White House Photo / Alamy Stock Photo
The Prime Minister may have been in Brazil at the G20 this week, but all eyes were 7,000 miles away on the escalating war in Ukraine, as Kyiv fired long-range, British-made missiles into Russia for the first time and Putin retaliated by firing a hypersonic missile into Ukraine. Back in Rio, Keir Starmer met with China’s President Xi Jinping – the first UK PM to do so since Theresa May in 2018. Despite criticism from opposition politicians wary of Chinese involvement in UK institutions, as well as its crackdown on pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong and its treatment of Uyghurs in forced labour camps in Xinjiang, the PM argued it was ‘only right that we engage with China pragmatically where there are clear areas of mutual cooperation - including on international stability, climate and growth.’ They also agreed that the Chancellor should visit Beijing in 2025 to discuss economic and financial cooperation with her counterpart.
Farmers descended on Westminster on Tuesday, bringing with them the wettest and coldest day of the year so far. The farmers – including Jeremy Clarkson – took part in a march on Whitehall and lobbied MPs in Parliament to call on the Government to reverse their decision to introduce inheritance tax on assets worth over £1m at the Budget. The Government has clashed with the National Farmers Union over how many family farms will be affected by the new changes, with the Government arguing 27% and the NFU claiming 75%. Farmers have argued the changes will make their farms unprofitable and force thousands of farmers to sell their land rather than pass it on, at a time of ever increasing cost pressures and heightened concerns over food security. The Chancellor and Environment Secretary stuck to their position this week and it seems unlikely the Government is going to change course anytime soon.
The death of former Deputy Prime Minister and political heavyweight John Prescott on Wednesday, brought Westminster temporarily together to reminisce and praise the former ship steward, trade union official and MP of 40 years. Tony Blair paid tribute to the UK’s longest serving Deputy Prime Minister, who he argued “was responsible for the refurbishment of thousands of council homes and the revival of British shipping, completed the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, established the Coalfield Communities Trust to breathe life back into villages and towns affected by the closure of mines, and was Britain’s lead negotiator for the Kyoto climate treaty, the world’s first attempt to agree a global response to climate change.”
8 – days Matt Gaetz lasted as US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be Attorney General, before withdrawing from consideration.
-12C – temperature expected in north-east Scotland tonight… set to be the coldest night of the autumn so far.
£21 – increase in the typical energy bill over the course of a year, after the energy price cap increase.
2.3% – CPI inflation in October 2024, after the energy price increase caused it to tick up above the Bank of England’s 2% target again.
£500m – savings the Ministry of Defence will make over five years after the Defence Secretary scrapped a number of ships, helicopters and UAVs this week.
0.1% – growth in UK GDP between July and September 2024.
1,003 – days since Russia invaded Ukraine.
10 – years John Prescott spent as Deputy Prime Minister to Tony Blair.
COP29 continued this week, with further announcements from the Government including: the launch of the UK-led Global Clean Power Alliance; £239m in funding to halt and reverse deforestation in forest-rich nations; a new UK-US agreement on civil nuclear collaboration; and funding for 20 projects that will build resilience to climate change in oceans. And with COP29 drawing to a conclusion tonight, all eyes will be on whether the all-important climate finance deal is agreed.
£500m in defence cuts were announced by Defence Secretary John Healey on Wednesday. The move was made in an effort to modernise the UK’s Armed Forces and address financial pressures on the Ministry of Defence. The announcement includes cuts to the UK military and “outdated” defence projects, with the savings to be retained in full in defence.
Major reforms to children’s social care were unveiled, giving new powers to Ofsted to crack down on exploitative children’s care providers and increase transparency around providers’ finances. Ofsted will be able to issue civil fines to providers and investigate multiple homes run by the same company. A ‘consistent child identifier’ will also be put in place, alongside requirements for every council to have ‘multi-agency’ child safeguarding teams and for all local authorities to offer the Staying Close programme – a package of support for care leavers up to the age of 21.
The Government announced the roll out of its Warm Homes Plan, which includes boosting the budget for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, removing the 1 metre planning rule for households installing air source heating, and measures to help social housing residents. A new reformed Clean Heat Market Mechanism is also set to come into force on 1 April 2025, and the Government will consult on improving the minimum efficiency standard and on increasing energy efficiency standards for new boilers and heat pumps.
£1 billion was allocated to support bus services across England, with the funding aimed to improve and protect bus services. Areas that have received an “unprecedented” amount of funding include Leicester, the Isle of Wight, Torbay, and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
32 news Homebuilding Skills Hubs will be delivered to “fast-track training to local areas that need more housing”. In an effort to deliver the Government’s commitment to build 1.5 million homes, the Government is working with the Construction Industry Training Board and the National House-Building Council to launch hubs that allow for apprenticeships to be completed in 12-18 months rather than the traditional 24-30 months.
Ofwat declared that 73% of bonus payments to water bosses will not be paid for by customers, following new rules on exec bonuses and dividends which came into force last year. Nine companies will not be able to use customer money to fund bonuses amounting to £6.8m. This comes ahead of a further extension of Ofwat’s powers under the incoming Water (Special Measures) Bill, which would allow Ofwat to prohibit performance-related pay entirely in certain circumstances.
Inflation rose to 2.3% in October, 0.3% above the Bank of England’s target of 2% and up from 1.7% in September. Responding to the increase, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride called the figures “worrying” and criticised the Government’s decision to remove winter fuel payments.
The energy price cap is set to increase by £21 for the average billpayer in January, after Ofgem released its new quarterly cap for 1 January to 31 March 2025. It will go up 1.2% to £1,738 a year for a typical household, a £21 increase.
Defence and security dominated discussions in the Commons this week, with Defence Questions kicking the week off on Monday, followed by the second reading of the Financial Assistance to Ukraine Bill, ministerial statements to mark 1,000 days since the war on Ukraine began and on defence programme developments, and a UQ from new Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel on the Government’s response to the jailing of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. The PM also used a statement on his visits to the COP and G20 Summits to stress why he felt that a meeting with President Xi was necessary, arguing: “the lesson of history is that we are better able to deal with problems, and the world is safer, when leaders talk.”
The Government’s legislative agenda continued in the Lords, as the Crown Estate Bill and the GB Energy Bill both had their second readings, while the Water (Special Measures) Bill concluded its report stage. Peers also had a chance to add their stance to the debate on the Government’s changes to Agricultural Property Relief, as Baroness Northover led a short debate on family farms.
Half of Britons feel more concerned about the war in Ukraine following Trump’s victory, according to a new Ipsos poll, with 77% expressing anxieties about its impact on Ukrainian civilians, 73% on the UK economy and 71% on national security. The poll also found that 54% of Britons support the Government’s provision of economic, humanitarian, and defensive military assistance to Ukraine. However, while this support has seen only a marginal dip from 58% in August 2023, it is notably lower than the peak of 68% in February 2023.
Another Ipsos poll finds that 2 in 5 Britons think they are worse off since Labour was elected. Currently, 28% of the public hold a favourable view of Labour (-1 from Oct), compared to 49% who view the party unfavourably. Reform UK has the highest favourability of any party, with 27% holding a favourable view (no change from Oct) and 46% unfavourable. Conservative support also remains low with a quarter of Britons noting a favourable view, matching Labour’s 49% who think otherwise.
Reforming the public spending framework is essential to cut waste and improve efficiency, so argues a new report by the Reform think tank. Following the Chancellor’s announcement of a new Office for Value for Money, the report puts forward five priority themes for the Office to prioritise, including cross-cutting policy, automation and AI, workforces and performance, procurement and infrastructure.
Tuesday’s protest by farmers saw a range of innovative techniques, from tractors rumbling through Westminster to creative signage and generous donations of fresh produce to local food banks. However, a broadcasting mix-up by Sky News involving Western support for Ukraine made the farmers look somewhat more threatening, appearing to suggest they intended to take more direct action and use long-range missile launchers against the Government. They’ve put those inheritance tax savings to good use…
