Starmer suspends seven Labour MPs over child benefit rebellion

Seven Labour MPs have had the whip removed for rebelling against Sir Keir Starmer over the two-child benefit cap.

The rebels, including John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, have had the whip suspended for at least six months, The Telegraph understands.

They had voted for an amendment to the King’s Speech tabled by the Scottish National Party calling on the Government to “immediately abolish” the cap.

The cap was introduced in 2017 and prevents parents from claiming child tax credit or universal credit for their third and any subsequent children.

Sir Keir said on multiple occasions during the election campaign that his Government would not scrap the cap because of the economic implications.

But there had been numerous calls among Labour MPs for the Government to commit to immediately abolishing the limit, along with threats to rebel over the issue.

But ultimately just a fraction of the number needed to defeat the Government on the issue rebelled, with the amendment being voted down by 361 votes to 101.

Suspensions a sign of ruthlessness

Those who did vote with the SNP were suspended less than an hour after the vote concluded, in a sign of ruthlessness from the new Government.

They will now sit as independent MPs until the party returns the whip to them.

There had been calls for the cap to be abolished not just from Left-wing MPs but from across the political spectrum, including Gordon Brown, the former Labour prime minister, and Suella Braverman, the former Tory home secretary.

A new child poverty task force was launched last week in an attempt to see off dissent over the issue of the cap.

But Labour MPs pressed ahead with tabling their own amendment to the King’s Speech to express their discontent that the Government had not pledged to scrap it.

Nineteen backbenchers, led by Kim Johnson, put their names to the motion, which was ultimately not selected by the Speaker.

Ms Johnson did not vote with the SNP, saying that she sided with her own party “for unity”.

But the MP for Liverpool Riverside added that “the massive strength of feeling is undeniable”. She added: “It must be a priority for our first Budget.”

Mr McDonnell said in a video on X before the vote: “I’m putting lifting children out of poverty before party whipping or anything like that”.

He added: “It’s really iniquitous, it has forced large numbers of children into poverty and causes real hardship. So I believe we should get rid of it at the first opportunity.”

Abolition ‘would lift 330,000 children out of poverty’

Another of those suspended, Zarah Sultana, posted on social media: “I have been informed by the Chief Whip & the Labour Party leadership that the whip has been withdrawn from me for voting to scrap the two-child benefit cap, which would lift 330,000 children out of poverty.

“I will always stand up for the most vulnerable in our society.”

Downing Street earlier on Tuesday insisted that the Government’s position on the two-child cap “has not changed since before the election”.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “The position on the policy and the public finances has not changed since before the election.

“Indeed the Chancellor has actually set out the situation facing the public finances is worse than previously thought.”

10:00 PM BST

That’s all for today

Thank you for following The Telegraph’s live politics coverage. My colleague Jack Maidment will be back on Wednesday morning to guide you through all the latest developments. These are today’s key moments:

• Sir Keir Starmer stripped seven Left-wing Labour backbenchers of the whip after they rebelled against the Government over the two-child benefit cap

• Rachel Reeves told the Cabinet that “difficult decisions” will be needed on public spending

• Labour axed the Bibby Stockholm asylum barge as migrant accommodation

• James Cleverly confirmed he was running to succeed Rishi Sunak as Tory leader

• The shadow home secretary said small boat crossings will “only get worse” under Labour

• Ben Wallace accused Labour of “jeopardising tens of thousands of jobs” by failing to give a firm commitment to the future of the Tempest fighter jet project.

• Suella Braverman said she would vote for Donald Trump in the presidential election if she was a US citizen

• Nigel Farage called for a referendum on the European Court of Human Rights in his maiden Commons speech

09:57 PM BST

Starmer must end Britain’s dependence on migration, top Blairite warns

Sir Keir Starmer must end Britain’s dependence on migration, a New Labour grandee has warned.

Alan Milburn, who was health secretary under Sir Tony Blair, wrote in The Times: “Immigration will always play a part in tackling labour shortages, particularly in sectors like health and care.

“But as anyone who knocked on a few doors during the recent election will have found, immigration has become a toxic issue.

“There is widespread public concern which extends well beyond “stopping the boats”. The tide of Right-wing populism sweeping across Europe is a portent of what could happen here.

“This is a wake-up call for the new Labour government. If that tide of populism is not to take hold here, we have to reduce our dependence on immigration.”

09:41 PM BST

Labour to use Rwanda plane to deport failed Vietnamese asylum seekers

Labour will use a plane earmarked for the Rwanda scheme to return approximately 55 failed asylum seekers to Vietnam, it has been reported.

The BBC cited Labour sources as saying a returns agreement with Vietnam’s ruling communist party had secured the deportations.

It is the first direct returns flight to the south-east Asian country since 2021.

In the first quarter of 2024, almost one in five registered arrivals on small boats were from Vietnam – the highest number of any nationality.

09:36 PM BST

Rebel backbencher Byrne defends himself for voting against Government

09:22 PM BST

Burgon ‘disappointed’ by suspension over two-child benefit cap rebellion

Richard Burgon has said he is “disappointed” to have been suspended for rebelling against the Government over the two-child benefit cap.

The Leeds East MP, who was shadow justice secretary under Jeremy Corbyn, said: “I’m disappointed by the decision to suspend the whip over my vote tonight on the two-child cap.

“As I said in my King’s Speech response, I am excited by so many of our new Labour government’s plans and I welcomed the announcement of a child poverty task force and unit.

“But as an MP in an area where 45 per cent of children live in poverty, one of the highest in the country, I simply believe that this strategy must include scrapping this measure.”

09:13 PM BST

Sketch: Nigel Farage’s maiden speech

“Nigel talks!” A Farage maiden speech in Parliament is as box office as Greta Garbo’s first words in sound. The press brought popcorn; milkshakes were banned.

“I believe it’s customary,” he said, “to pay tribute to your predecessor.” Well, Giles Watling, former MP for Clacton, is “decent” and “honourable… Nothing even vaguely conservative about him, but he’s a jolly nice chap!”

I laughed! But across the Commons, blank faces and crickets. Parliament, alas, is not shaping up to be Nigel’s medium.

It was an auspicious day for an official debut. The Government announced the closure of the Bibby Stockholm, to provide 200 homes for ex-Tory MPs.

I saw one of yesterday’s men smoking a cigarette outside Tesco. I couldn’t recall his name, so Googled “Tory MP with beard” – and got a lot of photos of Conservatives with their wives.

Read the full sketch by Tim Stanley here.

08:56 PM BST

Why isolated Starmer will struggle to find allies in a Right-wing world

When Rishi Sunak chose Blenheim Palace as the venue for last week’s European Political Community (EPC) summit, he had no idea he was about to do Sir Keir Starmer a huge favour.

The splendour of our finest stately home was the perfect location to soothe the fears of Right-wing populists like Giorgia Meloni and Viktor Orban that Britain is lurching too far to the Left. After all, what could be further away from Sir Keir’s Trotskyist beginnings than standing with the King at the birthplace of Winston Churchill?

The 46 leaders who assembled in Oxfordshire had expected Mr Sunak to be prime minister when they received their invitations, but his disastrous decision to call an early election meant it was Sir Keir who stood waiting to greet them.

The meeting, just a fortnight after the Labour leader had been elected, was a useful head start in building relationships with counterparts who do not share his political outlook, and he claimed that by the end of the summit he had built “stronger relationships across Europe”.

But he has much more work to do if he is to win over Europe’s influential populists, let alone Donald Trump should he return to the White House. To be successful, he will need the help of Cameron-era diplomats, Boris Johnson appointees and, quite possibly, Nigel Farage.

Read the full story from Associate Editor Gordon Rayner here.

08:34 PM BST

Begum confirms suspension of Labour whip

08:16 PM BST

Sultana: I will always stand up for the vulnerable

A defiant Zarah Sultana has said “I will always stand up for the most vulnerable” after she was stripped of the Labour whip for six months after rebelling against the Government.

The chair of the Socialist Campaign Group was one of seven Labour backbenchers suspended on Tuesday evening after backing an SNP amendment to the King’s Speech calling for the abolition of the two-child benefit cap.

08:09 PM BST

Labour rebels stripped of whip for six months

The Labour backbenchers who backed an SNP amendment that would have abolished the two-child benefit cap have been stripped of the party whip for six months.

The Telegraph understands their suspensions from the parliamentary party will be reviewed in six months’ time.

The rebels were John McDonnell, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Richard Burgon, Zarah Sultana, Apsana Begum, Ian Byrne and Imran Hussain.

08:06 PM BST

Watch: Why Cleverly is running to succeed Sunak

08:02 PM BST

James Cleverly announces Tory leadership bid

James Cleverly has become the first Tory MP to declare he will run for the leadership, saying the party must ditch “self-indulgent infighting”.

In an exclusive article in The Telegraph, the shadow home secretary has set out his pitch as the unity candidate who can lead a party with a “broad appeal” to Reform UK voters as well as Liberal Democrats and Labour.

The former home secretary and foreign secretary claimed that Sir Keir Starmer was “beatable” with a landslide that was a “sandcastle – built on the back of our failures rather than enthusiasm for a big, high tax state”.

Mr Cleverly, who claimed credit as party chairman for helping Boris Johnson secure his landslide victory, is understood to have the required 10 backers to stand in the first round of the contest.

Read the full story from Home Affairs Editor Charles Hymas here.

07:50 PM BST

Only seven Labour MPs voted against Government

Only seven Labour MPs voted against the Government and backed the SNP amendment to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

All are members of the Left-wing Socialist Campaign Group of Labour backbenchers

They were:

• John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor

• Rebecca Long-Bailey, who Sir Keir Starmer defeated when he became Labour leader in 2020

• Richard Burgon, shadow justice secretary under Jeremy Corbyn

• Zarah Sultana, chair of the Socialist Campaign Group

• Apsana Begum

• Ian Byrne

• Imran Hussain

07:42 PM BST

Labour ‘failed first test’ by not scrapping benefit cap, says SNP

Labour “failed its first major test in Government” by not supporting the SNP amendment to scrap the two-child benefit cap, Stephen Flynn has said.

The Scottish nationalists’ Westminster leader said: “Labour MPs had the opportunity to deliver meaningful change from years of Tory misrule by immediately lifting thousands of children out of poverty – they have made a political choice not to do so.

“This is now the Labour Government’s two-child cap – and it must take ownership of the damage it is causing, including the appalling levels of poverty in the UK.”

07:37 PM BST

Rebel leader: I did not vote to scrap two-child benefit cap

The leader of the backbench Labour rebellion against the two-child benefit cap has said she voted with the Government.

Kim Johnson, MP for Liverpool Riverside, attempted to lay an amendment to the King’s Speech that would have abolished the cap.

It was not selected but an SNP amendment opposing the cap was put to MPs to vote on. Ms Johnson, however, did not vote for the amendment.

07:32 PM BST

Starmer quashes backbench rebellion over two-child benefit cap

Sir Keir Starmer has quashed his first backbench rebellion as Prime Minister by seeing off a revolt over the two-child benefit cap.

Just seven Labour MPs voted in favour of an SNP amendment to the King’s Speech that would have called for the cap to be reversed.

They included ex-shadow chancellor John McDonnell and Rebecca Long-Bailey, who Sir Keir defeated to become party leader in 2020.

A total of 363 MPs voted against the amendment and 103 were in favour. Left-wing Labour MPs have put pressure on Sir Keir to ditch the cap in recent weeks.

It was brought in under Theresa May in 2017 and prevents parents from claiming child tax credit or universal credit for more than two children.

07:18 PM BST

Tory amendment defeated as MPs start to vote on two-child benefit cap amendment

The Tory amendment has been defeated, with 117 votes in favour and 384 against.

MPs are now voting on the SNP amendment calling for the abolition of the two-child benefit cap.

07:15 PM BST

Labour accused of ‘vendetta’ in plan to oust hereditary peers

Labour has been accused of waging a “vendetta” in its plan to remove the remaining hereditary peers from the House of Lords.

Legislation has been proposed to end what the Government has called the “outdated and indefensible” presence of peers who are there by right of birth.

Lord Strathclyde, the Tory former leader of the Lords, told the upper chamber: “Why on earth is the Government continuing some strange vendetta against a small group of peers who are generally younger, more regular attenders and better participators in the House than the average? And yet the Government are unable still to tell us their long term vision for the House.

“We should not accept more bungled piecemeal reform until we have the certainty of proper reform which has been promised for so long.”

Lord Keen of Elie said: “To chip away at one small branch of the constitutional oak that is the House of Lords is little more than political vandalism, apparently fuelled by a totally misconceived perception of what the landowning class of this country is.”

07:06 PM BST

MPs start voting on King’s Speech amendments

MPs are now voting on amendments to the King’s Speech.

First up is an amendment tabled by James Cleverly, the shadow home secretary, expressing “regret” that a commitment to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2030 was not included.

The amendment also criticises Labour for not including a “deterrent” for small boat migrants, failing to mention rural Britain, farming and fishing, and placing “new burdens on businesses”.

This will be followed by the SNP’s amendment calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.

06:50 PM BST

Tugendhat: Starmer and Cooper ‘don’t truly believe in tackling migration’

Sir Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper do not “truly believe” in tackling migration, Tom Tugendhat has suggested.

The shadow security minister and expected Tory leadership contender told the Commons: “David Plunkett famously said that there was no obvious limits to the number of migrants who could settle in the United Kingdom.

“Now I suspect that we won’t get such frank honesty from this Prime Minister or indeed this Home Secretary. However, in their hearts, I suspect neither of them truly believes in controlling legal and illegal migration.

“The honourable member has my sympathy. It can’t be easy to defend a government that’s already scrapped the deterrent that worked and the lost the commander of the border strategy unit and has now all but offered an amnesty.

“Oh dear, these days are difficult, aren’t they?”

06:31 PM BST

Labour is ‘ripping out red tape’, Starmer tells business

Sir Keir Starmer has told business executives that Labour is “ripping out the red tape”.

The Prime Minister invited chief executives to a reception in Downing Street with Rachel Reeves and Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary.

“We will create the conditions for success and stability you need, so you can pursue the growth and opportunities the country needs,” Sir Keir told them.

“We’re ripping out the red tape so that, from warehouses to grid connections to roads, we’ll build them faster.

“We will have a new industrial strategy created in partnership with you. And we will make sure you have the tools you need to rebuild Britain as well as build your business.”

06:20 PM BST

Private school VAT raid will put pressure on state schools, says Tory

A Tory MP has said Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to impose VAT on private schools will put more pressure on state schools.

Ben Spencer branded the Labour Government’s proposal an “awful policy” during a debate over the King’s Speech in the Commons on Tuesday.

“Now like many people in Runnymede and Weybridge – where one in five children are educated in the independent sector and indeed I’m sure many people across the UK – we as a family have also chosen independent education for our own children, so I declare a financial interest as part of this campaign,” he said.

“I’ve spoken to many independent schools in my patch, and they tell me that about five to 10 per cent of kids are going to move back into the state sector as a result of this policy.

“And most parents who send their kids to independent schools aren’t these sort of mega-rich magnates which are characterised by the Government. They’re people – as with all parents – who make difficult budgeting decisions in terms of how they want to spend their money.

“The policy to tax education, which we have never done before and never should, is only going to put more pressure on the state sector.”

06:00 PM BST

Labour re-appoints anti-Semitism tsar

Labour has re-appointed Lord Mann as its independent anti-Semitism tsar.

The ex-Labour MP was first appointed by Theresa May in 2019 and has served under every Prime Minister since then.

“Lord Mann will continue his important work as the government’s adviser on anti-Semitism,” a spokesman for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said.

Lord Mann’s five-year term was due to expire this month.

05:45 PM BST

Benefits system a ‘catastrophic failure’, says Milburn

Alan Milburn has branded the benefits system a “catastrophic failure”.

The New Labour grandee, who led a major report investigating welfare in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, told LBC: “The system is a catastrophic failure.

“We are short of labour, and official unemployment has fallen but you have three million unable to work as they are sick.

“Seven in ten of those in Barnsley want to work. There are perverse incentives in the system.”

05:32 PM BST

The Daily T: Is Nigel Farage fit to be PM?

Nigel Farage made clear his ambition to one day be prime minister even before his Reform UK party won five seats at the general election.

But does he have what it takes? And is he offering the right answers to the UK’s woes?

Camilla and Kamal sit down for an exclusive interview with the Clacton MP and Reform leader to discuss going after Labour, his controversial comments about recent riots in Leeds, and if he could really make it all the way to 10 Downing Street.

And as the Conservatives launch a plan to elect a replacement for Rishi Sunak, we’re asking: who will be the next Tory leader?

Listen to the full episode here.

05:23 PM BST

Reeves to consider Treasury plan for pension tax raid

Rachel Reeves will be urged to raid the pension savings of up to six million middle-class workers in plans presented by Treasury officials ahead of her first Budget, reports Szu Ping Chan.

The Chancellor is expected to consider a proposal for a flat 30pc rate of pension tax relief – meaning that higher rate payers will pay an effective 10pc tax charge on their retirement contributions for the first time.

The plan would affect up to six million higher and additional rate taxpayers, costing the wealthiest savers around £2,600.

Ms Reeves has spoken in favour of restricting relief on pensions but has since distanced herself from the proposals, insisting she has “no plans” to change the current regime.

Pension contributions are tax deductible. This means that basic rate payers get a relief equal to 20pc of their payments to cancel out the income tax that would otherwise be due. Higher rate payers – those earning more than £50,270 – get relief of 40pc, and most additional rate payers earning more than £125,140 get 45pc.

Read the full story here.

05:16 PM BST

Starmer welcomes Jordanian king to No 10

Sir Keir Starmer welcomed King Abdullah II of Jordan to No 10 on Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s very good to have this early opportunity to have this discussion of vital issues of common concern,” the Prime Minister said.

“We’ve got a long and shared history. We have an excellent co-operation that I think we can build and progress on.”

05:04 PM BST

Labour makes additional ministerial appointments

Labour has made two further junior ministerial appointments.

Sir Nic Dakin, the MP for Scunthorpe and whip, is now the parliamentary under secretary of state in the Ministry of Justice.

Baroness Twycross, a deputy mayor of London and whip in the House of Lords, has been appointed parliamentary under secretary of state in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

04:46 PM BST

Deputy speakers elected

MPs have elected three deputy speakers to assist Sir Lindsay Hoyle in the House of Commons.

The successful candidates were Labour’s Judith Cummins and Tory ex-ministers Nusrat Ghani and Caroline Nokes.

A secret ballot to choose between the eight candidates was held on Tuesday.

04:30 PM BST

HS2 passengers should be told ‘not to travel by rail’

The National Audit Office has said HS2 passengers should be encouraged “to not travel by rail” to avoid overcrowding when the train line finally opens, reports Transport Correspondent Gareth Corfield.

The Department for Transport (DfT) must look at ways of “managing demand” for the London-Birmingham railway line when the £66 billion project eventually opens in the 2030s by increasing ticket prices and encouraging passengers to travel at different times or not by rail at all, the NAO said in a newly released report.

It comes as the office warned in a new report that selling off land and property bought to build the since-cancelled stretch of HS2 between Crewe and Manchester will take “several years” and cost up to £100 million.

So far £592 million has been spent buying up “around 1,000” plots of land and properties that were due to be demolished to make way for the high speed railway line.

It comes after Sir Jon Thompson, HS2’s chief executive, said in January that the railway line’s new trains would carry fewer passengers than existing ones, despite supposedly providing a capacity boost to Britain’s railways.

Read the full story here.

04:20 PM BST

Tice: Bureaucrats ‘trying to destroy fishing’

Civil service “bureaucrats” are attempting to “destroy” fishing in the North Sea, Richard Tice has said.

Addressing the Commons, the Boston and Skegness MP said: “Despite the slogan of Skegness ‘the jolly fisherman’, my constituents actually are not feeling very jolly at the moment because seven out of 10 of my constituents voted to leave the European Union.

“They trusted the previous government. They took them at their word but they feel a sense of political betrayal in a number of areas.

“The first people who are not very jolly are indeed the fishermen themselves who feel that various bureaucrats – Environment Agency, Natural England, IFCA (the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities) – are acting in a way as to try and suppress, destroy this great industry of ours for a very sea-faring nation, food producing, generating great revenues.”

04:10 PM BST

Progress continuing on Tempest programme, Defence Secretary insists

Progress “continues” on the next-generation Tempest fighter jet programme, the Defence Secretary has insisted after Sir Keir Starmer declined to guarantee its future amid Labour’s ongoing defence review.

“It was a privilege to host my Japanese and Italian counterparts to discuss GCAP [global combat air programme],” John Healey said.

“We continue to work closely with our international partners on this important programme.

“We discussed the progress made on GCAP, including the skills we are developing in our respective nations and the economic growth potential for the programme.

“Progress continues on the next steps for this programme.”

03:54 PM BST

Tice takes aim at net zero ‘idiocy’ in maiden speech

Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, has taken aim at the “idiocy” of net zero in his maiden speech in Parliament.

The MP for Boston and Skegness told the Commons: “Another reason that my constituents are actually really quite grumpy is because of the implications of the net stupid net zero policies that will result in hundreds of massive, ugly pylons blighting the environment and countryside of my constituency, as well as solar farms planned on incredibly productive agriculture farmland.

“Absolute idiocy.”

03:47 PM BST

Crime is not an ‘illness to be treated’, says Hayes

Sir John Hayes has said crime is “not an illness to be treated” but a “malevolent choice”.

Referring to the early release of prisoners to free up jail cells, the senior Tory MP said he was “shocked” that the Government intends to “let more of those dangerous people on to our streets”.

He added that “crime is “not an illness to be treated, it’s a malevolent choice made by those who are careless of the harm they do”.

“The guilty must be punished and the innocent must be protected,” he said.

03:38 PM BST

Good afternoon

Tim Sigsworth here, taking over from my colleague Jack Maidment for the rest of the day.

03:38 PM BST

Farage heckled in Commons

Nigel Farage was heckled by fellow MPs as he made his maiden speech in the House of Commons.

The Reform UK leader said when he spoke out about Channel migrant crossings in 2020, he was “described as being a sad, lonely figure, desperate for attention”.

One MP was heard saying: “Still are.”

Mr Farage replied: “Thank you.”

03:26 PM BST

Farage calls for referendum on leaving ECHR

Nigel Farage said the European Court of Human Rights had “now completely outlived its usefulness” as he called for a referendum on leaving the institution.

He said leaving the ECHR was the only way to actually stop small boat Channel crossings.

Delivering his maiden speech in the House of Commons, the Reform leader said: “We will only stop this if we start deporting people that come illegally. Then they won’t pay the smugglers. But we will only do that by leaving the ECHR.

“But I have got a fun suggestion that I think would liven up politics, engage the public and see a massively increased turnout. Why don’t we have a referendum on whether we continue to be members of the ECHR?”

03:22 PM BST

Farage: Virtually no one in Parliament wants to talk about UK’s ‘population crisis’

Nigel Farage said a “migrant a minute” was coming to the UK.

The Reform leader said the “sheer level of population means we have to build a new house every two minutes”.

He said that even if Labour delivered on its pledge to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years it would make “no dent at all” to the housing crisis.

“The population crisis is the biggest impact affecting people’s lives, damaging their quality of life and virtually nobody in this place even wants to talk about it,” Mr Farage said.

03:18 PM BST

Farage: I have joined a ‘Remainers Parliament’

Nigel Farage said that he and his fellow Brexit-backing Reform MPs were significantly outnumbered in the House of Commons.

He told the Commons as he delivered his maiden speech as an MP this afternoon: “This is very much a Remainers Parliament.

“I suspect in many cases it is really a Rejoiners Parliament.”

03:16 PM BST

Nigel Farage delivers maiden speech as MP in Commons

Nigel Farage is delivering his maiden speech as the MP for Clacton in the House of Commons.

The Reform leader said that some parts of his constituency were among the most deprived in the UK and many people there had “little faith or trust or belief that government can make their lives better”.

He said that many of his constituents felt “trapped” on benefits as he vowed to bring more business investment to Clacton to boost prosperity and increase job opportunities.

03:09 PM BST

Labour will ‘regret’ scrapping Rwanda scheme, says Tory ex-minister

Labour will “regret” scrapping the Rwanda deportation scheme and removing its deterrent effect, a Conservative former minister has claimed.

Sir Desmond Swayne told the House of Commons this afternoon during the final day of debate on the King’s Speech: “I do think the House will ultimately come to regret not having such a deterrent to hand, and I think had it been allowed to develop, it could have been such a deterrent.

“It was never a silver bullet, but it was always part of a complex jigsaw of measures.”

He argued that agreements with third countries are “extraordinarily hard to achieve” and added: “We can’t take everybody and we certainly needed somewhere else where they could have gone, and Rwanda struck me certainly as something that would have blossomed as such a possibility.”

03:02 PM BST

ICYMI: Sunak to remain Tory leader until November

Rishi Sunak is to remain as leader of the Tory party until Nov 2 when he will be replaced by the victorious leadership candidate, it has been announced.

The executive of the backbench 1922 Committee announced a timetable to choose a new leader, with the four final contenders taking to the stage at the Tory conference to present their case to activists.

Nominations open on Wednesday and will close at 2.30pm on July 29, with candidates required to have a proposer, a seconder and eight nominations to proceed to the ballot.

There will then be a series of votes by MPs before the final four are chosen for a “beauty parade” at conference.

You can read the full story here. 

02:46 PM BST

Streeting: Pay deal for junior doctors ‘will be affordable’

The Government hopes to agree a pay deal with junior doctors that “the country can afford,” the Health Secretary has said as official talks began today to try and bring the long-running dispute to a close.

Wes Streeting said junior doctors made a “reasonable case” that their pay had not kept up in line with inflation, but said their request for a 35 per cent uplift was not affordable.

But addressing the House of Commons earlier today, Mr Streeting insisted that the Government was negotiating with medics from the British Medical Association (BMA) “in good faith”.

02:29 PM BST

Flynn urges ‘all MPs from Scotland’ to back bid to scrap two-child benefit cap

Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader in Westminster, has urged “all MPs from Scotland” to back his party’s amendment to the King’s Speech calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.

The comments will be seen as a direct challenge to Labour’s MPs north of the border to vote against the Government tonight.

An amendment tabled by Labour rebels calling for the cap to be scrapped was not selected by Sir Lindsay Hoyle, which means the SNP amendment is their only avenue to make their voice heard on the subject today.

However, Labour MPs are likely to be reluctant to vote for an SNP amendment given the PR victory it would hand to their rivals.

02:12 PM BST

Kendall accuses Tories of putting ‘point scoring ahead of solving problems’

Liz Kendall claimed the Tories had put “politics and point scoring ahead of solving problems” in their approach to trying to get more people back into work.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said that under Labour job seekers will have “obligations to engage with support, look for work and to take jobs when they are offered”.

Delivering a speech in Barnsley, she said she will be “driven by the evidence and by the facts”.

Ms Kendall said Labour wanted in the longer term to reach an 80 per cent employment rate and this would mean two million more people being in work.

02:04 PM BST

Too many people ‘excluded’ from workforce, says Kendall

Liz Kendall said millions of workers in recent years had been “denied the chance and right to participate in the world of work”.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said too many people had been “excluded and labelled” and then blamed for their absence from the workforce.

She said Labour will work “day and night” to improve the situation.

She also said that one in eight young people are not currently in education, employment or training and this was “up 90,000 in the last year alone”.

Too many young people had been “written off before their careers have even begun” during 14 years of the Tories being in power, the Labour frontbencher said.

01:59 PM BST

DWP in need of ‘fundamental reform’, says Liz Kendall

Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, is speaking in Barnsley this afternoon to set out her plans to overhaul the Department for Work and Pensions.

Ms Kendall said the department was in need of “fundamental reform” to make it focus more on work than on welfare.

She said that having a job can bring people “dignity and self-respect” and also a “sense of purpose”.

01:45 PM BST

Inheritance tax raid ‘goes against human nature’, Labour warned

Inheritance tax is “out of step with human nature” and increasing it could cost Britain in the long run, the director of a think tank has said.

Eamonn Butler, co-founder of the Adam Smith Institute, has urged the new government to consider the “moral and economic costs” of death duties as Labour looks set to increase taxes in its first Budget.

In a primer published by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Mr Butler said Chancellor Rachel Reeves should “steer clear” of raising “politically easy” taxes that he argued could do more harm than good, and named several taxes – including inheritance tax and capital gains tax – as potentially “the most damaging”.

You can read the full story here.

01:21 PM BST

Cooper mocks Cleverly after small boats criticism

Yvette Cooper hit back at James Cleverly after his criticism of the Labour Government’s plan on stopping the boats (see the post below at 13.06).

The Home Secretary told the House of Commons: “You wouldn’t think he has just spectacularly lost a general election when apparently under the Conservatives we have just all had it so good for such a long period of time.

“I am glad to see him enjoying opposition so much. Long may it continue.”

01:06 PM BST

Small boat crossings will ‘only get worse under Labour’, says Cleverly

James Cleverly said small boat crossings had surged since Labour won power despite a “terrible first week of weather” in the English Channel.

Opening the final day of debate on the King’s Speech in the House of Commons, the shadow home secretary said: “Despite a terrible first week of weather to bring in the new Labour Government what we saw was almost 500 asylum seekers arrive in that week on small boats.”

Mr Cleverly said that there had now been more than 2,000 small boat arrivals since the general election as he accused Labour of “doing less on migration and hoping to achieve more”.

He said that small boat crossings are “only going to get worse under Labour”.

12:49 PM BST

Labour shutting down Bibby Stockholm asylum barge

The Bibby Stockholm is to be axed as migrant accommodation as part of Labour’s overhaul of the asylum system, the Home Office has announced.

The contract for the barge, which is currently housing 400 migrants, will end in January because the Home Office says it will no longer be needed as they move to clear the backlog of asylum claims, writes Charles Hymas. 

The Bibby Stockholm, which is moored in Portland, Dorset, is one of three major asylum accommodation sites created by the Conservative Government to try to reduce the cost of housing migrants in hotels.

The two other sites are also expected to be closed down by Labour.

12:47 PM BST

Hoyle fails to select Labour rebels’ two-child benefit cap amendment

A potential rebellion by some Labour MPs over the two-child benefit cap looks likely to peter out after Sir Lindsay Hoyle failed to select their amendment.

More than a dozen Labour MPs signed an amendment to the King’s Speech calling for the cap to be abolished but Sir Lindsay, the Commons Speaker, announced at lunchtime that he had not selected it for a vote later today.

He has selected a similar amendment put forward by the SNP but Labour MPs are unlikely to vote for an SNP amendment given the political optics of doing so.

A Tory amendment raising concerns on defence spending commitments and a Lib Dem amendment calling for action on healthcare and sewage dumping have also been selected for votes.

12:35 PM BST

Policy on two-child benefit cap is unchanged, says No 10

Downing Street has insisted the Government’s position on the two-child cap on benefits “has not changed since before the election”, amid growing pressure from some backbench MPs to scrap it.

Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly said that he would not commit to abolishing the limit because of the financial implications of doing so, writes Genevieve Holl-Allen. 

Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, said yesterday that the Government would “consider” taking action on the cap as she said it would be looked at as part of a wider review of measures to tackle child poverty. 

The Prime Minister’s spokesman said today: “The position on the policy and the public finances has not changed since before the election. Indeed the Chancellor has actually set out the situation facing the public finances is worse than previously thought.”

He added: “The Government is committed to taking action to tackle child poverty, that’s why we’ve developed an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty and give children the best start in life. 

“But when it comes to that policy, there’s a simple reason that the government didn’t include in the manifesto, and that is that the Government is not prepared to make unfunded promises that can’t be kept.”

12:23 PM BST

Tories need to stand up against ‘woke nonsense’, says Braverman

Suella Braverman said the Tories needed to be a “party that is firm and credible on immigration” and offered voters “hope” on lowering taxation.

She said the Conservatives also needed to be “robust” on defence and to say no to “woke nonsense”.

12:15 PM BST

Pictured: John Swinney visits a bus depot in Dunfermline

12:09 PM BST

Tories facing ‘existential moment’ because of rise of Reform, says Braverman

Suella Braverman said the “main reason” that the Conservative Party “failed” at the general election “is that we didn’t deliver on our promises”.

The former home secretary pointed to the pledge to stop the boats and a promise to lower taxes as examples.

Mrs Braverman said the Tories were facing an “existential moment” because of the rise of Reform UK.

She said the next leader of the party needed to “stand for lowering immigration” and stopping the boats in order to counter the threat posed by Reform.

She said: “I think people were very frustrated with us, they wanted change. I think this is a really big - dare I say - existential question and moment for the Conservatives, because we’ve got a new kid on the block, we’ve got Reform. And Reform really did eat into our core vote at this election. Hundreds of Conservative MPs lost their seats, some of them very good friends of mine, all of them brilliant, brilliant community servants, excellent MPs, lost their seats largely because of Reform.

“Lifelong Conservative voters decided to dump us and vote for Reform at this general election because they were upset with the direction that the party was going in. I think for us going forward as a party, we need to really grapple with this phenomenon of Reform.

“So, we need to have credibility on immigration. We need policies and a leader that actually stands for lowering immigration, stands for stopping the boats, restoring some sanity to the immigration debate.”

12:05 PM BST

Reeves tells Cabinet ‘difficult decisions’ needed on public spending

Rachel Reeves told the Cabinet this morning that “difficult decisions” would be needed on public spending.

The Chancellor’s comments came as the Labour Government faces its first potential rebellion over demands to scrap the two-child benefit limit.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Chancellor provided an update on the exercise the Treasury is undertaking to audit the public spending pressures the Government has inherited.

“The Chancellor said that there are significant financial pressures facing departments because of decisions taken by the previous government and that difficult decisions will be needed to fix the foundations of the public finances.”

12:04 PM BST

Braverman: Tories must ‘discover the common ground’ when choosing new leader

Suella Braverman said the Conservative Party needed to “discover the common ground” when choosing Rishi Sunak’s replacement as Tory leader.

The former home secretary, who is widely expected to stand in the contest, said the Tories needed to focus on tackling immigration and lowering taxes.

She also said she was “stunned” and “shocked” by the number of ex-Tory voters who she met during the general election campaign who said they were backing Reform.

11:57 AM BST

Lammy welcomes Jordanian foreign minister to London for talks

11:44 AM BST

Braverman: Trump has faced ‘political mission’ to bring him down through the courts

Suella Braverman claimed there had been a “political mission to bring down Donald Trump through the courts” in the US.

The former home secretary told her LBC show this morning: “I do think however there is a legitimate question about the politicisation of the legal system in America.”

She added: “There has been a political mission to bring down Donald Trump through the courts.”

11:37 AM BST

VAT loophole delivers blow to Labour’s private schools tax plan

A loophole in Labour’s private school tax raid could see schools claim back hundreds of thousands of pounds from the Treasury, financial advisers have said.

Generous tax relief rules will allow private schools to “soften” the blow of higher fees on parents by claiming the cost of VAT for new developments such as libraries and sports facilities.

The money could then be used to pay some or all of the VAT bills on fees that schools are facing under Sir Keir Starmer’s controversial plan to abolish their tax exemptions.

It is understood schools are being advised to delay new capital projects until after the Government goes through with the key manifesto pledge in order to benefit from full tax relief.

You can read the full story here. 

11:22 AM BST

Pictured: Yvette Cooper and David Lammy leave No 10 after Cabinet

11:13 AM BST

Braverman: I would vote for Trump

Suella Braverman said she would vote for Donald Trump in the presidential election if she was a US citizen.

The former home secretary told her show on LBC that “we need a strong president in the White House”.

“I personally would give my vote to Donald Trump were I an American citizen,” she said.

11:08 AM BST

Police should get double inflation pay rise, Starmer told

Police should get a pay rise of more than double the rate of inflation, ministers have been advised – piling pressure on Rachel Reeves to unleash spending despite squeezed public finances.

The police remuneration review body is understood to have recommended the 150,000 officers in England and Wales should receive pay rises of just under 5 per cent.

The recommendation is lower than the 5.5 per cent put forward for nurses and teachers by their pay review bodies but reflects police officers’ higher salary awards in the past two years.

You can read the full story here. 

10:53 AM BST

Pictured: Lammy and Miliband attend Cabinet meeting in No 10

10:44 AM BST

Tory delivery of Rwanda scheme was ‘substandard’, says Braverman

One person who called into Suella Braverman’s show on LBC said they believed the Rwanda scheme was always destined to be a “massive failure” and had been “designed to attract Right-wing voters”.

Mrs Braverman rejected the claim that the deportation scheme was a “gimmick” but agreed that it “didn’t ultimately work”.

The former home secretary said the “idea was the right one but the delivery was substandard”.

10:33 AM BST

Caller tells Braverman to ‘hang her head in shame’

One LBC caller told Suella Braverman she should be “hanging your head in shame” over her approach to the small boats issue.

The caller accused the Tories of having “exacerbated this problem for political gain” and suggested Mrs Braverman should apologise for the £700 million spent on the now-scrapped Rwanda scheme.

Mrs Braverman hit back by saying that people often have “well-intentioned ideas and they think it is easy” to stop the Channel crossings and tackle illegal immigration but the “reality is so much more complex”.

10:27 AM BST

Braverman: EU ‘wasn’t interested’ in striking migrant returns deal with UK

Suella Braverman said a migrant returns deal with France or with the wider European Union “would actually solve this problem” of small boat Channel crossings.

The former home secretary said a returns deal would be a “surefire way of stopping the boats” because people considering making the journey across the Channel would know it was a “fool’s errand” and that they would not be able to stay in the UK.

Mrs Braverman said the Tories did try to strike such agreements but counterparts on the continent “weren’t interested”.

10:22 AM BST

Labour ‘flashing the green light to people smugglers’, claims Braverman

Suella Braverman said the Tories “failed” to deliver on their pledge to stop the boats.

Speaking on LBC, the former home secretary said: “He [Rishi Sunak] pledged, we pledged, to stop the boats. We failed.”

But she insisted progress had been made on the issue and she believed the Rwanda scheme would have been “groundbreaking” if it had not been scrapped by Labour.

She claimed Labour’s plans to address illegal immigration were nothing more than “moving the deckchairs around” and the decision to scrap Rwanda amounted to “flashing the green light to the people smugglers”.

10:15 AM BST

Braverman insists Rwanda scheme would have deterred Channel crossings

One caller challenged Suella Braverman over why the Rwanda deportation scheme would have been a deterrent to small boat Channel crossings as she hosted a show on LBC this morning.

The former home secretary insisted it would have put people off making the journey because ultimately they want a “life in the UK” and “they don’t want to go to Rwanda”.

She argued that the concept of deporting people to a third country to deter crossings was therefore the “right one”.

10:10 AM BST

Ex-home secretary: There is a ‘crisis of illegal migration’

Suella Braverman criticised Labour’s approach to stopping small boat Channel crossings after the Government scrapped the Tories’ Rwanda deportation plan.

The former home secretary told her show on LBC this morning that “we need to stop the boats” because there is a “crisis of illegal migration”.

Current levels of migrant crossings are “not sustainable” and “not fair”, she said.

10:06 AM BST

Braverman hosts LBC show

Suella Braverman is presenting a show on LBC this morning.

The former home secretary is going to be talking about the Tory leadership contest and Labour’s asylum plans, as well as the US presidential election.

I will guide you through the key developments.

09:51 AM BST

Pictured: Defence Secretary John Healey arrives at No 10 for Cabinet meeting

09:34 AM BST

Pictured: Cooper and Mahmood arrive in Downing Street for Cabinet meeting

09:28 AM BST

Kendall to deliver speech on DWP overhaul

Liz Kendall will set out Labour’s ambitions to change the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) from a “department for welfare” to a “department for work” in a speech later today.

In the speech in Barnsley, the Work and Pensions Secretary will lay out plans to tackle economic inactivity and help the Labour Government meet its long-term ambition of reaching 80 per cent employment.

She will say that under the Conservatives, the DWP focused almost entirely on the benefits system and implementing Universal Credit and that not enough attention was given to other issues that determine whether people can work, such as health, skills, childcare and transport.

She is expected to say: “Over the last 14 years millions of people have been denied their rightful chance of participating in the labour market, and the hope of a brighter future. They’ve been excluded, left out, categorised and labelled. Britain isn’t working. We need fundamental reform so the department for welfare becomes a genuine department for work.”

09:15 AM BST

MPs to vote today on King’s Speech amendments

Today is the final day of debate on the King’s Speech in the House of Commons and MPs will have the chance to vote on amendments.

It will be up to Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, to decide which amendments will be voted on. A total of 11 have been tabled and the Speaker is only likely to choose a few of them.

The main potential headache for the Government comes in the form of an amendment backed by more than a dozen Labour MPs calling for ministers to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

We should find out at about 12.30pm which amendments have been selected, with votes then held later today.

08:52 AM BST

Cleverly signals he has enough support to make it onto Tory leadership ballot

Tory leadership candidates will need the support of 10 Conservative MPs to make it onto the ballot paper: A proposer, a seconder and eight nominations.

James Cleverly signalled this morning that he would be able to secure the requisite amount of support.

Asked whether he had the backing of 10 MPs, Mr Cleverly told Sky News: “I’ve had lots of very kind words from colleagues, both former colleagues and current colleagues.”

08:35 AM BST

Ben Wallace: Labour ‘jeopardising’ jobs with Tempest fighter jet uncertainty

Ben Wallace accused Labour of “jeopardising tens of thousands of jobs” by failing to give a firm commitment to the future of the Tempest fighter jet project.

Sir Keir Starmer said yesterday that the project is “important” but the Prime Minister stopped short of guaranteeing it will go ahead.

The project - a joint venture between the UK, Japan and Italy - will be looked at as part of the Government’s strategic defence review, prompting concerns it could be scaled back or scrapped.

Mr Wallace, the former defence secretary who stood down as a Tory MP at the general election, tweeted this morning: “Within weeks Labour is jeopardising tens of thousands of jobs in the UK!”

08:25 AM BST

‘Reasonable chance’ I will stand in Tory leadership contest, says Cleverly

James Cleverly said there is a “reasonable chance” he will stand in the Tory leadership contest.

Mel Stride, the shadow work and pensions secretary, used the phrase yesterday when he was asked about whether he would stand.

Asked if he would say the same, Mr Cleverly told Sky News: “There is a reasonable chance. Yeah. Look, we enter public service because we want to serve the British people and, as I have said, particularly as Conservatives, we are not a lobby group, we are not a think tank, we are not the political arm of some movement.

“The Conservative Party exists to provide good government and when we are in government it is our duty to do it well and when we are ejected from government… we need to think about why that happened, what we need to do differently.”

08:21 AM BST

Cleverly: Labour’s £700m Rwanda claim ‘completely made up’

James Cleverly said a Labour claim that the Rwanda scheme has cost a total of £700 million was “completely made up”.

Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, disclosed the figure in the House of Commons yesterday, describing it as the “most shocking waste of taxpayers’ money” she had ever seen.

But Mr Cleverly, the shadow home secretary, accused Ms Cooper of having “plucked” the number “out of the air”.

Told that the figures cited by Ms Cooper were “staggering”, Mr Cleverly told BBC Breakfast: “They are also completely made up. My advice to Yvette Cooper is if you are going to make up numbers don’t pick nice round numbers because it makes it obvious that you have plucked them out of the air.”

Asked if he was saying Ms Cooper’s claims were wrong, he said: “Yes. That is exactly what I am saying. What she has got to remember is until very recently I was the home secretary so I know exactly how much this has cost.

“And when she is including… the salary of civil servants who were always going to be on the payroll, she is including costs of flights which she has cancelled because she chose to scrap the scheme.

“The fact that people were being released is because the scheme is being scrapped by her government.

“So the fact is that that money that she has spoken about and the projected future cost that she has spoke[n] about are not figures that I recognise and I had complete oversight of the costs, both the historic costs and ongoing costs, of that scheme until just a few weeks ago and those are not figures that I am familiar with.”

08:12 AM BST

Pictured: Hoyle and Patel share a laugh at a House of Lords event last night

07:59 AM BST

Cleverly won’t say who he would prefer to be next Tory leader

James Cleverly would not be drawn on who he would like to see as the next Tory leader.

The senior Conservative told BBC Breakfast: “That is tomorrow’s work. I am going to talk about Labour’s catastrophic start in the home affairs portfolio.

“The leadership is important but what is actually my job at the moment is holding Labour to account and that is incredibly important because they are dropping the ball and it is being missed because of course there are other events going on, the Conservative leadership contest for example.

“But they are making terrible mistakes and it is not being noticed and it should be noticed because this goes to the heart of the security of our borders and our ability to make sure this country is safe.”

07:46 AM BST

Work and Pensions Secretary: ‘I am not into wink and a nudge politics’

The Work and Pensions Secretary said she was not a fan of “wink and a nudge politics” as she said Labour could not commit to scrapping the two-child benefit cap.

Liz Kendall was told during an interview on Times Radio this morning that abolishing the cap could lift 300,000 children out of poverty.

She replied: “I am not into wink and a nudge politics. I am not going to look constituents in the face and tell them I am going to do something without actually having done the sums, figuring out how I am going to pay for it, figuring out how we transform opportunity for those children.”

07:38 AM BST

Kendall tells Labour rebels: We cannot afford to scrap two-child benefit cap now

Liz Kendall has told Labour rebels that the Government cannot afford to scrap the two-child benefit cap in the short term.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said Labour had been handed a “dire inheritance” from the Tories and the Government will not make unfunded spending commitments.

More than a dozen Labour MPs have signed an amendment to the King’s Speech calling for the cap to be scrapped.

Asked about the prospect of abolishing the cap, Ms Kendall told Times Radio: “We were elected on the promise that we would only make spending commitments that we know we can keep and we are facing a dire inheritance from the Tories.”

The Government has said a new cross-Whitehall task force will examine all the potential ways in which child poverty could be alleviated and scrapping the cap will be one of the options looked at. But ministers have cautioned that axing the cap would be an expensive move at a time when the public purse is feeling the strain.

07:32 AM BST

Cleverly signals he could enter Tory leadership race

James Cleverly has signalled he could throw his hat in the ring in the Tory leadership contest.

Asked if he could be the next leader, Mr Cleverly told BBC Breakfast this morning: “The process has only just been announced. Obviously, people will be having conversations with colleagues and a number of people will put themselves forward and we will have a competition over the summer and a new leader of the Conservative Party by November.

“But I have, since become [shadow] home secretary, focused predominantly of course on holding the new Labour Government to account.. and that is what I will be continuing to do and we will see what happens once those nominations are open.”

Told that that was “not a no”, Mr Cleverly laughed and said: “That is not a no. But also I am mainly here to talk about the disastrous start that the Labour Government has had in the home affairs portfolio.”

Nominations in the contest will open tomorrow and will close on July 29, with a winner then due to be appointed on Nov 2.