Happy Budget day to all who celebrate... @theipaper.com live blog will be following all the action, including peeks behind the scenes and analysis from our fantastic team of reporters 👇 Click below to stay in the loop:

David Lammy was asked 5 times at PMQs whether he knew of any other wrongly released prisoners, but he dodged the question Then the news broke that a 2nd foreign prisoner had been wrongly released Below is Lammy's statement on the matter We still don't know exactly when the deputy PM knew about it

⛑ A cracking and very discomforting read from my colleague Jane Merrick on how unprepared we are for war - well worth your time 🤞 One lead author of the Strategic Defence Review said the UK is “running on luck” when it comes to war readiness and we are "relying on our enemies to leave us alone"

Councils spending thousands cleaning 'flag wars' graffiti exc by @eleanormia.bsky.social inews.co.uk/news/council...

🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EXCLUSIVE: Cash-strapped councils are being forced to spend thousands cleaning up St George’s Crosses and Union Jacks painted on buildings and landmarks across the country 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 City of York council reported more than £16k in costs while and Luton spent over £5,000

🔴 A spokesperson for the Prime Minister insisted he had 'full confidence' in Rachel Reeves ➡# Read more: trib.al/Hg42Ey6

BREAKING: The PM has reopened an inquiry into Chancellor Rachel Reeves after “new information” emerged in emails linked to her husband It comes after Reeves admitted to breaking housing rules by renting out her south London home without a required £945 licence

The Tories are enjoying the nice weather today and holding a rally by the river They are calling for Reeves to resign if she puts up tax Just as Mel Stride starts speaking, three ad vans showed up with their new Budget message "if she puts up tax, give Reeves the axe"

👀 NEW: Labour MPs are considering launching a leadership challenge against Keir Starmer in a matter of weeks 🤫 A party source said there are some MPs who "think moving against Keir after the Budget is feasible rather than waiting until after May"

💸 Billions of pounds are being drained from the UK each year under a “failed, chaotic and expensive” asylum system, cross-party MPs have warned 👇 Here's a breakdown from @theipaper.com of where money is being wasted and where it is being saved

ICYMI yesterday's Politics Unwrapped email broke down just how Labour is doing tackling small boats Reminder: the newsletter is free! No need for a subscription. Sign up to get today's newsletter here: link.news.inews.co.uk/join/6i4/pol...

🚨 Some news! I am now the author of Politics Unwrapped, a new weekday newsletter by @theipaper.com 📝 Politics Unwrapped breaks down the big stories and helps you understand what decisions made in Westminster actually mean for you 👉 Sign up here for free: link.news.inews.co.uk/join/6i4/pol...

EXCLUSIVE w/ @chloechaplain.bsky.social The Government has backed a scheme that would see debt advisors placed in GP surgeries A trial of the scheme found it improve patient health, reduced appointments and helped secure a combined £1.67m in financial gains for participants

Key thing to note about the Prince Andrew situation is that he is *still* the Duke of York, he's just agreed to not say he is anymore He only loses that title if he dies, or if MPs vote to take it from him It's been over 100 years since MPs voted to strip someone of their title

Thrilled to be a blue tick person once more after the other app took it away from me!

Exclusive: Disabled people and groups will have direct influence over the forthcoming PIP review, Stephen Timms has told @theipaper.com The DWP minister said the review would be led by two co-chairs and a steering group “of about a dozen people, most of whom will be disabled”

US negotiator Steve Witkoff takes a much more conciliatory tone this morning after yesterday’s comments from Mike Huckabee (both from the bird app) Reminder: Huckabee said the Bridget Phillipson was "delusional" to claim the UK had played a leading role "behind the scenes" in the Gaza peace plan

Exclusive: Food prices could rise even more if Reeves pushes ahead with plans to make big stores pay higher business rates The British Retail Consortium (BRC), MPs and economists have urged ministers to rethink the plans due to be confirmed in the Budget 👇 Story w/ @adamforrest.bsky.social

Exclusive: The MOD will be forced to keep soldiers' homes free of mould and damp under a new amendment being added to the Renters’ Rights Bill It follows a campaign by @libdems.org.uk after reports military families were living in homes with black mould, flooding and pest infestations

Keir Starmer tells the BBC that Reform's plan to scrap ILR is a "racist policy", but that those who support Reform are not racists "I do think that it is a racist policy. I do think it’s immoral. It needs to be called out for what it is," he said

EXC from @theipaper.com's Kitty Donaldson Labour sources fear Andy Burnham‘s attempt to win a safe seat to support a leadership bid could be doomed due to the threat from Reform “That seat is not slam- dunk winnable for us... it could easily be Reform’s for the taking,” one source said

Tory MP Danny Kruger has defected to Reform The signs were there - he said in a welfare spending debate in July that he did "quite like the Reform party and agree with its members" But he did also say they'd "spend money like drunk sailors" and make a pact with the Lib Dems...

I'm back at work after what appears to have been a very quiet two weeks of news........... I'll be attending Lib Dem and Labour conferences this year, so drop me an email if you're attending either and want to grab a ☕ or 🍺

I’ve written for @theipaper.com about the growing talk around Andy Burnham’s future – and whether he’s quietly lining up a third bid for Labour leader “He is definitely running though, as it stands,” one former aide told me. “Ideal timing is him finishing in 2028.” Read it here 👇

Final vote on assisted dying is tomorrow, and only 28 MPs need to change their minds for the bill to fall Some MPs are pulling back over concerns about safeguards & scope, while others will support it for the first time 👇 I spoke to some of the MPs who've changed their view to find out why

ICYMI: I spoke to several Gen Z voters to ask why their generation is increasingly finding they can't vote for Labour anymore, and whether there is anything the party can do to stop the young exodus

For months, there have been rumours that Lisa Nandy will be sacked by Keir Starmer. But, where are they coming from, and why won't they go away? According to one of her allies, it's because of "a strain of anti-Northern prejudice that Lisa faces from a small group of people in Westminster"

😬 This read from @theipaper.com's Hugo Gye has become even more timely after one poll this morning put the Tories *fourth* behind the Lib Dems New YouGov/Sky News/Times poll puts Tories on 16% and Lib Dems on 17%, with Reform and Labour leading on 29% and 22%

Excellent piece by my colleague on how Keir Starmer's immigration crackdown - and the rhetoric that came with it - is dividing the Labour Party Some defended the PM's words as "listening to people’s genuine concerns", but others have denounced his language as “shameful and dangerous”

It's always deeply concerning and a threat to democracy when the lives of politicians and their families are targeted - good news that somebody has been arrested

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is set to announce a plan for government-backed local inquiries into grooming gangs Statement beginning in the Commons now - follow live updates here 👇 inews.co.uk/news/politic...

BREAKING: Suspended Labour MP Mike Amesbury has pled guilty to assault after punching a man in his Cheshire constituency in October 2024 inews.co.uk/news/politic...

In a speech in London, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey says the UK cannot take the "Farage approach" to the US of "fawning over Trump and licking his boots" He said the Reform leader was "seemingly more interested in advancing Trump’s agenda over here than the UK’s interests over there"

NEW: Opponents of the assisted dying bill have expressed concerns after it was suggested MPs should vote for it even if they are worried about the "practicalities" of the bill Many fear the lack of Commons time means the bill won't get proper scrutiny

Wes Streeting’s further interventions today on assisted dying demonstrate that Simon Case’s advice that ministers should not publicly intervene on the matter was fairly pointless. Opponents in the cabinet have been especially outspoken.

Nigel Farage has been granted an urgent question on the transfer of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius The Reform UK leader also has a PMQ today

Big news from Guardian Towers this morning... The Guardian has announced it will no longer post content on Elon Musk’s X from official accounts. (I'm staying put - for now - as feel it's important to at least try to retain some balance there). www.theguardian.com/media/2024/n...

The UK Parliament is considering legalising assisted dying - terminally ill people seeking medical assistance to end their lives Its proposer says it has the "strictest" safeguards in the world, but I've spoken to many MPs who aren't unconvinced - here's what they said inews.co.uk/news/politic...

Welcome to my first @bsky.app post! I've finally made the jump after being politely encouraged by @cameronclark.bsky.social for months... Stick around for news and analysis relating to UK politics and parliament 👋