Summary of the day …
Lisa Nandy has claimed “we’re not a government that governs by social media” despite it appearing that home secretary Yvette Cooper yesterday announced an urgent national review of the scale of grooming and rape gangs after pressure on internet platforms driven by US-based tech billionaire Elon Musk. The culture secretary robustly defended prime minister Keir Starmer’s comments about politicians amplifying the far-right over grooming and rape gangs
There was better news on the economy for the chancellor Rachel Reeves, as the International Monetary Fund upgraded its forecast for UK growth, and on the bonds market UK borrowing costs have fallen, and are now almost back at their levels early last week before bond yields surged
Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch posted to social media in an attempt to refute claims that she said the Tories would look at changes to the pensions triple-lock. Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson, said “bungling Badenoch” had come up with a policy of slashing the state pension
Co-chair of the Conservative party, Nigel Huddleston defended Badenoch’s leadership, saying she was not a “known quantity yet”
The government has announced a £60m funding package for the creative industries, including investment in British film and TV, grass roots music and start-up video game companies
Nandy has said government ministers are considering a “whole range of alternatives” to the BBC licence fee, criticising it as “regressive” but also saying it raises “insufficient money to support the BBC”
That is it from me, Martin Belam, for today. Thank you for all your comments.
Incidentally PA Media have issued a fact check on what Kemi Badenoch said on the pensions triple lock, and have declared that the Labour claim in social media posts that “Kemi Badenoch has put pensioners on notice: the Tories would cut the state pension” is untrue.
It isn’t exactly a clear-cut victory for Badenoch on this however, as the fact check goes on to say:
What Ms Badenoch was talking about is somewhat unclear. At most she said that she would consider means testing the so-called triple lock, which decides how rapidly the state pension rises each year.
Here is the fuller quote that PA used for the fact check. After Badenoch was asked “So you’re actually going to look at the triple lock?” she replied:
No, we’re going to look at means testing. Means testing is something which we don’t do properly here. I’m someone who always said, for example, that millionaires should not be getting the winter fuel payment.
But what Rachel Reeves has done is the extreme version of that where people who are actually on the breadline have had their winter fuel payment taken away. We don’t have a system that knows who should get what. That’s the sort of thing we need to be looking at. Now the triple lock is a policy which we supported throughout our 14 years in government.
PA’s fact check argues that even if Badenoch was saying she plans to means test or scrap the triple lock, it would still not be a “cut” to the state pension, it would just remain at the same level and the value erode over time with inflation.
Strangers’ bar in parliament to close after alleged spiking incident
PA Media reports a House of Commons spokesperson has said Parliament’s Strangers’ bar will close from Monday while security and safety arrangements are reviewed after an alleged spiking incident.
More details soon …
IMF upgrades UK growth forecast in boost for government
The International Monetary Fund has upgraded its forecast for UK growth this year in its biannual assessment of the global economy.
In a fillip to the Labour government, the Washington-based organisation said it now expected the UK economy to grow by 1.6% in 2025, up from an earlier forecast of 1.5%.
The IMF judged that Labour’s increase in investment spending, improved household finances and a series of interest rate cuts by the Bank of England would give the UK economy a lift, after growing by 0.9% in 2024 according to the fund’s expectations.
The UK upgrade was in contrast to the eurozone, where the IMF revised down its forecasts for growth in 2025 in Germany, France and Italy.
Analysts at the IMF said they believed the Bank of England would cut interest rates four times this year, reducing the headline rate from 4.75% to 3.75%.
Until last week, financial markets were betting on only two rate cuts, though a fall in inflation to 2.5% and figures showing weak retail sales before Christmas have increased the odds of at least three reductions this year.
A spokesperson for the IMF said Labour’s budget rules showed the government was committed to bringing down the UK debt over the longer term.
Read more from Phillip Inman here: IMF upgrades UK growth forecast and takes swipe at Trump plans
Both co-leaders of the Green Party of England and Wales have been posting to social media today about solar panels, highlighting their contributions in parliament to the debate on the New Homes (Solar Generation) Bill private members bill – also known as the Sunshine Bill – being put forward by Liberal Democrat MP for Cheltenham, Max Wilkinson
In her message, Carla Denyer said “Solar panels on all suitable new homes is a win-win-win: cutting bills, cutting emissions, and making UK more energy secure. We’ve got a vanishingly small window of chance to prevent climate breakdown and we need to take every chance we can get to bring down emissions.”
Adrian Ramsay said “Time is of the essence; every new build in this country could have had solar panels in 2016, but that was dropped by a previous government. When I talk to my constituents, they are puzzled as to why new homes are being built without solar panels. I wholeheartedly support the Sunshine Bill.”
There’s encouraging news for Rachel Reeves in the bond markets today.
UK borrowing costs have fallen, and are now almost back at their levels early last week before bond yields surged.
The yield, or interest rate, on 10-year UK government bonds has dipped by four basis points, or 0.04 percentage points, to 4.627%. That’s the lowest level since last Tuesday, 7 January, the first day of the sell-off in UK debt that drove 10-year borrowing costs to their highest since 2008.
The recovery comes after the UK government insisted it would stick to its fiscal rules, an indication that spending cuts or tax rises might be implemented rather than increased borrowing.
It also reflects expectations that the Bank of England may cut interest rates several times this year, after the latest inflation, growth and retail sales figures were lower than exepcted this week.
But it is also part of a wider recovery in bond prices in recent days. US Treasury yields have also dropped this week, following reports that Donald Trump’s administration may take a more gradual approach to tariffs.
You can read more from Graeme Wearden on our business live blog: FTSE 100 share index hits record high; relief for Rachel Reeves as UK borrowing costs fall – business live
Our economics editor Heather Stewart has just published this profile of John Van Reenen, who is an economist working at the treasury for chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Baroness Grey-Thompson introduced the second reading of the Regulated and Other Activities (Mandatory Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse) Bill in the House of Lords earlier today, saying that legislation currently protects money better than it does children.
PA Media quotes her saying:
As legislators, one of our roles is to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Protecting children from sexual abuse should therefore be of the highest priority.
We must continue to learn from past mistakes and, whilst we cannot say that child sexual abuse will stop with this bill, stricter legislation on reporting will give those children stronger protections than they currently have.
A well-designed mandatory reporting law is a key component of an effective safeguarding system. This is about how we protect more of our children as we go forward.
It is slightly ironic that the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 introduced mandatory reporting for money laundering under the regulated sector.
So for the past 23 years, this country has protected money in ways that it has not protected our children. Our system is failing the victims of child sexual abuse and changes need to be made.
The proposed law is a private member’s bill that would enact one of the recommendations from the Prof Alexis Jay 2022 report. The government has said it plans to introduce mandatory reporting in its own Crime and Policing Bill later this year.
Badenoch denies claim she said Tories would look at pensions triple-lock
Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has posted to social media in an attempt to refute claims that she said the Tories would look at changes to the pensions triple-lock.
She posted a seven-second clip of her LBC appearance, in which the subtitles show her saying “I have always said that we don’t do means testing …”, the presenter asking “are you going to look at the triple lock?” and her replying “No, we’re going to look at means testing.”
In the message accompanying the video, Badenoch says:
Labour punished poor pensioners, snatching away winter fuel payments due to poor means testing. We need better mechanisms, not proxies like pension credit or free school meals. So why are Labour, Reform, and Lib Dems pretending we’re cancelling the triple lock? They’re scared.
The Conservative party under new leadership is crafting exciting, new policies. Other parties do not have our networks and expertise. So they want to scare people. Don’t listen to them. Listen for yourself. In the clip attached, I say ‘no’ to looking at the triple lock. BUT we DO need to deliver better means-testing. Big tech and supermarkets know more than the government about its citizens. It’s time to change the system for the better. Let’s do this for the next generation.
You can watch the video and make your own mind up below …
Labour punished poor pensioners, snatching away winter fuel payments due to poor means testing. We need better mechanisms, not proxies like pension credit or free school meals. So why are Labour, Reform, and Lib Dems pretending we're cancelling the triple lock? They're scared👇 pic.twitter.com/MwVCRDNFlY
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) January 17, 2025
Co-chair of the Conservative party, Nigel Huddleston, was pushed into defending Kemi Badenoch’s leadership of the party on Sky News this morning, saying that she was not a “known quantity yet.”
He told viewers:
Kemi has been leader for ten weeks. Yes, she’s been an MP since, I think, 2017, but she’s not a known quantity yet.
But those of us who do know her, and I worked really close with her, have immense loyalty, and I think over time people will get to know Kemi. Get to know her incredible honesty and integrity. She speaks her mind.
But we do recognise this is a long journey. As Kemi has said a million times, this is a marathon, not a sprint. This was pivotal to the really important speech she gave yesterday.
We’re saying, look, on this journey that we’re going on, having had the absolute beating at the general election last year, we need to show some humility and understand why it is that we didn’t win and why so many people voted for Reform, in particular.
Many of whom share our values, and left the Conservative party to go to Reform because they were angry with us, because, in all honesty, we let them down. Because we moved away, often, from core conservative principles.
Kemi said this yesterday, one of the key things is that we announced things, but we didn’t have a detailed plan to implement. And if you don’t have a detailed plan, it’s just an announcement. It’s not a policy. We’ve learned our lesson on that. Believe me, we’ve learned the lesson. We took a beating in the general election.
So the commitment from Kemi yesterday is you will not hear hear from us all sorts of lovely promises, and great things and really popular things, which is a great way to go up in the polls.
You will hear from us a disciplined approach, because we want to be get back in government. We’re not a protest party. It is our responsibility to get rid of this shambolic government and get back in government.
The government has announced a £60m funding package for the creative industries, including investment in British film and TV, grass roots music and start-up video game companies.
The government said that the investment, £40m of which will be spent over the next financial year, will benefit hundreds of creative businesses “marking the first step of the government’s sector plan for the creative industries.
The announcement was made as Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, is holding a creative industries summit in Gatehead attended by more than 250 businesses and cultural leaders.
The government has also formally announced the creation of a Soft Power Council, which will advise the government on driving growth and investment at home and abroad.
The Liberal Democrats have attacked Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch over her comments on potential means-testing of pensions.
When asked during an LBC phone-in whether she would “look at” the triple lock, Badenoch said: “We’re going to look at means testing. Means testing is something which we don’t do properly here.”
Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson, said “bungling Badenoch” had come up with a policy of slashing the state pension. “The Conservatives urgently need to clarify what she meant and how many pensioners would lose out,” she said. “The Liberal Democrats are proud we introduced the triple lock and will fight tooth and nail against Conservative attempts to weaken it.”
Promoting a poster of Badenoch also highlighting her previous comments on maternity pay and support for talking points raised on social media by US-based tech billionaire Elon Musk, a Liberal Democrat source said:
First Kemi Badenoch came for the mothers and now she has set her sights on the grandmothers.
Millions of pensioners felt betrayed by Labour’s cut to the winter fuel payment, now it’s clear their pensions aren’t safe with the Conservatives.
We will be reminding pensioners at every opportunity that Kemi Badenoch wants to take an axe to the triple lock.
Nigel Huddleston, the co-chair of the Conservatives, was representing the party on the media round this morning, and he accused Labour of lying to the public at the general election last year.
Speaking on Sky News, the MP for Droitwich and Evesham said:
[Labour] deceived the British public by going back to type of absolute massive increases in taxing and massive increases in spending. They didn’t tell the British public that in advance of the election.
And this is key to British politics at the moment. We understand why the British public were angry with us at the last election and booted us out. The problem is they are now angry with Labour as well, because they lied to the British public, and they are not doing the things they said before the election. They’ve gone back to type.
So the British public are still angry with us, and they’re angry with Labour, and there’s other parties out there promising things that are really popular.
Over the next few months and years, we need to build our credibility, get the British public back on our side by being honest and straight with them and developing policies that are credible, not just saying popular things.
A ban on UK employers using non-disclosure agreements to hush up cases of sexual misconduct and harassment is being considered as part of the government’s overhaul of employment rights.
After a slew of high-profile cases and years of campaigning by activists, it is understood that ministers are prepared to back a change in the law to prohibit the misuse of gagging clauses.
Labour’s flagship employment rights bill does not contain provisions on NDAs but Justin Madders, the workers’ rights minister, has indicated the government is ready to amend the legislation in the coming months.
A change to the bill proposed by the Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran was rejected this week but the minister told a parliamentary committee that the government wanted to “look more closely at what we can do in this area”.
Madders said: “I have met some of the interested parties and there are other proposals to deal with this issue that might be slightly more workable than those in the new clause proposed by the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.”
Read more of Daniel Boffey’s report here: Labour considering ban on use of NDAs to hush up sexual misconduct at work
The House of Commons is sitting today, but as it is a Friday the items down to be debated are all private members’ bills. Included on the list are Labour MP Sarah Owen’s attempt to amend legislation around fireworks in Great Britain, and Conservative MP Christopher Chope’s bill to privatise the BBC.
Nandy defends Starmer over far-right bandwagon grooming gang comments
During her interview on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme this morning, culture secretary Lisa Nandy robustly defended prime minister Keir Starmer’s comments about politicians amplifying the far-right over grooming and rape gangs.
In a terse exchange, presenter Nick Robinson said to her “Keir Starmer originally said no need for any inquiries. In fact, he insulted the people who were calling for them".”
Nandy replied “I really reject the idea that the Prime Minister insulted people who were calling for inquiries. He was making a very specific point about people who were jumping on bandwagons and reacting to noise on social media rather than putting victims first. And I utterly stand by him on that.”
She continued, with reference to Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch in particular, saying:
The fact is that if you, say for eight years, you don’t raise once the issue of a national inquiry, and actually you’re part of a government that welcomes the Prof Alexis Jay inquiry, that says that that is sufficient, and then a few months later, when you’re in opposition, change your mind because of things that are happening on social media, I would say that is opportunist, and I don’t think it’s putting the victims first.
As a reminder, Starmer’s exact words were:
What I won’t tolerate is politicians jumping on the bandwagon simply to get attention, when those politicians sat in government for 14 long years, tweeting, talking, but not doing anything about it. Now, so desperate for attention that they’re amplifying what the far-right is saying.
Nandy: BBC licence fee income is 'insufficient' and ministers considering 'whole range of alternatives'
Lisa Nandy has said government ministers are considering a “whole range of alternatives” to the BBC licence fee, criticising it as “regressive” but also saying it raises “insufficient money to support the BBC.”
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Nandy appeared to rule out raising money for the BBC from general taxation. She said the licence fee was “not only insufficient, it’s raising insufficient money to support the BBC, but it also is deeply regressive.”
The culture secretary continued:
We’ve seen far too many women prosecuted over recent years for being unable to pay it, and it’s a flat fee that means that poorer people pay proportionately more than anybody else. I think that doesn’t help the BBC, it doesn’t help the government, and it doesn’t help people in this country.
PA Media reports Nandy said she has “already started initial discussions with the BBC leadership about the charter review”, that she hopes will “future proof our national broadcaster until well into the latter half of this century. I think the one that has been speculated about is general taxation. That’s not something that we are considering.”
The BBC has stated that the BBC’s total income from the licence fee in 2023 was £3.74bn, which accounted for about 65% of the a total income of £5.73bn.
Rowena Mason is the Guardian’s Whitehall editor
Rachel Reeves has said she is not going to let her critics get her down after a bruising week of speculation about whether she could be ousted as chancellor.
Reeves said she is qualified for the job and has the ideas to turn things around, amid worries about falling business confidence and the rising cost of government borrowing.
“I haven’t taken it personally this week. It’s political,” she said on the BBC’s Political Thinking with Nick Robinson. “Some people don’t want me to succeed. Some people don’t want this government to succeed. That’s fair enough. That’s their prerogative. But I’m not going to let them get me down. I’m not going to let them stop me from doing what this government has got a mandate to do, and that is to grow the economy, to make working people better off.
“People have been through a tough time the last few years. The cost of living crisis has taken its toll. Our economy has not been competitive enough. People’s wages have stagnated. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Read more of Rowena Mason’s report here: I won’t let critics get to me, says Reeves after speculation about her future
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy this morning said the government would accept a “majority” of the recommendations set out by Prof Alexis Jay aimed at preventing future child sexual abuse, but stated that “There are a few where we looking at whether at the way in which we implement them.”
Ministers have previously asserted that the government was planning to implement the 20 recommendations “in full.”
Nandy denies government pressured into grooming gang review by social media
Lisa Nandy has claimed “we’re not a government that governs by social media” despite it appearing that home secretary Yvette Cooper yesterday announced an urgent national review of the scale of grooming gangs after pressure on internet platforms driven by US-based tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, the culture secretary said:
We’re not a government that governs by social media. We govern for the real world.
Victims have been warning over and over again, telling the same story about the systems that were supposed to protect them, protecting themselves, and young women who weren’t believed because they were young, they were female, and they were working-class.
We know what needs to be done, and as a government we are wasting no time in getting on and making sure that we deliver for those young women.
Nandy said there was “far too much heat on social media [and] not enough light,” adding “I don’t agree for a moment that this government is being driven by what happens on social media.”
On Thursday, Cooper said Louise Casey, who produced a report into sexual abuse in Rotherham, would lead a three-month review into what was known about the scale and extent of grooming gangs.
Cooper said Casey would examine data not available to the initial national inquiry into gangs led by Prof Alexis Jay, and would look into the ethnicity and demographics of abusers and victims, as well as “the cultural and societal drivers for this type of offending, including amongst different ethnic groups”.
Welcome and opening summary …
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of UK politics. Here are your headlines.
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy has defended the government decision to call a three-month review into what was known about the scale and extent of grooming and rape gangs, and said “We’re not a government that governs by social media”
On the BBC’s Political Thinking with Nick Robinson podcast the chancellor Rachel Reeves has said she is not going to let her critics get her down
Opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who has criticised the Labour government decision to remove the winter fuel payment in favour of a means-tested benefit, has said the Tories will consider means testing the triple-lock on pensions
Retailers in Great Britain experienced a surprise fall in sales last month, as supermarkets and food stores had their worst Christmas since 2013, according to official figures
Prime minister Keir Starmer is expected to be in Poland. Former business secretary and now Conservative peer Alok Sharma is appearing at the Covid inquiry.
It is Martin Belam with you today. You can reach me on email at martin.belam@theguardian.com.
