[ad_1] EPA/EFE/REX/ShutterstockA cabinet minister has said restricting winter fuel payments does not "sit easily" with him, after estimates it would increase poverty among pensioners.Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said the decision to restrict the £300 payment to all but the poorest pensioners this winter was made with a "heavy heart".But he insisted the "difficult" decision was required to repair the public finances. It comes after the government disclosed an official estimate
[ad_1] The UK's first border security commander has pledged to keep "chipping away" a people smugglers' business models until they are no longer profitable.In his first broadcast interview since taking up the job in September, Martin Hewitt said there was no "simple answer" to stopping people crossing the Channel in small boats. But he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that working with other countries to intercept people before they
[ad_1] Getty ImagesCouncillor Richard Brown said "the council cannot support" the use of the hotel for asylum seekersAsylum seekers will be housed by the government at a hotel in Coventry, a senior councillor has said. In a Facebook post seen by the BBC, Coventry City Council’s cabinet member for finance Richard Brown said the government had told the authority of its decision to use a hotel in the city as
[ad_1] Sir Keir Starmer has said he has "no plans" to join the Bluesky social media platform.There has been a rising wave of popularity for the app - an alternative to Elon Musk's X - in recent weeks.Bluesky has at times been the most downloaded app on both the US and UK Apple Stores, with many social media users leaving X in the wake of the US election.But the prime
[ad_1] Trump InternationalDonald Trump at the site of his new course near Menie in AberdeenshireUS President-elect Donald Trump will visit Scotland next year for the opening of a new golf course in Aberdeenshire, his son has confirmed.Eric Trump and his father broke ground on the 18-hole links MacLeod Course at the Trump International resort in Menie last year.The course is expected to open next summer. If the visit goes ahead,
[ad_1] An additional 50,000 pensioners will be living in relative poverty next year as a result of cuts to the winter fuel allowance, the government's own estimates have revealed. Earlier this year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the £300 payment would be restricted to all but the poorest pensioners - those eligible for pension credit. In a bid to soften the impact of the cuts, the government launched a campaign to
[ad_1] UK PoolThe home secretary has promised to end a "postcode lottery" in policing, as she set out plans to overhaul the work of forces in England and Wales.Yvette Cooper announced a new body which would co-ordinate specialist functions such as forensics, IT, and the use of drones and helicopters.She also said forces needed to share more information with the Home Office to enable better monitoring of police performance.Further details
[ad_1] Farmers are protesting in London over inheritance tax changes announced in the Budget, as the row grows over how many farms it might affect. The National Farmers' Union calls the move “disastrous", whilst Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has insisted the "vast majority" of farms will be unaffected by the changes. [ad_2] Source link
[ad_1] Getty ImagesScottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar says the UK government's Scottish Labour will expand eligibility for the winter fuel payment if they form the next Scottish government, leader Anas Sarwar has said. Under the party’s plans, all pensioners would receive a payment via a devolved benefit, though it would be tapered so that the wealthiest households received less.The UK government has changed the rules so that only those in
[ad_1] Free trade talks between India and the UK will be relaunched in the new year, Downing Street has announced.The news comes after Sir Keir Starmer met Indian prime minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in Brazil.A post-Brexit deal could unlock valuable markets for British cars, Scottish whisky, and financial services worth billions of pounds, with India on course to become the third largest economy in the world by
