Just 6.9% of people on benefits moved from welfare into work each month on average between January and September 2025, according to figures from the Department and Work and Pensions. The lowest rate in seven years…
At the same time, a whopping 4.2 million people were on Universal Credit with no requirement to work as of December. A reminder that the OBR forecasts the welfare bill will balloon by £73.2 billion to £406.2 billion over the next five years under Labour…
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately said:
“This hasn’t just happened by chance under Labour’s watch. It’s an inevitable consequence of their decisions in Government. They’ve put taxes up on jobs and piled red tape onto businesses, so they’re not hiring. Getting off benefits has got harder and the welfare trap is deeper.”
Remember when Starmer promised to “get Britain working”…
Home Office minister Alex Norris could not say how many smuggling gangs Labour has “smashed” when asked on Sky News this morning. If even they have no idea…
Pressed by Sophy Ridge, Norris said:
“Well, I don’t think any public policy is is is easier than the press release. Of course, it’s not. We’ve made 4,000 interventions against organized crime since we took office. Well, this is a process that we will deliver over this parliamentary term. I know your viewers, as you do, as I do, want to see those channel crossings reduced.”
Meanwhile, Starmer’s ‘one in, one out’ scheme with France has so far managed to bring in more migrants to the UK than it has deported. Everything is fine…
Labour’s selection meeting for the Gorton and Denton by-election is set for 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, taking place at the Jain Centre in Manchester. In Denton…
After Starmer blocked Andy Burnham from running, the longlist currently stands at five. Four Manchester councillors – Rabnawaz Akbar, Abid Latif Chohan, Julie Reid and Angeliki Stogia – are up against Bury council leader Eamonn O’Brien. Those on the shortlist will then face a hustings at the Jain Centre before Gorton and Denton Labour party members make their final pick…
Local Labour sources are already gaming it out predict a final showdown between Cllr Angeliki Stogia – Labour’s Mid Cheshire candidate at the General Election – and Eamonn O’Brien. Meanwhile, Labour’s attempt to land blows on Reform’s Matt Goodwin has already got off to a rocky start…
Police numbers have dropped dramatically under Labour, according to Home Office figures published today. In the year from September 2024 to September 2025, there were 1,318 fewer police officers on the books. And it’s not just officers taking the hit:
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said:
“This is a day of shame for Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood whose plans earlier this week had nothing to say about increasing or even maintaining overall police numbers.”
That’s despite Labour’s election pledge to recruit 13,000 extra officers by 2029. Time to rip up another page of the manifesto…
Science Secretary Liz Kendall was shown Labour’s attack video of Reform’s Gorton and Denton by-election candidate Matt Goodwin allegedly sneering about Manchester. Minor snag: Goodwin was actually talking about Tory conference…
When Sky News’ Sophy Ridge challenged Kendall on the “misleading” edit, Kendall squirmed, insisting she hadn’t seen the clip before. If the shoe was on the other foot…
Legendary chef Michel Roux Junior has today hit out at Labour’s brutal hospitality taxes. A partial U-turn on pubs is not going to cut it…
Responding to Guido’s report on hospitality closures amid Labour’s ongoing tax war on the sector, Roux said:
Hospitality the goose that lays the golden egg ie tax collector is being killed off………🤷🏻♂️
— Michel Roux Jr (@michelrouxjr) January 27, 2026
The chef owned renowned Michelin-starred restaurant Le Gavroche until it closed in 2024. He joins a chorus of criticism levelled at the government along with Gordon Ramsay and other restaurateurs. Every closed venue is another chunky tax bill lost to the Exchequer. What are the chances of Rachel Reeves picking up an economics textbook anytime soon?
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”