Art of London

James Cleverly denies calling Stockton North derogatory term

Home Secretary James Cleverly has denied an allegation that he described Stockton North using an offensive term.

Labour MP Alex Cunningham alleged the swear word was used during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday.

Mr Cunningham said it happened after he challenged the Prime Minister about child poverty in the constituency.

Mr Cleverly's spokesman said: "He did not say that, and would not. He's disappointed people would accuse him of doing so."

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Cunningham had asked: "Why are 34% of children in my constituency living in poverty?"

Making a point of order in the Commons later on Wednesday, Mr Cunningham said: "Before the prime minister answered, the home secretary chose to add in his pennyworth.

"He was seen and heard to say 'because it's a sh****le'.

"Yes, I have contacted his office advising him I planned to name him, but sadly he has chosen not to be in the chamber.

"I know he is denying being the culprit, but the audio is clear and has been checked, and checked, and checked again.

"There is no doubt that these comments shame the home secretary, this rotten government, and the Tory Party. He is clearly unfit for his high office."

Energy price cap will rise in January adding pressure on households.

Household energy prices will rise in January putting more financial pressure on billpayers at the coldest time of year.

Energy regulator Ofgem said the typical annual household bill would go up from £1,834 to £1,928, a rise of £94 or 5%.

It said the rise in bills would be "worrying" at a difficult time for many people, but was the result of higher wholesale costs faced by suppliers.

Analysts have predicted that prices will fall back in March.

The announcement comes the day after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his Autumn Statement.

The regulator's price cap affects 29 million households in England, Wales and Scotland. Rules are different in Northern Ireland. Ofgem sets the maximum amount that suppliers can charge for each unit of gas and electricity but not the total bill, so if you use more, you will pay more.

Specifically, the price of gas will be 7p per kilowatt hour (kWh), and electricity will 29p per kWh.

"It is important that customers are supported and we have made clear to suppliers that we expect them to identify and offer help to those who are struggling with bills," said Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of Ofgem.

Dr Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at energy analysts Cornwall Insight, said: "Amid the cost-of-living crisis, the last thing households need is a rise in energy bills - especially going into the winter months.

"However, as is often the case in the energy market, new challenges have arisen, and our reliance on foreign energy has once again left the UK vulnerable to price increases caused by events around the globe."

For customers such as Roy Bridgewood, a rise in prices will add extra pressure on to the financial difficulties he is already struggling to cope with.

Households to be £1,900 poorer, says think tank.

Families will be £1,900 poorer at the end of this parliament compared with the beginning, a think tank has said.

The Resolution Foundation said this government would set a "grim" new record for living standards going down.

It also said Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's Autumn Statement changes, including a National Insurance cut, handed the next parliament "implausible" cuts to public sector spending.

But Mr Hunt said the tax cuts would put "more money in people's pockets".

Responding to the Autumn Statement, the Resolution Foundation said that with the next general election due within the next year, "this parliament is on track to be the first in which real household disposable incomes have fallen".

The independent think tank, which focuses on improving living standards for those on low to middle incomes, said Mr Hunt's plans "failed to end a wider economic stagnation".

It said people's purchasing power had been stagnating for 20 years, and that recent pay rises just reflected the reality of higher inflation.

Despite "tax-cutting rhetoric" and about £20bn of tax cuts announced in the Autumn Statement, there had already been £90bn of tax rises announced by the government - so taxes are rising by the equivalent of £4,300 per household between 2019-20 and 2028-29, the think tank said.

The chancellor managed to make these cuts at the expense of not raising public spending in line with the pace of general price rises, meaning departments such as justice, local government and the Home Office face a £17bn budget cut by 2027-28, it added.

Does the Autumn Statement hint at spring election?

There is an excitable industry of guesswork at Westminster right now.

If anyone finds themselves lost for words - a rare affliction around here, it must be said - the gap is instantly filled by asking "when do you reckon the election will be?"

What will follow, in considerable detail, are a range of perfectly lucid, plausible, thought through hypotheses assembled on a massive mountain of guesswork.

The Conservatives will want an election in May because spring is a better time for elections and it might catch Labour by surprise. The number of migrant small boat crossings will shoot up in the summer and they'll want the election done before then.

The Conservatives will want an election in the autumn because why wouldn't they make the most of their time in government and who knows what might turn up between now and then?

Both plausible hypotheses.

And now this festival of estimates is cranking up another notch.

After the Autumn Statement, with its promise to cut National Insurance for millions at the beginning of January, rather than by April as is standard after an autumn announcement, does that mean an election in May is more likely?

Maybe.

The Conservative Campaign Director Isaac Levido is expected back at Conservative Campaign Headquarters in the new year.

Labour have recently moved into a new HQ themselves and are upping their preparations, as are the other parties too.

All we know for definite is an election has to happen, by law, by the tail end of January 2025.

Precisely when it happens prior to then is in the prime minister's gift.

‘He’s done nothing to help’: Britain reacts to the autumn statement
A taxpayer, a pensioner, a benefit recipient and a parent explain how the chancellor’s changes affect them – if they do at all.

The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, delivered his autumn statement on Wednesday and in it announced increases in benefits and a cut in national insurance. We asked a taxpayer, a pensioner, a universal credit claimant and a parent for their views.

‘I hoped they’d be upping the tax thresholds’
Adam Houghton, 44, a psychological therapist from Leeds and a father of two, currently earns £50,952 before tax, but will see his pay rise to £57,349 next year, when he moves to the top of his NHS salary band.

Had the income tax thresholds been raised in line with inflation, today’s higher rate of 40% income tax would only kick in at £57,170, according to financial commentator Paul Lewis, and Houghton would have needed to pay the higher rate only on £179 of his annual pay in the new year, after his income increase.

But because thresholds have been frozen since April 2021, most of his pay rise will be taxed at 40%, meaning Houghton is one of millions of taxpayers affected by so-called fiscal drag.

Despite hopes that chancellor Jeremy Hunt might unfreeze the thresholds and bring tax brackets in line with inflation, the chancellor opted for a cut in national insurance instead.

Workers such as Houghton were given a bit of relief in the form of a two-percentage-point cut in NI, from 12% to 10%, but Houghton is “really disappointed”. He says: “I kind of got my hopes up that they’d be upping the tax thresholds. I’m on a good salary, but I do have two kids. We pay around a grand in nursery fees a month, and currently £1,250 for our mortgage – costs that absorb a lot of my salary. When our mortgage has to be renewed in July, it’ll rise to about £1,750 monthly, the cheapest rate I can find.”

He has been exploring ways to limit his taxable income, including opening a Sipp (self-invested personal pension). “However, that’s a strategy based on the idea that you have some slack in your budget, which we don’t. My family is finding the cost of living tough on our monthly budget. Food and energy have really increased. It must be really tough for people on less money: I have no idea how they’re managing.”

Nissan to secure UK’s largest car plant with two new EV models
Japanese carmaker expected to unveil plan to build replacements for its Qashqai and Juke crossover cars with £1bn investment

Nissan is expected to announce it will build two new electric models in Sunderland, securing the future of the UK’s largest car factory.

The Japanese carmaker will build replacements for its Qashqai and Juke crossover cars, according to Sky which first reported the news.

Investment in the factory could reach as much as £1bn, with significant government subsidy expected.

It comes after the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, announced £2bn of government support on Wednesday for investments in zero-emission technology in the UK’s automotive sector. Hunt said in his autumn statement that the measure had been “warmly welcomed by Nissan and Toyota”, both of which have large factories in Britain.The investment will be welcomed by the UK car industry, as well as the factory’s 6,000 workers. It follows recent investment announcements from India’s Tata, which will build a £4bn battery factory to supply Jaguar and Land Rover, and BMW, which is spending £600m to upgrade its factory to build electric Mini cars.

The Sunderland plant is Britain’s single largest car factory, capable of making 600,000 cars a year at maximum capacity. However, its output has been significantly lower in recent years as the car industry has struggled with Brexit uncertainty, followed by the coronavirus pandemic and consequent supply chain problems.

The plant makes the petrol models of the Qashqai and Juke, as well as the electric Nissan Leaf. It receives batteries from a factory next door, run by Chinese-owned AESC, that it previously owned.

The AESC factory can make batteries with about 2 gigawatt hours (GWh) of capacity a year, but it is building much larger facilities that will aim to produce 9GWh by 2024, and eventually 38GWh, enough to make roughly 600,000 car batteries a year.

Huge rise in refugees sleeping rough after Home Office cuts notice period to leave accommodation

Sky News has seen evidence that many refugees are getting much less than their normal allocated period to leave state-provided homes once their status is accepted - sometimes as little as a week, forcing them into homelessness.

The number of refugees sleeping rough on London's streets has risen by 800% in two months, following a change in Home Office policy.

The capital is home to around a quarter of the country's asylum seekers, many of them living in hotels.Once a person has their refugee status accepted, they are normally given 28 days to leave their state-provided accommodation.

But Sky News has seen evidence that many refugees are getting much less than 28 days, sometimes as little as a week, forcing them into homelessness.

Before August, the 28-day period began when a refugee received their Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), necessary for them to access Universal Credit and other benefits.

However, in the summer, the Home Office began counting down from the day a refugee received their asylum decision letter.

Since the BRP and other documents can sometimes take weeks to arrive, some people are being given as little as seven days to find a new place to live.

Meta requires political advertisers to mark when deepfakes used

Meta will require political advertisers to flag when they have used AI or digital manipulation in adverts on Facebook and Instagram.

The social media company already has policies on using deepfakes in place, but says this goes a step further.

From January, adverts related to politics, elections or social issues will have to declare any digitally altered image or video.

The worldwide policy will be moderated by a mix of human and AI fact checkers.

In an announcement, Meta said this would include changing what somebody has said in a video, altering images or footage of real events, and depicting real-looking people who do not exist.

Users will be notified when adverts have been marked as being digitally changed. Meta told the BBC that it would add this information to the ad but didn't go into detail on how it would be presented.

Advertisers do not have to declare when small changes have been made, such as cropping or colour correction, "unless such changes are consequential or material to the claim, assertion, or issue raised in the ad".

Meta already has policies for all users - not just advertisers - about using deepfakes in videos.

Deepfakes are removed if they "would likely mislead an average person to believe a subject of the video said words that they did not say".

The new rules require adverts relating to politics, elections or social issues to disclose any kind of digital alteration, whether done by a human or AI, before the ad goes live on Facebook or Instagram.

UK economy flatlines as higher interest rates bite

The UK economy failed to grow between July and September, figures show, after a succession of interest rate rises.

The chancellor said higher rates were hitting growth, but added that the economy had performed better than expected this year.

Forecasters suggest the economy is set to be stagnant for several months yet.

Last week, the Bank of England said the UK was likely to see zero growth until 2025, although it is expected to avoid a recession.

Up until September, the Bank of England had raised interest rates 14 times in a row to try to tame soaring price rises.

However, while raising rates can reduce inflation - the pace at which prices rise - it also affects economic growth by making it more expensive for consumers and businesses to borrow money.

Interest rates are at a 15-year high of 5.25%, and are expected to remain high for some time. Bank governor Andrew Bailey said last week it was "much too early" to be considering rate cuts.

Paul Dales, the chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said the latest data suggested "the drag from higher interest rates is growing", but he does not expect the Bank to start cutting rates until late next year.

What is GDP and how does it affect me?
Bank warns it's too early to cut interest rates
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the latest growth figures showed a subdued picture across all sectors of the economy.

The services sector saw a small decline over the three-month period, while manufacturing and the construction sector recorded marginal growth.

The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, told the BBC: "Naturally interest rates do have an impact and the judgement of the Treasury is that the main reason growth has slowed is because of that.

Penny Mordaunt brilliantly hits back at Labour MP over criticism of Rishi Sunak's plans
The Commons Leader responded to accusations from her Labour opposite that the PM's agenda ahead of the next general election is "embarrassingly thin".

Shadow Commons Leader Lucy Powell claimed the Government's legislative programme is "so thin, it's embarrassing".

But in response the Commons Leader reeled off statistics on Labour's previous record.

Speaking during business questions this morning, Ms Powell said: "Of the few bills announced, five are carry overs, four barely longer than a page, three we've seen before and a flagship crime bill that's already been shelved.

"Despite the big issues facing our country, their answers are so small. Nothing to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, just a Prime Minister deluded that everything is going great..."

Suella Braverman LATEST: Lee Anderson heads defence of her as No10 reveals split with PM

Suella Braverman is under fire after publishing a controversial opinion piece which accused the Met Police of bias and compared marches to Northern Ireland.

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Suella Braverman LATEST: Lee Anderson heads defence of her as No10 reveals split with PM
Suella Braverman is under fire after publishing a controversial opinion piece which accused the Met Police of bias and compared marches to Northern Ireland.
By CHRISTIAN CALGIE, Senior Political Correspondent, DAVID MADDOX, Political Editor, KATIE HARRIS, Political Reporter
14:37, Thu, Nov 9, 2023 | UPDATED: 14:37, Thu, Nov 9, 2023
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Suella Braverman receives warm reception at Express party
Lee Anderson has come to Suella Braverman's defence as she appeared to be on a collision course with Rishi Sunak.

Downing Street told journalists this morning that they had not cleared a controversial comment piece she wrote for the Times warning of Islamic mobs taking control of Britain's streets.

It has led to speculation that the Prime Minister could sack her to reassert his authority with some suggesting that Ms Braverman has "become a loose cannon."

But MPs on the right of the party including Mr Anderson, deputy chairman of the Tories, have rallied to her defence.

Mr Anderson said: "The Home Secretary is only saying what most people are thinking.

Barclays bank to lay off over 450 staff: 'These workers deserve better'

Unite union members have been warned Barclays will cut hundreds of jobs
Barclays will lay off more than 450 members of staff across the business, the UK’s Unite union has said.

Mid- to senior-level staff at the business’s head office are likely to be affected, GB News understands.

Unite branded the decision “unnecessary and unjustified” which will leave staff gravely concerned about their job security and livelihoods.

Unite national officer Dominic Hook said: “How can a profitable finance organisation such as Barclays slash over 450 staff amid a cost-of-living crisis?