In an interview with Talk TV, asked if he would be happy for the Tories to do a deal with Reform UK, Smith replied:
Look, I think if we want to get rid of socialism from this country, there may well be a point where the right-of-centre parties have to play nicely.
I don’t think we’re at the point of having to negotiate a deal like that. At the moment, I very much hope we can have a Conservative victory.
Asked what “playing nicely” might look like – a informal non-aggression pact, or a more formal electoral alliance – Smith said it was “far too early” to say. But he went on:
I think there is going to come a point where the parties on the right-of-centre look at where things stand ahead of the 2029 general election, and if there is a risk of a continued Labour government – or, possibly the worst case scenario, a Labour/Lib Dem/SNP coalition that would almost certainly bring in proportional representation … then I think there has to be some sort of deal negotiated out. Exactly what that looks like, [it’s] far too early to say.
Asked if Kemi Badenoch thought the same way, Smith said:
Britain is not a leftwing country. What we’re trying to do at the moment is ensure we’ve got a policy platform and an offer to the British people that has got to be radically different to the offer that they threw out so comprehensively last July, that can get us a majority. We want to form a majority Conservative government.
But we’ve got to look at the facts the closer we get to that general election to see how things are going, to see how the turquoise team [Reform UK] are doing compared to us, and take a judgement close to the time.
Asked if he would serve in a Nigel Farage government, Smith said it was “far too early to say” and that he was still working for a Tory win.
The Liberal Democrats challenged Badenoch to sack Smith for his comments. Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem deputy leader, said:
On the very day that Kemi Badenoch launched her campaign in Buckinghamshire, the local Conservative MP for Mid Buckinghamshire has suggested a Conservative pact with Reform.
The wheels are already coming off this shambolic Tory local election campaign.
Kemi Badenoch should sack Greg Smith from her front bench. Anything less would be an admission that the Conservative Party now wants a deal with Farage and Reform.
Reform UK before the next general election if there is a risk of Labour winning. (See 5.31pm.) Smith was speaking as the Tories launched their local elections campaign, with Nigel Huddleston, the co-chair, suggesting the party is on course for big losses (see 9.45am) and Kemi Badenoch saying anything better than a wipeout will be an improvement on the general election result (see 12.22pm).
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The Social Market Foundation, a thinktank, has proposed savings and tax increases that it says could raise £30bn over the next five years, as an alternative to cutting disability benefits. The plans include replacing the pensions triple lock with a double lock, and taxing empty homes. Here is the list.
Reform UK before the next general election if there is a risk of Labour winning.
In an interview with Talk TV, asked if he would be happy for the Tories to do a deal with Reform UK, Smith replied:
Look, I think if we want to get rid of socialism from this country, there may well be a point where the right-of-centre parties have to play nicely.
I don’t think we’re at the point of having to negotiate a deal like that. At the moment, I very much hope we can have a Conservative victory.
Asked what “playing nicely” might look like – a informal non-aggression pact, or a more formal electoral alliance – Smith said it was “far too early” to say. But he went on:
I think there is going to come a point where the parties on the right-of-centre look at where things stand ahead of the 2029 general election, and if there is a risk of a continued Labour government – or, possibly the worst case scenario, a Labour/Lib Dem/SNP coalition that would almost certainly bring in proportional representation … then I think there has to be some sort of deal negotiated out. Exactly what that looks like, [it’s] far too early to say.
Asked if Kemi Badenoch thought the same way, Smith said:
Britain is not a leftwing country. What we’re trying to do at the moment is ensure we’ve got a policy platform and an offer to the British people that has got to be radically different to the offer that they threw out so comprehensively last July, that can get us a majority. We want to form a majority Conservative government.
But we’ve got to look at the facts the closer we get to that general election to see how things are going, to see how the turquoise team [Reform UK] are doing compared to us, and take a judgement close to the time.
Asked if he would serve in a Nigel Farage government, Smith said it was “far too early to say” and that he was still working for a Tory win.
The Liberal Democrats challenged Badenoch to sack Smith for his comments. Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem deputy leader, said:
On the very day that Kemi Badenoch launched her campaign in Buckinghamshire, the local Conservative MP for Mid Buckinghamshire has suggested a Conservative pact with Reform.
The wheels are already coming off this shambolic Tory local election campaign.
Kemi Badenoch should sack Greg Smith from her front bench. Anything less would be an admission that the Conservative Party now wants a deal with Farage and Reform.
reportedly floated with President Zelenskyy, Starmer said that that was a matter for Ukraine and the US to discuss.an annual survey by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (Cipfa).
The government justified allowing six councils – Bradford, Newham, Windsor and Maidenhead, Birmingham, Somerset and Trafford – to increase council tax above the referendum threshold this year by stating these councils have low levels of council tax.
With growing demand for support and overall reductions in funding, Cipfa said council tax rises will not be sufficient to maintain services.
Joanna Pitt, Cipfa senior policy manager, said: “Local authorities are caught in an impossible position, balancing rising demand for essential services against financial pressures. While increasing council tax is never an easy decision, it is often the only option available to maintain service provision in the face of difficult funding decisions.”
In previous years surveys have also shown average council tax bills in the north of England, and the north-east in particular, higher than in London. One explanation is that the north-east has proportionally fewer high-value properties, where a higher council tax rate applies, with the result that councils have to raise proportionally more from people living in average and lower-value homes.
the latest attendance data from the Department for Education.
While overall attendance rates for state pupils continued to slowly improve following the Covid pandemic, those for children with special needs went in the opposite direction – rising to 12.6% sessions missed in 2023-24, up from 12.3% the previous year. The equivalent figure for those with no identified special needs was 6.3%.
Among children with education, health and care plans (EHCPs), issued for identified special needs, there was a sharp rise in those classed as “severely absent”, who are absent for at least half of the school year, to 6.8% last year from 5.9% in 2022-23 and more than double the pre-pandemic rate of 3.3%. The increase among children with Send accounted for the national increase in severe absence, to 2.3% from 2%.
Munira Wilson, the Lib Dem spokesperson for education, said:
Parents are forced to fight for the education their children are entitled to, and all too often children feel trapped in a system that can’t cater to their needs. That’s what leads to shocking absence rates like these.
The government inherited a mess when it came to Send provision, but we need to see action and we need to see results. The pace of change is simply too slow.
Green party of England and Wales has appointed Harriet Lamb as its new CEO. Lamb currently runs WRAP, a global NGO promoting circular living (sustainable ways of using resources).
Adrian Ramsay, the party’s co-leader, said:
I am delighted to welcome Harriet to the Green party. She brings a wealth of experience leading and scaling up organisations centred on bringing about environmental and social justice. She evidently has the experience and passion to play a central role in growing our party and our impact towards our core mission.
With two party politics having broken down and people looking for alternatives, the Green Party’s positive vision for a fair, liveable future is needed more than ever. I look forward to working closely with Harriet in driving the party’s growth and impact to the next level.
Lamb replaces Mary Clegg, the previous CEO, who left several months ago.
its news release, the Treasury explains the change like this.
Currently, departments track their own spending and performance, and share data with the Treasury via manual uploads in online spreadsheets and physical letters. This means the Treasury does not have real time access to departments the finance and performance management data and cannot see in real time departmental spending and its impact.
To address inefficiencies, the chief secretary has formed plans to transform government’s approach to understanding, tracking, and evaluating spending across departments.
Under these new plans, ministers will have access to live and real-time performance data at both a departmental and programme level.
This means ministers will be able to see in real time what programmes are over or under spending, which projects are delivering and not, and how departments are performing against their budgets and objectives.
In his speech to the IfG, Jones said that this type of real-time data monitoring was normal in the private sector. He said that, when he arrived at the Treasury, he expected to find it operating like this too. But instead he found it operating like a bank, handing out money to its customers, attaching conditions, and then learning retrospectively if the cash was spent wisely.
Jones claimed the new system would allow goverment to operate more efficiently. He explained:
The transparency that we want will make it easier for the Treasury to continue to manage public money robustly, but in return they will have to be fewer conditions, better levels of delegation and a reduction in the amount of reporting and compliance against too many KPIs [key performance indicators].
Nicola Sturgeon is no longer under investigation as part of the police case looking into alleged mishandling of Scottish National party funds, Severin Carrell reports.
Turning back to the Conservative party local elections campaign launch, here is Labour’s response, from the party chair Ellie Reeves.
The public won’t forget the 14 years of chaos and decline Kemi Badenoch’s Conservative Party presided over. They left working people worse off, immigration soared to record levels, and our NHS was at breaking point. They haven’t listened and will never learn.
And here is the Liberal Democrat response, from the deputy leader Daisy Cooper.
The first brick in the blue wall came tumbling down in Buckinghamshire in the Chesham and Amersham by-election. Now Kemi Badenoch is back there in a desperate attempt to shore up the crumbling Conservative vote as people in the home counties turn to the Liberal Democrats.
Whilst Kemi’s Conservatives compete with Reform in their policy agenda, the Liberal Democrats are focused on delivering for residents on issues including the cost of living, sewage in our rivers and the emergency in our NHS and care.
Source: theguardian.com
