Politics latest: Government under fire over airport decision as PM touts green agenda (2024)

By Jennifer Scott, political reporter

The government's child poverty taskforce has got to work as ministers begin putting together a strategy to lift families out of destitution.

But despite pressure within Labour and from other parties, it won't be scrapping the controversial two-child benefit cap.

What is the policy?

The two-child benefit cap was announced by the Conservatives in 2015, forming part of their austerity measures.

It means while parents can claim child tax credit or Universal Credit payments for their first and second child, they couldn't make claims for any further children they had.

These are separate payments to child benefit, which has no limit on how many children can be claimed for.

The argument from the Tories limiting the tax credit to two children made the system fairer for taxpayers, ensuring households on benefits "face the same financial choices about having children as those supporting themselves solely through work".

But opposition MPs and campaigners said the measure would drag more children into poverty and hit hard up families.

What is Labour's stance on it?

Labour were strong critics of the policy while in opposition and many expected they would scrap it if they won power.

But last year, Sir Keir Starmer ruled it out due to the public finances.

The Resolution Foundation has said abolishing the two-child limit would cost the government somewhere between £2.5bn and £3.6bn, but the Save the Children charity estimated the move would take half a million children out of relative poverty.

Seven Labour MPs paid the price for trying to force the government to scrap the policy - they were suspended from the parliamentary party for voting against the King's Speech.

Ministers have hinted they don't particularly like the policy - but it's not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

Talks between members of the RMT Union and the Department for Transport appear to have concluded for the day.

In the last few moments, Mick Lynch, general secretary of the union, was spotted leaving the department after discussions on the RMT's next pay round.

Mr Lynch previously said he expects a "parallel, synchronised offer" similar to that which was previously offered to drivers' union Aslef.

As a reminder, this saw train drivers offered a deal amounting to a 15% three-year backdated pay rise including a4.5%increase for 2024/25.

However, Mr Lynch offered no indication of which direction today's talks took.

Government defends approach to pay talks

The discussion comes after senior Tories criticised Sir Keir Starmer over pay offers to train drivers and junior doctors, with James Cleverly claiming the government has been "played by its union paymasters".

In defence of the government, Nick Thomas-Symonds said it was "sticking to the promises we made in opposition" in its deals with public sector workers.

The Scottish government has announced it will no longer hold meetings with Israeli ambassadors until "real progress has been made towards peace" in the Gaza conflict.

The move comes after theSNPadministration faced criticism over a meeting earlier this month between External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson and Daniela Grudsky, Israel's deputy ambassador to the UK.

In a statement on Monday, Mr Robertson apologised that the meeting was not "strictly limited" to talks about a ceasefire in theIsrael-Hamasconflict.

He claimed the meeting with the new ambassador was made at Israel's request, which gave the Scottish government an opportunity to express its "clear and unwavering position on the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza".

"And I did exactly that," Mr Robertson added.

It's lunchtime!

Not only does that mean it's time for a screen break and a sandwich, it also means there's a round-up of the main things you need to know from this morning's Politics Hub coverage:

• Sir Keir Starmer has been continuing his visit to Wales this morning, primarily touting his government's green credentials;
• He and First Minister Eluned Morgan have visited a wind farm, one of the many green infrastructure projects Labour's GB Energy initiative will aim to support and help the UK hit its climate targets;
• But the prime minister has admitted it's a "difficult" situation at Wales's massive steelworks Port Talbot, where upwards of 2,800 workers are facing redundancy due to the green transition.

• In other domestic challenges for the government, the transport department will meet RMT union boss Mick Lynch today to discuss a potential pay deal for more rail workers;
• Drivers were offered a raise last week, but this would concern other people who work on the network.

• And on prisons, minister Jo Stevens has told Sky News the decision to activate emergency measures yesterday was down to the failures of the last government and the impact of the riots;
• Operation Early Dawn will see defendants held in police cells until prison places are freed up, but could see court dates delayed.

That's all for now, we'll have another bulletin for you later and more updates throughout the afternoon.

We've just heard from the prime minister following his trip to a clean energy site in South Wales this morning (see previous post).

Sir Keir Starmer's there to tout his government's climate credentials, with the state-owned GB Energy company set to help develop future offshore wind projects to help the UK transition to net zero.

But some have blamed the green agenda for job losses at the country's largest steelworks at Port Talbot, where Tata Steel has said the move to renewables makes hundreds of roles redundant.

Sir Keir was asked about the redundancies, which could total 2,800, and said the government would do "everything we can" to help workers.

'Difficult' situation at Port Talbot

"We were working on this when I was in opposition - we've turbocharged that since we've been in power," he said.

Last week, the government announced £13.5m in support to help businesses affected by the Tata Steel redundancies.

The package is designed to support businesses that rely on Tata Steel as their main customer, while the money will also be used to help workers who have been made redundant by giving them access to training and qualifications in sectors where there are job vacancies.

The prime minister admitted it was a "difficult" situation, but said he was determined to help save jobs.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the First Minister of Wales Eluned Morgan visited Alltwalis Wind Farm, a clean energy site in Pencader, South Wales, today.

GB Energy, which has been allocated £8.3bn of funding over the next five years, has been tasked with developing future offshore wind projects as part of moves to hasten the UK's transition to renewable energy.

The Liberal Democrats have been fined more than £3,000 for the late reporting of party donations, the Electoral Commission has said.

The party was handed five fines totalling £3,600 after an investigation into the late reporting of 22 donations, the Commission said.

The penalty was paid by the Liberal Democrats on 2 August.

Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission found that the Richmond Park Constituency Labour Party had failed to deliver its 2022 statement of accounts by the deadline.

It was handed a £1,000 fine, which was paid in July.

Jackie Killeen, director of electoral administration and regulation, said: "The laws we enforce are there to ensure there is transparency over the money spent and received by political parties, and to increase public confidence in our system.

"It's important that parties comply with the requirements, and report to us in a timely fashion."

Giving workers the "right to switch off" is key to productivity and could boost economic growth, Downing Street said.

Labour has promised to give employees the right to ignore work-related calls and emails out of hours, so homes do not become "24/7 offices".

Ministers are looking at models in other countries where there is already a right to disconnect, such as Ireland and Belgium.

The prime minister's spokesperson yesterday said the plan was about making sure "we're not inadvertently blurring the lines between work and home life".

She said: "The purpose behind this is ensuring that employees and businesses have the right arrangements in place to ensure that they can be productive.

"One of the central missions of the government is for growth and we know that productivity is vital to growth."

The Politics Hub is running a little slower than usual at the moment.

The House of Commons has been on its summer recess since 30 July, and won't return until 2 September.

That means no PMQs, ministerial statements, or other usual business.

And there's nothing going in on the House of Lords, either.

It's a period when MPs may try to get away on holiday, although they are still expected to deal with constituency issues.

Of course, this year's summer recess has proved busy for the prime minister and his top team because of the riots - although parliament wasn't recalled early as a result.

Once parliament returns on 2 September, the next recess period will arrive just 10 days later.

That's for party conference season, when MPs will be spread across the country for some of the biggest events in the political calendar.