Politics latest: Starmer comes under attack over 'convicted fraudster' ex-minister (2025)

Our deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Jack Blanchard have been discussing Reform UK on Politics at Jack and Sam's today.

Jack notes that when Nigel Farage confirmed he would take control of the party in the general election campaign, "they were cheering in Labour HQ".

He says there were "clenched fists and fist bumps", and the idea that "this is the moment that's going to win us the election".

"And of course it was in a way, the short term tactical gain for Labour was enormous. But you do wonder about the long term damage that could be inflicted."

Listen to more of what Jack and Sam had to say below:

By Deborah Haynes, security and defence editor

The entire British Army would be destroyed in "six months to a year" in a major war – underlining the importance of rebuilding the UK's reserve forces, a defence minister has said.

Al Carns, the veterans minister, who is also a reservist, said the casualty rate suffered by Russian forces in Ukraine - killed and injured - is around 1,500 soldiers a day.

He said this ability to absorb such losses and keep fighting is part of Russia's plan and is why Britain needs to rebuild depth when it comes to the layers of fighting forces it has available, from professional soldiers to a wider pool of reservists from across society.

"In a war of scale - not a limited intervention, but one similar to Ukraine - our army for example on the current casualty rates would be expended - as part of a broader multinational coalition - in six months to a year," Mr Carns said in a speech at a conference on reserves at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London.

Military commanders often say that war is started by professional armies but ended by civilians - who take up arms as volunteers and reservists as has happened in Ukraine.

DowningStreet has declined to give a "running commentary" on negotiations with British Steel following reports ministers were considering renationalising the business.

The prime minister's spokesman said: "Steel production is a vital part of UK industry.

"That's why the government has announced £2.5bn of investment to rebuild the UK steel industry.

"When it comes to British Steel, we continue to work with trade unions and business to secure a green transition, which includes helping to deliver a state-of-the-art electric arc furnace at the Scunthorpe site, which will save jobs and give this industry and long and lasting future.

"When it comes to the ongoing discussions on British Steel, it is obviously a commercial negotiation and you wouldn’t expect us to give a running commentary on that."

Loveday Ryder, chief executive of the DVSA (Driving Standards Agency) - which runs driving tests - tells MPs most verbal and physical assaults on driving examiners take place at the end of the test, during the debrief.

This is when people are told if they have passed or not.

Transport minister Lillian Greenwood suggests results could be provided over email after the test finishes to solve this issues, but admits this might not be popular.

Ms Ryder tells the Transport Select Committee in parliament there was a spike in assaults during COVID, largely because they chose to end tests as soon as people failed and learners felt frustrated they had paid for the whole 40 minutes.

Ms Ryder says assaults fell when they stopped doing that but there are too many assaults.

She says call centre staff are frequently verbally assaulted over the phone due to people being frustrated because of long waiting times for tests, which we earlier reported are at 24 weeks for most areas.

Earlier in the session, the PCS civil servants' union industrial officer told MPs examiners are regularly being assaulted.

She said one examiner was left in hospital, while a female examiner had a person accompanying the learner masturbating in the back of the car during the test.

The government remains committed to making Britain the fastest-growing G7 economy, Downing Street has said.

Asked about the "mission", the prime minister's spokesman said it is the "number one priority of this government".

He said: "You have heard the PM repeatedly say that the growth mission is the number one priority of this government and its obviously welcome news that today the OECD has upgraded the UK growth forecasts, which means the UK economy is forecast to grow faster than Germany, France, Italy and Japan over the next three years.

"And the reason that's important is because it is growth that drives living standards and the government's been clear that we want to see the benefits of growth to be felt by working people across the country."

Asked to repeat the prime minister's previous pledge to make the UK the fastest-growing economy in the G7, the spokesman said: "We remain committed to that mission."

Victoria Atkins, the shadow environment secretary, is now on her feet in the House of Commons, kicking off a debate on the divisive farming inheritance tax.

There were significant protests in Westminster against the policy last month. It would see farmers have to pay tax on inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m.

You can watch the debate here - and we'll bring you any major updates.

Scottish Nationalist MPs Pete Wishart and Kirsty Blackman zeroed in some of the tension between the priorities of Labour in Westminster and the priorities of Labour in Scotland at PMQs.

It emerged last month that Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar would bring back universal winter fuel payments in Scotland if he becomes First Minister at Holyrood after the next elections there in 2026.

They were axed by Rachel Reeves just weeks after the election, but are a devolved issue in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

This all puts Scottish Labour MPs in a tight spot, given the difference in the Scottish party position and the Westminster government position.

There may be more of this in the coming months, owing to the mismatch between the UK and Scottish election cycles.

Sir Keir Starmer plans to get the bad news and tough decisions out of the way in the next year or two, clearing the way for more positive announcements in the run-up to the next general election in 2029.

That won't work for Scottish Labour though, who are fighting for Holyrood seats in May 2026.

Expect the SNP - who are on the backfoot electorally - to pick up on every piece of bad news emanating from Westminster and try to pin it to Labour representatives north of the border.

Lola McEvoy, the Labour MP, notes concerns about the future of the UK's rail industry - and asks for assurances that trains will get back on track.

Today, the government committed to bring three rail operators under public control in 2025.

Sir Keir Starmer says: "We are delivering on our commitment to bring our railways back under public ownership, putting passengers first."

He notes that South Western Railways will be the first to be nationalised.

This will "turn the page on decades of delay, fragmentation and failure."

That brings today's Prime Minister's Questions to an end.

Shockat Adam, who represents Leicester South, says pensioners in his constituency are "scared" during the winter, something he says is made worse by Labour's cut to the fuel allowance.

"As he knows the number one job of this government was to get our finances back in order after the mess the last government made... we had to take tough choices," Sir Keir Starmer says.

He says in the long run, pensioners will be better off under his administration.

"Because we are stabilising the economy, we can commit to the triple lock. That's a £460 uplift in the pension next year, so every pensioner will be better off under a Labour government."

As predicted, Kemi Badenoch moves on from the more acutely political topics of the week to ones of policy.

Her line of questioning is around a pledge made by Labour to turn Britain into the fastest growing economy in the G7.

There have been rumblings this ambitious target could be watered down, with Sir Keir Starmer due to give a big speech tomorrow.

The attack from the Tory leader doesn't quite have the impact she'd have hoped for, though.

Labour has an easy out on issues like this, given the catastrophic economic impact of Liz Truss's brief premiership.

That said, with many businesses lining up against tax changes in October's budget - it's not a straight forward topic for the government.

Questions around what's to come may have proved more productive for Ms Badenoch, given the mixed messages coming out from the Treasury on the potential for more tax rises during the rest of this parliament.