Newslinks for Wednesday 2nd July 2025

Welfare cuts crumble – and Tories ask where is the money coming from?

“Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride has said Rachel Reeves is running out of money after Keir Starmer made another huge concession to rebels to avoid defeat on his welfare bill. Two hours before MPs voted, a minister announced that the government is gutting the flagship legislation of all its changes to Personal Independence Payments, sparking backlash at the “chaotic” process and “pointless” bill. Speaking after Keir Starmer won, despite his largest rebellion ever, Mr Stride said the Chancellor was trying to force through bad changes to find essential spending cuts. He blasted: “There are now very few savings being made from the welfare budget, which as we know is spiralling ever skyward.”” – Daily Express

• Labour hints at autumn tax rises after welfare debacle – Daily Telegraph
• Keir Starmer’s welfare bill passes after ‘shambolic’ climbdown – The Times
• Kemi Badenoch’s dire warning Keir Starmer is not fit to govern after welfare humiliation – Daily Express
• Benefits rebels are eyeing their next target: the rich – Daily Telegraph
• State pension triple lock ‘should be scrapped’ – The Times
• Reeves facing £5bn black hole as welfare reform U-turn will deliver ‘no savings’ – The i
• Starmer on the brink after just a year in power: Rivals circle PM after welfare humbling – with rebels demanding £24bn ‘wealth tax’ and ministers hinting burden will have to rise – Daily Mail

Comment:

• Britain’s benefits system is being gamed and the bill is spiralling – it’s time to get a grip – Kemi Badenoch, The Sun
• Just raise tax – Will Dunn, The New Statesman
• Keir Starmer’s lost the power of political speech – Polly Mackenzie, The Times
• Labour is making us all feel poorer. Of course it’s unpopular – Eliot Wilson, The i
• To find out who’s to blame for economic uncertainty, reeves should look in the mirror – Paul Ormerod, CityAM

> Today: Danielle Dunfield-Prayero: Conservatives understand that growth comes not from the state down, but from the ground up

> Yesterday: Why the Tories won’t be voting for welfare reform

Labour tear at each other over blame for first major rebellion

“The benefits reforms passed in the House of Commons on Tuesday are a pale imitation of the package first announced by the Government in March. Two significant concessions to rebels by Sir Keir Starmer have shaved billions off the savings the Bill was estimated to make from tightening up benefits rules. Claimants who Liz Kendall, Sir Keir’s Work and Pensions Secretary, once said were “taking the Mickey” out of the system will not see any change to their entitlement. New claimants will be accepted under the existing rules until at least autumn next year… Downing Street is expected to make some changes to its operation as a result of the carnage. Labour rebels are divided on who is responsible for the debacle – but the list of those in the dock is lengthy.” – Daily Telegraph

• Keir Starmer ‘will not countenance’ criticism of Morgan McSweeney – The Times
• How the ‘rebel alliance’ took on Starmer over welfare — and won – Financial Times
• Labour rebels now know that if they push, Starmer will back down – The Times
• The plans that rebels could scupper next – from inheritance tax to benefits cap – The i
• How No 10 went from bullish to badly damaged as rebels forced further welfare bill concessions – The Guardian

Comment:

• By gutting his flagship benefit cuts bill, humiliated Starmer proved that Labour’s rebels are now in charge – Jack Elsom, The Sun
• It’s hard to overstate what an absolute shambles this is for Labour – Kitty Donaldson, The i
• Tonight’s vote proves Labour no longer knows who it exists to defend – Janet Daley, Daily Telegraph
• We will all pay the price for Starmer’s weakness on welfare – Simon Clarke, CityAM

> Today: The voice I wanted to hear after the Tories had battered Labour on welfare reform, was Reform

Daniel Hannan: The man most likely to depose Starmer is Starmer himself

> Yesterday: Lord Ashcroft: My latest focus groups: “We need someone strong, but he can’t even control his own party”

Record migrant crossings

“A record number of people have crossed the Channel in small boats in the first six months of this year, figures reveal, despite Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to “smash” the smuggling gangs. Just days before the prime minister marks one year in office, data from the Home Office shows a total of 19,982 people have arrived in the UK since the start of 2025 – the highest total for the halfway point of the year since data was first collected on migrant crossings in 2018. The prime minister has been struggling to bring down both the number of boat crossings and the amount of money spent on housing asylum seekers in hotels across the UK. But he has also faced criticism from left-wing Labour MPs and refugee charities, who have accused Sir Keir of attempting to copy Reform UK’s inflammatory rhetoric.” – The Independent

• Migrant Channel crossings hit a record 20,000 in six months – The Times
• Record number of migrants crossing Channel for first half of year: What’s driving the increase? – ITV News
• Inept French cops given £500m of YOUR cash for planes, quad bikes & drones STILL fail to stop migrant boats – The Sun

Comment:

• It’s time to rip up the outdated refugee convention – Melanie Phillips, The Times
• Hard-working Brits foot £3bn bill for flood of migrants Labour is letting into UK – and bigger tax black hole to come – Jane Moore, The Sun

Rayner’s most damaging workers’ rights reform delayed

“Angela Rayner has bowed to pressure from business and delayed plans to grant “day one” rights to new employees. The right to take companies to court for unfair dismissal from the first day of employment and a right for staff to work from home will now not come into force until 2027, following fierce pushback from bosses and lobby groups. Businesses were preparing for these rules to come into force from autumn next year, but the Government confirmed on Tuesday that there will be another two-year wait for the key reforms. Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, called it “an admission that they [the Labour Party] have got it wrong again.” The delay follows a fierce backlash from business leaders, who fear that the new rules will trigger a blizzard of tribunal claims that will tie up companies in the courts.” – Daily Telegraph

• Key Labour workers’ rights reforms delayed after business backlash – The Times
• Major workers’ rights changes delayed in bid to win over business – CityAM

News in brief:

• Britain does not need a Ukraine-style visa for Gazans – Henry Hill, Unherd
• Can freedom of movement survive Europe’s migrant crisis? – Lisa Haseldine, The Spectator
• The Windsor Framework has enabled wokeness – Owen Polley, The Critic
• The quiet man who could rescue the Tories – Alan Cochrane, Daily Telegraph