Newslinks for Thursday 3rd July 2025

Tories warn of autumn tax rises whilst press guess what caused Chancellor’s tears

“Families should brace themselves for a ‘tax bomb’ this autumn, the Conservatives warned on Wednesday. The cash will be needed to plug the multi-billion pound black hole in the public finances caused by Labour’s welfare U-turn. As a senior government minister failed to rule out tax increases, economists, investors and MPs lined up to say the Treasury had no other option. Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office Minister, said there would ‘definitely’ be a ‘financial consequence’ to the £5billion welfare retreat. On Tuesday, the Government abandoned its flagship plan to cut disability benefits following a furious backlash from MPs. But Mr McFadden made plain the move would have consequences, telling the BBC yesterday: ‘You can’t spend the same money twice, so more money spent on that means less for some other purpose.’ Allies of the Chancellor have said she will not be able to afford to scrap the two-child benefit cap – a key demand of scores of Labour MPs – as a result of the climbdown.” – Daily Mail

• • Which UK taxes are expected to rise in the autumn Budget? – FT
  • From cash ISAs to ‘stealth’ tax hike, how you could pay for welfare U-turn – The i

• Rachel Reeves’s future as chancellor in balance after emotional PMQs- The Times
• Pound falls after Rachel Reeves’s tears – Daily Telegraph
• Starmer bolsters Reeves after tearful Commons episode fuels bonds slump – FT
• Rattled Reeves was ‘in a bad place’ before Commons tears – Daily Telegraph
• Keir Starmer insists Rachel Reeves ‘will remain chancellor into the next election and for many years after’…as markets tumble and No10 frantically denies bust-up – Daily Mail
• No 10 defends chancellor after day of bitter recriminations over welfare bill fiasco – Guardian
• Reeves’s tears and Treasury fury: Inside Labour blame game – MPs want a reshuffle – The i
• Reeves crying: Shades of Truss as pound freefall wipes £3bn off markets – Daily Express
• Waterwork gate. Reeves admitted ‘I’m under so much pressure’ before PMQ tears but Keir insists she’ll remain Chancellor ‘for many years’ – The Sun
• Lifting two-child benefit cap looks set for delay as price of MPs’ PIP rebellion – The i
• Keir Starmer breaks silence on Rachel Reeves’s PMQs tears in BBC interview – Daily Express
• Rachel Reeves’s power is slipping away – and MPs are losing faith – The i

Comment

• Starmer is by far the worst PM of my lifetime. But having Angela Rayner installed in No 10 would be a new order of catastrophe –Stephen Glover, Daily Mail
• This was beyond uncomfortable to watch – Judith Woods, Daily Telegraph
• Crying for a lost Labour government – Robert Shrimsley, FT
• Rachel needed a hug. Instead Starmer did the opposite – sucking her dry to shore up his own position like the political vampire he is – Sarah Vine, Daily Mail
• Sir Keir is still acting as if everything is fine but it’s clear the biggest job in Britain is simply too big for him – Mike Graham, The Sun
• He won’t like it, but Starmer is a historic Prime Minister – Joseph Dinnage, CapX

Conservative party data shows Channel migrants ‘are 24 times more likely to go to prison than Brits’

“Channel migrants are 24 times more likely to be in prison than Brits, analysis by the Conservative Party shows. A whopping 3.4 per cent – one in 30 – small boat migrants end up behind bars, according to official data for nationalities who make up the largest portion of arrivals, including Somalians, Afghans, Iraqis, Albanians and Iranians. This is a dramatically larger share than the average for Brits, which comes to just 0.14 per cent, studies show. It is also said to be 18 times higher than the ratio of the total migrant population that is in prison, which is 0.18 per cent.  As the number of channel migrants who have arrived in the country this year soars past 20,000, the Conservatives have used these findings to suggest an alarmingly high portion of them will end up in custody” – Daily Mail

• Channel migrants ‘24 times more likely to go to prison’ than Britons – The Times
• Small Boat horror. Vile ‘people smuggler’ herds migrants onto small boat with a stick as packed dinghy evades French cops again – The Sun

Palestine Action is proscribed but Diane Abbott leads small band of rebels against the move

“Nine Labour MPs voted against the government’s move to ban Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. MPs overwhelmingly backed the decision to add the direct action group to a list of terrorist groups alongside al-Qaeda, Islamic State and Hamas. If approved by the House of Lords on Thursday, Palestine Action will become a proscribed terror group on Friday, which will make it illegal to be a member or to invite support for the organisation, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. On Friday the High Court will hear a last-minute injunction application from Palestine Action to try to suspend the move. The group of Labour MPs included the veteran left-winger Diane Abbott, Clive Lewis and Richard Burgon, who served in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet.” – The Times

• Diane Abbott leads rebellion against banning Palestine Action – Daily Telegraph
• Police investigating punk band Bob Vylan for second anti-Israel outburst onstage just weeks before Glastonbury – Daily Mail
• Met police accused of ‘assault on right to protest’ after tenfold rise in nuisance law arrests – Guardian
• Palestine Action advocate Diane Abbott is leading the Labour rebels opposing terror ban – Daily Express
• Four charged over RAF Brize Norton damage claimed by Palestine Action – Daily Telegraph

Police force investigating 1000 suspects over grooming gangs scandal

“A police force which previously apologised for decades of failure over grooming gangs is now investigating more than 1,000 suspects, a new watchdog report has revealed. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has made “significant improvements” in how it investigates child sexual abuse and group-based exploitation, but warned trust remains fragile after years of systemic failings. The report said GMP currently has 59 live “multi-victim, multi-offender” investigations involving 714 victims and survivors — and 1,099 suspects. In a 76-page review published on Tuesday, inspectors said the force had dramatically changed its approach since 2019, when it began reassessing historic child sexual exploitation cases. But while progress has been made, the legacy of past errors still casts a shadow.” – Daily Express

• Revealed: more than 1,000 grooming gang suspects investigated by one of Britain’s largest police forces in 59 separate abuse probes – Daily Mail

Labour announces new local health hubs, in revamp of NHS care

“The NHS will shift a huge amount of care from hospitals into new community health centres to bring treatment closer to people’s homes and cut waiting times, Keir Starmer will pledge on Thursday. The prime minister will outline radical plans to give patients in England much easier access to GPs, scans and mental health support in facilities that are open 12 hours a day, six days a week. The health service must “reform or die”, he will say, when he unveils his 10-year health plan. Experts, however, said the planned revolution in the way the NHS operates risked being undermined by staff shortages, tight public finances, a lack of premises in which to host one-stop shop-style “neighbourhood health services” and a public backlash at hospitals being downgraded.” – The Guardian

• Fast-track jobs and quicker expenses: Streeting’s new plan for nurses revealed – The i
• Will Labour’s 10-year health plan usher in a ‘new era’ for the NHS in England? – The Guardian

Suspended Tory who used the N-word is to join Reform

“A former Conservative MP who twice lost the Tory whip has joined Reform UK and will take the lead in developing social care policy. Anne Marie Morris was in the Commons from 2010 to 2024 and had the whip removed over her use of the n-word and again when she supported a VAT cut on energy bills. The Newton Abbot MP was suspended in 2017 by Theresa May for using “completely unacceptable” language in a discussion about Brexit. Ms Morris had described what would happen if there was no exit deal as the n-word “in the woodpile”. She told the BBC: “The comment was totally unintentional. I apologise unreservedly for any offence caused.” She had the whip withdrawn again in 2022 when she backed a Labour move to cut VAT on energy bills.” – Daily Express

News in Brief

• Will Ozempic save the welfare state? – James Rose, CapX
• What is wrong with the Right? Too many mavericks, not enough radicals – Mary Harrington, Unherd
• The will to power – Helen Joyce, The Critic
• Meet Zohran Mamdani, the man who will ruin New York – Kate Andrews, Spectator