Max Kendix

Ministers ‘to scrap special-needs plans’ in cost-saving measure Ending support plans for children with disabilities could leave some of the 570,000 affected children without vital help, campaigners warn

Full story here with @georgiamay.bsky.social
www.thetimes.com/article/0b90...

EXC: Hundreds of thousands of children with special needs face losing the legal right to extra support in schools under plans being considered by ministers.

Ministers believe the growth in EHCPs is unsustainable and want to reserve access to those with “very high and complex needs”

EXC: The Lower Thames Crossing has been approved by the government. The £9billion project has been in the pipeline since 2009. £300m spent on the planning application alone.

Plan to limit political parties’ donations from overseas Gifts could be restricted by how much profit or revenue a company makes in the UK as part of an overhaul of election law

Details here
www.thetimes.com/article/5095...

Exc: Foreign donors will be barred from giving to political parties and MPs unless they make enough money in the UK to fund it under plans being drawn up by Labour ministers.

The move would cap any planned Elon Musk donation depending on the profits of the UK company he uses

Third Labour MP opposes Rachel Reeves’s inheritance tax raid on farmers Henry Tufnell says speaking out isn’t about him, and the policy can be tweaked to make it fair

Read the full article here - which addresses the elephant in the room...
www.thetimes.com/article/d70c...

Exclusive: Henry Tufnell becomes the third Labour MP to come out against inheritance tax changes in the budget

He says he's "not alone" - there's many more disgruntled backbenchers pushing Rachel Reeves for concessions behind the scenes

Get a graduate-level job or go home, foreign students to be told Overseas graduates can stay for two years even without a job but are likely to face a higher bar as ministers plan to cut net migration by restricting visa options

Changes understood to be under consideration by ministers would come in the white paper to be published this spring
www.thetimes.com/article/0614...

Exclusive: Foreign graduates could be forced to leave the UK unless they get a job in a high-paying career under plans to cut Britain’s record levels of immigration

Currently a quarter of graduates switching to a work visa get a job earning less than £24k

The Government is pushing the biggest shake-up of English local gov in decades.

But could this backfire on Labour?

@kendix.bsky.social in @thetimes.com notes two problems for the party: (1) power and (2) money.

However, our research has found a third: popularity. Find out more below 🧵👇

Starmer risks Macron’s fury by ruling out global hunger funds Britain will not pledge further money for international nutrition programmes at next month’s Nutrition for Growth summit

Exc: Sir Keir Starmer is risking infuriating President Macron of France by refusing to contribute to an international fund to combat malnutrition set up by Britain after the London Olympics in 2012
www.thetimes.com/article/9a40...

Exclusive: More than 5.6 million lose the chance to vote in local elections this year. Elections cancelled in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Thurrock, Surrey, East and West Sussex, Hampshire and Isle of Wight - replaced with elections to new unitary councils in 2026

Long-term sick will need to look for jobs in benefits overhaul Claimants could face cuts of £5,000 a year as government prepares for rows with backbenchers and campaigners over £65bn sickness bill

Exclusive: Disability benefits will be slashed instead of more tax rises on business, Labour tells City bosses

A package is due to be finalised in the next two weeks to convince the OBR that the benefits bill can be brought under control

www.thetimes.com/article/ee60...

Digital driving licence to be available on phones this year ID on the government app will be accepted as proof of identity for voting, boarding domestic flights and buying alcohol

Supermarkets could link the digital licence with self-checkout technology, so customers can scan to prove their age rather than waiting for a staff member to come over and approve the purchase

With @benclatworthy.bsky.social
www.thetimes.com/article/cb6e...

EXCLUSIVE: Driving licences will be digitised and available on phones this year, paving the way for it to become the go-to proof of identity for tens of millions of people

The digital driver’s licence will be available on a new Gov.uk app

Are you struggling to unpack your missions from your milestones? I've done a handy flowchart of Sir Keir Starmer's main objectives and priorities in government. Hope that clears it up.

By party
Labour - 137 for, 56 likely for, 83 against, 27 likely against, 6 abstain, 93 unknown
Tory - 14, 5, 66, 10, 3, 23
Lib Dem - 26, 14, 5, 1, 26

If split continues in final undecided MPs, "for" wins. But in a free vote, anything can happen

Exclusive

Biggest survey of MPs yet on assisted dying

For 264
Against 215
Abstain 26
Unknown 145

Campaign to change the law is now "reasonably confident" of success on Friday... But the unknowns mean it could still go either way ⬇️

Dozens of councils to be abolished under biggest reforms in 50 years Move aims to end two-tier system of local government and replace it with larger unitary authorities, aiming to save the taxpayer about £3 billion over five years

- Move led by No10 comes with promises of devolution
- White paper out before Christmas
- May elections go ahead. New mayors in place as soon as 2026
- Gov sources insist only willing areas participate
- Some say democratic accountability at stake
www.thetimes.com/article/4d4a...

Exclusive: Biggest overhaul of local government in over 50 years
- Dozens of councils abolished to make more "efficient" large authorities with populations of 500k+
- First wave of restructuring includes Essex, Kent, Surrey, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk