Pension deadlock: Government and Lords refuse to back down in stalemate Politics The government and the House of Lords are locked in a high-stakes political standoff over pensions, both refusing to back down on their demands for the Pension Schemes Bill, leaving its passage up in air as the clock winds down on this parliamentary session. Attempts to finalise the bill in the upper house remain ensnared [...]
UK ministers to push ahead with ‘capped’ mandation powers after peers backlash Politics Ministers are set to go toe-to-toe with the House of Lords over a plan to grant them powers to force pension funds into private assets and UK companies. Government officials said ministers would make concessions to try and get the measure through the upper house, which voted last week to remove a “reserve power” allowing [...]
Incompetent managers will sink the government’s NEETs plan Opinion Scrapping all funding for management apprenticeships is a big mistake, says Petra Wilton If Pat McFadden wants more young people not in education, employment or training (known as NEETs) to succeed in work, this week’s decision to essentially wipe out all funding for management apprenticeships, which train the managers who hire, support and coach them [...]
Bribing firms to hire us is an insult to young workers like me March 19, 2026 The government’s plans to subsidise companies to hire young workers is a sticking plaster over the self-inflicted wound that is youth unemployment, says Oliver Dean Pat McFadden, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, recently announced that the government will launch a £1bn scheme to shift young people away from unemployment and welfare and [...]
‘Digging a hole then filling it in’ – Labour to subsidise youth employment March 16, 2026 The Labour government is set to hand businesses cash to hire benefits claimants in a bid to lower the number of under-25s not in education, employment and training, otherwise referred to as ‘Neets’. Pat McFadden, the work and pension secretary, unveiled a new £3,000 subsidy scheme for employers taking on young people who have not been [...]
Starmer sticks to youth minimum wage pledge despite jobs fears February 18, 2026 The government will stick to the Labour party’s manifesto commitment to equalise the minimum wage despite speculation it would row back on the pledge over unemployment fears, the Prime Minister has said. Speaking on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer said: “We’ve made commitments to young people in our manifesto, and we will keep to those commitments, [...]
Peter Mandelson should return five-figure payoff after being sacked, says minister February 8, 2026 A Cabinet minister and key ally of the Prime Minister has said Peter Mandelson should return the payoff he bagged after being sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the US. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden told Sky News Mandelson should “give [the payoff] back or give it to a charity, perhaps one involving violence [...]
Thousands more jobs lost as UK businesses hold off hiring January 20, 2026 Thousands more jobs have been lost across the UK, official data has shown, while wage growth also slowed down in further signs of a struggling labour market. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said that the number of employees on the payroll fell by 33,000 in November while an estimate for December said there [...]
Angela Rayner in Downing Street tops banker fears January 7, 2026 Angela Rayner taking to Downing Street poses one of the top risks to the banking sector heading into 2026, top analysts have warned. The former Deputy Prime Minister and darling of the Labour left is among names tipped to take the top job as Sir Keir Starmer fights to save his premiership amid all-time favourability [...]
Subsidised jobs won’t fix youth unemployment December 16, 2025 The young do not need moral lectures. They need chances. And chances come from businesses that are free to hire, free to experiment and free to take risks, not from the state, says Matthew Bowles Last weekend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Pat McFadden, announced on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg [...]