Five day doctors’ strikes begin as Wes Streeting-BMA talks break down Politics Resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors – led by the British Medical Association (BMA) began a five-day strike on Friday morning, set to last until 7am on Wednesday. Health secretary Wes Streeting said on Thursday evening that strike action should have been a “last resort”, and “we did not need to be in [...]
Rachel Reeves criticises deputy for ‘clumsy’ pocket money comments Politics Rachel Reeves has criticised her deputy – Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones – for “clumsy” comments in which he compared slashing disability benefits to taking away a child’s pocket money. The Chancellor told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “No, he was clumsy in his analogy, and he’s apologised for that.” She added: “Of [...]
National Insurance hike will be ‘difficult’ for businesses, warns CBI boss Economics Increasing employers’ National Insurance contributions will make it “harder for businesses to create the jobs and the growth” needed to “help fund our public services”, the boss of one of the UK’s largest business groups has warned. Speaking a day after Keir Starmer refused to rule out hiking National Insurance contributions paid by businesses, Rain [...]