Bridget Phillipson accused of having ‘Marxist ideological dislike of academies’ by Tory-linked headteacher – as it happened

Bridget Phillipson on Monday. Photograph: Lucy North/PA

6.02pm GMT

Early evening summary

• The Bank of England has cut interest rates to 4.5%, as it halved its UK growth forecasts for this year and warned households would face renewed pressure from rising prices.

• Kemi Badenoch has confirmed that she has told Conservative party staff that they need to do a better job. (See 9.20am.)

• Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has been accused of being a having “a Marxist ideological dislike of academies” by Katharine Birbalsingh, a leading head teacher. Birbalsingh made the accusation after she held a meeting with Phillipson to discuss the schools bill, which she opposes. (See 3.27pm.) A government source said Birbalsingh showed no real interest in listening to Phillipson at the meeting, kept interrupting and twice had to be asked to stop being aggressive. (See 5.06pm.)

• Labour has launched a series of adverts with Reform-style branding and messaging as the party seeks to combat the rise of the rightwing party.

• Keir Starmer has channelled his inner Donald Trump and promised to “build, baby, build” in his push for more nuclear power stations, despite warnings from environmental groups about the industry’s record for soaring costs and long delays.

• Starmer has said that oil and gas will be “a big part of the future for decades”, in comments seen as a hint that the government won’t block the development of the Rosebank oilfield. (See 4.32pm.)

• MPs in favour of assisted dying have privately raised concerns about the number of colleagues reconsidering their support amid growing splits on the committee scrutinising new legislation.

• The Home Office must pay £100,000 to an asylum seeker who was unlawfully detained before her ability to work, buy food and socialise was “grossly restricted”, the high court has said.

Updated at 6.04pm GMT

5.44pm GMT

Tory MPs will increasingly start calling for pact with Reform UK, George Osborne claims

George Osborne, the former Tory chancellor, reckons Katy Balls is onto something. (See 5.20pm.) On his Political Currency podcast, which he co-hosts with Ed Balls, Osborne said a possible pact with Reform UK is the only thing Conservatives are talking about now, and he predicted that more MPs will come out and publicly call for one.

He said:

The only conversation happening inside the Conservative party right now is, should we do a deal with Reform? That is all you’re going to hear from now on. And it’s going to drown out everything else that Kemi Badenoch wants to say, because they’re going to get hammered in the local elections.

Last time the local elections were held was actually a high point for the Boris Johnson government. So the Tories are bound to lose badly. Reform is going to do well. The New MP for Tatton, the person who replaced me, Esther McVey, has today called for that alliance between Reform and the Tories.

The only thing that Reform wants from any alliance with the Tories is that Nigel Farage is the prime minister. So their price is very straightforward. An increasing number of Tories are going to go, ‘Yeah, whatever, Let’s just get into government. Let’s do a pact with Reform.’ And it’s going to be really hard for the Tory leader to be heard on anything else for the next 12 months and beyond.