Summary of the day …
Policing minister Diana Johnson has defended government plans to increase sentences for those involved in knife offences amid a crisis in prison capacity in England and Wales, and said that the government needs to focus not just on possession of knives by young people, but on their supply
The Home Office has announced a raft of changes to knife crime sentencing. The package is to be known as Ronan’s Law after Ronan Kanda who was murdered by two boys who were able to buy knives without identity checks. His sister, Nikita Kanda, said she believed the new measures would make a difference
UK inflation accelerated faster than expected at the start of this year. The consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation rose to 3% in January, the Office for National Statistics reported, up from 2.5% in December. The ONS said a jump in the cost of meat, bread and cereals pushed up food bills, while a jump in private school fees after the government’s withdrawal of a VAT exemption pushed up the cost of education services
Opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said that “economically illiterate decisions” by the government are affecting family finances. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said that the Labour government’s policies are causing the cost of living crisis started under the Conservatives to “drag on”
John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, has dismissed claims by JD Vance, the US vice president, that Scotland had outlawed praying at home near abortion clinics as “just wrong”. Vance untruthfully claimed on Friday that Scottish legislation to establish buffer zones around abortion clinics included a ban on “silent prayer” in homes
Swinney has also given a speech on climate crisis and biodiversity, and warned that “the voices for climate inaction are getting louder”
Leftwing activists in Britain are less likely to work with their political opponents than other groups and more likely to think those holding different views have been misled, a study has found
Labour will permanently scrap peak fares for travellers on Scotland’s railways if it wins next year’s Holyrood election, the party has announced
Joe Haines, Harold Wilson’s former press secretary, has died aged 97. Described as a “lifelong Labour supporter” who was “fiercely proud of his working-class background”, Haines died at his home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, on Wednesday, the party confirmed
That is it from me, Martin Belam, on what has been a very quiet day during parliamentary recess. Thanks to my colleague Yohannes Lowe who has also been at the helm today, and thank you for reading and all your comments. I should be with you again tomorrow.
Opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said that “economically illiterate decisions” by the government are affecting family finances.
In a post to social media she said “Labour were repeatedly warned about the damage their Budget would do – and now family finances are being hit as a direct result of Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves’ economically illiterate decisions. They are out of their depth, out of ideas and hopelessly out of touch with the British people.”
There have been mixed economic signals in the last few days, with strong wage growth and unemployment remaining steady, coupled with a slight rise in inflation. A predicted dip into recession did not materialise.
Policing minister Diana Johnson defended the government’s record this morning, telling viewers of ITV’s Good Morning Britain “Getting the economy back on its feet has been really at the heart of what this government is trying to do. And the inflation figure coming out today shows this isn’t going to be straightforward, and there are bumps in the road.”
She continued by saying “I think after 14 years of economic stagnation, we’re seven months in. I think the chancellor has put forward a plan of how we can get the economy moving again. And just to say, you know, we’ve seen three cuts to interest rates since Labour came in [and] we know that wages are going up, the fastest growth in three years.”
