Politics latest: Deputy PM won't rule out ditching council tax discount for singles (2024)

Earlier today, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner was answering questions from MPs.

She was challenged on Labour's plans for council tax.

Asked directly if she has "has no plans to increase council tax as they assured us before the election", the deputy prime minister confirmed this was the case.

However, she did not directly answer whether the government has plans to scrap the single person discount to council tax - which is worth 25%.

What could the government be planning on council tax?

Ahead of the budget in late October, Sky News had a look at what changes the new government could make to council tax.

You can read that below:

The UK will impose a partial ban on export licences to Israel, the foreign secretary has announced.

David Lammy said following independent legal advice, there exists a "clear risk" some UK exports to Israel could be used to commit a "serious violation of international humanitarian law" in Gaza.

'No equivalence' between Israel and Hamas

Some 30 of a total of around 350 export licences will now be suspended - these include important components that go into military aircraft like helicopters and drones.

Speaking in the House of Commons, the foreign secretary acknowledges the UK government is not an international court, but does have a legal duty to review licences.

Mr Lammy notes the ban is not "blanket", and will not have a "material impact on Israel's security".

He also stresses there is "no equivalence between Hamas terrorists and Israel's democratic government".

Middle East conflict 'could go two ways'

The foreign secretary goes on to announce sanctions on four Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets who have supported Iranian proxies in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.

Andrew Mitchell, the shadow foreign secretary, responds by saying he will "look carefully" at the limited embargo that has been announced.

He says the conflict has reached the point where it could go two ways - either to further "conflagration", or towards a peaceful solution.

The Conservative leadership competition is heating up.

The first round of voting among MPs takes place this Wednesday, reducing the field of candidates from six to four.

Here's a reminder if you need it of those vying for the job:

James Cleverly

Mr Cleverlybecame the first to officially enter the contestwith a post on social media, saying he wanted to "re-establish our reputation as the party who, in government, helps grow the economy".

The Essex MP, who was home secretary until the last election, is one of the Tories' most experienced former cabinet ministers, having also been foreign secretary, education secretary and party chairman.

Tom Tugendhat

Mr Tugendhat was the second Tory to put himself forward, just moments after nominations opened.

The former security minister is regarded highly among the One Nation group of moderate Tory MPs.

Robert Jenrick

The former immigration minister was the third to announce he was running after Mr Cleverly and Mr Tugendhat.

Mr Jenrick held several ministerial roles, including communities secretary - a position he lost in one of Mr Johnson's reshuffles.

Mel Stride

Mr Stride became the fourth Tory to enter the race, telling Sky News there was a "huge job to do".

A long-standing ally of Mr Sunak, he was dubbed "the minister for the morning round" during the general election campaign, facing the media more than any of his colleagues.

Priti Patel

The former home secretary was the key torch-bearer for the right before she was eclipsed by Ms Braverman following the demise of Mr Johnson.

Dame Priti is seen as one of the more traditional right-wing MPs in the party, compared with her successor Ms Braverman, who holds appeal with some Tory MPs elected in 2019.

Kemi Badenoch

Ms Badenoch, the ex-business secretary, was the final Tory to announce she was standing.

She is seen as a darling of the right and has impressed some in the party with her no-nonsense approach.

What happens next?

The six candidates will be whittled down to four in a vote on Wednesday.

After this, a hustings will be held during the party conference later in September, when MPs will vote again to narrow the field to two candidates.

The party's wider membership will then vote with the winner announced on 2 November.

More in Common, the research group, has done some investigating into what the public think about the various candidates to be Tory leader.

What they found is all of them have low name recognition - which may be a shock if you are a political obsessive.

So instead of doing broader polling, More in Common convened some focus groups of former Conservative voters to see how these people felt about those running to replace Rishi Sunak.

What they found may prove difficult reading for those in the race.

For Kemi Badenoch, people liked her "straight-talking" style, but also thought she might be too "naive" or "inexperienced" to be prime minister.

The former home secretary James Cleverly was different in that some people had heard of him. People liked his relatability and felt he was a contrast to Mr Sunak - although some weren't sure how serious he was.

ForRobert Jenrick,people related more to what he said, but found the candidate himself "smug", "slimy", or "wooden".

Another candidate that some members of the public had heard of was Priti Patel - although her record in government as a home secretary who failed to get immigration down did not win her any favours. She was also seen as divisive.

Poor Mel Stride. Anyone watching the election campaign would know he was almost ever present in his support for Rishi Sunak - and yet he is so unknown the public don't even know he was a member of the last cabinet.

On the plus side, some said he may have a future in audiobooks with his calming voice.

Tom Tugendhat was seen as the most "prime ministerial" by some of those More in Common asked, although he was liked more by those voters hovering between Tory and Lib Dem or Labour.

Some thought he was too old to lead the country - despite him being more than a decade younger than Sir Keir Starmer.

Ultimately, this research shows the Tory leadership race is still wide open.

You can read more about the process to replace Rishi Sunak here.

By Mark Kleinman, City editor

The Reform Party leader Nigel Farage will this week embark on a renewed drive to raise millions of pounds to "professionalise" its operations two months after it won five seats at the general election.

Sky News understands Mr Farage will attend a fundraising event hosted by Holly Candy, the former Neighbours actress, on Wednesday evening.

The gathering is aimed at broadening Reform's appeal to potential donors, with a number of prominent businesspeople among those understood to be planning to attend.

Since Mr Farage took over as party leader, it has attracted 50,000 new members paying a minimum of £25, according to insiders.

Speaking to Sky News, the former UKIP leader said: "Reform is growing fast and rising in the polls but we need to raise real money to professionalise the party.

"Wednesday night is the first step."

The government has pledged to "look at the issue of ticket pricing" after dynamic pricing caused upset during the sale of Oasis reunion tickets.

Prices rose due to demand on the Ticketmaster website, which has said this was a decision made by the promoter.

Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, has expressed concern about the situation and said the government would look to consult on the issue.

Asked whether Sir Keir Starmer has sympathy with fans, his spokesman said: "These strategies are up to individuals artists and ticket platforms.

"We will look at the issue of ticket pricing."

And asked if Sir Keir tried to buy tickets himself, his spokesman said they are "not aware of it".

Predictably all the candidates in the race to take over the remains of the Conservative Party are calling for unity, but much more interesting is what divides them.

Today, two very different politicians gave two very different pitches - with the frontrunner Kemi Badenoch putting her character as a blunt speaker who can deliver "hard truths" at the centre of her speech.

Attempting to turn her confrontational style to her advantage, she presented herself as the only person prepared to dish out the brutal honesty that the party and the country needs to hear.

She added that as a former engineer she knows how to "get things done"; no doubt an appealing prospect for those who recognise the scale of the rebuild needed.

Where she spoke of character, her rival James Cleverly, was able to capitalise on his experience, having held two of the great offices of state as home and foreign secretary.

It was the latter that he leaned into, saying he'd seen the threats the UK faces abroad and would put defence at the heart of his leadership, promising to raise spending to 3% of GDP.

A strong figure in an unstable world was what he was offering, compared to Badenoch's spiky approach at home.

Two Tory leadership candidates have given campaign speeches today as the race to replace Rishi Sunak hots up.

The field of contestants will drop from six to four on Wednesday when MPs hold the first round of voting.

Our political correspondent Liz Bates described it as "a bit of a beauty contest" and noted "some interesting differences" between the pitches of Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly earlier.

Ms Badenoch accused Labour of having "no ideas" and said the public is "yearning for something better", and leaned more into domestic issues as she continued her reputation for being a blunt speaker.

Mr Cleverly leaned more into his experience as foreign secretary, Liz said, with increasing defence spending at the heart of his pitch.

Both are expected to win over enough Tory MPs to make it through Wednesday's voting.

Then attention will turn to the party's conference at the end of the month, when they'll be trying to convince members.

Millions of Britons could receive extra cash to help with the cost of living this winter after the government extended the Household Support Fund.

A £421m pot will be given to local councils in England to distribute, while £79m will go to the devolved administrations.

The fund will now be available until April 2025 having been due to run out this autumn.

Councils decide how to dish out their share of the fund but it's often via cash grants or vouchers.

Many councils also use the cash to work with local charities and community groups to provide residents with key appliances, school uniforms, and cookery classes.

The government has been criticised for withdrawing universal winter fuel payments for pensioners of up to £300 this winter - with people now needing to be in receipt of certain means-tested benefits to qualify.