UK politics live: Starmer could end two-child benefit cap as Nigel Farage makes winter fuel pledge – UK Times

The response to what appeared to be a planted question from a loyal backbencher during Prime Minister’s Questions certainly wrong-footed Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and meant that Labour MPs left the chamber with smiles on their faces.

But the shock move came as Sir Keir was having to act to shore up power with MPs, senior party figures and trade unionists who have been openly plotting to remove him.

Read the special report from our political editor David Maddox here:

Nigel Farage does not know how he would pay for scrapping the two-child benefit cap and restoring the winter fuel payment to all pensioners, Angela Rayner has suggested.

Asked about the Reform UK leader’s claims on both welfare measures, the Deputy Prime Minister told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “Nigel Farage comes up with lots of ideas, they’re not necessarily good ideas, and he doesn’t know how he’s going to pay for them.”

Lifting the cap “might be a signal, but it’s not a silver bullet”, Ms Rayner added.

She told Sky News: “It’s not going to alleviate the levels of child poverty. There is a number of factors: people’s wages not increasing, their employment being insecure, their cost-of-living crisis that we face, their bills going up, and their housing costs have gone up.

“So it’s not one particular element that is going to safeguard people from the poverty we’ve seen after 14 years of the Conservatives.

“But I do know that having a good job that pays well allows you to open doors and opportunities for you to have a family and to do well in life.”

Angela Rayner said she was “absolutely not” behind a leaked memo, and ruled out being prime minister.

The deputy prime minister was asked by Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips to dispel suggestions she may have been behind the leak of a memo to the chancellor, in order to grow support for a future leadership bid.

She replied: “Yeah, absolutely not, and I don’t want to be leader of the Labour Party.”

Pressed on this, she added: “No, I’m very happy and honoured to be deputy prime minister of this country, and I’ve got a lot in my in-tray to prove that I can do the job that I’m doing and deliver on the milestones for the people of this country.

“That’s what I’m interested in.”

Asked to say the word never, she replied: “Never.”

Nigel Farage will commit to restoring the winter fuel payment to all pensioners and to scrapping the two-child benefit cap, reports have suggested.

The Reform UK leader is expected to appeal to left-wing voters with the moves in a speech next week, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

The newspaper said Mr Farage will describe Sir Keir Starmer as “one of the most unpatriotic prime ministers in our history and this past week has been evidence of that”, in his first speech since Reform made large gains in the local elections.

Reform UK is riding high in the opinion polls after its victories in town halls and the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, according to YouGov.

A Reform source told the newspaper: “We’re against the two-child cap and we’d go further on winter fuel by bringing the payment back for everyone.

“That’s already outflanking Labour.”

An inquiry is “under way” into how a memo from Angela Rayner to Chancellor Rachel Reeves was leaked, the Deputy Prime Minister suggested.

Asked by Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips if a probe would be launched into how the memo was leaked, Ms Rayner said: “I think there’s one under way, and quite rightly so, because leaks are very damaging.

“It’s really damaging, because we have lots of sensitive conversations in the round, all of us, and then we make a collective decision.”

The Deputy PM would not be drawn into saying whether she wanted to see taxes raised, as the memo suggested was needed.

She told Sky News: “As a matter of principle, I will continue to have those conversations with our Government on how we can bring down the cost of living for working people, support children out of poverty, build the houses we said we’re going to do and protect our borders and security.”