Politics latest: Tony Blair 'still involved' in Middle East; Rwanda scheme resurfaces in unexpected fashion (2024)

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The government has confirmed MPs will get a vote on plans to means test the winter fuel payment for pensioners.

One Labour rebel, Rachael Maskell, has written in The Daily Telegraph to lay out why she is opposed to the government's plan.

"The fear is that, if we withdraw winter fuel payments for those in fuel poverty, it will lead to excess deaths," she says.

Ms Maskell, who has been an MP since 2015 and served as a shadow minister under Jeremy Corbyn, added: "Those just above the pension credit threshold will end up worse off than those who qualify.

"Without tapering, the cliff edge of pension credit is a blunt instrument for those who have worked hard and saved yet live on the poverty line."

Under the government's plans, only those on pension credit would be eligible for winter fuel payments.

With such a sizeable majority, it would take a rebellion of hundreds of Labour MPs to overturn the government's plan in next week's vote.

But a big pushback could force concessions in order to avoid embarrassment.

Is the Treasury to blame?

Earlier today, Ed Balls - who worked as an adviser to Gordon Brown when he was chancellor - laid the blame for the policy at the feet of the Treasury and its civil servants.

Speaking on the Political Currency podcast, he said: "I think [Chancellor Rachel Reeves] will have been given a list of things and told she has to do one of them, and I think she's probably, in retrospect, quite annoyed at the Treasury for pushing her into an immediate decision like this.

"She may have felt, in retrospect, it was bad advice.

"And she'll be acutely aware of the politics, because the reality is this isn't just a storm in a teacup."

By Faye Brown, political reporter

Hereditary peers will not be banned from re-joining the Lords as life peers under government reforms to the upper chamber.

Abolishing the 92 seats reserved for hereditary members was one of Labour's manifesto commitments.

But Baroness Smith of Basildon, the leader of the Lords, today confirmed there could be a route back for those individuals - as life peers.

"I can confirm that if members leave this House as hereditary peers, there is no block at all of them coming back as life peers if their party so wishes to introduce them," Baroness Smith said.

A life peer is nominated by the prime minister, though by convention the Leader of the Opposition and other party leaders can propose a certain number.

Traditionally, the title is awarded to individuals on retirement from important public office and allows them to be a member of the House of Lords for life.

By Jennifer Scott, political reporter

Former Labour MP Harriet Harman has called for the police to act "quicker" when it comes to their investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire.

The public inquiry into the west London blaze that saw 72 killed in 2017 delivered its final report on Wednesday.

It accused successive governments of "failing to act", despite knowing the risk of certain cladding and insulation, as well as criticising the "systematic dishonesty" of the firms behind the materials.

But speaking on Sky News' Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the Labour peer said the seven years the probe took was "too long" as she appealed for police to move faster with prosecutions.

"I'd be saying to the police, you've got to get on with your inquiry as quickly as possible," she said. "The idea that after seven years of a public inquiry, there's got to be another two years before they decide on prosecutions... you've got to crack on and do it quicker.

"Don't leave it till the end of 2026. People have waited long enough for that."

Listen to the latest episode of the Electoral Dysfunction podcast from 6am on Friday

By Paul Kelso, business correspondent

The chief executive of Thames Water has insisted he can rescue the debt-laden utility, which faces running out of cash in months if it cannot raise fresh equity.

Speaking after the environment secretary announced new legislation threatening water company bosses with jail alongside a review of the industry, Mr Weston told Sky News he was untroubled by the threat of prosecution, and confident he can turn around the troubled company.

"I need to digest what the secretary of state said today, I am completely aligned with what he's trying to do in cleaning up the rivers," he said.

"I'm focused, like he is, on getting investment and I will work with the secretary of state to do that. I am very encouraged by the tone I heard and I will work with him to try to do what he's outlined to do."

Asked directly if he could save Thames Water, he said: "I can save it."

With around £18bn of debt and cash reserves only until next May, Mr Weston is racing to raise fresh investment after existing shareholders withdrew plans for £3.5bn of fresh equity.

A topic of conversation on Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge tonight is a new law which will see stiffer penalties for water companies - and possible jail sentences for their bosses if they don't deal with sewage.

It's also the main topic on our latest Daily podcast.

Niall Paterson spoke to business correspondent Paul Kelso,who was there, for his assessment of what it could meanfor the companies and bill payers.

Plus, as police investigating theGrenfell Tower fire warn it could be at least a year until they hand over evidence to prosecutors, Niall speaksto Chris Daw KC, author of Justice On Trial,on why it is going to take so long for the survivors and bereaved families to get justice.

👉 Tap here to follow the Sky News Daily podcast – 20 minutes on the biggest stories every day 👈

Deputy political editor Sam Coates has listened to tonight's interview with Sir Tony Blair twice now.

Speaking to Sophy Ridge, Sam thinks he may have spotted a warning for the current Labour prime minister from his political predecessor.

Sam highlights a section where Sophy asked the New Labour architect about whether Sir Keir Starmer was radical enough.

Sam points out Sir Tony "compared his government and Keir's government" and claimed the 1997 administration had a series of easy wins with things like independence of the Bank of England, changing the rules on gay rights, and introducing the mayor of London.

Sir Tony then compared these to Sir Keir's "missions", Sam says, and that success will depend on those missions.

Sam goes on: "That's not an endorsem*nt - each one of those things that [Sir Tony] did was a political risk, a huge political risk that he pushed through and got political credit for.

"And he's admitting that Keir Starmer doesn't have that kind of ambitious agenda.

"And he's saying, well, the missions will work if they work."

'A little bit of narcissism'

On a broader point, Sam says Sir Tony was advertising a "style" of government - building a good team - and then "telling Keir Starmer that's the model".

But our deputy political editor urged some scepticism, saying Sir Tony seemed to be advertising his institute that "sells help with governance to friendly - and other - governments all around the world".

"There was a little bit of, dare I say, narcissism in what we saw from Tony Blair today - because what he did was sit there and go: I know best, I'll tell you for a fee," Sam concludes.

For many, prime minister Sir Tony Blair's legacy is defined by his foreign policy decisions regarding the Middle East - most notably the Iraq war.

And he tells Sophy Ridge he's "still involved" in "quite a lot" regarding what's happening in the region now.

He was asked for his thoughts on Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, who has found himself under increasing pressure from Western allies to do a ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Sir Tony wouldn't comment on "individual leaders" as "that wouldn't be very helpful to what I'm doing".

Without elaborating on what his role is, the former Labour leader says: "The most important thing is that we get a ceasefire that's sustainable and that we find a path back to some concept of security for the Israelis and self-determination for the Palestinians."

Speaking to tonight'sPolitics Hub With Sophy Ridge, former prime minister Sir Tony Blair is asked about an increase of "strong man" or "macho" leaders.

Sir Tony says he is "worried" about the trend - and that it's important to understand why it's happening.

The former leader - who famously proposed a "third way" of UK politics and advocated a centrist position - said the reason for the increase was the lack of a "strong centre that's delivering".

But he defends the centre as not "the mushy middle between left and right", but rather "the place of solutions".

Sir Tony claims politics and political allegiances have become "more fractured" - and this will only continue as technology develops, reducing voters' traditional loyalties to certain parties.

'Solutions beat strongmen'

He says: "The other thing that's going to happen is that people are, if there are grievances, they are going to expect you to deal with them.

"And the centre has got to be the place that you deal with them."

Sir Tony says it is no good to just say various groups are "extreme" and try to manage the problem that way.

"If you want to defeat this sort of strongman populism, they're defeated by the solutions," he says.