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The body charged with overseeing the regulation of payments systems will be abolished, the government has announced.  The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) — which governs payment systems like Faster Payments and Mastercard — is set to be consolidated into the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It follows reports of complaints from businesses that the regulatory environment... Read more » The post Government to axe payment systems regulator as quango purge begins appeared first on Politics.co.uk.

The prime minister addressed a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) yesterday evening with a clear message for his natural allies and awkward squad critics alike. First came his broader, more abstract pitch. Gazing beyond the crowded committee room, Keir Starmer gestured to a world that is “moving quickly”. The prime minister was plain:... Read more » The post Keir Starmer’s mission to ‘rewire the state’ will test the limits of Labour appeared first on Politics.co.uk.

A senior Conservative MP has undertaken to explain his comment that we must consider the “possibility” that the US president is a Russian asset.  Graham Stuart, a former Foreign Office minister, initially issued the remark in response to Donald Trump’s decision to pause all military aid to Ukraine. The extraordinary move came as the US... Read more » The post Senior MP stands by claim Trump could be Russian asset: ‘If it quacks like a duck’ appeared first on Politics.co.uk.

A Labour MP has said he is worried that the government’s widely trailed welfare cuts feel “like a rerun of austerity”. Neil Duncan-Jordan, the Labour MP for Poole, decried reported plans to cut around £6 billion from the benefits bill — set to include significant cuts to disability support.  Duncan-Jordan said: “Cuts to benefits don’t... Read more » The post Labour MP warns government’s planned welfare cuts ‘feel like a rerun of austerity’ appeared first on Politics.co.uk.

Britain’s benefits system is the “worst of all worlds”, with the numbers of people out of work or training “indefensible and unfair”, the prime minister has said. Keir Starmer, addressing a private meeting of Labour MPs on Monday night, said the current system was “discouraging people from working”. He noted that “one in eight young... Read more » The post Benefits system ‘unsustainable, indefensible and unfair’, Keir Starmer tells Labour MPs appeared first on Politics.co.uk.

If you ask most people why they love the sports that they do, most will have been inspired by watching the sports they love on TV. Be that watching rugby with parents, football down at the pub, Wimbledon in the summer; free sports on TV are a vital part of peoples lives for entertainment. In... Read more » The post Ben Obese-Jecty: ‘We must get the future of British cycling back on track’ appeared first on Politics.co.uk.

Mike Amesbury has said he will stand down as an MP at the “earliest [possible] opportunity” in a move that will trigger the first by-election of this parliament. The former Labour MP was last month given a 10-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, for punching a constituent in the street. Amesbury, who has been... Read more » The post Starmer faces first by-election test as MP convicted of assault to stand down appeared first on Politics.co.uk.

Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe have been at loggerheads over political strategy for months. But the Reform row burst definitely into the public domain last week after Lowe voiced his grievances in an interview with the Daily Mail. Reform will fail if Farage maintains his “messiah” complex, Lowe suggested. He cast acid aspersions on the... Read more » The post A new Lowe? Reform UK’s civil war will be a protracted farce appeared first on Politics.co.uk.

Keir Starmer has vowed to “deepen” the relationship between the United Kingdom and Canada after it was confirmed that Mark Carney will be the country’s next prime minister.  The former governor of the Bank of England beat three rivals in the Liberal Party’s leadership contest in a landslide victory. Carney is expected to be sworn... Read more » The post Starmer vows to ‘deepen’ UK-Canada ties alongside new PM Mark Carney appeared first on Politics.co.uk.

Keir Starmer has been urged to visit the new Canadian prime minister as a show of solidarity against Donald Trump’s threats towards the Commonwealth country.  It was announced on Sunday evening that Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of England, will be the new Canadian prime minister after he won the Liberal Party... Read more » The post Show solidarity with new Canadian PM amid Trump ‘bullying’, Starmer urged appeared first on Politics.co.uk.