Prime minister’s questions: a shouty, jeery, very occasionally useful advert for British politics. Here’s what you need to know from the latest session in POLITICO’s weekly run-through. What they sparred about: Winter fuel payments — again. The final PMQs before MPs pack their bags for party conferences saw the leaders go head-to-head on their big current dividing line. Brief reminder: The Commons voted Tuesday to approve means testing winter fuel payments — so only pension credit recipients get the payments. The Tories opposed the measure (perhaps with one eye on their elderly voter base) while dozens of Labour MPs abstained. Heavy…
Author: Noah Keate
LONDON — It was the deadliest fire in Britain since the country was bombarded by Nazis in World War II — and a stark symbol of a deeply unequal nation. More than seven years on, survivors and grieving relatives affected by the 2017 Grenfell Tower blaze, which left 72 dead and dozens injured, hope Wednesday to finally get some answers. A report from the long-running official inquiry into the disaster — which rocked British politics and has long served as a symbol of state and corporate failure — lands at 11 a.m. It’s expected to catalogue widespread incompetence across numerous…
LONDON — Benjamin Netanyahu lambasted Britain’s “shameful” decision to suspend the sale of some arms components used by Israeli forces in Gaza. U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced Monday that 30 licenses, including parts for fighter planes, helicopters and drones, would be put on hold immediately after a review concluded there is a real risk weapons could be used in violation of international humanitarian law. In a strongly-worded statement from the Netanyahu’s office Tuesday, the Israeli prime minister’s team said Britain’s “shameful decision will not change Israel’s determination to defeat Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that savagely murdered 1200 people on…
LONDON — Nigel Farage said he would stop going to the pub if Labour goes ahead with a plan to ban outdoor smoking in Brits’ beloved watering holes. The leading Brexiteer, known for downing pints in photo opportunities to boost his image as a man of the people, took aim after reports suggested the U.K. government is considering tighter restrictions on smoking outdoors as part of its ambition to phase out tobacco. “The Labour party is showing its authoritarian socialist state control instincts and mentality,” the Reform UK leader wrote in a Telegraph op-ed. “The rumored ban on smoking in…