Labour highlights 13 ‘key price of dwelling measures’ coming into drive inside subsequent week because it launches native elections marketing campaign
As Jessica Elgot experiences in her in a single day story on the Labour native elections launch this morning, Keir Starmer may even spotlight what Labour is doing to assist individuals with the price of dwelling.
In his information launch issued forward of the launch, Labour has highlighted greater than a dozen measures coming into drive throughout the subsequent week that it says will assist individuals with the price of dwelling. Right here is the listing.
double citation markKey price of dwelling measures coming into drive on 1 April:
-Prescription cost freeze, preserving prescriptions below £10
-Nationwide Residing Wage (age 21+) rises to £12.71 an hour – 4.1% enhance
-Nationwide Minimal Wage (age 18-20) rises to £10.85, below 18 £8, apprentice £8
-Vitality invoice assist – common £117 discount on family power payments, utilized to all households on high of £150 Heat Houses Low cost for tens of millions of low revenue households.
-Advantages uprating – most inflation-linked advantages to rise by 3.8% (CPI Sept 2025)
-Youngster profit will increase
-Disaster & Resilience Fund launches (changing Family Help Fund). New £1 billion per yr fund begins April 2026.Gives: Money‑first disaster funds; Housing funds (changing Discretionary Housing Funds)
-Wholesome Begin vouchers enhance by 50p every week
Key price of dwelling measures coming into drive on 6 April:
-State pension uplift – rising by 4.8% rising to £241.30 per week
-Two baby restrict eliminated – anticipated to raise 450,000 kids out of poverty
-Statutory Sick Pay rights from day 1
-Day one entitlement to paternity depart and unpaid parental depart
-Common credit score commonplace allowances obtain an extra 2.3% uplift
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Starmer insists UK will not get ‘dragged into’ Iran warfare, highlighting his willingness to withstand Trump’s requires extra assist
Keir Starmer is talking now.
He thanks Sarah, and say he has the cupboard with him within the room. There’s a variety of power there, he claims.
Transferring into the substance of his speech, he begins by referring to the Ukraine warfare, praising the braveness of the Ukrainians, earlier than transfer on to the Iran warfare.
He goes on:
double citation markPeople have a look at their screens and so they’re apprehensive once they see explosions, infrastructure blown up, the rhetoric that goes with it, apprehensive about whether or not that is going to escalate even additional.
And due to this fact it’s actually vital that I reiterate the place I stand and the place this authorities stands, as a result of this isn’t our warfare and we’re not going to be dragged into it.
He says this is applicable “regardless of the stress [to join in] and whoever it’s coming from”.
(Starmer is referring to Donald Trump at this level, highlighting is refusal to adjust to Trump’s requests for extra navy assist.)
Starmer says Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch each “wished to go straight in, with each toes, into the warfare with out pondering by way of the implications”.
And he criticises Zack Polanski for wanting to depart Nato.
Keir Starmer talking at Labours native elections launch {Photograph}: PAShare
Powell introduces “Sarah from Dudley”, who’s speaking about having two “superb” adopted twins.
Sarah is speaking in regards to the impression of the 30-hour free childcare allowance launched by Labour. It has saved the household £400 every week, she says. It meant she might return to work full-time, she says.
Sarah, an information analyst speaking in regards to the impression of Labour’s extension of free childcare, on the Labour native elections launch {Photograph}: PAShare
Powell goes on to make jokes (not notably good ones) about Nigel Farage and Zack Polanki.
Farage has bought a brand new job as Donald Trump’s intern, she says.
And she or he says Polanski is making “hypnotic guarantees” which can be “simply an phantasm”.
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Labour launches its English native elections marketing campaign
The Labour native elections launch is beginning.
Lucy Powell, the deputy chief, is opening the proceedings.
She begins by saying the get together is “immensely proud” of the way in which Keir Starmer has handled the Iran warfare, and his determination “within the face of a variety of stress and criticism to not comply with blindly into an offensive warfare”.
Lucy Powell at Labour’s native elections marketing campaign launch {Photograph}: PAShare
In Australia the Labor authorities has introduced that it’s halving excise responsibility on gas for 3 months. Solely final week Reform UK referred to as for VAT on street gas to halved for 3 months. Explaining the coverage, Reform UK stated:
double citation markThe tax lower would scale back pump costs by round 12p per litre for petrol and 14p per litre for diesel at present costs, at a static exchequer price of about £1.5bn. The measure might be funded inside present spending envelopes utilizing the estimated £2.7bn windfall from increased oil costs that the chancellor has obtained.
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Tories name for VAT on family power payments to be eliminated for 3 years
On the Conservative get together convention final yr, the Tories introduced plans to chop £165 a yr from the typical family power invoice by eliminating the renewables obligation subsidy and the carbon tax.
Right now Kemi Badenoch is visiting an oil rig within the North Sea to publicise what the Conservatives are calling their low-cost power plan. Along with the measures introduced final yr, they’re now proposing eradicating VAT from family power payments for 3 years. They are saying this might save the typical family £94 per yr, at a price of £2.2bn. They are saying they’d fund this by slicing subsisides for renewables.
In an announcement issued in a single day, Badenoch stated:
double citation markLabour promised to chop power payments by £300 however they’re nonetheless increased than once they took workplace. As a substitute, Ed Miliband is obstructing drilling within the North Sea throughout an power disaster and Rachel Reeves is climbing taxes on working households to pay the power payments of these on advantages.
The Conservatives would use additional tax income from our plan to Get Britain Drilling within the North Sea to chop taxes and ease the price of dwelling. Our Low-cost Energy Plan would scrap VAT on power payments and lower payments by £200 for each household.
Badenoch additionally says the Tories would “again the North Sea” by permitting new oil and fuel drilling licences to be issued, and repealing the windfall tax on power companies. They declare this might increase tax revenues, which might be used to chop prices for households.
Kemi Badenoch, shadow Scottish secretary Andrew Bowie and Scottish Tory chief Russell Findlay vistinng Effectively-Protected Protector Oil Rig in Aberdeen right this moment. {Photograph}: Michał Wachucik/PAShare
Labour highlights 13 ‘key price of dwelling measures’ coming into drive inside subsequent week because it launches native elections marketing campaign
As Jessica Elgot experiences in her in a single day story on the Labour native elections launch this morning, Keir Starmer may even spotlight what Labour is doing to assist individuals with the price of dwelling.
In his information launch issued forward of the launch, Labour has highlighted greater than a dozen measures coming into drive throughout the subsequent week that it says will assist individuals with the price of dwelling. Right here is the listing.
double citation markKey price of dwelling measures coming into drive on 1 April:
-Prescription cost freeze, preserving prescriptions below £10
-Nationwide Residing Wage (age 21+) rises to £12.71 an hour – 4.1% enhance
-Nationwide Minimal Wage (age 18-20) rises to £10.85, below 18 £8, apprentice £8
-Vitality invoice assist – common £117 discount on family power payments, utilized to all households on high of £150 Heat Houses Low cost for tens of millions of low revenue households.
-Advantages uprating – most inflation-linked advantages to rise by 3.8% (CPI Sept 2025)
-Youngster profit will increase
-Disaster & Resilience Fund launches (changing Family Help Fund). New £1 billion per yr fund begins April 2026.Gives: Money‑first disaster funds; Housing funds (changing Discretionary Housing Funds)
-Wholesome Begin vouchers enhance by 50p every week
Key price of dwelling measures coming into drive on 6 April:
-State pension uplift – rising by 4.8% rising to £241.30 per week
-Two baby restrict eliminated – anticipated to raise 450,000 kids out of poverty
-Statutory Sick Pay rights from day 1
-Day one entitlement to paternity depart and unpaid parental depart
-Common credit score commonplace allowances obtain an extra 2.3% uplift
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Starmer to say Iran warfare means Labour’s values wanted greater than ever at native elections marketing campaign launch
Good morning. Keir Starmer will right this moment chair a gathering in Downing Road on how the federal government responds to the financial penalties of the Iran warfare, which has the potential to upend a lot of what the federal government is making an attempt to do to enhance dwelling requirements. And so he’s in all probability not too pleased about the truth that this morning he has to attend an occasion within the West Midlands launching Labour’s English native elections marketing campaign.
It’s a comparatively low-key launch. “The Westminster press pack wasn’t invited for a full Q&A,” Politico experiences. Starmer will likely be again in London later for his Iran warfare assembly.
Nobody expects Labour to do properly within the native elections and final week Stephen Fisher, an Oxford politics professor and an elections knowledgeable who works with John Curtice on the broadly admired common election exit polls, revealed his projections for what number of seats he expects events to win and lose within the English native elections, primarily based on present polling and different components. It’s horrible studying for Labour.
Projections for positive aspects/losses at native elections {Photograph}: Stephen Fisher
As Fisher factors out in his weblog on this, his equal forecast for Labour losses in 2025 turned out to be fairly correct.
In line with the extracts from his speech briefed upfront, Starmer is not going to be forecasting success for Labour on the native elections, however he’ll argue that the warfare in Iran signifies that Labour is required greater than ever. He’ll say:
double citation markWe’re going to struggle to earn each vote. Battle for our values. And struggle for the nation we’re constructing collectively, a Britain constructed for all.
As a result of, within the context of all the things that’s taking place on the planet. These values – that equity we stand for – it’s by no means been extra vital.
That’s the factor in regards to the risky world we dwell in now. It checks, not simply our safety, our energy on the world stage. It’s also checks our equity at house. Our unity.
He may even assault Reform UK and the Conservatives particularly for his or her preliminary unqualified assist for President Trump’s determination to go to warfare.
double citation markWe will defend our forces, our individuals, our allies within the area. However I made the choice that it isn’t in our nationwide curiosity to commit British forces to a warfare, and not using a clear authorized foundation and a transparent plan – and I stand by that.
It’s a query of judgement. Don’t forget that the Tories and Reform would have rushed us into this. With no considered the implications, together with for the price of dwelling. Totally reckless.
Right here is the agenda for the day.
9.15am: Eluned Morgan, the Welsh first minister, launches Labour’s marketing campaign for the Senedd elections.
Morning: Keir Starmer launches Labour’s marketing campaign for the English native elections within the West Midlands.
10.30am: Rhun ap Iorwerth, the Plaid Cymru chief, launches Plaid’s marketing campaign for the Senedd elections.
11.30am: Downing Road holds a foyer briefing.
Afternoon: Starmer hosts a roundtable with enterprise leaders to debate the impression of the Iran warfare.
2.40pm: Zack Polanski, the Inexperienced get together chief, addresses the Nationwide Training Union’s convention.
Afternoon: Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, and Ed Miliband, the power secretary, participate in a digital assembly with G7 counterparts to debate the financial impression of the Iran warfare.
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