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More campaigners have hit out at Liz Kendall’s speech on benefit reforms.

Alison Garnham, Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said: “The elephant in the room today was the two-child limit which is pushing child poverty to a new high on this government’s watch and leaving children without the life chances the Secretary of State wants for them.

“Unless the government scraps the policy in its forthcoming child poverty strategy, the number of kids in poverty will reach 5 million by the end of this parliament and a generation of children will have been betrayed.

“If ‘fairness, equality and opportunity’ are what matters to the Secretary of State, the two-child limit must be removed and ministers must step back from disability benefit cuts which can only mean more child poverty.”

Liz Kendall has doubled down on Labour’s controversial cuts to disability benefits, arguing they are necessary to stave off Reform and save the welfare state.

But the work and pensions secretary’s speech has only fuelled fresh outrage from campaigners.

Tom Marsland, head of policy at disability charity Sense, said: “Almost half of disabled people with complex needs are already in debt because their benefit payments don’t cover the essentials, and the Government’s own figures show these proposed reforms will push more people into poverty.

“We agree that the welfare system isn’t currently working for disabled people – but increasing the number of disabled people in poverty will never be the solution.”

And Charlotte Gill, head of policy at the MS Society, said it is “disappointed by the government’s decision to double down on harmful benefits cuts in the name of cost saving”.

She added: “Removing this support will result in people being forced to leave work, lose their independence, or even be pushed into poverty. Disabled people should not be forced to shoulder the government’s savings whether in or out of work. We urge them to rethink and abandon these devastating cuts.”

The Trussell Trust has revealed a stark increase in the number of emergency food parcels distributed across the UK, with a 51 per cent rise recorded over the past five years.

The charity delivered nearly 2.9 million emergency food parcels in the year to March 2025, a significant jump from the 1.9 million distributed in the year to March 2020. This surge has prompted urgent calls for government intervention and a reassessment of welfare reform policies.

Trussell has criticised the government’s welfare reforms, labelling them a “harmful” policy choice contributing to the escalating reliance on food banks. The charity also cautioned the Labour party against a potential legacy of increased food bank dependency and child poverty.

Trussell chief executive Emma Revie said the government must make addressing hunger and hardship a priority as part of its overall plans to boost the economy, as she urged a rethink on welfare reforms.

Meanwhile, Trussell also called for local housing allowance to be unfrozen, arguing the freeze can have a major impact on the ability of those most in need to afford the essentials.

My colleague Athena Stavrou reports:

Inflation has rocketed to its highest level in more than a year after “awful April” bill rises, but pressure is also mounting on the Chancellor over the impact of Labour’s recent tax hike on the cost of living.

Official figures show Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation jumped to 3.5% in April, up from 2.6% in March and the highest since January 2024.

It comes after Ofgem’s energy price cap rose by 6.4% in April, having fallen a year earlier, alongside a raft of bill rises for under-pressure households – including the biggest increase to water bills since at least February 1988.

Households were also hit with steep increases across bills for council tax, mobile and broadband tariffs, as well as road tax.

But experts said inflation may also have been pushed higher as many firms responded to the Government’s move to raise national insurance contributions (NICs) and the minimum wage last month by increasing prices.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves acknowledged her policies have “consequences” but insisted they are necessary to stabilise the economy.

Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride blamed Labour’s “damaging” tax increase for the rise in inflation and said “families are paying the price for the Labour Chancellor’s choices”.

The Liberal Democrats also took aim at Labour, warning the cost of living could spiral out of control unless Ms Reeves reverses her decision to increase employer NICs.

Our Political Editor David Maddox reports:

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged by more than 100 MPs and peers to “deploy every tool” to help free jailed British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, who has been on hunger strike for over 80 days.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, the cross-party group said the case was at a “vital stage” and action was needed to protect the health of both Mr Abd El-Fattah and his mother, Laila Soueif, who has also resumed a full hunger strike after consuming only liquid supplements since March.

Mr Abd El-Fattah, 43, has been imprisoned in Egypt since September 2019. He was sentenced in 2021 to five years for allegedly spreading false news, but MPs argue he is a political prisoner and should be released after serving his term.

The letter expresses concern over Mr Abd El-Fattah’s deteriorating health, with symptoms including vomiting, stomach pain, and blurred vision. It also highlights the worsening condition of his mother, who has been on hunger strike since September 2024 and has lost 42 per cent of her body weight.

Sir Keir previously raised the case with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in February, but MPs say there has been a lack of “concrete progress”.

They warn that failure to resolve the case could harm the UK-Egypt relationship and wrote: “If the health of Laila or Alaa is further damaged by this ordeal, this would have serious long-term implications.”

They concluded: “We urge you to deploy every tool at your Government’s disposal. Time is desperately short. We remain gravely concerned about the implications for Alaa’s family if a resolution is not found soon.”

The latest poll from More in Common has put Reform UK support at 30 per cent – the highest ever.

Labour is trailing eight points behind at 22 per cent, while support for the Tories has gone up one point to 21 per cent.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer’s net approval rating is -38, while Kemi Badenoch is -25, according to More in Common.

The union at the centre of the long-running Birmingham bin strike has accused government commissioners of “sabotaging” talks aimed at resolving the dispute.

Members of Unite have been on all-out strike for more than two months in a row over pay and jobs, leading to bins piling up across the city.

The conciliation service Acas has been involved in talks since the start of the month, but the dispute remains deadlocked.

Unite said the talks set out a clear timeline for a discussed offer to be tabled by the council, but it claimed no offer has been made.

A ministry of housing, communities and local government spokesperson said: “It is simply false to suggest the commissioners, or the leader of the council have blocked attempts to resolve this deal, and we continue to urge Unite to suspend its strike action and both parties to reach agreement on a fair and reasonable offer.”

A council spokesman said: “The council remains committed to seeking a negotiated settlement to end the dispute.”