UK politics – live: Starmer invokes Thatcher and vows to slash red tape

The Independent’s latest virtual event explored Brexit’s impact nearly five years post-EU departure.

Panellists included Labour MP Stella Creasy; Conservative MP Mark Francois; former Brexit Party MEP Claire Fox, Baroness Fox of Buckley; and Professor Anand Menon, director of UK in a Changing Europe.

More than three-quarters of all farms in England and Scotland will be impacted by new inheritance tax rules which have sparked mass protests, according to new research.

The government is reportedly looking into asking Netflix and Disney+ viewers to contribute to a licence fee to secure the future of the BBC.

As viewing habits evolve the government could consider funding options to support the broadcaster when it reviews the BBC’s current Royal Charter, which will end in 2027.

Senior NHS leaders have been accused of “remarkable” complacency and being “out of ideas” to fix the UK’s broken health service as overspending doubled to £1.4bn last year.

In a damning new report, MPs warned that a disregard for basic financial planning was hampering the health service’s ability to deliver for patients.

Although ministers have pledged to build an NHS “fit for the future”, the powerful Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said officials did not seem to have the “ideas, or the drive, to match the level of change required, despite this being precisely the moment where such thinking is vital”.

Rachel Reeves has been warned by business leaders that it is “crunch time” for her promises to deliver economic growth as she attempts to win back her credibility on the economy.

In her first major speech since the Budget in October, the chancellor is hoping to signal how she can deliver the economic growth she promised during the election.

It comes after a barage of criticism over her policies in the first seven months of government and speculation that Britain is on the brink of a recession.

An influential anti-poverty charity has rubbished claims by Rachel Reeves that her growth agenda will drive up living standards in the UK as it pushes the government to strengthen Universal Credit instead of chipping away at benefits.

The chancellor has said growing the economy is Labour’s main priority, but a report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has said economic growth “alone” won’t improve the lives of those struggling with the cost of living.

It said the government must also pursue specifically targeted policies to make a meaningful change, arguing that even strong growth won’t be able to alleviate rising child poverty.

An early headache for Sir Keir Starmer has been resolved with the White House allowing Lord Mandelson to take up his post as the UK’s ambassador to the US. But the Trump administration has also sent a warning over the Chagos Islands deal.