Chancellor understood to be preparing to fully reverse measure, which would cost over £3bn but could lift 350,000 children out of poverty

Chancellor understood to be preparing to fully reverse the measure, which could lift 350,000 children out of poverty Rachel Reeves is planning to remove the two-child benefit cap in full at this month’s budget, in a move that could cost more than £3bn but lift 350,000 children out of poverty. The chancellor is understood to be preparing to reverse the Conservative measure entirely, having originally looked at ways to taper it either for very large families or richer ones. Continue reading...

Keeping the markets on side is the chancellor’s priority but it’s not an easy task given their simplistic, misplaced views on welfare cuts

YouTube video by Peter Brooke Turner

Energy firms and charities urge chancellor to avoid short-term fix that could also harm low-income households Rachel Reeves has been told that cutting funding for home insulation at the budget would risk the UK’s climate goals and hurt low-income households in a joint intervention by energy firms, fuel poverty charities and environmental groups. In a letter to the chancellor, more than 60 groups and companies urged Reeves not to take such a damaging “short-term fix” to slash funding for more energy-efficient homes to pay for a reduction in energy bills. Continue reading...

Warning comes as speculation mounts about rise in income tax ahead of budget day on 26 November Good morning. The news is dominated today by the repercussions from the resignation last night of the BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, and its head of news, Deborah Turness. This is far bigger than just a media personnel story; the BBC has been in the middle of the warzone in the battle between rightwing populism and liberalism, not just in the UK but beyond, and ousting Davie is a victory for the right. We are covering all the developments on a separate live blog. It is also, in part, a victory for Donald Trump; even if he was not actively implicated in the manoeuvering that led to Davie’s resignation, those who were demanding “heads must roll” professed to be concerned about protecting the president’s reputation. Trump has already cowed much of the US media and last night he claimed the BBC was run by “corrupt” and “very dishonest” people who tried to stop him being elected. Continue reading...

Midway through the Broadway run of Waiting for Godot with his Bill & Ted co-star Keanu, the actor-director talks about his new film, Adulthood, overcoming the abuse he endured as a young performer, and why we’re wrong about artificial intelligence

Chancellor interviewed on Radio 5 Live and says it’s unfair to penalise children in bigger families

The chancellor said the last year has seen conflicts, trade wars and global tariffs, which have all affected the economy in ways she could not have predicted.

A resurfaced Sky News clip shows Rachel Reeves ruling out future tax rises - just weeks before she’s tipped to raise income tax by 2p.