Key points
- Rayner announces 'radical plan' to boost housebuilding
- Deputy PM admits planning reforms not 'without controversy' as local housing targets to become mandatory to hit 1.5 million within five years - and greenbelt land may be used
- Home secretary visits scene of Southport attack|Follow live updates
- Ex-chancellor 'lied' about public finances, Reeves claims
- Catch up on chancellor's announcements:Winter fuel payments partly scrapped|Future tax rises hinted at|The key funding gap accusations and what Reeves plans to do
- Expert analysis:Hunt like a parent scolding a child|The worst is still to come from the chancellor|Is there really no money left?
- Live reporting by Ben Bloch
Deputy PM sets out 'radical' plan to boost housebuilding
Angela Rayner has just been speaking in the House of Commons setting out plans to boost housebuilding to meet Labour's pledge of building 1.5m new homes by the end of this parliament.
But she opened by discussing Southport, saying: "I know the whole House will join me in sending our deepest condolences and strength in the hours ahead to those affected by yesterday's shocking incident.
"As a mother and a grandmother, I can't even begin to imagine the depth of pain and suffering of those involved."
Moving to her housing announcements - here are the key points of what she said (this post was updated live):
- The aim is "get Britain building" and deliver economic growth to raise living standards with a "radical" plan;
- "What I say won't be without controversy", she says, but argues the work is "urgent" amid "the most acute housing crisis in living memory";
- She hits out at the Tories for having "ducked the difficult decisions" and "failed to get anywhere near their target of 300,000 per year";
- Ms Rayner says local views should be taken into account around housebuilding - but decisions "should be about how to deliver new homes, not whether to";
- Local housing targets will now become mandatory, she announces, and the total number of new homes per year under housing targets will rise from 300,000 to over 370,000;
- On where new homes will be built, Ms Rayner says the brown belt must be the first option, but there must be "a more strategic system for green belt release";
- "Local authorities will have to review their green belt if needed to meet their housing targets," she says, with "low quality grey belt land" the priority;
- On greenbelt land, 50% will have to be affordable housing;
- She announces a consultation on changes to the Right to Buy scheme;
- In closing, the deputy PM says this is "only the first step" and the government will go much further in future.
Jon Craig analysis: All governments talk about building more homes - but not quite like this
As ever, our chief political correspondent Jon Craig has a close eye on what's happening in the House of Commons.
Giving his thoughts on Angela Rayner's announcements on planning reform and housebuilding (see 13.10 post), he describes the target of 1.5 million new homes within five years as "very ambitious".
"All governments talk about building more homes," Jon admits, "but Labour seems to have a more detailed plan".
However, it's also a "more radical and controversial" one - notably because some greenbelt land will be up for grabs and local authorities will face new strictures not to get in the way, which will no doubt go down poorly with any self-described NIMBYs.
Tory MPs in rural areas won't be happy, says Jon, but Labour's huge majority means they likely won't be able to do much about it.
Jon says "this is possibly one of the most ambitious parts of the new government's programme" - and Ms Rayner's "get Britain building" slogan will be getting plenty of airtime in the months ahead.
Government 'in danger of choosing the worst of all worlds' on housebuilding - Badenoch
Kemi Badenoch has delivered the Conservative Party's response to Angela Rayner's "radical" housing announcements (see previous post).
The shadow housing minister said: "The Labour Party has a mandate to deliver what they promised in their manifesto.
"As a party which has governed for most of the last 100 years, we respect that mandate, and it is our job as His Majesty's Loyal Opposition to scrutinise their plans."
She accused Labour of already breaking their manifesto pledge to update theNational Planning Policy Framework within the first 100 days of their government by briefing that it will now happen by the end of the year.
The Tory leadership contender also questioned how Ms Rayner will meet her pledge to avoid uncertainty in the housing sector, given the sheer number of changes that will take time to implement and could be subject to legal challenges.
She went on: "Where is the respect for local decision-making? We're not saying that they shouldn't be ambitious, but they're going to have to take local government in hand when they do this."
Mrs Badenoch also defended the previous for scrapping mandatory housing targets, saying their advisory targets were "so that councils could make sure that they could do better, not do worse", and so it is "wrong" to say they scrapped housing targets.
"The government is in danger of choosing the worst of all worlds - not addressing the basic economic of housebuilding, centralising decision-making. And when you look at all that, it looks like the 1.5m homes [per year] will be a distant aspiration rather than a meaningful target."
In a somewhat spiky response, the deputy PM made a quip about Mrs Badenoch's leadership bid: "It was her ambition to be leader of the opposition all along - not mine.
"I must say, the honourable lady seems to be taking to opposition very naturally - I think she'll find herself comfortable for quite a long time on those benches."
Ms Rayner said the public kicked the Tories out of office for multiple reasons, and among them was that "year-on-year, the Tories failed to keep their housing targets".
The deputy PM said Labour "inherited the most acute housing crisis in living memory".
She concluded: "We have a homelessness crisis in this country, we have a crisis where people under the age of 30 cannot get homes now, it is impossible for people to get on the housing ladder.
"That is the failure of the last Conservative government. That is what we're going to fix, and that's what we're going to get on and do."
We're expecting to hear from Angela Rayner shortly about the government's plans to boost housebuilding.
The housing secretary and deputy prime minister will be up in the Commons to outline proposed changes to the UK's planning system - which will then go out to consultation.
We'll have live updates on her speech, which our political correspondent Mhari Aurora says will be "all about making it easier for homes to be developed quicker and simpler, with less opposition".
Key to Labour's vow to build 1.5 million homes in the next five years are reintroducing mandatory housing targets for local authorities and allowing building on what the government calls the "grey belt".
This is greenbelt land that isn't actually green - like disused petrol stations and other abandoned developments.
Mhari says housebuilding was a "really big headache" for the last Tory government and Labour will have to grapple with one of the most common challenges - local consent.
It's "always one of the biggest barriers to housebuilding" and Labour must ensure local people feel they're made part of any development plans for their areas, she adds.
You'll be able to watch Ms Rayner's speech in the stream at the top of this page and in the stream below:
PM acknowledges 'truly horrific' Southport stabbings at cabinet
Sir Keir Starmer held a meeting of his cabinet this morning, and he opened it by acknowledging the stabbings in Southport yesterday that saw three children killed and eight others injured.
The prime minister described the attack as "truly horrific", a Downing Street spokesperson said, and said the "thoughts of the whole cabinet, and the entire country, were with those who were attacked and their families who are going through an unimaginable ordeal."
The spokesperson said he added that it was "hard to find words to express what the grieving families and community must be going through".
Follow our dedicated live coverage here:
New compensation scheme launched for Horizon scandal victims
Postmasters who fell victim to the Post Office Horizon scandal can now apply for a new compensation scheme.
The government has announced those eligible can either accept a fixed settlement totalling £60,000, or pursue a full claim assessment if they think their losses exceed that amount.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he hoped the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme would bring "some relief to postmasters who have waited far too long".
Meanwhile, postmasters who had their convictions overturned will begin receiving their written exoneration this week.
The government had vowed to give an update on the compensation process before parliament breaks for summer.
Minister Pat McFadden appeared before the inquiry into the scandal earlier this month, where he said accountability lies with government.
It's time for your lunchtime bulletin from the Politics Hub following a morning dominated by fallout from the chancellor's public spending announcements yesterday.
Here's what you need to know:
- Chancellor Rachel Reeves has accused her Tory predecessor of having "lied" over the state of the public finances;
- She told Sky News that Jeremy Hunt had "covered up" huge spending gaps in his plans after she announced a raft of cuts - notably scrapping winter fuel payments for some pensioners;
- Responding, Mr Hunt told us he was "disappointed" by Ms Reeves's assertions and labelled them "absolute nonsense";
- Our political correspondent Mhari Aurora compared Mr Hunt to "a parent telling their child they're disappointed in their behaviour".
- Ministers have also been reacting to yesterday's attack at a dance class in Southport, which left two children dead and nine injured;
- Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has visited the Merseyside town and said police were pursuing "every single angle";
- She will give a further statement on the attack in the Commons later.
- Also still to come in the Commons is an announcement from deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner on the government's plans to change planning rules to boost housebuilding;
- And the foreign secretary, David Lammy, will face questions from MPs after Britons were urged to leave Lebanon amid tensions in the Middle East.
Stick with us here for updates and analysis through the afternoon.
Police must pursue all angles of inquiry, home secretary says
The home secretary has just been speaking to broadcasters in Southport after laying flowers for the victims of the attack that saw two children killed and nine injured.
Yvette Cooper said "all of our thoughts will be with the families who have been affected, loved ones who have been lost, and the children who are injured" after the "unimaginable" attack.
She revealed she has been meeting with first responders who showed "great bravery" at the scene, and vowed police would "pursue every single angle" during their investigation.
A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
'Deep concern' about knife crime
Asked how the government will stop knife crime and attacks like this, Ms Cooper said: "There is obviously deep concern about knife attacks across the country, and that's why the prime minister has said that's a moral mission to address this.
"But I think for today, the issue really is about Southport, and the families who have been affected in this case, and all of us praying for the injured children and the little children who have been lost."
Follow live updates in our dedicated coverage here:
Listen: Is there really no money left?
Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she'sdiscovereda black hole of more than £20bn in the public finances left by the previousgovernment.
In the Commons, she set out her plans to address the funding shortfall through spending cuts, as shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt accused Labour of using the statement to lay the groundwork for a U-turn on tax rises in the October budget.
On the Sky News Daily, host Liz Bates is joined by deputy political editor Sam Coates to look at Labour's messaging on the state of public finances, and breaks down the numbers with our business correspondent Paul Kelso.
👉 Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts 👈
