Shabana Mahmood signalled on Monday that she will water down her plans to sharply extend the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain, telling Labour's conference in Liverpool that the government would "come to a position that balances fairness for those who came here legally, and fairness to British citizens across this country". John Healey used his first conference speech as Chancellor to bind the government to its fiscal rules a month before the Budget, Downing Street briefed plans for a publicly owned electricity grid company, and five men arrested near RAF Fairford were released on police bail. This is UKFCP's 24 hours in politics round-up.
Parliament is in recess for the conference season, with Labour meeting in Liverpool and the Conservatives due in Birmingham next week. Andy Burnham has been Prime Minister since 20 July, and his Chancellor delivers his first Budget on 28 October.
Burnham to create a publicly owned GB Grid
Downing Street briefed on Monday evening that Burnham will use his leader's speech on Tuesday to announce Great British Grid, a publicly owned company inside Great British Energy to invest in transmission infrastructure and clear the connection queue. The Press Association reported it will draw on the existing £4bn allocated to Great British Energy, and is not expected to use all of it.
"Within ten years, I want our energy costs to be in line with other nations in Europe," Burnham is expected to say.
The i Paper reported he will also signal public ownership of Thames Water. Sir Andrew Dilnot told the BBC that a new social care system, the other plank of the speech, could take decades and would cost a "very substantial" sum.
Mahmood signals retreat on settlement rules
The Home Secretary declined to defend her published reforms, which would double the standard wait for settled status from five to ten years, extend it to 15 years for those who arrived on health and social care visas and to 20 years for people who claimed benefits for more than a year. GB News reported that more than 100 Labour MPs have criticised the plans.
Angela Rayner, the Housing Secretary, has called the reforms "un-British". A Conservative spokesperson said Mahmood had "caved in to pressure from Angela Rayner and her open borders MPs". Mahmood also confirmed the UK Resettlement Scheme reopens immediately, with an annual cap and around a quarter of arrivals expected to be Afghan women and girls and Palestinians who have fled Gaza.
Healey commits to fiscal rules, reopens welfare
The Chancellor promised a "new age of industrialisation", confirming £6bn of contracts for British shipyards including three floating dry docks for the submarine fleet at HM Naval Base Clyde, awarded through a UK-only competition, plus £115m for a marine research vessel and £100m for an expanded apprenticeships service.
"The best thing we can offer a young person is not a benefit payment. It's a first job with training and a wage," Healey said, adding that it was "not progressive to allow a bigger and bigger benefits bill".
He did not say how the Budget would be paid for. Helen Miller, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, told the BBC that a fiscal rule was "basically a promise to get down debt tomorrow".
Five bailed over suspected Fairford plot
Counter Terrorism Policing released five British nationals arrested on Sunday near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on police bail, saying they remain under investigation. Burnham chaired a COBRA meeting from conference, telling LBC he wanted the "full picture".
President Donald Trump attacked the decision, saying he was "surprised that they released" the men. Iran's London embassy said it "categorically" rejects any involvement. Wes Streeting said the farmer reported to have raised the alarm had only a "partial picture" of events. Lisa Nandy called Nigel Farage a "master of the conspiracy theory" after he linked the incident to small boat crossings.
Also in the last 24 hours
- The stand-off over the Drumcree parade continued, with Chris Bryant telling reporters in Belfast that "nobody wants to go back 28 years"; SDLP leader Claire Hanna called for an international mediator.
- Avanti West Coast will be renationalised in March 2027, with Burnham saying "enough is enough"; Heidi Alexander said ministers will consider publicly owning new trains.
- Ed Miliband told delegates the suffering in Gaza and the West Bank was a "stain on the conscience of the world" and said critics of Labour's previous position had been right.
- Miliband also said Britain's future lay in a deeper partnership with the EU; Sir Sadiq Khan said Burnham should prepare to rejoin now.
- Pressure grew over the state pension triple lock, with Streeting saying the public "shouldn't be scared" of options to fund social care.
- The average price of diesel reached a record 198.32p a litre, according to the RAC, and Healey said talks were under way with Washington over Trump's threatened export ban.
- A 10-year-old child and two women died after a dinghy carrying 105 people got into difficulty in the Channel, French authorities said.
- Miatta Fahnbulleh told the Guardian that green levies could be moved off energy bills and funded through taxation.
- Unison staged a protest outside the conference, with migrant care workers posing in chains against the visa reforms.
- Kanishka Narayan, the AI minister, told the BBC that preparing for potentially "unprecedented" job losses was among his top priorities.
Burnham delivers his first leader's speech as Prime Minister in Liverpool on Tuesday.
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