Nigel Farage hits back after Keir Starmer claims Reform leader 'doesn't like Britain' - recap

Rachel Reeves is poised to scrap the two-child benefit cap and replace it with a 'taper system', it emerged tonight.

The Chancellor is under pressure from both backbench MPs and ministers to ditch the welfare limit at her upcoming Budget.

According to reports on Tuesday night, Ms Reeves will lift the cap on November 26 when she announces her next fiscal package.

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Rachel Reeves 'to scrap two-child benefit cap' at Budget

The Chancellor is under pressure from both backbench MPs and ministers to ditch the welfare limit at her upcoming Budget.

Labour risks losing its backers to Jeremy Corbyn's new Your Party, John McDonnell has warned.

Mr McDonnell, who was Mr Corbyn's shadow chancellor when he was Labour leader, said of his own party:

The tactic that they're using at the moment, the strategy they're using, is the old traditional one from the right - "don't worry about those who vote Labour, because they'll always vote Labour, there's nowhere else for them to go - so let's target Reform".

It's a catastrophic mistake because...there is somewhere else to go, both in terms of the Greens and possibly the new party that Jeremy is establishing.

The more you shift to the right, particularly the racist right, the more you will lose our support and our biggest problem at the moment...is the stay-at-home vote.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has accused Nigel Farage of 'acting like the biggest snowflake'.

Speaking at a fringe event hosted by Times Radio, he said: 'For someone who is so plain speaking, Nigel Farage has this knack, when he's called out, of acting like the biggest snowflake.'

Referring to Mr Farage's response to the Prime Minister's speech, Mr Streeting said the Reform UK leader has 'main character energy', which means he cannot let someone be the centre of the news.

A teaching union prompted fury today after they signed up children to join their campaigning outside Labour's conference - despite it clashing with school hours.

The National Education Union (NEU) was criticised for using children to hand out leaflets to conference attendees as part of their 'No Child Left Behind' drive.

Tory shadow education secretary Laura Trott said it was a 'clear breach' of rules that forbid teachers from allowing pupils to skip lessons in order to attend protests.

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Children skip lessons to join union's campaign at Labour conference

The National Education Union (NEU) was criticised for using children to hand out leaflets to conference attendees as part of their 'No Child Left Behind' drive.

Shabana Mahmood said there was a 'big difference' between her plans for indefinite leave to remain and Reform UK's immigration policy.

The Home Secretary told a fringe event at Labour conference:

'I think that there is a difference between where they are, which is to rip up the settled status of people who are already a part of us - there's a big difference between that and what I've been talking about, which is to ask the question about whether the rules we currently have that help someone become a part of us are still rules that maintain public confidence.'

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage 'gets to play the "libertarian hero against the authoritarian Government"' as he rails against mandatory digital ID, a Labour MP has said.

Speaking at a fringe event during the Labour party conference in Liverpool, Nadia Whittome warned attendees that Labour had 'just alienated' its voter base.

'Take mandatory digital ID cards, for example,' the Nottingham East MP said.

'Digital ID cards are a gimmick and it's playing right into Nigel Farage's hands.

'He said that they wouldn't even make a difference to so-called illegal migration and he's right - they're an attack on civil liberties and now Nigel Farage gets to play the "libertarian hero against the authoritarian Government".'

Rachel Reeves has declined to say whether she was planning to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

Asked about reports she would do so at the Budget, the Chancellor told a fringe event at the Labour conference: 'Keir said in his speech today that we will reduce child poverty in this Parliament, but we will set out the policies in the Budget.

'I think we've been pretty clear this week that we can't commit to policies without us explaining where the money is coming from."

Adding that there were 'real financial constraints' due to persistent inflation, tariffs, global conflicts and increased borrowing costs - along with expected changes to OBR forecasts - she said: 'I would be the first person to want to find some money down the back of the sofa to pay for lots of different things.

'But I have to be Chancellor in the world as it is, not in the world as I might like it to be.'

David Lammy bizarrely accused Nigel Farage of having once 'flirted with the Hitler Youth' today amid a deepening racism row between Labour and Reform.

The Deputy Prime Minister went on live television to lash out at Mr Farage, after PM Keir Starmer used his main conference speech to hammer the opposition party.

Mr Lammy, who only became Sir Keir's number two earlier this month, was asked if he believed Mr Farage was a racist.

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Lammy accuses Farage of 'flirting with the Hitler Youth'

The Deputy Prime Minister went on live television to lash out at Mr Farage, after PM Keir Starmer used his main conference speech to hammer the opposition party.

The SNP's leader in Westminster, Stephen Flynn dismissed Sir Keir Starmer's speech today.

He said the Prime Minister completely failed to address the fact that Labour had promised change, but instead caused more 'chaos'.

Meanwhile, Liz Saville Roberts, who leads Plaid Cymru at Westminster, said Sir Keir was living in fantasy land.

Sir Keir Starmer's speech saw Labour 'reclaiming' the Union flag, Rachel Reeves has said.

Asked about the flags being waved by the audience in the conference hall, the Chancellor told a fringe event: 'What was really good about today was we were sort of reclaiming it for our values.

'I'm really proud of our country, I think this is, honestly, the best country in the world.

'I love this country, but we should be proud of the flag, it does represent our country.'

She added: 'I don't want that flag to be sort of co-opted by the far right.'