Jack Maidment
@jrmaidment
Politics Live Blog Editor, The Telegraph. Power level over 9000.
Macron walks directly towards Trump, swerves at the last second to greet Angela Merkel first instead. Spectacular.
À Bruxelles, unis avec nos alliés de @NATO.
One of the most jaw-dropping tariffs from Trump: 41% on the Falkland Islands (despite UK getting 10%). The reason appears to be the trade imbalance: US exported $4.1m of goods to the islands in 2024 but imported $22.8m. Tiny amount of trade for US, less so for the islands...
Reform UK now has its first member of the Welsh Parliament as Tory Laura Anne Jones announces her defection. x.com/reformparty_uk…
Welcome to Reform UK, Laura Anne Jones MS! 🏴
New: Sir Keir Starmer's watered down welfare reforms will still push an additional 150,000 people into poverty, according to the Govt's own modelling. Original plans put the number at 250,000 but after PM's concession it has been reduced by 100,000.
A new disability benefits claimant could be £6,500 worse off than an existing claimant with the exact same condition and needs under Sir Keir Starmer's welfare changes. Existing claimants will be protected. New claimants will be squeezed. IFS explains:
Wow. Tory MP Mark Pritchard openly criticises Kemi Badenoch after she attacked Starmer for missing PMQs to attend Nato/G7. Pritchard says partisan politics should be kept out of national security issues. “Who knows, I may get the whip withdrawn for saying that but so be it..."
Donald Trump on Nato's new 5% defence spending target: "They said 'you did it, sir, you did it'. Well, I don't know if I did it. But I think I did."
YouGov poll suggests Reform is on track to win 2 of the 4 mayoral elections on May 1. Andrea Jenkyns has a 15 point lead in Greater Lincolnshire. Luke Campbell has a 14 point lead in Hull and East Yorkshire. Would be huge for Farage and co. x.com/YouGov/status/…
Greater Lincolnshire mayoral voting intention (9-23 April) - Andrea Jenkyns has 15pt lead Andrea Jenkyns (Ref): 40% Rob Waltham (Con): 25% Jason Stockwood (Lab): 15% Sally Horscroft (Grn): 8% Marianne Overton (Ind): 7% Trevor Young (LD): 5%
Emergency legislation being voted on tomorrow will allow the Government to take control of British Steel and keep it running. But Downing Street leaving a question mark over the long term future of British Steel, insisting "all options remain on the table".
Sir Lindsay Hoyle has written to MPs to tell them Parliament is being recalled at 11am tomorrow. He said the “Government has requested a recall of the House to take forward legislative proposals to ensure the continued operation of British Steel blast furnaces is safeguarded”.
Ministers will consult British businesses over the next 4 weeks on how the UK could impose retaliatory trade tariffs on the US, Jonathan Reynolds announces. A draft list of US products which could be targeted will be published today. But JR stressed preference is to do a deal.