Politics LIVE: Rachel Reeves ‘creates Generation Jobless’ as unemployment soars

Sir Keir Starmer has hinted the two-child benefit cap could be lifted, saying the Government would be taking “a number of measures” to “drive child poverty down”.

The Prime Minister’s comments follow Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ signal that she was open to scrapping the limit in her November 26 Budget.

Sir Keir told ITV’s Lorraine programme: “I can tell you in no uncertain terms I’m determined to drive child poverty down.

“It is what the last Labour government did, and it’s one of the things we were proudest of.

“I am personally determined that is what we are going to do.

“You won’t have to wait much longer to see what the measures are.

“Some of them are already in place: the free school meals, the breakfast clubs, free childcare are all part of it.

“But look, we need to do more than that and I can look you in the eye and tell you I am personally committed to driving down child poverty.”

Justice Secretary David Lammy will face questions from MPs this afternoon as pressure mounts over prisoners freed in error.

His appearance in the Commons comes after an Algerian sex offender and a fraudster from HMP Wandsworth were accidentally freed, sparking a double manhunt, and after the mistaken release of Hadush Kebatu, whose arrest sparked the asylum hotel protests in Epping.

Mr Lammy admitted on Friday there is a “mountain to climb” to tackle the crisis in the prisons system.

Local government minister Alison McGovern insisted that the UK should not have a “national meltdown” about the BBC.

She told Times Radio: “I think we need to make sure that the BBC, one of our most trusted media organisations, invests in quality journalism and tells the stories that we all want to hear.”

Ms McGovern declined to be drawn on whether she thought Donald Trump should be able to sue the BBC over the editing of the Panorama documentary, saying the US president “can say what he wants, and he will do”.

Outgoing BBC director-general Tim Davie will address staff this morning a day after US president Donald Trump threatened legal action if the corporation does not retract “false” and “defamatory” statements made about him in a documentary.

Mr Davie, who announced his resignation on Sunday after five years in the post, will do a video call where staff will also be able to ask him questions.

Later today, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is expected to make a statement in the Commons on the issues facing the BBC.

She is expected to speak about the corporation’s leadership and Mr Trump’s legal threat, which he plans to issue under Florida law.

Some traders think interest rates could fall in the wake of the unemployment figures.

The FTSE 100 opened sharply higher and the value of the pound fell as traders bet that the data would strengthen the case for the Bank of England to cut interest rates next month.

Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said: “Today’s data strengthens the Bank of England’s case to resume cutting interest rates next month, as moderating wage pressures and a softening labour market are expected to bring wage growth closer to levels consistent with the inflation target by the end of the year.”

The BBC should “grovel” to Donald Trump after the US president threatened legal action in a row over the editing of a speech he made.

Shadow culture secretary Nigel Huddleston also suggested Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer should call Mr Trump.

told Times Radio: “If you look at the complaint he’s got, the TV programme, the Panorama programme, he probably has legitimate claims to say, look, this was wrong and definitely requires and demands an apology.

“So I would advise the BBC to grovel here. They need to make sure that they communicate very clearly that they got this wrong and that they apologise.

“And then I think probably we need to all appeal to Donald Trump to make it clear that it’s licence payers, it’s taxpayers that would suffer then because of the bad and poor decisions made by a bunch of left wing journalists and anti-Trump journalists and make it clear that they should be the ones held to account.

“And please don’t penalise the rest of the British public. And Donald Trump does like the UK. He likes Britons. And I hope that that expression would work. So hopefully Keir Starmer can do some calling here as well.”

As unemployment soars to 5%, the Shadow Chancellor posts on X: “How can Labour keep claiming to be on the side of working people when on their watch there are fewer of them?”

Martin Beck, chief economist at WPI Strategy, said: “Signs of renewed weakness in the UK labour market suggest the real economy is starting to feel the chill of Budget tax uncertainty.

“With pay growth slowing further, the data strengthen the case for the Bank of England to cut interest rates next month.”

He warned that the “prospect of new tax rises in the upcoming Budget poses further risks to employment, particularly if the Chancellor again looks to raise taxes on businesses”.

He added: “But this time, Rachel Reeves is more likely to target earners rather than employers.

“While the combination of higher taxes and softer wage growth could weigh on household spending, the prospect of falling inflation and the growing likelihood of a December rate cut, with more cuts to follow in 2026, should help cushion the jobs market and the economy.”

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: “Over 329,000 more people have moved into work this year already, but today’s figures are exactly why we’re stepping up our plan to get Britain working.

“We’ve introduced the most ambitious employment reforms in a generation to modernise Jobcentres, expand youth hubs and tackle ill-health through stronger partnerships with employers.

“And this week we’re going further by launching an independent investigation that will bolster our drive to ensure all young people are earning or learning.

“We’re backing businesses to grow and create jobs by cutting red tape, signing trade deals and securing hundreds of billions in investment, which helped make the UK the fastest growing economy in the G7 in the first half of this year.”

The Liberal Democrats called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to U-turn on her national insurance hike for employers.

The party’s Treasury Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: “Surely the writing is on the wall now for the Chancellor’s jobs tax.

“Everyone except Rachel Reeves seems to have woken up to the fact that forcing small businesses to pay more in tax for giving people jobs would damage job opportunities. Now the proof is staring her in the face.

“The Government must reverse their damaging national insurance hike at the Budget, and commit to saving the small businesses who employ millions in Britain and are at risk of collapse, if they’re to have any hope of reversing today’s concerning trend.”

The Conservatives hit out at Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s “bad choices” after the latest unemployment figures.

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately said: “Under this Labour Government, we have now experienced 13 consecutive months of rising unemployment.

“That’s thousands of families without the security of a regular pay packet thanks to the Chancellor’s bad choices; hiking up taxes on jobs, piling red tape on businesses, and destroying confidence in the economy.

“And because the Government doesn’t have the backbone to take tough decisions, these same families now face even more punishing tax rises, despite the Chancellor’s promise that they’d never come.

“Their high-tax, anti-business policies are driving opportunity out of Britain and making life harder for families and those searching for work. And with an impending Budget of further tax rises, the situation is only going to get worse.

“Only the Conservatives have the team and the plan to unleash businesses, grow the economy, cut waste, and get Britain working again.”

Britain’s jobless rate has surged to its highest level for more than four-and-a-half years, according to official figures.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a worse-than-expected rise in the rate of unemployment, to 5% in the three months to September, up from 4.8% in the three months to August and the highest level since early 2021.

Meanwhile, wage growth also slowed to the lowest since April 2022.

It fell to 4.6% in the three months to September, down from 4.7% in the previous three months, and was 0.8% higher after taking Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation into account.

Meanwhile, the number of workers on UK payrolls dropped by 32,000 during October to 30.3 million, following a 32,000 dip the previous month.