Ed Miliband accused of ‘impoverishing Britain’ as Reform vows to slash £200 from energy bills

Reform launches competition to pay energy bills for a year

Reform UK has launched a competition that will see the party pay voters’ energy bills for a year.

Robert Jenrick, the party’s Treasury spokesman, said the public could sign up to the competition at a website where Reform had also set out its plans to cut energy bills.

He told a press conference: “If you give us your details on that website, in the next week or two, we’re going to draw one of those names, and Nigel [Farage] is going to come to your house and he’s going to pay your energy bills and those of everyone who lives on your street for an entire year.

“So if that sounds good, then go to our website, enter our draw, spread the word, pass it to your friends and your neighbours and your colleagues on Facebook, on Twitter, and know this today.

“Reform can only cut the energy bills of one street in this country, but a Reform government will cut the energy bills of every single street in every part of our country.”

WATCH: Shadow Transport Minister Greg Smith says UK roads are ‘like the surface of the moon’

Keir Starmer outlasts Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister

As of today, Sir Keir Starmer has officially outlasted Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister.

Sir Keir has been Prime Minister for one year and 255 days, making him the 44th longest serving Prime Minister, behind Sir Anthony Eden on one year and 279 days.

Wes Streeting will address Meningitis outbreak in Commons later today

The Health Secretary Wes Streeting will give a statement in the House of Commons at around 12.30pm on the meningitis outbreak in Kent.

Hundreds of people who visited Club Chemistry in Canterbury on March 5, 6 or 7 were told to come forward for preventative antibiotic treatment as a “precautionary measure”.

The UKHSA said on Monday evening that it was continuing to investigate the outbreak of meningitis, with 13 cases notified since March 13, including two deaths.

A Year 13 pupil in Faversham named locally as Juliette Kenny and a student at the University of Kent have died in the outbreak, with others treated in hospital. It is understood some people were put in an induced coma.

Louise Jones-Roberts, the owner of Club Chemistry, told reporters that more than 2,000 people would have visited the venue over the three dates.

Nigel Farage has said Britain has been ‘humiliated’ on the world stage

Nigel Farage has said Britain has been “humiliated” on the world stage following Labour’s response to the war in Iran.

The Reform leader said: “When it comes to aiding the Americans in freeing the Strait of Hormuz in many ways we ought to. It is in our national interest to keep the oil flowing.

“But we can’t, we haven’t got the assets.

“The first lesson is we have denuded the Royal Navy and our forces to such an extent that, frankly, we have been humiliated on the world stage.”

Richard Tice says it is Britain’s ‘patriotic duty’ to use Britain’s ‘energy treasure offshore and onshore’

Reform’s former leader and Business spokesman Richard Tice is up now.

The Boston and Skegness MP said: “It is our patriotic duty to use our own energy treasure offshore and onshore for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren.

“The only person who still thinks it is a good idea to go down the route of not exploring our own energy is Red Ed Miliband.”

Reform UK pledges to scrap VAT and green levies

Reform UK has vowed to scrap VAT and green levies on household energy bills.

The party’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said this would save the average household “at least £200 off their energy bill”, as he announced the policy at a central London press conference.

Scrapping the five per cent VAT levied on on energy bills would cut a family’s energy bill by around £85 a year, while axing the renewables obligation and carbon price support tax would save another £115, Reform claimed.

The measures would be funded by a 7.5 per cent reduction in the budgets of unprotected arm’s length bodies, known as quangos, which Reform said would save £2.5billion per year in 2029/30.

Robert Jenrick confirms first Reform budget would scrap VAT on domestic energy bills

Reform’s treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said: “We have got to make sure we put as much pressure on this failing government now.

“A Reform Government can fix this, can bring down your bills, can bring back good jobs to this country and can set us on a better path for the future.

“We will get rid of the heating tax, VAT on domestic energy bills will be gone.”

Robert Jenrick says ‘enough is enough’ as he outlines energy bills plan

Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick is up for the latest press conference from the party.

The Newark MP said; “It’s frankly outrageous that we live in a country where people are finding life so tough and yet Rachel Reeves is continuing to load people’s energy bills with taxes.

“Enough is enough. People are sick of this.”

Energy industry urges Government to help with bills amid Iran war volatility

Smoke rises from a fire, as the Israel-Iran air war continues, in Tehran, Iran | REUTERS

The Government should “immediately” step up efforts to ensure the most vulnerable households receive help with energy bills amid predictions of a £250 hike as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, the industry has said.

Energy UK said latest projections from suppliers suggested customers could face an increase of as much as £250 on their annual bill as the United States and Israel continue to bomb Iran, although it added it was too early to be sure of the impact.

Analysts at Cornwall Insight have forecast that household energy bills could rise by more than 10 per cent from July, following sharp increases in wholesale gas prices.

Its latest forecast predicts that Ofgem’s price cap for July to September will surge to £1,827 a year from the current £1,641 for a typical dual fuel household.

However, it said the final price cap figure would be based on average wholesale prices over a three-month period, meaning that it would depend on how long gas prices stayed elevated and how long the period of volatility continued.

British Medical Association staff to strike in row over pay

Staff from the British Medical Association (BMA) are to stage a two-day strike in a row over pay.

Members of the union have staged numerous strikes over recent years, including walkouts by resident doctors.

Now hundreds of staff members at the doctors’ union are to stage their own 48-hour strike over pay erosion, the GMB union said.

The walkout will take place on Friday 27 and Saturday March 28 after staff voted “overwhelmingly” in favour of strike action, GMB said.

It said that there was an 80 per cent turnout with 96 per cent in favour of strike action.

GMB said that staff at the union have “suffered pay erosion” of nearly 17 per cent since 2012 due to below-inflation pay awards.

Emily Thornberry backs plans to delay King’s state visit to the US

Dame Emily Thornberry has said she believes it would be safer to delay the King’s state visit to the US, which is reportedly scheduled for next month, because of the ongoing war in the Middle East.

The visit has yet to be officially announced but Charles and Camilla are expected to visit Washington DC and New York in April to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence.

Speaking to the BBC, Dame Emily said there was a risk Charles and Camilla may be left feeling “embarrassed” due to the current crisis.

She said: “If it was to go ahead, it would go ahead against a backdrop of a war and that, I think, is quite difficult, and the last thing that we want to do is to have their Majesties embarrassed.”

Treasury Secretary issues update on meningitis outbreak 

A Treasury minister has issued an update on the meningitis outbreak in Kent.

Dan Tomlinson told GB News: “It is of course very concerning and my heart goes out to the families and friends of the two young people who have sadly lost their lives because of this outbreak.

“At the moment there are 11 other cases. The Government is working very hard on this.

“Students in Kent and those who have been to the particular bar should be coming forward to get treatment and the antibiotics that they need.

“The Government will monitor this really closely. Any action we need to take to protect people, we will take.”

When pressed about why there was a delay in getting information out to the public, he said: “We have to be as swift as possible and it is important to get it right. We are acting quickly to make the antibiotics available.

“This will be top of the Health Secretary’s list today to make sure information and support is there for people.”

Labour minister warns Reform’s immigration plans would lead to trade war with EU

| PA

A Labour minister has warned Nigel Farage’s plans to take welfare support away from EU settled citizens under a Reform-led Government would lead to “some sort of trade war”with Brussels.

Nick Thomas-Symonds told The Independent: “Frankly, with that, we probably would end up with us in some sort of trade war with the EU. That really isn’t what we need.

“Think, as well, of the progress we’ve been making recently, working constructively with the EU on the ‘Made in Europe’ agenda, to try to make sure there’s no additional trade barriers being erected.

“Nigel Farage would put all that at risk.”

Voters split on Labour’s response to Iran war

Britons have been split on whether Sir Keir Starmer is dealing with the ongoing war in Iran.

According to the poll by YouGov, 41 per cent of voters think the prime minister has responded badly to the US and Israel’s actions against Tehran, versus 37 per cent well.

However, 59 per cent of people who voted for Labour in 2024 think the Prime Minister is handling the crisis well.

Sky News reports that only 11 per cent think the US and Israel’s actions against Iran will leave the world a safer place.

Meanwhile, 34 per cent think it will leave the world less safe, and 37 per cent think it would make not much real difference.

Conservative frontbencher says the Government ‘needs to get on’ response to Meningitis outbreak

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately has said the Government needs to get a response to the Meningitis outbreak in Kent “fast.”

The MP for Faversham and Mid Kent said: “I’m really really concerned. As a Kent MP, the school where one of the pupils has tragically died is in my constituency.

“I’m a parent with a child of my own in Year 13 and I know that year group and the students at the University socialise together in Canterbury.

“We know that this was spreading the weekend before last. It’s really important the UK Health Security Agency gets on this fast.”

Conservative frontbencher ‘really frustrated’ with Keir Starmer’s response to Iran war

A senior Conservative has said Sir Keir Starmer has shown himself at his “most indecisive worst” over his response to the war in Iran.

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately told GB News: “I’m really frustrated with Keir Starmer, our Prime Minister.

“We’ve got a very serious situation and he is showing himself at his weakest and most indecisive worst. He has just been sitting on the fence.

“Kemi Badenoch was clear, we would have allowed the US to use our military bases and we think we should be standing up and defending our own personell and assets in the Middle East.”

​Dame Esther Rantzen says peers must ‘face the facts’ over assisted dying bill

Dame Esther Rantzen has urged peers in the House of Lords to “face the facts” and back assisted dying legislation, saying a “small minority” is trying to sabotage the Bill.

Opponents of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill have been continually accused of trying to “talk out” the Bill as it makes its way through the upper chamber, where it will fail if it does not pass before the current parliamentary session ends in May.

Speaking to the BBC, Dame Esther said: “I’m just begging the House of Lords to face the facts, which is the elected chamber has voted, a majority, for this to go through.

“The majority of the public want and need this Bill.”

RECAP: Reform council to vote to declare small boats crisis ‘terrorist threat’

| PA

Kent County Council’s Reform UK administration is set to vote on declaring an “illegal migration emergency” this Thursday, in what is believed to be the first such declaration by a local authority.

The motion, tabled by councillors David Wimble and Jeremy Eustace, argues that the county sits at the frontline of Channel crossings that are placing considerable pressure on local services and finances.

A five-page report accompanying the proposal warns that small boat arrivals are “likely to contain a number of potential terrorist cells, supporting IS and al-Qaeda”.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Here’s what’s happening today in Westminster

Good Morning and Happy St Patrick’s Day from all of us on the GB News Politics team. Here’s what’s happening today in Westminster and beyond.

Sir Keir Starmer will have his weekly cabinet meeting this morning as he rallies his top team with the war in Iran rumbling on.

He’ll also be joined in Downing Street by President Volodymyr Zelensky and Nato chief Mark Rutte today to discuss the war in Ukraine and the fallout from Donald Trump’s swipe at Sir Keir last night.

President Trump has said he is “not happy” with Downing Street after the Prime Minister said he wanted a “viable” option to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

He said: “I was very surprised with the United Kingdom, because the United Kingdom, two weeks ago, I said, ‘Why don’t you send some ships over’ and he really didn’t want to do it.

“I said ‘You don’t want to do it? We’ve been with you. You’re our oldest ally and we spend a lot of money on Nato and all of these things to protect you’…I think it’s terrible. I was very surprised.”

Reform’s senior trio of Nigel Farage, Robert Jenrick and Richard Tice will be holding press conference today setting out their economic plans.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is in East Surrey with her Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho while MSPs will decide if assisted dying should be legalized in Scotland when they cast a key vote this evening

Here on GB News, we’ll be joined by Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately and Secretary to the Treasury Dan Tomlinson.