Politics LIVE: 'Britons have heard her disregard FIVE MILLION small businesses owners!' Angela Rayner blasted over Budget plans

Liberal Democrats call for 'NHS winter taskforce'

Daisy Cooper, the party's deputy leader, called for a taskforce to support the health service, and says care workers are key to getting more people discharged on time from hospital.

Rayner responded, stressing the importance of care workers, and says the government is launching a fair pay review and says Labour will launch a National Care Service to support carers.

Dowden thanks Rayner after 'battle of the gingers'

Dowden pointed out that today's session will be his last exchange with Rayner across the despatch box. He asked Rayner to join him in paying tribute to the King ahead of the Commonwealth summit in Samoa.

The Deputy Prime Minister agreed that she will miss their exchanges, calling it a "battle of the gingers". She added the King and late Queen have done a "tremendous job."

Dowden asked whether Rayner can ensure that the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Samoa will deepen economic ties with friends and allies. Rayner responded saying that the Labour government was elected to end the Tory chaos - and that’s exactly what she is doing.

Rayner and Dowden clash over IFS figures

Dowden said: "I think the whole House will have heard the Deputy Prime Minister disregard five million hard-working small business owners. These are the publicans, the shopkeepers, the family running a local cafe, none of those count as working people to her.

“Now, Labour gave a clear commitment not to raise national insurance. The independent IFS (Institute for Fiscal Studies) have given their view on this, they say that raising employer national insurance is a tax on working people, even the Chancellor said that raising employer national insurance was a jobs tax that will make each new recruit more expensive and increase the cost to business.

“So does she agree with the IFS and her own Chancellor?

Rayner replied: "I remember the party opposite, what they said to business, what was it, ‘f’ to business? Whereas this party held an… international investment summit last week...We’re pro-business, pro-worker, and getting on with fixing the mess that they left behind."

Rayner grilled by Dowden over tax rises

Shadow deputy prime minister Sir Oliver Dowden asked Angela Rayner: “The Deputy Prime Minister stood on a manifesto promising not to raise taxes on working people. It now appears she can’t even define who working people are, so I’ll give her another go.

“There are five million small business owners in this country. Are they working people?”

Rayner replied: “I don’t know how the shadow deputy prime minister can stand there with a straight face when it was the small businesses that working people of this country, that paid the price for them (the Conservatives) crashing the economy, sending interest rates soaring.

“I think he needs to learn his own lessons in opposition.”

Angela Rayner pressed over possible national insurance hike

Dowden asks if Rayner agrees that that working people will pay when employers pass on the hike in national insurance.

He said: "These are her words, so does she at least agree with herself?"

The Deputy PM responded saying the new employment bill will raise the living standards of 10 million workers, and asks if Dowden will apologise for the Conservatives' "hike" in taxes, crashing the economy and the "disaster" she says they left behind.

DPMQ's opens with tribute to Sir Chris Hoy

Angela Rayner paid tribute to Sir Chris Hoy following his terminal cancer diagnosis, and sent condolences to those involved in the train crash in Wales which left one dead and 15 injured.

The Deputy Prime Minister told the Commons: "I know the whole House will join me in sending our best wishes to Sir Chris Hoy and his wife Sarra.

"He is a true sporting legend and the courage and positivity they have shown will inspire many others. I also send our condolences to those affected by the train crash in Powys."

Rayner defends Employment Rights Bill - 'biggest upgrade to workers' rights'

Angela Rayner has said the Government is delivering the "biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation" with the new Employment Rights Bill.

Asked by Labour MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme Adam Jogee how the Bill would help people in his constituency, the Deputy Prime Minister said: "When this Government took office we promised the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, a new deal for working people.

"We said that we would introduce a Bill in the first 100 days and we’ve kept that promise. This is a Labour Government led by working people for working people."

Lord Alli found to have committed minor breaches over register of interests

Labour peer Lord Alli has been found to have committed four minor breaches in his register of interests.

A House of Lords commissioner for standards investigation recommended he write a letter of apology for the breaches.

“While I consider each individual breach of the Code to be minor, I have found there to be four breaches in total, and have therefore recommended that Lord Alli write a letter of apology to the Chair of the Conduct Committee, Baroness Manningham-Buller,” the report said.

Greens demand ‘mansion tax’ in exchange for budget support

The Scottish Greens have urged ministers to bring in a so-called "mansion tax" if the party is to support its budget. The Scottish Government will likely face a difficult time trying to pass its budget in a polarised Parliament, though needs just three more votes to pass legislation.

In recent years, first as an informal partner and then as a coalition member, the Greens have helped the Government pass its tax and spending plans, but the collapse of the Bute House Agreement earlier this year has strained the relationship between the two parties.

The Greens have now called for a shift in land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT) – Scotland’s equivalent of stamp duty, which is levied against the sale of properties. The change would institute an extra band, set at 15 per cent, which would cover home sales worth £1 million or more.

Another change would see the 12 per cent rate – the current highest – impact sales worth £650,000 rather than the current £750,000. The Greens said such an increase in tax could be used to fund action on child poverty, First Minister John Swinney’s key priority, and climate change.

WATCH: Steve Reed clashes with Ellie Costello over water company freebies

The Environment Secretary has rejected that free football tickets he received had any significant link to a failing water company.

Steve Reed was asked about accepting tickets from Hutchison 3G UK, which shares a parent company with Northumbrian Water. He said he was not aware that the company he accepted tickets from had any link to a UK water firm.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Home Secretary to complete review into accountability of firearms officers

Yvette Cooper will revive and complete a probe into how firearms police officers who take fatal shots in the line of duty are held to account.

The Home Secretary is expected to make a Commons statement on the review into the accountability of firearms officers, days after police marksman Martyn Blake, 40, was cleared of the murder of Chris Kaba.

Suella Braverman pledged to review the ways that firearms officers who take fatal shots are held accountable when she was home secretary in 2023.

Plans to give swifter decisions to suspended officers and more clarity to victims were among the changes touted by the previous government. Tory ministers also considered raising the threshold for referring firearms officers for prosecution.

Liberal Democrats SLAM Ofwat for water company failings - 'a busted flush!'

Lib Dem deputy leader and St Albans MP Daisy Cooper said: "We think that Ofwat is a busted flush, it needs to be replaced with a regulator that has teeth. We want to see an end to bonuses being paid until sewage dumping stops and we want the companies to be reformed as well."

Asked how their proposals would keep and attract shareholders to the industry, she said: “We think it would be the wrong thing to do to nationalise these companies – it would take a long time and cost a huge amount of money for the taxpayer, which would not be acceptable.

"But if you transform them into public benefit companies, they continue to make profit, but they are required in law to meet their environmental principles before they can make profit, and that would enforce these companies to continue to be able to attract private investment, to keep their shareholders happy, but not at the expense of our environment or billpayers."

Rayner vs Dowden at DPMQ's later today

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner will go head to head with her opposite number, Oliver Dowden at Deputy Prime Minister's Questions this afternoon.

It is the first time Rayner has held DPMQ’s since Labour came to power, with Sir Keir Starmer attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa.

The Conservatives will most likely to press Rayner about the government's flagship workers' rights law after its own impact assessment suggested it could cost businesses up to £5billion a year.

Starmer insists Trump relationship not in jeopardy amid interference claims

Donald Trump''s website has announced an official complaint has been filed with US federal election officials, claiming the Labour Party had "made, and the Harris campaign has accepted, illegal foreign national contributions".

The complaint follows reports of senior Labour officials meeting with Kamala Harris’ campaign, and Labour Party staffers volunteering on the ground for her campaign.

Asked if it was a mistake for senior staffers to have met with the Harris campaign, Starmer insisted any members of his party were in the US on an entirely voluntary basis, similar to in previous elections.

He said: "That’s what they’ve done in previous elections, is what they’re doing in this election. And that’s really straightforward."