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Three more Reform UK councillors expelled from party over ‘dishonest’ behaviour
Three more members of Reform’s “flagship” council have been expelled for “dishonest and deceptive behaviour” following a leaked video meeting, PA Media reports. PA says:
Reform UK took control of Kent county council (KCC) after winning 57 of the 81 seats at the local elections in May, overturning a 30-year Tory majority.
Due to the number of suspensions and removals since May, there are now less than 50 Reform councillors sitting at KCC.
After footage of an online meeting where KCC leader Linden Kemkaran was seen shouting and swearing at her members was revealed by the Guardian, four councillors were suspended.
Three of those councillors: Bill Barrett, Oliver Bradshaw and Paul Thomas, along with another councillor, Brian Black, have now been kicked out of Reform UK following investigations.
A Reform spokesperson said: “At the request of the leader of Kent County Council, Cllr Black and Cllr Thomas were invited to meet with officials from Reform HQ in order to find a way forward for all involved.
“Following this meeting, a decision has been made to expel Cllr Black, Cllr Thomas and Cllr Bradshaw from the party after they displayed a lack of integrity.
“These individuals have shown a pattern of dishonest and deceptive behaviour which the party will not tolerate from its elected officials.”
Last week, Barrett and another councillor, Robert Ford, were kicked out by email from Reform HQ which said they had “undermined” the interests of the party and brought it into “disrepute”.
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OBR productivity downgrade to create £20bn hole in budget, more than expected, reports say
The budget is just over four weeks away, and already the papers have been awash with speculation about what Rachel Reeves, but some stories are probably better sourced than others. When the BBC and the Financial Times start leading with the same scoop, it is wise to take it seriously.
That is why there is a lot of interest in the news that Reeves faces a bigger-than-expected hit to the public finances of around £20bn, because of poor productivity in the UK economy.
As Graeme Wearden reports,
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the government’s official forecaster, is expected to cut its trend productivity growth prediction by 0.3 percentage points, the Financial Times reported. It is expected to deliver its forecasts to Rachel Reeves on Friday, and they will be published on budget day on 26 November.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank has said that each 0.1 percentage point downgrade to productivity would increase public sector net borrowing by £7bn in 2029-30, so a 0.3 point reduction could create a £21bn hit.
Analysts have been expecting a smaller downgrade to productivity that would result in a £7bn to £14bn fiscal hit under the IFS calculation.
Graeme has more on his business live blog.
FT splash Photograph: FTShare
Minister defends plan to house asylum seekers in military sites even if it costs more
Good morning. The Home Office confirmed last night that it wants to use two barracks, in Scotland and southern England, to house around 900 male asylum seekers. The two sites are Cameron Barracks in Inverness and Crowborough Training Camp in East Sussex and ministers want the men to start moving in from the end of next month. Kevin Rawlinson has more details here.
In some respects, this announcement can be added to the list of government U-turns; only last summer the government was saying it wanted to end the use of military sites for asylum seekers.
This morning Luke Pollard, a defence minister, has been on the airwaves. He confirmed that Cameron Barracks in Inverness and Crowborough Training Camp were being lined up as accommodation for asylum seekers and he told the BBC that this was about seeing if this approach works.
Some bases are small, some bases are larger in terms of numbers, but I think the conversation around the bases that are in the news today is about proving this concept, is about seeing whether this works. We believe that these bases can provide adequate accommodation for asylum seekers.
Yesterday the Commons home affairs committee warned that housing asylum seekers in barracks, not hotels, could end up being more expensive. Pollard suggested that this would be worth it given the extent of public opposition to asylum seekers being housed in hotels.
We’re looking at what’s possible and, in some cases, those bases may be a different cost to hotels, but I think we need to reflect the public mood on this asylum hotels need to close.
We are likely to hear more on this from Keir Starmer, who is doing a visit this morning where he will be speaking to the media.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is still in Saudi Arabia, where she is speaking at an investment conference.
Morning: Keir Starmer is on a visit in the north-west of England, linked to the deal he signed yesterday to sell Typhoon jets to Turkey.
11am: The Reform MP Danny Kruger holds a press conference to announce plans to cut spending on the civil service.
11.30am: Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
Noon: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
2.45pm: Starmer chairs cabinet.
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Updated at 05.53 EDT
