Minister defends Liz Kendall’s handling of welfare reform brief despite major rebellion before vote – UK politics live

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Patel criticises government for failing to support US strikes on Iran

Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel has criticised the government for being reluctant to give public support to US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

In an appearance on GB News, she told viewers “the British government did not even come out to give a view, to give a view as to whether or not they supported American strikes on that Iranian nuclear facility. And that is not right. It is wrong. The British people need to know that.”

Patel also claimed that the actions of Iran “are affecting us every single day in this country,” saying:

We have Iranian spies in our country. Iranian dissidents in our country. They’ve been active, and they’ve been undermining our national interests.

Yes, it is about the nuclear facilities in Iran. They must never have a nuclear weapon. Yes, it is about their ballistic missiles. Obviously, they’ve been stockpiling them. They’ve been hurting European countries on European soil, such as Ukraine, and they’ve been operating in our country.

That’s why we need a government that is going to invest in our defence and security and actually make sure that we are kept safe. Yes, abroad, when it comes to our bases and British nationals abroad, but also here in this country.

Yesterday several ministers declined to say whether they thought the US strikes were legal, with former foreign secretary James Cleverly describing current foreign secretary David Lammy’s interview on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme as ““excruitiating”.

In 2017 Patel was forced to resign from Theresa May’s government after it emerged she had been holding about 14 unofficial meetings with Israeli ministers, businesspeople and a senior lobbyist.

The UK government earlier cautiously welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire betweeen Israel and Iran. Speaking on BBC radio, senior minister Pat McFadden said:

We are living in a very unpredictable world. If this ceasefire holds, I think everyone will welcome that. But I think given the exchange of missiles in various directions over the last ten days or so, people will welcome it with caution, because it is a fragile situation.

In a separate appearance on BBC Breakfast, McFadden said:

A number of people have been killed overnight in missile strikes, but I think the whole world will hope that the ceasefire will hold and that Iran will come forward with a credible plan that shows that it will not pursue the development of a nuclear weapon.

Yesterday an RAF flight evacuated “vulnerable” British nationals from Israel. Downing Street said “around 1,000” people had requested a seat on an evacuation flight – a quarter of the 4,000 who had registered their presence in Israel or Palestine with the Foreign Office.

UK government minister: 'not starting from zero' with increased spending on defence

A senior minister in the UK government has said the country is “not starting from zero” when it comes to raising defence spending to 5% of GDP.

Speaking on the BBC, Pat McFadden said one of the earliest actions of his party, which came to power of 2024, was to increase defence expenditure to 2.5% of GDP over the next couple of years.

“It was not an easy decision,” he said, “but we said how we would pay for that, and similarly, as we increase beyond that over the next decade, in future spending reviews, will set out how it will be paid for.”

McFadden was keen to stress that the 5% figure of GDP was not just what he called “an out of date concept of defence and national security” that saw it “purely as the budget for the armed forces.”

He told listeners “Critical as that budget is and those capabilities are, you have to look after your broader security. Our cyber systems, for example, are under attack every day, sometimes by state actors, sometimes by non-state actors.

“That is why things like your telecoms infrastructure and other things that help to make our society work are a really important part of our security.”

He criticised the previous UK government, saying that under Rishi Sunak the Conservative party had a spending target of 2.5% but “no credible plan to reach it.”

McFadden defends Liz Kendall's handling of welfare reform brief

Chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden has praised Liz Kendall’s handling of her government brief amid a rebellion by Labour MPs over welfare reform plans.

Asked on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme how long she could stay in her job if she could not convince Labour MPs to vote alongside the government, McFadden said “Liz Kendall is doing an excellent job.”

He continued:

She has been central to the development of these reforms.

She has argued for them, not as a difficult choice, but as the right choice, because she believes in a welfare state that should be there for people.

Because she’s not comfortable about 1,000 people a day signing on for Pip and us just watching that number grow.

And because she’s absolutely passionate about getting more help and support to long term sick and disabled people who could work if they had that extra help and support, and right now, under the unreformed system, they don’t have that.

McFadden: welfare bill vote will go ahead as planned despite rebellion

Chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden has defended the government’s handling of a rebellion by Labour MPs over welfare reform changes, and said the vote of the bill will go ahead as planned next week.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, McFadden said “We will see the vote next week. We will keep talking to people between now and the vote, but there is no escaping the need for reform of the welfare system.”

He said the UK faced “a decade which is set to see the number of people on long term sickness and disability benefits double,” claiming that “1,000 people a day go on to Pip” which he said was the equivalent of “a city the size of, for example, Leicester” every year. He said:

We are an outlier in terms of the proportion of people in work in the UK compared to other countries, when you look back at what it was before Covid.

And so the set of reforms that we brought forward are aimed at ensuring the welfare state is there for people who need it.

It should always be there for people who need it in the future, but also making sure that, as the party of labour, as the party of work, we have support in place for that proportion of people on long term sickness and disability benefits who could work if they were given support.

On the rebel MPs, McFadden said “Of course, we’ll engage with people … we’ll always have a dialogue with people … you know, welfare reform is not an easy issue, and to govern is sometimes to have to grasp issues that aren’t easy.”

Welcome and opening summary …

Welcome to the Guardian’s rolling coverage of UK politics. Here are the headlines …

• Labour MPs have launched a significant rebellion against the government’s ​benefit cuts with an amendment that could kill its ​welfare bill, spearheaded by senior select committee chairs. The amendment has been signed by 108 MPs

• Britain will commit to spending 5% of its GDP on defence by 2035. The UK’s pledge aligns with Nato’s new spending targets – but at a slower pace than key allies including Poland. Britain pushed for and secured a later date

• The UK has welcomed news of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said it was “good news, if the ceasefire holds”

It is cabinet this morning, and then the prime minister Keir Starmer is expected to travel to The Hague for a Nato leaders’ summit. Angela Rayner and Liz Kendall are expected to visit a construction site in London this afternoon.

It is Martin Belam with you today. You can get in touch with me at [email protected] if you spot typos, errors or omissions.