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.
Key events
Speaking in parliament, Pat McFadden has outlined the three core elements of the national security strategy. He says:
First, protect security at home, and we will do that by defending our territory, controlling our borders and making the UK a harder target for our enemies, one that is stronger and more resilient to future threats.
Secondly, promote strength abroad. This means bolstering our collective security, renewing and refreshing our key alliances, and developing new partnerships in strategic locations across the world. It also means a clear eyed view of how we engage with major powers like China.
And thirdly, increase our sovereign and asymmetric capabilities, rebuilding our defence industries, training our people, focusing investment on our competitive strengths, and using our exceptional research and innovation base to build up advantages in new frontier technologies.
Pat McFadden’s statement concerns national security and defence. He opens by saying the prime minister is heading to the Nato summit where he “is expected to agree a new commitment to grow spending on national security to 5% of GDP by 2035.”
McFadden says the money contains “a projected split of 3.5% on core defence spending and 1.5% on broader resilience and security spending.”
He continues by saying:
Nato’s member countries meet at a time when the security situation is more in flux than at any time in a generation, a time when Ukraine is in its fourth year of resisting Russia’s invasion, a time when we in Europe are being asked to do more secure our defence, a time when security can no longer be thought of just as the traditional realms of air, sea and land, but also of technology, of cyber, of the strength of our democratic society.
Nick Timothy, MP for West Suffolk, and former aide to Theresa May, has tried to put foreign secretary David Lammy on the spot again about the UK government’s line on US strikes inside Iran.
Timothy asked Lammy “What does it say to Britain’s allies – and to our enemies – that neither the foreign secretary, nor the prime minister, can bring themselves to say that the strikes against Iran were right and cannot say that they were legal.”
Lammy defended his relationship across the Atlantic, saying “I have spoken to Secretary [of state] Rubio every single week that I’ve been in office. The prime minister and the president of the US have the best of relationships. That’s the signal of how well our special relationship is working.”
FCDO questions are over. Pat McFadden will be making a statement now.
Adrian Ramsay has praised Labour MPs who are rebelling against their party’s welfare reform proposals in a social media.
The co-leader of the Green party of England and Wales wrote “I’ve said before that it’s cruel for the government to try to balance the books on the backs of the most vulnerable. These Labour MPs are standing up and doing the right thing. MPs need to hold firm to get the government to change course.”
Foreign secretary David Lammy and shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel have had an exchange over the dispatch box about the conflict in the Middle East, and she specifically questioned him over the government’s plans for evacuations of British nationals in Israel.
Patel asked Lammy “Given the clear threat Iran poses to the UK, our allies and to the Middle East, does the foreign secretary support the actions undertaken by the US to degrade Iran’s nuclear weapons? And he will also have heard that President Trump has said that Iran’s nuclear capabilities are gone. Does he welcome this?”
Lammy side-stepped offering direct support for the strikes, saying “It was important to be alongside secretary of state Rubio last week in DC. We continue to work closely with president Trump, and the prime minister spoke to him just two days ago. And of course, the initial assessments of those attacks in Iran are coming in, and we will assess that in due course.”
Patel followed up by saying “given the situation that has emerged in the Middle East and the fact that deescalation has not taken place in recent hours, can the foreign secretary outline what is now effectively going to be quite an urgent situation in terms of measures that he’s overseeing to bring back 4,000 British nationals now stranded in Israel?”
The foreign secretary replied “we will do all we can to work with the Israeli government to open airspace and to continue flights. We have a ceasefire – I have seen, of course, that that ceasefire has been violated – and I urge all partners to keep to that cease fire so airspace can open up and commercial flights can resume.”
Second British evacuation flight from Israel confirmed by minister
Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer has confirmed that a second British evacuation flight will leave Israel today.
He told the Commons the first RAF flight took place on Monday “and I can confirm to the House now that we will fly another today”.
He told MPs: “We are providing support and advice to more than 1,000 British nationals as they seek to leave the region by land and air. We have deployed teams to Israel, Cyprus, Egypt and Jordan. Our embassy in Tehran has been temporarily withdrawn but continues to provide support for British nationals in Iran remotely.”
Prime minister Keir Starmer has said that Iran and Israel must “get back” to a ceasefire state. As he travelled to the Nato summit in the Netherlands, PA Media reports he told the media:
I want the ceasefire to continue, and therefore, obviously, the sooner we get back to that the better, and that’s the message that I’m discussing with other leaders today. We’ve got a ceasefire. We need to get back to that ceasefire, which is consistent with what I’ve been saying about de-escalation for quite some time now.
Faiza Shaheen from the LSE has written for the Guardian opinion desk today, arguing that the so-called “Britannia card” policy announced by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK vehicle yesterday “promises to enrich the poor, [and] simultaneously offers a subtle tax break to the wealthiest”. You can read her argument here.
Colum Eastwood, who is SDLP MP for Foyle, has posted to social media to say he has added his name to the Reasoned Amendment to wreck Labour’s welfare bill. He said:
I’ve co-signed the Reasoned Amendment to decline a second reading to the Welfare and Pip Bill alongside more than 100 other MPs. The bill is a cruel and unconscionable attack on vulnerable people. We’ve tried to raise concerns, including directly with the prime minister. These plans are worse than the Tory welfare system. It will have a devastating impact on communities like Derry where we have 17,000 people on Pip because they need additional support to manage their disabilities. We have to do everything we can to fight these brutal cuts.
Former transport secretary Louise Haigh has also posted a message about the amendment this morning, saying:
Disabled people have not been consulted and we have not given enough time for the government’s reforms on employment support to work. In the middle of a cost of living crisis, we cannot risk a rushed Bill taking money off disabled people.
We are expecting two ministerial statements in the Commons today. At 12.30 there will be a statement from chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden on national security strategy. At 1.30 we will hear from foreign secretary David Lammy on the China audit. Prior to that it is questions for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development affairs ministers.
Senior Conservatives this morning have been backing a campaign by Neil O’Brien, MP for Harborough, Oadby & Wigston, to ban phones in secondary schools.
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch shared a video he had posted on social media, saying “Every teacher and pupil I meet says the same: ban smartphones in classrooms. They’re disruptive, harm mental health, and damage learning. Keir Starmer says it’s not needed yet only one in ten secondary schools are phone-free. This is so important.”
Every teacher and pupil I meet says the same: ban smartphones in classrooms.
They’re disruptive, harm mental health, and damage learning.
Keir Starmer says it’s not needed yet only 1 in 10 secondary schools are phone-free. This is so important.
Please give this a watch. https://t.co/HgubVqcCF7
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) June 24, 2025
Tom Tugendhat, who was a party leadership contender last year, has also backed the campaign today.