Keir Starmer is likely to spend much of today preparing for the online summit of European leaders who might be part of the “coalition of the willing” prepared to help contribute to Ukraine’s defence in the event of a peace deal. However, Russia’s response to the US/Ukraine ceasefire plan has not been promising. Meanwhile, domestically, the PM faces challenges as the economy shrank in January and the government plans to cut sickness and disability benefits by a reported £6bn. A remarkable story for Bloomberg reported that more than half of the cabinet ministers urged Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, to rethink these plans. Despite this, Reeves remains tough on the welfare reform agenda.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/mar/14/rachel-reeves-welfare-disability-cuts-labour-keir-starmer-uk-politics-live-news