We'll improve 'botched' Brexit deal but won't return to free movement, says minister

Labour will not cross its red lines on returning to free movement or rejoining the EU during talks with Brussels, a minister has said. Following a report by The Sunday Times claiming the UK will increase the number of young people allowed to travel and work in the UK to 75,000-80,000 a year as party of a youth mobility scheme, Treasury minister, Emma Reynold, said it’s “right that we open up a conversation with the British people about what the options are” with the EU.

She insisted that although ministers will improve the “botched” Brexit deal agreed by the Tories, they will not cross their own red lines on “membership of the European Union or the customs union, the single market or free movement”. Reynolds told Sky News that any improved Brexit deal agreed ahead of the UK-EU summit this month would have to “make sure that we take the British people with us” Follow The i Paper’s live blog for the latest updates.

Healey hints manifesto pledge on young worker pay not certain before election The benefits bill ‘must come down’, says Chancellor Healey insists defence spending has risen to ‘a record amount’ Labour will stick to ‘red lines’ over EU UK ‘to raise youth mobility cap to 80,000 a year’ to unlock EU talks Sort: Newest first Oldest first November 1, 2026 11:57 am Indefinite leave to remain changes are devastating – I worry I’ll lose everything Maya Sall Freelance news reporter Kennedy Randall, 25, said it has been incredibly stressful trying to plan amid the Labour Party’s planned changes to immigration rules Young people who were on the path to permanent residency have warned proposed changes to indefinite leave to remain (ILR) would be “financially devastating”.

For some young professionals, the changes to ILR , including extending the qualifying period, have left them unable to settle and plan their lives in the UK. “The visa system is crippling,” said 25-year-old Kennedy Randall. Randall added that “it already takes so much forward planning, both logistically and financially, so it’s incredibly stressful when the Government is constantly proposing that the rules will change”. “It just feels like they play with our visas and our futures for political currency,” she told The i Paper .

“I don’t think that politicians have any consideration for the human, or the financial, cost associated with what they are saying. Read the full story here . November 1, 2026 11:06 am Badenoch says spending cuts must come from welfare Kemi Badenoch has said that the bulk of government savings should come from the welfare budget, in an interview with the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show. The Tory leader says there are six million working age adults on “out of work benefits”, adding “that cannot be right” and it’s where cuts must come from.

“Right now the government has just turned into the welfare party,” she continued. The leader of the Conservative Party refuted that the Tories are the party for just the wealthy: “what we are doing is making sure there’s something for everybody”, she said. November 1, 2026 11:00 am UK should pay reparations over slavery, says former Green leader Former Green Party leader Natalie Bennett has said that the UK should pay reparations for its role in the historic slave trade.

Speaking on Sky News this morning, she said it is “an issue that’s been sitting there festering and has to be dealt with”. As a “middle-ranking nation”, she says the UK has to “build friendships around the world”, which she claims paying reparations would help us to do in a world of “Trump and Putin lining up together”. Rather than slavery being an issue of the past, Bennett says that “we have to deal with the past to find a place in the future”, as places in the Caribbean that were historically victims of slavery are also those “extremely vulnerable to rising instability in the climate”.

November 1, 2026 10:54 am Exclusive: The numbers that show how support for reversing Brexit is creeping up Will Hazell Chief Political Correspondent The increase in support for rejoiners may partly reflect the case the PM has been making to voters on the need for closer links with Europe (Photo: Vuk Valcic/Getty) The proportion of Britons who back returning to the EU has risen to 48 per cent, with rejoiners now holding a 13-point lead over the 35 per cent who think we should stay out.

It comes after Andy Burnham reignited the Brexit debate by putting a closer relationship to the EU at the heart of his premiership, with the Prime Minister leaving open the possibility that he could campaign to reverse the referendum entirely with a full return to the bloc. Polling by BMG for The i Paper shows that support for rejoining has increased three percentage points to 48 per cent since last month, with support for staying out dropping by three points to 35 per cent.

Seventeen per cent meanwhile answered “don’t know” when asked whether the UK should join the EU or stay out. The 13-point lead for rejoin matches a figure achieved in April and is second only to the record 14-point lead recorded by BMG in March, with the pollster tracking the question since May 2023. Read the full story here . November 1, 2026 10:38 am UK should return to free movement with EU, Davey argues The UK should rejoin the EU’s single market and customs union, and adopt a “free movement of labour,” said Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey.

Speaking on Sky News this morning, he said that since the UK left the EU, immigration has got “completely out of control”, and that “if we work with our European partners” immigration would be better controlled. He said rejoining the single market and customs union would “boost our economy and our economy needs some growth now”. “I think we could benefit from a much closer trade and defence relationship with Europe.” November 1, 2026 10:32 am Over 300 demonstrators arrested outside US embassy for supporting Palestine Action More than 300 demonstrators were arrested yesterday after gathering outside the US embassy in London in support of proscribed group Palestine Action.

Hundreds of people took part in the protest in Nine Elms, south-west London, on Saturday, with many holding signs reading: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.” In a post on X on Sunday, the Metropolitan Police said it had arrested 325 people, with the majority (320) detained for expressing support for a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act. Expressing support for the group is an offence under the Terrorism Act after it was proscribed in June 2025.

November 1, 2026 10:24 am Government in danger of ‘being in pickle’, says former defence head The former chief of the defence staff Tony Radakin says the government is in danger “of being in a slight pickle” on defence spending, adding that Labour has had to make cuts to “balance the budget”, such as retiring jets and scrapping ships. He refuted that the Government will meet it’s targets by 2030, saying the 3 per cent spending commitment will not be “turned around” in 1,000 days.

Radakin added that “we can avoid our sons and daughters having to fight by being really strong on defence”. November 1, 2026 10:12 am Healey hints manifesto pledge on young worker pay not certain before election John Healey has refused to say whether Labour will meet its manifesto pledge to ensure younger workers on the minimum wage are paid the same as others by the next electi The Chancellor said the Government would “take it one step at a time” and signalled the promise to end “discriminatory age bands” might be delayed, in an interview with the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show.

In 2024, Labour committed to closing the gap between adult minimum wage and pay for 18 to 20-year-olds. In last week’s Budget, the Chancellor increased national minimum wage and national living wage by 3.9% across the board, in line with the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission. When asked if Labour might breaks its manifesto commitment to remove discriminatory age bands, he replied: “There’s no question about whether or if. It’s a question of when.

“It’s a question of how fast. And I want to make sure that we can look hard at those trade-offs that inevitably are there between jobs and wages. “I want to take business, I want to take trade unions with me, and with the Government, because together we have to get into what at the moment is a moral shame on this nation, a million youngsters written off, without any prospect of being helped into work and making a contribution to this country for the future.”

November 1, 2026 9:53 am Healey rules out slavery reparations after Burnham says he is open to apology Chancellor John Healey rules out slavery reparations after Burnham says he is ‘open’ to apology. (Photo: Jeff Overs/BBC/PA) The Chancellor ruled out slavery reparations saying British people today shouldn’t have the “financial liability” for something that happened hundreds of years ago. His comments come after Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he is “open” to the possibility of the UK formally apologising for its role in the transatlantic slave trade.

Healey echoes the PM’s comments, saying that the government is open to an apology “particularly ahead of the Commonwealth leaders conference”. November 1, 2026 9:48 am UK will reduce its deficit ‘faster than any G7 country by 2029’, says Chancellor The Chancellor John Healey has pledged that the UK will reduce its deficit ‘faster than any G7 country’, after being questioned about how the Government plans to combat the UK’s high debt. The UK’s debt is currently more than 97 per cent of the whole economy.

Healy said “fiscal discipline” was at the heart of his budge. When questioned if the Government was willing to make cuts of up to six per cent in some departments, the Chancellor said he is prepared “to take hard decisions”. He also said Labour is introducing “radical” devolution that will help the country cut the costs of double running between central and local government. November 1, 2026 9:24 am The benefits bill ‘must come down’, says Chancellor Chancellor John Healey says the benefits bill ‘must come down’. (Photo: Jeff Overs/BBC/Reuters) The Chancellor John Healey has committed to reducing welfare spending by the time of the next election.

“The overall bill must come down,” the chancellor said on the BBC this morning. “There’s nothing progressive in a bigger and bigger benefits bill. That’s an economic duty, but it’s also a moral duty.” Healey went on to say that changes to the social security system will be made “in a way that reflects our values”, with the support of businesses and trade unions to get people into work. It is a “national scandal”, he added, that a million young people are not in employment, education or training.

The Chancellor also said: “Since the election, we’ve already slowed down the rate of increase in the benefits bill, which was – the numbers were booming under the Tories. “This is a system which is not working. We have to make big changes. We will.” November 1, 2026 9:21 am Healey insists defence spending has risen to ‘a record amount’ The Chancellor John Healey has said that, for the first time, the defence investment plan has been “fully funded”.

In an interview with Laura Kuenssberg, the Chancellor said the current government has raised defence spending “by a record amount since the Cold War” and is planning to set a 3 per cent defence spending target for 2030. He said that his autumn Budget, announced on Wednesday, has demonstrated that he is willing to make hard decisions about priorities and promised the government will set out its longer-term spending plans next year, which will include plans to meet Nato spending targets.

November 1, 2026 9:13 am Burnham risks putting ‘pressure’ on King