Starmer says British state needs ‘complete rewiring’ as Chris Wormald appointed new cabinet secretary – UK politics live

Career civil servant will replace Simon Case as PM says government must be changed to deliver long-term reformNigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has said that he does not believe a story saying Elon Musk, the multi-billionaire Trump ally and owner of X, might give his party $100m.The suggestion was contained in a story published by the Sunday Times yesterday. It did not feature an on-the-record source for the claim, but it said “leading businessmen and Conservative Party officials believe there is a credible prospect that Musk is preparing to give $100 million (£78 million) to Farage as a “f*** you Starmer payment” with a view to transforming British politics”.I suspect this is not true. Legally, companies operating in the UK can give money to UK political parties, but I think we’re a very long way away from that.Look, if it did happen, well, that’d be great, but I think it’s one of those really very good gossipy Sunday newspaper things. Let’s see. But I rather doubt it.The craziest thing about this story is that it is all perfectly legal.Musk is a South African-born billionaire who lives in the US. Our election laws are explicitly supposed to prevent foreign donations like this - but anyone, from anywhere, can get around the rules if they donate through a UK registered company. (A wheeze Robert Jenrick knows well.)New targets on living standards will be unveiled by Keir Starmer on ThursdayIs being seen as a sidelining of his big economic pledge - getting the highest growth in the G7The problem with the ‘highest sustained growth in G7’ target is Starmer of course doesn’t control the economies of US, Aus, Canada, Germany, France, JapanUS growing way faster now: 2.8% estimate for 2024 vs 1.1% for UKFor the new living standards target real household disposable income and GDP per capita have been considered.The new promise will likely have the benefit of not being a pledge to beat other countries.Note the nuance. The G7 target remains. It will likely be mentioned in the ‘Plan For Change’ document unveiled on Thurs and Starmer’s speechBut a new major economic pledge will now be unveiled which in the coming years is likely to be talked about much more than the G7 ambition Continue reading...