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Frank Field, the former Labour MP and minister, has died at the age of 81.

A statement from his family said: “He will be mourned by admirers across politics but above all he will be greatly missed by those lucky enough to have enjoyed his laughter and friendship.”

Lord Field of Birkenhead was asked to “think the unthinkable” to reform welfare by Sir Tony Blair in 1997, but he only lasted a year in the role before clashes with other ministers – including Gordon Brown – saw him return to the backbenches.

Having left the Commons in 2019, Lord Field was later diagnosed with terminal cancer and briefly admitted to hospice care in 2021.

His health had continued to decline, and he swore his oath to the King last year in the House of Lords from a wheelchair.

Tributes poured in from across the political spectrum following his death.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said the late MP was a “great parliamentarian, crusader for social justice and source of wise counsel”. while former home secretary Priti Patel praised his “unwavering moral compass, commitment to working cross-party and unshakable principles”.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker, said Lord Field was “neither cowed by the establishment or whips – which made his campaigns against hunger and food poverty, for climate change and the Church, even more effective”.

“Suffice to say, he was one of a kind and he will be sorely missed.”

Early life and becoming an MP

Frank field in 1976, when he was a director of the Child Poverty Action Group
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Frank field in 1976, when he was a director of the Child Poverty Action Group

Lord Field was born on 16 July 1942.

He was first elected as the Labour MP for Birkenhead in Merseyside in 1979.

He grew up in London in a working class family, and was a supporter of the Conservative Party in his teenage years, but was thrown out after he opposed apartheid in South Africa.

Lord Field went on to join the Labour Party as a teenager.

After attending grammar school and Hull University, he returned to London and was a councillor in west London in the 1960s.

After losing his seat in 1968, he was director of the charity Child Poverty Action Group until 1979, when he entered parliament.

The Labour Party was in the political wilderness for his first years in parliament, and Margaret Thatcher maintained a firm grip on power. But oddly enough Lord Field still became a regular visitor to Downing Street.

Long before Sir Tony’s new dawn broke with his 1997 election win, the Labour MP was entering Number 10 as he and Mrs Thatcher struck up an unusual friendship.

Lord Field visited her in 1990 to tell her that she was finished and needed to stand down – and they stayed friends afterwards.

‘Think the unthinkable’

Mr Field (back row, fourth from left) with a cabinet committee in 1997
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Lord Field (back row, fourth from left) with a cabinet committee in 1997

By the time New Labour swept to power, Lord Field was known for his campaigning on welfare and helping the poorest in society.

His Christian faith led him down the path of believing that humans need to be saved from base instincts – and the government should help them do this.

This included believing that too generous a benefits system would no doubt trap people who saw it as a simpler and more lucrative alternative to the labour market.

Ultimately, the rows with the then chancellor Mr Brown – and social security secretary Harriet Harman – saw Lord Field leave the government in 1998.

Return to the backbenches

Despite losing his role in government, Lord Field continued to intervene and voice his opinions on how he believed the welfare system should work.

By the tail end of Labour’s time in office he was dissatisfied with the leadership of Mr Brown, who had succeeded Sir Tony as PM in 2007.

Come 2015, he nominated Jeremy Corbyn to be the party’s leader as he believed there needed to be a plurality of voices heard. But he was not a natural ally of the Corbyn regime when it did take over.

Lord Field was a supporter of Brexit, as he believed freedom of movement was having a negative impact on the UK’s Labour market, among other reasons.

He voted against Labour on pieces of Brexit legislation, and lost a vote of confidence in his Birkenhead constituency party in 2018.

Just over a month later, he resigned the Labour whip and took a swipe at how the party dealt with antisemitism as he left.

He continued to support Brexit in the House of Commons, and in the 2019 election stood as an independent but lost to the Labour candidate.

Illness and death

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Baroness reads assisted dying statement for colleague

In 2021, Lord Field announced he was terminally ill and revealed he backed assisted dying.

He spent time in a hospice, and a speech in support of assisted dying was read out in the House of Lords on his behalf, having joined the upper chamber in 2020 as a crossbench peer.

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Building societies step up protest against Reeves’s cash ISA reforms

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Building societies step up protest against Reeves's cash ISA reforms

Building society chiefs will this week intensify their protests against the chancellor’s plans to cut cash ISA limits by warning that it will push up borrowing costs for homeowners and businesses.

Sky News has obtained the draft of a letter being circulated by the Building Societies Association (BSA) among its members which will demand that Rachel Reeves abandons a proposed move to slash savers’ annual cash ISA allowance from the existing £20,000 threshold.

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The draft letter, which is expected to be published this week, warns the chancellor that her decision would deter savers, disrupt Labour’s housebuilding ambitions and potentially present an obstacle to economic growth by triggering higher funding costs.

“Cash ISAs are a cornerstone of personal savings for millions across the UK, helping people from all walks of life to build financial resilience and achieve their savings goals,” the draft letter said.

“Beyond their personal benefits, Cash ISAs play a vital role in the broader economy.

“The funds deposited in these accounts support lending, helping to keep mortgages and loans affordable and accessible.

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“Cutting Cash ISA limits would make this funding more scarce which would have the knock-on effect of making loans to households and businesses more expensive and harder to come by.

“This would undermine efforts to stimulate economic growth, including the government’s commitment to delivering 1.5 million new homes.

“Cutting the Cash ISA limit would send a discouraging message to savers, who are sensibly trying to plan for the future and undermine a product that has stood the test of time.”

The chancellor is reportedly preparing to announce a review of cash ISA limits as part of her Mansion House speech next week.

While individual building society bosses have come out publicly to express their opposition to the move, the BSA letter is likely to be viewed with concern by Treasury officials.

The Nationwide is by far Britain’s biggest building society, with the likes of the Coventry, Yorkshire and Skipton also ranking among the sector’s largest players.

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In the draft letter, which is likely to be signed by dozens of building society bosses, the BSA said the chancellor’s proposals “would make the whole ISA regime more complex and make it harder for people to transfer money between cash and investments”.

“Restricting Cash ISAs won’t encourage people to invest, as it won’t suddenly change their appetite to take on risk,” it said.

“We know that barriers to investing are primarily behavioural, therefore building confidence and awareness are far more important.”

The BSA called on Ms Reeves to back “a long-term consumer awareness and information campaign to educate people about the benefits of investing, alongside maintaining strong support for saving”.

“We therefore urge you to affirm your support for Cash ISAs by maintaining the current £20,000 limit.

“Preserving this threshold will enable households to continue building financial security while supporting broader economic stability and growth.”

The BSA declined to comment on Monday on the leaked letter, although one source said the final version was subject to revision.

The Treasury has so far refused to comment on its plans.

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Govt declines to rule out wealth tax after ex-Labour leader Lord Kinnock calls for wealth tax

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Govt declines to rule out wealth tax after ex-Labour leader Lord Kinnock calls for wealth tax

The government has declined to rule out a “wealth tax” after former Labour leader Neil Kinnock called for one to help the UK’s dwindling finances.

Lord Kinnock, who was leader from 1983 to 1992, told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that imposing a 2% tax on assets valued above £10 million would bring in up to £11 billion a year.

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On Monday, Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesperson would not say if the government will or will not bring in a specific tax for the wealthiest.

Asked multiple times if the government will do so, he said: “The government is committed to the wealthiest in society paying their share in tax.

“The prime minister has repeatedly said those with the broadest shoulders should carry the largest burden.”

He added the government has closed loopholes for non-doms, placed taxes on private jets and said the 1% wealthiest people in the UK pay one third of taxes.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves earlier this year insisted she would not impose a wealth tax in her autumn budget, something she also said in 2023 ahead of Labour winning the election last year.

Asked if her position has changed, Sir Keir’s spokesman referred back to her previous comments and said: “The government position is what I have said it is.”

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Welfare: ‘Didn’t get process right’ – PM

The previous day, Lord Kinnock told Sky News: “It’s not going to pay the bills, but that kind of levy does two things.

“One is to secure resources, which is very important in revenues.

“But the second thing it does is to say to the country, ‘we are the government of equity’.

“This is a country which is very substantially fed up with the fact that whatever happens in the world, whatever happens in the UK, the same interests come out on top unscathed all the time while everybody else is paying more for getting services.

“Now, I think that a gesture or a substantial gesture in the direction of equity fairness would make a big difference.”

The son of a coal miner, who became a member of the House of Lords in 2005, the Labour peer said asset values have “gone through the roof” in the past 20 years while economies and incomes have stagnated in real terms.

In reference to Chancellor Rachel Reeves refusing to change her fiscal rules, he said the government is giving the appearance it is “bogged down by their own imposed limitations”, which he said is “not actually the accurate picture”.

A wealth tax would help the government get out of that situation and would be backed by the “great majority of the general public”, he added.

His comments came after a bruising week for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who had to heavily water down a welfare bill meant to save £5.5bn after dozens of Labour MPs threatened to vote against it.

With those savings lost – and a previous U-turn on cutting winter fuel payments also reducing savings – the chancellor’s £9.9bn fiscal headroom has quickly dwindled.

In a hint of what could come, government minister Stephen Morgan told Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast: “I hold dear the Labour values of making sure those that have the broadest shoulders pay, pay more tax.

“I think that’s absolutely right.”

He added that the government has already put a tax on private jets and on the profits of energy companies.

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UK sentences 2 men to prison over $2M cold-calling crypto scam

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UK sentences 2 men to prison over M cold-calling crypto scam

UK sentences 2 men to prison over M cold-calling crypto scam

Two men who admitted to running a crypto scheme that defrauded 65 investors have both been sentenced to over five years in prison.

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