Chancellor Rachel Reeves denies return to austerity as she targets 5% savings

New Welsh Tory leader promises 'constructive' relations with government in FMQs debut

The new leader of the Welsh Conservatives has said he wishes to strike up a "constructive" relationship with the Welsh government at his first FMQs in the role.

Darren Millar was elected unanimously by the Welsh Conservative group last week after the resignation of Andrew RT Davies.

Mr Millar said he took the responsibility "seriously" and paid tribute to his predecessor's contribution as "second to none".

He told the first minister, Baroness Eluned Morgan, on Tuesday that he looked forward to "having a constructive relationship" with her.

"I won't shy away from holding you and your government to account," he said.

"But where it is possible, my party and I will work with you in the interests of the people of Wales and with other political parties in this chamber."

Mr Millar opened his questioning by asking Baroness Morgan about the support available to those impacted by Storm Darragh over the weekend.

But it wasn't long before the debate became heated between the party leaders, when Mr Millar asked about the increase in employers' national insurance, announced in October's UK budget.

"You really do have a cheek, don't you, Darren?  On your first outing you come in here, you talk about devastating decisions," Baroness Morgan said.

"Let me tell you about a devastating decision - Liz Truss. There's a devastating decision."

Mr Millar hit back, saying: "You can spin it all you like, but [the draft Welsh budget] is a smoke and mirrors situation that gives with one hand and takes away with another."

The Welsh government's draft budget will be debated in the Senedd later on Tuesday.

More scandals like Gregg Wallace will lead to 'further action', minister warns

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has warned she will take "further action" if the creative industry fails to get a grip on scandals like the Gregg Wallace allegations.

She is answering questions from MPs at the culture, media and sport committee in parliament.

Ms Nandy spoke about her concern for the high numbers of freelancers in the creative industries, which she says creates an "enormous power imbalance" between bosses and their employees.

She said she has spoken to the BBC over the past few weeks about the Gregg Wallace allegations.

'Too much is swept under the rug'

He is facing claims of inappropriate behaviour from more than a dozen people across a range of shows over a 17-year period. His lawyers have previously strongly denied "he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature", according to BBC News.

Ms Nandy said: "I am clear we're seeing too many of these, a culture of silence and issues swept under the rug."

She said she is meeting the new creative industry body CIISA tomorrow and warned: "They think, and I instinctively think, the industry should grip this but if they don't, I will be prepared to take further action."

Ms Nandy also said she was "quite astonished" when she saw the list of organisations supporting CIISA, which is aimed at improving standards of behaviour and preventing bullying, as Banijay UK, the production company that makes MasterChef, was not on it.

"I take quite a dim view of executives who don't take this seriously," she said.

And she said she was also surprised the head of the BBC did not know about CIISA, despite the corporation being signed up to it.

Commons backs proposal to ban first cousin marriage - but independent MP speaks out against it

A proposal to ban people from marrying their first cousin has moved one step closer to potentially becoming law.

MPs have voted to give the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Bill a second reading in the new year.

It was put forward by former Tory minister Richard Holden, who said most people "already think it's illegal and then are surprised when you mention it isn't".

At the moment, it is only illegal to marry a sibling, parent, or child, but he says first cousin marriage leads to higher rates of birth defects.

Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed spoke out against the proposal in the Commons today.

First cousin marriage 'very positive' in other places

The member for Dewsbury and Batley, who beat Labour at the general election after running on a pro-Palestine ticket, acknowledged the "documented health risks with first cousin marriage", but said the state shouldn't have the power to "ban adults from marrying each other".

He said the matter should instead be "approached as a health awareness issue" regarding children born from such relationships, and also as a "cultural issue" where women are forced to marry against their will.

But he said first cousin marriage was "widespread" in places like the Middle East, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, because it's seen as "something that is very positive".

"It is important to recognise for many people this is a highly sensitive issue and in discussing it we should try to step into the shoes of those who perhaps are not from the same culture as ours," he added.

What is the civil service and what does it do?

Every government seems to place the civil service in its crosshairs at some point, and now it's Labour's turn.

Sir Keir Starmer and his ministers have said it needs to reform, chiefly becoming more efficient to help deliver the change they want to achieve.

But what exactly is the civil service, and what role does it have in delivering the government's agenda?

What is the civil service?

Unlike departments like the Home Office or the Foreign Office, the civil service stands independent of government.

It's also politically impartial, so it doesn't change when a different party becomes the party of government.

Free of the uncertainty and drama that Westminster often provides, it means the service can crack on with essential day-to-day tasks like paying pensions, issuing passports and driving licences, and running the nation's prisons.

What do civil servants do?

There are more than 500,000 civil servants, spread across each government department.

There are a bunch of different roles, but some of the most important involve analysing policy options to help ministers make informed decisions about what they want to do.

They're all overseen by the cabinet secretary, who is appointed by the prime minister.

Unlike, for example, the foreign secretary, who could end up in that role without any relevant experience (MPs can be just about anyone, after all), civil service recruitment is a more like you'd expect in the private sector.

Regardless of the department, you'll find roles like economist, project manager and HR.

According to the Institute for Government, most work in "operational delivery", which covers public-facing services like pensions and tax.

Most of these jobs are in a relatively small number of very large departments like the Home Office and HMRC.

Why all this talk of reform?

Cynics might suggest ministers who struggle to deliver will look for a scapegoat and find one in the civil service, which becomes a byword for the bureaucracy politicians often blame for their failures.

We've seen it in the US recently with Donald Trump and his team, with Elon Musk championing the idea of cutting tens of thousands of government jobs that he thinks just get in the way of delivery.

Nigel Farage is a big believer in doing the same sort of thing here, and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has previously accused civil servants of "undermining" ministers and "leaking official secrets".

Such rhetoric doesn't do much for civil service morale, it's fair to say, and there have been reports of growing tensions between ministers and civil servants who are meant to give them independent advice.

But there have been genuine concerns expressed by the likes of the Institute for Government, which says the civil service suffers from "damaging levels of staff turnover" and doesn't do enough to allow challenge and scrutiny from outside Whitehall.

Essentially, it's become a bit of an echo chamber.

'Challenge wrongheadedness,' Starmer tells civil servants as he doubles down on criticism

Sir Keir Starmer was criticised last week for saying "too many people in Whitehall are comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline".

That was in reference to civil servants, and the boss of one of their unions described the comments as "astonishing" and "really damaging".

Today, the PM has doubled down on his comments in a letter to all civil servants, saying, although he recognises how "fortunate this country is to have a civil service that is admired across the world", change is needed.

Despite their "dedication and professionalism", he said there are "needless bureaucratic impediments, silos, processes about processes" that get in the way of delivery of policy.

PM vows to provide 'clear direction'

Sir Keir went on to say they need to be "bold in pressing through reform and delivering government in a better way", which could require "determined and decisive action".

In return for their efforts, the PM pledged his government will provide "clear direction" and "put an end to the chopping and changing of political priorities".

To implement this new culture, he encouraged civil servants to "feel emboldened to challenge" things like "outdated processes, room for improvement, sluggishness, or wrongheadedness".

-SKY NEWS