'My life could change for worse if I'm PM,' admits Tory leadership favourite - as Speaker fumes at chancellor's early announcement

Chancellor to announce above-inflation increase to minimum wage

Rachel Reeves could announce an above-inflation rise to the minimum wage when she delivers her first budget tomorrow, reports suggest.

It's believed the chancellor will raise the minimum amount by up to 6% for more than a million low-paid workers next year.

The changes would follow the new government's instruction to the Low Pay Commission, which recommends minimum wage rates, to include the cost of living in how it works out the rate.

A 6% rise would up the wage for people aged 21 and older to around £12.12 an hour - in line with the commission's forecast last year.

Ms Reeves is also expected to announce a larger increase for younger workers aged 18 to 20 in a bid to bring their rate closer to the adult wage.

The minimum wage rose by more than 9% a year in 2023 and 2024 as high inflation hammered the country, in an effort to meet the previous government's target of raising rates to two-thirds of median earnings.

A Treasury spokesperson told the Guardian they would not comment on speculation outside the budget.

Alex Salmond will be laid to rest in a private funeral later today.

The former first minister of Scotland died from a heart attack earlier this month at the age of 69 during a conference trip to the lake resort of Ohrid in North Macedonia.

The late Alba Party leader had earlier delivered a speech before collapsing in a crowded room during lunch.

His death shocked the political world in the UK, with tributes pouring in from the prime minister, the King and other leading politicians.

Close friend and Conservative MP Sir David Davis had led calls for the RAF to be used to bring Mr Salmond's body home, but in the end, a private flight was chartered and paid for by entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir Tom Hunter.

Mr Salmond's body was repatriated to Aberdeen Airport on 18 October.

His family, including his wife, Moira, and acting Alba Party leader, Kenny MacAskill, greeted the coffin as a piper played Freedom Come All Ye.

YesBikers for Scottish Independence then led a cortege to a funeral home in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, where a small crowd of well-wishers gathered to show their support.

A private funeral service attended by family and close friends will be held from 1pm at Strichen Parish Church today, followed by a burial at Strichen Cemetery.

The footage shows them in an apparent face-off for about 30 seconds - a few feet apart and with hands in pockets - before Mr Amesbury suddenly hits the man in the face.

It's unclear what they were talking about, but the politician claims he was "threatened on the street following an evening out with friends".

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described footage of the incident as "shocking". 

The Labour MP has been suspended from the party pending an investigation.

Cheshire Police has said a 55-year-old man was voluntarily interviewed under caution and "released pending further enquiries".

Lowri Williams is struggling to cover her basic expenses. Earning a low income with very little support, she says she feels like she's "living hand-to-mouth" and barely getting by.

She's one of a large group of people in low-income households who are caught in a precarious position, earning too little to comfortably support themselves, but too much to qualify for significant financial help.

For people like Lowri, working more or earning a higher income could mean losing vital support like Universal Credit, leaving them no better off and in some cases even worse off.

Lowri's salary is not high enough to pay tax. But there's a wider group of low-income earners who are facing a heavy tax burden.

Sky News analysis has found that in the last three years, working people in the bottom 25% of earners have effectively had a 60% tax hike.

This is due to the freeze on personal allowances, introduced in 2021 and scheduled to end in 2028. For each year the freeze is enacted, earners effectively see their tax rates rise in real terms as a higher proportion of their income becomes taxable.

Labour may extend the freeze in their budget this week. If the chancellor proceeds with the plan, around 400,000 people who are currently exempt will find themselves paying income tax, and many current taxpayers will pay higher rates.

On top of this, low to middle-income households are seeing significant stagnation in how much their income is going up, according to analysis of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) data by the Resolution Foundation.

This finding is part of an upcoming report in November, obtained by Sky News, which will delve deeper into the financial pressures these households face.

Labour MP who punched man in street 'brings whole House into disrepute'

Shadow minister Mel Stride has told Sky News that the video of Labour MP Mike Amesbury punching a man is "deeply disturbing and worrying", adding that it is "quite right" that he has had the Labour whip withdrawn.

Asked if the MP should resign, Mr Stride said it's "a matter for him".

But he went on to say that although the evidence against him is "circumstantial", what has been made public so far is "extremely compelling".

"I have to say, I'm one of those people that believes that due process should be followed and that there is a police investigation at the moment. I think we have to wait to see what comes of that," he said.

Asked if this incident damages the House of Commons, Mr Stride said: "Of course it does. It brings the whole House into disrepute.

"I mean, the idea of a Member of Parliament who is elected by his or her constituents to represent them, to stand up for them, to fight their corner as I and MPs do up and down the country, to actually assault one of your constituents is an extraordinary situation."

Tories support rise in minimum wage 'in principle'

Shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride has told Sky News that the Tory party supports the mooted 6% rise in the minimum wage "in principle", noting that it was them who brought in the National Living Wage.

"We've always, particularly through tax cuts, been on the side of lower paid people," he said.

"But I think what you can't overlook is the pressure that some of this is going to be putting on businesses," he said, saying that measures like increasing the amount of national insurance employers pay will make it "much more difficult for companies now to expand and recruit people and pay better wages".

Pushed on if an increase to the minimum wage is something the Tories support, Mr Stride said they "need to look at it in the round".

His "broader point" is that "this is a government that does not understand business or growth".

Shadow minister defends Tory party's handling of the NHS

We've just been speaking to the shadow work and pensions secretary, Mel Stride, and we started by asking if the state of the NHS is the Conservative Party's fault.

He replied: "Nobody denies there's a lot of pressure on the NHS, and we need to get the backlogs down.

"I do think that COVID was a major factor in arriving at where we are at the moment.

"But look, if we are to improve things, the answer is not just announcing ever more money going into the National Health Service."

He said that under the Tories, there were "record levels of funding" in the health service, and more staff "than at any time in its history".

What is needed, he said, is "a clear plan on productivity", which has "gone backwards" in recent years.

He also hit out at Labour for cutting the winter fuel allowance, which could see pensioners get unwell this winter and "pile further pressure" on the NHS.

A recent survey found that 59% of business leaders said staff had been forced to miss work due to crumbling public services, but Mr Stride dodged a question on whether that is part of his party's legacy.

-SKY NEWS