Politics latest: Rayner to stand in for Starmer at PMQs - as minister insists inflation rise is 'good news'

Government considering subsidised jobs to get young people into work - as shocking figure reveals scale of crisis

The government is exploring the option of a subsided jobs programme to help get young people into work, Sky News understands.

The idea is being looked at amid growing concern over the record levels of youths who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET), according to people familiar with the discussions.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows some 789,000 people aged 16 to 24 who are not studying full-time are neither working nor looking for a job - the highest total on record.

There are also 422,000 unemployed people who are looking for work in this age group - almost double the number two years ago and bringing the total number of out-of-work youths to 1.2 million.

Who is the Tory frontbencher standing in for Badenoch at deputy PMQs?

Later today, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner will stand in for Sir Keir Starmer at deputy Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons.

The prime minister is on his way back from Brazil after spending two days at the G20 summit in Rio - and won't make it in time for his weekly stand-off with Kemi Badenoch.

With Ms Rayner stepping in, and Ms Badenoch not having a deputy, the Conservative leader has selected Alex Burghart to take her place.

But who exactly is this?

Mr Burghart is the Tory MP for Brentwood and Ongar, and has been an MP for the party since June 2017.

He was appointed shadow Chancellor to the Duchy of Lancaster by the new Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch a few weeks ago.

The MP also serves as shadow Northern Ireland secretary.

Tory frontbencher 'concerned' police are 'losing the confidence' to use force where necessary

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, is now addressing the National Police Chiefs' Council at a major policing summit in London.

He is calling for guidelines around non-crime hate incidents to be rewritten, claiming they should only be investigated by police where there is "a real risk of imminent criminality".

The Tory frontbencher said: "We need police officers on the front line to be prepared to take the lawful action necessary to protect themselves at the public.

"We need them to drive quickly to the scene of an attack by a terrorist to save lives, we need stop and search to be used to take knives off our streets.

"We need force to be used where necessary to detain suspects."

Mr Philp adds: "I'm concerned that officers are losing the confidence to exercise those powers as required to keep the public safe."

He goes on to claim that "not enough crimes are being solved" in the UK.

"Last year, only around 8% of reported crimes were solved," the Tory frontbencher says.

"And 8% is simply not enough."

The Institute for Government notes that less than 10% of victim-based offences in 2023 resulted in a "successful outcome".

This is down from 20% in 2015.

Turning to non-crime hate incidents, Mr Philp says these should only attract the attention of the police "where criminality is likely to imminently follow".

"Offensive speech is not the same as illegal speech," he says. 

"I think the non-crime hate incidents guidance should be updated urgently to ensure that only where there is an imminent risk of criminality the police should get involved."

Foreign Office: UK embassy in Kyiv remains open

As we've mentioned today, the US embassy in Ukraine has been forced to close due to a reported "significant" threat.

This has raised questions over whether the UK would keep its embassy open in the face of these threats on the US, thought to be an attack warning.

However, the Foreign Office has confirmed: "The UK embassy in Kyiv remains open. 

"However, the safety of our staff in Ukraine is paramount and we keep our embassy posture and Travel Advice under constant review."

How worried should we be about rising inflation?

Inflation is rising faster than expected, with the headline rate hitting 2.3% in October, higher than the 2.2% forecast by economists and above the Bank of England’s 2% target.

How worried should we be? 

These figures are a world away from the double-digit levels of inflation we experienced in 2022, when the index peaked at 11.1%. 

Inflation has broadly been coming down as the Bank has ratcheted up interest rates. Economists expect inflation to hover in and around 2% over the next few years.

However, Labour's budget has created inflation jitters. The government is injecting a big fiscal stimulus into the economy in the form of higher government spending. 

The rise in employers' national insurance contributions could also lead to higher prices. This has raised the inflation forecasts and likely slowed the pace of interest rate cuts. 

Market expectations for an interest rate cut in December have now fallen to just 16%.

While current forecasts suggest inflation is unlikely to spiral out of control, members of the Monetary Policy Committee are likely to proceed with caution. 

As the past few years have demonstrated, inflation is temperamental and can quickly move against policymakers. 

As Andy Haldane, the Bank's former chief economist once warned: "The inflation tiger is never dead."

The MPC won't want to be complacent. and not just because the headline rate of inflation rose above expectations. The Bank looks very closely at some other indicators, including inflation in the dominant services sector. 

This rose from 4.9% to 5%. Wages are also still growing too quickly for the Bank's comfort. 

All of this will give the MPC some cause for concern, meaning they will take a cautious approach.

Tory frontbencher 'would support' allowing Ukraine's use of Storm Shadow missiles

 Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, is now joining Kay Burley.

"I think we should be doing everything we possibly can to support Ukraine in this dark hour," he says.

"They have been invaded by their neighbour, they have every right to defend themselves and I think we should do everything to support them."

Mr Philp says he is "glad" US President Biden has given permission for Ukraine to use US-made long-range missiles into Russia.

"Any country that is attacked needs to do everything it can to defend itself."

Asked if the UK is taking too long to do the same, Mr Philp says: "I've always been an advocate of doing more, sooner."

He was also asked whether the UK should be allowing Storm Shadow missiles to be fired into Russia.

"I would certainly support doing that," he says.

Labour considering ban on under-16s using social media

Back to our earlier conversation with Science Secretary Peter Kyle for a moment.

He told Sky News that social media firms should be more concerned about the impact of their products as he confirmed he was considering a ban on under-16s using the platforms.

"I'm keeping all options open. The problem is, at the moment, there's very little evidence."

Mr Kyle said there were examples of "grotesque impacts" and "it does lead to loss of life in certain circumstances".

But he added: "We need to know precisely what the impact is, because, and it's a frustration of mine, the tech companies themselves aren't building this evidence.

"If I was producing products that were used by more than half of teenagers, sometimes 10-year-olds, sometimes five-year-olds are having access to these products, I would want to know exactly what the impact that my products are having on those kids, on those people particularly with vulnerabilities. But they're not doing that.

"So I'm trying to do what I can do to find out what the where the evidence is behind the impact that social media has on children, young people and people with vulnerabilities so that I can build I can build policies that sometimes might be strident policies, but they need to be built on firm evidence, because the evidence just simply isn't there at the moment.

"And I'm open minded as to what that means going forward."

Could a social media ban for under-16s work? 

Minister hails inflation figure as 'good news' - as he defends Labour's budget

More now from Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, who is reacting to news that inflation has risen to 2.3%.

He claimed it is "good news" that inflation is "stable and close to [Labour's] target" of 2%.

He said: "Gone are the days when inflation is 10% or 11% driving family bills through the roof.

"Inflation is stable, it's around target, and the key driver of inflation statistics today is that expected increase in the energy price cap set by the regulator Ofgem.

"But the good news is it's stable, it's close to target, and that will be good for families across the country."

Mr Jones was also asked about fears from retailers that prices will be higher and job losses will become inevitable in the wake of the budget.

"The budget fixed the foundations in this country, it turned the page on economic instability that we saw under the previous government," he said.

"And I think businesses, investors and working people across the country will be happy that we have a government that takes economic stability [seriously]."

The PM wants to focus on global affairs - but the noisy protests back home will only get louder

Over the two days of our trip to Brazil, the PM wanted to talk about "doubling down" on support for Ukraine, opening a "serious and pragmatic" dialogue with President Xi Jinping of China and the re-starting of stalled trade talks with India.

All the while, back home his domestic agenda is in trouble.

Take growth figures: In the first three months of his premiership growth has slowed sharply, while the economy was contracting in September. 

"They're not good enough and I want them to improve," he told me bluntly when I interviewed him at the G20 summit.

Minister insists the government is listening to farmers over inheritance tax

The conversation with Peter Kyle now turns to Labour's plans to change the rules around inheritance tax for farmers.

Upwards of 10,000 people descended on Whitehall yesterday to protest the measure, which ministers say will only affect around 500 farms.

"Of course we are listening," Mr Kyle says of the protests. "We are always listening.

"We are making the difficult decisions to get our finances back in order."

Kay Burley puts to him that now-ministers had previously promised this would not happen, and allegedly only knew about the policy the day before the budget.

Mr Kyle says: "Our primary promise to the country is to get our finances back in order. It has been really difficult for us coming in, we have had to make incredible difficult decisions."

-SKY NEWS