Some English local elections were delayed for a year, MPs got a pay rise, a handful of Labour MPs and councillors were suspended, an MP revealed his HIV status in the Commons, a former Reform leader was charged with bribery, and the UK cut foreign aid to fund a defence increase.
Some English local elections suspended
In early February, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner confirmed that the government would suspend some May elections.
This was to allow for local government reorganisation.
Other parties opposed the move, with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage accusing Labour of “cowardice”.
The counties with elections suspended until 2026 are:
- East Sussex.
- West Sussex.
- Essex.
- Thurrock.
- Hampshire.
- the Isle of Wight.
- Norfolk.
- Suffolk.
- Surrey.
The decision forms a part of Labour’s pledge to simplify English regional governance.
MPs awarded a 2.8% pay rise
The base salary for a Member of Parliament will rise by 2.8% in April.
This would take it to £93,904, or 2.5 times the median UK gross annual salary in April 2024, according to the ONS.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) justified the move by drawing on similar increases for teachers and NHS staff.
The government will make a final decision in mid-March.
Labour councillors and MPs suspended
In mid-February, two MPs and eleven councillors were suspended from the Labour Party following the leaking of hateful WhatsApp messages.
All of those suspended were based in Greater Manchester, with Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Gorton, sacked as health minister, and Burnley MP Oliver Ryan only elected in July.
Meanwhile, the eleven suspended councillors were based in the councils of Tameside and Stockport.
The messages included Gwynne joking about a cycling campaigner being ‘mown down’ by a lorry, Ryan describing leftwing Labour supporters as ‘marxists’ and ‘loonies’, and Gwynne posting sexist remarks about Deputy PM Angela Rayner.
Labour MP reveals his HIV status in the Commons
Kevin McKenna, Labour MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, became the third MP to share his HIV status in the Commons as he revealed he is living with the condition.
Richard Angell, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, hailed the move as a ‘blow to HIV stigma’.
It followed Keir Starmer becoming the first Prime Minister to publicly test for HIV as part of National HIV Testing Week.
Both McKenna and the Prime Minister encouraged young people to do the same, as part of a government pledge to end new HIV cases by 2030.
Former Reform UK leader accused of bribery
The former leader of Reform UK in Wales was charged with eight counts of bribery.
Nathan Gill served as the party’s Welsh leader from March 2021, and although it is not clear when he resigned, the position has not existed for a while.
According to the Guardian, a Reform UK spokesperson claimed that Gill was not and had never been a member.
This is despite a 2021 Facebook post by senior party member Richard Tice naming Gill ‘leader of Reform UK Wales’.
It is alleged that Gill received money from former Ukranian politician Oleg Voloshyn on at least eight occasions to make statements to the European Parliament and media outlets that would ‘benefit Russia regarding events in Ukraine.’.
UK cut foreign aid to fund defence
In late February, the UK Government cut overseas aid expenditure to afford an increase to the defence budget.
The cut of overseas aid, from 0.5 per cent of GDP to 0.3 per cent of GDP, was expected to allow the government to spend £13.7bn more on defence from 2027, a total of 2.5% of GDP.
The move came following US demands that Europe increase its defence spending and rely less on the US.
Critics worry that the move, alongside cuts to USAID, will leave those in poorer countries worse off and impact climate finance initiatives.
Meanwhile, supporters maintain that the unstable Trump presidency, alongside the situations in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and elsewhere, have necessitated the increase in defence spending.
Honorary Mentions
The UK Government published a list of 100 possible locations across England for new town construction.
The BBC removed a documentary about life in Gaza from iPlayer indefinitely after it emerged that the 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official.
Ex-Labour MP Mike Amesbury was sentenced to ten weeks in prison for punching a man in his Cheshire constituency last October. He spent three nights jailed in late February before a judge suspended his sentence for two years on appeal.
Featured Image Credit: Edward Jewsbury
Politics Editor
Journalism and Politics 4th Year
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