Business
Target ‘divisive’ Reform in 2026, Keir Starmer tells ministers
Chas GeigerPolitics reporter
PAThe prime minister has drawn a series of sharp dividing lines with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, in an attempt to begin reviving Labour’s and his own political fortunes in the new year.
Sir Keir Starmer told his political cabinet he wanted to make clear to voters that the choice was between his party “renewing the country” and Reform, who he accused of feeding on “grievance, decline and division”.
Labour and the PM’s own personal ratings have plummeted in opinion polls since the party’s landslide victory in the 2024 general election.
Reform has consistently led the polls, and is hoping to make further gains in May’s council elections in England, and parliamentary ones in Scotland and Wales.
Sir Keir told a meeting of his political cabinet – which took place without civil servants, while including deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell – the government should be “relentless” in focusing on the cost of living and delivering “change people can feel”.
He defined the choice as being between “a Labour government renewing the country or a Reform movement that feeds on grievance, decline and division”.
“They want a weaker state, they want to inject bile into our communities, they want to appease [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. This is the fight of our political lives and one that we must relish,” he said.
A Reform UK spokesman said the prime minister was continuing to show an “obsession” with the party because he knew how much of a threat it posed to his “failing government”.
“Two years ago Labour promised to get the cost of living under control. Since then they have failed on nearly every count as household bills have soared, taxes have skyrocketed, and economic growth has flatlined.
“They simply cannot be trusted,” the spokesman added.
Sir Keir also told ministers: “I do not underestimate the scale of the task. But I have no doubt about this team.
“Governments do not lose because polls go down. They lose when they lose belief or nerve. We will do neither.”
Ahead of a difficult set of elections for Labour in May, there has been plenty of speculation about the prime minister’s own future, with suggestions he will face a leadership challenge if the party fares badly in those polls.
Speaking earlier, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Labour had “no plan, no agenda” and was led by a “weak prime minister who doesn’t know if he is going to be in the job for much longer”.
She said the country needed a government that focused on economic security. “Right now, our economy is in freefall,” she added.
The political part of the meeting at Downing Street took place after an official cabinet meeting, with civil servants present, which lasted less than 10 minutes.
During the first meeting, Sir Keir told his senior ministers their main challenge for 2026 was to show “hard work, focus and determination” in helping to ease the financial burden on households.
His renewed emphasis on cost-of-living issues came as he prepared to join world leaders in Paris for a meeting of Ukraine’s allies.
Sir Keir’s latest reset has been overshadowed by President Trump’s capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and the US president’s continued ambitions to take over Greenland.
At the end of 2025, Sir Keir told Parliament’s Liaison Committee he was frustrated at the slow pace of change.
“My experience as prime minister is of frustration that every time I go to pull a lever, there are a whole bunch of regulations, consultations and arm’s length bodies that mean the action from pulling the lever to delivery is longer than I think it ought to be, which is among the reasons I want to cut down on regulation generally and within government.”
At the cabinet meeting on Tuesday he said: “There’s a world of uncertainty and upheaval, but tackling the cost of living remains and must remain our focus.”
He added that voters would judge the government at the next election on whether they had delivered improvements to public services and the NHS.
Sir Keir argued the government’s policies were already paying off, with increases in the minimum wage, the Bank of England’s reductions in interest rates, and help with household energy bills.
Business
IDFC First Bank share price today: Stock opens flat a day after 16% slump on Rs 590 crore fraud – The Times of India
IDFC First Bank share price today: IDFC First Bank stock opened in green on Tuesday a day after its shares recorded the worst crash since March 2020. At 9:18 AM, IDFC First Bank shares were trading at Rs 70.37, up 0.47%. The steep fall came on IDFC First Bank admitting to a Rs 590 crore fraud at its Chandigarh branch related to Haryana government accounts.IDFC First Bank on Monday said it expects to stay profitable despite a Rs 590-crore impact from fraudulent transactions involving Haryana government-linked accounts, even as its shares fell 16% during the day.Addressing analysts on a conference call, Managing Director and CEO V Vaidyanathan said the irregularities were traced to employee collusion at the bank’s Chandigarh branch. He said that KPMG has been appointed to conduct a forensic audit and noted that the bank has employee dishonesty insurance coverage of up to Rs 35 crore. According to officials, the fraud stemmed from forged cheques that were cleared at the branch.“This is a specific isolated incident that happened in one branch with one client group,” Vaidyanathan said, adding that it is confined to “a particular branch in Chandigarh and is confined to a limited set of Haryana govt-linked accounts.”He ruled out any digital compromise, saying that the episode involved physical cheque manipulation. “This is a physical transaction where the cheques have been forged. This is the oldest kind of fraud probably known to banking,” he said. “This looks to us on the basis of the work we’ve done clearly a case of employee fraud,” he added, noting that funds were transferred to beneficiary accounts outside the bank.Vaidyanathan said established safeguards such as maker-checker-authoriser controls, positive pay systems for cheques, scrutiny of high-value instruments, SMS alerts and monthly account statements were in place. However, he acknowledged that collusion among employees allowed the fraud to bypass these checks. “The issue in this case is that many of these people connived in making it happen.” The bank has decided to introduce pre-approval requirements for clearing all high-value cheques.In the Haryana Assembly, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said on Monday that the funds involved in the IDFC First Bank Rs 590-crore fraud case will “definitely come back” and assured that appropriate action will be taken against those responsible.IDFC First Bank has suspended staff suspected of involvement. Vaidyanathan said KPMG’s forensic audit is expected to take “four to five weeks to conclude.”(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)
What to watch for during Trump’s State of the Union address
BBC Washington correspondent Daniel Bush on who may skip the speech, why the president is fuming at the Supreme Court, and what policies could, or couldn’t, be in for a shake‑up.
8 hrs ago
Property portal Zoopla has bought newhomesforsale.co.uk as it continues to expand further into the new build market.
Zoopla said the deal – for an undisclosed amount – will see it buy 100% of the new homes property site, which has over 200 developer customers, supports 2,500 active property developments and connects over one million buyers with properties each year.
It comes amid a concerted push by Zoopla to grow its new build offering, having recently announced tie-ups with housebuilding giants Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon Homes.
As part of the efforts to further tap into this market, Zoopla has improved the visibility of new homes on its website and the consumer search experience, promoted the benefits of new builds and added features such as search by developer and affordability tools.
It has also rolled out the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to help lower the cost of attracting buyers, identify “higher-intent” customers earlier and make reservation pipelines more efficient for home builders.
Together, these product innovations have helped drive a 53% increase in the number of new home leads for builders year-on-year, according to Zoopla.
Paul Whitehead, chief executive of Zoopla, said the newhomesforsale.co.uk (NHFS) deal was “a natural next step in our strategy”.
He said: “Our recent partnerships with Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon demonstrate the progress we have made and the value we deliver.
“The addition of newhomesforsale.co.uk will strengthen our offer and deepen our relationships with home builders across the UK.”
After the deal, Stratford-upon-Avon-based NHFS will continue as a standalone brand and website, with its existing leadership team, led by founder and managing director Vernon Pethard.
All 10 staff – including Mr Pethard – are transferring to Zoopla following the deal.
Mark Hincks, director of newhomesforsale.co.uk, said: “Our focus has always been to connect developers with high-intent buyers and deliver a clear return on marketing investment.
“Joining Zoopla unlocks audience data, insights and innovation that will allow us to deliver even more value for our customers.”
Mr Pethard founded NHFS in 1998, initially offering a range of new homes newspapers, which later shifted online via the website in 2009.
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