Government documents indicate 2.2m pensioners will lose winter fuel payments after the Budget, around 200,000 more than first stated. Eligibility is being tightened by income, cutting payments of up to £300 for many. Ministers say the change targets help; opponents call it unfair to retirees.

Terminally ill campaigners urge peers to stop delaying the Assisted Dying Bill, saying proposed Lords amendments risk derailing reform and denying patients control at the end of life. They call for a clear timetable and constructive scrutiny to safeguard choice.

Rachel Reeves unveiled a Budget with £26bn in tax rises, higher fuel duty and a £4.7bn pensions measure, while welfare spending heads to about £406bn. Critics call it the biggest tax squeeze in decades as growth stalls; the government says it’s needed to fund services and restore stability.

David Lammy is exploring plans to replace juries with judge-only trials for offences carrying up to five years, keeping juries for the most serious and public-interest cases. The aim is to cut the Crown Court backlog, but critics say it risks miscarriages of justice and weakening victims’ rights.