David Pitt-Watson

Hello, I'm Susan Hume, and this is the Today in Parliament podcast for Thursday the 17th of September.

Coming up, on a Lords-only day, a Treasury minister warns conservatives not to pit defense spending against welfare.

It is a danger if politicians suggest that we need to make false choices.

Also, our food security and a plea to help farmers in hard times.

And information needed about new technical courses for English teenagers.

Which qualifications will a child starting in September 2028 take? When will we know? Who will decide which children go down this road?

But first, the Treasury minister has said that it's a false choice to claim the government has to cut social security before it can fund defense properly.

The Conservative leader has repeatedly called on the government to cut welfare spending to boost defense.

That was the stark figure from a Treasury minister in the Lords when he was asked about the cost of the payments on what the UK owes.

Lord Pitt-Watson explained there were three reasons for the figure.

Firstly, the overall level of borrowing.

Secondly, the growth in global interest rates.

A non-party peer, Lord Lonsborough, offered this diagnosis.

Is not the real problem here our chronic dependency on borrowing? As debt's tripled over the last 20 years in spite of our risk, uh, fiscal rules.

Lord Pitt-Watson offered a different set of numbers.

In 2025, '26, our borrowing will be the lowest for six years.

We can't allow our democratic politics to be infected by the corrosive influence of money.

Also tonight, a conservative has a suggestion for ministers on how to help the UK steel industry.

To not worry about green energy and all that, but just reduce our energy costs roughly equivalent to France.

And England's chief medical officer argues air pollution should be reduced even more.

The measures in the bill respond to real changes in how people participate in politics, political campaigning, and how threats to democratic confidence can arise.

Lady Taylor said the threat to democracy from foreign influence was an ever-growing danger, and one the government could not afford to delay tackling.

She suggested ministers could go further.

In addition to introducing a robust regime that ensures donors contributing above the 100,000 pounds annual cap must demonstrate a genuine and ongoing connection to the United Kingdom, we are considering how we will strengthen the residency requirements, including ensuring the length of time spent in the UK aligns with broader government policy.