Anushka Asthana

6 days ago | thetimes.com | Anushka Asthana

Keir Starmer didn’t have to travel far to experience visceral anger about one of his government’s policies. During a visit to a pub near Chequers last autumn, he was accosted by local farmers. You’re brave to show your face, was their gist. It was a week after Rachel Reeves had announced a 20 per cent inheritance tax rate for farming assets over £1 million.

2 months ago | itv.com | Anushka Asthana

It was awkward for Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall to have to announce major changes to welfare without putting a number on it. I found myself challenging her on how many people would be hit, and how the reforms added up to the £5 billion net savings she had floated. Kendall could not respond. Her answer instead was – we have to wait for the Office For Budget Responsibility (OBR). And now the quango has come up with the goods but they fall well short of the government's hopes.

2 months ago | itv.com | Anushka Asthana

Downing Street is considering whether to introduce a measure to protect the most disabled when they cut benefits for those who are judged to be out of work. I understand that conversations are taking place as officials brace themselves for a potential rebellion over welfare cuts that will be laid out next week, including big reductions to the rate of sickness benefits.

Mar 9, 2025 | theguardian.com | Anushka Asthana |Paul Lewis |Rob Evans |Joshua Kelly |Nicholas Alexander |Nicole Jackson | +1 more

This episode first aired on 9 December 2020. In 2018, Frank Bennett’s sister Honor received a hand-delivered letter from a public inquiry about their 18-year-old brother Michael Hartley, who had been reported missing at sea, believed dead, 50 years before. For a moment, they thought Michael had been found, but in fact, the letter revealed that their dead brother’s identity had been stolen by a police officer who had penetrated two leftwing organisations.

Mar 7, 2025 | itv.com | Anushka Asthana

The Government is planning to unveil more than £6bn of welfare savings that will see far tougher tests imposed for a key disability benefit, some payments frozen in 2026, and major changes to the way universal credit is calculated, ITV News can reveal. Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, has argued that the welfare system is broken and it is critical to get more people into work. But the changes are likely to be hugely controversial, including with Labour backbenchers.