Angela Rayner to stand in for Keir Starmer in fiery Commons clash

The annual rate of house price growth halved as a stamp duty holiday ended, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.

The average UK house price increased by 3.5% in the 12 months to April, halving from 7.0% annual growth recorded in March this year.

Stamp duty discounts became less generous for some home buyers from April. Stamp duty applies in England and Northern Ireland.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp will ask questions for the Conservatives, instead of party leader Kemi Badenoch.

Keir Starmer is away in Canada, so Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is standing in for him.

Common practice in this situation is for the leader of the opposition, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch in this case, to appoint a deputy to represent them in a similar way.

At some point it’s likely Ms Rayner will be asked about the ongoing war in the middle east.

Israeli warplanes have pounded Iran’s capital overnight, hitting a facility used to make uranium centrifuges and another that made missile components, military chiefs said.

Ten missiles were intercepted by Israel overnight as Iran’s retaliatory barrages diminished.

Israel is carrying out blistering attacks on Iran’s nuclear programme and military sites that began with a surprise bombardment on Friday.

The opening of the HS2 high speed rail line will be delayed beyond the planned date of 2033, the Government will confirm.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is expected to tell Parliament on Wednesday afternoon there is “no reasonable way to deliver” the high-speed railway on schedule and within budget.

The project has already suffered repeated delays and soaring costs despite being scaled back.

Ms Alexander will tell the Commons she is drawing a “line in the sand” over the beleaguered rail project, as the Government attempts to reset how the UK delivers major infrastructure.

Westminster veterans recall the days when John Prescott, a former Labour Deputy Prime Minister, led PMQs while Tony Blair, Prime Minister at the time, was out of the country.

Prezza, as he was known, wasn’t a great talker and often got his words wrong. Everyone expected him to make a hash of it.

His Tory opponent was William Hague, one of the most eloquent people in Parliament.

But somehow, with his self-deprecating humour and passion, John Prescott came out of the exchanges the winner.

Sir Keir Starmer faces the threat of a Labour rebellion as flagship reforms to the welfare system are expected to have their first outing in Parliament today.

The Welfare Reform Bill will be introduced in the House of Commons, and its text will be published so MPs can begin scrutiny of the proposals.

The major reforms are set to include the tightening of criteria for the main disability benefit in England, personal independence payment (Pip).

Ministers also want to cut the sickness related element of universal credit (UC), and delay access to it, so only those aged 22 and over can claim it.

The package of reforms is aimed at encouraging more people off sickness benefits and into work, and the Government hopes it can save up to £5 billion a year by doing so.

But ministers are likely to face a Commons stand-off with backbench Labour MPs over their plans, with dozens of them last month saying the proposals were “impossible to support”.

Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: “This morning’s news that inflation remains well above the 2% target is deeply worrying for families.

“Labour’s choices to tax jobs and ramp up borrowing are killing growth and stoking inflation – making everyday essentials more expensive.

“To plug the hole they have created, we now know Rachel Reeves has a secret plan to raise taxes. Make no mistake – more taxes are coming.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “Our number one mission is to put more money in the pockets of working people through our Plan for Change.

“We took the necessary choices to stabilise the public finances and get inflation under control after the double digit increases we saw under the previous government, but we know there’s more to do.

“Last week we extended the £3 bus fare cap, funded free school meals for over half a million more children, and are delivering our plans for free breakfast clubs for every child in the country. This government is investing in Britain’s renewal to make working people better off.”

The rate of Consumer Prices Index inflation fell to 3.4% in May from 3.5% in April, the Office for National Statistics said.

Angela Rayner will face PMQs today as Sir Keir Starmer travels back from Canada after the G7 summit.

The Deputy Prime Minister will be grilled by the Tories in the House of Commons at midday.