Afternoon briefing Thursday 29th January

0:00This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwCWC. Staying competitive means getting ahead, not just keeping up. So how do business leaders cut through the noise and focus on what really matters? PwC takes you further with tech, from optimising the systems that put your data to work, to scaling AI from proof of concept to competitive edge. PwC helps you meet tomorrow's tech demands so you can compete at a speed that rewrites the rules. Discover more at pwc.co.uk. This is your Times Radio news briefing for the afternoon of Thursday the 29th of January. Britain is going to share intelligence with China on the supply chains of smuggling gangs in the hope that the Chinese will help stop the supply of dinghy engines to those gangs.

0:49That's one of the outcomes of Sir Keir Starmer's meeting with the Chinese President Xi Jinping, which he described as productive. We made some really good progress on tariffs for whiskey, on visa-free travel, to China and on information exchange and cooperation on irregular migration, focusing particularly on small boats and engine parts. The Times' Stephen Swinford, who is with the Prime Minister on the trip, told us that he is using the same playbook he uses with Donald Trump. He is going out of his way to praise him. He won't even say the words Jimmy Lai. He will say things like those issues were raised respectfully.

1:28It's almost like Voldemort, the man who should not be named or something. It's quite a strange way of doing things. But it is the same playbook, just complete trying to go out of his way to praise him. And he thinks that's how you get things done. And he may be right. Jimmy Lai is a British citizen detained in Hong Kong for five years. The Prime Minister's delayed bringing plans to lower welfare costs before Parliament, with a source telling the Times it would be very difficult with Labour-backed benches. The changes would have been to disability payments and youth unemployment. Labour MP Richard Bergen, who doesn't want to see welfare spending cut, sent Times Radio this voice note, agreeing that any attempt would face party opposition.

2:07The truth is that if the government were to come back for a second bite of the cherry, pushing through further disability benefit cuts, then they would face, in my opinion, an even bigger rebellion from the Labour back benches than they did last time. The average water bill will go up by around£33 a year from April. Water companies say the increase is needed to fund major investment in crumbling infrastructure. Business journalist Adam Shaw says customers are frustrated with the system being squeezed by shareholders. British people are paying their bills. That is going to dividends. And those dividends aren't really held in the UK.

2:46But if we want it to be better, someone's got to pay. And unfortunately, the news is today, guess who's paying? One of the sponsors of the assisted dying bill says it's unlikely to become law this year because of the number of amendments that need to be cleared in the House of Lords. Our reporter in the Times newsroom, Olly Cole, has more on the background. The Prime Minister made a lot of his promise to campaigners to allow time and a free vote on the issue. But it's not part of the government's formal agenda or manifesto, instead introduced from the back benches by Kim Leadbeater. The bill was backed by MPs, but it's now going through a lengthy debate in the Lords.

3:19If peers fail to support it by the end of this parliamentary session in May, the proposals will come to a halt, leaving supporters needing to use an old parliamentary procedure to revive its chances of passing. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has said he did not want to undermine Sir Keir Starmer's authority by seeking to stand in the by-election next month. He said he spoke to him on the phone to tell him as such a Labour candidate hasn't yet been announced. For more stories like this, listen throughout the day to Times Radio. This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwC.

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