A Tory peer who helped the government to set up the Universal Credit system has called for an urgent increase to benefits in light of the country’s growing cost of living crisis.
Baroness Stroud, a former advisor to ex-party leader Iain Duncan Smith, has said that the government had a responsibility to increase the benefits in line with inflation to help vulnerable people.
She told The Independent that the £20 a week ‘uplift’ introduced to help families during the heigh of the Covid-19 pandemic should be restored to stop more families from falling into poverty.
Telling the paper it was the government’s responsibility to ‘help vulnerable people’, she added that the government ‘has the opportunity to intervene’, pointing to how it ‘has done so in the past’.
She told the paper: “We are sitting on a cost of living crisis; we have the opportunity to intervene; we have done so in the past under difficult situations when it affected everybody, but if governments have a responsibility to do anything, it is to act on behalf of vulnerable people.
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“This is a moment to do that.”
Her comments follow increasing pressure on the Chancellor to do more to help struggling families, as government figures show that poverty is rising fastest among under-fives, and one in three preschool children are now living in poverty.
Lady Stroud, CEO of the Legatum Institute think tank, told The Independent: “I just genuinely think the benefits should be uprated in line with the current inflation – they should be brought forward.
“That would be entirely possible to do. The defense has been made that it can’t be done immediately. I have spoken with DWP officials, who’ve said [an increase in] universal credit can be done immediately.
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“I know the legacy benefits are much harder to do,” she added. “You could do a one-off payment for the equivalent value for those on legacy.”
“We’re going to start seeing very, very difficult choices being made. We’ve already started seeing very difficult choices being made.”
The Tory peer added that the initial introduction of the uplift was “recognition that the levels of welfare are too low”, continuing: “If it wasn’t right for groups of people during Covid, it can’t be right now.”
“I never thought it should be taken away, and I think it should be restored.
“The fact we were able to bring it in so swiftly at the time of the pandemic demonstrates just how easy it would be to restore it now.”
In April, it was revealed that inflation in the UK has soared to a 40-year-high of 9% and is predicted by the Bank of England to hit 10% before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, according to government figures, there are now more working people on Universal Credit than ever before, with 42% of claimants recorded as being in employment on 9 December 2021 – up from 39% on 10 December 2020.
At the same time, the UK’s unemployment rate is currently at its lowest since 1974 at 3.7 percent. This means that there were fewer people out of work than there were job openings in nearly 50 years.
Martha Mackenzie, Save the Children Director of UK Poverty Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, said: “Poverty is rising fastest among the under-fives in the UK. One in three preschool children are living in poverty. That’s more than any other age group – and is disastrous for the future life-chances of these children.
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“Poverty has a profound impact on children from the very start of their lives. Poorer children are more likely to start primary school without the basic skills they need, such as being able to speak in full sentences. We know that many of these children may never catch up.
“The Government have said they are committed to boosting social mobility. Yet today’s figures show that we are going backwards, and even more pre-school children are sinking into poverty. This must be a wakeup call – we need urgent action to reverse this trend.”
Speaking ahead of the weekend, the Prime Minister told reports he was “not going to pretend we can magic away every single expense that people are going to face as a result of the global spike in energy prices”.
He added: “Be in no doubt, this will come down, we will get people through it. We will use the firepower we’ve built up to put our arms around people, just as we did during the pandemic.”
The nominees for the Critics’ Choice award at the 2026 BRITs in Manchester have been revealed
Danny Jones
With the upcoming BRITs ceremony coming to Manchester, we’re more all over the nominations than ever, especially now that the Critics’ Choice nominees for 2026 have been confirmed.
2023 was the annual Chanel ‘Metiers D’Art’ show, 2024 was the MTV EMAs, and next summer will see the BRITs; gosh, Manchester really is in vogue, isn’t it?
Commenting on the nomination, he told the BRITs: “Ya beauty! Tapadh leibh [‘thank you’ in Gaelic] for recognising my work for this award, you legends! Even though I’m Scottish and Irish before I’m British, I appreciate the BRITs critics for this recognition.
“I really care about and believe in this music, and it makes my world brighter every time it reaches someone else. Hopefully, this nomination means some more beautiful people might find something in this wee album. ‘Mon the gays!”
Rose Gray
Next up in the nods is London’s Rose Gray – a solo star who has developed a cult following thanks to songs like ‘ATTENTION!’, ‘Wet & Wild’, ‘Angel of Satisfaction’ and more.
Also the long-time partner and childhood sweetheart of Babygirl, Iron Claw and The King’s Man actor, Harris Dickinson, Gray has been riding a particular wave of popularity over the past year or so, especially after the release of her A Little Louder, Please (Deluxe) double album this past October.
She said in a statement: “I’m so excited for this nomination! This moment feels like a special reminder of how far this journey has carried me and what a crazy year it’s been. One year ago, I was manifesting so hard for my album to travel, to find its people, to really get its light. And it did. Releasing this record has genuinely changed my life…”
Lastly, in at number three is the 20-year-old singer-songwriter, Sienna Spiro, whose soulful voice sounds like one with much more life experience and years of emotion under its belt; it’s no wonder that she’s resonated with multiple generations, let alone been recognised by the panel.
With big theatrical ballads like ‘Die On This Hill’, ‘You Stole The Show’, as well as heavily-streamed songs like ‘MAYBE.’, ‘BACK TO BLONDE’ and more in her impressive and fast-growing discography, we know she’ll go far even if she doesn’t win – you can bank on that.
She added: “So beyond honoured and grateful to be nominated for this year’s Critics’ Choice BRIT Award! To think I started releasing music last year, I would never have expected this at all. Thank you so much!”
Having looked again at the list of people who’ve been both shortlisted and those who have gone on to win it, trust us, you’ll want to be paying attention to this one…
For context:
Past BRITs Critics’ Choice / Rising Star winners and nominees
2008 – Adele (Duffy, Foals)
2009 – Florence + The Machine (Little Boots, White Lies)
2010 – Ellie Goulding (Delphic, Marina and the Diamonds)
2011 – Jessie J (James Blake, The Vaccines)
2012 – Emeli Sandé (Michael Kiwanuka, Maverick Sabre)
So yeah, it’s fair to say that anyone even in the running for this accolade tends to go on to do even more bigger and better things than they already have.
Tickets to be at the 2026 BRIT Awards at Co-op Live in person for whoever picks up the Critics’ Choice gong, as well as all the other categories, are live now.
Featured Images — Audio North/Press shots (supplied)
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The best restaurant in the UK has been named, and it’s just an hour from Manchester
Daisy Jackson
The top 100 restaurants in the UK have just been named, and the North West has come out fighting, taking three of the top 10 spots including the number one position.
Harden’s Top 100 Best UK Restaurants 2026 has named Moor Hall, a three-Michelin star restaurant less than an hour from Manchester, as the best place to eat in the entire UK.
And hot on its heels is another big name from the North West, fellow three-Michelin star restaurant L’Enclume, up in village of Cartmel, which placed second.
Also in the top 10 is a Manchester newcomer, Skof, which launched in the city centre last year with chef Tom Barnes at the helm.
Skof has skipped ahead of Mana, which until recently was the only restaurant in Greater Manchester to hold a Michelin Star, and which placed 11th.
The Harden’s Best UK Restaurants 2026 list has found that the North West has the most entries of any region outside London, with 12 restaurants in the top 100.
Mark Birchall’s Moor Hall in West Lancashire has rocketed into the top spot from last year’s ranking at number 74, with diners praising it as being ‘superb from beginning to end’.
On our recent visit, we declared Moor Hall ‘hospitality on an unparalleled level’.
Moor Hall has been named the best restaurant in the UK. Credit: The Manc Group
Peter Harden, co-founder of Harden’s, comments: “Moor Hall has been a recurring name in the Harden’s Top 100 UK Restaurant’s list for many years now, as has runner-up L’Enclume which was in the top spot a couple of years ago.
“In a Top 100 where restaurants are very much at the mercy of diner reports from the first six months of the year, the consistent performance from these two venues is a testament to the high quality of the food, service and location.
“It’s wonderful to see Mark and his talented team reach this year’s pole position and, whilst diners who took part in our national survey did often flag the higher price point, it appears to be a venue regarded as well worth it, albeit for a rare treat.”
Chef-patron of Moor Hall, Mark Birchall adds: “I’m honoured that Moor Hall has been awarded the No. 1 spot in this year’s Harden’s Top 100 UK Restaurants list. This has already been a landmark year for us, and I’m delighted to see the team’s dedication recognised once again.
“Our success is driven by the talent, consistency and commitment of everyone who contributes to the experience at Moor Hall. It’s a wonderful acknowledgement of their hard work and passion, and we’re proud to share this achievement with everyone who dines with us.”
Tom Barnes and the Skof team outside the restaurant. Credit: Cristian Barnett.
Reflecting on this year’s findings, Peter Harden added: “It’s understandable that over the last 12 months the hospitality industry has been toiling away under a cloud of gloomsterism. Hit by food inflation, rising wages, relentless rent increases and soaring utilities – some long-term operators say that 2025 is the toughest year they can recall.
“However, what our survey results and data-crunching from across the sector shows is the remarkable resilience at work from those in the trade – particularly in the North West. Our number of entries remains very steady, and strong newcomers are emerging in each area of a quality that is probably better than ever.
“What is challenging for suppliers can be good for consumers. Customer expectations are so high now, restaurants have to work ever-harder to cut through and we’re seeing a number of new openings from across the UK going straight into the Top 100 – or, in Skof’s case, the Top 10!
“This really is testament to the rigorous standards, hard work and innovation being put in by front and back of house teams who are impressively determined to find a way in difficult circumstances and continue to raise the bar to bring diners high quality experiences.”
Georgina Pellant -
23rd May 2022 
