House of Commons
Parliament

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has begun his statement on Iran.

He says he has “deep regard for the nation of Iran” but in “recent times” it has provided "practical military support to the murderous Assad regime in Syria", "stoked conflict in Yemen", backed militia groups in Iraq, and has "shown a total disregard to human rights" including the holding of dual nationals in jail.

That last one is a reference, we assume, to British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe - and others in a similar situation - detained in Iran.

This "does nothing to enhance its reputation with its neighbours." Mr Wallace tells MPs.

On the decision by the US to kill Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, he adds: "The UK will always defend the right of countries to defend themselves."

He says "aggressive behaviour" from Tehran "was never going to go unchallenged".

James Wild was elected MP for North West Norfolk in December, following his wife into Parliament.

The election of three deputy Speakers, to serve under the new Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, will take place this week. One government and two opposition MPs will be chosen.

Nominations close at 7pm tonight.

Voting will take place by secret ballot between 10am and 1:30pm tomorrow, with MPs ranking the candidates according to preference.

The results are announced as soon as possible after voting closes.

Image source, UK Parliament

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has reshuffled his shadow cabinet today, replacing members who resigned or lost their seats at the election.

Tracy Brabin, pictured above, replaces former deputy party leader Tom Watson as shadow culture secretary and Rachael Maskell takes over from Laura Pidcock as shadow employment rights secretary.

Luke Pollard takes over from Sue Hayman as shadow environment secretary.

Ms Pidcock, a rising star in the party, and Ms Hayman lost their seats in North West Durham and Workington respectively.

The new appointees are unlikely to be in place long, as a new leader normally remodels the cabinet when elected.

And as we know, Mr Corbyn's replacement will be revealed on 4 April.

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Parliament

From Holyrood back to Westminster, Labour's shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Peter Dowd challenges Sajid Javid on the call from the PM's senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, for "weirdos and misfits with odd skills" to work in government.

He asks what "weird explanation" the chancellor has to explain why statistics show UK productivity is falling.

Productivity, for guidance, is an economic measure based on the amount of output you get from each worker.

Mr Javid says the UK has "just had an unprecedented decade of uninterrupted growth… thanks to the work of this government".

"When it comes to weirdos and misfits I know there are many on that side of the house but they need not apply," he adds.

In reply, Mr Dowd says it has been the "worst recovery" of the economy "since industrialisation".

He insists people are "worse off under Tory economic mismanagement".

As Treasury questions goes on in the Commons, let us fill you in on a row that has broken out between Holyrood and Westminster over tax and spending plans.

Chancellor Sajid Javid has announced that he'll set out his delayed Budget on 11 March, but Scottish Ministers and local authorities say that leaves them no time to work out the budget north of the border.

The row is the subject of an urgent question at Holyrood this afternoon, which you can find out more on here.

A lot hinges on the fact that 11 March is the final date for Scottish councils to set their budgets and council tax levels, but that's hard to do when they don't know before then how is coming their way from central coffers.

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay, above, says the UK government has shown "complete disrespect" to the Scottish parliament as no advance notice was given about the date.

We remain focused on introducing a Scottish budget at the "earliest practical opportunity," he adds.

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Parliament

Image source, HoC

Chancellor Sajid Javid is answering questions from MPs in the Commons.

He begins by saying: "At last year’s spending round I announced a £7.1bn increase in schools funding for 22/23 compared to this year.

"This will level up funding across the country and ensure at least £5,000 for every secondary school pupil next year and £4,000 a year for every primary school pupil in 21/22."

We think we'll be hearing the phrase "level up" a lot - Boris Johnson is also a fan.

There are also a number of questions about tackling climate change and carbon emissions.

Exchequer secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke says the government has a "green growth strategy" which is "at the heart of the UK’s offer to the world".

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

We mentioned the tabling of amendments - suggested changes - to the government's Brexit bill.

One of those had called for Big Ben to chime at 23:00 GMT on 31 January - the moment the UK is set to leave the EU.

But the amendment - put forward by Conservative backbench MPs including Brexiteer Mark Francois - was not selected for debate in the Commons today.

That doesn't mean Big Ben won't end up chiming to mark Brexit day - but MPs will need to find another opportunity to vote on it before that date.

Jessica Parker
BBC political correspondent

Ministers have been instructed to “root out any waste” in their departments as the prime minister and chancellor told cabinet it was time to take “tough decisions” to prepare the economy for the next decade.

The update came ahead of the Budget, to be delivered on 11 March.

Departments must show they are delivering “value for money of every pound of taxpayers’ money”, ministers were told, with a focus on reviewing things that are “not aligned” with the government’s priorities.

No detail has yet been given in terms of which projects could face the axe, but government sources acknowledged there may be “squeals of protest” within Whitehall.

It’s understood “hundreds” of so-called legacy projects - dating back years - could come under review.

Vicki Young
Chief Political Correspondent

Boris Johnson has been on holiday like many people over Christmas and New Year, but there are some who are surprised that he hasn’t come out to face the cameras to take questions on Iran.

There have, of course, been statements from people like the foreign secretary and I think the idea is that the ministers responsible for these particular areas are the ones who are going to take the lead on all of this. Behind the scenes, of course, the PM will be keeping across everything

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is likely to face lots of questions from MPs about the fact that Donald Trump did not consult with the British before he took this action against Iran's general.

Many will feel that that is really a comment on the relationship between the two countries, raising questions like who is it who can have influence over the president? Who is he listening to? What is the plan?

Moreover, what is the strategy from others including British and European leaders, and those elsewhere in the Middle East?

What is their approach to what is an incredibly dangerous situation?

This is the first scrutiny of the government on this issue.

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Parliament

Today - at 3.30pm - we see the resumption of debate on the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill, the legislation which puts the government's Brexit deal into law.

The bill was already voted through at second reading before Christmas, which means MPs gave approval to it in principle.

It now enters committee stage, where MPs can table amendments to try to change specific parts of the legislation.

Seventy-eight pages of amendments were put forward, but not all of them have been selected for debate. The ones chosen are those that Commons officials think are most important or which have the most support.

Labour has tabled amendments which give Parliament the power to extend the transition period, protect EU citizens’ rights after Brexit, and protect the right of unaccompanied refugees to settle in the UK.

The DUP has also tabled amendments concerning the parts of the legislation regarding Northern Ireland, and the Lib Dems have put down some that would soften the type of Brexit the bill envisages.

Crucially though, with the government enjoying a Commons majority of 80, the bill will not be changed in any way without the support of ministers.

Image source, EPA

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, above, has travelled to Brussels today for talks with his European counterparts, following the US assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.

Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq on Friday on the orders of President Donald Trump.

Iraqi MPs responded to the strike by passing a non-binding resolution calling for an end to the foreign military presence in their country.

European leaders have already called for all sides to show restraint and Number 10 has urged Iraq to allow UK troops to stay in the country.

Mr Raab said earlier: "We are concerned that if we see a full blown war it would be very damaging and actually the terrorists, in particular Daesh (Islamic State), would be the only winners."

Here's more on the assassination of Soleimani from our defence and diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus.

As we said, there is a statement on the situation in Iran from Defence Secretary Ben Wallace coming up in the Commons at 15:30 GMT.

Image source, Reuters

With MPs back at Parliament, the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader is in full swing.

Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long Bailey has become the sixth candidate to declare a bid. She is widely seen as a top contender and is the candidate favoured by the current leadership.

Her main rival is thought to be Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary. You can read our round-up of all the candidates here.

With the winner announced on 4 April, the leadership contest is sure to dominate Labour politics for the next few months as the candidates try to win the support of the party's MPs and members.

Image source, Getty Images

Speaking of Sajid Javid, the chancellor has announced today that he will deliver his first Budget on 11 March, promising to invest billions of pounds "across the country".

The Budget is the government's yearly announcement on its plans for tax and spending for the coming financial year, which starts in April.

The Treasury will "prioritise the environment", Mr Javid says, and he has reiterated his plan to make use of low borrowing rates to spend on public services.

Mr Javid cancelled a 6 November Budget to make way for the general election.

The BBC's economics editor Faisal Islam says the date is not the only thing to change - a rewiring of the Treasury is in the works.

He says the forthcoming Budget will be quite fundamentally different to the one that never happened. The election result gives a Commons majority and a mandate to act confidently and decisively, and in a manner that fleshes out the election rhetoric about "levelling up" - helping slow-growing regions of the economy.

Read more here.

House of Commons
Parliament

Welcome back to our live politics coverage.

Today MPs return to Parliament after the Christmas break. Here's what's coming up in the Commons:

• 2:30: Oral questions to Chancellor Sajid Javid
• 3:30: Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, will give a statement on the situation in Iran
• Then for eight hours: Debate will start on the committee stage of the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill - the Brexit bill. That's the legislation which puts the government's Brexit deal into law. The committee stage is when MPs can table amendments - suggested changes - to the bill, and the debate is expected to form the bulk of this week's Commons business.
• Until 10.30pm or for half an hour (whichever is later): An adjournment debate on the role of UK special forces in Iraq and Afghanistan