Category Archives: Politics

Sunak and Hunt accused of ‘damaging UK plc’ over NatWest boss’s exit

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Concerns raised over anonymous briefings that triggered early-hours resignation of Dame Alison Rose

The prime minister and the chancellor have been accused of “damaging UK plc” and failing to follow due process amid concern over anonymous briefings that triggered the early-hours resignation of NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose.

“There is a real sense of disquiet that political pressure has led to a midnight exit for such an important banking CEO,” an official at the City regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, told the Guardian. “They should have allowed due process.”

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NatWest boss Alison Rose resigns over Nigel Farage Coutts account row

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Former Ukip leader obtained report suggesting media coverage of his political views was considered in Coutts closure decision

Dame Alison Rose, the chief executive of NatWest Group, has stood down after a row over the closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account with the private bank Coutts, which NatWest owns.

Rose has resigned from the banking group after the former UK Independence party leader complained to the BBC about a report that claimed his accounts with Coutts were closed for commercial reasons. The broadcaster has since apologised and amended its story.

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Nigel Farage calls for NatWest bosses to go after chief executive resigns over Coutts row – business live

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Live coverage of business, economics and financial markets as UK bank replaces leader following late night board meeting

The minister in charge of overseeing the UK’s financial services has said that “it is right” that Alison Rose has resigned from NatWest Group, calling the closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account “unacceptable”.

Andrew Griffith, the City minister, said the resignation “would never have happened” had NatWest Group’s subsidiary, Coutts, not withdrawn the account “due to someone’s lawful political views”.

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Make nurseries exempt from VAT and business rates to boost wages, say MPs

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Committee also says government has more work to do to tackle structural problems in early years childcare

Ministers should remove business rates and VAT from nurseries so that they are able to pay their staff more, a group of MPs have recommended.

In the spring budget, Jeremy Hunt pledged to reform the childcare system, including by offering parents of children aged nine months to three years 30 hours a week of free childcare in term-time, which was expected to cost £4bn. The government claimed that it would reduce childcare costs for a family by almost 60%.

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Tax relief system needs overhaul to prevent abuse, say MPs

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Treasury committee report says tax system is too complicated and finds two-thirds of relief policies are uncosted

Almost £200bn of tax reliefs handed to businesses and individuals each year should come under greater government scrutiny to prevent fraud and abuse, according to an all-party group of MPs.

The Treasury committee said in a report published on Wednesday that “a systematic review” into more than 1,000 tax reliefs was needed after MPs found HM Revenue and Customs did not have the resources to monitor how tax breaks and deductions were used.

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UK inaction let Wagner group flourish and grow, say MPs

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Foreign affairs select committee condemns government’s ‘dismal lack of understanding’ about group’s hold in Africa

A decade-long failure by the British government has allowed the Wagner network to grow, spread its tentacles deep into Africa and exploit vulnerable countries, according to a highly critical report from the UK’s foreign affairs select committee.

It called on the government to proscribe the Wagner group in the UK and to make a far more concerted effort to stop it using the City of London as a financial centre.

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Sunak’s tweet associating Labour with ‘criminal gangs’ labelled ‘desperate and pathetic’ by shadow cabinet minister – UK politics live

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Jim McMahon, MP for Oldham and shadow environment secretary, criticises prime minister for tweet about Labour and immigration law firms

Michael Gove has been accused of showing how “disjointed” the government’s net zero strategy is by Greenpeace UK.

In a statement released after Gove’s media interview round this morning, in which the levelling up secretary appeared to firm up the government’s commitment to at least one green target, while signalling that others might be relaxed (see 10.04am), Doug Parr, Greenpeace UK’s director of policy, said:

Michael Gove has demonstrated how disjointed the government’s new strategy is. If ministers genuinely want to help lower costs for households, they should be doing everything in their power to switch our homes, energy and transport systems away from expensive, climate-wrecking fossil fuels and run them instead on clean technology and cheap renewables.

Mr Gove is right to reaffirm the government’s commitment to ending the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030 – and Sunak should now do the same, whilst making the transition as easy as possible for people with extensive charging infrastructure and the promised mandate on manufacturers. But allowing more oil and gas drilling, delaying the phase-out of gas boilers and giving landlords longer to insulate the homes of renters will only keep bills high and continue to fan the flames of climate change.

The leaders discussed recent developments on the battlefield and the continued progress by Ukrainian forces despite the challenging conditions. The prime minister added that he was appalled by the devastation caused by recent Russian attacks on Odesa.

Discussing the Black Sea grain initiative, the leaders agreed on the importance of ensuring grain was able to be exported from Ukraine to reach international markets. The prime minister said the UK was working closely with Turkey on restoring the grain deal, and we would continue to use our role as chair of the UN security council to further condemn Russia’s behaviour.

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Rhodes wildfires are climate wake-up call, says UK minister

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Patrick Courtown sounds warning as evacuation flights head to Greek island to rescue stranded Britons

Wildfires in Rhodes are a “wake-up call” on the effects of the climate crisis, a UK government minister has said, as empty planes were sent to the Greek island to help bring home stranded Britons.

After a mass evacuation from parts of Rhodes, members of the House of Lords were told the situation was “stabilising” and there was no immediate need for the government to advise people to stop travelling there.

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Northern Ireland could lose half its veterinary medicines in Brexit row

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Requirement for animal medicines to be batch-tested in EU could see products discontinued, BVA warns

Northern Ireland could lose half of its veterinary medicines in a new Brexit row threatening to prolong the political stalemate in the region, it has emerged.

The British Veterinary Association told the Lords committee on Northern Ireland in written evidence that it was “extremely concerned” about the issue even though the Windsor framework sealed between Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, in March was sold as a solution to the protracted saga regarding Northern Ireland.

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AI bots could replace us, peer warns House of Lords during debate

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Crossbencher asks Lords to imagine bots with ‘higher productivity and lower running costs’ as example of risk to UK jobs market

The House of Lords could be replaced by bots with “deeper knowledge, higher productivity and lower running costs”, said a peer during a debate on the development of advanced artificial intelligence.

Addressing the upper chamber, Richard Denison hypothesised that AI services may soon be able to deliver his speeches in his own style and voice, “with no hesitation, repetition or deviation”.

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Rishi Sunak signals he could abandon green policies that cost consumers

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Conservative rightwingers push PM to create dividing line with Labour on environment after narrow byelection win in Uxbridge

Rishi Sunak has signalled the government could delay or even abandon green policies that impose a direct cost on consumers, as he comes under pressure from the Conservative right to create a dividing line with Labour at the next election.

The prime minister said the drive to reach the UK’s net zero targets should not “unnecessarily give people more hassle and more costs in their lives” as he rethinks his green agenda after last week’s Uxbridge and South Ruislip byelection.

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Travel firms flying tourists to Rhodes are ‘profiteering’, senior Tory says

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Alicia Kearns backs calls for the government to advise against travel to the Greek island

Travel firms that continue to fly tourists to Rhodes have been accused of “profiteering” by a senior Conservative, as ministers faced pressure over official travel advice for the island, where 10,000 British tourists have been stranded.

As flights rescuing holidaymakers began arriving in the UK on Monday, calls continued for a change in the Foreign Office’s stance on the categorisation of Rhodes to enable tourists to get a refund for their trips through their travel insurance.

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Monday briefing: Spain’s nail-biting election ends in hung parliament – what happens now?

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In today’s newsletter: The country’s conservative parties were meant to romp to victory in snap elections, but with 100% of the vote counted, neither the left or right blocs have secured a majority

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Good morning.

A few days ago it seemed a foregone conclusion that a coalition of rightwing parties were going to win Spain’s snap elections. A huge majority was not a guarantee, but most of the polls were in their favour. Election night, however, told a different story.

Health | Most NHS staff think they have too little time to help patients and the quality of care the service provides is falling, a survey reveals. Medical and nursing groups said the “very worrying” findings showed that hard-pressed staff cannot give patients as much attention as they would like because they are so busy.

Environment | Firefighters in Greece were struggling to contain 82 wildfires burning across the country, 64 of which started on Sunday, the hottest day of the summer so far. As well as huge blazes on the island of Rhodes, which forced 19,000 to flee, wildfires also broke out on the islands of Evia and Corfu. Travel firms and airlines are now being urged to reimburse passengers who decide against flying to Rhodes.

Politics | Rishi Sunak is being urged by senior Conservatives to go for a spring election next year, with the plan said to be “gaining traction” among campaign strategists who believe it may be their best chance to stem losses.

Nigel Farage | Britain’s biggest banks will be summoned to a meeting with the City minister, as he raised “significant concern” over the recent closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account with Coutts. Andrew Griffith will send a letter to the bosses of 19 banks including Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest to warn the government is prepared to “take the action necessary” to protect freedom of speech.

Cinema | Vue cinema chain has reported its biggest weekend for UK cinema ticket sales since before the pandemic, thanks to the success of Barbie and Oppenheimer at the box office. The chain said a fifth of its customers had bought tickets to see both films in a double bill.

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Labour vows to ‘modernise, simplify and reform’ Gender Recognition Act

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Party chair says since act was passed by party in 2004, there is now a ‘much better understanding of the barriers trans people face’

Labour will overhaul an “outdated” law to make it easier for transgender people to transition while maintaining protections for single-sex spaces, the party’s chair and shadow equalities secretary has said.

Writing in the Guardian, Anneliese Dodds accused the Conservative party of seeking to stoke “culture wars” by pinning its hopes for electoral success on “demonising vulnerable LGBT+ people”.

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MPs launch inquiry into prosecution of Norton Motorcycles pension fraud

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Regulators to be asked about how £10m scam was investigated, as Guardian Today in Focus podcast raises fresh questions about case

Financial regulators are to be summoned to parliament to explain how they prosecuted the case of a multimillion-pound pensions fraud whose victims have yet to receive compensation and which has not led to anyone serving prison time.

Sir Stephen Timms MP, chair of the work and pensions committee, said he was launching an inquiry into how watchdogs and prosecutors handled the case, in which £10m of pension savings disappeared after being invested in the heritage brand Norton Motorcycles.

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MPs challenge VC firms over record on female and minority-led firms

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Treasury committee finds huge majority of venture capital funding goes to companies run by white men in south-east England

The venture capital industry has come under fire from MPs for its “unacceptable failure” to invest in businesses located outside London or south-east England, or those run by women and ethnic minorities.

Businesses founded exclusively by women were revealed to have received just 2% of all venture capital funding in 2022, while even less investment went to companies led by black or other minority ethnic executives.

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Sadiq Khan to press ahead with Ulez expansion amid Labour pressure

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London mayor is open to ideas to mitigate impact on residents, but not on scheduling of policy some blame for loss of byelection

Sadiq Khan is open to new ideas for mitigating the impact of the anti-pollution levy in London being expanded next month, but refusing to back down on the planned timing of its implementation.

Despite pressure from some in Labour for city hall to rethink the policy they believe lost the party the Uxbridge and South Ruislip byelection on Thursday, the mayor is determined for it to come into force.

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‘Get rid of all the green crap’: Tory PMs’ strange attitude to the environment

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As both Labour and Conservatives ponder their green policy, we look back at the Tories’ propensity to promise much – and deliver little

Conservative party support for environmental causes has generally been vocal at election time but hesitant and half-hearted in power. On one hand, the party – with the exception of a few hardcore climate crisis deniers – has never reached the total opposition to green causes that disfigures rightwing parties in other nations, in particular the US Republicans. On the other, it has generally failed to enact the kind of legislation that would allow the UK to take a global lead in the battle against global heating, as can be seen from the records of three recent Tory prime ministers.

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UK bill waters down protections against ‘robo-firing’ in gig economy, say experts

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Law would weaken right to force app-based firms to explain automated decisions, says research group

Protections for gig economy workers will be watered down should ministers succeed in pushing a controversial bill through parliament, experts have said.

The new law would weaken a relatively little-known right to force app-based firms to explain themselves when they make automated decisions, known as “management by algorithm”, before many workers had even realised they had it, they said.

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Labour boasts commanding 17-point opinion poll lead over Tories

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Keir Starmer’s approval ratings suffer but his party remains far ahead of Conservatives as Westminster summer recess begins

Labour goes into the Westminster summer break with a commanding 17-point lead over the Conservatives, despite a fall in approval ratings for party leader Keir Starmer.

The latest Opinium poll for the Observer puts Labour on 42%, down one point since a fortnight ago, while the Tories are down three points to 25%, their poorest showing since the disastrous premiership of Liz Truss.

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