Witham MP expected to attack ‘those in power’ for sidelining party’s grassroots at conference of pro-Boris Johnson group
Priti Patel will attack the Conservative party leadership, blaming heavy local election losses on “those in power and control”, in a speech on Saturday.
The former home secretary is expected to accuse the Tory leadership of having “done a better job at damaging our party” over the past year than Keir Starmer’s Labour party or leftwing campaign groups.
Continue reading...Democracy Volunteers group says half of them appeared to be from minority ethnic backgrounds
More than 1% of voters, half of whom appeared to be from minority ethnic backgrounds, were turned away from polling stations because of ID requirements at the local elections, according to a group of democracy observers.
Democracy Volunteers, a group of election observers, said it conducted snapshot surveys in 118 councils on 4 May.
Continue reading...Focus group of blue wall residents believes Sunak is ‘out of his depth’ and that Britain needs change now
Blue wall Conservative voters in Surrey are far from impressed with the government’s obsession with culture wars, and remain unrepentant for tactically backing the Liberal Democrats at last week’s local elections.
The prime minister still looks “out of his depth”, uninspiring and unable to set out a straightforward vision six months in the job, according to a panel of Surrey residents who backed the Conservatives at the 2019 election. They believe “the country needs change now”, and the Tories need some time in opposition to sort themselves out.
Continue reading...Producers of event refuse Ukraine president’s request to speak over fears of politicising contest
Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer have voiced their disapproval of a decision to prevent Volodymyr Zelenskiy from being able to address this year’s Eurovision.
The prime minister and the Labour leader were united in criticising the decision to block the Ukrainian president’s request to speak at Saturday evening’s grand final. They were joined in their opposition by the former prime minister Boris Johnson.
PA Media contributed to this report
Continue reading...Executives holds talks with both sides after screening of gender critical documentary was cancelled
Edinburgh University hopes to defuse a crisis involving gender critical and pro-trans academics after clashes over the screening of the film Adult Human Female.
University executives are holding talks with both sides after pro-trans activists prevented the gender critical documentary from being screened on campus for the second time late last month, by blockading a theatre where it was due to be shown.
Continue reading...Most victims do not report it for fear of not being believed or damaging career prospects, says union body
Almost two in three young women have experienced sexual harassment, bullying or verbal abuse at work, according to a TUC poll.
However, most victims do not report it for fear of not being believed or of damaging their relationships at work or their career prospects, the TUC said.
Continue reading...Britain donating arms capable of striking targets in occupied Crimea as Kyiv prepares counteroffensive against Russia
Britain has become the first western country to provide Ukraine with the long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles that Kyiv wants to boost its chances in a much-anticipated counteroffensive, prompting a threat from the Kremlin of a military response.
Hours after Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he needed more western weapons to be confident of a victory this summer, Ben Wallace, the UK defence secretary, told MPs that the missiles – which cost more than £2m each – were “now going in, or are in the country itself”.
Continue reading...FDA union votes to use ‘all means available’, including ‘targeted legal action’ in wake of Dominic Raab scandal
Senior civil servants have voted to take a stand against inflammatory language from politicians and in favour of legal action to combat bullying, as former cabinet ministers Jacob Rees-Mogg and Dominic Raab renewed their attacks on officials.
Members of the FDA union passed a motion in favour of using “all means available” to challenge bullying and harassment of officials, including “use of targeted legal action”, in after the scandal that forced Raab to resign.
Continue reading...Northern rail network to be run by state-owned operator of last resort when contract expires on 28 May
TransPennine Express (TPE) is to be run by the state after ministers announced that the failing rail company would not have its contract renewed.
The transport secretary, Mark Harper, said the northern rail network would be run by the state-owned operator of last resort after passengers experienced disruption, cancellations and a significant decline in the extent and reliability of the service.
Continue reading...Business and trade secretary answers urgent question in Commons on retained EU law
Sir William Cash, chair of the European scrutiny committee, used his follow-up to his urgent question to say that Kemi Badenoch has declined three times to appear before this committee to discuss this issue.
He said the new amendments to the bill announced yesterday have not been scrutinised by the Commons.
The amendments published today, apart from her very short written ministerial statement yesterday and her article in the press today, are not accompanied by any explanation to this house despite the utter reversal in vital respects to the bill as passed by this elected house, why not?
The amendments have not been subjected to any analysis or questioning by this house, which is now essential given the fundamental change in government policy. This house is being treated in a manner which is clearly inconsistent with clear promises already made.
Continue reading...Liz Saville Roberts denies party tried to put own interests before need to ‘detoxify’ internal culture
A senior Plaid Cymru figure has defended attempts by some in the party’s hierarchy to keep Adam Price in place as leader despite a damning review into the culture of the party, arguing that they did so because they believed stability was needed to bring about change.
Price announced his resignation as leader late on Wednesday – a week after a review said his party had failed to “detoxify” its culture and found evidence of misogyny, harassment and bullying.
Continue reading...Lord president of privy council says coronation was ‘humbling day’ and democracy ‘is about dissent’
Penny Mordaunt has revealed how she took painkillers before her role of carrying the ceremonial sword during King Charles’s coronation.
Mordaunt, wearing a custom-made teal outfit with a matching cape and headband with gold feather embroidery, was the first woman to perform the role as lord president of the council. She was responsible for bearing the sword of the state and presenting the jewelled sword of offering to the king. They were two of four swords used during the ceremony, and it is a practice that dates back to the coronation of Richard the Lionheart in 1189.
Continue reading...Alicia Kearns, foreign affairs select committee chair, launches blistering attack on former prime minister
The Conservative chair of the foreign affairs select committee has launched a blistering attack on Liz Truss over the former prime minister’s planned trip to Taiwan, calling it “the worst kind of Instagram diplomacy”.
Alicia Kearns said she thought Truss’s trip planned for next week was little more than a vanity project aimed at keeping her profile high after her brief spell as prime minister last year.
Continue reading...Justin Welby says bill is ‘morally unacceptable’ and rules on protection of refugees are not ‘inconvenient obstructions’. This live blog is closed
In the House of Lords peers are just starting to debate the second reading of the illegal migration bill.
Simon Murray, aka Lord Murray of Blidworth, is opening the debate. He is a lawyer who was made a Home Office minister, and a peer, when Liz Truss was PM.
We now face a perfect storm of factors driving more people into homelessness while giving us fewer good options to help them when they do. These factors include soaring private rents (above the benefit cap), private landlords leaving the sector, a national shortage of affordable housing, and a backlog of court cases after Covid-relating housing support was removed. At the same time, we have a cost-of-living crisis which is reducing real-term incomes and putting further strain on relationships.
Continue reading...First British ministerial visit to Hong Kong since Chinese crackdown focused on attracting investment
The first British ministerial visit to Hong Kong since the introduction of draconian Chinese security laws five years ago was a chance to demand that China unlock more than £2bn in pensions belonging to British overseas passport holders who fled for the UK, former cabinet ministers have told the Foreign Office.
A letter signed by more than 90 MPs, including 10 former ministers, urges the trade minister Dominic Johnson to do more to release frozen savings belonging to thousands of Hongkongers.
Continue reading...Justin Welby to join peers condemning measures that seek to criminalise people seeking refuge in UK
The archbishop of Canterbury will make a rare intervention in the House of Lords to join dozens of peers condemning the government’s flagship asylum bill.
Justin Welby will argue against measures championed by Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman that seek to criminalise people seeking refuge in the UK if they arrive on small boats.
Continue reading...PM’s costly helicopter trip to Southampton to announce prescription reforms underlines fears of some he is out of touch
Rishi Sunak flew to the south coast and back by helicopter to announce a new government health policy on Tuesday as he tried to calm Conservative jitters after a disastrous set of local election results.
In the latest example of the prime minister’s fondness for short-distance air travel, the prime minister visited Southampton to set out plans for pharmacists to provide prescriptions for millions of patients in England to help ease the GP crisis.
Continue reading...NHS in England missed target that patients waiting 18 months for an operation would be treated by April
A key government pledge to reduce the size of the NHS’s record-breaking care backlog has been broken, the health secretary has admitted.
Steve Barclay slipped out the news in a Commons statement on Tuesday about a totally unrelated area of NHS policy – his new plan to improve access to GP care.
Continue reading...Jithender Ballepu says more staff and funding would be needed and has concerns about passing antibiotics over the counter
There is no plaque outside Bassett Pharmacy in Southampton to indicate this was once run by the prime minister’s mother but there is a sign round the back that gives the game away: “Parking for Sunak Pharmacy customers.”
Inside, the pharmacist Jithender Ballepu was expressing reservations about Rishi Sunak’s plans for chemist shops to provide prescriptions for millions of patients in England.
Continue reading...Ex-PM, who is trying to revive career, says she will ‘show solidarity’ with Taiwan after Nancy Pelosi visit sparked furore
Liz Truss is to visit Taiwan next week, where she will deliver a speech likely to anger Beijing and potentially upset the UK government’s careful approach to China relations.
The former prime minister said on Tuesday: “Taiwan is a beacon of freedom and democracy. I’m looking forward to showing solidarity with the Taiwanese people in person in the face of increasingly aggressive behaviour and rhetoric from the regime in Beijing.”
Continue reading...