Guardian understands early drafts of UK government’s autumn statement include at least £35bn reduction in spending
Jeremy Hunt will set out tax rises and spending cuts totalling £60bn at the autumn statement under current plans, including at least £35bn in cuts, the Guardian understands.
Ministers must submit the key points of the autumn statement to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) by Monday morning.
Continue reading...Oliver Dowden says Department of Health has ‘well-oiled contingencies’ to manage impact of action
The government has said it has contingency plans for dealing with a strike by nurses amid the growing threat of industrial action in the NHS.
The Observer revealed on Sunday that the biggest nursing strike in NHS history could take place before Christmas after “large swathes of the country” voted for nationwide industrial action. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is due to announce the results of its ballot in the next few days.
Continue reading...Scepticism from summit attendees as PM adopts Labour leader’s stated aim of making UK a green ‘superpower’
Rishi Sunak attempted an extraordinary volte-face on green policy on the eve of the Cop27 climate summit on Saturday, saying he would attend in order to “galvanise” world leaders to save the planet.
The prime minister – who had been criticised for saying he was too busy with domestic commitments to attend – also adopted precisely the same language on renewable energy that Labour leader Keir Starmer has been using for months, declaring that he now wanted to turn the UK into a “clean energy superpower”.
Continue reading...Angry at not being invited to the Queen’s funeral, minister sent string of abusive texts
Gavin Williamson is facing an investigation over a series of abusive and threatening messages sent to the then Tory chief whip complaining he had been excluded from the Queen’s funeral.
The cabinet minister, who was a backbencher at the time, accused Wendy Morton of using the death of the monarch to “punish” senior MPs who were out of favour with Liz Truss’s government.
Continue reading...Party vice-president Michelle O’Neill says government must find a way to make post-Brexit arrangements work
The Sinn Féin leader in Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill, has said the UK government needs to “step up to the plate” and find a way to make the Northern Ireland protocol work.
On Friday, the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, said there will not be a Stormont election in December.
Continue reading...Daniel Greenberg pledges to be advocate for ‘vast majority’ of MPs committed to high public standards
The reputation of British politicians is at a “low point”, the UK’s new independent parliamentary commissioner for standards has said, as he pledged to be an advocate for the “vast majority” of MPs who were committed to high standards in public life.
Daniel Greenberg, who takes over from Kathryn Stone when her five-year term comes to an end in January, admitted that a slew of scandals in recent years as well as the turbulence of the past 12 months had tarnished parliament’s reputation.
Continue reading...Protest by People’s Assembly campaign group will also call for action on the cost of living crisis
Thousands of people are expected to hold a demonstration in London on Saturday, demanding an immediate general election, as well as action to combat the worsening cost of living crisis.
Trade unions and community organisations will take part in the protest, which will include a march around parliament, said its organisers, the People’s Assembly campaign group.
Continue reading...Proposals are part of party’s wider ambition to build system of high-quality, affordable childcare and to make issue an election pledge
Councils in England will be encouraged to open more high-quality maintained nurseries as part of ambitious Labour plans to transform childcare and ease pressure on struggling parents.
There are fewer than 400 surviving state nursery schools across the country, which are regarded as the jewel in the crown of early years education, but have struggled to survive in the face of budget pressures.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Indian firm from which Rishi Sunak’s wife collects £11.5m in annual dividends retains staffed Moscow office
The Indian IT services company Infosys from which the prime minister’s wife collects £11.5m in annual dividends is still operating from Moscow eight months after the company said it was pulling out.
The company retains a staffed office and is paying subcontractors in the Russian capital to carry out IT services for a global client although a spokesperson said they were looking to end that arrangement.
Continue reading...Bamford family has contributed almost £50,000 to former PM’s lifestyle since July, register of MPs’ interests shows
Boris Johnson has accepted another £10,000 of accommodation from the Bamford family, taking their contributions to his lifestyle to almost £50,000 since he resigned as Conservative leader.
The former prime minister registered the additional gift from Lady Carole Bamford, for “concessionary use of accommodation for me and my family in October”.
Continue reading...Greater Manchester mayor says report into 2017 atrocity raises serious questions for whole of UK
The “poor leadership” of emergency services meant Manchester was not ready for the terrorist attack that killed 22 people in 2017, the region’s mayor, Andy Burnham, has said.
A damning inquiry report on the Manchester arena bombing identified significant failings by police, fire and ambulance services. At least one of those killed would probably have survived were it not for a response that was described as badly prepared, delayed and chaotic, it was found.
Continue reading...Chris Philp’s comments spark row as government faces pressure to fix ‘chaos’ at Manston refugee centre
No 10 has distanced itself from a Home Office minister’s remarks that it is “a bit of cheek” for asylum seekers to complain about the conditions at immigration processing centres.
The government has come under criticism for allowing 4,000 people to be held at the Manston centre, a short-term holding facility in Kent, which is designed to hold no more than 1,600 asylum seekers for only a few days.
Continue reading...No 10 said Chris Philp had not spoken to the PM before accusing asylum seekers of ‘cheek’ for complaining about conditions
The Downing Street lobby briefing is over, and the prime minister’s spokesperson has just shot down reports that the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power plant could be shelved.
This morning the BBC was leading the news with a story saying this was an option. A government official told Simon Jack, the BBC’s business editor: “We are reviewing every major project – including Sizewell C.”
I’ve seen some reporting on that, but it is not accurate to say we are scrapping it. Our position on Sizewell C has not changed. It remains crucial to ending our reliance on fossil fuels, increasing our energy security and meeting our net zero ambitions.
We hope to get a deal over the line as soon as possible. There are negotiations are ongoing. Negotiations have been constructive.
Continue reading...UK parliamentarians call for inquiry into 2% levy on Eritreans abroad, amid fears that it fuels Tigray war
A group of UK parliamentarians is calling for an urgent investigation into the collection of a “diaspora tax” by the Eritrean authorities, which they say could have helped fund war in neighbouring Ethiopia.
MPs and members of the House of Lords want the government to launch a “full, formal, and fully funded” public inquiry into the collection of the 2% tax in the UK, and take “robust action to stop the practice”.
Continue reading...Two Afghans tell of how they were taken from Manston centre and left without accommodation or money
People taken from Manston immigration holding centre have described their dismay at being deposited late at night in central London, without accommodation, appropriate clothing or money.
Amid growing controversy over the circumstances in which large numbers of people were bussed out of the acutely overcrowded camp, the Home Office has insisted that it only released asylum seekers who told staff that they had family or friends they could stay with.
Continue reading...Mayor tells Suella Braverman of his shock at people from Manston facility being left cold and hungry in capital
Suella Braverman is facing demands from Sadiq Khan to launch an urgent review of how dozens of people once held in Manston holding centre were abandoned without food or accommodation in the capital.
The mayor of London has also raised concerns with the home secretary that overcrowding and poor safeguarding in hotels housing people seeking asylum has led to reports of sexual assaults against children.
Continue reading...Officials are also looking at incorporating cut in tax-free allowance for dividends into autumn statement
Treasury officials are examining whether the autumn statement could include changes to non-dom status and moves to raise taxes on dividends by cutting tax-free allowances.
No final decisions have been taken but Whitehall sources said options were being examined by the Treasury’s high net worth individuals policy team.
Continue reading...Exclusive: CT Group, co-owned by Lynton Crosby, planned secretive African campaign on behalf of Canadian mining giant
A lobbying firm with deep ties to the Conservative party planned a secretive campaign to influence elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in exchange for millions of pounds from a mining company.
Leaked documents suggest the influential firm co-owned by the veteran Tory strategist Sir Lynton Crosby agreed to help the mining company swing a presidential election in the central African country.
Continue reading...Palestinian mission in UK welcomes statement, which appears to put end to review ordered by Liz Truss
Rishi Sunak has abandoned moves initiated by Liz Truss to relocate Britain’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Downing Street has confirmed.
Truss, when she was prime minister, ordered a review into whether the UK should follow the Trump administration in moving the embassy from Tel Aviv.
Continue reading...‘Complexity and uncertainty’ ahead as NHS struggles to deliver standard of care patients deserve, says Amanda Pritchard
The NHS in England is facing even tougher challenges now than when Covid-19 struck, the service’s boss has said.
The many problems confronting the health service meant it was harder now for it to do its job, and it would become even more difficult, said Amanda Pritchard, NHS England’s chief executive.
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