Category Archives: Conservatives

Labour to use tactic that finished off Truss to force Tories into sewage vote

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If Tory MPs vote down opposition day motion, Labour can accuse them of thwarting attempts to clean up rivers, beaches and chalk streams

Labour is planing to use the same Commons procedure that helped remove Liz Truss from Downing Street to force Conservative MPs into a politically embarrassing vote about whether to toughen up rules on sewage discharges.

The party plans to use its regular opposition day motion on Tuesday to push a binding motion, which would oblige the government to set aside Commons time next week for a debate and vote on a Labour bill to impose tougher penalties for sewage spills.

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UK evacuates British embassy staff and families from Sudan in wake of ‘significant threats’ – as it happened

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Foreign secretary says efforts to support British nationals trapped in Sudan currently ‘severely limited’

Oliver Dowden is often viewed as one of the safest pairs of Conservative party hands in media performances, but he’s had a tricky couple of minutes here where Sophy Ridge has first challenged him over concerns about appointments to the BBC raised with him when he was at the DCMS, and is struggling to answer on whether he thinks it would be embarrassing if Boris Johnson appointed his own father to the House of Lords.

Sophy Ridge has pointed out to Oliver Dowden that there have been nine justice ministers in the last few years, and that the backlog in crown court cases is not diminishing. He tried to pin the backlog on Covid, to which she said: “That’s not true, the backlog started before the pandemic.”

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Tories consider controversial plan to politicise civil service after Raab scandal

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No 10 adviser urges political appointments in a radical plan following crisis over bullying

Radical plans to bring in more “politicisation” of Whitehall by allowing ministers greater powers to appoint their own civil servants – including some with overt political affiliations – are being considered by the government’s own adviser on the civil service.

Writing in today’s Observer, the Conservative peer and former Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, who is expected to report shortly to Rishi Sunak, says that in order for ministers to get the best advice possible, we need “to be more robust and less mealy mouthed about ‘politicisation’”.

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Dominic Raab dismissed warnings about his behaviour, says ex-Foreign Office colleague – as it happened

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Hugo Swire, a Tory peer, said he thought Dominic Raab was “too big a talent” not to be back “in some capacity” following his resignation over bullying accusations.

Lord Swire told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

I think to lose somebody who has been a justice secretary, a lord chancellor, deputy prime minister and foreign secretary at this stage is very unwise.

I think this is a career which has been brought prematurely to a temporary halt because I fundamentally believe that a talent such as Dominic will reappear in some place at some time.

It is the government’s loss. I think he will be back in some capacity.

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Dominic Raab blames ‘activist civil servants’ after resigning over bullying report – as it happened

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Raab resigns as deputy prime minister and justice secretary after report finds he displayed ‘persistently aggressive conduct’

There is quite a contrast between the overnight briefing on behalf of Dominic Raab (see 9.06am and 9.24am). That could be explained by his allies talking complete rubbish to journalists. But a much more likely explanation is that last night Raab thought he could stay in office, but that by this morning – presumably after direct, or indirect, contact with Rishi Sunak – he realised that if he did not resign, he was going to sacked.

This is not so much a resignation letter as a “resignation” letter. It reads as if it was written by someone pushed out.

Mr Tolley concluded that I had not once, in four and a half years, sworn or shouted at anyone, let alone thrown anything or otherwise physically intimidated anyone, nor intentionally sought to belittle anyone.

In setting the threshold for bullying so low, this inquiry has set a dangerous precedent. It will encourage spurious complaints against Ministers, and have a chilling effect on those driving changen on behalf of your government – and ultimately the British people.

I am genuinely sorry for any unintended stress or offence that any officials felt, as a result of the pace, standards and challenge that I brought to the Ministry of Justice.

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Dominic Raab resignation raises questions about Rishi Sunak’s judgment

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Sources say PM did not ask deputy to go despite bullying inquiry finding he engaged in ‘abuse or misuse of power’

Dominic Raab has been forced to quit as deputy prime minister after Rishi Sunak begrudgingly accepted an official inquiry that found his close ally bullied civil servants by acting in an intimidating and aggressive manner.

A five-month investigation by a leading employment barrister found that Raab, as foreign secretary, had engaged in “abuse or misuse of power” to undermine or humiliate staff. He was “intimidating and insulting” in meetings at the Ministry of Justice.

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Dominic Raab bullying claims: deputy PM refusing to resign after reading report – as it happened

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Dominic Raab denies wrongdoing after report on his behaviour delivered to Rishi Sunak this morning

Today’s announcement by the Association of School and College Leaders that it is to hold a formal ballot for national strike action for the first time in its history (see 9.49am) marks a significant development in the ongoing dispute between teachers and the government.

Up until now only members of the National Education Union (NEU) have taken strike action in England, with five more days of strikes planned for later this term. In addition a fresh ballot is to be held to provide the NEU with a mandate for further strike action up until Christmas.

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Lords could defeat plan to ignore ECHR small boat rulings, ministers warned

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Former head of judiciary says move by UK could amount to ‘symbolic breach of the rule of law’

Ministers have been warned by a former head of the judiciary that plans to let the UK ignore rulings from the European court of human rights (ECHR) on small boat crossings could be defeated in the House of Lords.

John Thomas, who was lord chief justice of England and Wales from 2013 to 2017, said the move would probably amount to a “symbolic breach of the rule of law”.

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Senior MoJ officials ‘could quit if Dominic Raab cleared of bullying’

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Sources say expectation is that Rishi Sunak will have to sanction Raab once report arrives on Thursday

Senior Ministry of Justice officials could quit if Dominic Raab is cleared of bullying, the Guardian understands, with the fate of the deputy prime minister to be decided as soon as Thursday.

Preparations at the heart of government are ramping up for the publication of the long-expected report into claims of bullying by Raab.

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Colin Beattie ‘steps back’ as SNP treasurer following arrest amid party finance investigation – as it happened

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PMQs is starting in five minutes.

The Cabinet Office has just published the revised list of ministers’ interests. This is the document that is supposed get updated every six months, but which has not been updated for around a year – partly because it’s the job of the No 10 independent adviser on ministes’ interests (aka, the ethics adviser), and for months the post was empty because two of Boris Johnson’s resigned, and then he gave up trying to find a replacement.

The prime minister’s wife is a venture capital investor. She owns a venture capital investment company, Catamaran Ventures UK Limited, and a number of direct shareholdings.

As the prime minister set out in his letter to the chair of the liaison committee on 4 April 2023, this includes the minority shareholding that his wife has in relation to the company, Koru Kids. The guide to the categories of interest (section 7, pages 4-6) sets out the independent adviser’s approach to the inclusion of interests declared in relation to spouses, partners and close family members within the list. The prime minister’s letter of 4 April is available at https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/38992/documents/191876/default/

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Keir Starmer says NHS is ‘broken’ and in jeopardy under Tories

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Research by Labour shows 4.5 million in England went to A&E last year due to lack of GP appointments

Keir Starmer has said the NHS is “broken” and he believes the future of the health service is in jeopardy under the Conservatives.

The Labour leader accused the Tories of presiding over a “cycle of decline” as new research by his party shows that nearly a fifth of patients in England, which equates to 4.5 million people, went to A&E last year because they were unable to get a GP appointment.

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Rishi Sunak investigated by standards commissioner over claims he failed to register an interest – UK politics live

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It is thought complaint refers to prime minister’s wife, Akshata Murty, being a shareholder in a childcare agency

Q: Are you going to have to offer more money to teachers?

Sunak says what is on offer is “a good and fair settlement”.

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Poll reveals voters negative about Labour and Tory attack ads

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Posters attacking Rishi Sunak on crime made Britons feel less favourable about both main parties, Opinium finds

Labour’s controversial “attack ad” accusing Rishi Sunak of failing to put paedophiles in prison has caused more voters to think negatively of Keir Starmer’s party than a Conservative poster that accused the Labour leader of being soft on crime, according to an Opinium poll for the Observer.

The striking result, when people were asked to react to the two posters, comes after 10 days of internal Labour ructions over its sudden switch to hyper-aggressive and personalised online campaigning.

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Local election voters may punish Tories as NHS strikes drag on

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Chair says party could lose 1,000 English seats on 4 May, despite voters finding Rishi Sunak more palatable than his predecessors

Even by the standards of political expectations management, Greg Hands’ message in his Sunday morning interviews was stark: the Conservative party, which he chairs, should expect to lose more than 1,000 councillors in next month’s local elections.

When party bigwigs make such predictions they usually do so against a context of significant wins the last time the seats were contested. But in May 2019, Theresa May was weeks away from announcing her departure, and the Tories lost more than 1,300 seats.

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Bromley councillor Shaun Slator expelled from Conservative party over rape tweet

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Councillor, who is currently sitting as an independent, says he is ‘disappointed’ by decision and will be appealing

A Conservative councillor who said an alleged rape victim was probably a prostitute has been expelled from the party.

Shaun Slator, who currently sits as an independent councillor on Bromley council, made the comments on Twitter in response to a news report about a rape inquiry in Plumstead, south-east London.

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Royal College of Nursing rejects government pay offer and announces new strike – as it happened

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Nurses in England are preparing to go on strike until Christmas after members of the country’s biggest nursing union voted against the government’s pay deal, the Guardian has learned.

The Royal College of Nursing will announce that members have rejected the government’s offer and will at the same time announce a new ballot for more aggressive strikes likely to last for the next six months.

The vote has closed and the figures are being verified. There is no result until that point. We will make an announcement later today and tell our members first.

Members of the GMB union at the company’s Coventry fulfilment centre will walk out on Sunday for three days.

Further strikes are planned from April 21 to 23.

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Joe Biden due to address Irish parliament after saying US relationship with Ireland getting ‘stronger and stronger’ – politics live

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US president praises emerging relationship with Ireland to taoiseach Leo Varadkar

Chris Philp, the policing minister, has published an article in the Telegraph today explaining the changes being introduced to the way that police record crimes in England and Wales. The changes are being introduced following recommendations from the National Police Chiefs’ Council.

Philp says:

Firstly, we are dropping the requirement for police to record some crimes twice or more, reintroducing the previous “principal offence” rule. This will remove multiple entries on the database which effectively re-record the same incident many times.

Accurate crime recording is vital, and these changes will better reflect victims’ experience. Recording crime does not equate to investigating crime and the police will continue to pursue all offences involved in the incident.

Accurate records of crime must be kept, and crimes will be recorded. These changes to the crime-recording rules will enable police to target and focus investigations and provide victims the service they deserve.

Ambulance response times for all types of emergencies have got longer, including for life-threatening illnesses and injuries, but remain below record levels.

Meanwhile around one in 10 people arriving at major A&E departments are having to wait more than 12 hours before being admitted, transferred or discharged – the first time data of this kind has been published.

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Sunak: I can’t be sure small boats will be stopped before election

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PM calls fulfilling Channel crossings pledge ‘complicated’ in wide-ranging ConservativeHome interview

Rishi Sunak has risked provoking the ire of Conservative MPs who want a swift end to people crossing the Channel illegally, by refusing to guarantee that his pledge to “stop the boats” will be fulfilled by the next general election.

A hot topic, given that the number of landings is expected to increase as summer approaches, the prime minister tempered expectations by stressing it would not be easy to deliver on his promise.

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Tories hail Greek migration policies as an example. Instead, they should serve as a warning

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Experience in eastern Mediterranean proves deterrence and harsh conditions do little to discourage refugees

Prominent Conservatives openly view Greece’s self-described “strict but fair” migration policies as a model to emulate. The former home secretary Priti Patel told MPs last week that “we would not be in this current situation” had she been allowed to replicate “Greek-style reception centres”.

British interest in the Greek model dates back to May 2021, when the former immigration minister Chris Philp made an “urgent” – as internal documents seen by the Guardian called it – trip to Greece. This was followed by an official visit by Patel in August 2021, who toured a newly constructed Greek camp, went out on patrol with the Greek coastguard and spoke of working “closely with Greek partners” on migration.

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Liz Truss to say Macron trip to China was sign of weakness

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Former PM to say in speech that any attempts by western leaders to appease Xi Jinping would be a mistake

Liz Truss will say Emmanuel Macron’s recent trip to China was a “sign of weakness”, after the French president asked Beijing for support in ending the war in Ukraine.

In the latest of a series of foreign policy interventions designed to encourage Rishi Sunak to take a tougher approach towards China, Truss will say in a speech that any attempts by western leaders to appease Xi Jinping would be a mistake.

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