Annual rate in June up from May’s 9.1% figure and exceeds analysts’ expectations
Rising petrol and diesel prices for motorists and dearer food pushed Britain’s annual inflation rate to a fresh 40-year high of 9.4% last month.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the government’s preferred measure of the cost of living – the consumer prices index – was up from May’s 9.1% figure.
Continue reading...Latest updates: a Conservative MP calling for the PM to resign says he fears there are more fines to come for Johnson
More than 35 homebuilders have agreed to put £2bn towards fixing unsafe cladding on high-rise buildings in England identified in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster, Michael Gove, the housing secretary, has said. My colleague Rowena Mason has the story here.
The Conservative MP Nigel Mills has told PA Media more about why he thinks Boris Johnson should go now (see 9.10am) and why he does not accept that this would be a mistake because of the war in Ukraine. He said:
I have two comments on that. The first one is, when will Ukraine be any better than it is now? If you told me this crisis would be over in three months’ time, then you might say, ‘well OK, let’s get this done [then] the prime minister can meet his fate’.
But the Ukraine crisis could last for a very, very long time. Are we saying there’s no chance of a change of prime minister for years?
Continue reading...Cabinet Office can investigate ‘credible allegations’ on other gatherings, but PM says photo of staff shows work meeting
Bereaved families have accused Boris Johnson of showing “flagrant disregard” for the public as ministers struggled to explain the justification for a wine and cheese event in Downing Street at the height of lockdown.
A Cabinet Office inquiry into other alleged government parties in breach of Covid rules could be expanded after the Guardian published an image showing the prime minister alongside his wife and up to 17 staff in the Downing Street garden in May 2020.
Continue reading...Chancellor concedes only 20% of transport funding boost is new and other commitments in £26bn spending plans are recycled
Labour has accused Rishi Sunak of presiding over a “smoke and mirrors” budget after he conceded that just 20% of his biggest single spending commitment unveiled before the speech is made up of new money.
The Treasury has committed to almost £26bn of spending in a rush of announcements before Wednesday’s budget and spending review. It is expected to contain no tax cuts and the chancellor has sought to reassure anxious Tory MPs that he is a fiscal Thatcherite at heart.
Continue reading...Row between leader and deputy holds up reshuffle while Rachel Reeves’ promotion looks set to inflame tensions with party’s left
Keir Starmer handed his deputy, Angela Rayner, a major promotion on Sunday night after a day of fraught negotiations and power battles. He also sacked his shadow chancellor and promoted his close ally, Rachel Reeves, to the role in a move likely to further inflame tensions with the party’s left.
The reshuffle of Starmer’s shadow cabinet was derailed by a prolonged standoff with Rayner, who was locked in talks with the party leader’s team for hours on Sunday. It came after leaked plans to sack her as party chair and national campaigns coordinator triggered an outcry.
Continue reading...Labour urge Speaker to summon senior minister as poll reveals 40% of voters think Tories are corrupt
Labour is aiming to force a senior minister before parliament this week to account for the growing sleaze crisis engulfing No 10 – amid growing cross-party uproar over a collapse in standards at the heart of government.
The Observer understands the opposition is hoping to persuade Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, to grant an urgent question on Monday that would mean a senior minister – most likely the Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove – being summoned to the Commons to account for the crisis, explain steps being taken to end it, and take questions from MPs.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson orders independent investigation into former prime minister’s lobbying on behalf of collapsed finance firm
David Cameron is at the centre of an unprecedented formal inquiry after Boris Johnson ordered a probe into lobbying by the former prime minister on behalf of the collapsed company Greensill Capital.
The independent investigation will examine the firm’s role in government, supply chain financing and communications by employees, including Cameron, who joined Greensill as an adviser in 2018, two years after resigning as prime minister, and who stood to make millions of pounds from his role.
Continue reading...