New prime minister likely to prioritise unity in offering ministerial jobs, although leading Trussites can expect the chop
Rishi Sunak has pledged to build a cabinet of all the talents but, given the swiftness of the leadership competition, relatively little has been briefed about his potential cabinet.
His team say no roles have been promised to any backers and Sunak was in the enviable position as the frontrunner of not needing to promise roles to anyone.
Continue reading...Chancellor does not rule out increasing corporation tax when asked about whether government will perform U-turn
The Home Office has taken the modern slavery brief away from the minister responsible for safeguarding and classed it as an “illegal immigration and asylum” issue, updated online ministerial profiles show.
The move is seen as a clear sign that the department is doubling down on Suella Braverman’s suggestion that people are “gaming” the modern slavery system and that victims of the crime are no longer being prioritised.
The largest single group of modern slavery victims under the referral system last year were British children – including those who were exploited through county lines. The evidence shows the majority of exploitation takes place in the UK rather than across borders.
The government should be treating this as an enforcement and safeguarding issue and taking stronger action against the crime of modern slavery wherever it takes place.
Continue reading...Labour says new merged foreign policy council could reduce Whitehall policy-makers’ focus on security
Liz Truss has scrapped the national security council and merged it with two Boris Johnson-era foreign policy committees in a structure that Labour warned risked diluting the government’s security focus.
Created in 2010 under the coalition, led by David Cameron and Nick Clegg, to better coordinate security policy after the disaster of the Iraq war, the NSC is now to be replaced by a broad eight-strong foreign policy and security council (FPSC).
Continue reading...UK PM spurns Russian president’s ‘sabre-rattling’ as she prepares call for democratic renewal in UN address
Liz Truss has dismissed Vladimir Putin’s warning that Russia will use “all the means at our disposal” to protect itself as “sabre-rattling” in advance of her UN speech, where she will warn him: “This will not work.”
The Russian president’s threats in a televised address to the nation appeared to suggest the conflict in Ukraine could spiral into a nuclear crisis, prompting a furious response from world leaders, led by the US president, Joe Biden.
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