Prime Minister Liz Truss meets with Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala before she attends the European Political Community in Prague. Prague Castle. Picture by Rory Arnold / No 10 Downing Street
It cited two unnamed cabinet ministers saying the government did not have the support to get a vote through parliament on raising benefits in line with earnings rather than inflation…reports Asian Lite News
Senior British ministers on Sunday urged their colleagues to unite behind Prime Minister Liz Truss, warning that infighting would hand power to the opposition Labour Party at an election due in 2024.
Just over a month into the job, Truss and her team are fighting for credibility after they were forced into a humiliating U-turn over a decision to scrap Britain’s highest rate of income tax.
Her governing Conservative Party’s annual conference last week was beset by division and unrest among the party’s members of parliament (MPs), and opinion polls give Labour a huge lead.
“Those plotting against the prime minister are helping to usher in a Labour government. Conservative MPs should be supporting our party leader, not working against her. Division will only result in drift, delay and defeat,” senior Cabinet Office minister Nadhim Zahawi wrote in the Mail on Sunday.
He was one of four cabinet ministers to pen articles for a Sunday newspaper to call on their party to back Truss, ahead of the return of parliament from a short break on Tuesday.
“As a party, we must unite around her now,” interior minister Suella Braverman wrote in the Sun on Sunday.
Truss faces a battle over whether to limit increases in some benefit payments to less than inflation as she seeks ways to fund her tax-cutting growth plan, something many lawmakers say would be inappropriate when millions of families are struggling with the soaring cost of food and energy.
While ministers say they have yet to take a decision, the Sunday Times reported Truss was expected to give in to pressure from ministers to rule out a real-terms reduction in welfare.
It cited two unnamed cabinet ministers saying the government did not have the support to get a vote through parliament on raising benefits in line with earnings rather than inflation.
“She can either get ahead of this now and make it go away or we will be dragged kicking and screaming towards another screeching U-turn when they realize it’s a game of arithmetic and the numbers will not stack up,” it quoted one as saying.
Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt, who days ago said benefits should rise in line with inflation, wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that tough decisions were needed.
“It’s far easier to embrace the status quo. Anyone can wave to the cameras. Anyone can be all things to all people. That’s the easy bit. You measure leaders when they are in the ring dazzled by the media lights taking punch after punch and taking the hard decisions required,” she wrote.
The Labour leader will tell party delegates in Liverpool that Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan will create a million new jobs in towns and cities across the country, as well as bring down energy bills and raise living standards…reports Asian Lite News
Sir Keir Starmer will claim a “changed” Labour can turn the UK into a “growth superpower” in his keynote conference speech – as a new poll gave the party its largest lead over the Conservatives in more than two decades.
The Labour leader will tell party delegates in Liverpool on Tuesday that Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan will create a million new jobs in towns and cities across the country, as well as bring down energy bills and raise living standards.
He will declare that under his leadership, Labour is now “the party of the centre-ground” and ready to form the next government after 12 years of the Conservatives in power.
Making his leader’s speech at the party’s annual conference, Sir Keir will pledge to “fight the Tories on economic growth” through “ambitious” and “practical” plans for jobs, skills and tackling the climate crisis.
It comes as a new poll by YouGov on Monday night revealed the party has surged to its largest lead over the Conservatives since Tony Blair’s landslide victory in 2001 – putting Labour 17 points clear of Liz Truss’s party.
The survey also reveals widespread public opposition to Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax-cutting mini-budget, with the decision to scrap the 45% rate of tax for those earning more than £150,000 opposed by 72% of voters – including 69% of those who backed the Conservatives in 2019.
‘Time for Britain to stand tall again’
The promising poll for Labour comes as Sir Keir prepares to commit to kicking off his ambition for growth within the first 100 days of becoming PM.
“We will require a different way of working – the biggest partnership between government, business, and communities this country has ever seen,” Sir Keir will say.
Sir Keir will contrast Labour’s plan for growth with the Conservative Party’s “shambolic” mini-budget.
The Labour leader will say his party is the party of “sound money” and will double-down on his pledge to introduce an Office for Value for Money to ensure taxpayers’ money is spent in the national interest.
“What we’ve seen from the government in the past few days has no precedent. They’ve lost control of the British economy – and for what? For tax cuts for the richest one per cent in our society,” Sir Keir will say.
He will add that it is “time for Britain to stand tall again”.
It is not known how long Sir Keir’s keynote speech is likely to last, but last year he spoke for around 90 minutes.
It is expected he will celebrate the changes his party has made to become more centre-ground since the tenure of Jeremy Corbyn – exemplified by the singing of the national anthem at the start of conference.
During his address, Sir Keir will say his party is the “political wing of the British people” – a direct reference to former Labour PM Blair.
On the second day of Labour’s conference, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government is putting the economy in danger and attacked Truss’s plan of “trickle-down economics” after the pound sank to a record low against the dollar.
The Tories have failed to grow our economy and are now out of road.
This conference is our chance to set out our alternative. A growing economy that works for working people again – a fairer, greener future. #Lab22pic.twitter.com/pKvM81D1Ld
It came as a new YouGov poll found a total of 72% of voters do not have confidence in the prime minister’s plans to tackle the rising cost of living.
Reeves promised a new deal for working people, with strengthened rights, saying the “minimum wage will be set at a level that reflects the real cost of living”.
She added that Labour would prioritise doubling the number of medical school places and district nurses, as well as create 10,000 more nursing and midwife places every year.
Labour’s conference will conclude on Wednesday, with the Conservative Party holding its event in Birmingham next week.
The TalkTV channel, which launched in April and was hosting the debate alongside The Sun newspaper, later confirmed McCann had fainted…reports Asian Lite News
The latest televised debate between the two Conservative contenders vying to become Britain’s next prime minister was abruptly halted Tuesday evening after the moderator fainted on stage.
Live footage of the debate, between former finance minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s new “TalkTV” channel, was suddenly interrupted about halfway into the hour-long event.
Moments earlier, Truss had stopped speaking mid-sentence with a shocked look on her face as the sound of crashing in front of her engulfed the broadcast.
“Oh my God!” a stunned Truss exclaimed, before leaving her podium to walk toward where the debate moderator, TalkTV’s political editor Kate McCann, had been standing off camera.
The TalkTV channel, which launched in April and was hosting the debate alongside The Sun newspaper, later confirmed McCann had fainted.
“Although she is fine, the medical advice was that we shouldn’t continue with the debate,” it added in a short statement.
Another TalkTV host, Ian Collins, who began broadcasting from the channel’s studio after a short delay, said the candidates were continuing with an question-and-answer session off camera with the small audience present at the debate.
“Relieved to hear @KateEMcCann is fine,” Truss tweeted around an hour after the incident.
“Really sorry that such a good debate had to end,” she said.
Sunak also took to Twitter to call it “good news” that the moderator was said to be on the mend.
“It was a great debate and I look forward to getting grilled by you again shortly!” he added.
The event had already been hit by misfortune after The Sun’s political editor Harry Cole was forced to withdraw as a co-moderator earlier Tuesday after testing positive for Covid-19.
The debate was the second within 24 hours for Sunak and Truss, after the pair squared off Monday night in a feisty BBC debate.
The duo are contesting a run-off to be the Conservatives’ new leader, and thereby prime minister, with the ruling party’s approximately 200,000 members set to vote next month.
The winner to replace outgoing prime minister Boris Johnson will be announced on September 5.
Sunak is now all but certain to be one of the two candidates on the final ballot for Conservative party members, media reports said…reports Asian Lite News
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak on Tuesday hung on his lead in the race to select the next leader of the Conservative Party – and the Prime Minister, extending his lead in the fourth round to nearly a third of all votes.
Sunak secured 118 votes, three more than in the fourth round, while both his challengers – Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss remained in double digits, the BBC reported.
It was curtains for Nigerian-origin, former Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch, who came last with 59 votes and drops out.
Sunak is trailed by Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt with 92 votes, 10 more votes since Monday, and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was third with 86 votes, having gained 15 votes.
The final round will be on Wednesday leaving just two candidates, and then, it is Conservative Party members around the country, who will make the final decision, to be announced on September 5.
Sunak is now all but certain to be one of the two candidates on the final ballot for Conservative party members, media reports said.
He is now on 115 votes and once a candidate gets 120 (just over a third of the total), it is mathematically impossible for two other candidates to get more votes. Sunak is also particularly well placed to pick up many of the 31 Tom Tugendhat votes now up for grab; Sunak, like Tugendhat, presents as a mainstream pragmatist, not an ideological rightwinger, the Guardian reported.
Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt are now the two strongest candidates in the contest to be the second person on the final ballot. One recent survey suggested both would beat Sunak in the final poll, but Truss more comfortably than Mordaunt, it said.
Almost certainly, Sunak’s chances would be better against Mordaunt; her lack of experience means the risk of her campaign imploding under scrutiny remains high (over the last week her popularity has already fallen significantly), and Truss, unlike Mordaunt, would be guaranteed the support of the Tory right en masse.
Kemi Badenoch looks likely to be eliminated on Tuesday afternoon. It is not inevitable – she has defied expectations already – but she remains 13 votes behind Truss, and may struggle to get much of the Tugendhat vote. If she does fall out, her votes will be for grabs on Wednesday – and would decide whether Sunak faces Truss or Mordaunt, which could in turn determine who gets elected as the next PM, The Guardian reported.
Commenting on the incident Tory MP Brendan Clarke-Smith said, “That’s unacceptable in any workplace really. If somebody has done that then quite rightly I would expect there to be some consequences for that.”..reports Asian Lite News
A male Conservative Member of Parliament in the UK parliament has been accused of watching pornography on his phone inside the House of Commons. A female minister and other Tory women MPs have complained to Conservative chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris who is investigating reports regarding the same.
The news broke when on Wednesday, Chris Heaton-Harris’s office issued a statement of him investigating that a Tory frontbencher watched a porn clip on his phone in the Commons chamber. A statement said, “The chief whip is looking into this matter. This behaviour is wholly unacceptable and action will be taken.” According to three different sources, around twelve women Tory MPs at the meeting with Heaton-Harris alleged instances of sexism and harassment by their colleagues.
The meeting between 40-50 Tory known as the ‘2022 group’, was attended by chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris, Tory party chair Oliver Dowden and House of Commons leader Mark Spencer in Westminster on Monday. The meeting included a few male MPs as well, who raised concerns that the ‘toxic atmosphere within the party could put women off standing for Parliament’. Apparently, Theresa May, the former Prime Minister looked on ‘with a face like thunder’ while hearing some of the testimonies.
The team which was listening to the grave concerns of women MPs from the Conservative Party was reportedly not expecting such hideous behaviour from its members. One MP who attended the meeting said “We were genuinely shocked and horrified. We must realise that there are serious issues they need to address.”
Commenting on the incident Tory MP Brendan Clarke-Smith said, “That’s unacceptable in any workplace really. If somebody has done that then quite rightly I would expect there to be some consequences for that.”
Misogynistic comments
The controversy over escalated misogyny among the Conservative Party comes days after Labour deputy leader, Angela Rayner complained that a Tory MP accused her of ‘crossing and uncrossing her legs’ to distract Boris Johnson at prime minister’s questions. The MP apparently compared the act with the character played by Sharon Stone in the film ‘Basic Instinct’.
The news sparked outrage across the political spectrum while British PM Boris Johnson was grilled over the rising sexism in his party. Rayner said, “I feel like I’m being judged for what I wear, rather than what I’m saying to you.” Earlier the reports of 56 MPs, including three Cabinet ministers, facing allegations of sexual misconduct were submitted to Parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance scheme.
This has led to speculation that he would scrap it to appease Tory backbenchers like Bridgen who have been calling for him to go following the parties scandal…reports Asian Lite News
The Tory backbench backlash against Boris Johnson’s tax hike has begun after he pressed ahead with controversial plans to increase National Insurance.
Senior backbencher Robert Halfon led the way on Sunday, pleading with the prime minister to “think again”.
And Andrew Bridgen, one of Johnson’s most vocal critics amid the Downing Street parties scandal, said: “I want someone who makes better decisions.”
Throughout the week, Johnson had thrown doubt over April’s NI hike after he repeatedly refused to commit to it.
This had led to speculation that he would scrap it to appease Tory backbenchers like Bridgen who have been calling for him to go following the parties scandal.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. (Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street)
But Johnson, along with chancellor Rishi Sunak, doubled down on the policy on Saturday night, confirming in a Sunday Times article that the tax hike would go-ahead to boost health funding – in spite of the cost-of-living crisis.
Bridgen, who submitted a no-confidence letter in Johnson two weeks ago, told LBC the increase will impact areas where “a lot of people work but they don’t actually earn a lot of money”.
He added: “I tell you what ‘levelling up’ isn’t, that’s when we find out that Boris Johnson and the people around him at Number 10 have been able to do what they wanted during lockdowns, while the rest of us were doing what we were told.”
Halfon, the chair of the House of Commons education committee, told BBC Breakfast: “All I can do as an MP, a backbench MP, is just to urge the government to think again.
“I hope that the government makes cost of living the number one priority.”
However, Halfon said he would not be submitting a no confidence letter in Johnson, telling Sky News he owes the PM “some residual loyalty” after winning the 2019 election, delivering Brexit and overseeing the COVID vaccine programme.
In spite of the anger of MPs like Bridgen, Johnson’s decision to go ahead with the NI hike suggests he is confident he will be able to stave off a leadership challenge for the time being.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss, one of the contenders to take Johnson’s job should he be ousted, has made a point of backing the PM through his leadership crisis and did so again on Sunday, telling Sky News of the NI hike: “We’ve had to take difficult decisions because of the extraordinary circumstances we face.
“We are committed to cutting taxes. We are committed to driving up growth, we are committed to using our new regulatory freedoms.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Priti Patel — do not appear to be on the same page as far as support to Prime Minister Boris Johnson is concerned, reports Ashis Ray
The two senior cabinet ministers of Indian origin in the British government— Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Priti Patel — do not appear to be on the same page as far as support to Prime Minister Boris Johnson is concerned. Sunak’s endorsement of his boss is seen by British media as “tepid”, as compared Patels wholesome loyalty to the incumbent of 10 Downing Street.
The Independent reported: “Cabinet divisions the Downing Street party scandal have widened as Priti Patel appeared to criticise Rishi Sunak for declining to back the Prime Minister fully.” She was seemingly referring to Sunak’s absence from “Prime Minister’s Questions” slot in the House of Commons at which Johnson tendered a grovelling apology and was pilloried by the Leader of Opposition Sir Keir Starmer.
Sunak was, in fact, on a visit to Devon, some 225 miles away from London, and only tweeted a message eight hours after the event. His carefully worded message said: “The PM was right to apologise and I support his request for patience while Sue Gray carries out her enquiry.”
Gray is a senior civil servant, who has been entrusted with the onerous and unenviable task of investigating into 17 odd parties reportedly held at Downing Street during Covid lockdowns. Her brief is to find out if these were social gatherings and, so, broke the law. Johnson’s prime ministership is said to hinge on her discovery, although, technically, whether he violated the ministerial code by having knowledge of or attending non-work get-togethers, may not be her remit. There is separately the more serious issue of Johnson misleading Parliament, which is reason for a resignation. Gray’s report is expected next week.
Asked on Sky News if she agreed with Sunak’s “lukewarm support” for Johnson’s apology in the Commons, Patel replied: “No! On the contrary, I have publicly supported the Prime Minister and actually you’re speaking to the Home Secretary who spends all my time day in day out supporting the Prime Minister, his agenda of delivering on the people’s priorities and the work that we do.”
Big trouble for PM
Johnson is in trouble on various fronts, from accepting a donation from a businessman to refurbish his official residence – a significant part of which he allegedly failed to declare, as is mandatory under ministerial and MPs’ codes in the United Kingdom – and about he and his office serially violating Covid-19 lockdown laws introduced by his government and ratified by Parliament since 2020.
Rather notoriously, there was a garden party at Downing Street on May 20, 2020 during the height of restrictions on the public, where 100 people were invited and asked to “bring you own bottle” or “BYOB”. The invitation went out from Johnson’s Principal Private Secretary and was attended by the Prime Minister and his wife Carrie. His explanation that he thought it was a work meeting and didn’t know it the assembly contravened the existing law has been rejected by an overwhelming section of Britons in opinion polls.
Furthermore, the night before the British monarch Queen Elizabeth’s late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral last year – when Britain was in official mourning as well as in Covid lockdown – there was a party in the basement of Downing Street, with drinking and dancing to disco music conducted by a DJ. The alcohol for the binge was smuggled into the building in a suitcase.
Sunak and Patel’s political standings at present are quite different. The former who entered parliament five years after the latter did, has sped past her and is the bookmakers’ favourite to succeed Johnson in case he steps down. Sunak’s performance as Chancellor in saving livelihoods with generous grants and furloughs during the Covid crisis has endeared him to his party and the British public.
Patel, on the other hand, has from all accounts struggled at the Home Office. She was also indicted for violating the ministerial code with “bullying” behaviour towards civil servants. But Johnson did not dismiss her as has been the convention. The senior-most civil servant in her ministry resigned and had to be paid heavy compensation by the treasury to withdraw a suit he had filed at a tribunal.
A leadership contest in Johnson’s ruling Conservative party is triggered by 15 per cent of its MPs asking for it. This works out to 54 lawmakers. Senior Conservative MP David Davies shocked the Commons on Wednesday by telling Johnson to his face: “In the name of God, go!”
Govt accused of ‘blackmail’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday dismissed new allegations that his aides had tried to “blackmail” and threaten Conservative rebels, in a potentially criminal twist to Downing Street’s “partygate” scandal.
Senior Tory William Wragg disclosed the alleged intimidation campaign as Downing Street battles to shore up Johnson against calls from within the party for his resignation.
“The intimidation of a member of parliament is a serious matter. Reports of which I am aware would seem to constitute blackmail,” said Wragg, one of seven Tory MPs who have publicly called for a party confidence vote.
Addressing MPs, Wragg said any affected members should report it to the police and to the Speaker’s office in the House of Commons.
Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, addressing the chamber in sombre tones, said any such campaign would amount to “contempt” of parliament, which is a criminal offence.
Scotland’s First Minister First Minister Nicola Sturgeon alleged the charge amounted to “corruption”, and accused Johnson of “tarnishing the office of prime minister”.
But Johnson told reporters: “I’ve seen no evidence, heard no evidence, to support any of those allegations.
“What I am focused on is what we’re doing to deal with the number one priority of the British people, which is coming through Covid,” he said on a visit to a medical clinic in southwest England.
Johnson refused to confirm his aides’ assertion that he would fight any no-confidence vote and not comment further on the dramatic defection of Conservative MP Christian Wakeford to the Labour party on Wednesday.
The alleged intimidation campaign includes threats to withdraw funding from rebels’ constituencies, and to leak damaging stories to the media.
Wakeford said he had been told his seat in northwest England could lose a school if he did not fall into line.
Prior to Wragg’s explosive intervention, Johnson allies had been talking up the prime minister’s chances of survival, after Wakeford’s cross-party switch focused Tory minds on the threat from a resurgent Labour opposition.
Tory MPs Jeremy Hunt and Greg Clark, who chair the committees, said the nature of the pandemic meant it was “impossible to get everything right”…reports Asian Lite News.
The UK’s failure in early handling in the Covid-19 pandemic was one of the worst ever public health failures, a landmark inquiry has found.
The government approach – backed by its scientists – was to try to manage the situation and in effect achieve herd immunity by infection, the report by MPs said, the BBC reported.
This led to a delay in introducing the first lockdown, costing lives. But the report by a cross-party group said there had been successes too – in particular the vaccination programme.
It described the whole approach – from the research and development through to the rollout of the jabs – as “one of the most effective initiatives in UK history”.
According to BBC, the findings are detailed in the long-awaited report from the Health and Social Care Committee and the Science and Technology Committee, which contain MPs from all parties.
Across 150 pages, the committees cover a variety of successes and failings over the course of the pandemic, which has claimed more than 150,000 lives to date and is described by the MPs as the “biggest peacetime challenge” for a century.
Tory MPs Jeremy Hunt and Greg Clark, who chair the committees, said the nature of the pandemic meant it was “impossible to get everything right”.
“The UK has combined some big achievements with some big mistakes. It is vital to learn from both,” they added in a statement to accompany the report.
A government spokesperson said lessons would be learned, which was why there would be a full public inquiry next year.
“We have never shied away from taking quick and decisive action to save lives and protect our NHS, including introducing restrictions and lockdowns,” BBC quoted the spokesperson as saying. “Thanks to a collective national effort, we avoided NHS services becoming overwhelmed.”
Meanwhile, another 40,224 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 8,193,769, according to official figures released Monday.
The country also recorded another 28 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 137,763. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.
There are currently 6,728 patients in hospital with COVID-19 in Britain.
The data came as British Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi and Health Secretary Sajid Javid have jointly written to parents of secondary school and college students, urging them to ensure their children are testing regularly and encouraging them to get vaccinated against coronavirus.
Official estimates showed that around 270,000 secondary pupils had COVID-19 in the week to Oct. 2.
Meanwhile, new data showed that England’s rate of new COVID cases has climbed to its highest level since the summer this year.
A total of 201,660 cases were recorded in the seven days to Oct. 7, the equivalent of 356.6 cases per 100,000 people.
This is the highest figure since July 24, when the seven-day rate stood at 375.1, according to analysis by the PA news agency.
More than 85 percent of people aged 12 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 78 percent have received both doses, the latest figures showed. (ANI/Xinhua)
The British government is facing strong criticism for reportedly leaving behind hundreds of Afghans who were eligible for relocation in the UK behind…reports Asian Lite News.
UK Conservative lawmaker Tobias Ellwood has called the evacuation of personnel and Afghans who worked for the British troops during the 20-year-long presence of the US-led coalition in the country a “humiliation.”
“After 20 years, we are now out, and we have very little to show for it. We lacked the strategy, the statecraft, the patience to see it through. This manner of our departure is a humiliation,” Ellwood, who chairs the parliament’s Defense Select Committee, told Sky News on Sunday evening, as the last plane with people evacuated from the Central Asian country was about to land at the Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire, England.
The lawmaker and former soldier said that there is a “litany of concerns” about Operation Pitting, as the mission to get UK citizens and eligible Afghans out of Afghanistan following the Taliban (a terrorist organization banned in Russia) takeover was code-named.
The British government is facing strong criticism for reportedly leaving behind hundreds of Afghans who were eligible for relocation in the UK behind.
According to the opposition Labour Party, thousands of letters and emails relating to Afghan refugees were not opened by Foreign Office officials dealing with the operation.
HISTORY TURNS A NEW PAGE
Our exodus from Afghanistan has left the world a more dangerous place.
It symbolises how weak the West has become -a belated reality check that the high water mark for post-WW2 western liberalism is now behind us.
Junior Foreign Minister James Cleverly on Monday admitted receiving a “huge influx of correspondence” from charities, individuals and members of parliament, but said that the government’s priority was to evacuate those who had received approval and had been called forward.
“Obviously, the priority was for the people who were at the airport, who had the right documentation, to actually get on the airplanes when we still had control of the airport”, Cleverly told Sky News.
According to the UK Ministry of Defense, nearly 15,000 British nationals, Afghan staff and their families, and others at risk were evacuated from Kabul since Operation Pitting began on August 13. (ANI/Sputnik)
