“Boris Johnson is plotting a brutal reshuffle of up to a THIRD of his top team after his huge election win. After the PM finally delivers Brexit and gets Britain out of the EU on January 31, he’s expected to dramatically change his Cabinet to prepare for trade talks with the EU to start… Some of the big names who could get the chop include Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox… Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith could also get booted out, and the future of Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffee is uncertain.” – The Sun
>Yesterday:
“For the liberal technocrats who promote these policies, those who lose out can be compensated cheaply and easily. This is why proponents of “managed” (note, not “controlled”) migration simply argue that places experiencing rapid change should receive greater public spending. It is why, in the 1980s, many who lost their jobs were parked on disability benefits. Real people, many miles from decision-makers’ desks, were treated merely as numbers on a technocrat’s spreadsheet. Britain’s vote to leave the European Union – decided by millions of those invisible spreadsheet entries – drove a wrecking ball through the assumptions of the liberal technocrats.” – Daily Telegraph
>Today: ToryDiary: 2019. The year of three ConservativeHome columnists – Frayne, Halfon & Wolf.
“Farmers will get almost £3 billion guaranteed funding next year to replace the EU payments that will be lost after Brexit, Sajid Javid has pledged. The Chancellor said farmers could enter the New Year with confidence that they would be able to “thrive” after Brexit as he announced the funding for 2020/21. The cash – to be spread over two years – will be used to support farmers when the UK leaves the European Union and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) direct payments scheme next year. It will allow funding for direct payments for 2020 to continue at the same level as this year, and supplement the remaining EU funding that farmers will receive for development projects until 2023.” – Daily Telegraph
“High streets in northern and Midlands towns are to get a multi-million pound cash boost as part of a £1bn fund to “level up” dilapidated town centres. As part of the Government’s Future High Streets Fund’s 14 out of 20 pilot areas will receive the first round of funding, together with advice on how best to develop their individual high street. Salford’s Swinton Town Centre, Stirchley in Birmingham and Huyton Town Centre in Knowsley are among some of the first centres which will receive “bespoke support and guidance” as part of the new High Streets Task Force, following recommendations by an expert panel on the high street… Robert Jenrick, the Communities Secretary, said the Government’s investment in the UK’s high street would help them “to adapt and evolve while remaining vibrant and safe places at the heart of our communities”.” – Daily Telegraph
>Today: Ben Brittain in Comment: Get Brexit Done and innovate like Israel
“A former children’s minister has called on Boris Johnson to have a cabinet minister responsible for family friendly policies. Senior Tory MP Sir John Hayes, who was one of David Cameron’s key social policy advisers, has urged the Prime Minister to look at the radical changes brought in by the Hungarian government to promote and support families. A number of research papers including from the Centre for Social Justice have suggested that supporting family units helps improve social stability and future prospects for children, especially for the poorest as well reducing future criminality.” – Daily Express
“The next Labour leader has been urged by defeated and re-elected MPs to ditch Jeremy Corbyn’s policies. Seven former MPs who lost their seats in the party’s worst election result since 1935 said that it needed fundamental change and an unflinching look at the reasons for the defeat… Many of the signatories represented seats making up the so-called red wall, which crumbled to give Boris Johnson a majority of 80. Ms Creagh was the first Labour candidate to lose Wakefield since 1932 and Mr Wilson the first to lose Sedgefield since 1935. Paul Williams, 47, another defeated MP who signed the letter, told Sky News that Labour had become “a toxic brand” and that the party needed “a fundamental reboot”.” – The Times
“Labour’s next leader must drive out Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters to end its anti-Semitism crisis, a leading member of the Jewish community has urged. Jonathan Goldstein, chairman of the Jewish Leadership Council, said the ‘problem is not only Corbyn but also Corbynism and Corbynites, and these remain strong in the party’. His warning yesterday came as defeated Labour MPs blamed the party leadership’s ‘repeated unwillingness to stand up to the stain of anti-Semitism’. Rebecca Long Bailey and Sir Keir Starmer, two of the frontrunners to replace Mr Corbyn, condemned anti-Semitism yesterday after graffiti was sprayed in north London.” – Daily Mail
“Rebecca Long-Bailey has confirmed she is considering running to replace Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party with a pledge to champion “progressive patriotism”. The shadow business secretary blamed the party’s “compromise solution” on Brexit, as well as a lack of trust among voters, for its crushing defeat at the General Election earlier this month. Writing in the Guardian, she said Labour’s policy on Britain’s EU membership “satisfied too few”, but insisted the party’s policy agenda was popular. “We didn’t lose because of our commitment to scrap universal credit, invest in public services or abolish tuition fees,” the Salford and Eccles MP said.” – Daily Telegraph
Comment:
“The UK government should carry out an “urgent” internal inquiry after accidentally publishing the addresses of more than a thousand New Year honours recipients, Britain’s first national security adviser has said. Peter Ricketts, a former UK national security adviser, called for the leak to be treated “seriously” and warned it should not be “about scapegoating an individual”. Personal addresses were made available online to the public from 11pm on Friday, before the information was removed from a government website about an hour later. The 1,097-strong list of those honoured includes counterterror police, as well as senior diplomatic and military figures.” – FT
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