Conservative Conference 1) Johnson to pledge a “high wage” economy
“Boris Johnson will today pledge to make Britain a “high-wage” economy and declare he has the “guts” to tackle problems that his predecessors ignored. Amid speculation that a minimum wage increase is coming this month, Mr Johnson will reject using “uncontrolled immigration” to fill labour shortages and keep wages down. In his speech, which closes the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, the Prime Minister will also argue that his levelling up agenda benefits everyone, including Tory seats in the South East. The intervention on wages comes after sniping at companies by Cabinet ministers over the lack of HGV drivers, which has led to fuel and food shortages, with blame laid on the failure to attract more workers with decent conditions and pay.” – Daily Telegraph
- He will “blast Cameron and May” for “lacking the guts” to fix Britain – The Sun
- I can’t fix everything for you, PM tells bosses – The Times
- Universal Credit ‘benefits trap’ means some people are only £3.29 an hour better off if they work – Daily Telegraph
- Johnson steps up battle with business over UK supply chain crisis – Financial Times
- Tackle cost of living crisis or expect a backlash, warns Truss – Daily Telegraph
- Sunny outlook risks looking out of touch – Laura Kuenssberg, BBC
- The relentless focus must be on delivery – Michael Barber, The Times
- PM has the chance to make ‘levelling up’ mean something – Andy Burnham, The Guardian
- High wages are fine but how do we pay for them? – Daniel Finkelstein, The Times
- Economic recovery must be the top priority – Leader, Daily Telegraph
>Today: ToryDiary: A tale of two conferences – and the start of overdue debate about our economic future
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: High wages. Lower migration won’t be enough to sustain them.
Conservative Conference 2) Dowden demands civil servants get back to the office
“People need to get off their Pelotons and back to their desks,” Conservative Party Chairman Oliver Dowden has said. The ex-culture secretary said civil servants working from home should “lead by example” by returning to the office. A union representing civil servants said his comments were an “insult” to thousands of dedicated government workers. Boris Johnson is expected to repeat the “get back to work” message in his Tory conference speech on Wednesday. It comes after top civil servant Sarah Healey said she preferred working from home because she could spend more time on her Peloton exercise bicycle.” – BBC
Conservative Conference 3) Patel calls in the military to stop Channel crossings
“Priti Patel revealed in her conference speech she had called in the military to deal with the small boats crisis. The Home Secretary confirmed for the first time that migrants crossing the Channel could be turned back by British forces.She said: “Boris and I have worked intensively with every institution with a responsibility to protect our Borders — Border Force, the police, the National Crime Agency, maritime experts, and, yes, the military — to deliver operational solutions including new sea tactics.” Ms Patel’s speech was met with whoops, applause and a standing ovation at the packed arena in Manchester yesterday.” – The Sun
- Home Secretary faces demands for statutory inquiry into murder of Sarah Everard – The Guardian
- The key to changing police culture lies in stronger leadership – Leader, The Times
- Restoring public confidence in the police is vital – Leader, Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday:
- MPsETC: Penalties for environment protests to be strengthened, promises Patel – conference speech in full
- WATCH: Patel announces inquiry into Sarah Everard murder
Conservative Conference 4) Raab promises British judges will have the final say on human rights
“Dominic Raab promised to overhaul the “nonsensical” Human Rights Act to ensure the UK’s Supreme Court will have the last say over Strasbourg. The justice secretary said that Boris Johnson had given him the task of rewriting the act, which enshrines the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into domestic law. It is understood that Raab wants to resurrect plans to replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights, which was a Conservative manifesto pledge in 2015 but was dropped after the Brexit vote.” – The Times
Conservative Conference 5) Burghart to outlaw essay-writing companies
“Essay cheating companies will be made illegal under new legislation, the government has announced. It said that essay mills would be banned in England under plans to reform post-16 education. This would make it a criminal offence to provide, arrange or advertise essay-writing services to university and college students for financial gain and follows similar legislation in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland…Alex Burghart, the skills minister, said: “Essay mills are completely unethical and profit by undermining the hard work most students do. We are taking steps to ban these cheating services.” – The Times
Conservative Conference 6) BBC presenter tells the Prime Minister to “stop talking”
“The BBC was embroiled in a fresh row with Tory MPs on Tuesday night after Nick Robinson told Boris Johnson to “stop talking” during his first Today programme interview in two years. The Prime Minister and the veteran broadcaster repeatedly interrupted one another as they debated Britain’s labour and lorry shortages. It came as BBC presenters took to social media to hit back at Nadine Dorries, the new Culture Secretary, who in her first major appearance in the role suggested the BBC was filled with staff whose “mum and dad worked there”. They included Huw Edwards and Clive Myrie, who said their parents had no links to the corporation.” – Daily Telegraph
- I wouldn’t have spoken to him like that – John Humphrys, Daily Mail
Conservative Conference 7) PM wants to “extend” gay rights, declares his wife
“Boris Johnson is “completely committed” to protecting gay rights and is looking at “extending them further”, his wife Carrie told a meeting of activists at the Conservative Party conference on Tuesday. Mrs Johnson told a 100-strong audience including the Prime Minister, his sister Rachel Johnson and Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, that as an “ally” of LGBT+ people, she was “committed to equality and acceptance of everyone, whoever you are and whomever you love”. The speech in packed bar at the Midland Hotel in Manchester was the first intervention at a party conference by the spouse of a prime minister since Sarah Brown introduced her husband, Gordon, over a decade ago when Labour was in power.” – Daily Telegraph
- I’ve wept over LGBT hate – The Times
- PM does not support making misogyny a hate crime – BBC
- Why the Tory ‘war on woke’ doesn’t travel – Sebastian Payne, Financial Times
Conservative Conference 8) IDS – politics has never been more “toxic”
Sir Iain Duncan Smith has said he has never known politics to be so “toxic” after he was attacked with a traffic cone outside the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Monday. Sir Iain, a former Tory leader, said the perpetrators – five of whom were arrested and bailed by police on Monday – hurled “foul-mouthed” abuse at him and his wife, Betsy. Describing how one of the assailants had rammed the traffic cone on his head as he walked to a fringe event, the 67-year-old MP for Chingford and Woodford Green said: “I felt this great thump on the back of my neck and head. It was very heavy.”… Mrs Duncan Smith, who has been married to the former Work and Pensions Secretary for 39 years, said: “Their language was so disgusting and there were children in the street. If what happened to Iain isn’t a hate crime I don’t know what is.” – Daily Telegraph
- Anti-Tory hysteria is getting out of hand – Robert Taylor, Daily Telegraph
- Conservatives proudly sport ‘Tory scum’ badges – Daily Express
Conservative Conference 9) Turn to family first – not the state – for social care support, asks Javid
“Sajid Javid has urged people in need of social care to turn to “family first” before seeking help from the Government, as he stressed the limits of the state to help. The Health Secretary said that for health and social care issues help “begins at home”, stressing that “we shouldn’t always go to the state first”. The argument, delivered to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, chimes with Tory ideology that notes the limits of state intervention. However, the comments could be jumped on by critics of the Government’s social care announcement last month who argued that support was not coming soon enough.” – Daily Telegraph
- Health Secretary vows to cut red tape to boost face-to-face GP appointments – Daily Mail
France warns that fishing agreements with the UK are at risk
“France has intensified pressure on the UK over post-Brexit fishing rights, warning bilateral co-operation could be at risk. The government in Paris is angry that the UK granted 12 licences out of 47 bids for smaller vessels to fish in its territorial waters. French Prime Minister Jean Castex has accused the UK of not respecting its Brexit deal commitments on fishing. “Britain does not respect its own signature,” he told French MPs.” – BBC
- Frost: French threats to shut off power supplies are ‘unreasonable’ – Daily Telegraph
Sturgeon apologises for vaccine passports “shambles”
“Nicola Sturgeon has apologised for the “extreme frustration” caused by the failed launch of Scotland’s £600,000 vaccine passport app. The First Minister has admitted that the failed attempt to launch the app has caused public trust in the scheme to fall. On Tuesday, Ms Sturgeon stated that the initiative will not be abandoned, despite calls to ditch the “disastrous policy”….Douglas Ross, the Scottish Tory leader, claimed some people are still reporting problems. The Scottish Tory leader stated the vaccination passport scheme had been an “utter shambles from day one”. He claimed that the malfunctions over the weekend now made the scheme a “complete and utter embarrassment”. – Daily Express
Ridley: Gene-editing is a test of the Government’s boldness on innovation
“The Government wants to unleash innovation. If it were to be presented with a magic wand that could by 2040 feed millions more people, avoid tens of millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and improve biodiversity on hundreds of thousands of hectares, while benefiting the economy and reducing the footprint of farming, it would surely grab it. That is exactly what Crispr and other gene editing technologies promise for agriculture, based on what they are doing elsewhere. Yet the Government’s first moves towards allowing gene editing, now that we are free from the EU’s stifling restrictions on it, while welcome, are frustratingly hesitant.” – Matt Ridley, Daily Telegraph
News in brief
- Monday’s outage made one thing clear. Facebook needs us a lot more than we need it – Sam Bowman, CapX
- The powerlessness of Priti Patel – Patrick O’Flynn, The Spectator
- Inflated egos are everywhere at the Tory conference – Tom Peck, Independent
- The review of Health and social care leadership – John Redwood
- re Conservatives doomed – Unherd