Johnson 1) The Prime Minister is to ‘urge Northern Ireland’s politicians to get back to work’ in visit to Belfast for crisis talks…
“The Prime Minister will urge politicians in Northern Ireland to restore power-sharing and ‘get back to work’. Boris Johnson will visit Belfast tomorrow for crisis talks after the DUP blocked the election of a Speaker at the Stormont assembly in protest at the Northern Ireland Protocol. The move leaves the Northern Ireland Assembly unable to function. DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he was sending a ‘clear message’ to the EU and the UK Government…Government sources said Mr Johnson will use a series of private meetings to deliver a ‘tough message’ that parties must come together to form an executive and assembly.” – The Mail on Sunday
- The Protocol ‘means Northern Ireland will miss out on extra Covid support’ – The Sunday Telegraph
- The Prime Minister got it right on working from home – Editorial, The Mail on Sunday
Johnson 2)…as he digs in for a fight with ‘Leftie lawyers’ over his Rwanda illegal migrant policy…
“Boris Johnson has admitted he is digging in for a fight with Leftie lawyers out to block his crackdown on evil people traffickers. The PM is braced for a blizzard of lawsuits to block his plan to send illegal migrants to Rwanda while their asylum claims processed. He says 50 people who have landed in Britain on dinghies from France have been warned they will be sent to the African state in two weeks…He said: “There’s going to be a lot of legal opposition from the types of firms that for a long time have been taking taxpayers’ money to mount these sorts of case, and to thwart the will of the people, the will of parliament. We’re ready for that. We will dig in for the fight — we will make it work.” – The Sun on Sunday
- Another 50 migrants arrive in Dover despite Johnson’s pledge they would be sent to Rwanda – The Mail on Sunday
- A quango reviewing the plan could be scrapped – The Sunday Telegraph
Johnson 3)…and clashes with Truss as he aims to calm tensions with Brussels
“Boris Johnson is at loggerheads with Liz Truss as he tries to wind back tensions with the EU over post-Brexit trade rules. The PM is demanding calm heads as he seeks meaningful dialogue with the EU over the hated Northern Ireland protocol. Amid fears the Foreign Secretary is seeking a battle with Brussels, fingers are being pointed at her department after plans for legislation to address the stalemate were leaked — with one source calling the move “petulant”. A senior official said: “The object of the exercise with some people seems to be to have a fight. “The object of the exercise for the Prime Minister is to restore democratic processes to Northern Ireland.”” – The Sun on Sunday
- Sinn Fein leader accuses Johnson of using Northern Ireland as a ‘pawn’ in negotiations – The Mail on Sunday
- We must not buckle to US threats – Patrick O’Flynn, Sunday Express
Shipman: The Foreign Secretary was sent to stop a trade war. Now Number 10 fears she might start one.
“There is ill-disguised fury in some parts of No 10 that Truss and David Canzini, the deputy chief of staff, are so privately gung-ho about confrontation with the EU. One senior official said: “The object of the exercise with some people seems to be to have a fight. The object of the exercise for the prime minister is to restore democratic processes to Northern Ireland. We want a weapon on the table, we don’t want to use it. It’s like the nuclear deterrent. The PM does not want to use nuclear weapons, whatever the knuckleheads tell him.”… If cabinet centrists fear confrontation, hardline Brexiteers fear Johnson will talk up a row and then do nothing.” – The Sunday Times
Truss faces Whitehall row over purchase of £20 million ‘partyhouse’ for British diplomats
“Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is at the centre of a Whitehall row over the purchase of a £20 million ‘party house’ in New York for British diplomats. A leaked memo seen by The Mail on Sunday states that Ms Truss is ‘very supportive’ of plans to buy the freehold on a 19th Century townhouse from Guy Wildenstein, an art dealer who is facing trial for a £500 million tax fraud in France…The memo states that the Foreign Office does not believe it ‘can deliver the headcount reductions of 900 presently proposed’ and calls for a ‘net increase of 1,000 after using a Voluntary Exit Scheme to replace people whose skills we no longer need’.” – The Mail on Sunday
Sunak urged by ministers to do more to hold Bailey and the Bank of England to account
“Cabinet ministers have turned on the Bank of England over rising inflation, with one warning that the Bank had been failing to “get things right” and another suggesting that it had failed a “big test”. In a highly unusual attack, one of the senior ministers warned: “It has one job to do – to keep inflation at around two per cent – and it’s hard to remember the last time it achieved its target.” The other said government figures were “now questioning its independence”, suggesting Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, should do more to hold Andrew Bailey, the Bank Governor, to account. The interventions reflect growing frustration among Conservative MPs and ministers about the Bank’s approach to inflation.” – The Sunday Telegraph
- The Chancellor and the Prime Minister must work together to curb inflation – Editorial, The Sunday Telegraph
Gove 1) The Levelling Up Secretary vows to ‘shake up’ banking rules for young borrowers to help the ‘boomerang generation’ onto the property ladder…
“Michael Gove has vowed to shake up banking rules to help adults still living in their parents’ homes gain a foothold on the property ladder. Revealing plans to force lenders to be more generous to young borrowers, the Levelling Up Secretary evoked the 1980s sitcom Sorry!, in which Ronnie Corbett played a middle-aged man still living with his mother and father. Writing in today’s Mail on Sunday, Mr Gove said a situation that was once played for laughs has become a sad reality for many…[P]ollsters warned No 10 that voters in their 20s and 30s would abandon the Conservatives at the next Election if their ambitions to own a home continue to be thwarted.” – The Mail on Sunday
Gove 2)…as he vows to end the property market’s ‘racket of illicit money’ from Russian oligarchs…
“Michael Gove has pledged to shut down the “racket of illicit money” from Russian oligarchs who use remaining loopholes to buy and sell vast homes under a cloak of anonymity. Draft legislation produced by the housing ministry sets out new powers that would require any company, trust or other entity involved in a property transaction to provide the Land Registry with details of its true beneficial owner in order to complete a purchase or sale. The move is designed to help turn a corner on the use of Britain as a haven for billionaires seeking to launder illicit cash or discreetly store up vast assets.” – The Sunday Telegraph
Gove 3)…and pushes for the House of Lords to move to Burnley, Stoke, or Sunderland
“Michael Gove will block the House of Lords from transferring to another Westminster building during the parliamentary refurbishment, he has said, suggesting that peers move to Stoke-on-Trent instead in the interests of levelling up. Gove has written to Lord McFall of Alcluith, the Lord Speaker, to confirm that he will not allow them to use the Queen Elizabeth II Centre around the corner while parliament is renovated. The levelling up secretary said that as the minister responsible for delivering Boris Johnson’s flagship agenda he “cannot endorse” a plan under which they would “decamp to a temporary home a mere 200 yards from the Palace of Westminster”.” – The Sunday Times
Javid freezes prescription charges to ease the cost of living crisis
“NHS prescription charges in England are to be frozen in the latest move by ministers to ease the cost-of-living crisis amid fears the squeeze on family incomes is damaging the Tories. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the charges – which normally rise in line with inflation – will be held this year to ‘put money back in people’s pockets’. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the freeze, which is the first for 12 years, will save patients £17 million. It means the charge for a single prescription will remain at £9.35, while a three-month prescription prepayment certificate (PPC) stays at £30.25.” – The Mail on Sunday
- The NHS free prescription age may rise according to Government proposals – Sunday Express
Kwarteng seeks US investment for UK nuclear plants to end reliance on China
“The Business Secretary is to fly to the US this week to drum up American investment in new nuclear plants amid concerns that the UK is too reliant on China for help building reactors in Britain. Kwasi Kwarteng is expected to hold talks with Jennifer Granholm, the US energy secretary, in Washington DC, where a Whitehall source said the minister was “keen to strengthen cooperation with the Americans on energy security”.Last month Boris Johnson and Mr Kwarteng announced plans for a massive expansion of nuclear energy in Britain as part of the country’s new energy security strategy that followed Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.” – The Sunday Telegraph
Rees-Mogg criticised for joking about a correlation between civil servants working from home and Test matches at Lord’s
“It was enough to chill the bone of any civil servant working from home – a Government ‘threat’ to expose them if they were avoiding the office when the sun shone. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Minister for Government Efficiency, appeared to say yesterday that looking at local weather reports would be one of his weapons to check up on public officials and get them back behind their desks. In an interview, cricket-loving Mr Rees-Mogg even seemed to suggest a link between civil servants staying away from the office and the dates of Lord’s Test matches… But Mr Rees-Mogg, who is also the Minister for Brexit Opportunities, has told The Mail on Sunday that the weather forecast threat had been ‘a joke’.” – The Mail on Sunday
- UK stands ahead of European peers in the shift to working from home – The Financial Times
- Passport office, DVLA, and student loans staff could strike over Johnson’s cuts – The I
>Today:
Hunt says the ‘rogue’ NHS requires major surgery
“Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary, has described how the service he led for almost six years was at times a “rogue system” suffering from a cover-up culture that failed patients and staff. Hunt, who has not ruled out a Tory leadership bid, says the NHS’s fear of transparency and honesty about avoidable deaths and mistakes is a “major structural problem” that still needs to be tackled.In his new book, Zero: Eliminating Unnecessary Deaths in a Post-Pandemic NHS, he reveals how civil servants in the Department of Health and Social Care tried to block him from reading patients’ letters of complaint and even told him he could not send apologies to harmed families.” – The Sunday Times
- The former Foreign and Health Secretary denies claims he backed China-style ‘Zero Covid’ curbs in Britain – The Mail on Sunday
- The NHS is hobbled by its ‘rogue structure’ – Editorial, The Sunday Times
Tugendhat: The Government has done nothing serious to stop Chinese interests trying to take control of the UK’s largest chip maker
“Today, our Government has been offered a deal in the world of semiconductors. The scale is micro but the stakes are just as macro. Chinese interests are trying to take control of the UK’s largest chip maker – Newport Wafer Fab. So far, the Government has done nothing serious to stop it. Since I first highlighted Beijing’s plan for semiconductor sovereignty and the implications for global dependency a few years ago, the implications have become starker. High purity industrial silicon – the building block for everything from lubricants and car parts to silicon chips and face creams – is running low. As the world’s biggest producer, China controls more than 80 per cent of output. The impact is already being felt.” – The Mail on Sunday
Colville: Apart from Brexit, what else will the Tories have to show for their 80-seat majority?
“This isn’t just about history, but about the present too. Much of the disquiet among Conservatives today stems from a concern that Johnsonism will leave no comparable memorial. Yes, Brexit will make a lasting mark. But what else, the grumblers ask, have the Tories to show for their 80-seat majority? The Queen’s Speech last week contained a number of bills that do offer the possibility of a more agile, better-regulated, higher-growth future…The unfortunate truth for the prime minister is that he finds himself in a very similar position to Cameron in 2010. As I wrote last week, the cost-of-living crisis is now the central fact of British politics, just as the fallout from the financial crisis was in the 2010s.” – The Sunday Times
Finland’s President tells Putin his country will apply to join NATO
“Finland’s president has told Vladimir Putin of the Nordic country’s plans to apply for Nato membership as a top Turkish aide downplayed fears that Ankara could torpedo its bid. Sauli Niinistö called Putin on Saturday to explain how Russia’s demand in late 2021 that Finland and Sweden not apply for Nato membership followed by its invasion of Ukraine in February had fundamentally altered the security environment. The conversation was direct and straightforward and it was conducted without aggravations. Avoiding tensions was considered important,” Niinistö said. Putin responded that Finland would be wrong to abandon its neutrality and that seeking membership of the western defence alliance would damage relations between the two countries.” – The Financial Times
- Putin warns Finland that it has ‘made a mistake’ – The Mail on Sunday
- Ukraine declares victory in the Battle of Kharkiv… – The Sun on Sunday
- …and Eurovision (and the UK came second) – The Sunday Telegraph
- The West has launched ‘total hybrid war’ on Russia, claims Lavrov – The I
- Moscow set to call referendum on Mariupol joining Russia, says Ukraine – The Observer
Beergate deepens as party insiders struggle to provide evidence for Rayner returning to work post-curry
“Labour’s Beergate row deepened last night amid claims that Angela Rayner was facing a bid to ‘throw her to the wolves’ over the lockdown drink and curry in Durham. A party insider told The Mail on Sunday that an audit of emails, WhatsApp chats and video edits had so far provided no evidence that the party’s deputy leader had returned to work after the event. But earlier this week, Labour sources briefed that the same audit – to be provided to Durham police – would show that Sir Keir’s team had gone back to work after the curry. It comes just days after both politicians promised to resign if police fined them over the controversial gathering on April 30 last year when indoor socialising was illegal.” – The Mail on Sunday
- Starmer branded two-faced hypocrite by 63 percent of voters – The Sun on Sunday
- Streeting denies plan to succeed his leader – The Observer
- This is Starmer’s John Major moment – Dan Hodges, The Mail on Sunday
News in Brief:
- Are sanctions on Russia failing? – Julian Jessop, The Spectator
- The mystery of Wagatha Christie – Dominic Sandbrook, UnHerd
- Is the Union breaking up? – Henry Hill, The Critic
- Why can’t Labour get behind a woman leader? – Alona Ferber, The New Statesman
- Why finance sucks the life out of Britain (and journalism) – Ed West, Wrong Side of History