Cost of Living 1) Johnson and Sunak ‘plan to help three million of the lowest paid, offer relief on energy bills, and ease the burden on business’ – as inflation reaches 9 percent…
“A triple tax cut to ease the cost of living crisis is being examined by ministers. Rishi Sunak is already drawing up plans for a major package to help with energy bills in July, potentially by cutting council tax. But last night the Chancellor told business leaders he would cut their taxes in the autumn to prompt the investment needed to head off a recession. And a government source also said Boris Johnson was considering an emergency tax cut for poorer families this summer. One option under examination is a change to Universal Credit rules to let three million workers keep more of their earnings. The moves came as official figures showed inflation jumped to 9 per cent in April, the highest level in 40 years.” – The Daily Mail
- Sunak pledges targeted tax cuts for businesses – The Financial Times
- Cut taxes to avoid inflation tsunami, Tories tell the Chancellor – The Times
- The Cabinet is split on how to deal with rising prices – The Sun
- Sunak faces ‘Tory mutiny’ – The Daily Telegraph
- Why Britain has the highest inflation in the G7 – The Financial Times
- Johnson’s ‘bring your own booze’ aide Reynolds set for Saudi Arabia Ambassador post – The Daily Mail
- Tax cuts are a welcome return to Tory values – Editorial, The Daily Mail
>Yesterday:
- Liam Fox in Comment: The Bank of England raised interest rates too slowly. Now it must be wary of raising them too quickly.
Cost of Living 2) …as the Chancellor’s hopes for a windfall tax are blocked by Number 10 for being ‘ideologically unconservative’
“No 10 is resisting pressure for a windfall tax on energy companies on the grounds that it would be “ideologically unconservative”. Treasury officials believe that the levy is “politically unavoidable” but are being blocked by the prime minister’s advisers. Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, has left the door open on imposing a one-off tax on energy suppliers as he comes under increasing pressure to do more to help people with the cost of living. In conversations with No 10, Treasury officials have argued that while a windfall tax would not raise a significant amount it would send a powerful message to the public that the government was “on their side”. However, Boris Johnson’s advisers are said to be resisting the move because it would be viewed as an attack on business.” – The Times
- Rise in UK minimum wage helped narrow inequality but failed to lift productivity, according to the Low Pay Commission – The Financial Times
- Ministers face pay demands of 11 percent in the public sector – The Daily Mail
- A windfall tax on energy companies would be a mistake – Editorial, The Daily Telegraph
Cost of Living 3) Truss warns Sunak against a windfall tax on the UK energy sector…
“Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been warned by a cabinet colleague not to bow to pressure to impose a windfall tax on the UK oil and gas sector to help pay for a summer package of measures to cut household energy bills. Liz Truss, foreign secretary and a cabinet flag bearer for the Tory right, said on Wednesday that Sunak should be cutting taxes, adding: “The problem with a windfall tax is it makes it difficult to attract future investment into our country.” Sunak has previously made a similar argument to Truss, but he is under massive political pressure from Labour to levy a one-off charge on surging profits in the oil and sector, which the opposition party claims could raise £2bn to help offset rising domestic energy bills.” – The Financial Times
…as she claims her foreign aid overhaul can stop Putin’s Wagner Group of mercenaries and China from ‘coercing’ poor countries
“Appearing before MPs, Ms Truss vowed to make the UK’s overseas aid spending more ‘coherent’ with Britain’s foreign policy. She explained how this would involve challenging the activities of ‘authoritarian actors’ such as Russia’s Wagner Group, which has been closely linked to Vladimir Putin. The Foreign Secretary also described how some developing nations have been left ‘indebted’ to China to leave them vulnerable to Beijing’s influence. She expressed her wish for Britain and other G7 nations to counter China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative through their aid spending. And she spoke of a need to drag nations – in places such as Africa and the Caribbean – away from ‘the orbit of authoritarian regimes’ that are pushing them in a ‘negative direction’.” – The Daily Mail
Barclay tells Whitehall mandarins to justify over 700 jobs in human resources
“Boris Johnson’s chief of staff has told Whitehall mandarins to justify the size of the government’s central human resources department after discovering that it employed about 700 people. Steve Barclay, who has been carrying out an audit of civil service roles, is understood to have questioned the size of the unit as he plans to slash the number of officials working across government. Overall Whitehall employs 3,500 HR staff, who are split between the central corporate unit in the Cabinet Office and individual government departments and agencies. Ministers believe that this number could be reduced as part of a plan announced by Boris Johnson last week to cut more than 90,000 civil service jobs in the next three years.” – The Times
Patel attacks ‘meritless’ legal claims as killers, rapists, and paedophiles avoid a deportation flight
“Killers, rapists and paedophiles were among those who dodged deportation to Jamaica with a series of last-minute legal challenges, Priti Patel told the Mail last night. The Home Secretary blamed the failure to remove more than 100 offenders from this country on ‘meritless’ legal claims. She also blasted ‘political interventions’ for stopping the deportations – a thinly veiled reference to Labour MPs who have backed offenders’ rights to stay in the UK. Miss Patel said: ‘Meritless late legal claims and political interventions mean disgusting killers, rapists and child abusers who have violated our laws and values were removed from the manifest and are still on the streets of Britain.‘This cannot continue… Our Nationality and Borders Act is now law and we are in the process of making reforms that will end the cycle of last-minute claims and appeals that can delay removals.’” – The Daily Mail
- Visas for arrivals from outside EU at new high – The Times
- The Home Secretary says ‘work is taking place right now’ on removing the first migrants to Rwanda – The Daily Mail
- Patel claims there is an ‘urgent moral imperative’ to send migrants to the African country – The Daily Telegraph
- New Chief Inspector of Constabulary warns the cost-of-living crisis could lead to a spike in crime – The Guardian
Zahawi backs schoolgirl forced out over trans row
“The education secretary has criticised a school after a pupil who had argued that sex was determined by biology was apparently hounded out. Nadhim Zahawi called the incident “hugely concerning” and “unacceptable” after The Times revealed that the 18-year-old pupil had been forced to leave the school after expressing her views… Zahawi told TalkTV’s The News Desk show last night that he wanted to hear from the schoolgirl. He said: “Schools have a responsibility to protect that student, that child when she talks about sex, you know, sex and the biology is indisputable. And so, what I’m slightly shocked at is the school felt it was appropriate for that girl to be isolated, or attacked in some way, and not to have dealt with that in the first place.” – The Times
Trevelyan set to sign first mini-trade deal with the US in just two weeks’ time
“Britain will sign its first mini-trade deal with the US in just two weeks’ time, The Sun can reveal. Trade chief Anne Marie Trevelyan is putting the finishing touches on a landmark agreement with Indiana, which will see red tape slashed and jobs boosted. And she’s on track to sign another SIX mini-deals with other US states by the end of the year. The mid-Western state is the eighth-largest exporter in the US and is known for selling its maize, soybeans and tomatoes. The state already buys $1.4 billion worth of goods from the UK every year – and the UK is its seventh-largest export market. Ministers hope the deal will boost jobs, investment and the sharing of services and green technology.” – The Sun
- Britain is starting to power the world once again – Penny Mordaunt, Daily Express
Malthouse: ‘Middle-class cokeheads’ face five-year ban from football stadiums to tackle ‘disorder’ after Euro 2020 final
“Fans convicted of using cocaine at football matches could face five-year bans from stadiums in a bid to prevent a repeat of the violent disorder seen at the Euro 2020 final. Police minister Kit Malthouse will on Thursday announce plans to ensure those caught supplying or possessing Class A drugs in connection with football could also be forced to surrender their passports when their team is playing abroad, to stop them travelling to matches. The Government hopes the measures prevent the kind of ugly scenes that marred last year’s final at Wembley, when England lost to Italy on penalties. A review of the delayed Euro 2020 final by Baroness Casey said “ticketless, drunken and drugged-up thugs” could have caused death as they stormed into the stadium before the game.” – The I
Ministers to announce plan to prevent thousands of pounds being added to graduates’ debt
“Ministers will step in to stop student loan interest rates soaring to 12 per cent, the Daily Mail can reveal. They are expected to announce plans as early as this week to cap the rates and prevent thousands of pounds being added to graduates’ debt. Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies last month warned that rising inflation would cause a ‘rollercoaster ride’ for borrowers. Economists said the highest earners, who took out a student loan since 2012, would see the maximum interest rate rise from 4.5 per cent to an ‘eye-watering’ 12 per cent for half a year. The IFS said it would mean that with a ‘typical loan balance of around £50,000, a high-earning recent graduate would incur around £3,000 in interest over six months’.” – The Daily Mail
Pressure grows on the Conservatives to name rape-arrest MP, as their accuser is described as ‘a male politician who was a teenager when the pair first met’
“An allegation of rape against a Tory MP was made by a male politician who was a teenager when they first met, The Telegraph understands, amid growing pressure on the Conservative Party to name him. The MP was released on police bail on Wednesday. Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader and former director of public prosecutions, on Wednesday backed calls for the Conservative MP to be publicly identified. His name – as well as those of MPs misidentified – has been widely circulating on social media. The confusion prompted one MP falsely identified on social media to make a show of remaining in Parliament, enjoying lunch on the Commons terrace.” – The Daily Telegraph
- Tory MP’s arrest for alleged rape shows granting suspects anonymity until charged is sinister and dangerous – Editorial, The Sun
- Voters have a right to know his name – Editorial, The Times
- Honouring the right to privacy above all else can have pernicious consequences – The Daily Telegraph
Russia considers leaving the WHO and World Trade Organisation as Putin isolates his country from the West
“Russia may sever ties with prominent global bodies as Vladimir Putin continues to isolate his nation from the West following the invasion of Ukraine. Moscow’s Foreign Ministry yesterday sent a list of international organisations to parliament, with orders to review it and break ‘obligations [or] treaties which do not bring benefit, but direct damage to our country,’ deputy speaker Pyotr Tolstoy said. The World Health Organisation and World Trade Organisation are among names on the list, Russian news agencies reported. It comes after Western countries cut off large parts of the Russian economy from the global trade via sanctions, with hundreds of western businesses pulling out of the country to protest the war. “ – The Daily Mail
- The Russian President is “weaponizing” the world’s food supplies – The Daily Telegraph
- Britain can legally launch cyber attacks against hostile states, says Attorney General – The Daily Telegraph
Heath: Elite groupthink is driving Britain into a nightmare of inflation, idleness, and rage
“To the experts, economists and other idiot savants who inexplicably failed to see this storm coming, thanks for nothing. All of their acronyms, PhDs, fancy modelling and algorithms have proved useless: Britain and the world are plunging into the most terrifying economic, political and cultural crisis of the past 40 years. A bunch of intelligent amateurs couldn’t have done much worse… This is like the financial crisis all over again, only worse: for the second time in less than 15 years, the public has been betrayed by a failed technocratic orthodoxy, an over-educated yet staggeringly ignorant ruling class convinced that it can defy human nature as well as the laws of economics. Why do these people never learn? Why do they have no shame?” – The Daily Telegraph
Starmer’s claim to have been hard at work all day in Beergate scandal questioned
“Sir Keir Starmer faced fresh questions last night after evidence emerged that undermines his claim to be hard at work and following the rules during his Beergate gathering. The Labour leader – under investigation by police – insists he did not break lockdown laws by socialising indoors last year because he was working late ahead of crucial elections. But the Daily Mail can reveal that as well as eating a takeaway curry and drinking from a bottle of beer while campaigning in the North East, he also took time out to pose for a photograph and discuss a forthcoming football match. In what has been branded an own goal, local Labour staffers posted on social media a picture of Sir Keir holding up one of non-league Consett AFC’s shirts.” – The Daily Mail
- Is Wes Streeting the saviour Labour desperately needs? – The Financial Times
Sturgeon’s flagship education promise scrapped in ‘betrayal’ of Scotland’s children
“The SNP has been accused of betraying Scotland’s children after a flagship promise to close the education attainment gap between rich and poor by 2026 was officially abandoned. Shirley-Anne Someville, the education secretary, claimed on Wednesday that an “arbitrary date” could no longer be attached to the delivery of a policy that Nicola Sturgeon once described as her “defining mission”. In 2016, Ms Sturgeon’s government pledged to make “significant progress” in closing the gap by last year and then “substantially eliminate” it within a decade. It described the promise as a “yardstick by which the people of Scotland can measure our success”. However, there was only very limited progress even before the pandemic struck, independent analysis has found.” – The Daily Telegraph
- Scottish independence is a threat to the West – Iain Martin, The Times
News in Brief:
- Can Ukraine force Russia to negotiate? – James Forsyth, The Spectator
- Winston Churchill needs better defenders – Will Lloyd, UnHerd
- Pop has proved a home for perverted predators – Sarah Ditum, The Critic
- The idea of moving the Lords to Stoke is pointless ‘Levelling Up signalling’ – Henry Hill, Cap X
- The growing ideological baby gap – Ed West, Wrong Side of History