Johnson 1) The Prime Minister “rejects green agenda” with food policy rethink…
“The Prime Minister is due to launch his food strategy tomorrow alongside Environment Secretary George Eustice, with a focus on boosting homegrown produce in the face of spiralling global prices. He will also reveal that proposals to introduce sugar and salt levies – recommended in a review by Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of the Leon restaurant chain – have been dropped. A Government source said the policies were ‘too ‘nanny state’, too un-Conservative, and there is an even stronger case for not doing them now that we are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis’. Sources said that the strategy will particularly focus on maintaining and boosting our food security following the impact on global food supplies of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as the jump in inflation, which is expected to exceed 10 per cent this year.” – The Mail on Sunday
- Rebels target ‘flipper’ MPs – The Sun on Sunday
- Loyalist ministers have begun discussing alternatives to ‘lame duck’ Prime Minister – The I
- Tory donors and wider party lose faith in Johnson ‘cult’ – The Observer
- MPs told to ‘grow up’ over tax cuts – The Sunday Telegraph
- Dame Judi Dench and Kate Moss amongst celebrities to write to the Prime Minister over a trophy-hunting ban – The Mail on Sunday
- Johnson’s 100 days to stay in the saddle – Tim Shipman, The Sunday Times
- There are no ministers defending the PM, so let me have a go with the Boris bashers – Jeremy Warner, The Sunday Telegraph
- Good King Boris, Bad King Johnson – Dominic Lawson, The Sunday Times
>Today:
- ToryDiary: Gove and the Imam
Johnson 2)…as he tasks Kwarteng with re-writing union laws…
“Boris Johnson is backing plans to rip up trade union laws that prohibit employers from breaking strike action by drafting in temporary workers. Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, has been tasked with examining the proposal as union leaders prepare for a “summer of discontent” not seen since the 1926 General Strike, with industrial action expected to cause chaos on railways and roads and in airports. Axing these restrictions, which could be done using secondary legislation, would make it easier for employers to provide limited emergency cover during strikes. Agency workers are unlikely to be able to fill skilled jobs, such as signal operators or train drivers, although it will give employers some flexibility to cover some roles.” – The Sunday Times
- Kwarteng vows to name and shame firms failing to pass on fuel duty cuts – The Sunday Telegraph
Johnson 3)…and plans to “go on the offensive” over the Northern Ireland Protocol
“Embattles Boris Johnson will face down Brussels this week with controversial measures to override a key element of the Brexit deal. The PM is set to go on the offensive a week after four out of 10 Conservative MPs refused to back him in a confidence vote. The new legislation is aimed at removing obstacles to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It comes amid warnings that the threat to the PM over lockdown-era rule-breaking is far from over and he will enter the “danger zone” in just a few months when the privileges committee rules on whether he misled the House of Commons. His Government’s bold proposals to “fix” the fiercely controversial Northern Ireland Protocol could trigger a new row with the EU and lead to parliamentary rebellions.” – Sunday Express
- It’s time for a clear, truly Conservative strategy – Editorial, The Sunday Telegraph
- As a Labour government looms, time is running out for the Tories to bed in Brexit – Robert Colville, The Sunday Times
Patel to launch new migrant crackdown with targeted social media campaign, after the Prince of Wales allegedly called her asylum plan “appalling”
“Ministers are to bolster their plans to send migrants on a one-way ticket to Rwanda, despite Prince Charles privately describing the idea as ‘appalling’. Home Secretary Priti Patel will this week launch an advertising blitz directed at migrants to warn that if they enter the UK they could be sent straight to the African country. The campaign comes as she faces the second round of a legal battle to ground the first flight containing 31 asylum seekers, which is due to leave on Tuesday. The Mail on Sunday understands Ms Patel intends to overhaul laws on modern slavery to stop them being used by Left-wing lawyers to block deportations in future. She is also examining whether to cut funding to United Nations bodies which engage in legal action against the British Government.” – The Mail on Sunday
- Prince Charles and Number 10 in ‘major diplomatic row’ – The Sun on Sunday
- Fears of Whitehall revolt as civil service union boss fails to rule out a boycott of the Government’s Rwanda plan – The Mail on Sunday
- Let Patel do what voters want…it’s called democracy – Editorial, The Mail on Sunday
Shapps considers changing the law to allow agency workers to replace strikers, ahead of upcoming disruption
“Agency workers could be brought in to break strikes under a “very fast” legal change being prepared by the Government in the face of a summer of chaos fuelled by “Marxist” barons, the Transport Secretary said. In an interview with The Telegraph, Grant Shapps said ministers were drawing up legal changes that could take effect “during this particular dispute”, to protect the public from being “held to ransom” by strikes. The planned changes are being worked on in addition to the Government’s plan to introduce separate laws requiring minimum numbers of rail staff to work during a strike, which were revealed by The Telegraph last month. Mr Shapps is working with Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, whose officials are drawing up plans to remove a legal restriction introduced under Tony Blair that prevents employers hiring agency staff to carry out the work of staff on strike.” – The Sunday Telegraph
- Rail workers will also be banned from ‘cashing in’ on post-strike overtime – The Sun on Sunday
- Labour’s failure to issue outright condemnation of the rail strikes is a disgrace – Editorial, The Sun on Sunday
- Labour must makes up its mind over union strikes – Editorial, The Sunday Telegraph
- We cannot give way to rail strikers’ blackmail – Grant Shapps, The Sun on Sunday
Hunt faces claims he is a “lockdown fanatic” who would have copied China’s Covid policy
“Mr Hunt – who mounted a botched bid to become Prime Minister ahead of last week’s failed vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson – angrily denied supporting the Chinese approach when he was asked about it last month, with a source close to the former Health Secretary describing it as ‘totally wrong, disproportionate and inhumane’.However, The Mail on Sunday has obtained video footage of Mr Hunt arguing in July 2020 – six months after the pandemic reached the UK – in which he says that he ‘very much’ agrees ‘that we should be aiming for zero infection and elimination of the disease’ because the countries which adopted that approach ‘have overwhelmingly been the most successful in tackling coronavirus’.” – The Mail on Sunday
- The former Foreign Secretary pledges to Brexiteers he will scrap the Irish Sea trade border – The Sunday Telegraph
- MPs pledge to quit the party if Hunt becomes leader – The Mail on Sunday
Wakefield’s ‘red wall’ voters turn their backs on Johnson
“On the streets of Wakefield, a cathedral city in northern England, Boris Johnson’s name was this week met with sardonic laughter, often followed by expletives. “He can do what he wants and get away with it,” said one café worker, who added a series of unrepeatable insults. As she disappeared into the back of the shop, a customer a few tables away called across: “Exactly.” On June 23 Wakefield will see one of two crucial by-elections that will test the UK prime minister. The other will take place in Tiverton and Honiton, in England’s rural south west. The Wakefield contest poses a key test for whether Labour can win back its former heartlands. A West Yorkshire city surrounded by former pit villages and semi-rural communities, in 2019 the seat switched to the Tories for the first time in nearly 90 years — part of the so-called “red wall” in post-industrial parts of the north and midlands.” – The Financial Times
- Johnson handled Brexit, Covid, and the Ukraine war ‘superbly’ – the rosy view that could save the Prime Minister from by-election humiliation – The Mail on Sunday
- Rebels in new plot to oust Johnson in the event of double by-election defeat – The I
- Labour and the Liberal Democrats accused of ‘squalid’ anti-Tory plot – The Mail on Sunday
- Davey: We face a challenge to topple the Conservatives – The I
- Inside the Lib Dem plot to conquer the Tory South – The Sunday Telegraph
- Hurford: I’d have backed the Prime Minister in the confidence vote – The I
- As the Honiton by-election approaches, true blue Devon’s folk aren’t quite ready to kiss Johnson goodbye – Dan Hodges, The Mail on Sunday
Tugendhat: Squandering the Tory low-tax reputation is a terrible mistake
“The UK has reached a dismal milestone. For the first time since the Second World War, tax on personal income matched that of France. According to the OECD, even our property taxes have rocketed to levels that make an Englishman’s castle as pricey as a château. In his famous “Time for Choosing” speech almost 60 years ago, Ronald Reagan warned that “no nation in history has ever survived a tax burden that reached a third of its national income”. We’re testing that theory now – for every pound we make, 36p goes to the government. Tax is vital to funding our services and national projects, from education to security. Guarding the public finances and making sure the sums add up are both needed to avoid saddling future generations with crushing debt. This focus on responsibly planning for the future, not just splashing the cash today, is why the Conservatives have historically been the party of low taxes.” – The Sunday Telegraph
Healthcare workers could walk out over pay as part of ‘summer of discontent’
“Britain’s biggest trade union has threatened strike action that could cripple the NHS as part of a ‘summer of discontent’. Christina McAnea, general secretary of Unison, said she would ‘strongly recommend’ walkouts if, as expected, Ministers offer health service staff in England a three per cent pay increase. Unison, which represents nearly 500,000 health workers, is demanding an increase equal to the Retail Price Index measure of inflation – currently 11 per cent. The threat comes as the hardline RMT union prepares to bring the train network to a standstill with strikes on June 21, 23 and 25. A senior rail source last night said the RMT privately threatened that this would be the first of a series of strikes ‘throughout the summer and beyond’ unless its demands are met.” – The Mail on Sunday
The West must put itself on a ‘war-footing’, says Latvia’s foreign minister
“The West must adopt a “war-footing” and arm Ukraine properly to defeat Russia, Latvia said on Saturday as Ukrainian officials warned that Vladimir Putin’s army could still win his war. In separate interviews with The Telegraph, Edgars Rinkēvičs, Latvia’s foreign minister, warned that the West needed to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes” and Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, said that the army needed more heavy weapons. Mr Rinkēvičs said that Eastern European countries had now largely run out of Soviet-era tanks and weapons to send to Kyiv and that Western Europe needed to step up production to meet the threat from Russia. “The EU and Nato need what I call strategic endurance,” he said. “Unfortunately, like it or not, because of Russia, we are back in a situation where the military defence is a priority for Europe and for Nato.”” – The Sunday Telegraph
- ‘Putin the Great’ and his budget empire can only deliver a fake victory – Mark Galeotti, The Sunday Times
- Macron’s shameful kowtowing to Russia is hardly a bolt from the blue – Robert Tombs, The Sunday Telegraph
Labour “is facing civil war” over rail strikes, as key MPs insist they will back industrial action
“Labour descended into civil war last night over its ‘own goal’ response to impending rail strikes and a ‘lack of control’ at the heart of Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership. Leading party moderates raged at the lack of grip in Sir Keir’s office, which was allowing frontbenchers to ‘freelance’ on key policy and risked presenting the party as pro-strikes. One senior Shadow Minister even accused colleagues Lisa Nandy and Wes Streeting of appearing to prepare for a ‘future leadership campaign’ by pandering to Left-wing members sympathetic to strikes. The senior MP said: ‘Why are we giving the Tories this own goal? Can’t we see how badly this is going to play when the strikes happen and the Tories repeat this back?’. The row broke amid mounting pressure on Sir Keir to condemn militant rail union leaders threatening to paralyse the country with three days of strikes next week.” – The Mail on Sunday
- Militant unions bankroll leading Labour politicians – The Sun on Sunday
- Poll says Starmer worse choice for Prime Minister than Johnson – The Observer
News in Brief:
- Prince Charles is playing with fire – Peter Hunt, The Spectator
- Boris can’t keep a story straight – Kathleen Stock, UnHerd
- The trials and tribulations of a four-day week – Julian Jessop, Cap X
- Rolling back into town – Duncan Wheeler, The Critic
- How Kamala Harris became a liability – Sarah Baxter, The New Statesman