Johnson 1) The Prime Minister ‘sets collision course’ with Brussels after Bill to scrap the Northern Ireland Protocol is published…
“A new Bill, presented to Parliament this evening, is aimed at sweeping away key parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol – including a check-free ‘green channel’ for goods from mainland Britain and stripping control from the EU court. It would also ensure that VAT changes from Westminster apply to the province, permit state subsidies, and give ministers wide-ranging powers to cancel more of the divorce terms later if required. The Government is arguing the move does not break international law because there is an established ‘doctrine of necessity’ for changing treaties if they are causing serious harm. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss argued she is bringing forward ‘practical solutions’ to protect the Good Friday Agreement rather than ‘picking a fight with the EU’.” – The Daily Mail
- The EU pledges legal action over Brexit ‘violation’ – The Times
- Hardline pro-Brexit Tory MPs return to vanguard of party politics – The Financial Times
- Majority of Northern Ireland MLAs condemn plan to alter Brexit protocol – The Guardian
- DUP refuses to commit to return to power-sharing – The Times
- Truss ‘slams snobbish Brits who dislike their country and side with the EU on every issue’ – The Sun
- Weakened Johnson performs perilous high-wire act – The Times
- Brussels has imposed 4,000 new laws on Northern Ireland in the last 18 months, according to ministers – The Daily Telegraph
- BT executive says Brexit is slowing superfast broadband rollout – The Financial Times
- The Government’s plan to unilaterally override the agreement risks damaging Britain’s reputation – Editorial, The Times
- The Northern Ireland Protocol has to work – Editorial, Daily Express
- Johnson must ignore EU threats – Editorial, The Sun
- Sorry plotters, you’ve just made the Prime Minister much stronger – Nick Ferrari, Daily Express
>Today:
- ToryDiary: Johnson’s need to pretend the Protocol was fine when he signed it weakens his international law case
- Andrew Gimson and Paul Goodman in Interviews: Frost on Johnson’s future, tax cuts, admiring Cummings, Net Zero – and the abuse he has faced as he mulls his political future
- Video: The Moggcast. Vaccines, Solvency Two, procurement, financial services, regulation. Rees-Mogg cites a list of Brexit wins.
Johnson 2) …as he resists pressure to cut taxes as the economy slumps towards recession…
“Downing Street and the Treasury fear soaring prices could “spiral”, even further if a tax cut is adopted soon to help with the cost of living. Both the Bank of England and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development predict inflation will only start dropping next year. It means that pressure to bring forward a planned income tax cut and reverse the increase in National Insurance is being resisted for now. Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, has refused to promise personal tax cuts in his autumn Budget, only going as far as pledging help for businesses. Conservative MPs demanding tax cuts rejected the Prime Minister’s position on Monday, warning that the slowing economy showed the importance of new measures to kick-start growth.” – The Daily Telegraph
- Gove says reducing the tax burden would help ‘level up’ the country and increase investment – The Daily Mail
- Businesses could see cuts later this year – The I
- Co-founder of Just Eat made the UK’s new ‘cost of living business tsar’ – The Guardian
- Johnson and Sunak need a strategy for growth – Editorial, The Daily Telegraph
- We need bold new ideas in this new age of resilience – William Hague, The Times
- Despite grim figures, the economy is strong – but only tax cuts will bring a Tory revival – Alex Brummer, The Daily Mail
- Business hopes for UK government action are at rock bottom – Helen Thomas, The Financial Times
>Today:
- Gerard Lyons’ column: Job, vacancies, queues, skills, migration – and the strengths and weaknesses of the labour market
>Yesterday:
- John Redwood’s column: Where all the money is going and what should be done. Making state services more efficient.
Johnson 3)…and as he promises his food strategy will not ‘lecture’ the public on consuming meat
“Boris Johnson has insisted that eating less is the best way to lose weight after the government rejected a sugar and salt tax and promised not to “lecture people” on meat consumption. A national food strategy published yesterday set out plans to turn unproductive farmland over to forests while intensifying home-grown production of tomatoes and cucumbers through industrial greenhouses. But while food firms are likely to have to report on how much sugar, salt and fat they sell, the strategy rejects key health recommendations from a report commissioned by ministers from the Leon restaurant founder Henry Dimbleby. He concluded that taxes on salt and sugar and a 30 per cent cut in meat consumption were needed to break a “junk food” cycle and ensure Britain’s food system contributed to both health and environmental sustainability.” – The Times
- Chocolate bars and packets of crisps should be made smaller to help Brits lose weight, according to review – The Sun
Patel wins first round at appeal court as judges allow migrants to fly to Rwanda today…
“Judges have ruled in favour of the first flight tomorrow in the Government’s controversial plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda. Court of Appeal judges rejected a last-ditch legal bid to block a flight due to relocate asylum seekers to Rwanda on Tuesday. The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) and charities Care4Calais and Detention Action took the case to the Court of Appeal after the High Court ruled on Friday that the first flight to the east African country can go ahead. Judge Rabinder Singh said the Court of Appeal could not interfere with the High Court judge’s “clear and detailed” judgement, and refused permission for further appeal. Lord Justice Singh, sitting with Lady Justice Simler and Lord Justice Stuart-Smith, said Mr Justice Swift had “conducted the balancing exercise properly” and did not err in principle nor in the approach he took.” – Daily Express
- …yet ministers say the chance of the first flight departing today are still ‘very, very slim’ – The Daily Mail
- Church says sending migrants to Rwanda brings shame on Britain – The Times
- The flight is at risk due to too few people being able to board – The Guardian
- The Prime Minister defends the policy as the ‘right thing’ following criticism from the Prince of Wales – The Sun
- Will the Rwanda plan finally take off? – Editorial, The Daily Mail
- Dispatch them to Monaco? What sadism – Quentin Letts, The Times
- Can’t these self-righteous courtroom warriors see they’ll make traffickers even richer? – Leo McKinstry, The Daily Mail
- Our snowflake police now scarper from Marxist rabble – it’s pathetic – Poppy Coburn, Daily Express
Truss to remember Falklands war dead rather than celebrate, on the 40th anniversary of victory
“Liz Truss will not be celebrating today’s 40th anniversary of the liberation of the Falkland Islands. Instead, she will focus on “the legacy” of the 255 British dead military personnel. “They were servicemen and women who gave their lives and we should pay respect that they gave their lives fighting for the self-determination of the sovereign islands,” says the Foreign Secretary. Four decades on from the 74-day conflict in the South Atlantic, Truss sees parallels between Argentina’s bloody land grab in 1982 and the conflict raging in modern Europe. She says: “What we have seen with the Russia and Ukraine crisis is the continued threat to sovereignty by malign actors and the importance of standing up for self-determination.” – The Sun
Mordaunt: No one wants more green costs – but the UK is now leading the world
“When Britain voted for Brexit, and then delivered it, there was no doubt that it involved risk. It was, however, a clear signal to the world that the country had the courage to follow a democratic mandate. It was also a signal to risk-taking entrepreneurs everywhere. The UK is a place where the future is welcome. The economy is now in transition to accommodate innovation and internationalisation. Entrepreneurial companies love change. Government policy has to keep pace. There has been lots of debate about the Government’s green and net-zero agenda. We don’t need any more costs imposed on anyone at present. We do though, have international obligations and we also have ambitious plans for whole new areas of economic growth.…Government is determined to open up opportunities and remove barriers to enable more business to be done. All this change is fuel for can-do, forward-looking, energetic, positive individuals.” – Daily Express
Dorries pledges to combat Labour’s bid to get Leveson plan through back door
“Ministers vowed last night to scupper a Labour plan to impose state regulation on the British Press. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries is steering through Parliament an Online Safety Bill to crack down on internet hate speech. The legislation includes exemptions for the media by making it harder for their content to be removed. But now a Labour MP has put forward an amendment to the Bill which would mean this protection only applies to papers which are a member of an ‘approved regulator’. This is a reference to one of the most controversial aspects of the Leveson Inquiry into Press standards – the demand that newspapers should sign up to a State-approved regulator. Critics say the amendment means Labour is trying to get the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry through Parliament clandestinely.” – The Daily Mail
- Strangle this sinister plot – Editorial, The Daily Mail
Kearns promises a rebellion over conversion therapy bill if it does not include banning the practice towards trans people
““Furious” Conservative MPs have vowed to bring forward an amendment to the Government’s planned Bill banning conversion therapy in order to ensure it includes trans people. Alicia Kearns, MP for Rutland and Melton, said she would seek to amend the watered-down legislation announced by the Government in the Queen’s Speech, which will seek to ban attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation, but not their gender identity. The MP said she was speaking out “with a heavy heart”, telling a Westminster Hall debate that the Government’s stance has already caused “deep-set harm” to transgender people who “have been harmed by people saying they do not deserve the same rights and protections” as lesbian, gay and bisexual people.” – The I
Pollard: Tories must look to Thatcher and take on hard-Left unions
“This time next week, Britain may well be in chaos. A series of strikes by rail union RMT threatens to cripple the railways for a week, with profound knock-on effects for the country that go far beyond any personal inconvenience from not being able to travel by train. Our supply chain involves a mix of lorries and railways, and if one part of that chain is unable to move, the edifice can easily come crashing down. We saw recently how green protesters could destroy the distribution of petrol by blocking just a few roads near refineries…Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has floated the idea of changing the law to allow rail managers to bring in agency workers to plug the gaps left by strikers. That can be done now, without the need for new legislation. All well and good, but it’s not enough.” – Daily Express
- Trade union chiefs threaten a long hot summer of strikes – The Times
- Disruption could be the worst in a century – The Sun
Banks loses libel case over Cadwalladr’s Russia claims
“Arron Banks, the multimillionaire Brexit campaigner, has lost a libel action case against the investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr in what has been seen as a victory for press freedom. Banks, founder of the pro-Brexit campaign group Leave.EU, sued the freelance reporter, who writes for The Guardian and The Observer, personally for defamation over comments she made about his relationship with the Russian state. Cadwalladr suggested he was lying about his links with Russia in a TED talk in April 2019 and a tweet she later posted which included a link to the talk. After a five-day hearing in January the High Court has ruled in her favour. The judgment concluded: “The defendant therefore succeeded in establishing a public interest defence under s.4 Defamation Act 2013.”” – The Times
>Yesterday:
- Mark Wallace in Comment: The terrible truth about Banks and Cadwalladr. They need each other.
Starmer faces parliamentary standards probe over declarations of outside earnings…
“Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the UK’s opposition Labour party, is under investigation for allegedly breaching parliamentary standards over declarations of outside earnings and gifts. Kathryn Stone, parliamentary standards commissioner, announced on Monday that a probe into Starmer had begun last week over two potential breaches of the MPs’ code of conduct. MPs are required to register all outside payments above £100 for work outside the House of Commons, as well as any gifts with a value above that limit within 28 days.According to parliament’s website, Starmer is being investigated over two sections of the code: declarations of outside earnings and employment, and the registration of outside gifts, benefits and hospitality.” – The Financial Times
- …as his own Shadow cabinet accuse him of “boring voters to death” – The Times
Sturgeon argues that Scots are “desperate to escape UK’s mess” as she launces a new independence campaign
“Nicola Sturgeon will launch a fresh campaign for independence on Tuesday as she said the UK was in “mess”. On Tuesday, the First Minister will unveil a paper comparing the UK’s economic and social performance with the “striking” success of other European countries and concluding that Scotland should leave the Union. Speaking ahead of a press conference at her Bute House residence in Edinburgh, she claimed that the midst of a cost-of-living crisis was “exactly the time” to be embarking on another constitutional referendum…Ms Sturgeon said a series of later papers would examine specific issues such as currency, how to close Scotland’s huge public spending deficit and trade, with experts warning that EU membership would require a hard border with England.” – The Daily Telegraph
- Brexit has “shattered” the SNP’s plans to join the EU as an independent Scotland, Alex Salmond claims – Daily Express
News in Brief:
- The EU never understood Northern Ireland – Robert Crawford, The Spectator
- Why should lesbians have sex with men? – Eliza Mondegreen, UnHerd
- Johnson’s Protocol plan is nothing like as radical as his critics claim – Owen Polly, Cap X
- A very British crank – Ben Sixsmith, The Critic
- Muso snobs don’t own Kate Bush – Marc Burrows, The New Statesman