Railways 1) Government ‘plans to break rail strikes by allowing use of agency workers’
“Boris Johnson has responded to the biggest rail strikes in a generation with plans to break the industrial action by allowing firms to bring in agency staff, a move unions have decried as unworkable, unsafe and potentially breaking international law. As 40,000 workers prepared for Tuesday’s strike, the most wide-reaching on the railways in 30 years, Downing Street brought forward changes to enable employers to replace employees with temporary staff. The highly controversial measure would make disputes long and bitter, unions warned on Monday, with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) accusing Johnson of taking a step that “even Margaret Thatcher did not go near”.” – The Guardian
- Prime Minister rejects rail workers’ pay demands – Daily Telegraph
- Shapps says Britain ‘taken back to bad old days’ – The Times
- RMT boss threatens ‘coordinated action’ in every British town… – Daily Telegraph
- …and claims Cabinet ministers yearn for Thatcher era – The Times
More:
- Business attacks ‘hugely short-sighted’ HS2 plans – FT
>Yesterday: Robert Tombs in Think Tanks: Our recent history rebuts the perennial narrative of British decline
Railways 2) Teachers, nurses and other public sector workers won’t get big pay increases, Treasury Minister warns
“Millions of teachers, nurses and other public sector workers will not get big pay rises this year, the Treasury Minister warned today. Simon Clarke effectively ruled out increasing government-funded wages to match inflation as it would send prices shooting up even higher. Unions are demanding up to double-digit raises to their pay packets to reflect inflation busting through 10 per cent. Militant bosses across industries from education to barristers are threatening to strike if their wages do not go up. It has sparked fears of a Summer of Discontent beyond the crippling rail strikes set to cause a week of pain from tomorrow.” – The Sun
>Today: David Willetts’ column: We aren’t getting an explanation from the Government of its pay policy that is honest about the coming pain
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: To win the narrow argument over pay, Ministers will need to make a wider, coherent economic case
Railways 3) Labour meltdown over industrial action
“Labour is in meltdown over rail strikes today as a slew of MPs ignored Keir Starmer’s orders against joining picket lines. The leader’s desperate efforts to avoid taking a side in the industrial action crippling the country are in tatters with his own troops defying him. Kate Osborne, an aide to shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Kyle, was among those who posted photos of herself backing the RMT. The party’s union paymasters have also reacted with fury after Sir Keir banned frontbenchers from showing solidarity with rail workers outside stations, demanding he gets ‘on the side of workers’.” – Daily Mail
- Opposition frontbenchers banned from picket lines as RMT donations revealed – Daily Telegraph
- Abbott leads Labour Left in cheering strikes – Daily Express
- Other left-wingers also back walkouts – The Times
More:
- Lammy investigated over earnings for speeches – The Times
Comment:
- I am a proud trade unionist, but these strikes will hurt ordinary workers most – David Blunkett, Daily Mail
Claims Johnson tried to hire Carrie as chief of staff ‘ripe for investigation’, says Lord Geidt
“Lord Geidt believes allegations that Boris Johnson tried to appoint his future wife to a plum government job “could be ripe for investigation”, The Telegraph can reveal. Mr Johnson’s former ethics adviser, who resigned last week in protest against a “deliberate” intended breach of the ministerial code, thinks the incident could be a matter for his successor. Downing Street has said Lord Geidt will not be replaced immediately, and that his position of Number 10 ethics adviser could be scrapped altogether. It was alleged that the pair’s relationship was not public at the time and that Mr Johnson was still married to his second wife, Marina Wheeler.” – Daily Telegraph
- Labour seeks to ensure he quickly appoints new ethics adviser – The Guardian
- Prime Minister could get three ethics advisers instead of just one – The Times
Patel will challenge European ruling that halted Rwanda flight
“Priti Patel will bid to quash the decision by European judges which led to the first Rwanda asylum flight being axed at the last moment, it emerged last night. The Home Secretary is poised to make a formal challenge to the European Court of Human Rights, opening up the prospect of another attempt at sending Channel migrants on a one-way trip to Africa. Her lawyers told judges at the High Court yesterday that official submissions will be made to Strasbourg ‘imminently’. Miss Patel will also ‘resist’ any further attempts by Strasbourg to block future removals, the court heard… The developments open up the prospect of the Home Office resuming charter flights to Rwanda, potentially within days.” – Daily Mail
>Yesterday: David Gauke’s column: Rwanda and the ECHR, the Protocol and law, steel and the WTO. All show that sovereignty isn’t absolute.
‘Fairer’ BBC licence fee could be linked to council tax, Dorries says
“The BBC licence fee is ‘discriminatory’ and could in future be linked to council tax bands to make the system fairer, Nadine Dorries has said. The Culture Secretary said she was looking at a system in Germany where the amount people are charged is linked to how much property tax they pay. She said it is unfair that everyone pays the same amount no matter what they earn, and it discriminates against women as they are most likely to be convicted for non-payment. Mrs Dorries is about to launch a consultation as part of a year-long review into the future of the £159-a-year TV licence fee.” – Daily Mail
- She also brands it sexist – The Sun
More:
- Goodall joins exodus from BBC amid impartiality drive – The Guardian
>Today: ToryDiary: Grammar schools. If Downing Street really is prepared to act, MPs need to make sure it counts
SNP’s Westminster boss facing calls to quit
“The SNP boss in Westminster is facing calls to quit after he backed one of his sex-pest MPs. Ian Blackford, the nationalists leader in Parliament is under fire for backing Patrick Grady who has been suspended for two days for harassing a teenage member of staff. Mr Blackford was recorded offering him “as much support as possible” at a meeting of MPs. He was accused of hypocrisy after tweeting the “SNP Westminster group will have zero tolerance of unacceptable behaviour” back in 2017. Another MP Amy Callaghan has apologised for also supporting the shamed MP in the leaked tape.” – The Sun
- Sturgeon to use legal loophole to push through IndyRef2 – Daily Express
Electoral breakthrough puts far-right leader Le Pen ‘back in the game’
“For over a decade Marine Le Pen’s success in pushing her far-right party into France’s political mainstream has revolved around one key yardstick — the presidential election race which she has entered and lost three times while increasing her score with every campaign. Now her Rassemblement National (National Rally) movement has made a breakthrough in the National Assembly. It has increased its number of seats tenfold to 89 after legislative elections, far eclipsing the far-right movement’s previous best return with 35 seats in 1986 and placing the party and Le Pen at the heart of day-to-day politics in France.” – FT
- Macron has pushed French voters into the arms of extremists – Jonathan Miller, Daily Mail
- Lame duck president should envy Britain’s electoral system – Henry Hill, Daily Telegraph
>Today: Pieter Cleppe in Comment: The EU, Spain and arbitration – and why it should spare us lectures on the sanctity of international law
News in Brief:
- Johnson should scrap the Ministerial Code – Sam Ashworth-Hayes, The Spectator
- Tube strikes aren’t socialist – Sebastian Milbank, The Critic
- We need to learn Australia’s lessons on Net Zero – Chris Skidmore MP, CapX
- The Tories deserve to lose Tiverton – Tanya Gold, UnHerd